Bob Dittrich may have said it best when he said “I always say I’m blessed,” regarding how life turned around after he dropped out of school after attending classes for one month of his freshman year at New Ulm High School.

“I quit school at 15,” Dittrich said. “After that happened, the teacher and superintendent came out to our farm try to talk me into coming back but I had convinced myself that school was not where I belonged.”

Dittrich recalled what three of his aunts told him after he quit school.

“You’re going to be a bum,” they said to me.

Bob Dittrich stands in front of one of his semi tractor trailers decades ago.

“I thought I’d prove them wrong. My aunts later said they were very proud of me,” Bob added.

Out of school, Dittrich helped his father Alois farm while he recovered from back surgery.

“Things turned out really well,” Dittrich said. “I baled card board waste and sold it to Horner-Waldorf, a recycled paperboard company. I sold the business to my two employees at age 17 but it was going great.”

Bob Dittrich said he decided to go into the trucking business because his dad had a chauffer’s license which included a button on his hat.

“I took the button off his hat and put it on my hat and I went trucking. I followed garbagemen around town and picked up cardboard,” said Bob. “I picked up lots of beer boxes from the Hauenstein and Schell breweries.”

Newspaper articles and photos of Dittrich Trucking of New Ulm displayed at a celebration of 70 years in business at German Park recently

Bob bought his first semi truck in 1958. The business grew into a large, multi-state trucking firm. When he sold the trucking firm in 1990, he had 45 trucks hauling U.S. Mail, grain and butter for Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI). Bob Dittrich Trucking delivered seed corn by truck as far away as South Dakota.

In 1982, Bob created Dittrich Specialities in a plant that cleaned parts and did other odd jobs including cleaning copy machines for Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing (3M). The company continues to provide services for 3M and other companies.

While in the trucking business, Dittrich did all his business with Farmers & Merchants Bank, now Alliance Bank.

“Decades ago, they were open until 9 p.m. on Monday,” Dittrich said. “I usually did my banking on Mondays. One night, I usually got there close to 9 p.m. and an employee, Marlys, said Bob, you’re always late and in a hurry. Why the hell don’t you buy your own bank?

“So, that’s what I did. It was a blessing,” Dittrich said. “I lived in Klossner at the time. We parked two trucks right across from the bank. It was raining one day. One of the trucks rolled across the street, hit a car owned by Victor Sunday, who owned the bank, and pushed it into the bank. It didn’t do much damage.

“Vic was very cordial about things and said he’s selling the bank because he’s retiring,” said Dittrich. “We put it out for bids and got one bid and he told me what it was. I gave him a bid a little higher than the one he had. He told me I couldn’t buy the bank because I didn’t know anything about banks. I said yes I am, you’re 100% right, and I’m putting you on the board and you’re going to teach me.”

After several years of partial ownership of Klossner State Bank in the 1970’s, Bob Dittrich and a good friend, Ray Bentdahl of New Ulm, bought the State Bank of Sleepy Eye in 1983. Bob took full bank ownership in 1985 and renamed it American Community Bank. He added the Americana Agency which provides area insurance products and now operates in several communities including the Twin Cities western metro area.

Dittrich also bought a number of agriculture and commodities-related businesses including Midwest Commodities of New Ulm.

He talked about what led to his success.

“I always hired people who were smarter than I was,” Bob admitted.

He’s got a number of long-time employees including Dittrich Specialities Plant Manager Brice Andree who has worked for him for 41 years. Another employee, Larry Rathmann, has worked for Dittrich for 50 years.

Bob Dittrich said he has no plans to retire.