PINE MEER FOUNDATION
OUR NAME
AND MEANING
Welcome,
We appreciate your interest in the Pine Meer Foundation. Even though we were established relatively recently in late 2017, the family whose former homestead name is associated with this foundation made Cincinnati their home for over a century. The patriarch of the family, William C. Schott (Will), was born in 1884 to a family of German immigrants who settled next to the Over-the-Rhine (OTR) area of Cincinnati in 1870. In 1914, Will and his wife Lucia Riedlin Schott married and lived in Clifton at the northwest corner of University Court and Straight Street, next to the University of Cincinnati (UC). Will had graduated from UC obtaining an undergraduate AB degree in 1905, and then attended the Medical College at UC later that year, until 1908. After leaving medical school to join his brothers in family businesses, he soon became the General Manager of one of the family enterprises - the Cincinnati Galvanizing Co. He and his brothers also owned the J.M. Schott & Sons Cooperage, Schott Brothers Realty, the Bavarian Brewing Co. and radio station WFBE, which they sold and became WCPO radio. Previously, the Bavarian Brewing Co. had belonged to Will's wife's family, the Riedlin's, beginning in 1882. By 1925, Will and Lucia completed an estate in Green Township, just across from Delhi Township, known as Pine Meer. He raised two sons, William (Bill) and Louis (Lou). Each son built homes adjacent to the estate and they both raised families that enjoyed the beauty and tranquility of Pine Meer. Will lived at Pine Meer with his wife for about 45 years. After she predeceased him, he continued to live in his home until 1981. He passed away at the age of 97. (Please see The Pine Meer Estate.)
William C. Schott, his parents and particularly his youngest son's family, Louis L. Schott and Virginia E. Schott, were active in various philanthropic endeavors in the greater Cincinnati area. The Pine Meer Foundation (PMF) is named after the former Schott homestead in recognition of the family's charitable activities and to continue their philanthropic legacies. Besides PMF, another foundation that was created for Will's brother and wife is the Louis & Melba Schott Foundation. It was established in 2005 by the daughter of Louis and Melba Schott, Melba Ann Schott Townsend, and her husband Charles. Even though these foundations have no direct connection with one another, they were both established to support charitable organizations in Great Cincinnati.
Sincerely,
L. Ried Schott
Founding Member, The Pine Meer Foundation
Sponsorships
Please become familiar with several non-profit organizations that are receiving support from the Pine Meer Foundation.
The background image is a photograph of the Pine Meer Manor House taken in 1929. In front of the home was a U-shaped Lake with an island to the far right of photo that swans would use to make a nest each spring.