1867 – 1947
Frederick Rike was President of Dayton’s Rike-Kumler department store company and a civic leader. Mr. Rike had only one employer, beginning at Rike’s as a salesman and a buyer of notions, handkerchiefs, hosiery and gloves. He eventually worked his way up to the post of President, which he held for 40 years, seldom missing a day at work in the store. It was Rike who moved the store to the corner of Second and Main Streets that it anchored for so long. He was active during the recovery efforts from the 1913 flood and served on the charter commission that reorganized Dayton’s
government into the city manager format. He worked for the establishment of the Miami Valley Conservancy District and served as president of the Dayton Boy Scouts and Community Chest. Nationally, he held the leadership position of President of the
National Retail Dry Goods Association.