rederick Schodde was among the first merchants to set up business in Anchorage. He and his family arrived in 1917, after spending two years in Juneau and Kanatak. He had opened a store he called the Green Front in Kanatak in 1916, just after he and Marie Bueler were married. Frederick was born in Germany in 1890 and immigrated with his parents in 1895. Marie was born in Zurich, Switzerland in 1891.

In Anchorage, they opened a bakery but sold it within a year of their arrival. They then opened the Green Front store at the northwest corner of 4th Avenue and C Street. The store served as their home for many years as they developed their business. They sold candy, ice cream, newspapers, notions, school supplies and gift items. They also operated one of the few gasoline stations in town, with two hand-operated pumps on the sidewalk in front of the store.

Fred and Marie’s two daughters were Antoinette, born in 1915 and Virginia, born in 1917. The Schoddes were one of the first families to import an automobile into Anchorage, and Marie was the first woman in town to obtain a driver’s license. She drove until she was eighty years old, served two terms on the local school board and was active in other civic affairs.

Daughter Antoinette Schodde married Raymond I. Peterson, and they had four children: Charles, Raymond F., Mrs. Fred Pierce, and Mrs. Michael Willings. Virginia Schodde Davey had no children, and died in 1947. Fred died in 1949, and Marie passed away in 1977. They are both buried in the Elks Tract, Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery. Antoinette Schodde Petersen died in 1980.