Ed Rech was born in Evansville, Indiana and spent his whole life there. He graduated from Central high school. He worked with William Jacob Rech, his father, in the W. J. Rech studio for a period of time. During World War I he was in the Army Air Corp. He tried many times to get into photography while in the military but was assigned to other work.

After the war he went to photographic school at Wanona Lake, Indiana and later opened his own studio at 422 ½ Main Street as Ed Rech’s Studio. Throughout his career, he took many high school athletic team pictures. Some have been enlarged and displayed close to the Athletic office at Bosse High School. There have been pictures of his published in the Evansville newspaper showing the 1937 flood. In 1945 he won two first prizes in a photographic contest in Indianapolis. Those two pictures were shown in his display case facing Main Street.

Ed married Mildred Ruth Nussmeier Rech August 19, 1930. They had two children, Janice Lee (Rech) Kroeger born June15, 1932, and William Charles Rech born October 7, 1934.

Ed and Mildred were life long members of Zion Evangelical and Reformed Church which is now, 2009, Zion United Church of Christ. They were 50 year members of Central Turners and participated on apparatus, parallel bars, horizontal bars and horse. He participated in Turnfests at various Turners in various cities. A Turnfest is a competition of apparatus and track & field. While in his 70’s, he was in a parade working on the parallel bars while on a float on Main Street.

The photograph is the burial of James Bethel Gresham, the first American soldier killed in World War I.