Clara Magdalena Louise Remien: The Woman Behind the Ditter Family Story

Photograph, left to right: Otto, Frieda (Onie), William (Bill), Clara, Gordon and Ruth. Kindly supplied by Peter Kellner. Recollections of Clara generously shared by Susan, Bruce and Clark Ditter.

A Life Beginning in Albany

When people speak of Ditters, the name most often remembered is Otto Ditter, founder of the business in 1918. Yet behind that story is another, quieter presence whose influence shaped both the family and the traditions that followed — Clara Magdalena Louise Remien.

Clara was born in Albany, Western Australia, in 1894, into a German family. She later moved to South Australia, where she married Otto in Adelaide in 1916. Together, they built a life grounded in family, hard work, and shared purpose, just as Ditters itself was beginning to take shape.

Family Life and Traditions

To her grandchildren, Clara was simply known as “Nanny”. She is remembered as a gentle, private and compassionate woman, devoted above all to her family. Her days were centred around the home, where her care was expressed not in grand gestures, but in thoughtful, everyday rituals.

A Love of Food, Garden and Home

Cooking was one of the ways she brought people together. Family members recall her cinnamon streusel cake as a favourite, often requested and warmly remembered. These recipes, passed down and recreated over time, became part of the fabric of family life.

Clara also had a deep love of gardens and nature, and she brought that beauty indoors with quiet intention.

A simple table setting inspired by Clara’s love of flowers, home baking and bringing the garden indoors.

Hydrangeas and camellias would be gathered and arranged for the table, while in the cooler months she created displays using fern fronds and greenery. In spring, she would patiently collect violets from the garden, carefully forming small posies that required both time and attention. These simple acts gave the home a sense of warmth and care that extended to everyone within it.

The Next Generation of Ditters

That same appreciation for detail and presentation carried through to the next generation. Clara and Otto’s children each played a role in shaping what Ditters would become. Dawn, married to Gordon, was involved in creating the recipe for the Gourmet Cake, while Joan, married to Bill, produced cakes at the Edwardstown factory. The gardens there even supplied flowers for the shop window displays in Adelaide, continuing Clara’s instinct to bring life and beauty into every space.

A family photograph from the early 1940s captures Clara alongside Otto and their children, a rare moment where the family was gathered together, possibly during a time when some had returned home on leave. Like many such photographs, it offers only a glimpse, yet it reflects a life built around connection, resilience and care.

A Lasting Family Legacy

Following Otto’s passing in the late 1960s, Clara moved to St Georges, where she spent her later years. Though she lived a largely private life, her influence endured in the values she instilled and the traditions she helped shape.

Today, Clara’s legacy is found not only in family memories, but in the enduring character of Ditters itself, a business built on quality, care, and a deep sense of family.