Rudy was born on July 11, 1892 on a farm outside of town to a family of 7 brothers and one sister. Anton Gritsch, Rudy’s father, was one of the stonemasons who worked on the basalt foundation of the hotel during it’s construction in 1903.  Rudy married his first wife, Hazel, on June 1, 1916. In his early years, Rudy farmed and engaged in several business ventures, including Rudy’s Cafe on Main Street and a tavern here in Waterville.  For a time he worked for his brother’s company, the Oregon, Nevada and California Freight Lines and later for the Ben Paris restaurant in Seattle. He returned to Waterville and purchased the Waterville Hotel in 1947.  Hazel died on Jan. 2, 1954.

Meta served in the U.S. Navy for three years during World War II, then went on to graduate from WSU with a degree in economics. She taught at a one room schoolhouse, then was the first grade schoolteacher here in Waterville for 15 years. Rudy and Meta were married on Dec. 23, 1954 and continued to run the hotel until Rudy’s death on Jan. 21, 1975. Meta continued to live in the hotel but her health concerns of her own prevented her from continuing to run the hotel. After selling the hotel to Dave Lundgren in 1992, Meta moved to Yakima, WA where she was active in the Republican Women’s Club and the Terrace Heights Baptist Church until her death on Dec. 8, 2011.