Kewaunee County Summer: Get It While It Lasts!

Algoma's spectacular Crescent Beach and boardwalk was photographed in mid-May.

Living in Wisconsin means summers are short. Sometimes there isn't much time to get it all in. Summer means festivals, church picnics, outdoor concerts, family reunions, trips, baseball games,  the county fair and more. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, there are all kinds of events, most notably Algoma’s Shanty Days and Kewaunee’s Trout Festival, though most of the smaller communities have unique events as well. Throughout the county’s history, summer has brought people together in social activities, though in the early days “summer” started with steamer traffic just as soon as the ice broke.

Harriet Hall was 9 when she settled with her parents Orin and Jane Bennett Warner in the wilderness called Wolf River, Wolf River trading post or by the Ojibwa name that asked, “Where is the River?” The Potawatomie sometimes referred to the area by a word that meant “bear’s head.”* But, whatever it was called, it didn’t matter to the few residents who were always glad to see a traveler and get the news. When a traveler or a new settler had a violin, that was a reason to dance and, according to Harriet, there was always good, homemade beer to ward off the thirst.

In the later 1850s and again following the Civil War, Capt. Henry Harkins ferried people up-river to the county line home of Joseph McCormick, or even as far as Forestville, for a night of dancing. At dawn he brought folks back down river to begin the day’s work that followed dancing until the sun came up. Plying the river during the dark night or following a trail along its course was the path to disaster. Some would say those early people knew how to party, however all night parties were also respect for the darkness. Eighty or so years later when Dr. Suess wrote The King’s Stilts, he described the king as one who, when he worked,  really, really worked, and when he played, he really, really played. Suess could have based the king on the people of Ahnapee.

Although culture and refinement was said to have come to Wolf River with the 1854 landing of Simon Hall's wife Desiah, the daughter of Hanford and Elsie Smith, it took another two years before the settlement had an event about which it could boast. That first notable social occasion was the marriage of Mary Yates to Captain Charles Fellows. While the Yates-Fellows wedding was big in the small settlement, the July 4, 1858 picnic was an even bigger celebration. Held above Hall's Mill, it was the earliest settlers’ first picnic and dance.

One of Kewaunee County's largest and most impressive early social gatherings was the 1858 house warming for Mr. and Mrs. James Slausson who had moved into their Lake Street home in Kewaunee. Printed invitations were sent to everyone in the county and it seemed as if most made the trip to enjoy the party.

Other dances and parties followed, always with homemade beer. Harriet Hall often said that Wolf River was a fun-loving, music-loving community with dances such as quadrilles and waltzes, and she reminisced how Irish Sam Perry "could dance." For years following the large influx of immigrants, it seemed as if preferences in music and dance steps led to billings for American dances or for German dances. There were, however, those who felt the dances reflected the differences between the Yankees and the foreigners.

Nearly twenty years after the 1858 Independence Day party at Hall's Mill, Ahnapee celebrated the country's centennial largely because of Wenzel Wenniger. DeWayne Stebbins had just taken over the Ahnapee Record and tried stirring up interest in Independence Day, but to no avail. Then Wenniger got involved. Wenniger owned the hill, known as Wenniger Heights, on the north side of the river. On that property Wenniger built Wilhelmshoeh, a dance hall, bowling alley, two saloons - one brick and one frame - and shooting gallery. The bowling alley featured iron balls and wooden pins. Called the music pavilion, the hall was regularly used for dances and concerts and, on the last Saturday of each month, for cattle shows. It was an opportunity to buy and sell at "fair prices." Surrounding the hall was a grove of hundreds of trees, used for picnicking, a bandstand and a beer stand. Entertainment was important and sometimes came from distant areas. Before Wenniger purchased the property, it was called a “resort”  known as Summer Gardens.

Arranging the Independence Day festivities that centennial year, Winneger engaged the Ahnapee Brass Band to play for the picnic at Wilhelmshoeh. The Ahnapee String Band played for the ball on July 3 in Weilep's Hall* on the corner of Second and Steele. The First Baptist Church held a dinner and there was a centennial party and program at the school. The Record spoke of "good times" at Dettloff's and at Burke's in Pierce Town and of celebrations in Kewaunee and Sturgeon Bay. The village added to the celebration by wrapping itself in bunting, displaying flags and holding dances, ice cream socials and fireworks. Over the years,

Ahnapee was the site of number of bandstands besides Wenniger’s – on 4^th, on Steele and along the lake - where the various village musical groups delighted appreciative audiences.



The photo from the L. Schwedler Andre collection dates to about 1915 when the bandstand was near the site of Algoma's present bandstand. At the far right is the first lighthouse on the end of the north pier. The pier and lighthouse were less than 20 years old at the time of the photo. The railroad and ferry depots are in the background. In 1915, the power pole and  fire hydrant were signs of progress and added to the photo's story. The women are not identified but one is no doubt a Serrahn.

As Ahnapee grew, culture and social life grew with it. Arriving immigrant populations brought more music and social societies. There was even theater in the popular McDonald Hall, and in the smaller halls as well. The Lutheran Church was opposed to what it called secret societies, such as the Knights of the Iron Band. The Sons of Herman was accepted and the Sons of Herman were not accepted. It was a German organization and it depended on who was approving or disproving. Bohemians congregated in the Sokols, and the St. George Society was the Bohemian men’s Catholic organization. The Baptists spearheaded the Temperance Society, which frowned on alcohol, and the Girls’ Friendly Society raised funds putting on community dinners. There were sporting organizations.

Baseball had such a following that the steamers carried as many as 900 passengers to games at Kewaunee, Sturgeon Bay and Two Rivers.
 

One would think that all was right, but it was not. The celebration of Independence Day 1880 was anticipated by the entire town. Heralded as a celebration that would be the largest ever, the event was advertised in nearby towns with the notice there would be "no end" of amusements for young and old. The day began with a 38-gun salute, one shot for each state in the union. There were games, bands, a parade, dancing and fireworks, but the festivities did not hide feelings of ill will within the community.

Judge Charles Griswold Boalt** was one of the speakers. In his address he seemed to be pointing out that those with less than he, financially and intellectually, should not infringe on others such as himself. Boalt’s speech railed against a minimum wage. He talked about the ignorant people accepting communism and a religious fanaticism that seemed to be directed toward Catholics. The industrious Germans were often praised by the papers, but Judge Boalt complained about them and other immigrants as well.
 

Though the Fourth of July was usually celebrated, there were years when Americans - meaning those who came from such places as  New York and Pennsylvania -  and German immigrants held their own dances, possibly due to the ill will in Ahnapee. In 1881, some said the celebration was "humbug" because it was controlled by the "damn Yankees." Fireworks continue today, but they are in the sky met with oohs and aahs.
 

Ahnapee residents celebrated Decoration Day with ceremonies befitting the veterans both alive and dead. The celebration in 1871 was no exception. Graves of deceased soldiers were decorated with flowers and evergreens. About 200 people visited the cemeteries, a number limited only by the capacity of the conveyances. Chief Marshall Major William Henry was assisted by Michael McDonald. Both men had served in the 14th Wisconsin. Captain F.W. Borcherdt, 21st Wisconsin, commanded the firing party. Rev. Overbeck gave a prayer and brief address at each grave. Flowers were scattered by 30 young ladies dressed in white, and Ahnapee's Liederkranz sang appropriate hymns. After it was all over, the Enterprise made the comment that "no village its size gave more to the soldiers than Ahnapee."

 

The following year was much the same. Major Henry again served as marshall but prayers and remarks were given in German only as Rev. S.H. Corich, who was to give prayers and remarks in English, was absent. Four hundred people and 37 teams were in the 1873 parade. At the services Michael McDonald commanded the column, J.H. Leonard was the Officer of the Day and Civil War veteran Chauncey Thayer*** commanded the firing squad. Elder T. Wilson gave the address.
 

Decoration Day 1876 was celebrated with a parade consisting of a large number of people, color bearers, the Ahnapee brass band and a firing party. They processed to the cemeteries and heard remarks by church elders. During the Civil War, when 1 of every 17 served, social life continued with such events as Donation Parties. Widows and orphans were assisted by the funds raised. Looking critically at some of the events, it could be said a bunch of “do-gooders” was making themselves feel good, but whatever the situation then, Kewaunee County has never forgotten its veterans.

 

By the mid-1880s, Civil War vets reuned at Kewaunee County fairgrounds, which was then in Kewaunee. Luxemburg is now the site of Kewaunee County’s fairgrounds and the scene of the ever-popular fair and weekly races. Kewaunee County's first fair, November 23 and 24, 1860, was held in the dance hall of the Steamboat House* in Kewaunee. The weather was cold, the turnout disappointing and the men and women of Kewaunee took most of the prizes. In the span of  150 years, there were years when there was no fair. Over all those years, the fair changed to the anticipated summer event that it is today.
 

Today’s papers list the events that those of 1870 would not comprehend. They would, however, recognize summer and social activities. They would empathize that winter always looms and for many winter frequently means isolation. Not foreseeing advances in transportation, they would surely tell today’s residents to hitch up the wagon and get out there because it is summer, and there is always plenty to do in Kewaunee County.
 

Notes:.*Weilep's Hall still stands as the remodeled and refurbished Stebbins Hotel. **Charles Griswold Boalt was said to have come to town with $400,000 in his pocket. That made him the richest man in town in those days and he was one with whom most did not trifle. His one term as a county judge earned him "Judge Boalt," rather than "Mr." The community of Bolt was named for him, first being named Boalt. For more on Boalt/Bolt, see Here Comes the Mail: Post Offices of Kewaunee County, c. 2008 by Kannerwurf, Sharpe & Johnson. ***Chauncey Thayer was the first Kewaunee Co. enlistee in the Civil War. Kewaunee's Steamboat House was on the approximate spot of the hotel best remembered as the Karsten.

Sources:  An-An-api-sebe: Where is the River? c. 2001, Johnson; The History of Commercial Development in Algoma, WI, Vol 1, 2008, Johnson, Nell, Wolske; Here Comes the Mail: Post Offices of Kewaunee County, c. 2008 Kannerwurf, Sharpe & Johnson collection and the collection of L. Schwedler-Andre.



 

 

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