Saturday, February 24, 2024

Algoma, Wisconsin: Built on a River Delta

 

As early records tell us, Algoma’s present-day history begins in the mid-1830s when Major Joseph McCormick and several men from Manitowoc ventured north to today’s Algoma to observe lands they heard about from the Pottawatomie who populated the area along the western shore of Lake Michigan. Upon reaching the (now) Ahnapee River, the McCormick party turned into it and sailed upriver to what is now Forestville.

Impressed with the area, McCormick envisioned a city built on the hill on the north bank of the river. The Pottawatomie living near the mouth of the river maintained their small village on that while two of their burying grounds were in the area of today’s St. Agnes-By-the-Lake church and in hill at the south

entry to the City of Algoma. The area once known as the Campsite, now Crescent Beach, (left) was a stopping off place, a place of celebration, and a place of rest for the Pottawatomie paddling back and forth to their major planting grounds at Black Earth, near Mishicot.

Algoma’s first permanent settlers – those of European extraction – came in 1851. John Hughes settled on the northside hill near the mouth of the river. Orin Warner built his home near today’s China Moon on North Water Street. Edward Tweedale was the only one of the three to live near the south side of the river, living for a short time in the approximate area of 4th and Navario. Within a couple of years, he relocated to just above what is now the Lake Street hill. George Schatleben, Jackson VanVranken, and Mathias Simon were among the 1850s newcomers who settled on the north side.

The Catholic Mr. Simon donated a piece of his northside land for a Catholic church and cemetery, also donating land for a church and cemetery to his Lutheran countryman. The Lutheran Church was relocated to 4th and State, however the cemetery remains in the original location on Wolf River Road.

Why was the present downtown Algoma not an early favorite?

The Abandoned Shore Lines of Eastern Wisconsinc. 1907, indicates most of the city of Algoma is built on a broad terrace-like deposit of gravel and stratified sands, about 20’ above the lake. It resembles an old delta of the Ahnapee River in a re-entrant of the lake during the 17-foot stage. The steep bluffs that enclose this sand flat north and south of the town are suggestive of both higher and lower terraces.

During the research period in the early 1900s, the railroad depot was at the foot of Steele Street and from there, one could look north along the clay bluff to a low headland less than a mile away to see a small 18’ terrance that formed a “clean cut notch” in the profile. That notch was another valuable scrap of extinct lake records that were almost destroyed by the receding shore line.  The area totaled less than 400 yards, however it did offer a view of the closely packed gravels (left) and especially of an old headland of the 17’ stage which the terrace encircles. The researchers felt the piece of old shore topography would be completely destroyed by the waves within a few years of their work. The photo below shows the view north along the old clay bluffs of the Nipissing shore line.


As the book points out that an ancient creek flowed south from the main branch of the Ahnapee at approximately 6th Street to the approximate area that is now Division Street, then meandering east at the base of the Lake Street hill. David Price was known to be in Wolf River as early as January 1854 and possibly before. He lived on the south side of the river on what was then called Price’s Creek, a small stream south from the river and a little further west than the ancient stream bed, or so it seems.

Price’s Creek became Chapek’s Creek and has been a drainage challenge for much of the city’s history. As early as June 1887, Fremont Street was being graded at Chapek’s Creek, an area of on-going issue. The creek bed was cleaned out, there were storm sewers, and in 1960, its width was increased from 4 to 8’. Residents claimed a downpour, especially in the Fremont area, quickly turned the creek into a lake. It was thought the storm sewers draining into the creek caused the problems whereas in the “old” days, rain seeped into the ground and found its way to the creek. Mill and Buchanan Streets were on higher ground than downtown Algoma, and in the days of the ancient river in the Division Street area, lands to the west drained into that area. In a 2003 interview, the late Frances Serovy Goetz, whose family home was near the intersection of (today’s) Jefferson and Division, said as late as 1940 the lower Division Street was sometimes mucky and sported cat tails, which survive in wetlands and marshes. A gravel pit in the same area served as a dump even into the 1920s.


The 1880 Birdseye map of the City of Ahnapee (above) illustrates the hills on the north side of the Ahnapee River, the hills to the west and to the south of the city. The swamp from 5th to Mill and from a bit north of Fremont to South Water, now Navarino, is evident. Division Street did not exist farther north than Fremont in 1880. Hundreds of years ago, drainage from the hills on the west of Division Street likely found its way to the lake via the river that faded into history.

In the first 65 or so years of the city’s history, there were multiple brickyards from today’s St. Paul School playground (Storm’s brickyard) and into the hill. It was the treacherous hill and other topography issues further south that brought the road from Kewaunee into Algoma via what is now Longfellow Road to County K, to Evergreen Road, and finally to Fremont Street. 

The painting at left comes from a postcard illustrating a different old creek bed within today's south city limits. By the time of the photo, the lakeshore road was being improved to a point where a bridge was built. The hill between the the bridge and Lake Michigan is evident. There were other such creek beds north and south of Algoma. Roads have been improved to an extent where only small culverts are visible today.

Much of today’s downtown Algoma - east of 4th and south of Steele - was full of knolls, stumps, clumps of cedars, fallen logs and briars in the early days of the settlement. Historian George Wing who lived at approximately the northwest corner of 4th and Clark said it took “a lot of nerve” to venture across that area to the lake shore.


The swampy area from 5th to Division, between Steele and Clark, (now Perry Field) was once known as Eveland swamp, Blocks 11 and 12 of the Eveland Plat of the City of Algoma. Filled in as it is, one can still see the downward slope from 4th and then the incline west from Division toward Mill Street. Crossing the swamp was never easy and was tragic for early resident Dave Youngs’ whose yoke of stags was dragging a load of timber through the mud and mire of the swamp when the animals were killed by a falling tree. As early as September 1876, the Record called attention to the fire raging for days in Eveland swamp and advised residents to keep an eye on it.

May 1879 found citizens petitioning for a sidewalk along Steele from 5th to Division because of the difficulty in crossing the swamp. A year later, the paper called attention to the sloping sidewalk crossing the swamp. It was slanting to such an extent that slipping into the mud was possible, and walking through it in the dark was something to be feared.*

During spring 1887, the Record came up with a way to make money while helping the community at the same time. Editor DeWayne Stebbins felt Eveland swamp consisted of acreage that could be reclaimed for little money and made to be a valuable property. Twelve years before that, Editor William Seymour said the timber had been cut off, but nothing was done since. He thought if the land could be drained to be bone dry, it would be in demand for building. Until then, planting in hay would bring in enough money to ditch the swamp. The paper saw the plan as an opportunity for investment and income.

Clam shells were capturing huge interest in May 1890 when Ahnapee Record reported that creeks in the area were running so dry that one could cross in mid-stream and not get wet feet, at least in the trickle called the Ahnapee River. The paper also said a week previous a resident was picking up clam shells in the riverbed and came upon a rich find. Breaking open the shells, the fellow found bright objects about the size of green peas which he supposed to be pearls. Plans were to have the objects analyzed. If anything came of it, it does not appear to have made the Record. A late May 1891 Enterprise commented on the young folks looking for pearls in the clam shells. At the time of the article, Editor A.C. Voshardt said that about 5,000 clams “lost their lives” while only about 5 real pearls were found. Voshardt didn't see pearl harvest as a money making endeavor, however, in 1902, the Enterprise carried a reprint from the Fond du Lac Commonwealth which told readership that Wisconsin fisherman made at least $81,000 from clam shells in 1901. 

Eveland swamp was being cleaned up in May 1892 while residents were using it to pasture cows. In a 2003 interview, the late Millie Kirchman Rabas remembered taking her grandparents’ cow from its stable at the Kirchman Hotel (on the northeast corner of 4th and Clark) to the swamp for daytime pasturing. Finally, in October 1924, the city outlawed garbage from being thrown into the swampy area and began to clean, till, and fill in the swamp, by then Perry Field. Today - 100 years later – Perry Field is a playground and a sports field donated by Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Perry in honor of their son who was killed in action in World War 1. For the first half of its life, it served as Algoma High School’s athletic field.

When the U.S. government constructed the south pier in 1911, the utility decided to drill a new well, which was the first artesian well on the peninsula. The well was 1334’ deep and drilled into St. Peter sandstone. Something new. Wikipedia says St. Peter sandstone is found chiefly in parts of Minnesota, Iowa, and in most of Wisconsin. It further says it “originated as a sheet of sand in clear, shallow water near the shore of a Paleozoic sea and consisted of fine-to-medium, well-rounded quartz.”

The city had more than a swamp to deal with in 1912. There was a cave-in when Algoma’s city well was being drilled in late May. The Record said a depth of 1,030’ had been reached and it was thought that another 400-500’ needed to be drilled to reach a good flow of water. Water struck at 465’ was enough for ordinary purposes but inadequate for meeting the needs of the industries at the same time. The first 465’ was drilled through Niagara limestone. At 485’ and for the next 500’ there was Cincinnati shale. Then came Trenton limestone which was drilled for about 40’ before the Cincinnati shale caved in. About 300’ of casing was put into the hole before the drilling could go forward.

What the city learned during the cave-in is what was somewhat outlined years earlier in an April 1878 paper which pointed out the bedrock under Kewaunee County, saying it was Niagara limestone except for a narrow strip of Cincinnati shale in Red River along the bay of Green Bay. However, that was not the only shale in the county.

The paper also said the county averaged from 60’ to 209’ above Oceanic Michigan with the highest elevation in Section 36 of the Town of Red River, which appears to be incorrect. https://www.anyplaceamerica.com/ reports that it is Cherneyville hill, 1014’, in the Town of Montpelier, which is followed by Dhuey hill, 912’, in the Town of Lincoln. The article explained that during the glacial period, immense bodies of ice came from the north to modify and re-arrange the face of nature. The article mentions the chalybeate* springs characterized by iron compounds, derived from iron pyrite decomposition. It went on to say that such springs are moderate in flow, have a little sulphur and a lot of iron although the water’s taste is pleasant.

Algoma Record Herald in July 1966 told readers that Kewaunee County’s major rivers were the Ahnapee, the Kewaunee and the East Twin, all draining the county and flowing toward Lake Michigan although the flows were not entirely within the confines of the county. Rising in Door County near Brussels, the Ahnapee drains the northeast part of Kewaunee County, while the Kewaunee drains the central area, and the East Twin drains the southern part of the county. Red River is part of the drainage system though is a tributary of the bay of Green Bay. Red River flows intermittently.

The 1966 paper continued saying the “most recent Valders ice invasion” partly determines the course of the Kewaunee River while the Ahnapee River Valley once provided an outlet for Glacial Lake Oshkosh which was a large body of water to the south of the retreating ice in the Green Bay-Fox River lowland. South of Dyckesville, Glacial Lake Oshkosh drained east into the Kewaunee River. As it melted, it opened a new channel northwest of Maplewood thus leading to the Ahnapee River Valley.

Most of the Ahnapee River valley in Kewaunee County and the lower stretches of the Kewaunee River are considered drowned valleys, estuaries formed when rising sea levels flood existing river valleys. As the lake level rose to a more recent stage, the estuaries formed are now the marshy alluvial floodplains of the streams.

As did the rest of today’s Kewaunee County, the topography of downtown Algoma has changed drastically since Joseph McCormick’s party observed the area 190 years ago. Technology is ever-changing, enabling NOAA, the US Geological Service, Wisconsin DNR, and others to look back at hundreds of thousands of years of geology. George Wing’s research in the late 1800s, years of articles in the Ahnapee Record and Algoma Record Herald and the observations of citizens beginning with McCormick and those who came later such as E. Storm, M. Dier, F. Stoller, H. Nell, Mrs. Rabas and Mrs. Goetz offer a fascinating story. A host of websites offer current information that can only be called riveting for those living in the area.

Note: *Ahnepee changed its name to Ahnapee in 1873 when it became a village. Ahnapee became a city in 1879. In 1897, the place was renamed to the City of Algoma.

*Chalybeate springs are natural mineral springs containing iron salts.

*Division was not a street in 1880. Mill St., where there were commercial establishments and residences, is the first street shown beyond the swamp.

Sources: Ahnapee Record, Algoma Record, Algoma Record Herald, Kewaunee Enterprise; The Abandoned Shore Lines of Eastern Wisconsin, Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, Bulletin No. XVII, Scientific Series No, 5, James W. Goldthwaite; Wikipedia; 

https://www.anyplaceamerica.com/directory/wi/kewaunee-county-55061/summits/

https://www.co.door.wi.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1073/Analysis-and-Management-Plan-for-the-Upper-Ahnapee-River-Watershed

https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Watersheds/basins/lakeshore

https://ngmdb.usgs,gov (National Geologic Map Database).

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov.education.est04_geolog

Graphics: Postcards and the painting are from the blogger's collection.

Friday, February 9, 2024

Kewaunee County: Buried Forests & Shell Marl

Kewaunee county’s present-day history begins in the mid-1830s when Major Joseph McCormick and several men from Manitowoc ventured north to today’s Algoma to observe the lands they heard about from the Pottawatomie who populated the area along the western shore of Lake Michigan. Upon reaching the now Ahnapee River, the McCormick party turned into it and sailed upriver to what is now Forestville. At roughly the same time,  Montgomery and Patterson of Chicago were struggling to maintain their new sawmill on the Kewaunee River while Government Surveyor Sylvester Sibley, Guerdon S. Hubbard and James Armstrong were trying to establish a sawmill at Red River. It was 1851 before there was a permanent settlement in the county.

Millions of years preceded the county’s printed history. The much earlier history is written in the rocks and soil, and below those same rocks and soils. With ever-increasing advances in technology, it is a story that continues to be written.

Early county historian George Wing – the 16-year-old co-founder of Ahnapee Record – was interested in all things bygone. Wing was learned. He wrote his memoirs and, for a time, wrote/edited The Owl, the Wing family chronicles/genealogy going back to their roots in England. Many of those volumes can be found in the Menominee, Michigan, history center. Further information can be obtained through Menominee Public Library.

On January 12, 1912, Algoma Record reported that The Bureau of American Ethnology at the Smithsonian asked Mr. Wing to do a paper on aboriginal remains. Wing did, and his paper was published. Within Wing’s writings, there was much on geology.

The Record tells us Wing wrote that the peninsula was “almost a new land that emerged from Lake Michigan,” however not more than 2,000 years earlier. He said that when Christ walked the earth, the peninsula was still under the water of a great lake, “basing this hypothesis upon the gradually receding water of Lake Michigan and upon the beach sand and water-torn pebbles found at points now miles distant from the shores of the lake.“ He continued: “By computing the annual withdrawal of the lake in inches and the height of the terrain of adjacent lands, calculations indicate the peninsula is a new land.” It was said among the most convincing evidence of this came from deep within the earth. Found in a depth of 30’ to 80’ ridges on both side of the Kewaunee River for 5-12 miles above the mouth was a buried forest indicating that in the glacial period a mountain of ice, snow, rocks, and muds, came from the north to bury the first terrain of forests.

In the summer of 1874, one Professor Chamberlain of Beloit College was surveying in Kewaunee County. The Enterprise told readers he was a professor of geology, chemisty and zoology and described him as informed and courteous.

Chamberlain said his examinations revealed something not known earlier, saying the “Potash Kettle” region which went north and south through southern and central Wisconsin extended as far as Kewaunee County and ran through the hills of the Town of Casco* He said he geological formation of Kewaunee County was not much different than other lake shore counties and that the lake counties had the ability to make the finest lime in the world.

Chamberlain found two outcroppings of such lime, one at Footbridge and the other at Wilmott’s. He talked about the shell marl island in Little Lake in Pierce and said it was the largest and purest deposit that he’d found. He didn’t see it as being great for plaster but did see it as fertilizer.


1876 Kewaunee County Plat Map: Towns of Kewaunee showing the location of Cory hill, the Wilmott property, and the Town of Casco showing the location of J. Wilmott’s property. The top quarter of the map is Pierce. A map showing Little Lake is below.

Chamberlain said the geological nature of the area precluded hopes of finding enough valuable ores for a payback. He divided the county into classes of red clay, heavy marly clay and a little sandy soil, claiming soil wears out in other areas but with the rich, fertile, heavy marly clay subsoil, Kewaunee County soils had high agriculture capabilities.

The Enterprise told readers that Wisconsin law demanded the results of the geological surveys were to be presented to the governor by January 1 each year.

There was research again in 1878 that indicated the county was at one time submerged by Lake Michigan. The article made an exception to “two small islands, the outlines of which could (then) be traced by beds of pebbles in the towns of Montpelier and Casco.” That validates Wing's comments about the pebbles found miles inland.

In 1878, it was said Lake Michigan was “steadily advancing at the snail’s pace of one foot a year.”  The article went on to say that the county’s most distinguishing feature was that the northern terminus of “the famous potash-kettle range” was in the town of Casco.

Explaining the range, the paper described it as mounds of drift going through Kewaunee, Manitowoc, and Sheboygan counties to near the state line, then going west and north to the head waters of the Wisconsin River, thus governing the drainage of Wisconsin.

Wing said a well-defined beach extended across the peninsula near the valley of the Kewaunee River indicating that at one time all the land north of that valley was either submerged or formed islands, the center of the Town of Red River being the most prominent.

Wing described a buried forest, 30’ below ground, at Casco Junction from which he had a piece of tamarack found in the clay above the primeval forest. When the railroad company was digging a well about 50’ west of the depot, they struck some substance with such a nauseating smell that workmen were forced to suspend their work and move their sleeping car. An investigation revealed the smell came from the decayed tree trunks buried in sold clay. Railroad superintendent Frank Seymour had the excavation filled in.

Kewaunee County Plat Map, Town of Luxemburg, 1912: Casco Junction is in Section 24. Scarboro is in Section 25 is at left..

Two feet beneath the surface at the Nast Lime kilns (now Bruemmer Park) in West Kewaunee were the complete remains of a snake in solid lime, although Wing felt the snake was not evidence of antiquity because animal and vegetable matter petrify fairly fast.

Wing discussed Carlton where there was lowland covered with vegetable matter from which a farmer cut blocks with a spade. Then the squares became as hard as stone when they were exposed to the air. The squares became a barn foundation. A piece of a block showing beech nuts, acorns, and other forest refuse was in Wing’s possession.

A May 1878 Ahnapee Record published an article describing Professor Chamberlain’s geological report of the fine shell marl deposit in Sections 17-20 in the Town of Pierce.* The marl was found around the edges of a small lake with a shoal. Drainage that Chamberlain called ”recent” caused the shoal to become an island. Record editor Capt. DeWayne Stebbins* said there was extensive marl of the same kind at Ahnapee. Stebbins described it as mixed with peat and alluvium in places while other places saw pure shell debris. Chamberlain noted there were places in Door and Shawano Counties with such deposits, usually associated with peat, although in lesser quantities.


Kewaunee County Plat Map, Sections 16-20, Town of Pierce, 1876: Little Lake/Detloff Lake.

Stebbins said the debris was soft, light, porous and pulverulent (powdery or crumbly) on the surface although underwater it was soft, somewhat granular and a clay like mass made up of carbonate of lime with lesser carbonate of magnesia, silica and organic matter, making it valuable for fertilizer in areas lacking lime. The same information was part of an article a month earlier that called the “small lake” referenced by Stebbins as Detloff Lake.

In late December 1959, more of Wing’s work was reprinted though significantly edited for length. That article again said northern Wisconsin was practically a new land. It and other articles described the buried forests.

Joseph Pavlat was the first county resident to find evidence of a buried forests. Pavlat was a Bohemian settler who lived just above the Cory hill in the Town of West Kewaunee. He bought his forested land, cleared it, built a house, and began to dig a well. At 60’ down, he found a bed of hard blue clay and came to a tree trunk about 10” in diameter. He sawed through it and took a piece to Kewaunee. A few years later, Charles Kinstetter was also digging a well when he found buried tree trunks in solid clay at a depth of 70-80’. Kinstetter lived across the river less than a mile of Mr. Pavlat. It was within a dozen years that the well-digging issue at Casco Junction occurred.


Location of Pavlat and Kinstetter properties where buried trees were found.

Wing felt that since similar wood deposits found at depths varied from 30’ to 120’ at Columbus, Ohio, and Bloomington, Illinois, archeologists placed the drift period at 30,000 years earlier, thus indicating the trees unearthed by Pavlat, Kinstetter, and Seymour were the same age.  

There were other geological finds in the county.

The Enterprise of July 7, 1891, informed the public about the important and valuable  bed of shell marl at Detloff Lake near Alaska. It said the real practicality of the discovery was only learned a few days earlier when Albert E. Cline arrived from NY where he represented two Syracuse cement companies. Cline initially let it be known he was in the county for the fishing, however he engaged Civil Engineer Rooney of Kewaunee. Cline was  busy examining the substance, specimens of which were sent to the companies. The specimens were said to be the finest marl in existence, and Cline was authorized to buy the Detloff Lake property. He took options from John Buettner, Albert Teske, August Detloff and J. Kopetsky. The paper went on to say the price for all was about $6,000. A day later other speculators showed up. But it was too late. One of the companies represented by Cline employed about 1,700 men and the word was that its plant was going to be relocated to either Alaska or Kewaunee. It was felt a pure quality of clay could be found in Kewaunee, and, if so, the factory would be moved there. Marl would come from the Detloff Lake area via a railroad the company would build.

                                    

Kewaunee County Plat Map, Town of Pierce, 1895: The map shows Sections 17-20, property owners 4 years after the options were taken, and Little Lake/Detloff Lake. The options list Kopetsky while the map shows Kopecky.  

The Enterprise discussed the analysis and described an article in Geology of Wisconsin saying the marl deposit was in Sections 17, 18, 19, and 20 in the Town of Pierce and around a small lake, and upon a shoal within it. The shoal had been recently drained to become an island. In some places the shell marl was mixed with peat and with alluvium in others, but the shell debris was said to be almost perfect on the island. It was described as soft, light, porous, and pulverulent on the surface. Material brought up from below the water level was soft, a bit granular and clay-like mass. A pole sunk 9’ down indicated the material did not change. The analysis was published in the paper. What happened with the project?

Again in early 1903, a Mr. Lunack from a Chicago cement company was in Alaska investigating the extensive marl bed that was in one of the lakes. Lunack was trying to secure purchase options. The Record reported that if  the marl was “right” and if Lunack could purchase the property, Alaska could incorporate as a village. That investigation appeared to fizzle as the earlier one did.

On November 14, 1946, Kewaunee Enterprise told readership about the state officials investigating the Lake Michigan shore from Point Beach State Forest north toward Two Creeks. The Manitowoc County Town of Two Creeks borders the Town of Carlton in Kewaunee County.

The investigators ran into an interglacial forest bed that was once a flourishing spruce forest,* a significant find in the U.S. Twenty-five thousand years earlier an exposed bank was washed by lake waves during a period of high water. Geologists explained that the ice sheet came from the northeast and that logs showed violent twisting and the bend of live trees before they fell. The ice carried millions of smooth, round boulders, hills of logs, dirt, gravel, and glacial debris. Thousands of years later, the ice receded leaving behind what it carried. Then came another ice avalanche with a red tinge. It was thought that ice ran over iron ore areas thus picking up the red color. The red till provided an excellent protective covering for the Two Creeks forest bed. The ancient spruce trees found by the geologists were much like those found in Wisconsin in the 1940s. Geologists L.R. Wilson’s report was published by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters.

Current geological research and papers can be found by Googling. Reading about the Two Creeks buried forest on the National Parks’ site and Wisconsin DNR is certain to prompt a trip.

---------------------------------------------

Notes: Record editor DeWayne Stebbins was referred to as Captain denoting his rank while serving in the Navy during the Civil War.

*Black spruce according to WPR, January 31, 2924

Larry Meilor’s WPR program on January 31, 2024, dealt with the relationship between the late ice age and wetlands. Meilor’s guests discussed the Two Creeks’ buried forest and noted the trees were black spruce. His guests brought up a three-day wetland conference to be held in Green Bay beginning on February 20, 2024.

More info - Event website: https://conference.wisconsinwetlands.org/
Contact: Ginny Carlton, Conference & Workshop Coordinator
Email: conference@wisconsinwetlands.org

Sources: An-An-api-sebe: Where is the River?: Ahnapee Record, Algoma Record, Algoma Record Herald; Door County Advocate; Kewaunee Enterprise; Kewaunee County Plat Maps.



Thursday, January 11, 2024

Kewaunee Post Office: Fodder for a Novel

 

*The above imagine is from Smithsonian American Art Museum, online. See notes below.

 If author Charles Frazier had set his new book on Lake Michigan rather than in a small Wyoming ranching town, his novel The Trackers could have been set in Kewaunee.

Valentine Welch lll, Fraizer’s fictional character, is a painter chosen for the New Deal art project. Welch is one of the eras’ 850 men and women selected to create a mural in a post office or library. If the story had taken place in Kewaunee, it would have been Mark Faulkner brushing on the paint for the post office mural.

The fictional Val Welch explains that such paintings needed to fit a specific space in a small office, and that space was generally above the postmaster's office door. History tells us that to find a subject for the murals, artists poured over old photographs, went through local histories, and read the articles others were writing as part of the Federal Writers' Project. Welch tell us - as does history - that painting and writing were part of Works Progress Administration, or WPA, to which some referred as "We piddle about." WPA came out of the Depression as a way of providing artists, writers, and laborers with a means to earn money and thus put food on the table. Painters were paid after each stage of their process was approved.

In her 1997 article found at https://postalmuseum.si.edu/off-the-wall-new-deal-post-office-murals, Patricia Raynor writes that the murals were produced through the Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture (Treasury Relief Act Project) in a commission-driven program based on quality. Raynor points out how the program contrasted with the work-relief mission of WPA "which is often mistakenly used to describe all New Deal art, including the post office." New Deal artwork is a more accurate term to describe the works of art created under the federal art programs of that period.

As the "We piddle about" suggests, there was criticism in the support of the federal art projects. As Ms. Raynor points out, FDR's relief administrator Harry Hopkins was quoted saying, "artists have got to eat just like other people."

Between 1934 and 1943, 1,371 murals were painted in post offices across the U.S. The 850 artists included 162 women and three African americans. Such paintings were to "boost the morale of the American people suffering from the effects of the Depression by depicting uplifting subjects the people knew and loved." Selected artists were to paint a realistic scene in an American style rather than modern or abstract art which were discouraged. The controversial and tragic were to be avoided. Artists were commissioned through competitions and were paid as part of the cost of new post office construction, one percent of the cost being slated for the artistic improvements. Existing federal buildings were also in line for art, however that program was in effect for a shorter time, 1935-1938.

Today – well over 80 years since the murals were painted – there is an effort to preserve them. Some murals have disappeared, others have deteriorated, and there are places where the art is worth far more than the buildings. Kewaunee post office mural is a treasure and its patrons are among the fortunate.

How did the postal murals come about? WPA was one of Depression era alphabet soup agencies in place to bolster the U.S. economy. President Franklin D. Roosevelt knew the American spirit was also in need of lifting when he said, “Always the heart and soul of our country will be the heart and soul of the common man.” For that he looked toward the arts. And, Kewaunee was a beneficiary.

Postmaster William Wright announced in the April 14, 1939, edition of the Enterprise that Kewaunee was chosen to have a mural painted in its new post office. The Section of Fine Arts of the Treasury Department notified Wright that Chicago artist Paul Faulkner had been invited to present a design for the large painting which would be painted on the interior wall of the office.

Faulkner won the preliminary mural competition and wrote to Wright, asking for ideas for the mural. Wright asked for community input while local historian Henry Baumeister assisted him in gathering material.

According to a late September article in Algoma Record Herald, during the previous week artist Paul Faulkner had begun chiseling away at the new plaster on the west wall of Kewaunee’s post office. Faulkner’s design was a winter scene of men with skis and another group on a toboggan. Faulkner felt the work would take about two months.

The Enterprise said the fresco painting was probably a first in Wisconsin post offices. Explaining the process, the paper told readers,  “a small amount of plaster, five coats thick, is applied to the wall at a time and the coloring is applied while the wall is still wet. By a technical combination of chemicals in the plaster, the color and the air, the finished painting becomes part of the plaster and produces a very rich and unusual effect.”

Editor John Read Karel went on to say that the picture was not what Kewaunee expected. The winter scene portrayed a ski jump and a group of men with skis while another group was preparing to go downhill on a toboggan. The hill overlooked a valley in which there was a river with perfectly straight shorelines on which ice skaters were having a “swell time.” A factory was part of the background. Karel felt the scene was just a typical winter scene of almost anywhere but not Kewaunee. As one wag was heard to quip, “Kewaunee of all places gets a picture of a hill full of ski jumpers?”

Artists drew criticism when the planned murals were not an accurate description of a specific city, prompting The Section to encourage design changes, thus eliminating what might be typical of another area and therefore offending local citizenry. Tongue-in-cheek, Editor Karel suggested that a Florida beach scene would be appropriate for patrons coming out of a howling blizzard, but Faulkner said the Treasury Department approved the scene and “that’s that.”

Postmaster Wright announced the official unveiling of “Winter Sports” during an open house in the post office lobby on Thanksgiving afternoon, November 30. The paper went on to say that Faulkner was putting the finishing touches on the mural which was by then known to be the first of its kind in Wisconsin. During the open house, Faulkner would be present to explain the mural and the process used in creating it. Just as the fictional Val Welch’s work in Dawes, Wyoming, Faulkner’s work created substantial interest among the boxholders who followed the work day-by-day. Welch’s observers came in to see him working on the scaffold while Postmaster Wright said anybody doubting the project could come to the post office to see the artist on the job.

Wright encouraged residents and those in the vicinity to walk off their Thanksgiving dinners by coming to the post office to examine the fresco and talk with Faulkner. Then the Kewaunee post office announced expanded hours from the Saturday prior to Thanksgiving through the holiday season. Expanded Saturday hours – till 6 PM – would provide additional services to Christmas mailers as well as offering opportunities for the public to drop in to see the 8’ x 26” mural.

Kewaunee’s post office was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in October 2000. Accessing https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Property/Hl26594 will bring up information about the building, its setting, architect, post office hierarchy and more. A renewed interest in Depression-era murals offers a glimpse into American heritage in a time that was. Many of them have vanished in the 80-plus years while others are deteriorating.

And, Paul Faulkner? Wikipedia reports that Paul W. Faulkner was an American artist born in North Platte, Nebraska, on April 2, 1913. He graduated from the University of  Nebraska and received his master's degree from the Chicago Art Institute. Faulkner taught at the Layton School of Art in Milwaukee, the Norwich Free Academy in Connecticut, and worked at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. He died in Connecticut in January 1997.

NOTES:

*americanart.si.edu/artwork/winter-sports-mural-kewaunee-wisconsin-post-office-35951. The website verbiage is as follows: Paul Faulkner, Winter Sports (mural study, Kewaunee, Wisconsin Post Office 1939, tempera on fiberboard, image 8' x 26" (20.c x 66.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum. Transfer from General Services Administration, 1974.28.346."

uca.edu/postofficemurals/ says “endearing images” transformed the post offices into a “truly democratic art gallery.” It goes on to say that “Americans searched for images that could serve as beacons of hope during a time of economic and emotional despair.” The artwork was designed to provide work for the unemployed and destitute.

Wikipedia says Faulkner did the painting in 1940. Algoma Record Herald and Kewaunee Enterprise chronicle Faulkner’s work from April to December 1939.

 SOURCES:

Algoma Record Herald

americanart.si.edu/artwork/winter-sports-mural-kewaunee-wisconsin-post-office-35951

 Frazier, Charles, The Trackers, New York, NY, Harper Collins Publishers, 2023.

Kannerwurf, Dr. Karl, Patricia Sharpe & Virginia Johnson, Here Comes the Mail: Post Offices of Kewaunee County, Sturgeon Bay, WI, Silverdale Press, 2010.

https://daily.jstor,org/uwos-post-office-murals/ The paintings were egg-tempera-on-plaster which fictional Val Welch describes.

Kewaunee Enterprise 

 "National Register Information System"National Register of Historic PlacesNational Park Service

https://postalmuseum.si.edu/off-the-wall-new-deal-post-office-murals; article by Patricia Raynor, Vol 6, Issue 4, October-December 1997

Roosevelt, Franklin, Campaign Address at Cleveland, Ohio, November 2, 1940, Roosevelt Public Papers, New York, 1941, accessed online.

Wikipedia

https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Property/HI26594

 

Friday, December 29, 2023

Kewaunee County & 168 Years of Pabst

Pabst Blue Ribbon beer meant sales at DeGuelle’s Liquor Store on 1st and Steele in Algoma and at local watering holes a generation and more ago. Pabst competed with Blatz, Miller’s, Schlitz, and others. Just about everybody has heard of Pabst Bue Ribbon, "The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous," but not everybody knows about the Pabst connection with Algoma, or Wolf River/Ahnepee* as it was. It’s a connection dating to 1856.

The Goodrich Line was organized in 1855 and headquartered in Manitowoc. A few years later, the fledgling Kewaunee Enterprize* told its readers that while other lines had side wheelers, Capt. Goodrich felt propellers were more adaptable in ice thus the future. His rickety old propeller Ogontz served lake shore communities before being sold and recalked in 1861, the year before his 158’ side-wheeled steamer Comet was put into lake shore service. Goodrich boats served Algoma into the 1920s.

But it was Goodrich's three-masted barkentine Cleveland that made its first appearance in Wolf River in 1856, thus forming the Pabst connection nearly 168 years ago. Its master was Prussian born, 20-year-old Capt. Frederick Pabst, and it was Pabst who took over as captain of the Comet in 1861. Fred was courting brewer Phillip Best's daughter, Maria, whom he met in 1860 and married two years later. Pabst was popular, and it was said he was "every inch a sailor" who always picked a German crew. The Enterprize told readers that the Comet was one of the best boats on the lake. Pabst began in the ranks as a cabin boy at 8 or 9 years old to beome the youngest lake captain of that time. Kewaunee County residents felt the courtship kept the young captain on schedule as he was alwasy eager to get to Milwaukee.

Capt. Pabst brought new settlers and freight to Kewaunee County, but he also brought the news. In a day before telegraphs on the Peninsula, news came via the boats. Following the firing on Fort Sumter, it was the Comet that brought the news to Kewaunee County. When ice prevented Capt. Pabst from getting around Two Rivers Point, he was forced to return to Two Rivers, however Kewaunee merchant Assemblyman W.S. Finley got off the boat to walk the six miles through the woods to Kewaunee, arriving about 10 PM.

Pabst and the Comet's officers were associated with Wolf River/Ahnepee events, as well as many others along the shore. The summer of 1861 found anxious citizens waiting for the Comet and the newsboys who came with it bringing Milwaukee newspapers informing readers about the war, Baltimore street fighting, the capture of Fort Pickens, and more.

When Kewaunee County had a “draft riot,” it was Capt. Pabst who sailed into town with Co. A. aboard. “Draft riot” sounds far worse than it was, but it did make a point. Drafting was not ethical. Those with money could purchase a disability or an exemption. There were language barriers and for some time, draft lists were not posted. It was predominantly Belgians who were being shafted, although today’s young would use a far stronger word! On Draft Day, Belgians armed with tree branches and pitchforks marched on Kewaunee to Draft Commissioner Finley’s store.

Finley heard the commotion, grabbed his draft box, and skedaddled to the harbor where a Goodrich steamer in port ready to cast off. Maybe he thought he’d be tarred and feathered to be ridden out of town on a rail like Lawyer Neff, but that’s another story. While Finley made the boat and fled to Milwaukee, he left his wife to deal with the angry men. Knowing the “rioters” had to be hungry and thirsty, Mrs. Finley opened barrels and boxes of food. Making their point, the Belgians went home without incident. Meanwhile, Capt. Pabst brought Finley back with Capt. Cunningham (another Kewaunee merchant) with Company A which marched around Kewaunee on the next draft day. Conscripting continued. Besides marching, Company A made a few raids into the countryside searching for delinquent conscripts and the so-called riot ended in Thanksgiving dinner and a future draft where names were pulled from a “hat” by an Appleton man who was certifiably blind.

When Capt. Pabst landed freight and passengers in early December 1861, the pier was covered with snow and ice. Icicles hanging from the steamer’s lines reminded folks winter was not to be trifled with. As Pabst and the Comet left, the Enterprize said they parted with regret and all looked forward to Spring. A week later Milwaukee News told readership that Capt. Pabst had taken command of the Milwaukee-Two Rivers route and planned to carry freight all winter. The News further reported that the Comet was neat, elegant, comfortable and the swiftest sailor on the lake. With Pabst in charge, winter should be one of profit and safety.

According to news, Pabst was in Milwaukee fitting out and renovating the Comet at the end of February 1862 in anticipation of an early spring. Manitowoc Herald wished fair winds and a prosperous season to the Comet which would make weekly trips to Kewwaunee and Ahnepee* The area was looking forward to Pabst and the Comet when the Enterprize reported it got a few coats of new paint for the opening of navigation “with the same genial officers who will always receive a warm welcome.” April 30 was certainly a red-letter day when the Comet came in with passengers and freight. Making daily trips from Milwaukee to Two Rivers, Pabst planned to make Kewaunee County ports on Saturday, known as “Steamboat Day” in Ahnepee, or Sunday.

Capt. Pabst contributed to area’s social life as he did its business. On July 30, 1862, the Enterprize described a pleasant day when a large party of leading citizens from Manitowoc and Two Rivers who came aboard the Comet accompanied by the Manitowoc Brass and Quadrille Band which offered entertainment for the trip. After a short stay at Kewaunee, the boat moved on to Ahnepee so folks were able take hurried looks at both communities. The many who  had never ventured north of Manitowoc County were favorably impressed with the prosperity of farming and business interests in the Kewaunee County wilderness. When the 27th Regiment was under marching orders and were to leave Wisconsin via the Mississippi River in March 1863, it was Pabst who brought the news.

All good things come to an end and some sources indicate Capt. Pabst’s sailing days ended in December 1863 when he was beached north of Milwaukee during a lake storm. As a family man, the decision was a good one as Fred and Maria had 10 children in a dozen years. Five children survived. Although Fred Pabst was a sailor without brewing experience. he joined his brewer father-in-law who was in ill health. Two of three years later, Fred and his brother-in-law bought out the Best Brewery.

It was in 1844, two years before Milwaukee’s incorporation as a city, that one Phillip Best located in Milwaukee and established the Empire Brewery, also called Jacob Best & Sons Brewery as Phillip’s father Jacob, Sr., and brothers Jacob, Jr., Charles, and Lorenz were part of the company. Charles and Lorenz stepped back and their father retired in 1853. Phillip headed the company and was joined by his sons-in-law, Fred Pabst and Emil Schandein, husband of daughter Lisette. When Phillip retired in 1866 just after the close of the Civil War, Pabst took over.

By 1874 the company was the nation's leading beer producer, which it maintained until about 1900. Part of its growth was greatly affected by the Chicago Fire which was part of the same weather system causing a far greater catastrophe in Wisconsin, the Great Fire of 1871/the Peshtigo Fire. That fire presented new markets as Chicago breweries did not recover, so by 1874, Phillip Best's was the country's largest brewer. When Fred Pabst married Beer Baron Best's daughter, it started the beer dynasty. Ironically, in the years to come, Fred Pabst, Jr. married a Uihlein, and Uihlein was Schlitz beer.

Capt. Pabst was remembered in Ahnapee again early in 1890 when resident William Bie was named First Mate of a new steamship built at Wolf & Davidson's yard in Milwaukee. The new steamer was christened the Fred Pabst and was the largest and finest vessel afloat on the lakes. She was in commission and ready to go for the opening of navigation. The communities that had so much regard for Pabst felt Maria was much like her husband.

Peter Erichsen’s daughter, Anna, was employed by the Pabst family in Milwaukee when she traveled home for the holidays in 1894. When package came from the Express Office, Anna Erichsen found a package of rich and expensive dress goods’ articles. Inside the parcel was a beautiful ladies’ purse containing $25. According to an early February Record, the gift from Mrs. Pabst amounted to a value of about $100. It was Maria Pabst’s way of remembering her domestic who had endeared herself to the family “through the manifestation of zeal and kindness.” $100.00 in 1860 has the same buying power of a little over $3800.00 today.

Not all ran smoothly. Christmas Eve day 1891 changed things for Pabst beer and for other Milwaukee brewers. The International Brewers’ Union lifted a boycott of Milwaukee beer after a year. When Milwaukee brewers accepted an agreement to employ none but union workmen, they again went forward. Under Pabst’s leadership, the company won gold medals at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition and at the 1878 Paris World’s Fair. Years later when the company began tying blue ribbons around the neck of its bottles to distinguish it from other beers, customers began asking for the blue-ribbon beer. After winning another blue ribbon at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, the name Pabst Blue Ribbon was born.

Milwaukee County history chronicles Frederick Pabst’s work beyond his captaincy and the brewery. The man who hired German crews when he could also sought to improve life for the city’s immigrants. Providing German books to the German immigrants via a traveling library, somewhat as bookmobiles would 60 or 70 years later, made an impact on his countrymen.

Prohibition did not stop the company which became among the largest breweries in the world. But by then, as in many stories, there was a twist. Fred and Maria’s son, Fred, jr. married Ida Charlotte Uihlein, daughter of August Uihlein. Why is that important? August Uihlein was the chair of Schlitz Brewing Co. which overtook Pabst to become the country’s largest brewer by 1902.

It was in 1923 when the Record Herald harkened back to the old days in an article informing citizens that it was the same Capt. Fred Pabst who adapted to the 18th Amendment (Prohibition) with a new enterprise in farming. Though the name was the same, the entrepreneur was Fred Pabst, Jr. Fred, Sr. had died in 1904. Fred, Jr. affected farming technology and cheese manufacturing in Kewaunee County just as his father Capt. Fred affected transportation, the Civil War, and beer sixty years earlier.

Going from beer to dairy, Fred Pabst, Jr. contributed to building the dairy industry with impressive innovations. While there were those who felt farming was just a diversion of him, and one that would put others in the poor house, Pabst was pioneering in agriculture and making money.

Because of Pabst the younger, strides were made by demonstrating the value of cow testing, tuberculosis testing, and farm accounting. Pabst had not seen adequate financial returns from his herds when milk was shipped to Milwaukee or Chicago. With that, he built a cheese factory, used his own milk, and employed expert cheese makers and chemists to experiment with technology. Results were shared with the free world.

Pabst was almost an instant diary success and used the Milwaukee Pabst plant as his cheese factory. Within a year’s time, he purchased all the cheese he could buy in both Wisconsin and Minnesota, and then he bought another six million pounds for the largest amount of cheese purchased to that time, December 1923.

Fred Pabst, Jr. created a market for his cheese for which there was no market before. His beer made Milwaukee famous and his agricultural endeavors, said the Stanley Republican, “put the dairy industry  under great obligations to him.”

As early as December 28, 1916, the Congress of American Stockmen announced that Fred Pabst of Waukesha County was continuing as a director of the International Livestock Exposition. In May 1942, he was one of those named to represent Wisconsin breeders at the Holstein-Friesian Association at Minneapolis.

In November 1965, UW College of Agriculture’s Fred Pabst scholarship was awarded to Wayne Seifert of Luxemburg. Seifert was majoring in dairy science when the Record Herald carried the article.

As today’s residents toss back a cold one, there just could be a “relationship” that dates to the 1850s or ‘60s when Capt. Fred Pabst transported their ancestors to Kewaunee County. Area stores and bars sell Pabst Blue Ribbon ensuring that Capt. Fred’s legacy remains in social life and business pursuits across the county.

Notes: *Kewaunee Enterprize was renamed Enterprise in 1865. Ahnepee was the forerunner of Ahnapee which respelled its name in 1873 when it was chartered as a village. The place’s name was incorrectly spelled by the State and others and changed in an “if ya can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” spirit.

7/19/1895 Algoma Record Herald announced that Pabst was opening a beer depot in the city (then Ahnapee) in the leased basement of  Henry Grimm's Ahnapee House. Herman Bruemmer was in charge.

 Sources: Ahnapee Record/Algoma Record Herald, An-An-Api-Sebe: Where is the River, Kewaunee Enterprize/Enterprise. The 1908 postcard is from the blogger's collection. 

https://www.in2013dollars.com>Inflation; https://www.pabstmansion.com/history/pabst-family/; https:www.wisconsinhistory.org 

Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Algoma Christmas, 1923-2023: A Century Between


Although 100 years have passed since Algoma’s 1923 Christmas, it was not quite the horse and buggy days. Across the U.S. citizens heard about  President Calvin Coolidge lighting the national Christmas tree (left) for the first time. Algoma residents were beginning to see lit trees, although there were still homes without electricity. Folks celebrated in church and with their loved ones just as others across the world did. 

Legends - and history - say the “Christmas rush” started in Ahnapee/Algoma with the Christmas tree ship captains trying to get the trees south first, and in 1923 and a century later, the rush continues with trees, gifts, Christmas cards, baking, and parties. Rereading old newspapers reflecting the days of our grandparents and great-grandparents is to ask, “So, what’s new?”

The 1923 weather matched this year’s unseasonal temperatures. When third grader Charlotte Boedecker arrived at school one mid-December Day, she presented teacher Miss Anna Mueller a bouquet of pansies in full bloom. Charlotte even found a dandelion to stick in the middle. The flowers were in Mrs. Louis Fellows’ garden, although a few days later, Mrs. Fellows couldn’t even see where her garden was when the area got about 20” of white stuff just before Christmas. While some residents faced lay-offs and job loss, the paper said such loss “failed to diminish the joy found seven decades ago.”

Beautifully decorated, bountifully laden trees gladdened hearts. Hagemeister Brewing Co. added to the city’s holiday spirit and such gifts were quite popular. Carpet sweepers were also said to be very popular. Unpopular were the tax bills that arrived just before Christmas. According to the paper, folks who still had money after buying gifts were the first to pay their taxes. The city needed those taxes.

An early December 1923 Record Herald pointed out that Santa Claus wasn’t standing around to take care of public works just because it would be nice to have them. As the paper pointed out, somebody has to pay for such things, and those who say – the new bridge, for instance – won’t cost the city a penny “has been fooling you, possibly fooling himself.” Sound familiar?

Christmas gifting made up the bulk of the Record Herald advertising. and those with more than a few bucks could purchase a Ford Tudor Sedan for $590 at Lake Shore Garage. Ford’s roomy new body type was offered for the lowest ever price. Lake Shore might have had favorable prices but Chevrolet distributor W.M. Gunderson Co. Inc. offered to deliver a new car on Christmas morning. Imagine a family coming out to find an auto with a big bow. Think of the neighbors surely watching pea-green with envy. Not everybody could afford a new car, and Long and Ponath recommended automobile accessories as super gifts. After all, who didn’t need new Hood tires or Westinghouse batteries? Little things mean comfort.

Wisconsin Public Service was advertising its practical Western Electric Irons for $4.50, or 90 cents down and 90 cents a month for four months. WPS felt everyone should have such comfort and convenience. The women of 1923 would have been overjoyed by such a gift. A man who gave his wife an iron in 1993 would have been in the doghouse for life, provided she didn’t wrap the cord around his neck first. Unless a woman of 2023 worked in a thrift shop, she’d have to ask what an iron was.

Westinghouse Light and Power Plant suggested electric current as a gift for the entire family while pointing out electricity was dependable and could be used with a switch. Best of all, it was not complicated while it was convenient, comfortable, economical, and practical.

Hugo Duecker, of the Hardware and Furniture store by the same name, thought a Globe Range was just the ticket as it was a gift that kept on giving, was economical and resulted in great cooking results 365 days a year. To spend that kind of money, the “little woman” might have chosen a new Roadster and freedom from cooking. The man whose wife couldn’t cook before she got a Globe Range probably thought he “got took” when she couldn’t cook after Christmas either.

Bank of Rio Creek told folks it was the depository for contributions to the Relief of Starving and Friendless German Children. Wisconsin was expected to raise $500,000 as part of the 10 million dollars being raised in the U.S. for the destitute children.

Citizens Bank said Santa lived long enough to be a very wise man who knew a Bank Book would be a gift that kept on giving to improve life. A savings account was sure to bring cheer to one’s life, as long as the receiver was a saver.

Algoma Chamber of Commerce touted Algoma as the Gift City (it’s the Bird City today) and the place to trade. Bruemmer Bros. marketed 49-pound Miss Minneapolis Flour. Farrell Lumber and Algoma Fuel Company trumpeted the gift of heat in coal. Lorenz Perlewitz felt Valspar Varnish was a sought-after gift while the Record Herald thought a two-year subscription to the paper would be preferred. In its list of 45-50 gift suggestions, the most expensive item listed in the newspaper was the solid gold cuff links at Melchoir’s for 8 bucks. Just behind was the Walking Mama Doll, selling for $7.50 at Bach-Dishmaker. Not all prices were shown, however more practical gifts might mean few cuff link sets or walking dolls were under the trees.

Bach-Dishmaker Company on the northeast corner of 4th and Steele promoted itself as “The Store with the Christmas Spirit.” They even offered gift coupons. Dolls seemed to be among the priciest toys even outpacing tricycles.

It made news when Bach-Dishmaker received a radio transmission from the North Pole directing all Algoma children to gather at the store on December 15 between 9 and 11:00 A.M. Santa wanted to meet the children and present them with a little gift.

On December 21, the paper reported on the excited kids who jumped out of bed the previous Saturday. Weather necessitated Santa come by train which suited kids just fine. They worried that he might fly into the lake and drown! Kids ran back and forth on the depot platform listening for the train whistle. The train was late, prompting the youngsters to feel it had to go slower because Santa was a very heavy man.

When the train finally arrived, anxious children followed Santa from the depot to Groessl Drug store on the southeast corner of 4th and Steele where he stood looking for a sign. Suddenly he saw Bach-Dishmaker and headed across the street. The door opened and Santa walked in followed by about 200 kids who rubbed elbows and wedged between counters that creaked with the pushing kids. Mr. Dishmaker assisted Santa, as he climbed on a counter, and then handed the jolly old man letters from Algoma youngsters. Santa asked one of the townsfolk to read the letters, saying he was getting older and his voice was getting so weak that he might not be understood. How many youngsters began worrying about old Santa’s health and the long trip he had ahead of him? Letters were read while Santa scanned faces to determine who had been good and thus deserving. After that, Santa gave out bags of candy as he said good-bye while promising to be back on Christmas Eve. Santa seemed to vanish before their eyes at 11:00, but the children knew he had to get back to the North Pole where there was plenty of work to be done.

Engelbert’s Department Store touted itself as the Christmas Store. Now Walters at 521 Fourth St., the toyland was on the balcony. Low prices enabled parents to purchase the newest novelties “liberally.”  To make shopping easy, Engelbert’s opened in the evenings beginning December 10.

Duecker sold hardware and other practical goods, but he also sold toys. Toyland had things sure to tickle the fancy of kids. There were roller skates, velocipedes (bicycles and tricycles), trains, embroidery sets and laundry sets. How many laundry sets did little girls find beneath the Christmas trees?

Fluck’s City Drug Store, at 321 Steele, was advertising Day Dream Face Powder. Such powder offered more bang for the buck as the purchase came with three fragrant narcissus bulbs. Purchasers were advised that there would be one offer only to a customer.

Kohlbeck’s, The Quality Store, at 221 Steele St. offered Eagle Shirts that were the finest quality at moderate prices. For those who wanted something to go with the shirt, shoes might be the answer. Reinhart Shoe Store was the place for comfy slippers, dressy satin slippers, shoes, and hosiery. Gift coupons were available for customers who could find just the right thing at a price they wanted to pay. C.J. Melchoir Jewelry, on the southwest corner of Third and Steele, claimed the largest stock in Kewaunee County. Melchoir had it all. He even carried thermos bottles which kept food and beverages hot or cold. Joseph J. Charlier ran the jewelry on 4th Street. He had every type of quality jewelry including diamonds, wristwatches, clocks, gift coupons and more for those who worried about flat irons and played it safe with pearls.

Music was always in the air in Algoma, and Guth’s Music Store arranged deliveries on Christmas Eve. Charles Guth had bought out August Klatt's business and whether it was a piano, victrola, records, or gift coupons, Algoma’s “Square Deal Music House”at 314 Steele St. made it happen.

Earl Sibilsky’s Delicatessen Store told residents festive Christmas tables should be bedecked with the finest foods available. Luckily, Sibilsky had fresh greens, fruits, nuts, and all kinds of groceries. A dozen oranges cost 25 cents while 2 pounds of chocolate drops, jellybeans, peanut brittle, and molasses candy cost 35 cents. This week (2023) oranges are 99 cents each and a pound of fine chocolates is about the same as a pound of lobster tail.

For those who wanted candy, Bach-Dishmaker, The Big Store on the Corner, had two tons of Christmas candy to be sold for 19 cents a pound. Nineteen cents was a bit pricey, but the astounding thing was two tons of candy at just one store. Algoma’s 1920 population stood at just a fuzz under 2,000. All that candy was probably a boon to the city’s dentists, Dr. Slaby and Dr. Murphy. Dr. Toothacker was another who served the city, but he was a physician rather than a dentist.

Door to door sales have fallen off in recent years while internet scams are rampant. Each fall, folks are inundated with requests for money for groups from A to Z. While honest organizations tear at the heartstrings, a family can only do so much. However, it is hard to resist the fresh-faced, younger kids hesitating over a memorized plea while collecting for whatever organization. A mid-December 1923 Record Herald said every kid in town descended on residents in both morning and after school sieges trying to sell Christmas seals. The paper termed the kids “little marauders” who were trying to break the locks of pocketbooks. Editor Harry H. Heidmann said a fresh supply of Christmas seals meant more to kids than a war hero’s decoration to a soldier.

Christmas is the time for releasing movies, and so it was in 1923. For 15-25 cents, Algoma youngsters could view a Christmas Day matinee, “Hurry for the Christmas Ship.” Added entertainment included Nora Rose singing a Christmas song and a group of 20 boys and girls singing about the Christmas ship. Further adding to the festivities, a large ship filled with presents was on the stage. No less than Santa himself was on hand to present gifts to kids under 12. The more astute kids no doubt wondered why the jolly old man was still up after flying around the world before dawn.

The Majestic Theater advertised “Nothing Too Good for Algoma” and that came with great organ music. Saturday night, December 22nd , began with an overture followed by High Life, a comedy, and then William Russell in the feature film, The Crusader. Sunday’s matinee began with the overture and went on to the main feature, Worlds Applause with its stellar cast. Sunday evening’s offering was the same, but it included the great Will Rogers in a comedy.

While not offering movies on the 24th, Christmas afternoon featured movies for boys and girls. Evening movies were adult-oriented and on Christmas night, the city’s baker, accordion player Mr. Knaapen, accompanied the organist. The comedy feature that night was extra-long with three reels. The 26th and 27th featured Ebb Tide starring Lila Lee and Noah Berry. The South Seas film was certain to entertain with its breathless thrills, colorful romance, and a great octopus battle packed in between.

On December 24, 1963, the Majestic showed The Duel of the Titans. Admission to that matinee was a box top or bottle cap from any Carnival Guernsey product. Movies released in theaters on Christmas Day 2023 include The Color Purple, Ferrari, and The Boys in the Boat.

It is most unusual if one fails, in 2023, to see Amazon, UPS, or USPS vehicles day and night helping Rudolph guide deliveries. A century ago, dray lines were making deliveries with horse and wagon. Kewaunee County saw Rural Free Delivery (RFD) come into existence a mere 20 years earlier. Postmaster General New urged people to mail parcels early. The kicker was that he approved an amendment giving postal employees a holiday on Christmas Day 1923. Approved for the “welfare and happiness of postal employes”, the mailmen were directed to notify rural patrons there would be no December 25th delivery. However, the notification was to be accomplished in a way that did not incur any expense to the DPO.

Postmaster New seemed to be blaming carriers in advance for any disappointment that they might experience. New wrote, “We confidentially hope that carriers will put forth their best efforts to effect delivery…….so that there will be no disappointment..….” New went on to say that failure on the part of an individual carrier to do this will subject him  to severe criticism and “will be a severe cause of regret to the postal department.” In 1923, rural carriers needed Donder and Blitzen for delivery. At the time, the vehicles in existence weren’t worth much in snow so horse and buggy was the way to go. In some instances, the mailmen had to rebuild bridges in order to deliver mail. Some found themselves breaking through ice.

Christmas in Algoma, and Wolf River/Ahnapee before it, meant observance of that first Christmas 2,000 years ago. When Pastor A. F. Schlei announced St. Paul’s Christmas services, he said they would be in German on Sunday, December 23. On the evening of the 24th, the Sunday school and parochial school kids gave their program followed by services in English and German. On Monday the 25th, German services were at 9:45, followed by services in English at 11:00.

The Methodist Episcopal Church planned “unique” services conducted by the young people on Sunday evening. Christmas candles were to be lit while Christmas music and legends were part of the service. Earlier that day there was a public worship. The Sunday School kids presented their program on Christmas Eve near the Christmas tree. All were welcomed.

Midnight mass was offered on Christmas Eve at St. Mary’s. It was followed by Christmas Day masses at 8:00 and 10:00 and vesper services at 3 PM. On second Christmas Day, the 26th, mass was offered at 9:00.

St. Agnes Episcopal put out a slightly different schedule. Mass would be held at 7:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve while a 7:30 a.m. high mass was planned for Christmas Day followed by a 9:00 low mass. St. Agnes also planned for second Christmas Day on the 26th, and for Thursday and Friday, when mass would be offered at 7:30 each morning.

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Soures: Algoma Record Herald; 
1923 National Christmas Trees is from https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2023/11/27/100th-anniversary-of-the-national-christmas-tree-lighting/ 

Friday, December 22, 2023

Algoma, World War ll & Billie the Brownie

 


WPR’s Larry Meiller hosted Santa on his show today. Kids from Wisconsin, and some from Iowa, got to share their Christmas wish lists and learn something about Rudolph and the other reindeer waiting on the roof of  Vilas Hall. The kids learned Santa loves cookies, although after the first 200 or so, he slows down a bit. And everything was right on schedule at the North Pole.

Santa never ages and was on the radio 80 or so years ago when the world was a vastly different place. It was World War ll.

Our living room seemed so dark when Mom settled me on her lap to listen to Billie the Brownie on WTMJ radio. Our drapes were pulled over the shades that were always lowered at night. Algoma had its first practice World War ll blackout in mid-August 1942, an event mandated in Kewaunee County. Practicing or not, the shades were pulled.

We were far from Milwaukee, but the airwaves traveled up Lake Michigan’s shore to the Peninsula where I, and so many children, waited for Santa and Billie the Brownie. It was the early days of World War ll, a time when I have far more memories of Billie than I do of of my dad. Blind as a bat without his glasses, he was rejected for military service, however he worked long hours, even on Saturday, superintending boat hulls, airplane wings and noses. I was in bed when Dad left for work and sleeping by the time he got home.

The radio cracked as Mom tuned in WTMJ while she put me on her lap, settling into Dad’s Rock ‘n Ez next to the radio. Then Santa! His “ho-ho-ho,” Billie’s high squeaky voice, and the Christmas letters remain with me today. Also remaining with me is the man whose voice scared me and frightened me years later.

We got our TV in 1953. One 1959 summer evening I turned on the black and white set to see a man sitting in what appeared to be a leather chair while smoke was rising from the cigarette in his hand. I heard that voice and froze. It was that voice, the one that said, “This is London.” When I asked Mom about it, she told me the man was Edward Murrow, a news correspondent who broadcast during the war. How did I know that voice? Mom said she listened to the news while she waited for Dad to come home. I thought the man had something to do with Billie the Brownie, but the news was on after.

Several years ago, I was on the highway listening to public radio when I heard the name Gabriel Heatter. What kid forgets a name like that? Billie the Brownie popped into my mind. Mom said Gabriel Heatter was another newsman we heard on WTMJ.

We all have Christmas memories. Some are good. Some are not. In all my memories, Christmas brings warm thoughts of WTMJ, Santa, Billie and a little barking dog. Those memories are right next to those where a voice and a name frightened a little kid snuggled into her anxious mom’s tensed arms during the dark days World War ll.

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A comment: Within recent weeks TMJ4 carried the story of Billie the Brownie being unveiled in the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame. To find out more about Billie, just Google. Be aware - pictures of Billie are not what our minds envisioned during the broadcasts.