When love-stricken Leonardo DiCaprio was gloriously shouting from the bow of the Titanic that he was king of the world, nobody was thinking of Kewaunee County. Why would they? Titanic was a movie that put a little romance in a tragic event. But, what was romantic in the drownings of over 1,500 people? What was romantic when people were lowered into lifeboats in the dead of night only to watch the ship split in half, knowing loved ones ere drowning? The screams and the struggling survivors in the water being pushed away from the overcrowded lifeboats paddling through floating corpses to flee the carnage were indeed remembered by two who had something to do with Kewaunee County, but DiCaprio had nothing to do with that.
Dr. William Minahan was one of about 1,500 casualties on the ship that was too big to fail, and he had Kewaunee County interests. Minahan and his brothers John and Hugh owned a maple syrup camp near Scarboro. Though William Minahan lost his life, his wife Lillian and the brothers' sister Daisy survived. They never forgot that night.
Minahan's brother Dr. John Minahan served Algoma and appears to have been practicing in Ahnapee before 1891 when a newspaper article reported that he was going to New York to further his education, after which time he intended to return to Kewaunee County. About 1900, his office was upstairs in the Boedecker Drug Store, the building on the southeast corner of 4th and Steele. His location was convenient for those patients who required medications and most convenient for those needing an excuse to use Boedecker's answer to a " one armed bandit." The building on the northwest corner of 4th and Clark, the Rouseabout today though remembered by many as Red Zastrow's bar, was built about 1900 by Dr. McMillian, the man who brought x-rays to Algoma. John Minahan practiced there in the early 1900s, a time during which he also practiced in Casco. John Minahan was a busy man as he was also an attorney who covered his bases advertising as physician, surgeon and lawyer. It is unclear just how long Dr. John was in Algoma, but he was there in 1909 when he signed this blogger's great-grandfather's death certificate. He owned property in Algoma at least to 1916 when he still had the orchard on the south side of Fremont just east of its intersection with Frank. John Minahan was born in Green Bay and died in January 1941.
John Minahan practiced in Casco, at least during 1901 and 1902, and, no doubt, longer. Brother Hugh was there too, operating the Casco store known as H.A. Minahan & Co. It is quite likely that Dr. John saw patients in quarters in Hugh's store. It is also possible John Minahan practiced there with his cousin Dr. P.R. Minahan who bought Dr. G.A. Hipke's Casco practice in 1899. P.R. served Algoma as well and located in an office in the Lidral & Andre Hardware building at the northwest corner of 4th and Steele. Hugh was another Minahan attorney. Earlier, in 1894, Hugh Minahan and Charles Slama formed a law partnership in Kewaunee where Hugh married a Kewaunee girl, Clara Moore. Hugh died in San Diego in 1936.
The maple syrup camp owned by the Minahan brothers was east of Luxemburg, off Kewaunee County Highway A near Scarboro. Over the years, the camp was operated by a number of owners, mostly notably the Milton Thibaudeau family. The Minahans had business interests throughout northeast Wisconsin, and probably beyond. The stone barn in the Town of Chase, near Pulaski, is on the State and National Historic Register. Dr.Minahan once owned that too.
About 35 or 40 years ago this blogger was in Lena helping an elderly aunt. It was on the anniversary of the Titanic, the same day as some family birthdays. Aunt Dee was a teenager in 1912. She called to mind that overcast, damp and dreary April 12, 1912 and said it was a day that was eerie. There were those predicting something bad would happen. “Just mark my words.” Two days later when news of the terrible event was well-known, there were a number of Lena residents there to say, "I told you so," pointing out is was they who predicted such a catastrophic event.
One would think that as obscure as Kewaunee County is on the national stage, there wouldn't be much associated it. But, there isn't much that lacks some kind of connection.
Pictures: The top photo is the cover of Ken Marshall's Art of Titanic, a book of his beautiful paintings. The photo of William Minahan's crypt in Allouez Cemetery was taken by this blogger.
It does seem that the Titanic touched everyone, somehow, doesn't it? So tragic.
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