Kewaunee County and the Kermis

Fall is the time of year for Kermis. And just what is Kermis? Wikipedia says the word is a Dutch language term derived from "kerk" (church) and "mis" (mass) that became borrowed in English and French. In generations past it was a three day harvest festival, a time to give thanks in a festive celebration.  Usually beginning around Labor Day and ending in late October, Belgian communities took turns hosting the event. Kermis remains, spreading to non-Belgian communities, however the events aren’t the same.

When in 1883 the Advocate wrote about Kermis, it told readership about the “sociable” Belgian event that ran for three days and three nights. In 1902 the same paper said the experiences of Door and Kewaunee Counties were not unlike those “in vogue” in the old country. Only the most necessary work was performed on the three days of the festival. The Advocate told of the celebration at Frank Pierre’s Brussels’ establishment, damped by three days of inclement weather. Fortunately Pierre’s hotel/hall was large enough to accommodate all, thus ensuring that the three day festival marked a fine occasion instead of a bust.

Rubens at Rosiere, early 1900s

History tells us Father Edward Daems had a hand in the first U.S. Kermis celebrated at Rosiere in 1858. While Kermis was celebrated as a joyous feast in their Belgian homeland, the Belgian settlers had been working to build a new life, encountering hardships that are incomprehensible by the standards of 2016, or even 1900, nearly 50 years after their arrival. But as hard as life was, there was much for which to give thanks, and so began the time-honored tradition in Door and Kewaunee Counties. In the old days Kermis included a mass of thanksgiving. Kermis included food, dancing and plenty of homemade beer. What would Kermis be without Belgian pie and beer?

In a day before home freezers, preparations for Kermis meant groups of women gathered at various homes making dozens of Belgian pies to offer visitors who were sure to come. Chickens were slaughtered to make copious amounts of real chicken booyah, not the stuff passed off by other groups today. Kermis-goers went from house to house, socializing and enjoying a cup of coffee and Belgian pie, no doubt beer or perhaps a whiskey or brandy, and maybe sitting down at the table for a savory dinner or supper, the meals of the day.

As late as the 1950s and early 1960s, one passing a rural home with countless cars parked in the barnyard knew it meant the home’s residents expected more than the family. Some passers-by stopped even though there was no invitation. On a cooler day, more than likely the dining room would be filled with men playing cards as women scrambled around the kitchen serving mounds food and washing piles of dishes only to reset the table for still more people. Kids played baseball while older teens tried to get the car to visit another home, or perhaps an area country bar, and have a beer. It was the days of 18 year old beer bars in Wisconsin, but few minded if 17 year olds stopped.

Area teens enjoyed Forestville and Rosiere Kermises, two of the places with Sunday afternoon dances. Forestville had a teenage bar in the basement of the Legion Hall. The same teens sneaked into Harry’s at Rosiere while keeping an eye on the back door, just in case somebody said the feds were around checking IDs, IDs that were gotten from the county Register of Deeds the minute the office opened on one’s 18^th birthday. In the early days of Kermis events at area saloons, it was not considered proper for a woman to enter, but enjoy the brew the women did when the men brought glasses outside where they were waiting. Children were not left out. As late as the 1950s Rosiere had a small Ferris wheel and other things for children.

For 75 years Kermis seemed to be associated with only the Belgian parts of Kewaunee County. Then other areas began the celebrations. In August 1935 it was announced that Algoma Dug-Out would be the scene of an annual Kermis, an event advertising dance bands, boat rides, and games for both adults and children. Belgian pie was advertised as free to those who ate lunch at the Dug-Out. The event was a success with 1,491 tickets sold. A packed dance floor in the evening, and afternoon and early evening Beano, a card game, were most popular. Algoma’s first city Kermis was celebrated in 1964 while Casco’s, which began at least a generation earlier, even had Kermis parades. Kewaunee County Homemakers began having a Kermis as did other groups. Kermis became a fall festival celebration that attracted folks who didn’t have Belgian ancestry. Or, as Elmer put it, “the Belgians and those who wish they were.”

Mrs. Rubens, Milwaukee Journal
 Rotogravure October 1937

Outside of Kewaunee and Door Counties, Rosiere was a little known hamlet, however both the hamlet and its annual Kermis gained state-wide attention in 1937 when Rosiere’s Louis Rubens was interviewed by the Milwaukee Journal. The two-page spread in the Journal’s Rotogravure contained 19 pictures of people and events. One picture showed Milton Herlache at work in his field while another was of Marcellis Gilson playing his baritone. Mrs. Herman Neinas was photoed wearing her grandmother’s Kermis dress, a dress that was 50 years old. Mrs. Rubens, left, was shown baking her delectable Belgian pies and women named Delforge, Piette, DeJardin, LeRoy and Massart were photographed dancing. The last photograph was of the school where fully ¼ of the children were missing the day after Kermis! Families might have been exhausted by all the events but they had work to catch up on.

Appleton Post Crescent on August 25, 1963 carried an article about the first Belgian Kermis to be held at Green Bay from August 31 to September 2. As in the old days, it was a three day festival. Green Bay's showcased all things Belgian plus speeches, concerts and sporting events held throughout the city. Additionally it included a national Kermis 50 mile bike race that sent participants through the Belgian communities of Brown, Door and Kewaunee Counties. The article pointed out that the Green Bay Kermis would be bigger than any of the festivals previously held in the U.S.  

August 1922 Record Herald

During a 2002 interview Millie Rabas spoke about Mary Mach, her Bohemian  immigrant grandmother. Mrs. Mach assisted with Kermis cooking at Jirovetz' tavern in Stangelville, a predominantly Bohemian community. An online search indicates Kermis is celebrated in the Czech Republic in what was once East Bohemia, a celebration that was held on to by Kewaunee County Bohemians. A 1935 Record Herald carried an article about the 70th annual "Pout" or "Kermis" to be held at Stangelville on St. Lawrence Day, August 11. The paper described the event as a "homecoming" in celebration of the church and village organized 70 years earlier.

Kermis has changed in the nearly 160 years since Father Daems prompted a celebration of thanks with a "church mass." Although life was difficult, the early Belgian people offered their thanks for what they had.

Sources: Ahnapee Record/Algoma Record Herald; Door County Advocate; Milwaukee Journal;; Here Comes the Mail: Post Offices of Kewaunee County; Yours Truly, from Kewaunee County (both available at Algoma Chamber of Commerce); Rabas’ 2002 interview by V. Johnson, H. Nell and K. Wolske; Wikipedia; postcard from blogger’s collection.

Kewaunee County's First Presidential Election: 1852

Franklin Pierce never made Mt. Rushmore and today few know much about the obscure president. What sets him apart in the annals of Kewaunee County is that he won the presidential election of 1852, taking the county which was little more than 6 months old that November. Pierce, the “dark horse” Democrat, trounced his opponent war hero General Winfield Scott, running as a Whig, by a vote of 23-5.

Though, even then, few had heard of Pierce, well known Democrats such as Stephen A. Douglas and James Buchanan (who eventually became presidents) were strongly opposed by one faction or another. As unknown as Pierce was, his reputation did not precede him. The man who was a fine speaker - and reported to be quite handsome - won the nomination on the 48^th ballot. By then the Democrats had to be tired enough to just want to get it over with, however it took 53 ballots to nominate Scott who was very well known. The popular Scott ran a poor campaign and the rest is history.

In a day lacking electronic media, there was as much mudslinging and trashy talk as there is today, 162 years later. History tells us that it was an election Scott lost more than Pierce - the youngest candidate to that date - won. History also tells us that one newspaper called it the most "ludicrous, ridiculous, and uninteresting presidential campaign" ever. Both sides danced around the questions of slavery, apparently managing to stay away from the country’s leading issue. The Whigs accused Pierce of being a coward during the Mexican-American War and further said he was a drunk. The Democrats also crowed about cowardice as Scott had once refused to duel with President Andrew Jackson. The party tried frightening the electorate saying that Scott would be a military dictator.

Pierce was a president distracted. His brothers were killed in an accident and his son died. His wife Jane was unable to cope. The White House was a cold cheerless place and the country seemed ready for James Buchanan, a man running in the second presidential election in which the men of Kewaunee County voted. Democrat Buchanan, called Old Buck, was thought to be the man who could save the Union, which was in danger of being blown apart by slavery. Old Buck attempted runs in the three elections prior to 1846. His opponent that year was John C. Fremont, then a senator, but a military hero of the Mexican-American War. The United States was sharply divided. The Enterprise was only a few months old in the fall of 1859 when it encouraged immigrants to file their "first papers" so they could vote.

Perspectives on slavery brought doom to the political life of both Buchanan and Stephen Douglas. The Democratic Party fell apart, giving rise to the backwoods, upstart, unknown Abraham Lincoln. The Whigs also disintegrated, giving rise to both the Republican and the American parties. Though many have relished the job, the presidency has been called the loneliest job in the world. Franklin Roosevelt didn’t want to leave though others had no choice and were voted out. Until FDR, presidents followed George Washington’s example of serving two terms.

Buchannan’s campaign was heated, however the Democrats operated with a slogan that cried “Anybody But Pierce.” Millard Fillmore, another little remembered president, was running a third party campaign for the American Party, far better remembered as the Know-Nothing Party. The Know-Nothings ignored slavery and ran on anti-immigration. Surprisingly, the party did receive about 20% of the vote.

The election of 1860 was Kewaunee County’s third presidential election and again tempers flared. A May 1860 Enterprise contained a reprint from the Green Bay Advocate saying Abraham Lincoln's nomination astonished everyone at the Chicago convention, even the party’s. Editorializing, the Enterprise wrote that the nomination was a wet blanket on Republican hopes and felt within a day's drive, twenty Wisconsin farmers could be found who were equal to Lincoln.

Lines were drawn between Kewaunee County Democrats and Republicans before the 1860 election, but it was said those lines were shaken with the election of Abraham Lincoln. Edward Decker had supported Stephen Douglas and it was apparent in his paper's comment, again reprinted from the Green Bay paper, that "no nomination for the presidency was hailed with as much enthusiasm as Douglas."

Harriet Warner Hall was no doubt visiting her grandmother in Waukegan, Illinois when she heard Douglas speak. She later said she would have liked to have heard Mr. Lincoln. During the summer the Comet brought news to Ahnepee, and men from Forestville, Clay Banks and other settlements came to town on Saturdays just to hear it. They read about Douglas’ barbs aimed at Lincoln, too, saying he was a "horrid-looking wretch, sooty and scoundrelly in aspect, a cross between the nutmeg dealer, the horse-swapper and the nightman." He further pronounced that "Lincoln is the leanest, lankest, most ungainly mass of legs and arms and hatchet face ever strung on a single frame."  Lincoln took a lot of what most today would term “crap” but he was good at giving it back. In one encounter with Douglas he said what Douglas said was true. He had indeed been a shop keeper, a school teacher and sold whiskey over the counter, however he left his side of the counter while Douglas remained on the other side.

In November 1860, it was generally accepted that Lincoln won the election, however the year old Enterprise neither proclaimed the fact in a headline nor in an article. The paper did, however, carry Mr. Lincoln's inaugural address the following March. 

David Youngs, Simon Hall and W.S. Finley supported Abraham Lincoln. Kewaunee and Pierce towns were carried by the Shanghuys,* thus tipping the election in Lincoln's favor there, but Douglas carried the county by 362 votes. George Wing would write about the "stiff neck old Democrats like Elliot, Yates, Major McCormick, Orin Warner and William Van Doozer." Wing said they saw nothing good in abolitionism or republicanism and then saw their sons "follow false gods of other political creeds."

Lincoln's election brought North-South controversies to a head and Ahnepee residents spent an anxious 1860-61 winter. Weekly mail brought stories about a war that seemed almost certain. News ensured that residents of Ahnepee spoke of little else. With the exception of the weekly mail, there was little connection with the outside world. George Wing wrote that settlers and woodsmen gathered nightly at the Tremont or Kenosha House or Boalt's store to discuss news that had come by letter or a paper from Manitowoc. They heard about "secesh" and wondered if one "secesh" could really lick ten Yankees as they had boasted.

Tensions ran high in Ahnepee as well as in the rest of the state.  Suspicions of loyalty lurked within the Democratic Party in 1861, and some Wisconsin Democrats abandoned the name "Democrat" to support a "Union Ticket" which endorsed a largely Republican state ticket. "Union meetings" were held at Milwaukee and Green Bay for both political parties. Ahnapee was a Democratic community. Older residents were reluctant to see war come, but, when the war did come, the slogans were "Save the Union at all costs" or "Save the Country." Feelings of patriotism ran high among some and Major McCormick, who was then 75, said he would fight if necessary.

Just before Abraham Lincoln’s second election, the Advocate weighed in. The paper encouraged all electors to vote and to remind others to do so. People were urged not to stay away from the polls because they felt their vote was not necessary. After the vote, the Advocate advised working toward suffrage. That would take a little over another 55 years. The paper also told people to vote early and promote the cause for the remainder of the day. The “cause” at the time was preservation of the Union. Causes change, but the Advocate’s words could be rerun today, 151 years later.

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

Notes:
Ahnepee became Ahnapee in 1873.

*Kewaunee County had few residents. Men only had the vote and immigrants had to have filled a Declaration of Intent, also called first papers, to vote. According to the Wisconsin Constitution, filing of a Declaration of Intent was all one needed to acquire land under the 1862 Homestead Act. Filing the Declaration indicated the intention of becoming a citizen, to support the U.S. Constitution and renounce foreign allegiance.

Shanghuys: A term applied to Abolitionists.

Sources: An-An-Api-Sebe: Where is the River?, c. 2001; Ahnapee Record/Algoma Record Herald; Door County Advocate; Wisconsin Blue Book, Manuel of the Assembly. The presidential photos were  found online at https://www.whitehouse.gov/photos.

October 8, 1871: The Devastation of Northeast Wisconsin

It was 145 years ago on September 21 that Imelda was born. A little over three weeks later, the infant was dead.

Clouds of thick gray smoke filled the air that stifling hot day on which Imelda was born. Windows were tightly closed in an effort to seal smoke and dust from the house but still it continued to seep into the cracks and under the doorways. There was no way to keep the house clean or make a difference in air they breathed. Washing clothes was nearly a futile effort when hanging the wet clothing outdoors meant it would look worse than before it was laundered. Freshly washed clothing was free of sweat and body oils, but airborne dirt and dust was drawn to it like nails attracted to a magnet dropped in the center. Wells, creeks and springs had mostly dried up in the weeks before October and with the ground dry to a depth of two feet, washing clothes was not something done frivolously.

For weeks boats often by-passed the smoke filled harbors of Kewaunee, Ahnepee* and Foscoro. Captains had no idea where they were when they were unable to see landmarks. Boats that did make entrance frequently bumped into others which they couldn't see until it was too late. A boat making Kewaunee went aground when its captain thought he was farther out that he actually was. Ahnepee folks were often unable to clearly see across Steele Street in the fog and thick smoke. Eyes watered and burned. Throats were sore and raw for weeks. Anybody with a million dollars would have gladly paid it as ransom for fresh, cleansing air. For the elderly or those with chronic lung ailments, it was even worse. For infants such as Imelda, how could their tiny lungs possibly sustain them?

Conditions worsened and on Sunday, October 8, the fires of hell ravaged Northeast Wisconsin. The wind that had been blowing all day stopped in the evening leaving a deathly, eerie silence. Fear was in the air even before the sounds of living all but disappeared. The hair on the dogs stood up. Bluejays and crows stopped their caws and animals ran from the woods toward the lake. Suddenly the orange glow appearing in the southwest began to grow. The ground seemed as if it was trembling, but it got worse. That deathly silence turned into a howling wind and almost immediately the howling became a roar that brought fire. It seemed as if flames were racing toward Ahnepee from every direction.

For weeks on end, the populace lived in fear of fire. Families had escape plans that were forgotten as people panicked before the flames lighting up the sky. Terrified men, women and children ran toward the lake and the river, pushing and shoving others in their haste to join cows, horses, dogs and other animals crowding into the water. Some were shocked into silence and disbelief while others were shrieking in terror. Even the animals were screaming piteously.

Parents held tightly to their children. If death was inevitable, they would enter paradise together. Just when everybody knew the end was near, the rain came. It came in torrents that pelted and stung those who had no shelter. The only people who found shelter were those able to crowd on to the ships at anchor in the harbor, or those on the ships whose captains had gone farther into Lake Michigan. Imelda’s mother held the tiny infant while her father held tightly to her mother, trying to protect the child from the cold, pelting, stinging rain

Hours and hours later it seemed as if there was no sign of the raging hell fire and folks began leaving the water wondering what they’d find or if they’d find anything. But the night was black as pitch and few of the wet, shivering survivors wanted to venture too far from the freezing water. When day broke and residents could see Ahnepee, it appeared that while buildings were black with soot and char, the buildings were still standing. As far as the eye could see to the north or south, all they saw was char.

What happened next is almost a blur. Relief Committee Chairman Franz Swaty organized men to canvas the town, checking to see if anyone had perished, was severely injured or needed other immediate assistance. Townsfolk thanked the Lord because there were no fire deaths in Ahnepee. Not right then. Within a few days there were deaths, not because people died in the fire but because of it. Faggs went into their well to escape the fire. They came out alive but within days 9 year old Anna had pneumonia and died. Mr. McCosky who lived in the south part of town had some kind of breathing or lung ailment. It wasn’t long before he died too. For some years there were the deaths of many who survived the fire only to die with ailments related to it.

As for Imelda, she never had a chance. The tiny lungs that barely sustained her after her birth were not strong enough to keep her alive in the days following the fire. Maybe she had pneumonia too. Who knows? Imelda was on this earth for a little over three weeks 145 years ago. Why is she remembered? She was Grandma’s much older sister, born a year following their parents wedding. Grandma was born 20 years later, a “change of life baby” who was a joy to her parents in their advancing years.

For months in 1871, Northeast Wisconsin residents prayed for rain that did not come. Fires were continuously breaking out. Most were extinguished and some burned themselves out. In the 145 years since the fires, newspaper articles were written and rewritten until a point where many of the fires preceding the destruction of October 8 were merged with it. Kewaunee was spared the most horrific as Ahnepee was. Red River and Lincoln Towns were all but destroyed. Devastation ruled in Kewaunee County.

It took generations before the weather patterns were completely understood, that the fire did not jump the bay of Green Bay and just how many fires there actually were. Loss of life kept escalating and even today, nobody knows for sure how many died as people were continually moving into the area. There were language barriers and many did not know their neighbors. Occurring the same day, the Chicago fire went down in history while fires in Wisconsin and Michigan, Upper and Lower, got little notice.

Peshtigo’s remarkable fire museum and a fire cemetery speak volumes. But where do Door and Kewaunee Counties fit in the mix that has contributed to dairying, to the environment and to life as we know it 145 years later? Our parents and grandparents passed down family stories of trees that exploded, and of humans that also seemed to explode leaving nothing but ash in the wake. They talked about moving piles of ash and dirt that were survivors, only evidenced by the whites of their eyes. They talked of starvation and lack of water fit to drink. Inhabitants of Door and Kewaunee Counties had been there less than 20 years. They worked their fingers to the bone to build a new life but were left with nothing except their lives. To some, death would have been preferable to what came next.

One hundred forty five years later, residents under 50 or 60 in northern Kewaunee and southern Door Counties are beginning to learn about the fires. Much can be learned simply through Googling or going to Oconto County Historical Society website. The online Ahnapee/Algoma archived newspapers or the Door and Oconto County newspaper archives have a wealth of information. Weather bureau maps tell a story of what was made worse by the almost clear cutting of Wisconsin’s magnificent forests. Forests stood in the way of that regarded as progress.

Imelda’s death and young parents named Desire and Emmerence, who survived with their young son Eugene, have prompted this blogger to do countless presentations about the fire in Kewaunee County. The great-granddaughter of Desire and Emmerence presents the fire as it happened in the predominantly Belgian areas of  Door County. Honoring Desire and Emmerence and the rich history of the Belgian people is the newly opened Belgian Heritage Center at Namur. The ribbon cutting was held On October 8, 2016, a most fitting day.

The center will be open on weekends through the remainder of October and will reopen late next spring. Brown, Kewaunee and Door County historical societies collaborated on a brochure/map of the remaining Belgian roadside chapels. Belgian heritage driving tour maps are also available. A stop at most of the area’s taverns offers a cold brew, great burgers and real booyah. Spending a day or two in the area radiating from the hamlet once known as Delwiche and then Fairland before being renamed Namur is sure to enrich.

Notes: *Ahnepee was renamed Ahnapee in 1873 when the newly elected village fathers felt that since the community's name was consistently spelled incorrectly by the state, it looked as if the couldn't beat 'em so they joined 'em. Ahnepee was recorded however by the Department of Post Offices and appeared on the post marks.

Peshtigo Fire Museum at Peshtigo contains Kewaunee County artifacts, many of which are attributed to the Post family. There are buildings in both Algoma and Kewaunee that have charred beams, prompting owners to feel their buildings were scarred in the fire. While it is indeed possible, some of these buildings were relocated. Records indicating age of the buildings that it is likely they were constructed with charred timbers that still retained strength. For years there wasn’t a lot to build with.

Sources: An-An-api-sebe: Where is the River? c. 2001; A Home for Amelia: From Konigriech Sachsen to Wisconsin's Peninsula, c. 2016; In From the Fields: A Family's Story, c. 1995; Algoma Record Herald. The above cover and the photo are from the blogger's collection.