Days of Alphabet Soup: Algoma & the Depression

Algoma's Most Visible Reminder of the Days of Alphabet Soup

Kewaunee County folks felt the Great Depression as badly as it was felt across the U.S. If rural Wisconsinites were better off than their big city cousins, nobody knew it. What they thought in November 1932 was that a vote for Franklin Delano Roosevelt would offer a path out of such wretchedness. At the depths of the Depression, at least 1 in 4 was unemployed.

Roosevelt’s election brought his New Deal, and with it came civil and relief agencies charged with alleviating the economic suffering of the country’s citizens. Known by a plethora of initials, the programs were lumped into “Alphabet Soup.” For some, the days of Alphabet Soup were much like the stone soup fairy-tale in children’s storybooks. There were the CCC, WPA and NRA among others. Some such as SSB, SEC, FHA, FCC, FDIC, FCA and TVA are still operating. With the exception of Social Security in 1935, the agencies were created in 1933 or 1834. Kewaunee County didn’t experience the TVA – Tennessee Valley Authority - but it could easily have been the only one.

Crescent Beach work

In charge of the CCC – Civil Conservation Corps – in Kewaunee County, Alice Krauss provided information and ran early enrollment certifications for the agency. Physically fit, unemployed men to age 23 were eligible for a six month enrollment. They could re-enroll for a period of 2 years, provided they were under 23. Originally a relief agency, CCC was redefined to also provide education, thus offering men a chance to improve themselves. Most of the work was out-of-doors where men learned such things as forestry, soil conservation and park development. CCC changed and later accepted men to age 25 for a period of 6 months. The government paid $30 a month in addition to offering food, clothing and lodging.

Algoma’s Milton Blahnik was one who took advantage of the program. He was at Bloomington in August 1935 where he played first base on the camp’s baseball team. Blahnik’s athletic prowess made news. Playing an all-star team from Grant County, Blahnik scored 3 hits in 5 times at bat. Not only was he recognized for his long hits, but he also had a defensive game at first base.

During June 1936, 7 county men were enrolled for CCC service. There were exams to pass and Kewaunee’s Erwin Suchocki, William McCalvy and Joe Muchoski made it. So did Algoma men Glen Welnick and Harvey Rudie, Lester Huber of Carlton, and Frank Swifka of West Kewaunee. Algoma’s Louie Wautlet wanted to enroll but had to wait for discharge papers from an earlier enrollment. By November 1939 Rupert Pagel and his brother Lester had just returned to the CCC Camp at Minoqua following a week’s vacation with their parents.  Vincent Charles of East Rosiere had 10 days off about the same time.

Opportunities existed during the Depression and young men were taking advantage of them even though March 1934 marked the end of CWA in Kewaunee County. Several programs were begun in November 1933 and with the end of the CWA, some of those programs would go unfinished. That was most unfortunate. Kewaunee’s hill was being terraced and work at the airport had just begun. Remodeling the county farm came to an end. The work on Algoma’s park came to a standstill, but the park could wait. That park was a swamp that would be known as Perry Field. Plans were to fill in the swamp with 20,000 yards of fill at a cost of $12,000. Trees, shrubs, piping, culverts and more were part of the earlier scheduled work. As for the county home, it was expected that the building would rest on new foundations before time ran out. Since Kewaunee’s hill was part of the state highway system, it was hoped the state would step in.

Just as stone soup was made, something else generally got thrown into the pot, however the additions were often no more palatable to Kewaunee County municipalities than they were to others throughout the state. FERA was a late add-on. Kewaunee County was stymied as it didn’t have cities over 5,000 people, and that’s what FERA required for participation. County officials including Board Chair O. H. Bruemmer, Algoma Mayor Harry Heidmann, Kewaunee Mayor William Karsten and A.D. Shimek in the Wisconsin Assembly fired off a telegram of protest to FERA. The kicker was that community participation required community funds, and that meant that the decision to participate would be in the hands of any community, whether or not the smalls were included.

No doubt there were some who felt some Kewaunee County potatoes could be thrown into the stone soup. As it was, to hear the word “bootleg” when talking about potatoes seemed like a stretch. But, to officials, it was not. September 1935 saw the attachment of “Potato Control” to AAA. Every farmer who raised and sold more than 5 bushels of potatoes was affected by regulations that required packing potatoes in containers of sizes determined by the Department of Agriculture. Each container would bear a government stamp. Each farmer had a potato production quota and those raising more were charged a 45 cent tax on each bushel in excess of the quota. There were temptations to exceed quotas but anyone caught buying or selling non-stamped potatoes was liable to be fined $1,000, or even imprisonment for a 2^nd offense.  At the time potatoes were selling for about 60 cents a bushel.

By September 1936 state newspaper headlines were shrieking that Uncle Sam was tightening relief monies before getting the approved 42 million Works Progress monies out. Wisconsin’s monies were cut in August, and September’s funds would be far less. State officials said things were muddled in Washington and advised the public to remain calm. The public was so worried that Governor Phillip LaFollette went to Washington rather than to the State Fair where there was a day in his honor. When LaFollette called from Washington, it was a call that put a smile on the faces of some. Sixteen million dollars were freed. By December, however, Wisconsin agriculture had received less than 21 million of the expected 80-120 million from WPA. Some blamed red tape though others said WPA just didn’t have the money.

Farm market roads were to have been improved before the 2 million tons of crushed lime and its distribution was far reduced. The hiring of 325 inspectors ensuring farm and dairy plant quality was so delayed that Wisconsin had only one man in position in 3 months. At the same time 33,000 farmers were dropped from drought jobs because of a lack in funding. There were other problems. A few days before Christmas in 1936, 33,000 drought stricken farmers got a one-month job. The same farmers had been dropped from WPA jobs a short time earlier due to dwindling funds. It was said 5,000 would get jobs while the others would get assistance grants. It was further said that by presenting their termination certificates, the farmers could get such assistance without additional red-tape.

Algoma sewer work, 1939

Early in 1938 the Record Herald commented that most workers preferred work relief rather than assistance. Algoma had plenty of work to be done but the city was not able to pay for all of it. The school was built and the new sewage treatment plant and its extensions were completed, although there was still work to be done. The city received about 45% of the treatment plant funding through the various programs. Cleaning the brush and the area around the treatment plant remained a must. During the previous summer broken concrete from another project was placed along the lake shore in readiness for a WPA project when funds were available. The idea was to supply dry semi-circular walls that would be filled in to provide additional places along the beach during the summer. Algoma’s magnificent Crescent Beach was enhanced during the days of CCC and WPA. It continues to be improved.

During the first 9 months of 1938, local groups were bearing 85% of their costs. Papers were editorializing that a return to private industrial expansion would keep the needy off the relief roles. Additionally, winter was coming, and just before Christmas 1938, state and local agencies faced even greater burdens in dealing with their own relief as reductions in WPA monies were felt. Algoma saw picketing at the home of Congressman Joshua Johns, left.

Winter did indeed come and jobs started coming available, though not entirely because of government funded programs. Projects needed finishing when German troops marched into the Sudetenland – and then kept on going. As did so many other manufacturing plants, Algoma Plywood and Veneer began increasing the workforce in what turned out to be “pre-war” production. Pre-war production continued into war production. Then came the rationing. As Alphabet Soup faded into the past, meatless days and meat substitutes brought a new kind of stone soup. But, that's another story.

The beach stone flag remains at the bottom of south WPA stairway to Crescent Beach, Algoma's crown jewel. Nearly 80 years old, it is one of Algoma's civic reminders of the Great Depression and the men and women, and their families, who survived because of such projects. For years the flag has been maintained by H. Nell who cleans away the sand and over-grown grass in tribute.

Following are some the the Depression era agencies:
CCC - Civilian Conservation Corp

WPA - Works Progress Administration      

FDIC - Federal Deposit Insurance Corp

TVA - Tennessee Valley Authority    

SEC - Security Exchange Commission   

FCA - Farm Credit Association

SSA - Social Security Administration which created the SSB - Social Security Board

CWA - Civil Works Administration

FERA - Federal Emergency Relief Act

NRA - National Recovery Administration

AAA - Agriculture Adjustment Act

PWA - Public Works Administration


Sources: Algoma Record Herald; family files. Black & white photos were taken from Algoma Record Herald; colored photos are the blogger's.

Rio Creek: John Albrecht and the Wisconsin Chief Fanning Mills

John Albrecht's patented Wisconsin Chief Fanning Mill

One hundred fifty years ago, millers and smithys enjoyed a certain prominence in their communities. Sawmills, grist mills and blacksmiths were indispensable to the early residents of Kewaunee County and a community that could boast all three had truly arrived. Fanning mills were of importance to millers and the farmers themselves, but what exactly is a fanning mill? Such an apparatus was used to clean and separate grains to be used for seeding. A fanning mill meant the farmer didn't sow a field full of weeds!

A year following the end of the Civil War, William Ansorge and John Fetzer opened their fanning mill factory on 4^th Street in Ahnapee. Although its location is not clear, their farm implement business was Ahnapee’s first, located at the approximate site of today’s 513 4^th Street, opposite the P.H. White residence. Presumably both parts of the business were at the same place. The fanning mill above was built in Rio Creek and much like that developed by Fetzer for manufacture in the business with Ansorge.

Will Palmer was another Ahnapee businessman who ran a fanning mill at his feed business until he sold it in May 1881 to A.D. and A.C. Eveland. Evelands planned to enter such a business themselves.

Grains handled by Albrecht's Wisconsin Chief

There were fanning mills and there were fanning mills; however none seemed to equal what Rio Creek’s John Albrecht invented and, in May 1896, introduced to the public. His strongly constructed unit had upper shoe sieves of 20 x 24”. The under shoe was 24 x 26”. Albrecht felt his sieves were the finest on the market and offered 16 sieves, 9 of zinc and 7 of wire. Varied motions were regulated at will. The upper shoe could move from 3/16” to 1/3” in a hopping motion. The under shoe could move quickly or slowly, thus suiting the grain being cleaned. Each grain needed its own motion and the necessary amount of wind. Wind speed generated split peas flying over the sieves, or slowed so not one grain of timothy seed would fly out. Wind blew all through the upper sieves via an inside blast board tightened to the sieves when necessary.

No doubt John Albrecht celebrated more on New Year’s Day 1897 than he did the night before because it was on January 1 when he received his Wisconsin Chief fanning mill patent approval from Washington, D.C. A few days later, the Record told readership that the mill was a thing of beauty and that Albrecht was already enjoying a lucrative trade because of it. When Albrecht took a load of his patented fanning mills to a new agency in Green Bay during March 1898, the Record opined that he was doing such a lively business that he’d have to enlarge the Rio Creek plant.

J, Albrecht's name, Rio Creek & patent number

In September 1899, the Green Bay Advocate carried an article on Albrecht’s invention saying his Rio Creek manufactured fanning mills had captured a great deal of attention at the fair.  The paper went on to say that the mill included 13 different sieves for cleaning and sifting. Two of five sieves were used to clean any kinds of grain, wild peas, cockle, wild oats, field oats, mustard seeds and more from wheat, rye, barley, peas, etc. Round and heavy seed could be separated from the oats by passing through the machine once. For several years his were the only fanning mills that were sold in the northern area of the county. 

Farmers liked the machine because of its extensive range and possible adjustments to it. When Albrecht was doing demonstrations at the fair, farmers felt it was the best fanning mill they had ever seen. Sometime later while Albrecht was taking his mills to Brussels, he stopped in Rosiere where he sold everything he had. A short time later the Green Bay Advocate noted that Albrecht was displaying his mills at Herman Smits’ shop on Main Street. The paper said farmers looked at “the novelty” daily and those who had seen it work pronounced it a “good machine.” Just before Christmas the Sturgeon Bay Advocate carried an ad saying Wisconsin Chief was the best on the market and that farmers could give it a try. The paper also ran an article about Jacksonport’s Jos. LeMere  who was closing out his wagons and buggies while saying that Wisconsin Chief fanning mills were the best on the market.

Albrecht’s large Rio Creek factory employed several men turning out the new Wisconsin Chief fanning mills daily. During the fall of 1900 the company was giving Algoma Foundry steady employment as the fanning mill company had ordered enough iron to complete 100 new mills.

Gustav Haack was also building fanning mills in Rio Creek by 1899, a time when Algoma’s Perlewitz Bros. were advertising the full line of wire and perforated sieves they kept in stock for farmers who needed such sieves. Types of grain were varied and each required its own gauge of wire to ensure foreign particles would not drop into the cleaned seed supply below.

As late as 1921 J.F. Wota, the man in charge of Wisconsin’s county agricultural agents, touted the efficiency of fanning mills when he said such devices promoted production by enabling 2 men two hours to clean 25 bushels of oats. Wisconsin Chief’s usefulness apparently came to an end by the advent of World War ll. During the 1940s, the machines were frequently found in the lists of farm auction items.

Albrecht’s Rio Creek-made Wisconsin Chief fanning mill are about 120 years old and few are left. Door County Historical Society’s Heritage Village has one in its granary. Check the website for hours and step back in time touring several historic homes, a church, one room school, blacksmith shop, store and granary.  Albrecht’s invention and those of the Hamacheks made a significant impact on Wisconsin agriculture and beyond. Hamacheks’ drawings and patents can be found at Kewaunee County Historical Society museum and research center.

Sources: Ahnapee Record/Algoma Record/Algoma Record Herald; Green Bay Advocate; Sturgeon Bay Advocate. Photos were taken by the blogger.