tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40688369517283168342024-03-18T21:24:25.876-07:00Kewaunee County HistoryHistorical articles about Kewaunee County and, specifically, Ahnapee/Algoma.HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.comBlogger288125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-82544676771276935022024-02-24T14:41:00.000-08:002024-02-24T14:41:59.131-08:00Algoma, Wisconsin: Built on a River Delta<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">As early
records tell us, </span>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 (<span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">now</span>) Ahnapee River, the
McCormick party turned into it and sailed upriver to what is now Forestville.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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 </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ5BFOUCtbEnlyz8qIeTP5JbRjSLO5MAhr16mz0zl5I-wTAm1p57o_1zgu7yFPkj2sZviuA25v72lbvbWPWH-scpJOhJCIcGU5PhZNwa7v2awc4LY5eByAu0T7n_H9LaaSKHlUvtDnaSCMeS4MTsljeXIaPOSMxXHhys9NA-2cZMT24oV06dOm892hBrn5/s1585/Blog%20alluvial%20Cresent%20Beach%20Campsite.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1012" data-original-width="1585" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ5BFOUCtbEnlyz8qIeTP5JbRjSLO5MAhr16mz0zl5I-wTAm1p57o_1zgu7yFPkj2sZviuA25v72lbvbWPWH-scpJOhJCIcGU5PhZNwa7v2awc4LY5eByAu0T7n_H9LaaSKHlUvtDnaSCMeS4MTsljeXIaPOSMxXHhys9NA-2cZMT24oV06dOm892hBrn5/s320/Blog%20alluvial%20Cresent%20Beach%20Campsite.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>entry to the City of Algoma. The area once known as the
Campsite, now Crescent Beach, (<span style="font-size: x-small;">left</span>) 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. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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 4<sup>th</sup>
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. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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 4<sup>th</sup>
and State, however the cemetery remains in the original location on Wolf River
Road.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Why was the present downtown Algoma not an early favorite?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_Hlk159605432"><i><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">The Abandoned Shore Lines of Eastern Wisconsin</span></i></a><i><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">, </span></i><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">c. 1907, indicates most</span> 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.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVjSLvRFzpxx9SXg49WvujcFhv9BtyM-0puuCrc_LNLy1lSF0TvS72xH_ELHz2hzE-RnkTTjmQREON0r1_P0j8dNWEJJTx-xMIW_TWbhA3FeGDE2ZDCoZdtcJ21Vz3QJJe39wrgf1Ps66Kt604mfmQxfTbbROLdEMnWCTf3y1N5BaQ79eyhmsB62tWBgs/s3216/Blog%20alluvial%20gravel%202.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2642" data-original-width="3216" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVjSLvRFzpxx9SXg49WvujcFhv9BtyM-0puuCrc_LNLy1lSF0TvS72xH_ELHz2hzE-RnkTTjmQREON0r1_P0j8dNWEJJTx-xMIW_TWbhA3FeGDE2ZDCoZdtcJ21Vz3QJJe39wrgf1Ps66Kt604mfmQxfTbbROLdEMnWCTf3y1N5BaQ79eyhmsB62tWBgs/s320/Blog%20alluvial%20gravel%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>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.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQa03FszLFcI57WdZj1ANYE6_e96kzWnKlxrvrX3odOU7oMvr2q9sysLXrrpqNVowjhyTiLWwofG1U0bxf7kkFQ5fIAQhM147N16-TXoJosadzi7keyyBS_n2gxyBVmaP8XlDeXXCRgQmZHn9gTOvHzXU_HKNLMW2R7iLk71TMdUdlufh5lwE0ysFoXDo/s2780/Blog%20alluvial%20headland%20N%20of%20Algoma.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1682" data-original-width="2780" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQa03FszLFcI57WdZj1ANYE6_e96kzWnKlxrvrX3odOU7oMvr2q9sysLXrrpqNVowjhyTiLWwofG1U0bxf7kkFQ5fIAQhM147N16-TXoJosadzi7keyyBS_n2gxyBVmaP8XlDeXXCRgQmZHn9gTOvHzXU_HKNLMW2R7iLk71TMdUdlufh5lwE0ysFoXDo/w400-h243/Blog%20alluvial%20headland%20N%20of%20Algoma.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">As the
book points out that an ancient creek flowed south from the main branch of the
Ahnapee at approximately 6<sup>th</sup> 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.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KE7WAwDsbh9YWy6GbSfsgT8kG0Sz4ACi3DAGgcZ5UQqQKiBq3mKQrtZXZEg9QoA-tEBqIikx60sHUtmJ7R3e48VGM2Fgr4t_ZrV4AegpLoWEi3nsyX0sEtyAoqtJ_rzOLO2BEd6k3V3IgedEHHMFOGzjlSsAriBbCsW3LFHMGVv33NXH7OslXAD3pvYE/s7300/Blog%20alluvial%20Birdseye%201880-.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4242" data-original-width="7300" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KE7WAwDsbh9YWy6GbSfsgT8kG0Sz4ACi3DAGgcZ5UQqQKiBq3mKQrtZXZEg9QoA-tEBqIikx60sHUtmJ7R3e48VGM2Fgr4t_ZrV4AegpLoWEi3nsyX0sEtyAoqtJ_rzOLO2BEd6k3V3IgedEHHMFOGzjlSsAriBbCsW3LFHMGVv33NXH7OslXAD3pvYE/w477-h278/Blog%20alluvial%20Birdseye%201880-.jpg" width="477" /></a></div><br />The 1880 Birdseye map of the City of Ahnapee (<span style="font-size: x-small;">above</span>) 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 5<sup>th</sup> 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. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyV3R22DLTv9uauMI5UJCJm4o9ZDqh_w1WTP605988PQKHuSmrDdpzoy3hWkronfYRuSLFl7VHuMW1HK0IulY4fy7AcNqQiRucGd5SLEwlcynBmECzwWmFgIhULEemFc_HplalidQ4ea7OPEFyt-kAuXvvG1c9KLLB3EVLimO7m4Oh3TYBX78TFDrxRPvk/s621/blog%20alluvial%20painting%20S%20of%20Algoma.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="621" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyV3R22DLTv9uauMI5UJCJm4o9ZDqh_w1WTP605988PQKHuSmrDdpzoy3hWkronfYRuSLFl7VHuMW1HK0IulY4fy7AcNqQiRucGd5SLEwlcynBmECzwWmFgIhULEemFc_HplalidQ4ea7OPEFyt-kAuXvvG1c9KLLB3EVLimO7m4Oh3TYBX78TFDrxRPvk/s320/blog%20alluvial%20painting%20S%20of%20Algoma.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>In the first 65 or so years of the city’s history, there
were multiple brickyards from today’s St. Paul School playground (<span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">Storm’s brickyard</span>) 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. <p></p><p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Much of today’s downtown Algoma - east of 4<sup>th</sup> 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 4<sup>th</sup> and Clark said it took “a
lot of nerve” to venture across that area to the lake shore.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRzWJta0O0NrQqbFWezCpOCWkLUFlrcNczHOPN6sjc5ImiNpoE-zgBVb_8BnFO4mR08qQSQD-PyFNfjYrrkV-fu5pcDcZgLLqjdQHKYQGm2TiDSYHBDQ7aKYRBr6SXHzmOlWbnemcayp8EeF6J1xo-W2ISLNawcC31l1mHdrb6i-Nphyphenhyphenxk02IDDU7qrcKh/s616/Blog%20alluvial%20Eveland%20Swamp.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="313" data-original-width="616" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRzWJta0O0NrQqbFWezCpOCWkLUFlrcNczHOPN6sjc5ImiNpoE-zgBVb_8BnFO4mR08qQSQD-PyFNfjYrrkV-fu5pcDcZgLLqjdQHKYQGm2TiDSYHBDQ7aKYRBr6SXHzmOlWbnemcayp8EeF6J1xo-W2ISLNawcC31l1mHdrb6i-Nphyphenhyphenxk02IDDU7qrcKh/w438-h224/Blog%20alluvial%20Eveland%20Swamp.JPG" width="438" /></a></div><br />The swampy area from 5<sup>th</sup> to Division, between Steele and
Clark, (<span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">now Perry Field</span>)
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 4<sup>th</sup> 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 <i>Record</i> called attention to the fire raging for
days in Eveland swamp and advised residents to keep an eye on it.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">May 1879 found citizens petitioning for a sidewalk along
Steele from 5<sup>th</sup> 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.*<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">During spring 1887, the <i>Record</i> 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. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Clam shells were capturing
huge interest in May 1890 when <i>Ahnapee Record</i> 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 <i>Record. </i></span><span style="color: #202124;">A late May 1891 <i>Enterprise</i> 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, h</span>owever, in 1902, the <i>Enterprise</i> carried a reprint from the <i>Fond du Lac Commonwealth</i> which told readership that Wisconsin fisherman made at least $81,000 from clam shells in 1901. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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 (<span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">on the northeast
corner of 4<sup>th</sup> and Clark</span>) 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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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 <i>Record</i>
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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<span style="color: #c00000;"> </span>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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Algoma Record Herald </i>in July 1966<i> </i>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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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 <i>Ahnapee Record</i> and <i>Algoma Record Herald</i> 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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Note:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"> *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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">*Chalybeate
springs are natural mineral springs containing iron salts.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">*Division was not a street in 1880. Mill St., where there were commercial establishments and residences, is the first street shown beyond the swamp.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Sources:</b> Ahnapee Record, Algoma Record, Algoma Record
Herald, Kewaunee Enterprise; <i>The Abandoned Shore Lines of Eastern Wisconsin, </i>Wisconsin Geological and
Natural History Survey, Bulletin No. XVII, Scientific Series No, 5, James W.
Goldthwaite; Wikipedia; </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">https://www.anyplaceamerica.com/directory/wi/kewaunee-county-55061/summits/<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">https://www.co.door.wi.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1073/Analysis-and-Management-Plan-for-the-Upper-Ahnapee-River-Watershed</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Watersheds/basins/lakeshore</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://ngmdb.usgs,gov/" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span color="windowtext" style="text-decoration-line: none;">https://ngmdb.usgs,gov</span></a> (National Geologic Map
Database).</span><o:p style="font-size: 10pt;"></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">https://oceanservice.noaa.gov.education.est04_geolog<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><b>Graphics: </b>Postcards and the painting are from the blogger's collection.</span></p>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-65711838946517932632024-02-09T19:29:00.000-08:002024-02-09T19:29:21.204-08:00Kewaunee County: Buried Forests & Shell Marl<p>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.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Early county historian George Wing – the 16-year-old
co-founder of <i>Ahnapee Record</i> – was interested in all things bygone. Wing
was learned. He wrote his memoirs and, for a time, wrote/edited <i>The Owl</i>,
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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On January 12, 1912, <i>Algoma Record</i> 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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_Hlk157272089">The <i>Record</i> 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.<o:p></o:p></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_Hlk157272089">In the summer of 1874, one Professor Chamberlain of Beloit College was surveying in Kewaunee County. The <i>Enterprise</i> told readers he was a professor of geology, chemisty and zoology and described him as informed and courteous.</a></p><p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">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.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgrI8jMOHwuC8GN8W92K7wcnuKOdS431C0ptPnwJPbpA0ptsg-t-Q-sgFtBXpphVFnJFfoSLPghRjGwlR_alu4dNnBCRPBdTclRyrn6JZRM842Ds4xP7-X0w83uUKFtKj1_UaQjZ4wNnv5fl1pF2HBAgrxWphE93M_FUC1U1xua-GWt8-R6yRCh37C8ud/s1800/Blog%20alluvial%20Wilmott%201876.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="1800" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgrI8jMOHwuC8GN8W92K7wcnuKOdS431C0ptPnwJPbpA0ptsg-t-Q-sgFtBXpphVFnJFfoSLPghRjGwlR_alu4dNnBCRPBdTclRyrn6JZRM842Ds4xP7-X0w83uUKFtKj1_UaQjZ4wNnv5fl1pF2HBAgrxWphE93M_FUC1U1xua-GWt8-R6yRCh37C8ud/w469-h244/Blog%20alluvial%20Wilmott%201876.jpg" width="469" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">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.</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><p class="MsoNormal">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.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The <i>Enterprise</i> told readers that Wisconsin law demanded the
results of the geological surveys were to be presented to the governor by
January 1 each year.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_Hlk157272089">
</a></p><div>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.</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157272089;">In 1878, it was said Lake Michigan was “steadily advancing at the snail’s pace of one foot a year.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>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. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157272089;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.</p>
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157272089;"></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs6gPxIb3KckY8iumM5O9UOm5A-3XpFP46ofBVxqFGP6HhMm_K37JQs4aeZlOJn2fHTKJ_d_1nmCHAlFGNWqu0f4xPNyBU77AkfWhx1TeOFZsVIJ-E7JR9j9OC4nJhIl7tUjScZZwAcj1n1t9FCpBZgLT8a51YzUjfDfcbe3hcZjCEI2gcX1a0jTUB-xGx/s1202/Blog%20alluvival%20%20Casco%20Junction%201912%20map.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1202" data-original-width="851" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs6gPxIb3KckY8iumM5O9UOm5A-3XpFP46ofBVxqFGP6HhMm_K37JQs4aeZlOJn2fHTKJ_d_1nmCHAlFGNWqu0f4xPNyBU77AkfWhx1TeOFZsVIJ-E7JR9j9OC4nJhIl7tUjScZZwAcj1n1t9FCpBZgLT8a51YzUjfDfcbe3hcZjCEI2gcX1a0jTUB-xGx/s320/Blog%20alluvival%20%20Casco%20Junction%201912%20map.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>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.<o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Kewaunee County Plat Map, Town of Luxemburg, 1912: Casco Junction is in Section 24. Scarboro is in Section 25 is at left..</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Two feet beneath the surface at the Nast Lime kilns (<span style="font-size: x-small;">now Bruemmer Park</span>) 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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A May 1878 <i>Ahnapee Record</i> 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. <i>Record </i>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.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVjrUqUQDjai0tNwqx2CxNvth3k2miugcS3cs74_ml0-qTKYBcUqq_vGp2MzNPPbdAsOnseYLD30Z-SbYPM05PCF2-AnnobcwYzT7XRDQ0dQC9cHqg-xSNBOgX-6gUhtHbYDf0lYoaac7N4M1rfpIJbIBnpnwfAIMUV8XOll0SI-Qm9sUCacMIk4xEcW7E/s900/Blog%20alluvival%201895%20Pierce.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="900" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVjrUqUQDjai0tNwqx2CxNvth3k2miugcS3cs74_ml0-qTKYBcUqq_vGp2MzNPPbdAsOnseYLD30Z-SbYPM05PCF2-AnnobcwYzT7XRDQ0dQC9cHqg-xSNBOgX-6gUhtHbYDf0lYoaac7N4M1rfpIJbIBnpnwfAIMUV8XOll0SI-Qm9sUCacMIk4xEcW7E/w454-h356/Blog%20alluvival%201895%20Pierce.jpg" width="454" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Kewaunee County Plat Map, Sections 16-20, Town of Pierce, 1876: Little Lake/Detloff Lake.</div><p class="MsoNormal">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.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdbWxyJsXe6nbGaExh3dOfNcJIV68aOKq057YvPPz920D33WOzHg8MGdIVfQzY9VjLjuIZLs0UwWbHq49NJ7SbfsOa6AYMQbISbwYkPreciaOzZdfoYgnKytcWLV_4kXAp6I16OA_zioo30YKq6rWahTswWWTbizSHA9_6OUttEGW4CPuaw3Zc4xktBZ8h/s1500/Blog%20alluvial%20Kinstetter%20Pavlat.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="1500" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdbWxyJsXe6nbGaExh3dOfNcJIV68aOKq057YvPPz920D33WOzHg8MGdIVfQzY9VjLjuIZLs0UwWbHq49NJ7SbfsOa6AYMQbISbwYkPreciaOzZdfoYgnKytcWLV_4kXAp6I16OA_zioo30YKq6rWahTswWWTbizSHA9_6OUttEGW4CPuaw3Zc4xktBZ8h/w454-h284/Blog%20alluvial%20Kinstetter%20Pavlat.jpg" width="454" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Location of Pavlat and Kinstetter properties where buried trees were found.</div><p class="MsoNormal">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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There were other geological finds in the county.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <i>Enterprise</i> of July 7, 1891, informed the public
about the important and valuable<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>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.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVQks1_a59KCi-vP-w3slrEa2GQy7JqghWH0sTI8av4fkFxFi8aNt8os7rk2eO47CfmT0sUZQAdPyZ_jXIKjY7etzbwcpfePX4UHBIavr6eg7p0s9lGnyqQp6QbyCOsuiPe4f0MC0A3pP65XqUdl75i5tx7opTA6rtVAvyH-ewf5b5xLK3uBZkDw_JmxA/s900/Blog%20alluvival%201895%20Pierce.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="900" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVQks1_a59KCi-vP-w3slrEa2GQy7JqghWH0sTI8av4fkFxFi8aNt8os7rk2eO47CfmT0sUZQAdPyZ_jXIKjY7etzbwcpfePX4UHBIavr6eg7p0s9lGnyqQp6QbyCOsuiPe4f0MC0A3pP65XqUdl75i5tx7opTA6rtVAvyH-ewf5b5xLK3uBZkDw_JmxA/w346-h272/Blog%20alluvival%201895%20Pierce.jpg" width="346" /></a> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">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.</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">The options list Kopetsky while the map shows Kopecky. </span> </p><p class="MsoNormal">The<i> Enterprise</i> discussed the analysis and described
an article in <i>Geology of Wisconsin </i>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?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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 <i>Record</i>
reported that if<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On November 14, 1946, <i>Kewaunee Enterprise</i> 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.<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">---------------------------------------------</div><div><br /></div><b>Notes</b>: Record editor DeWayne Stebbins was referred to as Captain denoting his rank while serving in the Navy during the Civil War.<div><br /></div><div>*Black spruce according to WPR, January 31, 2924<br /><div><br /></div><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>More info - Event website: https://conference.wisconsinwetlands.org/</div><div>Contact: Ginny Carlton, Conference & Workshop Coordinator</div><div>Email: conference@wisconsinwetlands.org</div><div>
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Sources:</b> <i>An-An-api-sebe: Where is the River?: Ahnapee Record, Algoma Record, Algoma Record Herald; Door County Advocate; Kewaunee Enterprise; </i>Kewaunee County Plat Maps.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div></div>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-66565198980726927762024-01-11T18:14:00.000-08:002024-01-11T18:14:07.676-08:00Kewaunee Post Office: Fodder for a Novel<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt59RvBc0aZt5pLoO9s-aQ9uKfZtFZFTWtUNYj3fFQsRtrPkuhgjC_m_Zw23G1Nrb8IKxJTghMMr91HlIv9jtw8U30NX7evFE6CYmAwRrBgX6ZjS1Ezx90FvK9HE88gYuBMMvaShUpe8n8BWZWEfUTDp8C7klonY1AtHlm-qKYa_Q6MgsHaPn1s8GPvNlr/s790/Blog%20Frazier%20WPA%20mural.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="257" data-original-width="790" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt59RvBc0aZt5pLoO9s-aQ9uKfZtFZFTWtUNYj3fFQsRtrPkuhgjC_m_Zw23G1Nrb8IKxJTghMMr91HlIv9jtw8U30NX7evFE6CYmAwRrBgX6ZjS1Ezx90FvK9HE88gYuBMMvaShUpe8n8BWZWEfUTDp8C7klonY1AtHlm-qKYa_Q6MgsHaPn1s8GPvNlr/w492-h160/Blog%20Frazier%20WPA%20mural.JPG" width="492" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b>*</b>The above imagine is from Smithsonian American Art
Museum, </span><span style="text-align: left;">online. See notes below.</span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>If author Charles Frazier had set his new book on Lake
Michigan rather than in a small Wyoming ranching town, his novel <i>The
Trackers</i> could have been set in Kewaunee.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">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.</p><p class="MsoNormal">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.</p><p class="MsoNormal">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."</p><p class="MsoNormal">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.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Postmaster William Wright announced in the April 14, 1939,
edition of the<i> Enterprise</i> 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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">According to a late September
article in <i>Algoma Record Herald</i></span>, 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. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <i>Enterprise</i> said the fresco painting was probably
a first in Wisconsin post offices. Explaining the process, the paper told
readers,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“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.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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?”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kewaunee’s post office was placed on the National Register
of Historic Places in October 2000. Accessing <span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Property/Hl26594"><span color="windowtext" style="color: black; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Property/Hl26594</span></a>
</span>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. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">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.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>NOTES:</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">*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."</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">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.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Wikipedia says Faulkner did the painting in 1940. Algoma
Record Herald and Kewaunee Enterprise chronicle Faulkner’s work from April to
December 1939.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><o:p> </o:p>SOURCES:</b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Algoma Record Herald</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">americanart.si.edu/artwork/winter-sports-mural-kewaunee-wisconsin-post-office-35951</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p>Frazier, Charles, <i>The Trackers,</i> New York, NY, Harper Collins Publishers, 2023.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Kannerwurf, Dr. Karl, Patricia Sharpe & Virginia Johnson, <i>Here Comes the Mail: Post Offices of Kewaunee County</i>, Sturgeon Bay, WI, Silverdale Press, 2010.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">https://daily.jstor,org/uwos-post-office-murals/ The paintings were egg-tempera-on-plaster which fictional Val Welch describes.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p>Kewaunee Enterprise </o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="color: #202122; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 13.5533px;"> </span><a href="https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP"><i><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">"National Register Information System"</span></i></a><i>. </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Register_of_Historic_Places" title="National Register of Historic Places"><i><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">National Register of Historic Places</span></i></a><i>. </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Park_Service" title="National Park Service"><i><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">National Park Service</span></i></a></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_Hlk155771376"></a><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://postalmuseum.si.edu/off-the-wall-new-deal-post-office-murals">https://postalmuseum.si.edu/off-the-wall-new-deal-post-office-murals</a>;</span> article by Patricia Raynor, Vol 6, Issue
4, October-December 1997<o:p></o:p></p>Roosevelt, Franklin, Campaign Address at Cleveland, Ohio, November 2, 1940, Roosevelt Public Papers, New York, 1941, accessed online.<br /><p class="MsoNormal">Wikipedia<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Property/HI26594<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p></p>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-2685682756284433172023-12-29T16:01:00.000-08:002024-01-15T12:11:10.740-08:00Kewaunee County & 168 Years of Pabst<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdXJwR-0_H9cBLRJhGYINkJ7ipQCWiympvVt2Ogccvm1jdhW-b8P764Vgr_dV7O6fnXbqVkRLPd6OpcTmTkXim6SPBqJ8dQQoe77hh4TO617ukytK5JPoyzY6YJ0q591Myxojp9IAnc1bUBVnMR9gOp-W7L8fnkJFNY7u_wuroVS4w9IqB6uG0dgg1qMOq/s1594/Blog%20capt%20pabst%20Goodrich%20ferries%201908.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1026" data-original-width="1594" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdXJwR-0_H9cBLRJhGYINkJ7ipQCWiympvVt2Ogccvm1jdhW-b8P764Vgr_dV7O6fnXbqVkRLPd6OpcTmTkXim6SPBqJ8dQQoe77hh4TO617ukytK5JPoyzY6YJ0q591Myxojp9IAnc1bUBVnMR9gOp-W7L8fnkJFNY7u_wuroVS4w9IqB6uG0dgg1qMOq/s320/Blog%20capt%20pabst%20Goodrich%20ferries%201908.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The Goodrich Line was organized in 1855 and headquartered in
Manitowoc. A few years later, the fledgling Kewaunee <i>Enterprize</i>* 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 <i>Ogontz</i> served lake shore communities before being sold and recalked
in 1861, the year before his 158’ side-wheeled steamer <i>Comet</i> was put
into lake shore service. Goodrich boats served Algoma into the 1920s.<div><br /></div><div>But it was Goodrich's three-masted barkentine <i>Cleveland</i> 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 <i>Comet</i> 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 <i>Enterprize </i>told readers that the <i>Comet </i>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>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 <i>Comet</i> 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.</div><div><br /></div><div>Pabst and the <i>Comet's </i>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 <i>Comet </i>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.<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXSSRnIcq_WeTg_9B2K4jwskkzBUlX-unqmx7rAHjqGlqyO_S4sE8LPUD3iJG4TiaAPBJWnzD_o1I7qqQ4O_j5_odMpq35FD74PhKyYcEXpYedMJN8WIpgEu5gaflnowIrXbtVIv1LHXvc9PRBZO5qlPfcJXYHcdqymfT66EbxObd2umPcZM780gs5kebR/s367/Blog%20pabst%20finley%201959.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="367" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXSSRnIcq_WeTg_9B2K4jwskkzBUlX-unqmx7rAHjqGlqyO_S4sE8LPUD3iJG4TiaAPBJWnzD_o1I7qqQ4O_j5_odMpq35FD74PhKyYcEXpYedMJN8WIpgEu5gaflnowIrXbtVIv1LHXvc9PRBZO5qlPfcJXYHcdqymfT66EbxObd2umPcZM780gs5kebR/s320/Blog%20pabst%20finley%201959.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>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.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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 <i>Comet</i> left, the <i>Enterprize</i> said they parted with regret and all
looked forward to Spring. A week later <i>Milwaukee News </i>told readership
that Capt. Pabst had taken command of the Milwaukee-Two Rivers route and planned
to carry freight all winter. The <i>News</i> further reported that the <i>Comet</i>
was neat, elegant, comfortable and the swiftest sailor on the lake. With Pabst
in charge, winter should be one of profit and safety.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYgzxPA1ofPsYhDNIi2jN25fRXps2Ld-8Pqfg7oOxHD8VUn4c1YLn7rz3VIWB8LoCZo8O9yYlBIXawrZCvvRQP3EU_0RbxePhs7CqPnzThLVV82SXOzNF-ywaMbYzsEt61MBpN5fz-fyLKu_HmryMzZcZApyFm1WkUAcurvElg6cvI-KWR7hVI2JHou69q/s346/Blog%20Capt%20Pabst%20ad%207-30-1862%20KE.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="346" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYgzxPA1ofPsYhDNIi2jN25fRXps2Ld-8Pqfg7oOxHD8VUn4c1YLn7rz3VIWB8LoCZo8O9yYlBIXawrZCvvRQP3EU_0RbxePhs7CqPnzThLVV82SXOzNF-ywaMbYzsEt61MBpN5fz-fyLKu_HmryMzZcZApyFm1WkUAcurvElg6cvI-KWR7hVI2JHou69q/s320/Blog%20Capt%20Pabst%20ad%207-30-1862%20KE.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>According to news, Pabst was
in Milwaukee fitting out and renovating the <i>Comet</i> at the end of February
1862 in anticipation of an early spring. <i>Manitowoc Herald</i> wished fair
winds and a prosperous season to the <i>Comet</i> which would make weekly trips
to Kewwaunee and Ahnepee* The area was looking forward to Pabst and the <i>Comet</i>
when the <i>Enterprize</i> 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 <i>Comet</i> 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.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Capt. Pabst contributed to
area’s social life as he did its business. On July 30, 1862, the <i>Enterprize</i>
described a pleasant day when a large party of leading citizens from Manitowoc
and Two Rivers who came aboard the <i>Comet</i> 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
27<sup>th</sup> Regiment was under marching orders and were to leave Wisconsin
via the Mississippi River in March 1863, it was Pabst who brought the news.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">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.</p><p class="MsoNormal">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 <i>Fred Pabst</i> 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.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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 <i>Record,
</i>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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was in 1923 when the <i>Record Herald</i> harkened back
to the old days in an article informing citizens that it was the same Capt.
Fred Pabst who adapted to the 18<sup>th</sup> Amendment (<span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">Prohibition</span>) 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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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 <i>Stanley Republican</i>, “put the dairy industry under great obligations to him.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Sources: <i>Ahnapee Record/Algoma Record Herald,
An-An-Api-Sebe: Where is the River, Kewaunee Enterprize/Enterprise. </i>The 1908 postcard is from the blogger's collection. </span></p><p><a href="https://www.in/" style="font-size: small;"><span color="windowtext" style="text-decoration-line: none;">https://www.in</span></a><span style="font-size: small;">2013dollars.com>Inflation;
https://www.pabstmansion.com/history/pabst-family/; https:www.wisconsinhistory.org </span></p></div>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-52346576920058120582023-12-26T17:11:00.000-08:002023-12-26T17:11:36.096-08:00Algoma Christmas, 1923-2023: A Century Between<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxhM3lSbiObAzvr-HB2JDv1IEM-NJb7g_7xNTEn32qCvYLXBL6Wn4LObv3dgpYQiZU-HEb1SJAIfk9zevra1KoiFCDUU7ityvOfORqGGQWgUTN_nOtN4rJE-Y1SVzNiVlP1IizuiwEMjvkQtE7ABnURWnW8wkXJEN6Ra93XUWOlqawHjUs7fWwvpZLlhs/s1093/Blog%201923%20tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1093" data-original-width="848" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxhM3lSbiObAzvr-HB2JDv1IEM-NJb7g_7xNTEn32qCvYLXBL6Wn4LObv3dgpYQiZU-HEb1SJAIfk9zevra1KoiFCDUU7ityvOfORqGGQWgUTN_nOtN4rJE-Y1SVzNiVlP1IizuiwEMjvkQtE7ABnURWnW8wkXJEN6Ra93XUWOlqawHjUs7fWwvpZLlhs/s320/Blog%201923%20tree.jpg" width="248" /></a></div><br />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. <p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">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?”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">An early December 1923 <i>Record Herald</i> 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?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUkXHNAcanPoUz3Y1nT7IWFN8RwUjij6n6Ws3G4y01XWgcT6CIba9o4gq07BdK0BmzMnT_BRdMxOrBFtAnAbWW8g-b-5qKg_9yLnLyx11F-bPn_E67a9WXgETB5LWGKfB6hzeHSMebK-PoTP2pCzP6jymjN7V9Fcnw96swYsPmGByv9mrtH3JmVLpv-gn/s624/Blog%201923%20auto.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="624" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUkXHNAcanPoUz3Y1nT7IWFN8RwUjij6n6Ws3G4y01XWgcT6CIba9o4gq07BdK0BmzMnT_BRdMxOrBFtAnAbWW8g-b-5qKg_9yLnLyx11F-bPn_E67a9WXgETB5LWGKfB6hzeHSMebK-PoTP2pCzP6jymjN7V9Fcnw96swYsPmGByv9mrtH3JmVLpv-gn/s320/Blog%201923%20auto.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Christmas gifting made up the bulk of the <i>Record Herald</i>
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.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgldQquzXKrvHcVB1jRFCyngXs_XFvZhJWPkqScsyHCXCsPFXEqAAKxOYU8MLRMPN_pEWvDut1Zht4xYOaNlH7w9kX80Nf_NbvMIiDcVfQ6DmdQ2keecJSkj-HW6Yk2_4Fsp7y2M2ENQhAR_8wPIpilmxP60ibwwP9eUEe7UynFQBODuWfeqlxgTXn0QqXb/s615/Blog%201923%20range.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="582" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgldQquzXKrvHcVB1jRFCyngXs_XFvZhJWPkqScsyHCXCsPFXEqAAKxOYU8MLRMPN_pEWvDut1Zht4xYOaNlH7w9kX80Nf_NbvMIiDcVfQ6DmdQ2keecJSkj-HW6Yk2_4Fsp7y2M2ENQhAR_8wPIpilmxP60ibwwP9eUEe7UynFQBODuWfeqlxgTXn0QqXb/s320/Blog%201923%20range.jpg" width="303" /></a></div>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.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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 <i>Record Herald</i> 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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bach-Dishmaker Company on the northeast corner of 4<sup>th</sup>
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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When the train finally arrived, anxious children followed
Santa from the depot to Groessl Drug store on the southeast corner of 4<sup>th</sup>
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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To make shopping easy, Engelbert’s opened in
the evenings beginning December 10.</p><p class="MsoNormal">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?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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 4<sup>th</sup>
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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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 <i>Record Herald</i> 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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Majestic Theater advertised “Nothing Too Good for
Algoma” and that came with great organ music. Saturday night, December 22<sup>nd</sup>
, began with an overture followed by <i>High Life</i>, a comedy, and then
William Russell in the feature film, <i>The Crusader</i>. Sunday’s matinee
began with the overture and went on to the main feature, <i>Worlds Applause</i>
with its stellar cast. Sunday evening’s offering was the same, but it included
the great Will Rogers in a comedy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While not offering movies on the 24<sup>th</sup>, 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 26<sup>th</sup> and 27<sup>th</sup> featured <i>Ebb Tide</i>
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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On December 24, 1963, the Majestic showed <i>The Duel of the
Titans</i>. 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
<i>The Color Purple, Ferrari, </i>and <i>The Boys in the Boat. <o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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 25<sup>th</sup> delivery.
However, the notification was to be accomplished in a way that did not incur
any expense to the DPO. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>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. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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 24<sup>th</sup>, the Sunday school
and parochial school kids gave their program followed by services in English
and German. On Monday the 25<sup>th</sup>, German services were at 9:45,
followed by services in English at 11:00.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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 26<sup>th</sup>, mass was offered at 9:00.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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 26<sup>th</sup>, and for Thursday and
Friday, when mass would be offered at 7:30 each morning.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The more things change, the more they remain the same. <o:p></o:p></p>Soures: Algoma Record Herald; <div>1923 National Christmas Trees is from https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2023/11/27/100th-anniversary-of-the-national-christmas-tree-lighting/ <p></p></div>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-10767418358988651012023-12-22T19:54:00.000-08:002023-12-22T19:54:16.498-08:00Algoma, World War ll & Billie the Brownie<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF2W7FLrtG-T_gnJbwqtIvJPnBJz0EPhQEsZxceLJryk-fyPV5_e7pGc2m-IiNUv846ViUmQL0U_HrLUCNkMvF-voMB-EsTR_bVo0jkH85Lo6k1rpPog1zN5FgII6_BQ6TJQH0aNJU_IM-GORBcdYfK_NO1a2EIvwTF1417JRH3uZvBxf3T9V-ySkw4-JT/s774/Blog%20Billie%20mic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="417" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF2W7FLrtG-T_gnJbwqtIvJPnBJz0EPhQEsZxceLJryk-fyPV5_e7pGc2m-IiNUv846ViUmQL0U_HrLUCNkMvF-voMB-EsTR_bVo0jkH85Lo6k1rpPog1zN5FgII6_BQ6TJQH0aNJU_IM-GORBcdYfK_NO1a2EIvwTF1417JRH3uZvBxf3T9V-ySkw4-JT/w153-h285/Blog%20Billie%20mic.jpg" width="153" /></a></div><br />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 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>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.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">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. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">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. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">--------</p><p class="MsoNormal">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.</p>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-61238550237826333132023-11-26T07:46:00.000-08:002023-12-03T18:43:25.480-08:00Foscoro: A Hamlet with "Issues"<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDXZ4Nb6UQe_rtcN8nfZPIlVrvEYUSL_5ji3DSlUk6Gsl18YwXYwhXrFvyQiVplH1wgJS5rSenf_apBZHGOPi4B8Gu5aeeNIBBz7wLn-eDjiQaynGmnzzljPpaeaF2a4rZpAUugtSMV2V10BvjNyCDv0CLt4M8o8VoAPGf5oQz4Py5hDcwwoORrU5PKyni/s1200/Blog%20Foscoro%201876%20map.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="759" data-original-width="1200" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDXZ4Nb6UQe_rtcN8nfZPIlVrvEYUSL_5ji3DSlUk6Gsl18YwXYwhXrFvyQiVplH1wgJS5rSenf_apBZHGOPi4B8Gu5aeeNIBBz7wLn-eDjiQaynGmnzzljPpaeaF2a4rZpAUugtSMV2V10BvjNyCDv0CLt4M8o8VoAPGf5oQz4Py5hDcwwoORrU5PKyni/w400-h253/Blog%20Foscoro%201876%20map.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>This map of Foscoro comes from the 1876 Kewaunee County Plat Map of the Town of Ahnapee. Foscoro School, Joint District #1 of the Towns of Clay Banks and Ahnapee, is visible on the north side of Stony Creek along the Door-Kewaunee County line. The saw and gristmills are on the north side of the pier while the hotel is on Lot 2. Stony Creek is visible from the county line to Lake Michigan.</i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">When a March 1871 <i>Milwaukee
News</i> article was reprinted, in part, by Door County<i> Advocate</i> on
April 13, 1871, it pointed to a <i>Milwaukee News</i> article found
in Kewaunee <i>Enterprise</i> which described the place then
called Foscoro. Published before the great fire in October and
others that preceded it that summer, the author said Foscoro’s founders – Messrs.
Foster, Coe, and Rowe - planned a village they felt would become a mighty
city. More than likely, by the time the place became that mighty city, there
would have been a “push” to find out where the place really was.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Foscoro was never mighty and hardly
even big enough to be a hamlet. Small as it was, Foscoro had big
city issues. “Issues” is an over-used word in the world of 2023, and if a
municipality has issues, it is not a good thing. Foscoro was a hamlet with
issues long before the word was in vogue. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Taking County Highway S north out of
Algoma, turning east at County Highway U and following it until the sounds of
waves calm the senses, peace announces one’s arrival at yesteryear’s Foscoro,
now called Stony Creek. Following the Lake Michigan shoreline means there might
be fog obscuring the small green highway sign and missing the sign might mean
missing the once thriving pier community that, at times, didn’t know where it
was either.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Located on the Kewaunee/Door County
line, it took years before the hamlet knew which county it was truly in. Even
its post offices went back and forth. Unusual was Foscoro School, otherwise
known as Joint District No. 1 of the Towns of Ahnapee and Clay Banks. Or in
Kewaunee and Door Counties.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">While the place's location seemed to be a mystery, it was a growing pier community serving the timber industry. Early in 1879, Ahnepee's* Walter Youngs noted the progress of the new mill on Stony Creek in the northeastern part of the Town of Ahnepee. He told others about a creek rising in the Door County Town of Nasewaupee, flowing to Lake Michigan where the mill was at its mouth. Youngs felt a dam would keep water running at all times of the year.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">A few months later - May
1870 – the Kewaunee <i>Enterprise</i> mentioned Mr. George A. Rowe
& Co.’s new sawmill at the mouth of Stony Creek. Timber was ready for the
pier to be built as soon as practical after the mill was running. Rowe was also
planning a grist mill and possibly a store. The <i>Enterprise</i> opined
such improvements would be permanent and substantial, being a great benefit to
the area. Other members of the firm were attorneys George W. Foster and Harvey
L. Coe of Port Washington. Rowe was living in Ahnapee.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Competition came when Henry Geier
erected his grist mill west on Stony Creek in the Town of Forestville in October
1875. Charles Fellows’ Foscoro feed mill had been the only gristmill on the
lake route from Ahnapee to Sturgeon Bay.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">By September 1876, <i>Ahnapee
Record</i> described Foscoro, so at least somebody knew where it was.
Readership was informed the area known as Foscoro was on Lot 2, Section 6, Town
25, Range 26 in the Town of Ahnapee, at the mouth of Stony Creek. At the time,
it consisted of a new mill, bridge pier, store, 6 dwellings and 2 barns, all
built 2 years earlier. Additionally, there was an 850’ pier with 11 feet of
water at the end. The mill was run by waterpower with a 24’ head and, the <i>Record </i>opined,
a small expense meant plenty of power all year. It’s Leffel wheel provided over
90 hp for two circular saws which had a capacity of 25,000 feet per day.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">While the <i>Record</i> knew where Foscoro was, there were many who weren't sure. According to a November 1877 <i>Record</i>, Attorney Harvey L. Coe finished another survey of the hamlet, which most found satisfactory. However, it did not suit all. The paper claimed the survey was less expensive than others and that Coe tried to be impartial, suiting the needs of all. Coe was one of the men responsible for the heyday of Foscoro. Its name came from a combination of his name, his co-attorney George W. Foster and George A. Rowe. Coe and Foster also practiced law in Kewaunee.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Those outside the immediate area
learned a little about Foscoro was in 1877 when both the <i>Advocate</i> and <i>Record </i> reported
a child-animal being born nearby. Determined to see for himself, the <i>Record </i>reporter
said he peeled off the bark on all the trees along the Clay Banks road chasing
a story he called “humbug” rather than using more unprintable words. A child
was indeed born, but the child was born without an arm. What the outlandish
story did was to promote an interest in peninsula geography.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">How long did Foscoro last? In July
1877, the<i> Enterprise</i> referred to Harvey Coe as formerly of
Foster, Coe, and Rowe of Foscoro. Things were changing. The name stuck for a
while though by 1883 newspapers were using Stony/Stoney Creek and Foscoro
interchangeably.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Just before Christmas 1877, the <i>Advocate </i>reported
that Swaty & Son and Charles Fellows entered a partnership of dry goods and
groceries and were ready to supply the whole country. The paper said the store
was so crowded that the sides were bowing out. When the <i>Record</i> published
on the following Halloween, it said Capt. Fellows improved about 4 miles of
Stony Creek in compliance with Chapter 163 of the Laws of 1878, which “fixed”
the creek for floating “wooden objects” from the backwoods down the creek.
Fellows said the project was a great advantage to the farmers and others.
Foscoro was coming into its own.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">When Fellows applied for a post office in February 1878, he said the new office would serve 75-100 people. His application indicated Clay Banks' post office was 3 miles north, Forestville's was 6 miles west and Ahnapee's 6 miles south. If there were 100 folks at most to be served, the area was sparsely settled and for so people, where did all the issues come from?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3qNnPVpUsfKBujUtq2JXfUorrukhNFgbEORaNtpPtPPPS5FWABSdTcQL8GWnPWeDhLqatscw1oGwD6inSlJEKLf_Lnqs0vGPTO60k76dgbHsumVcUGE1oFGPZ_Bn_OBvVS1M7mNQVkaVnDfVJTfbQ9yZI61QtpyJ-SDH6zLu3np_reVHdd45xBydp8T_i/s790/Blog%20Foscoro%20site%20doc%201878.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="306" data-original-width="790" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3qNnPVpUsfKBujUtq2JXfUorrukhNFgbEORaNtpPtPPPS5FWABSdTcQL8GWnPWeDhLqatscw1oGwD6inSlJEKLf_Lnqs0vGPTO60k76dgbHsumVcUGE1oFGPZ_Bn_OBvVS1M7mNQVkaVnDfVJTfbQ9yZI61QtpyJ-SDH6zLu3np_reVHdd45xBydp8T_i/w400-h155/Blog%20Foscoro%20site%20doc%201878.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Taken from the 1878 post office application</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Crime in a place as small as Foscoro
doesn’t sound possible, but it was. The area between the Clay Banks and
Foscoro piers, near Foscoro school house, was finally going to be investigated
according to the June 21, 1883, <i>Record</i>. “Foot pads” concealed in
the bushes had stopped those on the road for years. When a gun was fired at
Charles Hitt and the occupants of his wagon, the paper opined that the dark
road was well-suited to the activities of foot pads which should be put where
they could not molest others. The seat of Hitt’s wagon had broken as Hitt held
his frightened horses while they attempted to run. Since passengers were
sitting on the floor of the wagon, it is possible the highway man or men
thought Mr. Hitt was alone.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Often, crimes begin in saloons. Some things never change. People enjoy having fun, and that doesn't change either. Mixing the two can result in disastrous consequences.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The <i>Advocate </i>seemed
to know where Foscoro was in February 1875, when it mentioned that William L.
Nelson had leased and taken possession of the Foscoro House. In May the <i>Enterprise</i> appeared
to be chuckling, having reprinted an article from the <i>Record</i> when
it spoke of a dance at the Foscoro hotel. Saying the landlord’s name was
DeCanter and since the Foscoro Hotel was a public house, there was something
familiar about the word decanter………<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Just before Halloween 1877 the <i>Record</i> told
readership about 14 canal laborers who were on their way to Chicago when they
stopped at Hugh Ackers “ last Thursday and got pretty well set up.” A purse
with money was lost and as the men arrived in Ahnapee on Friday, the loss
culminated in a knock-down fight from the effects of too much “O be joyful.”
One man was fined $7.50 while another rested in the lock-up overnight.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">By late November 1878, folks knew
where the place was when the <i>Advocate</i> reported the barroom
shooting at Foscoro, right over the county line. A man was shot in a drunken
brawl at Hugh Acker’s saloon.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The shooting got puzzling. While
the <i>Enterprise, Advocate and Record </i>were somewhat in agreement
about the sequence of events, the names of the participants and the outcomes
were blurred. John Swenson was named as Swinson in the <i>Record </i>which
lists Ben Owenson and Knud Ownes, reporting Knud Ownes as the man shot.
The <i>Advocate </i>article cites John Swenson while reporting Knud Owenson was shot, however there is no mention Ownes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Swenson, Ownes, and Owenson were
unmarried fishermen living and working together in Clay Banks. They were on
their way home from Ahnapee when they stopped at Acker’s. As one story goes,
they were well fortified with liquor before they got to Acker’s.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Owenson was drunk and apparently
having trouble speaking. The men had a drink or two and began playing cards.
Then they began arguing about something in the past.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Ownes - who was said to be a
“desperate character” when under the influence - pulled a large jack-knife from
his pocket. He threatened Swenson who told him to sit down, Ownes got up and
threatened again, and again Swenson told him to sit down, which he did. Then it
happened again. The fourth time Ownes jumped up, he went around to Swenson,
knife drawn. Standing about 3’ apart, Ownes became more threatening when
Swenson drew his Smith & Wesson and fired, seeming to strike Owenson in the
7<sup>th</sup> rib. How was that determined in such states of
intoxication?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">As the November 29<i> Enterprise </i>told
the story, Ownes and Swenson met at Acker’s saloon and engaged in excessive
drinking which brought on such conduct as “usually attends the immoderate use
of intoxicating beverages.” It said that when they sat down to play cards,
Ownes was quite loud although Swenson controlled his actions. Continuing, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the paper said Ownes stood at the saloon door with
a knife. refusing to allow Swenson to leave. Swenson could no longer hold his
temper and withdrew his revolver to shoot Ownes “down.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The Enterprise continued informing
citizens that the shooting happened on Friday and on Monday Justice Yates
issued an arrest warrant for Swenson and held him under bond of $1,000 for his
appearance at the Circuit Court in April.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Meanwhile, on November 29th, the <i>Expositor
Independent</i> said Swenson and Owenson (Ownes is not mentioned) were playing
cards and drinking freely when they argued about the game. That article says
when Owenson drew his knife, Swenson drew his revolver from his pocket and shot
the former in the abdomen. The article went on to say Swenson “procured the
ball” and was taking care of the man he shot. The paper did not think the
injured man could recover.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">What happened next is hard to
understand. Ownes was left lying on the floor when Swenson wanted more to drink
and then fell asleep. What were Owenson and Acker doing?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">In the morning Ownes was still on the
floor when Swenson was sufficiently sobered to realize what happened. He sent
for Dr. Perlewitz from Ahnapee who originally thought Ownes
was in serious condition. </span>The <i>Enterprise</i> says Dr. Parsons (not Perlewitz) was called to render all possible medical aid. Some felt that Ownes lost much blood from internal
bleeding that recovery was doubtful. A day or so later, Perlewitz found the
bullet was three inches lower in the abdomen than first thought, however, did
not remove it. He felt Ownes would be well within a few weeks. Ownes, however,
was worried about his friend Swenson and felt his (Ownes) actions were
responsible for the shooting.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Swenson was arrested immediately and
taken to Ahnapee where he was brought to Justice Yates, charged with shooting
Knud Ownes, and bound over for the next Circuit Court. Swenson pled not guilty
before being charged by Yates and said he acted with justification. He gave
bail of $1,000 and was to appear at the April Circuit Court term. The trial for
the shooting and killing - papers do not agree on this - Knud Owens was slated
for November at Kewaunee. Folks felt if Owens died, Swenson would likely be
held blameless as he acted in self-defense. He had to shoot Owens or be carved
up by Owens' knife.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Hugh Acker and Ben Owenson were
subpoenaed as witnesses which the April 25, 1879, <i>Enterprise </i>listed
as the trial of the State of Wisconsin vs John Swenson. On May 1, the same
paper said Swenson was “acquitted of shooting Knud Owens last November.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Months before the trial, the November 28, 1878, <i>Enterprise</i>
reported the bills turned in to the county Committee on Miscellaneous Accounts which
paid Justice J.L.V. Yates $5.31 for fees and the inquest for Knud Ownes.
“Inquest” suggests Ownes died. However, Ownes was still living when the <i>Advocate</i>
and<i> Expositor</i> <i>Independent</i> published after that date. That seems
to indicate the inquest involved the shooting and no death. The <i>Advocate</i>
of May 1, 1879, noted John Swenson’s trial for shooting and killing of Knut
Owenson in November was about to start.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Some say the Ownes was the victim of
Door County’s first murder, but it happened in Kewaunee County.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Foscoro never had a church and whiskey
might have been the reason. Tanum Lutheran Church at Vignes is the only church
in Clay Banks and would have been close enough for Foscoro residents. At one
point, Seventh Day Adventists were hauling stone to build near Salona, but
nothing happened. The Catholics also planned for a church and arranged a
raising bee. On the scheduled workday the men went into the woods in a
Norwegian area. The builders brought so much beer and whiskey that the
Norwegians felt the logs were going to be floated. By the time they ran out of
alcohol, the men couldn’t do much more and the church never materialized.
Recorded history says that the large Norwegian population organized their
church in 1872, and until the church was built, services were held in Charles
Hitt’s dining room and saloon. Proximity of spirits doubtless meant the service was far too long for some.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">It wasn’t liquor that caused the
problem in July 1877 – it was pop that was stolen from Foscoro House. The pop
was manufactured in Ahnapee by Magnus Haucke and his father-in-law Henry
Baumann. Theirs was the first such manufactory on the peninsula. Ironic is that
product often went north on McDonald’s <i>Whiskey Pete. </i>Perhaps
the robbers felt saloons only carried liquor, or perhaps they felt <i>Whiskey
Pete</i> was worthy of its namesake.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">One William Flaherty was hitting the sauce during November 1877, a year before the Ownes shooting. He didn't spend his money at the Foscoro saloon though. Flaherty was on his way from Kewaunee to Stony Creek,** having freely "indulged in the cup." Reaching Ahnapee, he hired a horse, buckboard, and services of Fred Dammon. Getting cold, Flaherty was searching for his mittens while commanding Dammon to stop. He did not. Issuing the command a third time, Mr. Dammon began thinking Flaherty was hunting for his revolver and, in fright, jumped off the buckboard, hiding in the dark. Meanwhile the inebriated Flaherty had the horse in the dark while Dammon had to walk through the dark and mud back to Ahnapee. The horse was returned the next day.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">In January 1878, Sturgeon Bay <i>Advocate</i> withheld
the name of a man who wanted to go to a ball in Foscoro. The unnamed borrowed
the buckboard of one man, thills of another, and the horse of a third, and
rigged a harness with pieces of rope and bits of strap. Then he found three
girls and his one-eyed, bobtail dog. Pleasure, happiness, fun, defeat, and
humiliation came next. He had too much benzine (which was sniffed to get high),
and then wagged his tongue too much. If anybody knew how he lost his pants,
the <i>Advocate </i>wasn’t telling<i>.</i> For a man with three young
women on his arm, it was worse was when some other fellow took the girls home.
Not even the dog stayed with him. As the <i>Advocate</i> said, he was
trying to get through a knot hole to avoid being seen. Who would the <i>Advocate </i>not
name?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Two months later, the<i> Advocate</i> might
have told a different story, when it pointed out, tongue-in-cheek, the roads
between Ahnapee and Foscoro were in “wonderful condition” with the mud being
only 2’ deep. Was it the mud or something else that happened when the <i>Record </i>told
readership in April that the telegraph line between Clay Banks and Foscoro
broke in 2 or 3 places and wire was lying on the road. Poles were also down and
on the ground, but there were those, including the <i>Record, </i>who
wondered<i> </i>whose business was it to rebuilt it? Was the location of
Foscoro still a mystery in 1878? Finally, two years later, in late April 1880,
the <i>Record </i>said the telegraph office was re-established at
Foscoro. Henry Overbeck at Ahnapee was the operator.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Foscoro School has been forgotten by
following generations and is not included in the list of Kewaunee
County schools. The school has provided its own stories.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">According to the July 16, 1914, <i>Record, </i>a
portion of the Towns of Clay Banks and Ahnapee was organized into a joint
school district in 1874. Until February 1875 when the <i>Enterprise</i> reported
that Foscoro schoolhouse had a fire, the school didn’t generate news. The fire
was due to a damaged flue and damage was slight, however flames were difficult
to extinguish. That paper reported in May 1878 that C.B. Post of Foscoro had
the contract for a new 26’ x 36’ district schoolhouse, so perhaps the damage
was more substantial than thought.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">In February 1879, Foscoro school, with
teacher Susie Seymour, closed because of diphtheria and other sickness. Fifteen
months later, the <i>Record</i> said Foscoro school closed due to the
illness of teacher Addie Morey.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">An August 1885<i> Advocate</i> told
readers Jessie Dreutzer was engaged to teach at Foscoro School for the fall and
winter seasons which began on October 1. Florence Barrand was engaged as the
teacher for Foscoro school in Joint District 1# said a late July 1888 <i>Record</i>.
The eight-month term began on the first Monday of September. In earlier years
there were winter and summer terms such as on April 27, 1882, when
the <i>Record </i>said Foscoro school district would begin the summer
term on Monday. On November 22, 1883, Miss Olive Foster began teaching the
winter term at the school.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The <i>Advocate</i> thanked
Clay Banks Town Clerk Nelson who presented the statement of taxation in the
town’s school districts in January 1883. Joint District #1, Clay Banks and
Ahnapee, was $2.03 on $100 valuation. District #1 was the least at $1.88 on
$100 while District #2 was $2.93 on $100 valuation, which is a significant
difference within the three districts.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">It seems as if the joint district had so many teachers and sometimes two a year. Then in July 1892, the <i>Advocate</i> reported that Joint District #1 elected Foscoro resident Robert Johnson as clerk in place of Lars Knudson and engaged Clara Acker as the teacher. Clara was teaching during the winter term when the Christmas edition of the <i>Record</i> noted that she spent the holidays with her parents.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">It seemed strange in January 1895 when
the <i>Advocate </i>reported that Robert Johnson, L.J. Fellows and
Henry Awe, the board members of Joint District #1 of Clay Banks and Ahnapee,
had a treasury balance of $7.88. They did not vote funds for the following
school year. They also voted that there would be no school held in the district
for the ensuring term. The previous teacher was paid, on average, $28 per
month. Why would there be no school? Was the District dealing with so much that board members just gave up?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">About 6 weeks before the end of her
contract, teacher Lizzie Madoche was discharged for alleged inability to
maintain order and discipline. Clara Acker who served as teacher in 1892 was
hired in Lizzie’s place, and it was Clara who was called as a witness when
Lizzie sued for lost wages for the balance of the term. On August 2, the
case came before Justice Dehos who ruled in favor of Madoche.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The District was back in court a few
months later in November when on a Tuesday morning Judge Masse was hearing
testimony in the action brought against Joint District #1, Robert Johnson, and
Louis J. Fellows, two of the district officers. Some taxpayers petitioned for
their removal. Among charges was neglecting to call a special meeting when
legally requested to do so. It came about for “wrongfully and illegally discharging
Miss Eliza Madosch (sic), a former teacher in the district.” That action
involved the district in litigation resulting taxpayers “entailing thereof in
heavy loss.” Y. V. Dreutzer represented the people while Johnson and Fellows
handled their own affairs. After the hearing, an adjournment was taken for six
days.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">When Judge Masse opened court that
Monday morning in December 1895, he dismissed the case against the school board
members, saying he had no jurisdiction. It was shown that since only 17 of the
59 district electors signed the petition, prosecution evidence was weak.
Johnson and Fellows claimed that the litigation to oust them came from a few
malcontents in a scheme to break up the district. It was said the malcontents
resided in another district but owned land in the Joint District. Since the
whiners did not have children to send to school, they felt they should not have
to pay taxes for educational purposes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Though history suggests Foscoro School
closed, it didn’t. In January 1898, the <i>Advocate</i> told
readers there was a change of teachers when Miss Samuelson decided to take
charge of the one pupil school. The paper said she was an “earnest worker” and
the best wishes of her “patrons” went with her.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">In early September 1898,
the <i>Record</i> said Joint District #1 schoolhouse burned about
10 PM on Friday night in a fire of undetermined origin. The building remained
property of Joint District #1, which was dissolved during the winter. The
building was a total loss as there was no insurance on it or its contents. The
question was, what caused the fire? The building was not open. The heating
stove was not in use. There was no lightning. There was no reason for the fire.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The <i>Advocate</i> announced,
in early March 1899, the construction of a new schoolhouse for Clay Banks’
first district located in the Vignes neighborhood. Vignes was the center of the
district when Joint District #1 was consolidated with Clay Banks #1. Foscoro
children went to Lakeview School.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The mill was gone, the school district
was near its end, and the post office closed in 1900 due to lack of patronage.
The post office would have been closed within the next few years as R.F.D. came
into being in 1904. Foscoro slipped into the past.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">When the <i>Record </i>chronicled Issac
Orell’s purchase of 40 acres from Mr. Fellows in May 1878, it mentioned that the
land had a beautiful little lake of about 1 acre, the banks of which, when
cleared, would be one of the finest building places in the county. The fire of
1871 was by then regarded as an advantage as the destruction of timber cleared
land for farming.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The disappearance of the incredible
beauty of Stony Creek was reproduced by the <i>Advocate</i> in April
1871 from an article appearing in the <i>Enterprise</i> saying that
at Stony Creek, the site of the pier, was “invested with the halo of romance by
Jeannie who writes for the <i>Milwaukee News</i>.” Jeannie said about ¼
mile north of the village plat the high bluff at the Lake recedes about 40-50
rods, turning into a gentle hill extending southeasterly about the same
difference from the Lake and then back to the shore. Jeannie felt “within this
amphitheater is the future, the sweetest village that the waves of Lake
Michigan shall kiss.” She said the ground “descended softly to the lake” and
water flowed in a way that she felt it was “the home of fairies.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Amphitheater was the word used
describing the” stream of rocks” from the creek to the lake when Rowe, Coe and
Foster built the large sawmill, destroying the beautiful cedars and other trees
suggesting monuments of a by-gone era into a place devoid of beauty or sense of
poetry. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">It was written in 1883 that, “Only
a short distance from the mill, and connected with it by a wooden railroad, is
a pier run out into the lake a thousand feet. How it mars the beauty of this
fair nook! It is as some beautiful girl, with a mouth to excite an irresistible
desire for a kiss, should all at once run out a tongue like an anteater.” By
then Lake Michigan mariners failed to see the fairies but did see a
dwelling-place of demons. Just outside of Foscoro lies a shoal which has been
the cause of multiple shipwrecks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">It was also written that a brief time
ago, Foscoro was the loveliest village on Lake Michigan, however “the
loveliness of the place departed” causing one’s heart to swell with such grief
that the penman “had to weep.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p>- - - - - - </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">*What became Algoma in 1897 was called
Ahnepee until 1873 when the spelling changed to Ahnapee.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">**Foscoro is now called Stony/Stoney
Creek, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Sources: Ahnapee Record, Algoma Record
Herald, Door County Advocate, Door County Expositor, Kewaunee Enterprise; 1876 Kewaunee County Plat Book; Here Comes the Mail: Post Offices of Kewaunee County http://genealogytrails.com>history1917_chapter47; https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC5RZMT </span></p><br /><p></p>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-42404085307926176382023-11-11T17:58:00.000-08:002023-11-11T17:58:02.750-08:00 Lest We Forget: Veterans’ Day 2023<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimmbMDytiSbVDIOAbiV0z9aSOVAEIgdsuLdx55e7j4-YjmfTsYPeayO-F3GkI2lsLekVmDJTGDty5V0z3MrtR8VVSsxcVzL9HA6thRi7YiWXbXibQEG_TgkfDM-HKK0Z8x8eB0sI8sZihpqhFAIwcgmq22nM1qBLrlUFpv5XxMltPhRNSuiedDgHXvG51c/s990/flag%202023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="990" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimmbMDytiSbVDIOAbiV0z9aSOVAEIgdsuLdx55e7j4-YjmfTsYPeayO-F3GkI2lsLekVmDJTGDty5V0z3MrtR8VVSsxcVzL9HA6thRi7YiWXbXibQEG_TgkfDM-HKK0Z8x8eB0sI8sZihpqhFAIwcgmq22nM1qBLrlUFpv5XxMltPhRNSuiedDgHXvG51c/s320/flag%202023.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Nineteen years ago, on Saturday November 11, eight or nine
veterans working on a Green Bay Yacht Club project decided to have an impromptu
flag raising and observance. The day mushroomed to what it is today feting
hundreds of veterans from as far away as the U.P. Nineteen years ago there were
those who served in World War ll. In today’s throng there was one. There were
Korean vets, but not many. Most were Vietnam and the post-Nam men and women.
The older folks didn’t escape their country’s call; they had little choice when
they were drafted. Those serving in the last 50 years, when the draft ended, were
volunteers and served because they did have a choice.</div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As the master of ceremonies eloquently pointed out, joining
the military is giving the country a blank check for one’s life. It means acceptance
of any duty at any location while knowing the blank check might be paid with
death. Veterans date to the beginning of this country, and the millions of vets deserve far more than a trite “Thank you for your service” on this day
while they are forgotten every other day. The Greatest Generation is passing
away before us while those who served in the Vietnam era are still getting
kicked in the teeth. Many who never served, and laughed at those who did, think
it is just a job. But they really don’t think. How many were maimed for life?
How many have Agent Orange blood borne diseases and other cancers? How many
have lost arms, legs and eyes, or the ability to have children? How many have PTSD
and deal with mental illness, or have such emotional issues that close
relationships are all but impossible. Then there is homelessness. All is paid
by that blank check.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While others begin careers, buy homes, and take cruises, the
young people who were drafted and now volunteering put their lives on hold.
Whether the men and women had/have stateside duties or were on foreign soil, lives
were on hold. Speaker Lt. Col. Pruitt talked about a Marine standing on a wall
when he was asked why he was standing there. The Marine replied that he was
there so we could sleep without fear as evil wouldn’t strike while he was watching.
Pruitt mentioned George Washington serving for 8 ½ years and in that time only
spending 3 or so days at his home, Mt. Vernon. In the 200 years plus between
George Washington and the Marine, much has changed, but service men and women have
always been there keeping us safe.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Although President Calvin Coolidge was a man of few words, he
had much to say on November 11, 1928, in a speech marking the 10<sup>th</sup>
anniversary of the Armistice. The address paid tribute to those who served and
sacrificed in a time of war while he also discussed the cost of war to a people
and a country.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Coolidge said, “Our first thought, then, is to acknowledge
the obligation which the nation owes to those who served in our forces afloat
and ashore………the place of honor will always be accorded to the men and the
women who wore the uniform of our country – the living and the dead.”<o:p></o:p></p>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-53357915650733996692023-11-01T07:20:00.000-07:002023-11-01T07:20:30.385-07:00Kewaunee County: It's Not Your Grandpa's Halloween<p>Halloween, witches, ghosts, and skeletons go together. But
not all the time. While Kewaunee County history does not appear to support
witches, there are stories of ghosts and the paranormal. Over the years, numerous
skeletons have been found. Some were said to be Indian, and likely Potawatomie
who inhabited the area before relocating, or being driven out. Some skeletons
are felt to be those who were hastily buried in outbreaks of cholera and
diphtheria. Others are mysteries.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">One of those mysteries was reported in April 1906 when, on
April 5, William Schmidt’s Town of Pierce barn was burned to the ground, but
not much attention was paid to it. At first. As workmen cleared away debris,
they found a male skeleton in the ruins. It was supposed the skeleton was that
of a young man who had been released from the Green Bay reformatory. He was
seen in Algoma the day prior to the fire and he was noticed him going south. It
was supposed that tramps in the area were responsible for the fire and for the
death of the man who was known to have money when he was in Algoma. Money was
an incentive for such a crime and although County District Attorney ordered an inquest, it was not held.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Algoma’s Ben Boettcher brought the charred skull to Dr. Rice
who said the remains were definitely human. Searching for further evidence, Boettcher
and Mr. Schmidt found the rims of spectacles and some pant buttons.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some felt the unknown man accidentally set fire to the barn
in which he sought shelter and was unable to escape. Others felt it was the
tramps prowling the area. Who knew?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Other skeletons were not the bones of John Brown, but rather
those of Indian people from year earlier.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While street commissioner Marr and his crew were taking
gravel from the city gravel pit in October 1904, they found numerous skeletons.
Citizens brought lights and dug, finding what they felt were the remains of 7
people. Being in such poor state that they could not be removed, they were left
undisturbed. Older folks believed that there was an old Indian burial ground in
the vicinity and it was expected more skeletons would be unearthed.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As Louis Fellows was excavating a basement under his Fremont
St. home in October 1926, he found human bones that were thought to be from the
days the area was populated by Indians.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Men excavating at the Two
Rivers Hamilton plant in April 1927 unearthed a rough box holding the skeleton
of a man. Old settlers believed the man might have been a victim of cholera
which was prevelent in the early 1850s. It was known that during the epidemic,
bodies were buried in the area of the city where the box was found.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In January 1928, a skeleton was dug up at the north end of
the government yards in Kewaunee. It was noticed as a skull protruded from a
portion of an excavation which was caving in. Digging indicated the skeleton
was in an upright position and was not dug up for fear of disturbing the
remains. Being Indian bones, it was felt they were Potawatomie who had
inhabited the area. History suggests the man might have died during an Indian
battle known to have taken place on the site.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Finding a skeleton in the gravel shore near Two Creeks in
June 1933 led to hopes that the disappearance of a Two Creeks man a year
earlier would be solved. After investigation, the mystery remained when it was
determined the skeleton was of that of an Indian felt to be buried in the sand
for scores of years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The same paper carried an article about a skeleton found at Frank
Husnik’s gravel pit east of Ellisville although old settlers could not remember
burials in the area. The body appeared to be buried without any protective
clothing and was only a foot below the soil. Clarence Robillard took the skull
and parts of the skeleton to Kewaunee for examination. The shape of the skull
led to the belief that the person could have been an early type of human. After
the bones were displayed at the Enterprise office, they were sent to a museum
for analysis. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A few of the skeletons were found in October. Had there been
more, it would have added to Halloween in Kewaunee County where much changed
over 150 years.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Things were unusual in 1889 when Ahnapee girls devoted their
time to playing practical jokes that did not cause harm, thus casting caution
to the wind on the night when the <i>Record</i> said maidens walked downstairs
backward with a mirror in front of them, or walked barefoot around the block
while carrying a cabbage stalk. Say what? Folklore says that’s how one
discovered the identity of a future husband. First it was seeing the man in the
mirror and then face-to-face. Halloween seemed to be an unusual time to foretell
a husband, but perhaps it was black magic.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ten years later the Enterprise told readership to take care
of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>gates because the following Monday was
Halloween, the evening when the boys turn everything upside down. Apparently
the news was out that they were already making plans for their raids.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In 1899 Mrs. August Boedecker entertained the ladies in the
parlors of Algoma Hotel on Halloween. The women enjoyed cards and games and
sampled refreshments served on a table decorated in an "odd manner" and set in the sign of the cross. Guests were served by waiters
dressed as ghosts. Most of the
guests were married, but at least 2 of the 3 single women were teachers. Did
they come as spinsters? The parlor mentioned was most certainly the “ladies
parlor” where women could order whiskey or such beverages to enjoy with their
cigars. It was a room for ladies only.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">An Illinois appellate court had an impact on Halloween 1901 when
it ruled that “the citizen is entitled to protection at the hands of the city.”
The court ruled following the destruction of $900 worth of coal at Spring
Valley in 1900. Taxpayer money was to be used for more stringent police surveillance
on Halloween as damage or destruction caused by “Halloween hoodlums” would be
paid for by government. In 2023 dollars, the coal would be worth about $34,000.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nobody in Kewaunee forgot Halloween in 1903 as
throughout the city young folks held “high revel” with the residential area
experiencing most of it. Most pranks were harmless although the <i>Enterprise</i>
there were many which should be punished. Even though extra police were out,
they could not keep up with those who were out for “sport.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Halloween – the night most dreaded by property owners - passed
in such a manner in 1910 that the<i> Record</i> hoped the future would bring
such occasions. Whether it was extra police or a lack of interest, Algoma was
relatively unscathed. Soaped windows were the worst of it and although some sewer pipes
were stung over sidewalks, nothing was vicious. Devilishness was always worst at the school, but, the <i>Record</i> with the swinging of the cop’s Billy club, the place looked like a
Quaker meeting house. The city breathed a sigh of relief. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But Kewaunee was not quite so lucky. The<i> Record</i> told
readership that Kewaunee area resident Frank Peroutky was not forgotten when he
was awakened by gunshots and ringing bells near his door. Lewis Johnstone didn't have much trouble as he was
running for assembly and out being seen and pressing the flesh at the party
at Schmitz’ hall.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Casco was looking at legal action in 1919 after a mob of
about 75 men and boys almost turned the village upside down. They weren’t
content with soaping windows, ringing bells, and destroying gates, but, the
paper said, they overturned <u>all</u> small buildings in town, threw stones
through windows and insulted townsfolk who attempted to stop the destruction.
The worst of the vandalism was the burning of George King’s corn crop. The fire
was put out, however the stacks and cobs were in such bad shape, they were
useless for feeding. The paper admonished residents and said it was time for
parents to watch their boys because if a boy was not home in the evening, what
was he up to? What about the men?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Things changed in 1927 when Opera House manager, Charles
Schneider, announced a free movie for Kewaunee children in an attempt to keep
kids from the vandalism and lawlessness of previous Halloweens. Schneider said
the children would be highly entertained, and asked parents to have their
children at home immediately after. Both business and civic organizations worked
together to provide an entertaining evening that did not include criminal
activity.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Where once Halloween was a festival of the saints, the day
became one that was lawless, destructive, and filled with crime. When the
Kewaunee school system said it had a duty to train good citizens and promote a “sane”
Halloween, it said all organizations could be of assistance. The school planned
to have teachers emphasize the source of school monies, the good will of the
community, respect for property and more.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">During the 1930s, Kewaunee Postmaster Wright got to the
office the day after Halloween and stopped dead in his tracks. Recent
Halloweens had lent a false sense of security so when Wright looked up
expecting to see a fluttering flag, he saw an old-fashioned chamber pot – a
“pot de chambre” or “mug de toilette” in the place of Old Glory.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <i>Enterprise</i> felt such sacrilege had to be a first
in the U.S. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chamber pots were like kids
– neither to be seen nor heard – but there it was at the corner of Ellis and
Main St. for all to see. The paper reported that Wright let out a roar that
Uncle Sam, the Army, and the FBI would be called to find the guilty. He said
nobody could “pull a potty” and get away with it. He was about to call the
Coast Guard and the police when George Flaherty came into view.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In 1935, the <i>Enterprise</i> editor was waxing nostalgic
with tongue-in-cheek when he said gone were the days when Trottman’s dray
wagons could no longer put on residential porches, and there were no swinging
gates with removable hinges that were easily removed. There were no wooden
sidewalks pulled up and dumped on someone’s doorstep. And when horses
disappeared from the scene, the horseshoe nails couldn’t be used to trick the innocent.
Indoor bathrooms meant the one family two-holers were not places of dread on
November 1.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">J.H. Kampo, <i>Enterprise</i> manager, said there was no appeal
for the days of yore when citizens spent two weeks in November trying to locate
their chickens. No doubt the paper’s musings prompted the devious to plan future
Halloweens. Citizens not only lost chickens, but their iron lawn deer and
clotheslines also disappeared. One year, a 200’ rope was attached to the
Congregational church bell and then the rope was pulled down the lake bank. The bell was
rung by “remote control.” After the church was relocated, the bell ringing
became a non-issue because the church no longer had a bell. Back in the day,
culprits kept Chief of Police Orin Warner downtown while their “associates”
climbed into the school belfry to ring out freedom across town. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <i>Enterprise</i> saw Halloween as a national holiday
and a national disaster which had gone away. The paper felt soap manufacturers
and mask makers “so defiled the true pioneering spirit of American youth” that
even a carved pumpkin has (in 1935) become obsolete. The paper went on to say
that the old-fashioned Halloween was gone, and “we mourn its passing with
cheers.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By 1938, the <i>Enterprise</i> said the art of Halloweening
was on the decline due to police presence and community parties that kept the
young entertained. The <i>Enterprise</i> opined even the passing of the old
three-holers changed things. Still, citizens remained nervous. remembering the
days when boys put one of Butch Trottman’s wagons on top the light house at the
end of the government pier. The prank kept government engineers busy for weeks
wondering how it could have possibly been accomplished without a derrick. Then
too, there was no commotion that would have brought attention.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kewaunee’s Fine Arts Club enjoyed a hard time party in the
school gym in 1944, playing games such as pin the tail on the black cat. The
gym was decorated with pumpkins, corn stalks and more while Jane Swoboda pulled
fortunes from an iron kettle hung over glowing embers. As guests were led
through the chamber of horrors, they came upon the remains of Ichabod Crane
while hearing the clanking of chains and groaning and moaning of ghosts. Doughnuts
and coffee were served during the evening that ended with dancing games and
music provided by such musicians as Earl Shane, Gordon Thoreson and more.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Who’d prank the police chief on Halloween? In 1945, somebody
got Chief John Lischka when all 5 tires on his vehicle were punctured in
Kewaunee. If the guilty was ever caught, he surely got the proverbial book
thrown at him. Not good to go after a police chief.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When a “For Sale” sign on the courthouse in 1959 caused a
little head-scratching, it turned out to be a Halloween prank that was far more
mild than 50 years earlier. Schools also sported such signs.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kodan’s history of Halloween mayhem is legendary, and the
school was targeted in 1960 too, but it wasn’t the outhouse that was tipped
that year. After the board played its own prank years earlier, out-house moving
became a thing of the past!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">School was cold when teacher Ruth Draves arrived that 1960
day. When she checked, she found the copper tubing on the fuel tank hanging
below the spigot. Whether it was a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Halloween prank or whether somebody drained the oil was not immediately
determined. Whoever did it pinched the cut end so that not all oil would drain.
They also turned off the spigot. The school board and Sheriff Legois were
called. When the kids got to school dressed in costume, they were not deprived
of their party as Mrs. Draves rounded up enough electric heaters to keep the
kids warm until the tubing was replaced.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For over 100 years there were pranks – many vicious. Then
came trick or treating. Northeastern Wisconsin was tricked in 2023, but not by
celebrating kids. It was the weather. Some areas only got an inch of snow, but those
tricked the most got 4” of the white stuff. Kids wore warm clothing over
costumes they planned for weeks. When kids knocked saying, “Trick or Treat,” it
was Mrs. Santa greeting them with a “Merry Christmas.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sources: Kewaunee County newspapers</p>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-71729848363550475272023-09-11T18:36:00.001-07:002023-09-11T18:36:59.420-07:00Kewaunee County's One-Armed Bandits and a 1940 Wedding Picture<p><b> If You Must, Shoot Crap with Honest People, Forget Slot
Machines</b>. Such was the headline of an <i>Algoma Record Herald </i>article on
November 17, 1949. Statisticians at the University of Wisconsin figured out
that the one-armed bandit ate quarters while the player had a seven to one chance of winning. The stats
further showed that three machine jackpots occurred in every 8,000 plays.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sometimes a small jackpot is as good as it gets, and it was
good in September 1940. The 13<sup>th</sup> and 14<sup>th</sup> were days of
the annual Door County Teacher’s Institute at Sturgeon Bay High School,
although the teachers weren’t learning how to prepare their charges for sin and
corruption. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">East Maplewood’s primary teacher had been married three
months earlier. Having been in Sturgeon Bay on Labor Day, she and the new groom
spotted their wedding picture in the window of Rieboldt Studio on (what was) N.
Cedar Street. The <span style="color: red;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>photo was beautifully bordered by an
ivory, mother-of-pearl, and silver frame, something far too expensive for the
newly married couple. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On second meeting day, the young bride needed gas, which she
purchased at Yahnke’s Wadham’s Filling Station at 4<sup>th</sup> and Jefferson
in Algoma. Like many other stations of the era, Yahnke’s had a one-armed
bandit. Using the dime in change from her fill-up, the young woman impulsively put it into
the slot machine. It paid! When she traveled to Sturgeon Bay for that second
day, she used the noon break to dash to Rieboldt’s where she bought the exquisite
picture. Telling the story in years to come, the aging bride said she had never
done anything so foolish in her life. Ten cents was real money in the
post-Depression/pre-war years. Eighty-three years later, that photo is every
bit as beautiful as when it hung in the studio’s window. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Where did slot machines come from?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If the November 16, 1906, issue of <i>Algoma Record Herald</i>
had it right, slot machines were invented by the Egyptians for use in Egyptian
temples before the Christian era. That machine was “a covered stone vase for
holy water. There was a slot in it and a five-drachm piece dropped into it
caused the cover to slide back smoothly so the worshipper could take a little
holy water, whereupon the cover moved back into its place.” The 1906 article
said such perfect devices could be found in museums and English army officer,
Col. Sandeman, gets credit for inventing a penny slot machine, but it was Percy
Everett of New York who was the first to imagine the machine’s possibilities
and begin marketing.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It didn’t take long for the machines to make the news.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In May 1913, clergy throughout Green Bay addressed the
city’s moral conditions in their Sunday sermons. Church goers were urged to
fight the evils which were a menace to the community’s youth by weeding out
disreputable saloonkeepers, dance hall owners and promoters. It was noted that
the mayor and council committees took away 11 licenses during the year. Control
was necessary in River City!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The slot machines brought crime to Algoma in November 1923 when
burglars broke a rear window to enter the Nesemann saloon at 2<sup>nd</sup> and
Navarino in Algoma. The perpetrator got a nickel slot machine owned by Charles
Hopp of Kewaunee. Mr. Nesemann felt that about $15 was in the machine which was
found in the pea canning factory and broken into pieces. Bars and beach stones
were used to smash the machine to get at the nickels. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>It was reported in early December 1925 that the Casco
barbershop was burglarized on the preceding Sunday night, a time when there was
no money in the cash register. The only thing missing was the slot machine. The
burglar broke a rear window for entry.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Forst Hall in Tisch Mills saw one of the boldest robberies
in the area during early September 1926. When lights went out at midnight
(because it was time to go home), robbers helped themselves to $60 or more from
the cash register and a 25-cent slot machine before the dance crowd knew what
was happening. Change on the bar was also scooped up to produce more than 100 bucks in the heist.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Authorities said two men were seen running from the hall to
a waiting car. It was felt three or more men were in the gang as the slot
machine was large and heavy. The robbery appeared to be well planned and timed
because the robbers were at the cash register and had removed the slot machine
within a minute of the lights going out.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In late July 1929, a few months before “The Crash,” Algoma’s
Henry Muench foiled a robbery at Schmitty’s Inn on west side of town when he
heard the robbers and shouted. The thieves were attempting to carry off a slot
machine, cartons of cigarettes, and two pistols taken from a punch board.
Running, they dropped the slot and cigarettes and one of the pistols was found
near the Wenniger home. Authorities thought they had information, however the
“culprits” left the city.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>Algoma barber Otto Krohn
found a dime slot machine and several cartons of cigarettes were stolen when
his shop was entered on Sunday night in July 1931. The machine was found in the
rear of the Dug-Out the following noon by janitor Frank Prokash. Though the
machine was broken and coined were gone, the thieves missed 40 cents.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Once again thieves broke a rear window to enter Harold
Jenquin’s place in Brussels for the second time in three months. Cigars and
cigarettes were stolen in August 1933, however in November, the crooks carried
off a radio tube tester, a slot machine, and more cigarettes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Joseph Wagner, a 24 year old
Green Bay man, was released by Kewaunee County authorities in 1933 under a $2,000
bond furnished by his father. He was arrested at his Preble home after his
license number was noticed when his auto was parked at Jule Dalebroux’ Thiry
Daems softdrink parlor</span> which was enter the night a slot machine and
other items were stolen.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Wagner’s back cushion and part of the front seat were
removed from the 1932 Chevrolet coach to make space for three slot machines and
a cigar box holding about $25 of nickels and dimes. A 32-calibre fully loaded
revolver was found under the hood. The machines were stolen from Dalebroux,
George Hruska in Alaska, and Tony Worachek in Slovan. Entry at Alaska and
Slovan was gained by crashing the front door, possibly with the iron jimmy he was
carrying.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Authorities had been watching for the suspected Mr. Wagner
for months. He refused to speak about the robberies though said if he wanted to
do so, he could give the names of 20 others. Because of similarities,
Wagner was suspected in several other roadhouse robberies such as Rubens at
Rosiere where a coin operated music box was lifted. Other slot machines were
found at Wagner’s residence and it was reported that he was wanted for pulling
similar jobs in Manitowoc (where his father lived), Sheboygan, and Door
Counties.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Wagner’s new car indicated he was making money. The young
man operated his own roadhouse near the Hagemeister Brewery on Manitowoc Rd. in
the Town of Preble, now in the City of Green Bay. Getting many of his products “free”
was guaranteed to boost his income. Since two of the slot machines had the
serial numbers filed off, authorities were sure they were among the ill-gotten
loot.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Slot machines were on the minds of many in December 1937
when Wisconsin Attorney General Loomis came up with a new plan for ridding
cities and villages of the nefarious games. It was simple: call them gambling
machines. Proof had to be offered under state anti-gambling laws, although
under the new ruling, a municipality could ban the machines by ordinance.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">County District Attorney<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bruemmer<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>was criticized by A.J.
Murphy in a letter to the editor of <i>Algoma Record Herald</i>, published on
June 22, 1934. In his letter, Murphy said his criticism was Bruemmer’s indifference
to the gambling influences and slot machines in Kewaunee County. Bruemmer had
suggested to Murphy that since he knew where the office was, he should come in
to sign complaints.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Murphy claimed to have no issue with isolated incidents, but
strongly suggested the D.A. should do his duty - his responsibility to keep
“racketeers and vice-rings” out of the county. He said citizens should not have
to sign complaints when the D.A. was being paid to uphold the law and
prosecute. Murphy said if Bruemmer was afraid of prosecuting because he’d lose
popularity, his failures were not enhancing his reputation and that he was
losing prestige by his “dictatorial manner and methods.” People were said to be
“fed up” with the “arrogant attitude on the part of a public servant.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Murphy concluded his letter asking, “What is the answer” if
Mr. Bruemmer refuses to act? He went on to say, “In the words of ‘Roundy,’ I
say, ‘Write your own ticket’.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What did that mean? Murphy was referring to Roundy Coughlin,
the popular <i>Wisconsin State Journal </i>sports’ writer who wrote in what
some called stream-of-consciousness style. Wikipedia gives this as one of
Roundy’s comments: “A lot of times slot machines spit and you get some money,
but the parking meters just say so long sucker.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By February 1942, Kewaunee County which ranked 54<sup>th</sup>
in population of Wisconsin’s (then) 71 counties, gained statewide publicity
when the internal revenue collector in Milwaukee said it ranked 5<sup>th</sup>
in slot machines and pin ball devices that paid off. The county had 236
machines thus 1 for every 71 residents compared to the state average of 1 for
every 561 residents. Kewaunee County’s per capita figure was about 8 times
greater than the state average. One state paper said the six people paying the 100-dollar
tax were all named Worachek – Albert, Anton, Edward, Gilbert, James, and
Robert. Wisconsin took in 5,588 separate tax payments although it was felt more
than 5,000 people were illegally operating more than 11,000 slots.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was the first time such information became public due to
the new $50 federal tax. Prosecutors believed recording names of the operators
would make prosecution less difficult and that prompted going forward with
immediate action.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By September, the big news from the new District Attorney
A.G. Murphy’s office was that slot machines would be cleaned up. Murphy
couldn’t understand why Kewaunee County was being picked on by Wisconsin
Attorney General John E. Martin. At that point, Murphy who had criticized his
predecessor, didn’t think slots were a problem and had received no complaints. The
slots in the county were owned by private individuals, not by a syndicate.
Kewaunee County did not have organized crime and racketeering, although in 1934
Murphy was sure the slots would lead it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Martin said a group of Kewaunee County residents came to him
in Madison informing him of the slots which were found in drug stores and ice
cream parlors. Martin ordered the machines out, however he did not threaten to
send state men to see to it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Martin said Murphy pleaded for a letter from the state
ordering the slots’ removal. Then the <i>Record Hearld</i> asked readership for
opinions because the entire matter needed to be cleared up. The paper thought
the official vagueness of responsibility was as bad as the slot machine racket
itself – and the paper did think it was a racket. However, Kewaunee County
owners and operators were quite frank in telling folks the machines were set
for suckers. Maybe that’s why county residents were tolerant for so long.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The paper opined removal was what most citizens wanted, but
it also said slots would probably be back. Illegal to be sure, the paper felt
law enforcement would look the other way as it was to their advantage, and the
state wasn’t serious enough to police the entire county.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The one place that didn’t get “all het up” about the slots
was the Village of Luxemburg which hadn’t permitted the machines for years.
Luxemburg did permit pin ball machines which were said to be a game of skill,
but now that was coming to an end too.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Uncle Sam would be the loser said the <i>Record</i>. For its
size, Kewaunee County paid more slot machine taxes than any Wisconsin county,
and Wisconsin stood high in such taxes throughout the country. Editor Heidmann
felt Uncle Sam didn’t have to worry yet because taxes were paid up to June 30
and a lot could happen before taxes came around again.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A month later, District Attorney Murphy’s bill including the
expense of a trip to Madison relative to the slot machine situation was “laid
over for investigation by the board.” The nature of the discussion between
Murphy and state A.G. John Martin was not divulged, however it was felt the
return of slot machines had significance in the meeting. As Yogi Bera would say
years later, “It ain’t over till it’s over.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Following orders from Gov. Goodland in August 1943, slot
machines were ordered out of Kewaunee County taverns and public places by
District Attorney W.A. Cowell and Sheriff Will Brusky. Six machine operators
had recently paid the $100 federal tax on each machine. Madison said there were
130 such machines in the county. Did any survive?<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMewUYezyQgJz5p9So2XxwUy3U9iRlO8UfLsK8SXg9-O4pMgs2AvlLK6QO6WrrhoOXOPmooZDxqNSi15bzez6SIZDx9BYnnhuU3wjs6usxx02jgoeR7g-A8yypCdbc9t0qW26aXnCG56RHHNIMszqaIwkWVnp0L9g5fWDeuIaU0y3s2clHlu8XWx9eVckD/s1500/Blog%20slots%20Murphy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="891" data-original-width="1500" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMewUYezyQgJz5p9So2XxwUy3U9iRlO8UfLsK8SXg9-O4pMgs2AvlLK6QO6WrrhoOXOPmooZDxqNSi15bzez6SIZDx9BYnnhuU3wjs6usxx02jgoeR7g-A8yypCdbc9t0qW26aXnCG56RHHNIMszqaIwkWVnp0L9g5fWDeuIaU0y3s2clHlu8XWx9eVckD/w400-h238/Blog%20slots%20Murphy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This
picture - taken in the early 1940s - appeared in the July 12,1972, <i>Record Herald</i> with a caption
saying, “SLOT MACHINE CLEANUP” was the information noted on the envelope
containing this negative from which the picture was reproduced. The two men in
the foreground are Dist. Att. A.G. Murphy and Sheriff Thomas O’Konski.</span><div><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"><br /></span></span><p class="MsoNormal">The following May, some thought slot machines were an
ancient issue in Wisconsin public affairs but hearings continued. While
prohibited, they existed. A few weeks earlier, in April, two sheriffs – Clark
and St. Croix Counties – were in trouble because they refused to get the slots
out of their jurisdictions. The sheriff of St. Croix County said he knew of the
operations, but the county’s public opinion approved them. During the three
days of testimony, it came out that several municipalities in St. Croix County
were collecting revenue through either assessments or through “donations” from
their owners.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Gov. Walter Goodland forced the slot machine issue in
February 1945. By 1 vote, the judiciary committee recommended passage of the
Thompson bill driving gambling, including slots, from Wisconsin. The state
senate took note of rumors suggesting slot machine interests were collecting
money to fight anti-slot legislation. The senate directed the attorney general
to investigate such rumors while religious denominations were generous in their
support to aid the governor in stamping out the offensive machines.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The legislators’ most important work was seen as the measure
to prohibit gambling in Wisconsin and to make slot machines illegal. The
proposed law would give state treasury beverage tax agents the power to revoke
liquor permits of those who owned or operated the machines.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The anti-gambling bill stalled a month later and was waiting
for an opinion from the state attorney general. One suggestion – coming around
again - was putting the issue to referendum. Senator Harold Lytie of Green Bay
proposed amending the constitution to make licensed gambling possible, thus
eliminating law violations and tax enforcement. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In mid-August state officers noted that first prosecutions
of tavernkeepers under the new slot machine law were conspicuously
unsuccessful.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, what happened next?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Slot machines had a long history in Wisconsin. Popular
during Prohibition, they remained until after World War ll when they were
outlawed due to fears about organized crime. Everybody heard about Al Capone
and his ilk. Commercial gambling in the state today is illegal with few
exceptions. State law forbade gambling from the beginning, however, since there
is Tribal sovereignty, casinos are legal.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was in 1989 when Wisconsin legalized raffles and dog
racing. in 1991, a court ruling paved the way for legalized Indian gaming. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Who could believe the source of o young bride’s money to buy
a treasured wedding picture was a controversial issue that divided Wisconsin
and beyond for years? Surely not that bride!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sources: Algoma Record Herald; Wikipedia;
https://www.lb7.uscourts.gov.documents</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: Roboto; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-30872966731902983382023-07-04T16:23:00.001-07:002023-07-05T06:40:21.780-07:00Kewaunee County History, Ahnapee/Algoma, and Patriotism<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjt0G0sFLSWZeUi-AlponlbjMaeKoNzvHyZYCFEZlRps1s9pnC7IJhs6EjpV_R4VDbVZVE6SLsfTIuH3kkdRHYOHp0rXzCtClBjE0yC3y4P5UxqQoYuQO8RhAShlYJPqC7OkkjGYUDTpIC5JeezqOBOaE4tZU0Zp5qLyGB2cVFpk2RHE6srai2XOu-55-7F" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1000" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjt0G0sFLSWZeUi-AlponlbjMaeKoNzvHyZYCFEZlRps1s9pnC7IJhs6EjpV_R4VDbVZVE6SLsfTIuH3kkdRHYOHp0rXzCtClBjE0yC3y4P5UxqQoYuQO8RhAShlYJPqC7OkkjGYUDTpIC5JeezqOBOaE4tZU0Zp5qLyGB2cVFpk2RHE6srai2XOu-55-7F" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">This is the 4<sup>th</sup> of July. It is fireworks, flags,
parades, concerts, hamburgers, hotdogs, baseball and apple pie, although fireworks
are in jeopardy this year. Much of the country is affected by drought, and fire
is a danger if something goes awry. Some places have cancelled their fireworks
saying if debris falls into water, it adds to pollution. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Fourth of July once meant a display of patriotism. On July
4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress declared the American colonies’
independence from Great Britain. On its first-year anniversary in 1777,
Philadelphia celebrated with bonfires, candles in windows and fireworks on a
jubilant day. Until more recently, the feelings of patriotism ran high and the
4<sup>th</sup> was more than a day off the job site.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <a name="_Hlk139368866"><i>Wall Street Journal</i> –
April 4, 2003 </a>– carried a poll indicating a steep decline in the importance
of patriotism, down from 70% in 1998 to 38% in April.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Author Stephen Nathanson’s 1993 book on patriotism,
morality, and peace says patriotism consists of affection for one’s country,
defining oneself through the country, being interested in its welfare, and
sacrificing for the sake of the country’s welfare. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A Gallup poll surveyed patriotism in the country and found
Montana was #1 as the most prideful state, however Virginia had the most
American pride. That seems like a head-scratcher. Gallup Poll found Gallup, New
Mexico, to be the nations’ most patriotic city. <span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">(The city of Gallup was named for David Gallup and early
railroad paymaster. The city is not connected to the famous pollster George
Gallup.)</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What happened<a name="_Hlk139368948">? <i>New York Times</i>
columnist David Brooks penned an opinion, “The Necessity of Patriotism (Even in
Times Like These)” on March 30, 2023</a>. The entire column can be found
online. Brooks concludes his column with his fears that we are so distrusting
of institutions and those around us that we do not reach out and thus
dysfunction continues. Brooks cites the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> poll by
saying people told pollsters that patriotism, parenthood, and community are not
very important.<span lang="EN" style="color: #202124; font-family: Roboto; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Wolf River, which became Ahnepee/Ahnapee/Algoma, remembered its
very first 4<sup>th</sup>, July 4, 1851. It was not your grandpa’s 4<sup>th</sup>.
The settling families arrived in what is now Algoma during that week – the
Tweedales and Hughes on June 28, followed by the younger Warner family on July
4. The community was Kewaunee County’s first permanent settlement, except that
it was in Door County at the time. Kewaunee was set apart from Door the
following spring.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Warners never forgot what happened as Pa Orin Warner steered
his boat into the river that 1851 day. The entrance depth was about 2’ and when
Orin guided his sailboat in, it capsized, sending the family and their
possessions and provisions into the water. Harriet was 9 and later told how her
mother, Jane, wept bitterly. Everybody was ok – little George Washington was
only 3 – and they collected their belongings which were dried out. Imagine
Jane’s terror. Nobody saw the accident. They were in a wilderness and who was
there to help? At the time, the river was a bit over a block north of where it
is today. The U.S. Engineers straightened the river and dredging continued on
and off for the next 170 years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Life went on, the community and county grew, and subsequent 4<sup>th</sup>
of Julys were different. When the Civil War started, immigrants and those born
in the country alike volunteered or were drafted and served. Most of Kewaunee County’s
population were immigrants and perhaps thought the fight did not concern them.
They went forward. It is well documented that new Belgian immigrants got
shafted while the prominent stayed home, but that is another story. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">When, in 1873, there was a newspaper in Ahnapee, events were
chronicled and encouraged. There were a few in town who felt they were above
the German immigrants, for instance, and had their own balls and celebrations. Such
animosity was noticeable for years before feelings of camaraderie spread and
folks made trips to Sturgeon Bay, Kewaunee, Casco and even Manitowoc to take
part in activities. Roads were so primitive that for years it was the Goodrich
Line, or sometimes Hart, ferries that took folks and bands up and down the
lakeshore. Traveling to Rio Creek and Casco were overland trips, and not easy.
Fifty years later transportation had changed and Algoma’s Delores Marr won the
Manitowoc derby race. She was one of two girl riders in the seven-entry race.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Each year brought something
special. Kewaunee fire company held a grand picnic and ball with the Bohemian
Turners as part of the celebration in 1878. </span>Sullivan’s woods near
Maplewood was the location of a 4<sup>th</sup> of July 1882 picnic with
proceeds going to the area Catholic church. All were invited to what was
promised to be a good time. Clay Banks completed plans for their 1882 grand
celebration and took in $70 for the purchase of fireworks. That 70 bucks would
be around $2500 today. In 1892<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"> Kewaunee’s
glorious celebration began with a grand parade followed by three bands at New Riverside
Park.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Although each year was marked with some type of patriotic
celebration, 1880 saw the biggest changes and events in Kewaunee County’s first
50 years. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRN311RTUdpreh1lN7eS8tanhpvZreiQiaW6CjHeIgSWSWh8yK1v_9rx4L3DjgiAdynPlngfCKGITB3P3BEr4FzNGEq4M2_j6YgYy7aDMsd9tbisEEPDQqW5Tdbzww4W-5xwAD8EBkG3vcf0ILEcWzNRiirUl_AYzYXySo6FPBKYLvCM60LxCRLEtDdQxb/s615/Blog%204th%201880%20celebration%20ad.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="225" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRN311RTUdpreh1lN7eS8tanhpvZreiQiaW6CjHeIgSWSWh8yK1v_9rx4L3DjgiAdynPlngfCKGITB3P3BEr4FzNGEq4M2_j6YgYy7aDMsd9tbisEEPDQqW5Tdbzww4W-5xwAD8EBkG3vcf0ILEcWzNRiirUl_AYzYXySo6FPBKYLvCM60LxCRLEtDdQxb/s320/Blog%204th%201880%20celebration%20ad.JPG" width="117" /></a></div>1880 marked the 104<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the signing
of the Declaration of Independence and Ahnapee residents were planning for the
grandest 4<sup>th</sup> ever. Nealy all city businessmen and prominent citizens
requested Mayor Perry to call a public meeting for the planning.</div><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The feeling was that enough money could be raised by
soliciting subscriptions and petitioning the city council* to make an appropriation.
The committee pointed out that it was the “duty of every citizen” to aid in
raising money. No single individual would derive benefits, but the entire city
would. It was pointed out that businessmen would indeed make money but they
were also making larger contributions. Everybody was expected to give according
to their means, and everybody would benefit.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Each person was encouraged to “speak, utter, talk,
articulate, pronounce, converse, say, tell, recite and relate” views on the
subject to ensure a public demonstration, “the grandeur of which can only be
imagined and not described.”<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"> William Bastar
wanted to see that happen and had a large gang working on his new building
which he planned to have ready for a 4<sup>th</sup> of July dance in his upper
hall.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where there had been
cultural animosity, the committee encouraged German citizens to arrange for
speakers in that language because the foreign-born populace was important. Plans
included singing, reading the Declaration of Independence, and a brass band
while the committee looked for speakers outside the city.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In 1882, the <i>Record</i> cautioned against the sale of toy
pistols which were big on the 4<sup>th</sup>. The paper called the pistols an
“instrument of death” which was addressed by Wisconsin law that said the sale,
use, or possession of a toy pistol or revolver was unlawful. A conviction meant
up to 6 months in jail, a $100 fine, or both. Who knows if the law had teeth? Wisconsin
has fireworks laws 141 years later.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">By 1885, John McDonald’s Third Street roller rink was nearing
completion, and McDonald planned a good time on July 3 and 4. The paper
editorialized that McDonald did so much for citizens that Council should give
him a vote of thanks rather than charging him for his license. The idea didn’t
fly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4d4jNqjzhCNN-UMemTK0UDHt7bJ2erg2ve2x5cbScb4PpMr0uM5ffXDj2049h7M72xFeVa5617pEiCz-kVXwK2Ig0X1gBTnXQ1SQ0L3Q_7kGFSfxcweSCCG2pLyaJiVE2iQ66KOVpM3j75uDjgZ6EQkKyYXEyo-O0D5DmhcdyVEhuA-6-c3iAclKDghnF/s528/Blog%204th%20Bruemmer%201907.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="403" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4d4jNqjzhCNN-UMemTK0UDHt7bJ2erg2ve2x5cbScb4PpMr0uM5ffXDj2049h7M72xFeVa5617pEiCz-kVXwK2Ig0X1gBTnXQ1SQ0L3Q_7kGFSfxcweSCCG2pLyaJiVE2iQ66KOVpM3j75uDjgZ6EQkKyYXEyo-O0D5DmhcdyVEhuA-6-c3iAclKDghnF/s320/Blog%204th%20Bruemmer%201907.JPG" width="244" /></a></div><br />1894 saw activities throughout the area. Roads were no
longer the primitive paths of 20 years earlier and folks traveled to
entertainments. Henry Sibilsky extended an invitation to a picnic and dance at
his Mill Street hall. Admission to the dance was 25 cents. The Forestville
William Duwe Camp Son’s of Veterans held a dance and picnic at Stokes* in
Nasewaupee. Dance tickets were 25 cents for the affair that was expected to
attract a large attendance. John Blahnik’s grove in Kodan was also holding a
picnic with music by the Arion Band. It was said Mr. Blahnik would spare no
pains to make the occasion pleasant. Joseph Prokash made dance<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>arrangements at his Prokash Hall in the Town
of Ahnapee while Rudolph Bruemmer was advertising a picnic and dance at his
place on the Green Bay Rd. (<span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">now
Fremont St. at Bruemmerville.)<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">George Bottlok & Bro. had
a grand celebration at his Bottkolville/Euren hall in 1896.</span> That same
year,<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
F. Kwapil & Son was ready for the “glorious approaching 4<sup>th”” </sup><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>taking orders for oranges, bananas, lemons,
peanuts, coconuts, peaches and other fruits not grown in the area. Kwapil
guaranteed favorable prices. The Temple of Honor celebrated at their 4<sup>th</sup>
and Fremont grounds, which were “handsomely fitten </span><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(sic) </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">up for the occasion.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The observance of Independence and the 50<sup>th</sup>
anniversary of Wisconsin’s admittance to the Union took place in 1898. The <i>Record</i>
did not mention Kewaunee County’s 46<sup>th</sup> anniversary weeks earlier
when it said Algoma didn’t need an excuse to celebrate. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">In early June 1899, the paper
called attention to the 4<sup>th</sup> of July saying, in effect, that the
citizenery should get on the ball. The paper encouraged folks to hustle to plan
a big day so that people could stay in town for a good time.</span> Algoma
residents were in Sturgeon Bay for their celebration that year. For those who
missed it,<i> Algoma Press </i>told readership that Frank Columb of Sturgeon
Bay was struck in the face by a piece of plug tobacco box under which a large
cannon cracker exploded. Columb was severely injured at that celebration. The
following year Algoma had a similar event.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Herman Haucke and Frank Damas were known to have devil-may-care
attitudes. Grandma’s Cousin Herman did much for the community but was known to
tip a glass or two, which might explain things. At the 1890 celebration, the
men were to set off a firing salute, which happened prematurely. It made news
because one of them – it is unclear which – had gunpowder in his pocket. The man’s
clothing was burned as was his face. A subsequent paper carried an article
about Herman setting off a cannon with the cigar in his mouth. It further said
if townsfolk saw Herman with a sling on his head, they’d know why.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Who knows how many mishaps the 4<sup>th</sup> brought, but
in 1905 the Kodan correspondent to the paper said the town was surprised that
there were no serious accidents that year, saying it was unusual.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Patriotism was high in 1900. Civil War vets were dying and
the Sons of Veterans were taking their places. The Spanish American War era was
over and technology was mind-boggling: telephone instruments, electric
lighting, roads, and the talk of the cock-eyed like horseless carriages and
flying machines. The railroad offered trips to Green Bay in hours, rather than
at least 2 days by horse and buggy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In 1907 Rio Creek’s <i>Record</i> correspondent said the 4<sup>th</sup>
was a rather dead affair in the village because the majority of residents
either went to festivities at Casco or Bruemmerville. <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Casco’s George Blaha, proprietor of
Casco Park, planned for a “dawn-to-dawn” rousing 4<sup>th</sup> at his popular
resort. Blaha planned games and races for prizes, evening fireworks, and good
dancing music throughout the day. The railroad offered excursion rates from
Algoma, Kewaunee, Sturgeon Bay, and intermediate points. </span>Both the
Ahnapee and Western and the Green Bay and Western offered excursion rates to
Sturgeon Bay, Algoma, Kewaunee, and intermediate points through July 8<sup>th</sup>
, prompting Blaha to say, “Casco is the only place in this vicinity that will
celebrate the 4<sup>th</sup> and nothing but the 4<sup>th</sup>.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But it was Algoma that the <i>Record</i> was certain folks could
not afford to miss. The city’s most attractive feature would be the airship
flight. Who could even imagine such a thing? There would be street bands
performing all day, a circus parade in which anyone with a costume might win a
prize, and a baseball game with Peshtigo in the afternoon. Folks could cool off
during a hose fight with 8 members of the fire department. Honors went to the
one who stayed on his feet the longest time in the greased pole contest while
catching the greased pig made everybody laugh. Horse races were on tap and there
was loose and tight wire walking. Everything that citizens could wish for
culminated with the biggest fireworks display in the evening.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When a June 1880 <i>Record</i> encouraged every man, woman
and child assist the cause of the 4<sup>th</sup>, it encouraged the decoration
of every home with garlands, flags, and banners. The paper said everybody in
the country should wake up and display their patriotism. It said American
people were born in France, Germany, England and everywhere else, however it
mattered not and that patriotism “demands that it should be rescued from the
oblivion into which it is being allowed to fall by the indifference and the
ingratitude of the American people.” It happened that Judge Boalt was one of
the speakers that year. He seemed to be pointing out that those with less than
he, financially and intellectually, should not infringe on those such as
himself. He railed against the ignorant accepting communism and religious
fanaticism that appeared to be directed at Catholics. While papers praised the
industrious Germans, Boalt complained about them and other immigrants. There
were those who said celebrations were “humbug” and controlled by “damn
Yankees.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One hundred forty-three years later, David Brooks ended his <i>New
York Times</i> column saying, “<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Only love and a leap of faith can break
through distrust. That is why a credible form of patriotism is so important
right now. We’ve hit that spot in the cycle of crisis and renewal at which
people have to take the kind of common actions that send the vital message: we
can trust each other.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Notes:</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">*Ahnepee became the
Village of Ahnapee in 1873, and the City of Ahnapee in 1879. July 4</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;">,
1880, marked the first celebration as a city.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">*Stokes -</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">
today Highway 42/57 and Door County Highway O.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Notes:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">*Ahnepee became the Village of Ahnapee in 1873, and the
City of Ahnapee in 1879. July 4<sup>th</sup>, 1880, marked the first
celebration as a city.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">*Stokes - today Highway 42/57 and Door County Highway O.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Sources: </span><i style="font-size: 9pt;">Ahnapee Record,
Algoma Press, Algoma Record, An-An-api-sebe: Where is the River?</i><span style="font-size: 9pt;"> c. 2002,</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Online: David Brooks, New
York Times, March 30, 2023, “The Necessity of Patriotism (Even in Times Like
These)”.</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt;">Stephen Nathanson, <i>Patriotism,
Morality and Peace</i>, 1993, Rowan & Littlefield Publishers <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span style="font-size: 9.0pt;">Wall Street Journal</span></i><span style="font-size: 9.0pt;"> – April 4, 2003 <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt;">https://news.gallup.com/poll/394202/record-low-extremely-proud-american.aspx<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt;"><a href="https://news.gallup.com/p">https://news.gallup.com/p</a></span><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">oll/507980/extreme-pride-american-remains-near-record-low.aspx<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt;">https://www.wsj.com/articles/americans-pull-back-from-values-that-once-defined-u-s-wsj-norc-poll-finds-df8534cd<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color: red;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p></p>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-43720691600872539372023-06-08T16:01:00.004-07:002023-06-18T18:08:51.078-07:00Kewaunee County's Milkweed Pods: 1944 and World War ll<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEzeJ0nzlYqBoXd9Gls56YHvB9CHgdM-byz_nGqiit24PEl-JJwamw34zo26IW3ZjOVCBBB09Fr1mUEVHiRVE1NZmQxORnprVXqHRcfKzMQSGoNpGG6aURx87PpNC8kbRjCpGTkS_f-QYK85AVpUobXOVmTbZRDCiHG6TRGzopC2agz_coIMjEjrcHhw/s900/Blog%20milkweed%20silk%20picture.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="900" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEzeJ0nzlYqBoXd9Gls56YHvB9CHgdM-byz_nGqiit24PEl-JJwamw34zo26IW3ZjOVCBBB09Fr1mUEVHiRVE1NZmQxORnprVXqHRcfKzMQSGoNpGG6aURx87PpNC8kbRjCpGTkS_f-QYK85AVpUobXOVmTbZRDCiHG6TRGzopC2agz_coIMjEjrcHhw/s320/Blog%20milkweed%20silk%20picture.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Milkweed Floss</div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It’s
summer, and as fast as it goes in Wisconsin, it means it will not be long
before milkweeds are growing along the by-ways and in fields. On clear fall
days, we’ll see pods splitting and the floss, or silk, drifting in the breeze. Despite
the plant’s name, milkweed is far from a nuisance. The plant that attracts
monarch butterflies, bees, and other pollinators also provides food for
immigrating birds and overwintering birds. But there is more.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Although few are aware of it, milkweed plants saved lives,
and Wisconsin’s kids played a huge role in the lifesaving. It was during the
depths of World War ll – 1944 - that Uncle Sam asked the nation’s children to
collect 1 ½ million pounds of milkweed floss to replace kapok. What’s Kapok?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Kapok was the waterproof filling used in life jackets when
Pearl Harbor was bombed. Java’s Kapok was the United States’ best source,
however when Japan captured South Pacific Islands, Kapok was impossible to get.
Milkweed – found throughout Wisconsin – was discovered to have about the same
flotation ratio and suddenly what was once a pesky weed became a treasure.
Milkweed floss turned out to be vital as it was the only buoyant substitute for
Kapok, and it was found to be even better. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In August 1944, the Door County <i>Advocate</i> was
on the bandwagon touting the potential value of milkweed seed in exterior
paints, enamels, and baked finishes. It was thought new uses for waste products
of floss collection would encourage permanent milkweed cultivation after the
war. So valuable in preventing soil erosion, the hardy plant required little
attention after the first year. Optimum collection was when the pods were
turning brown, the stage that made the best floss. The remainder of the
versatile plant had other purposes. Oil and rosin came from the pods, and
livestock could eat the residue.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">As it was, milkweed floss had been used for making pillows
and, in 1944, a 50-year-old milkweed floss pillow was on display at a Petoskey,
Michigan, floss processing plant, the plant to which collected floss was sent a
few months later. War Hemp Industries, Inc., Petosky, Michigan, was the agent
for Commodity Credit Corp. of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or the WHI,
CCC, and USDA as the alphabet soup of the era referred to such agencies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">With that, the lowly milkweed plant earned a place in the
war effort when Algoma <i>Record Herald, </i>in 1944, reported the
War Food Administration (WFA) asked for the collection of at least
1,500,000 pounds of milkweed floss to fill urgent war needs. Since time was of
the essence, it did not permit developing such seed crops while the wild plants
were just about all over. Commodity Credit Corp. said highway rights-of-way
were one of the largest potential production areas. Prohibiting mowing of
rights-of-way until pods were harvested in 1944 was a boon to floss collection.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The WFA said milkweed was easily controlled in pastures,
though mostly found in roadsides, and advised farmers not to cut patches of
milkweed. Kewaunee County Road Commissioner Griese sent out the information to
county roadmen. No mowing. The highway department and county agent’s office
cooperated in the effort to collect, cure, and dispose of milkweed pods.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Sturgeon Bay <i>Advocate</i> reported in July
1944 that life jackets would be provided for armed service members while
getting rid of obnoxious weeds at the same time, although milkweeds were far
from obnoxious that summer. Door County’s plans included listing patches of
milkweed so volunteer groups could be assigned to pick at the right time. Those
aware of milkweed patches were asked to call County Agent Mullendore’s office,
the county home agent, school superintendent or conservation chairman.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Wisconsin’s milkweed goal was 300,000 pounds according to
H.W. MacKenzie, former director of Wisconsin Conservation Department. MacKenzie
immediately mobilized school children and others to collect the floss sorely needed
for airmen and sailors. Kewaunee County’s milkweed collection was
organized by County Agent V.W. Peroutky. Assisting Agent Peroutky were the
Mrs. Nona Bartel, May Smithwick, and Florence Bodwin, Herman Griese, Eugene
Nemetz, and George Gregor. The committee felt that many patches would not be
reached until the groups were given adequate collection bags. In
September, Kewaunee <i>Enterprise</i> told readers that government
officials claimed over two million kids were mobilized to collect milkweed seed
pods for Navy life jackets and other purposes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Just after school started in September, the <i>Advocate </i>published
the Door County’s goal - a bag of milkweed for each man in service. Merchandise
prizes were to be offered for the best individual and group records, and in
December it was announced that East Maplewood school was doing its share in
winning the war when it collected 244 bags of milkweed pods. Astounding was
that Harold Fortemps collected 204 of the bags by himself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">At the September 1944 Kewaunee County teachers’
institute, Eugene Nemetz, the county farm labor assistant, hosted a
milkweed collection discussion. Materials were distributed and teachers
received their bags. A few days later, the <i>Record Herald</i> told
readership that county schools would be out picking in full force, although 4-H
clubs, and church and civic groups were encouraged to help. The paper again
pointed out that instructions came from County Agent Peroutky who said pickers
needed to pick up sacks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLW-uL8FK6Z0dQtuwQBu_iAMeHKuMlajBhB5LMt7iBoT9IqKTK4tWDAxvRYpETo9BpGUgBB5KHsIANx8rPCwlgz-sh8s6-pbYFBRdEPi14fbbyEtu8LEC0WDtIzNGeekA2TULzLlEN8moruxOO7AYElqw4TQde43YeRXBpyl_5Yq-hLZFM3t0VI2jpdA/s440/Blog%20milweed%20fence%20bags.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="440" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLW-uL8FK6Z0dQtuwQBu_iAMeHKuMlajBhB5LMt7iBoT9IqKTK4tWDAxvRYpETo9BpGUgBB5KHsIANx8rPCwlgz-sh8s6-pbYFBRdEPi14fbbyEtu8LEC0WDtIzNGeekA2TULzLlEN8moruxOO7AYElqw4TQde43YeRXBpyl_5Yq-hLZFM3t0VI2jpdA/s320/Blog%20milweed%20fence%20bags.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Across Wisconsin, local authorities, county war boards,
county agents, and others oversaw supplying information and distributing the
clean, dry, mesh onion bags, which were also available at school offices.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It was
suggested pods be picked in pails or baskets and then dumped into the mesh
onion bags. Each picker was requested to hang his sack over a wire fence for
about 3 weeks for drying. Although pods in burlap sacks were known to mold,
even rain did not affect those in onion sacks. It was stressed that collectors
should not use closed containers.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The one-bushel mesh onion sacks held about one bushel of
pods, which meant 50-pound onion sacks held about 800 green pods. County Agent
Peroutky said plants averaged between 2 and 3 pods each although some had up to
15. They were found in fertile, moist areas and were to be picked when pods
were mostly brown.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">School children were encouraged to pick milkweed pods as it
was a “real war job” that would help their older siblings who were serving in
the military. The WFA said the kids would be the chief collectors of the floss
used in manufacturing “Mae West” life jackets. Wikipedia says the vests were
called Mae Wests because those wearing them appeared to be large
buxom women, and actress Mae West was the most popular. Just how did the FWA
explain that to grade school kids?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Payment was 20 cents per full bag. Bags of green pods
brought 15 cents. Teachers were asked to keep records for payment that was far
from simple. Union State Bank of Kewaunee was in receipt of funds from the War
Food Administration. The bank paid for the work through the county agent’s
office, which paid the children via the teacher. Children were encouraged to
use their money to buy more war savings stamps or add their earnings to the
school funds. Non-students were paid directly and could accept payment or
donate it to the school fund. The website retirementsimulation.com says that 20
cents in 1944 has the same purchasing power as $3.41 cents in 2023, thus one
who picked several bags of pods might have been supporting the war effort while
saving money for a special purpose. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The <i>Enterprise </i>pointed out that rural
grade and high school students did most of the milkweed seed pod collecting.
Kewaunee County had 2,300 sacks to fill and each two sacks held enough floss to
fill a life jacket. That prompted a <i>Record Herald </i>headline
screaming, “County Filling Many Life Jackets; More Milkweed Than
Anticipated.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Some Kewaunee County schools filled over 100 sacks when the
county reached a peak of 3,300 onion sacks. At least 400 more sacks were asked
to be delivered. With a shortage of onion sacks, Wisconsin turned to flour
sacks and burlap bags, however care had to be exercised to make sure air
circulated efficiently to prevent mold. Moldy pods were worthless.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Kewaunee and Door Counties, and all of Wisconsin, gave
generous support to the milkweed drive, however it seemed as if the State of
Wisconsin was overwhelmed by the all-out effort that came about. Michigan had
ideal soil and climate so it was thought that state would outdo Wisconsin. It
did.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">When Ag Agent Peroutky reported to the Kewaunee County
Board in December, he included milkweed statistics just as he did
dairy, cropping, farm institutes and more. Door County Board was also
given a milkweed pod collection in annual report of Agricultural County Agent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In November, the <i>Record Herald </i> gave
a shout-out and tip-of-the-hat to the kids when it said it was primarily rural,
graded, and parochial schools that collected 2,100 bags with an
average of 800 pods a sack, which made 1,050 life jackets. Agent Peroutky said
if 1,050 life jackets could save that many lives, the children had shown what
their patriotism and all-out effort meant. Twenty cents a sack did not reflect
labor costs, but it did reflect cooperation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Red River Township’s San Sauveur school kids collected 40
bags, however the highest-ranking number of sacks per student was 5.5 at Red
River Graded. Ryan school had 5.4 with 4.7 at Hawthorn. Sandy Bay, Garfield,
LaFollette, St. Paul’s Lutheran at Ellisville, Jefferson, Luxemburg Graded, and
Phillips stood at 2.5. Peroutky said the heaviest pod yields were in
the towns of Red River, Luxemburg, and Montpelier, though medium in Carlton,
Lincoln, Casco, Franklin, and Pierce. There was not much in Ahnapee which,
Peroutky said, was not a milkweed production township.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Sacks were collected on Monday October 30 via county
highway dump trucks, overseen by the rural, graded, high and parochial schools.
Families with sacks were to have them at the schools by 8 AM. If seeds were in
burlap bags, the onion sacks would be available for transfer, and families were
asked to turn in any unused bag. Peroutky said seeds had to fit comfortably in
the bag. Crowding would cause shriveling. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Kewaunee Enterprise reported<i> </i>Wisconsin’s
children gathered 350,000 bags of milkweed to rank second in the nation.
Door and Kewaunee Counties shipped five carloads to the Michigan processing
plant while Shawano County was Wisconsin’s 1<sup>st</sup> place county
with 35,000 bags. Peroutky pointed out counties collecting more than
Kewaunee were far larger, while proudly saying Wisconsin’s boys and girls
gathered 350,000 bags of milkweed to rank so highly and do so much for the war
effort.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">All that milkweed pod picking meant clothing stains. Edna
Baumann, assistant state 4-H leader, said to remove fresh milkweed stains, the
garment had to be soaked for 2 or 3 hours in cool water, rubbing frequently to
loosen the stain, followed by laundering. Gummy residue could be removed with
carbon tetrachloride cleaner. If the brown stains set in, the item was to be
soaked in cool water before applying glycerin, acetic acid or strong vinegar,
and bleaching agents. Acids and bleach affected color so testing the garment
was a necessity. Milkweed stains are nearly invisible at first but if not
removed, they turn rusty or light brown in time, or with ironing heat or alkali
soap, and are then difficult to remove.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In August 1945, it was reported that there would be no milkweed
collection because of the amount collected in 1944 and the recapture of islands
held by the Japanese. Supplies of life jacket material was meeting needs, and the
war was coming to an end.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">A little over two years later, it seemed as if the milkweed
collection program was coming full circle on the peninsula with the appointment
of Charles F. Swingle PhD as research horticulturist at what is now the
Peninsula Experiment Station. Dr. Swingle’s extensive professional work history
earned an earlier appointment as assistant director of the milkweed life jacket
project at Petosky, Michigan, although Dr. Swingle’s Door County work would
focus on fruits. Swingle had a tie to Door County and knew something about it
as Dr. Ben Birdsall of East Maplewood was in charge of the Peruvian station
where Swingle worked for the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture teaching farming
methods. Dr. Birdsall attended East Maplewood school years earlier and it was
at East Maplewood school where Harold Fortemps single-handedly collected the
whopping 204 bags of pods.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">How many World War ll airmen and sailors owed their lives
to roadside weeds?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Sources: <i>Algoma Record Herald, Kewaunee Enterprise,
Oconto Falls Herald, Wikipedia, www.</i>retirementsimulation.com; </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Picture
from https://gracegritsgarden.com/2020/10/milkweed-world-war-ii.html </span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-1525824090426164192023-05-30T05:40:00.000-07:002023-05-30T05:40:13.636-07:00Ahnapee/Algoma & the Great Fire of 1871: The Child Nobody Talked About<p> </p><p>Stories of everyday people are important to our history and culture. In an effort to collect that history, Brown County Historical Society encouraged area residents to tell their story in 800 words from the perspective of the "Fly on the Wall." From the submissions, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners and five honorable mentions were chosen. The story below is the 1st place winner. This one, and those of the 2nd and 3rd place winners, will be published in an upcoming edition of <i>Voyageur, </i>Brown County Historical Society's award-winning magazine of history.</p><p>The story below is true and happened in Ahnepee (now Algoma) in October 1871. The child nobody talked about died because of the Great Fire, also known as the Peshtigo Fire. The child was the first born to my great-grandparents who had no time to grieve in such horror. Life was for the living.</p><p>The following story is told by the Fly.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Child Nobody Talked About</span></b></p><p>That summer was frightful. Ahnepee saw only a few drops of rain in months. The smoke and fog hanging in the air made it even hard to see in the house, and I was afraid to abandon the safety of the kitchen window wall.</p><p>Amelia told Magnus that she could not see Mr. Perry's store across the street for the smoke. She could not keep Bay Imelda unsoiled. Amelia bathed Imelda and washed small clothes each day, but when the clothing was dry, Baby's soil was replaced with ash. Grossmutter and Grossvater could scarcely breathe and said Imelda's breathing was too shallow. Amelia was at her wits' end.</p><p>It was dreadfully hot that October, yet windows were kept closed to keep out smoke, dust and dirt. Everybody complained about sore throats. Breathing hurt and eyes burned. Imelda was not three weeks old and her cries were pitiful.</p><p>Saturday October 7 was a wretched day even for me. Smoke was horrid as soot-blackened folks flocked into town. Magnus said they were Belgians fleeing the woods to the west that were afire. Magnus and Opa spoke in whispers. They were frightened, and I heard them murmur if fire came to Ahnepee, they would take to the lake and meet there. If fire comes, what should I do?</p><p>Sunday morning was far worse. Although most birds had left, we still heard crows and gulls, though not in a few days. Dogs stopped barking, and Grossvati said their fur stood on end in fear. It was still when that endless wind sloweed in the forenoon. Grossvati thought there was a chance of escaping fire, but in the mid-afternoon the wind freshened and terrified, deer, foxes, rabbits, and other animals ran from the woods to the lake.</p><p>Grossvater and Magnus minded the western skies as did everbody else in the village. It was near 6 and dark, but Grossmutti and Amelia kept eyeing the fire-like glow to the west and southwest.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p>Just then somebody screamed "fire" and everybody began running for refuge in the Ahnepee River, Lake Michigan or into their wells. I didn't know what to do and stayed on my wall next to the window where I saw people running helter-skelter. Nobody knew what to do or where to go. Amelia covered Baby with a quilt as Magnus snatched her and started running. He shouted to Amelia to life her skirts and run. </o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Hearing scream of people and animals, I wondered what would happen to me. Church-going folks knew that day they would be in paradise. Paradise for me was in the stable, but I knew that was not a place for Grossmutti, Amelia, and Baby.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Suddenly I heard what sounded like rain drops. They were! Rain came in torrents as glows in the sky disappeared while the night got pitch-dark and freezing cold. But where was my family?</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> At first light, I saw char and ash outside the window. Then Magnus returned to see about the house. After that he and Grossvati joined Mr. Swaty who organized relief efforts to find those injured. Or worse. Thankfully, Magnus said, there wee no deaths. He said several buildings were lost but mostly it was the ash and char that covered everything. Knowing the family would be safe with Grossvati, Magnus joined others who went out into the countryside looking for those who needed help. </o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p>Magnus told the ladies little of what he saw, however I was still near the window when I heard what he quietly told Opa. </o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Nobody died in Ahnepee on October 8, 1871, but a few days later there were deaths. Faggs went into their well and a day or two later, little Sarah got the dreaded pneumonia. She died. Mr. McCosky was known to have breathing sufferings, and he died after Sarah. Then Baby Imelda died.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p>Imelda was three weeks old when she breathed her last. Born into oppressive heat, with smoke and fog on the wind, in those three weeks everything got worse. Her tiny lungs could not sustain her.</o:p>Magnus built a small wooden box. Amelia lined it with a quilt and gently laid Imelda in. Magnus covered the wall and my grief stricken family carried it away. I never saw Baby again.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p>In the next days, my family saw to those in need and did for them. Amelia wept bitterly when she thought nobody saw her. Grossmutti wept too. Magnus and Opa were melancholy.</o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p>By then it was late in October and winter was coming. Much laid by beforehand was either spoiled or burned. Water was fouled by people and animals boiled to death while seeking sanctuary in rivers, creeks, and wells. Folks saw to the living.</o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> The Great Fire of 1871 was oft recalled in fear. I remained afraid and kept to the kitchen wall.</o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p>Note: The City of Algoma was named in 1897. At first settlement in 1851, the tiny fledgling settlement was known as Wolf River and Wolf River Trading Post until 1859 when it was renamed Ahnepee, meaning "Where is the River?" In 1873, the community was renamed Ahnapee. The Department of Post Offices, the State of Wisconsin, and others consistently misspelled the community's name and finally - if you can't beat 'em, join 'em - the place changed its name in 1873. It became the City of Ahnapee in 1879, and finally in 1897, Algoma, which means, "Where waters meet." </o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p></p>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-70797584639722813342023-05-16T07:09:00.001-07:002023-05-16T07:09:38.167-07:00Kewaunee County and Mental Health ca. 1870s - 1920s<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5Ya5laMfMNmmQfBrIo-Nm0tofNtMFneJoDNG0sSrBFWz37WNQIrQDQGsh6w1ZVrNLKj5PHxuqt54l9S5opCYjY4GC1LNqzUkJG8IMCclASuePLU7OLNzKRXU0cuprXvWQILQz5NJgx2F_I-cs9z0j1-uUCivLocoEmnQFyc_5CgaJ5Bkhu71TUnSFQ/s900/Blog%20insane%20northern%20state.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="900" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5Ya5laMfMNmmQfBrIo-Nm0tofNtMFneJoDNG0sSrBFWz37WNQIrQDQGsh6w1ZVrNLKj5PHxuqt54l9S5opCYjY4GC1LNqzUkJG8IMCclASuePLU7OLNzKRXU0cuprXvWQILQz5NJgx2F_I-cs9z0j1-uUCivLocoEmnQFyc_5CgaJ5Bkhu71TUnSFQ/s320/Blog%20insane%20northern%20state.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Language usage has changed over the years. To hear one say “That is insane” today means everything from outrageous to cool. A generation
or two ago, the word referred to mental illness. Words such as “mad,” “nuts,”
and “crazy” no longer describe mental illness, but have other connotations. Prior
to 1900, both <i>Ahnapee</i> <i>Record</i> and <i>Kewaunee</i> <i>Enterprise</i> carried articles
about county residents judged insane - mentally ill today - and taken to Northern Hospital for the Insane (<span style="font-size: x-small;">at left</span>) today’s Winnebago Hospital treatment facility near Oshkosh. After 1900, the county board’s published minutes are full of names of those judged to be
insane. The board paid for the “keep” of some in the homes of relatives. The
board also paid for resident treatment. One’s health was not privileged
information. There was no HIPPA.<p></p><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Various issues of the old papers report significant numbers
of names, and issues of health were out there for dissection by the public. The
covid lockdown produced a mental health crisis, and there are not enough
professionals to provide the help needed. Today there are medications and counseling,
in addition to resident treatment, but in the 1800s and the early part of the
1900s, “care” often included prison or places such as the county farm, even reform schools.
Wikipedia tells us 1800s’ treatments included purgatives and bloodletting, and sometimes straitjackets as restraints..<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In spring 1874, the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>fledgling <i>Ahnapee Record</i> made news when
it reported on the Virginia state treasure who was sent to an asylum. The same
paper reported that the vice president of the Marine Bank of Chicago “is a
raving maniac,” and was confined to Mt. Pleasant asylum in Iowa. He had been a
member and speaker of the Iowa Legislature. Such mental health issues went far beyond Kewaunee
County.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In late February 1875, Wisconsin reported statistics for the
year ending on November 1, 1874, when 2,293 Wisconsin residents were in jail.
The figure included 153 females. Native born accounted for 748 while 1,228 were
foreigners. Of that number, 122 were insane and keeping them varied from $12.25 monthly in Brunette County to $3 in Brown, Dane, and Washington. That same year, the
whole number of pupils in “the asylum for the blind” numbered 75, although the
average number was 60. The yearly cost was $316.66 while the expense for the
“deaf and dumb”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>averaged $431. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The paper <i>Mental Illness in Ontario: 1890-1900</i>,
August 1977, dealt with symptoms, diagnosis, and expectations. Symptoms fell
within the categories of aggressiveness, suicidal behavior, and hallucinations.
Such symptoms were broken down into predisposing factors such as physical
injury and sunstroke for males. Most women’s issues were attributed to the
sexual from puberty to childbirth. Domestic problems such as wife-beating,
death of a spouse, and financial upheaval were contributing sources of illness
for women, however mostly non-existent for men. Epilepsy was considered a
mental health disorder.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For over 1,000 years, hysteria was given as the source of
women’s issues. That came from Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician, who
thought some women had a “wandering uterus,” one that was displaced. Since men
dominated the health field, it was the 1980s before hysteria was no longer
ascribed to women. Women were sent to facilities/asylums for not bending to the
will of a husband. There were instances of husbands covering up affairs by
controlling their wives, saying they were “mad” or “hysterical.”<a name="_Hlk134984719"> A woman’s physical make-up was said to make her more
susceptible to disorders of the mind. Women and girls were supposed to know
their place, and a woman’s “place” was not to seek attention, stand out, or
question a man. That was even more important in a family with social standing
and more money.</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGmRCe0CEjFUft4u5LpP4U17_maYk2xSjqcnqXwRWEnEDlYwVZtt26s_WFUPDzQvmHPlaTxF4CP14qyAjhKWbLwcn0GCM5qH_3SKelerpAYyeu0b7JTEgYZNeJYC2efxBzgkMxQZS-OpfXE6m5XZZFjT5GL7CZ-mnVYVKzD-dtijaFtVNtlGZvfeNaCA/s1500/Blog%20insane%20KC%20poor%20farm%201979.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="1500" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGmRCe0CEjFUft4u5LpP4U17_maYk2xSjqcnqXwRWEnEDlYwVZtt26s_WFUPDzQvmHPlaTxF4CP14qyAjhKWbLwcn0GCM5qH_3SKelerpAYyeu0b7JTEgYZNeJYC2efxBzgkMxQZS-OpfXE6m5XZZFjT5GL7CZ-mnVYVKzD-dtijaFtVNtlGZvfeNaCA/s320/Blog%20insane%20KC%20poor%20farm%201979.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Kewaunee County Board’s committee on “insane and idiots” offered
reports as part of the board meetings. The committee often attested to visiting
the insane and idiotic of the county, “outside the poorhouse.” The poorhouse
was Kewaunee County Farm, at left. Idiot, imbecille and moron were once technical words describing degrees of intelligence. The words are now considered offensive as are so many other descriptors of the past.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjawGxVTckwkw1QQ-Uje761aeRNe238Lo1cikwB4Qq9RC-tcfeZhdBmoWaS4lSqHBncF3RyLmUSESn_eTEILwuoYhAqvePNOE54cujXdIPtQA8bSA9DawjSiu-W0EF8pEAmk4oDuE59GW3ETMkMsUAGvvjeS0J0MqKU7ZzPVNJOfFto1048Upi0_arGCg/s1200/Blog%20insane%20girls%20facility.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="693" data-original-width="1200" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjawGxVTckwkw1QQ-Uje761aeRNe238Lo1cikwB4Qq9RC-tcfeZhdBmoWaS4lSqHBncF3RyLmUSESn_eTEILwuoYhAqvePNOE54cujXdIPtQA8bSA9DawjSiu-W0EF8pEAmk4oDuE59GW3ETMkMsUAGvvjeS0J0MqKU7ZzPVNJOfFto1048Upi0_arGCg/s320/Blog%20insane%20girls%20facility.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>As early as January 1870, it was called to the attention of
the Wisconsin Legislature that reform school was not the place for “innocent
victims” who were friendless, vagrant children who never committed a crime, but
were homeless orphans. There were facilities for boys and girls including this home for girls. An act of 1875 established places for boys and girls to prevent crime, pauperism, vagrancy or children who were orphans. Such facilities were to return those who had fallen into bad habits to a good life or those who had inherited bad tendencies.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Also called to the Legislature’s attention was that the
State Hospital felt at least 500 state residents were insane, however lacked care
and proper treatment. The legislature was urged to erect another hospital quickly.
Also pointed out was that more foreign born resided in poor houses than native
born.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kewaunee County's mentally ill residents were visited by the supervising committee
from the County Board. After visiting those in question and considering
the financial status of caretakers, recommendations were made for yearly
payment to each caregiver. In 1905 the committee – Desire Colle, W.H. O’Brien,
Joseph Bauer, Henry Boulanger, and Frank Gregor - <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>required reports from the District Attorney
listing any monies collected from others who were liable for maintaining the
“chronic insane.” <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">The committee discussed the
maintenance of “insane inamtes” in “insane aslyums.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Supervisors Gregor and Cain were appointed
with the District Attorney, to investigate and inquire into the cases and then
enforce payments. There were matters of payment when a Kewaunee County resident
found care in an adjacent county. In one instance Door County cared for a Casco
resident. The County Board voted to charge the Town of Casco for the man’s
keep. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There were 45 claimants in April 1905, 27 of which were
denied. In cases where the county was to be reimbursed, the payees’ assessed
amount was lower if they paid the bill early. Some of the assessments were for
those from other counties as Kewaunee County also paid other counties for care of
its citizens.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Costs were always an issue. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dennis Sullivan, Edward O’Hara, Herman Teske, John M.
Borgman were attending to bills in April 1885. One in Carlton said keeping
another was $1.75 per week while a Franklin man said it cost $60 a year to
maintain his two idiotic children. A Red River man said the maintenance for
himself and family amounted to $86 per annum, a time when a Lincoln man kept
two non-resident paupers for $60 a year. The committee recommended quarterly
payments except for the Red River family man who would be paid annually.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The committee reported in January 1890 that it appeared “by
shrewd management,” Brown County was maintaining and supporting its paupers and
insane it its own asylum for 27 cents a week and that Manitowoc County showed even
“schrewder management.” Manitowoc County maintained such folks free of all cost or expense to the county and even reported profits from the
asylum. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">J. Walechka, L. Lutz and J.C. Burke offered the insane
report in December 1890 saying they examined several people for whom the county
paid maintenance in state institutions. They had<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>relatives who were not liable for support as
such support would deprive them and their families of necessities. Committee
recommended collection from only those relatives of the idiotic and insane of
those with property in their own right. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The county board listed the insanity cases while also
listing those with tuberculosis sent to Maple Crest Sanitorium at Whitelaw and the indigent to the Poor Farm at Alaska in 1918. At the
same meeting the committee on the Poor and Poor Farm submitted their annual
report. Eight males and 6 females<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>lived
there in 1917 for a total of 610 weeks. Residents were listed by name and the
number of weeks in residence.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">During the World War l era, the committee – then Edward
Allard, M.M. Knudson, and John W. Adams – recommended the District Attorney
collect fixed amounts from responsible parties caring for the insane. There was
a list of other patients and caretakers excused from reimbursement to the
county because of lack of property and other financial circumstances.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some folks remained in their own homes while others were
sent to treatment facilities.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">During February 1875, a
nineteen year old man was taken to the state asylum at Oshkosh. Why? Since the
spring of 1871, the young man had been subject to “fits of epilepsy” that
lasted from 12 hours to two weeks manifesting “periodical symptoms of raving
madness or delirium” in which he would attack others, often endangering lives, thus
it was no longer safe to allow him to be in society. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIX24Iodc2RitCA4X2zG1Oy1m55k1v-OTor_TDpMgI7L1Ryb8E2UF3KXF5nvf4bzcDoBZNL6UPOCvl6W6PI9ktgupfzJiNoPQsn1j3RVEkQdZlU-EMTz4Gg_i2JnlkGqrM3FQm9GrgalmeX5pZtSNtVS-b1jD0l9q1sSvhsiRJzFnRX7AxOGMTHUFlaA/s900/Blog%20insane%20Oshkosh%206-28-89%20DC%20Indep.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="900" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIX24Iodc2RitCA4X2zG1Oy1m55k1v-OTor_TDpMgI7L1Ryb8E2UF3KXF5nvf4bzcDoBZNL6UPOCvl6W6PI9ktgupfzJiNoPQsn1j3RVEkQdZlU-EMTz4Gg_i2JnlkGqrM3FQm9GrgalmeX5pZtSNtVS-b1jD0l9q1sSvhsiRJzFnRX7AxOGMTHUFlaA/s320/Blog%20insane%20Oshkosh%206-28-89%20DC%20Indep.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>There were other such
incidences. In April 1877, Ahnapee resident William VanDoozer’s bill for
conveying an insane person from Ahnapee to Illinois was disallowed.<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"> In November,</span> Judge Johannes ordered Sheriff
Wery to take a Town of Casco woman to the Oshkosh. During the month, the wife
of a man confined to his home with rheumatism was suddenly “taken insane” and
in such condition that it took two men to watch her and use their “united
efforts” to keep her quiet. Dr. Chapel attended her and it was believed she would
be in Northern Insane Hospital before there was a permanent cure. At a late
November 1877 meeting, the board paid Fred Johannes $15 for services on an
insane case and county canvassing. Dr. O.H. Martin presented a $35 bill for
examining the insane but the board only allowed $26. Dr. J.H. Chapel charged 35
for medical examinations in insane cases but he was only allowed 22. There were
more cases all over the county.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Judge Stransky applied for the admittance of a Town of
Franklin women to the Oshkosh Insane Asylum in April 1880. In 1899 an 18-year-old
Algoma woman was living in Sturgeon Bay when she was found to be insane. A year
later, a Kewaunee bachelor was taken to Oshkosh by Sheriff Kulhanek. The paper
said the man attacked his neighbors with an ax. In 1915 a 78-year-old resident
of the Town of Ahnapee was taken by auto by Sheriff Dobry to Kewaunee where
Judge M.T. Parker adjudged the man insane. The fellow was under the impression
that his auto ride felt like being at sea in a steamboat. It sounds like an
astute observation for the time. A month or so later, a 59-year-old Luxemburg
woman who had spent time at the state hospital in Oshkosh was taken back. Judge
W.A. Cowell pronounced her insane as she was under the delusion that she was
about to be married but that her family was keeping her intended from her. The next
year, Judge Cowell ordered a Town of Ahnapee man to Northern Hospital. The<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>man was 70 and “his age seemed to enfeeble
his mind.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Drs. W.W. Witcpalek and D.B.
Dishmaker did the examining.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Over 100 years later, mental health is a societal problem.
Some things have changed. Some things have not. Whether it is those in any kind
of treatment, or nursing homes, there are situations the same as when the <i>Record
Herald</i> commented in 1922 on the “hidden sorrows” among those
at the poor farm. Friends forget to write, a brother who never forgot Christmas
fails to send a little gift and so on. A hundred things can dull days as they
do for others not confined to facilities. In 1922, the paper editorialized, “It’s the little things,
forgotten by those who should remember, which pain in the last gray days of
life.” <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">Sources: <i>Ahnapee
Record, Algoma Record Herald, Door County Independent; Kewaunee Enterprise,</i>
Wikipedia</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://time.com/6074783/psychiatry-history-women-mental-health/"><span color="windowtext" style="text-decoration-line: none;">https://time.com/6074783/psychiatry-history-women-mental-health/</span></a> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">Sage Publications: https://journals.sagepub.com.doi.pdf</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="MsoHyperlink">Photos from</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="MsoHyperlink">Northern State Hospital: https://sites.rootsweb.com/~asylums/winnebago_wi/index.html</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="MsoHyperlink">Kewaunee County Poor Farm: Algoma Record Herald</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Girls' Facility: </span>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin_Industrial_School_for_Girls</p><p class="MsoNormal">Letter from Northern State: Door County Independent</p>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-77596441389988180802023-04-21T15:07:00.000-07:002023-04-21T15:07:10.246-07:00Kewaunee County History: Patent Medicines & Algoma/Ahnapee<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhemWcgoLar9uEkRmOpU1Ds0NXI323zcv7FzPZFo2hDJ9n9KiUtWC_cTAN-lYqCCMgAwxKOPXcvrP_XinjsiwdVkBgdhldfw9tpmA2RhZTAr6R_MEgSydP0IWRFM0A2j5KgApOTfXTTyT02Ne3DbxSVXFVSJkc3yTPLgVT3xiOGdimOxmJDyvnIYvQ0aA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1288" data-original-width="2000" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhemWcgoLar9uEkRmOpU1Ds0NXI323zcv7FzPZFo2hDJ9n9KiUtWC_cTAN-lYqCCMgAwxKOPXcvrP_XinjsiwdVkBgdhldfw9tpmA2RhZTAr6R_MEgSydP0IWRFM0A2j5KgApOTfXTTyT02Ne3DbxSVXFVSJkc3yTPLgVT3xiOGdimOxmJDyvnIYvQ0aA=w488-h314" width="488" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In the first 100 years of its existence, nearly all of of Ahnapee/Algoma drug stores were on Steele Street, between 3rd and 4th. They included James Dudley, David Logencrantz, John McDonald, W.N. Perry, Christian Roberts, Joseph Knipfer, Mike Shiner, Merton McDonald, James Fluck, and the Boedecker Bros., which became Rexall. Silas Doyen, Emil Spigelberg. H.W. Bates and George Wilbur operated their stores just east of 3rd and Steele. Wilbur joined Voyta Kwapil and opened on the north side of Steele, just east of 4th.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">When a colleague was researching reasons for death decades
ago, the list included rottenness, catarrh, general debility, too weak to live,
summer complaint, liver complaint, scrofula, consumption and more. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Consumption, or tuberculosis, is now more well controlled in
the U.S. than in any other country, however it was almost romanticized in the
novels of the 1800s. Wikipedia explains it as “the idea of being quietly and
inoffensively sick” It says the symptoms of tuberculosis were preferrable to other
epidemics and infections that raged during the 19<sup>th</sup> and 20<sup>th</sup>
centuries.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Catarrh is another illness mentioned in novels, magazines,
and newspapers 100 years ago and before. Today we call it postnasal drip. It
happens because of hay fever, colds, allergies, or rhinitis when excess mucous
is produced.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then there is scrofula, which is an inflammation in the
lymph nodes, part of the body’s immune system. It was not to be taken lightly.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Summer complaint is thought of as flu with shivering and
fever lasting three or four days. Summer complaint of the 1800s got its name
because it was most common in summer months. It was not a simple thing, and its
symptoms including vomiting and severe diarrhea were often fatal in infants and
young children.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">General debility and feebleness were terms for general
weakness that was the result of a medical condition. Included in the definition
is what is now called dementia or Alzheimer’s.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">More and more, big pharma hawks medications for everything
we’ve heard of and more that we have not. On the cusp of 1900, Ahnapee
residents didn’t have TV or other electronics, so how did early residents
identify their complaints, and what they could do about them? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Wikipedia tells us that by the mid-1800s, patent medicines
were made and sold over-the-counter by just about anybody. However, such
medicines originated in England where ingredients were granted government
protection. Most such medicines were not patented and, without regulation, were
proprietary or quack. Although some were found to be therapeutic, but the good
feeling might have been produced by the high alcoholic content, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Ahnapee Record’s</i> inaugural issue came out in mid-June
1873, and its second issue carried ads advising people to help themselves
improve their health. Early Steele St. druggist W. N. Perry advertised drugs
and medicines along with whiskies and trusses right from the start. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzQwzkMgI05co01VuD2HkpYwQEe-dZLkrpBJFhcH6LJevBSHxT2f6g4yuL0TOQM1_71wRusgEbz1bAGfDw8A1xik69EqSVh_7-_j1sG8i2BkERVN7zn3Ly8_BXIrWEjCfN0hfrNf0evpwdDe_Z0lwcYuyulpaBzwvTlHnk8ak6z5ht3L9i2dS_ARePDw/s263/Blog%20illness%20cod%20liver%20oil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="263" data-original-width="219" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzQwzkMgI05co01VuD2HkpYwQEe-dZLkrpBJFhcH6LJevBSHxT2f6g4yuL0TOQM1_71wRusgEbz1bAGfDw8A1xik69EqSVh_7-_j1sG8i2BkERVN7zn3Ly8_BXIrWEjCfN0hfrNf0evpwdDe_Z0lwcYuyulpaBzwvTlHnk8ak6z5ht3L9i2dS_ARePDw/s1600/Blog%20illness%20cod%20liver%20oil.jpg" width="219" /></a></div>By the third issue in July 1873, Wilson’s Carbolated Cod
Liver Oil was being peddled as a cure for consumption. Manufactured in New
York, the company sold through its western agents in Chicago and St. Louis.
While the ad’s title indicates the product would cure consumption, the small
print said carbolic acid was the world’s most powerful antiseptic while cod
liver oil was “the best assistant in resisting consumption.” The ad claims the
product was sold by the best druggists so, apparently, William Perry was among
the best. In 1904 Dr. King’s New Discovery was advertised for consumption. Dr.
King’s advertising vowed, “Nothing has ever equaled it. Nothing can ever
surpass it.”<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The July 3, 1873 issue also carried an ad for Vinegar
Bitters as the most remarkable medicine the world had ever seen. Vinegar
Bitters was said to heal the sick of every disease “man is heir to.” Dr. J.
Walker’s California Vinegar Bitters were manufactured from herbs found in the
Sierra Nevada mountains of California.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As early as 1874, the<i> Record </i>was carrying ads for
medicines that strengthened and healed the liver. As a remedy for all
“manifestations of disease resulting from Liver Complaint,” Dr. Pierce’s Golden Medical Discovery was
“positively unequaled.” Using the medicine was sure to change the liver and
stomach to an active, healthy state. If the medicine didn’t provide enough of a
laxative to move the bowels, the ad suggested taking Dr. Pierce’s Pleasant
Purgative Pellets.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">During Fall 1874, colds, influenza, catarrh, and other
disagreeable complaints were prevalent in the unpleasant fall weather. It was
then that the paper informed readers that C.H. Hitt of Clay Banks was lying
dangerously ill, suffering from dropsy of a long duration. Recovery was thought
to be doubtful. Dropsy was a condition characterized by an accumulation of
fluid in tissues or in the body cavity. Edema is the term used today, although
in the 1800s, dropsy also meant heart disease, liver disease and kidney
disease.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3KgPdbwk23HZi-n5I9tSUhqeb9srwuCG2DkV9Ub_rGQitAa43vDIQJ17SV5NzO_XuY1HBN5vhgIdAMvAiNJpRU-XMBVKExdhuVBBjU0BCLD_PH-iiOoYNtCDovlnZUHtVK_KwMGaa28WItpyI7dLvAUYDlZbT1zneF6YUxSgxMsksCdn1LRn0ZV8ug/s534/Blog%20illness%20kidney%20wort.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="238" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3KgPdbwk23HZi-n5I9tSUhqeb9srwuCG2DkV9Ub_rGQitAa43vDIQJ17SV5NzO_XuY1HBN5vhgIdAMvAiNJpRU-XMBVKExdhuVBBjU0BCLD_PH-iiOoYNtCDovlnZUHtVK_KwMGaa28WItpyI7dLvAUYDlZbT1zneF6YUxSgxMsksCdn1LRn0ZV8ug/s320/Blog%20illness%20kidney%20wort.jpg" width="143" /></a></div>On April Fool’s Day, 1880, the <i>Record</i> carried an ad
for Kidney Wort which claimed to take care of
just about everything. Saying it was the only remedy to act on the
bowels, liver and kidneys at the same time, Kidney Wort also took care of piles
(hemorrhoids) , urinary diseases, female weakness, and nervous disorders. One
would think Ahnapee residents splurged on the phenomenol Kidney Wort. Why would
one suffer from bilious pains and aches, be tormented by piles, be frightened
over kidney disorders, and have sleepless nights or sick headaches when one
could “rejoice in health” with this dry, vegetable compound. One package made six
quarts of medicine. Wells, Richardson & Co. of Burlington, VT, told readers
their druggist would order the product, postpaid, for one dollar. Those who
only had piles were guaranteed a cure by Pazo Ointment which promised to end
itching, bleeding, and protruding within 6 to 14 days. If it didn’t happen, the
50-cent cost was refunded. So, how did anybody prove that one?<o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">In 1886, D. Lancelle was advertising a remedy for asthma and
catarrh. Green’s August Flowers – as beautiful as nature itself – was promised
to make disheartened, discouraged, worn out people as free from disease as the
day they were born. Dyspepsia and Liver Complain caused 75% of biliousness,
indigestion, sick headache, dizziness of the head and palpitation of the heart,
nervous prostration and more. In June 1887, Green’s said only three doses of
August Flowers would bring back a wonderful life. Ten cents bought a sample
bottle of the medication with the lovely name.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfv_YcJ8o557YNYp4Y0eKiFCZlUj62SnlMyH3aYYeF8J4Z-m_CsODVMNFlQhLAZde5FT7szMB4B4CQ3_HaKCjNU-EWJXrnKnaZGlDOgmTY7SWbCm4fseRn31kJrTPuz5S_1CD5n-feCrqcDVvT-7Ts9d7wRAVxzpAF-TQ9XHCIS9y0Tpk56t-4CPL0Iw/s567/Blog%20illness%20August%20flower%20color.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="363" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfv_YcJ8o557YNYp4Y0eKiFCZlUj62SnlMyH3aYYeF8J4Z-m_CsODVMNFlQhLAZde5FT7szMB4B4CQ3_HaKCjNU-EWJXrnKnaZGlDOgmTY7SWbCm4fseRn31kJrTPuz5S_1CD5n-feCrqcDVvT-7Ts9d7wRAVxzpAF-TQ9XHCIS9y0Tpk56t-4CPL0Iw/w128-h200/Blog%20illness%20August%20flower%20color.JPG" width="128" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Picture found on the <br />Tizzano Museum site</span>.</td></tr></tbody></table>Colonel George Green served in the Civil War and later
bought the rights to Green’s August Flower from his father. Col. Green was a
patent medicine entrepreneur who created an impressive marketing campaign,
distributed thousands of his health almanacs while mailing free samples. While
a surprising number of patent medicines contained alcohol, August Flowers
contained laudanum. Did the wonderful life come from addiction? By 1916 the
product was discontinued because of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, but
Col. Green was a millionaire by then.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Manchester’s English White Lily Circle Brand of Pennyroyal
Pills was advertised in 1896 as the most powerful, safe, and reliable pill of
its kind on the market. It worked for all kinds of female troubles and
everything that could arise from it. If druggists weren’t carrying White Lily,
the company would send it for $2.00, postpaid. The English Winchester Chemical
Co. of Chicago was the home of the English pennyroyal pills.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Druggist A. Logencrantz was on the northwest corner of 4<sup>th</sup>
and Steele in 1896. He advertised Begg’s Blood Purifier and Blood Maker to
remove the lingering feeling of tiredness and offer a good appetite with
regulated digestion.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPl1ibj_093cJQcNM-EsqCUSGXAUl9Mz9Sd9XE4O4LN5TOqDz_0jqiVBmRsDHhyc1TBgda-V0t74mOl5_auc1j800Rx2pQJSjMVAL3pZ05To5R34G4walZSVRv8KZe8ckO_CkRlWM4UlAWPa2CQy32PuVd4FzMWWtns61QPliE7sQzkE2eUbqNWi51ag/s601/Blog%20illness%20Lydia%20Pinkham.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="216" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPl1ibj_093cJQcNM-EsqCUSGXAUl9Mz9Sd9XE4O4LN5TOqDz_0jqiVBmRsDHhyc1TBgda-V0t74mOl5_auc1j800Rx2pQJSjMVAL3pZ05To5R34G4walZSVRv8KZe8ckO_CkRlWM4UlAWPa2CQy32PuVd4FzMWWtns61QPliE7sQzkE2eUbqNWi51ag/s320/Blog%20illness%20Lydia%20Pinkham.JPG" width="115" /></a></div>Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Co., of Lynn, Massachusetts,
advertised in <i>Algoma Press</i> in 1899. The company which said it gave a helping
hand to all women, is, according to Wikipedia, still serving women. Lydia
Pinkham invented and marketed an herbal tonic for menstrual and menopausal
problems in the mid-1800s . Although medical experts of the day called
Pinkham’s woman’s tonic “quackery,” the modified product was marketed over 100
years later.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Wilbur and Kwapil, just east of the northwest corner of 4<sup>th</sup>
and Steele, were stocking W.F. Severa’s remedies which came from Cedar Rapids,
Iowa. Severa promised to cure almost everything in the early 1900s. Severa had
competition from Chamberlain’s Tablets, a stomach medication intended to clean,
strengthen, tone, and invigorate, to regulate the liver and banish biliousness
“positively and effectually.” It was for sale by all dealers. Severa’s sales
were far higher.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Severa's Heart Tonic was said to quickly overcome all heart afflictions, dropsy, circulation, fainting spells while toning up the entire system. All that for $1.00. For 25 cents, Severa's Soothing Drops brought comfort and sleep to children while counteracting pain, colic, and cramps, overcoming all spasms and fever while regulating digestion.</p><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Severa’s $1.00 Female Regulator overcame menstrual
disorders, promoting healthy activity of the organs and counteracting all
problems incidental to pregnancy, childbirth and change of life. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Severa’s Wafers were touted to quickly, and permanently,
cure all forms of headaches and neuralgia, menstrual pain, and fevers. The
product cost 25 cents and said it had no injurious effects on circulation. Then
there were Stomach Bitters. Server said it promoted secretions of the stomach,
aided digestion, stimulated the organs, increased the appetite, and overcame
weakness while invigorating the entire body, available in two sizes for 50
cents or a dollar.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Summer complaint was miserable and painful, however the W.F.
Severa Co. said it could manage that too. The stomach and bowels were most
liable to be affected during summer and the prompt use of Severa’s was sure to
quickly resolve the issues. Mr. Severa advised finding his facsimile signature
on every package to ensure the product was his. The company said its products
were sold by all druggists, one of which was Wilbur and Kwapil on Steele St. in
Algoma. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Severa had competition in Dr. Hartman’s Pe-ru-na, which
Hartman claimed was the best medication for summer complaint. Hartman said, Summer
Complaint was really Catarrh, so he differed with others. In practice for over
40 years, Hartman, of Columbus, Ohio, never lost a sole case of cholera
infantum, dysentery, diarrhea, or cholera morbus, all types of Summer
Complaint. Cholera morbus is acute gastroenteritis. Cholera infantum was a
cause of death in babies and small children. When Hartman claimed he never lost
a case, was his advertising factual?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There were medications for Dyspepsia early in the 1900s. If
you don’t enjoy the food you eat, it won’t do much for you according to the
Kodol Company marketing. The thing to do was take Kodol Dyspepsia Cure each morning
because the stomach needed to be kept healthy, pure, and sweet, to prevent
disease from setting up. Wilbur and Kwapil were selling the cure which Kodol
pledged would end all stomach troubles quickly. A few years later Kodol Dyspepsia
Cure was said to cure bad breath and to guard against indigestion following a
big meal. One N. Watkins of Lesbus, Kentucky testified that he was afflicted
with stomach troubles for 15 years but after taking just six bottles of the
Cure, he was entirely healed. He said those six bottles were worth a thousand
dollars to him since he was able to eat and digest any quantity of wholesome
food. Was he eating wholesome food and a good, well-balanced diet during those
15 years?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By spring 1904, it was said seven diseases caused by measles
were cured with Dr. Miles’ Restorative Tonic and Nervine. Rev. Hiram Bender of
West Bend did not enjoy good health until 1896 when he began taking the Restorative
Tonic and Nervine. He claimed he was a perfectly healthy young man in 1865 when
he contracted measles at Camp Randall. It took 31 years to feel good again, and
it was because of Dr. Miles. Others also hyped the product which was guaranteed
to work with the first bottle. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">A year later, Mack Hamilton, a North Dakota hotel clerk,
said two bottles of DeWitt’s Little Early Risers cured him of constipation. The
pills acted as a tonic and as a drastic purge, curing headaches, constipation,
biliousness, and more. Called a safe pill, they were small and easy to take and
eat. Wilbur and Kwapil carried them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Boedecker Bros., on the southeast corner of 4<sup>th</sup>
and Steele, advertised Gloria Tonic which Mr. William Hessler of Muscoda, Wisconsin,
said made him a new man. While he was taking the first box, Hessler said he
could not stand on his feet, but when taking the second, he could walk across a
room pushing a chair for stability. After the third box, Hessler said he could
husk corn and feed sixty head of hogs.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Colonel John F Miller of Honey Grove, Texas, reported
being almost dead from liver and kidney trouble. Since his doctor did him no
good, he bought a 50-cent bottle of Electric Bitters in 1905 and was cured.
Miller said Electric Bitters was the best medicine on earth and gave thanks to
God who gave the company the knowledge to make the product. Wilbur and Kwapil promoted
the product which was guaranteed to cure dyspepsia, biliousness, and kidney
disease. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwt2Kh1ocXg1x3H-LPntDi71PBJCSHWc8Ax2BLWND3nZ3ZLjS9vrKHL3OpxcK4EUcMLbIxjGJcxa9QS4iFafLTY1hxgZXjt2wZ0oYeghojIAJCnWQXHns-J0U3yAR3Y1GdGcgtgrOo2CQgzZqcbuiM8L3fFwtlKZGY0ZFGF6E6a7eFhxUh2PgV8rwa6A/s781/Blog%20illness%20Dr%20King%202.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="737" data-original-width="781" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwt2Kh1ocXg1x3H-LPntDi71PBJCSHWc8Ax2BLWND3nZ3ZLjS9vrKHL3OpxcK4EUcMLbIxjGJcxa9QS4iFafLTY1hxgZXjt2wZ0oYeghojIAJCnWQXHns-J0U3yAR3Y1GdGcgtgrOo2CQgzZqcbuiM8L3fFwtlKZGY0ZFGF6E6a7eFhxUh2PgV8rwa6A/s320/Blog%20illness%20Dr%20King%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Spending 25 cents at Voyta Kwapil’s drug store bought Dr.
King’s New Life Pills, pills promised to be the best remedy for constipation, biliousness,
and malaria. The pills eased without the least discomfort said Mr. A. Felton of
Farrisville, New York. Dr. King offered a free trial bottle for his New
Discovery, a pill guaranteed to kill
coughs, cure the lungs, and work for all throat and lung troubles. If the free
trial didn’t work, one could purchase the 50-cent or the $1.00 bottle. Dr.
King’s ads usually contained testimonials. John Supsic of Sansbury,
Pennsylvania, said the pills were the best he ever used and advised everyone to
use them for constipation, indigestion, and liver complaint. Druggist Voyta
Kwapil recommended the New Life product which cost 25 cents, a drop in price
over the years.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All druggists – including Wilbur and Kwapil – were said to
be selling Dr. Bell’s Pine-Tar-Honey for 25 or 50 cents or $1.00. Dr. Bell’s
was said to break up the worst colds in one night. Dr. Bell warned about cheap
imitations with similar sounding names. It was the bell on the bottle that
guaranteed the genuine product.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It wasn’t only patent medicines. By 1907 Grape Nuts cereal
was making headlines when a 70-year-old Maine man, troubled with dyspepsia and
liver complaint was taking medicine with only temporary relief for 20 years
when he started eating Grape-Nuts. Grape-Nuts for breakfast with a little cream
and sugar took care of his stomach issues. All it took was one daily meal of
Grape-Nuts to help him gain weight, begin sleeping well, and eating nearly
anything but greasy and starchy foods. The man said he’d write to any person with
questions if they sent a postage stamp. Grape-Nuts, sold by the Postum Co. of
Battle Creek, Michigan, enclosed the booklet “The Road to Wellville” in the
cereal packages.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When John Culligan’s obituary appeared in the <i>Algoma
Record Herald</i> on October 25, 1918, the sub headline said Mr. Culligan had
been ill a couple of months with liver complaint.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_Hlk132920338">In 1911, it was Chamberlain’s
Tablets that was a stomach medication intended to clean, strengthen, tone, and
invigorate, to regulate the liver and banish biliousness “positively and
effectually.” It was for sale by all dealers.<o:p></o:p></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKkwXUE2UycP8N5RTlnuRYF47xtPMsZG7ZKyz-QiWltcR3DIRAHg4oGcTTwxP3H9vC9DenQ6BxFDhJqmb_tPF2l-S5fHw-2K3g1f8h4EJtJtq0W-0-dpgBVTXtJ9ewA3Wn9-KHL3cll44p3NSrtoyOHgYq2sYQYE8IudD-lq7XKT8hvqQBt-lsfg4yEw/s345/Blog%20illness%20pink%20pills.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="258" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKkwXUE2UycP8N5RTlnuRYF47xtPMsZG7ZKyz-QiWltcR3DIRAHg4oGcTTwxP3H9vC9DenQ6BxFDhJqmb_tPF2l-S5fHw-2K3g1f8h4EJtJtq0W-0-dpgBVTXtJ9ewA3Wn9-KHL3cll44p3NSrtoyOHgYq2sYQYE8IudD-lq7XKT8hvqQBt-lsfg4yEw/s320/Blog%20illness%20pink%20pills.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>Dr. Williams’ Pink Pills for Pale People made news in 1896.
Its ad said an honest physician would often tell the number of red corpuscles
double after a course of pink pill treatment. Doctors might not see it, however.
<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Red lips, bright eyes, a good appetite, and absence of pain
transform a pale sallow girl into a maiden glowing with health. Dr. Williams
said mothers watching daughters grow from girlhood into womanhood should not
neglect the pills which were adapted for that particular Illness. Dr. Williams
was another who offered testimonials in the ads and said the pills could be
gotten from a druggist or ordered from his Schenectady for 50 cents per box.
The pink pills were made with iron and did offer an impact anemia and
cirrhosis. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In 1900, Dr. T. Felix Gouraud’s oriental cream did to the skin
what other products did for the inside of the body. His products were sold by
fancy-goods’ dealers as well as druggists. Ferd T. Hopkins was the proprietor
of the company which was based in New York. Dr. McNamara was one who was based
in Milwaukee at the corner of Johnson and 580 S. Broadway. McNamara said the
company was established in 1861 for cure of nervous debility, exhaustion of
brain energy, mental aberration, physical prostration, sexual weakness, kidney afflictions,
blood diseases, barrenness, leucorrhea, month period and marriage. Leukorrhea
is vaginal discharge, but it was not explained what illness marriage was.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was surprising to see a malaria medication in the Record
in August 1889. Ahnapee was never known as a hotbed of malaria but apparently
if it made an appearance Steketee’s Dry Bitters would take care of it. One
package made a gallon that would cure indigestion, stomach pains, fever and
ague, and kidney and bladder problems. At 30 cents for a single packet or 50
cents for two, the tonic was the cheapest remedy known. It could be used with
or without alcohol. Where malaria entered in the Grand Rapids made product is
hard to say.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbU1xnmTioduxmGGEL36zhP8JFljX0_ynMFQA_mMa2JjajgbeQid6jlFHJWpmBIxbtzQ1wA9tR1MEGJ2j4Ua0wHHjWVI1vtlBfGWOiW2J0CGamg7482ojITPe7xdG_qCHXBE9t-i_acnBncwUVjtnrPBmwZ3RnUNqoRg8IOfJxZ7BPFfCHTCl2oLSb3A/s568/Blog%20illness%20sarsaparilla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbU1xnmTioduxmGGEL36zhP8JFljX0_ynMFQA_mMa2JjajgbeQid6jlFHJWpmBIxbtzQ1wA9tR1MEGJ2j4Ua0wHHjWVI1vtlBfGWOiW2J0CGamg7482ojITPe7xdG_qCHXBE9t-i_acnBncwUVjtnrPBmwZ3RnUNqoRg8IOfJxZ7BPFfCHTCl2oLSb3A/s320/Blog%20illness%20sarsaparilla.jpg" width="177" /></a></div>Those of a certain age remember the cowboy movies of the ‘40s and into the ‘50s when men rode into town from the ranch to belly up
to the bar with a sarsaparilla. Who knew they were in the saloon drinking for
the health of it? Drug stores sold “spirits” as healthful so maybe those
cowboys pouring a shot were also drinking for health. Ayer’s Sarsaparilla
contained blood-purifying roots, iodine of potassium, and iron which was touted
as the most reliable blood purifier ever. It took care of what other products
did not advertise. Ayer’s was called the best-known remedy for scrofula and all
scrofulous complaints, erysipelas in addition to more common problems such as
boils, tumors, eczema, ringworm, and sores and for other disorders of the skin
caused by thin and impoverished, or corrupted, conditions of the blood, such as
rheumatism, neuralgia, general debility, and scrofulous catarrh. One William
Moore of Durham, Iowa, said on March 2, 182 that Ayer’s cured his inflammatory
rheumatism. Manufactured in Lowell, Massachusetts, the Ayer Co. said the cost
was $1 a bottle or six for $5.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As early as 1864, Joseph Defaut was conducting his Ahnapee
store on 2<sup>nd</sup> Street. When George Wing wrote his memoirs 50 years
later, he recalled the store and the astonishing amount of sarsaparilla Defaut
sold weekly. Wing commented that more than a few residents had tabs of $1.00.
$1.00 in 1864 had the purchasing power of $19.23 in 2023.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The patent medicines were not all patented. To be patented
meant revealing secrets. Alcohol. Opium and laudanum were often ingredients and
that meant addiction and overdoses. Some concoctions included arsenic, mercury,
or lead. Snake oil was popular, but the name has become synonymous with
quackery. 7-Up originally contained lithium, a mood-altering drug. Angostura
Bitters was originally a seasickness product, however it is used in cocktails
today. Carters Little Liver Pills were used for everything, but today it is a
laxative. Today’s popular Coco Cola was targeted to morphine addiction and
impotence, while Dr. Pepper was marketed to aid digestion while restoring vim
and vigor. Hires Root Beer promised to purify the blood and make cheeks rosy
but is a much-enjoyed soft drink today. Pepsi was also sold as a digestive aid.
Mrs. Moffat was selling Shoo-Fly Powders for Drunkenness was one of the FDA’s
first cases. Pope Leo and Thomas Edison were some of the celebrities who lent
their name to patent medicines. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p>Today’s Over-the-Counter medicines are regulated, however Bates,
Perry, Boedecker Bros., Kwapil and Wilbur and all the other early druggists
more than likely raised their eyebrows at several of their products. Perhaps they
worked, and maybe they didn’t. Some certainly had a placebo effect, and with
the amount of alcohol and narcotics in the pills and elixirs, it is easy to
understand why there were testimonials. </p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sources: <i>An-an-api-sebe: Where is the River?, Ahnapee Record, AlgomaPress, Algoma Record, Algoma Record Herald, Commercial History of Algoma, WI, Vol. 1 & 2.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photos: Algoma newspapers; Kannerwurf,, Sharpe, Johnson Collection,Tizzani Museum website.</span></p>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-85059127875306285942023-04-03T10:19:00.003-07:002023-04-03T10:20:54.638-07:00Algoma - In Your Easter Bonnet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhILI86CzvYU-6NiqsLWOPkFgaX6UupfhY4tmqeeFQ-wtkugTk-Fjqfmd9OQ2T0sHjLnw9-f9nKBNokgdUayclhZqaJkkDf05r2jo3rE0P-MhQ1mUB1bS4Qfk0C91sRkX7u_mSh90f6PFbqaSn2U50IOhvQK1OewV8MiTUjchCIEPpU0txeio4flPaKyg/s999/Blog%20Easter%20eggs%20hat.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="999" data-original-width="974" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhILI86CzvYU-6NiqsLWOPkFgaX6UupfhY4tmqeeFQ-wtkugTk-Fjqfmd9OQ2T0sHjLnw9-f9nKBNokgdUayclhZqaJkkDf05r2jo3rE0P-MhQ1mUB1bS4Qfk0C91sRkX7u_mSh90f6PFbqaSn2U50IOhvQK1OewV8MiTUjchCIEPpU0txeio4flPaKyg/w233-h239/Blog%20Easter%20eggs%20hat.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><br />Wikipedia tells us, “An Easter bonnet is any new or fancy hat worn by tradition as a Christian head covering on Easter. It represents the tail end of a tradition of wearing new clothes at Easter, in harmony with the renewal of the year and the promise of spiritual renewal and redemption.” <div><br /></div><div>Those of a certain age fondly remember Fred Astaire and Judy Garland smiling on New York’s 5th Avenue as they strolled down the avenue in a delightful rendition of Irving Berlin’s “Easter Parade.” When Berlin wrote his original melody in 1917, he called it “Smile and Show Your Dimple” as a World War l song. When it was published as “Easter Parade” in 1933, the depths of the Depression, the song became a hit. </div><div><br /></div><div>Whether or not Ahnapee/Algoma ever had an Easter Parade is questionable, however there was no mistaking the parade of hats as women lined up for Easter Sunday communion in the city’s churches.
In the early 1900s, newspaper correspondents from such rural communities as Swamp Creek and Rio Creek to the City of Algoma reminded readership about spring hats and to hurry before it was too late.</div><div><br /></div><div>Milliners – hat makers – found work in the community, now called Algoma, back almost to the earliest days. By the early 1900s – the era Fred and Judy sang and danced through – countless women from other areas came to Algoma to serve in a millinery establishment before moving to a larger areas. It was front page news when milliners such as Louise Paarmann Barnes, Lena Melchior, Minnie Kamer, and Mrs. Feight left town for Milwaukee or Chicago mercantiles and supply houses filled with the latest laces, beads, veils and other finery to purchase for milady’s newest chapeau. </div><div><br /></div><div>In March 1877, Record editor Dewayne Stebbins was surely jesting when he told readership that spring hats looked like Mount Zion and were to be worn balanced on the left ear. He went on to say that hair was worn in “a la hay” mound with frizzed up and banged hair in front with more frizz and a tail hanging over the right shoulder. “Steb,” as he was often called, seemed to be criticizing earbobs when he declared anything from a church steeple to a barn door could be hung on the ears. Then he said, “One damphool” goes around town hallucinating that low spring hats will be worn. This is an error. No woman will wear a low spring hat – not if she knows herself.” </div><div><br /></div><div>Did Editor Stebbins know Mrs. Frank Fax was waiting for the steamer to bring her new goods? Fax Bros. store sold millinery wares, although Mrs. Fax operated separate millinery parlors on the first floor of the Record building. Mrs. John Roberts announced her new stock as it arrived and mentioned that she worked at reasonable prices. Janda & Kwapil store location sold millinery items for women who wished to do their own work. </div><div><br /></div><div>For at least ten years, Mrs. Fax seemed to be Ahnapee’s leading milliner. In May 1880, she announced her move from the corner of Steele and 3rd, over E. Decker’s store, although the papers did not tell readers where she moved. Perhaps she was so popular that every woman knew. Mrs. Fax said she had the finest stock ever seen in Ahnapee and was confident that she could please the most fastidious of women with her large, varied stock consisting of all the latest fashions. Those who called early would find the most complete stock. It seems as if Mrs. Fax invited area women, yearly, to stop and examine her stock, and then to judge for themselves that hers was the best. </div><div><br /></div><div>It didn’t happen in Algoma, but it was big news in town in April 1901 when an elephant in Chicago grabbed an Easter bonnet from a woman’s head. The paper said not to find fault with the elephant because the woman’s hat was possibly so loud that it disturbed the elephant to such a state that it might have wanted to place the hat in his trunk as “lid.” Editors Ed Decker, Jr. and W.H. Machia had fun with that one. The Record Herald continued the jesting when the “Puerile Patter” column observed, “The smoked glasses in storage can now be exhumed for observing the Easter bonnet. Easter finery is not just a woman’s thing. </div><div><br /></div><div>The flapper movement of the 1920s brought a change in hat styles. Bobbed heads explain the small, tight fitting, unpretentious hats that came into being. The smaller the hat was, the less trimmed it was. It became the line of the hat that was most important. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEila3BUbVdfdVl2Z8rS3lWYC6oz8tDKcfO8z7nwoJJ-WuRSo0Q9FaQIEc_n3jgJk6pcImUzpXe_nRiKlnrLxzJSaSedjiRzM4JimSyhkVavdulpklQHXeswnaws9U1G8BlIbR6y9XqhfVPp5RixulZTO6NGi536rvhLoXTxRsw56iVR6wwNE9Sb40g3qQ/s1800/Blog%20Easter%20hats-flappers.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1002" data-original-width="1800" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEila3BUbVdfdVl2Z8rS3lWYC6oz8tDKcfO8z7nwoJJ-WuRSo0Q9FaQIEc_n3jgJk6pcImUzpXe_nRiKlnrLxzJSaSedjiRzM4JimSyhkVavdulpklQHXeswnaws9U1G8BlIbR6y9XqhfVPp5RixulZTO6NGi536rvhLoXTxRsw56iVR6wwNE9Sb40g3qQ/s320/Blog%20Easter%20hats-flappers.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div>For Easter 1927, the fashionable woman sought a simple stone pin, a pearl or a black enamel pin as an embellishments to the close fitting hats of the period. Felt was sought after. Not only was it soft, if it got soaked with rain or snow, it was easily patted into shape for drying, thus far better than a straw hat. Black was in vogue in 1927. In hat color -either straw or felt – in ribbons, trims, bands, or jewels, the stylish wore black. If one chose a larger hat, sand, rose, orchid, soft blue, Alice blue, powder blue, navy blue, or any lighter blue were also fashionable. It was felt that floppy garden hats of horsehair were acceptable for summer wear, though for a spring hat, the wearer should consider what would be under the hat. Women were cautioned against buying anything without looking into a full-length mirror to see themselves from all angles. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUohvdy4NjbXwtkmB2eaDM49bPx0eyp-YbHZT-wtsDh9fT-MAYInqUuSXBeq9GF9NiDohDxzRQ4tTnVauG8HibJjBLQ9uf3VQcyixtynLVahc0u9M9T-igfdDbv0XO1LQJj_WdnOVBifrhf6Cvlq_bQtPyt4zlG9VweqIHauKzb-GWMo0kS9k4AR7tWA/s1581/Blog%20Easter%20Kammer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1581" data-original-width="931" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUohvdy4NjbXwtkmB2eaDM49bPx0eyp-YbHZT-wtsDh9fT-MAYInqUuSXBeq9GF9NiDohDxzRQ4tTnVauG8HibJjBLQ9uf3VQcyixtynLVahc0u9M9T-igfdDbv0XO1LQJj_WdnOVBifrhf6Cvlq_bQtPyt4zlG9VweqIHauKzb-GWMo0kS9k4AR7tWA/s320/Blog%20Easter%20Kammer.jpg" width="188" /></a></div>Flappers might have changed hats while Lena Melchior, Louise Paarmann Barnes, and Miss Feight kept on trend while offering employment to women. Lena Melchior offered carnations at her showings. Minnie Kammer expanded her services to weddings and Lucille Englebert opened an additional shop in Kewaunee. Lucille spent part of each week in both places and hired Mayme Schauer to assist with management. </div><div><br /></div><div>Head coverings of some sort are found throughout U.S. history. By 1900, hats were a part of fashion dictating the well-dressed woman did not leave the house without one. Hats somewhat faded from the scene following World War ll, but by then mass-marketed sunglasses affected hat sales. However, the Catholic church required women to wear head coverings until 1967.</div><div><br /></div><div>It wasn’t only women thinking of their Easter appearance. The son of a former county sheriff found his Easter duds in the paper and himself in jail. </div><div><br /></div><div>The young Kewaunee man found himself in a Sturgeon Bay jail after he “decided to doff the somber colors of winter and appear in natty spring raiment.” It was the method of procurement that landed him in the slammer. Since the fellow was the son of the ex-sheriff, it appears he didn’t learn much, or maybe thought he’d get away with burglary. The fellow stole another new set of clothing in Kewaunee county and had them professionally altered.
The fellow had been making a name for himself as he was also running up bar bills, and when he was asked to settle at the Wolter Hotel on the southwest corner of 2nd and State/Navarino, he said he was transferring his business to the Kirchmann Hotel, saying his father had told him that anytime he traveled through Algoma, he should stop. He’d have been a lot happier if he kept on going, but Algoma was ripe for the pickin’s. </div><div><br /></div><div>As it happened blacksmith Art Braun roomed at the Kirchman Hotel and it was there he hung his new spring suit. Four days later, Braun realized the suit was no longer there and, investigating, found the thief had taken the trousers to be shortened by another Algoma tailor before boarding the train for Sturgeon Bay. The nattily dressed younger man was finally found in the Town of Lincoln where he was visiting relatives. </div><div><br /></div><div>As soon as Sturgeon Bay authorities learned the crook had been there before pulling off the Algoma caper, he was accused of burglarizing the Linden store in Sawyer, now the west side of Sturgeon Bay. After Sturgeon Bay cops gave him the “third degree,” he owned up to taking a suit and other wearing apparel on the night of March 12 after smashing Linden’s rear window. He was caught. </div><div><br /></div><div>A few days before the apprehension, one matching his description had been seen in the vicinity of Capt. C.P. Clark’s store near the shipyard and took $12 from the cash register. If the burglar was indeed the Kewaunee man, perhaps he took the cash to pay for more natty clothing. As it turned out, Art Braun got his suit back, but then a tailor had to lengthen the “high waters” so Art could wear his new suit for Easter. Algoma had more to look at and talk about than hats in 1915.
</div>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-22002466611766331662023-01-31T17:35:00.001-08:002023-01-31T17:35:41.047-08:00Kewaunee County Ice: It Wasn't Just for Winter<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“Be careful. It’s icy out there.” “I’m sick of being inside.
When’s the bay ice gonna be thick enough for fishing?” That’s January 2023,
though nobody will think of January ice as they get the ice cubes for lemonade,
iced tea, or to surround a bowl of potato salad at a picnic in July. Things
were far different in 1923 when ice was harvested and important in food
preservation. In the 1850s, it was mostly Kewaunee County breweries and saloons
that called for ice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Kewaunee Enterprize</i>* was in its infancy on December 14, 1859,
when it told readers to get their icehouse ready. Just as a summer job was
getting the woodpile ready to provide winter warmth, within a few years, winter’s
job was cutting ice to be stored for summer food preservation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Summer ice was not a luxury. It was a necessity, and the<i>
Enterprize</i> made sure readership knew how to build and properly care for an
icehouse by reprinting an article from <i>Wisconsin Journal</i>. In
constructing such a house, the <i>Enterprize</i> said, was to keep the ice
surrounded by some non- heat conducting substance. Ventilation was important,
as was draining for melting water. As long as those things were kept in mind,
there were many styles that would work. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBlC14Cqy4a-6AzYVcA1kbtbYk01ax_K8khzVqe47uTjD1VQlSHWRMGkcDFJiQWPV1tBsvhuVkBmpbJZ6YExtPg0FmQNOPUSChbkLunOeFnFkcyepIDyH2oO5fgaBG0094G1X7hreeAnpFN5QUm3XaeLGeLtgkvYNbgW7Jk-54Yn16JA8pYMMDM9VPGg/s377/Blog%20icehouse.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="377" data-original-width="280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBlC14Cqy4a-6AzYVcA1kbtbYk01ax_K8khzVqe47uTjD1VQlSHWRMGkcDFJiQWPV1tBsvhuVkBmpbJZ6YExtPg0FmQNOPUSChbkLunOeFnFkcyepIDyH2oO5fgaBG0094G1X7hreeAnpFN5QUm3XaeLGeLtgkvYNbgW7Jk-54Yn16JA8pYMMDM9VPGg/s320/Blog%20icehouse.JPG" width="238" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The<i> Enterprize</i> told readers that a cheap icehouse for
home use would take thick planks to construct a base of about 8 feet square and
8 or 10 feet high. The structure needed to be built in well drained place that
was protected from sun. Blocks and sawdust were required to cover the ground to
a depth of 1 foot and a plank floor was necessary on top. Readers were told to
pack the ice in the middle, leaving a space of about a foot all around, and
then to fill that space with saw dust. Next, the ice had to be covered with
sawdust and followed by a roof high enough for a window on each side to provide
ventilation. When there was an access to the ice, the work was done. If sawdust
was not available, plenty of straw worked.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Readership was advised to cut the ice as square as possible
using a cross-cut saw. Fine pieces of ice were to be packed between the blocks.
Waste not, want not. Anybody planning to do all that work needed to remember
that early ice was the best. It was cleaner and clearer.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Wikipedia says ice harvesting got tis start in New England in the early 1800s and by the late 1880s, ice was the 2nd largest U.S. export. Cotton was Number 1. By the 1860s, New England ice was shipped around the country and around the world. Ice transformed the U.S. meat and produce industries.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ice harvesting in Kewaunee County appears to have started
with breweries and saloons which had their own icehouses. Bay or pond ice was
hauled by sled to the saloon sheds which were essentially boards fitted between
poles and easily removed as the ice was used. Telesphore Marchant was operating
his brewery by 1858 and one of the first to harvest ice on Wisconsin's peninsula. Patrons wanted ice to
cool their beer and, for Charles, it was no problem as he could get ice easily
from the bay. The Ahnapee Brewery stood on the riverbank making its harvest
easy for all the years of its life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUflwP1cb9oKA4qorxz77c9koTAcq0ElgHX1rfHUDE2fWTMRw5VXIVaAVE7hWz8aS46r931_XTK6HMhh60pSPSjFLLMBSEdQ6kgX-Ia0HKO8hqZYb-TbrnWd2oCowLuZ52oYGASmrc29wWnBsK9elamkzegs14_XpWXpfIPFhFfNoTiE93PVSPt7FnQ/s564/Blog%20ice%20house%20map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="564" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUflwP1cb9oKA4qorxz77c9koTAcq0ElgHX1rfHUDE2fWTMRw5VXIVaAVE7hWz8aS46r931_XTK6HMhh60pSPSjFLLMBSEdQ6kgX-Ia0HKO8hqZYb-TbrnWd2oCowLuZ52oYGASmrc29wWnBsK9elamkzegs14_XpWXpfIPFhFfNoTiE93PVSPt7FnQ/w288-h244/Blog%20ice%20house%20map.jpg" width="288" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Icehouse, upper left, Sanborne Fire Map, <br />1909</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />January 1899 was lively on the Ahnapee River. Frank
Graessel, the Algoma Vandyke Brewing Co. agent, joined the saloon keepers and
butchers when his crew of men and teams put up Vandyke’s ice. In such a banner
ice harvesting year, in addition to the Vandyke work, Graessel also had
contracts for filling small ice-houses throughout the city with the crystal-clear,
18” thick ice. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sturgeon Bay lacks for neither water nor ice, so it was
surprising when Sturgeon Bay Brewery Co. harvested ice on the Ahnapee River in
1899, a time when the company sent men and teams to put up 150 cords in the
vicinity of Hagemeister’s beer station. They stored another 500 cords at the
brewery on the bay. Alaska Lake was another busy place, and that’s where F.
Toebe harvested his ice though had to haul it 6 miles to Rio Creek.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Breweries and saloons continued to harvest ice for well into
the 1900s. Joseph Cayemburg built a new icehouse for the genial Charles Ruebens
at his popular Rosiere saloon in April 1908. In early 1914, saloon keepers in
the Champion area were hard at work, but the following year, harvesting was big
on the Poh pond in Forestville. Louis Jarchow was harvesting, but for his
cheese factories, not beer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Not all the ice was used for saloons and breweries.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ahnapee's Boalt
and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stebbins and John McDonald were
still harvesting ice during the first week of February 1880. The old hay press
building was filled before the Judge and Big Steb turned to the west side of C.H. Sabin’s warehouse. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">E. Decker & Co.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>put up an immense quantity of ice, expecting
to cut and pack about 3,000 cords, some of which was piled up on the side of
Sabin’s warehouse. Ahnapee Brewery Co. stored ice near the brewery after their
ice house was filled. Brummer’s mill pond was skimmed before the companies
worked on Hall’s pond. Ice business was booming. </span>The February 6, 1885,
Ahnapee Record reported jobber John McDonald’s large crew was going “full
blast” filling all the ice houses in the city with superior quality ice nearly
28” thick.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It seemed as if most years both Ahnapee/Algoma and Kewaunee
had good ice harvests. The papers mentioned the good quality, blue ice, 18-24”
thick, which was often easier to harvest because of the lack of deep snow, and
in early 1880, the Enterprise said “hardly ever” was there such an abundance of
such fine quality ice. But there were exceptions. In late February 1890, the fears
of ice scarcity in Chicago and other large cities were abating. Going from
shortages to so much ice reversed supply, leading to an overstock. Northern Wisconsin
was sending 400 ton into Chicago daily. More ice came from Iowa prompting one
Ahnapee jobber to say delivered ice was going for $1.25 a ton, which was the
best price he could get in a non-profitable year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Northeast Wisconsin had a variety of places to secure good
ice, including the bay of Green Bay. Hall’s mill pond in Ahnapee offered
excellent quality ice when Henry Schmiling had his crew of thirteen men and
five teams working in January 1887. Early in January that year,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the<i> Record</i> reminded harvesters about safety
and the law regarding ice: “Any person who shall remove ice, or cause its
removal from any stream, pond or lake, sand shall neglect to place around the
margin of the opening made by such removal, such guard, or fence as will be a
sufficient caution, warning or protection to all persons coming near the same,
shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not more than six months,
or by fine not exceeding one hundred dollars.” As it was, in 1899 Hugo
Perlewitz was playing on the ice and nearly drowned. Parents advised to caution
kids from going to the river. The river was<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>often too dangerous with insecure ice and Hugo was not the only near miss.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The ice business continued up and down the Ahnapee River.
January 1900 saw Forestville’s ice harvest going strong with both Stoneman
& Sloan and the Creamery ice houses filled. Martin Schmitz' icehouse was
nearly filled when Bernard Awe’s crew and teams were ready to start work. Louis
Trottman was the big iceman in Kewaunee where he put up 500 cords or more in a
given year. Trottman delivered ice. Henry Schmiling took advantage of the
telephone at Wilbur & Kwapil’s drug store and told citizens to call #24-2.
Very few townsfolk had the new-fangled thing so it is doubtful many ordered by
telephone. Hall’s mill pond was becoming referred to as the trout stream when
the best crop of clear ice “ever” came from there. Farmers and merchants from
adjoining towns were harvesting a “store of ice” so it is possible trout ice
was a notch above mill ice!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The produce business mushroomed when in February 1899 the
Deckers spearheaded improvements to the Ahnapee & Western Railroad. They built
a 25’ x 50’ icehouse set on pilings, near the round house in the A & W yard
in Sturgeon Bay near the bay shore. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The <i>Record</i>
predicted more business if Deckers built the railroad south to Two Rivers while
telling residents of southern Kewaunee Co. to be aware of such an expansion. As
soon as the Sturgeon Bay ice house was completed, it was filled with ice to
supply refrigerator cars loaded in Sturgeon Bay and shipped during the berry
season. A month later, Sturgeon Bay Fruit Growers put up 100 cords of ice for
the shipping season to come. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">From the amount of ice put up in January 1899, the <i>Record</i>
said Algoma intended to give summer visitors a cool time during the hot months.
Suggesting it was time for one of the enterprising citizens to think of putting
up a cold storage building, the paper said it was needed if the city was to
continue having the best markets in this part of the state for dairy products.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a name="_Hlk125875165"></a><a name="_Hlk125916330"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk125875165;">V.G. Pfeil had took the paper’s suggestion.
It was reported in February 1902 that he purchased Lot 5 on South Water Street**
from the Ahnapee Dock Co. When Pfeil’s building was completed, he accomplished
something Algoma needed for a long time. The cold storage building was planned
to serve Algoma and surrounding areas. Fruit shippers never had a fruit storage
place and Pfeil’s building was a guaranteed success.<o:p></o:p></span></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk125916330;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk125875165;">Within 20 years, ice boxes were part of many
American homes. The wooden boxes were lead or zinc lined and filled with a
block of ice, brought by the icemen who were among the most popular men in
town. Ice lasted about a day, and in a time when floors were wood, </span></span>black
spots on the wood floors told callers how well the woman of the house kept
order.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The ice harvests went on, however conveyors and trucks made
the job a somewhat easier. Jobbers were injured in the harvest, however there
was some humor too. Kewaunee’s Joseph Houdek found a 400 pound cake of ice on
his barbershop after he jokingly said he’d trade ice for a shave. Local iceman
Joseph Selner had gone for a shave in February 1935, however when he came to
pay, he did not have money with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
jest, Houdek said he’d take the ice and an hour later, Selner parked his truck
in front of the shop. Houdek scratched off the bill, but then needed to find
someone to take it before it melted on the floor.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As late as March 1949, a Trottman & Selner Co. truck went through the river ice during harvesting. Damage was minor but the truck had to be pulled to the opposite side of the river, where it was shallower, and pulled out. That wasn't the only company whose truck plunged, but it happened as the ice business was wanning.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Refrigerators and freezers took over as communities began thinking of water quality, pollution, sewerage treatment and run-off.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">* The <i>Enterprize</i> existed to 1865 when its name was changed to <i>Enterprise.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>** South Water Street wentfrom 4th eats where it intersected with the bottom of Steele St. Those few blocks are now the easter end of Navarino St.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Sources: Ahnapee Record, Algoma Press, Algoma Record, Algoma Record Herald, Commercial Development of Algoma Wisconsin, Vol. 1, Kewaunee Enterprise.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Graphics: </i>Icehouse and Sanborne Map from<i> Commercial Development of Algoma, Wisconsin, Vol 1; Selner Trottman photo from Kewaunee Enterprise.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9pt;"><br /></p>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-39919877723457908822023-01-20T07:45:00.000-08:002023-01-20T07:45:09.641-08:00Algoma and World War ll Rationing: Bay Leaves, Baby Formula, and Eggs, 2023<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv6AbANlCoD0ZP2WFsZDUtEqDjODOtqC2WpTyqSZbvca-CNigXen32Dg2Zf2uaae9obmkERHnbueIjKseogys7ZIltA_BpPrk2ABHlRWBr7gQywa7QZ-DBjrj_ep1qEuL-SRByqlpu_bhTudUAAjU-NFqEq5kTx7igKwF2AZhYe11taLCYv2hi5doTkg/s3765/blog%20ration%20cover.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2809" data-original-width="3765" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv6AbANlCoD0ZP2WFsZDUtEqDjODOtqC2WpTyqSZbvca-CNigXen32Dg2Zf2uaae9obmkERHnbueIjKseogys7ZIltA_BpPrk2ABHlRWBr7gQywa7QZ-DBjrj_ep1qEuL-SRByqlpu_bhTudUAAjU-NFqEq5kTx7igKwF2AZhYe11taLCYv2hi5doTkg/w358-h267/blog%20ration%20cover.JPG" width="358" /></a></div><br />Failing to find bay leaves on grocery shelves is not the
worst. The lack of baby formula is. In 2020, the U.S. saw huge toilet paper
shortages and shortages of bleach, vinegar, sanitation products and more. Such
purchases were limited to one of an item if a store had them. Shortages remain,
but unless one is looking for bay leaves or needs baby formula, who’d know what
should be on the empty shelves?<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There were shortages at other times in U.S. history, but most
were during wartime when citizens pulled together to make sure the troops had the
best of what they needed. Among the best during the Civil War turned out to be
moldy meats and flour with weevils. When World War l saw severe shortages in
kerosene, the government admonished citizens to take care of lamps, lanterns,
stoves and heaters to get the most from a gallon. The government stressed
cleaning the equipment which was not to be used a minute more than necessary.
Civil War households depended on themselves, but<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as the country grew and changed, World War l
housewives learned to make do with limited sugar and to make meatless and
wheatless meals. There were coffee substitutes. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">World War ll interfered with trade and when there were no
silk stockings, creative women used eyebrow pencils to draw lines down the legs
thus simulating stocking seams, but shortages of silk stockings was the least
of the things folks dealt with.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Eighty years ago, World War ll was in full swing. As in
World War l, just over a mere 20 years earlier, food, clothing, blankets, and
more were needed for the troops. But, in the 1940s, there was rationing that
was controlled. To be sure, though, there was a black market.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With the advent of World War ll, U.S. Office of Price
Administration (OPA) began rationing certain foods and started with sugar in
May 1942. By November, coffee, meat, canned fish, canned milk, cheese, and
butter were added to the list. There was more. Shoes. Gasoline. Farm
implements. Tires. The list grew.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1s7B1bCd6HzH7gxk79pK1uRXsTZTcYQlbWt3Vj6dyr8q4Jt8_YlxirIBeUPyng4KsBZt4xkURtpNxRZVyJlwWZoAsUqQ8nh50knvqPJQlTrvJGBiYhukH1GQILxGFSRe4tklO07_GkZQnWAJ6prari8PUKZR1g8_1QTzQoFq5RjL45RoRo1iacym1Cg/s490/blog%20ration%20book%201.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="490" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1s7B1bCd6HzH7gxk79pK1uRXsTZTcYQlbWt3Vj6dyr8q4Jt8_YlxirIBeUPyng4KsBZt4xkURtpNxRZVyJlwWZoAsUqQ8nh50knvqPJQlTrvJGBiYhukH1GQILxGFSRe4tklO07_GkZQnWAJ6prari8PUKZR1g8_1QTzQoFq5RjL45RoRo1iacym1Cg/s320/blog%20ration%20book%201.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">When ration books were distributed, purchasing scarce items
was supposed to be a little fairer since each person – even babies - received a
book that listed the name and age, height, weight and physical description. The complicated system depended on ration stamps,
coupons, certificates, and a point system that changed</p><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdAGDRqnxMZvMHGbougDeRRIpA74yVQ20sO9-kaJeCC7alF4_71kj7N6uOvHkoTFryyKazrIoFywD5r-KOkugwkrFqHxKEEcgpuHQUc6KoEEjve7i8Di1gBNJgTjyDJydKKeyST7BxnJmniADnx55L7xNLmeTO7-O-oaw1QLw3e-CAkKQzwEWMXbp2dg/s481/Blog%20ration%20book%201%20ID.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="237" data-original-width="481" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdAGDRqnxMZvMHGbougDeRRIpA74yVQ20sO9-kaJeCC7alF4_71kj7N6uOvHkoTFryyKazrIoFywD5r-KOkugwkrFqHxKEEcgpuHQUc6KoEEjve7i8Di1gBNJgTjyDJydKKeyST7BxnJmniADnx55L7xNLmeTO7-O-oaw1QLw3e-CAkKQzwEWMXbp2dg/w411-h203/Blog%20ration%20book%201%20ID.jpg" width="411" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVU_0DYGiQeIDqIHmMfeELca8ek9QrOkOgmzsRghB4BoobStwvFwi7MZ5KVgCyXj4xpAg5oIgLYZQenoz4jRbj_D6Nqu2FlFIMfQEQw1v1QAh5NQeyZ9_WiQohUWvfBim_pb0JwrCjq4sBCoM-NBvYmMn-f6BFRG8eBzt0p3fFLW6jSCrBdi6pTAQu4A/s3577/blog%20ration%20book%203%20cover%20N.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2630" data-original-width="3577" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVU_0DYGiQeIDqIHmMfeELca8ek9QrOkOgmzsRghB4BoobStwvFwi7MZ5KVgCyXj4xpAg5oIgLYZQenoz4jRbj_D6Nqu2FlFIMfQEQw1v1QAh5NQeyZ9_WiQohUWvfBim_pb0JwrCjq4sBCoM-NBvYmMn-f6BFRG8eBzt0p3fFLW6jSCrBdi6pTAQu4A/s320/blog%20ration%20book%203%20cover%20N.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Ration book stamps covered certain needs at specific
times, however the items had to be available. At the beginning of the month, every
person had 48 blue points and 64 red points, so, together, a family of four had
192 blue points for processed food and 256 red points for dairy products, fish,
and meat. Stamps expired and each month brought new stamps. In September 1943,
red stamps X and Y were valid for meat until October 2 while Z became valid on
September 5 and remained valid through October 2. If a consumer wanted
processed foods, blue stamps R, S, and T were to expire on September 20, 1943,
while U, V and W were good and would not expire until October 20. Instructions were noted on each book.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcpVkJ-4v4U28jtOxaMIZTxzkT0LdLxdjlGwPg9xtlA11NMPhztyla2G_rOWWCF2stgQq1JBS63zzakh6xKWH7kQnp_TjQq-_F9IIUdavKT4Nb1GrV9qAE_e1fKSD9zknSv2FnErGpreNwYFgkXK3uxUo2vzMXK1KeoHtNH2_4ZuIngM8krw-8hVNhag/s3553/Blog%20ration%20book%20instructions.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2414" data-original-width="3553" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcpVkJ-4v4U28jtOxaMIZTxzkT0LdLxdjlGwPg9xtlA11NMPhztyla2G_rOWWCF2stgQq1JBS63zzakh6xKWH7kQnp_TjQq-_F9IIUdavKT4Nb1GrV9qAE_e1fKSD9zknSv2FnErGpreNwYFgkXK3uxUo2vzMXK1KeoHtNH2_4ZuIngM8krw-8hVNhag/w457-h310/Blog%20ration%20book%20instructions.JPG" width="457" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How did consumers keep it straight? If folks bought
newspapers, that helped as the following examples from September 1943 Algoma <i>Record
Heralds</i> indicate. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_hy8YZwQDizQyzWf8pneyTUWEMv_7slMxmajd-8djJjDp3RexoTlFuWkP4QX4yr1HSs2yQXgAP7aNNT1_coDVh-AFPuCIvBVDA1hauwlGD5LYgs85flmLXybiL_rMl-pn-LNvBjctb0ZRFXT9EqU5h2Gjp6kn__Jjh9b7Jj1YtCrUwtK0v5fPu42_w/s360/Blog%20ration%20form.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="229" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_hy8YZwQDizQyzWf8pneyTUWEMv_7slMxmajd-8djJjDp3RexoTlFuWkP4QX4yr1HSs2yQXgAP7aNNT1_coDVh-AFPuCIvBVDA1hauwlGD5LYgs85flmLXybiL_rMl-pn-LNvBjctb0ZRFXT9EqU5h2Gjp6kn__Jjh9b7Jj1YtCrUwtK0v5fPu42_w/w231-h363/Blog%20ration%20form.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>The paper<i> </i>told readership about gasoline when it said
that in “17 states of the eastern shortage area” A-6 coupons were valid, but
outside that area A-7 coupons were valid through September 21. All coupons were
endorsed and included the driver’s license number and the state of
registration. Occupants of oil heated homes were urged to return their
applications to the ration boards and place orders with dealers for summer
fill-ups. Stamp No. 14 was good for 5 pounds of sugar through October, although
numbers 15 and 16 were good for 5 pounds each for home canning. If housewives
needed more, they needed to apply to the ration board using the form at the left found at Katch's, Ahrndt's, Farmers Co-op Co. and Horak's in Algoma. Stamp 18 allowed the
purchase of one pair of shoes during October. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Certain kinds of rubber boots that had been used in farming
were no longer manufactured thus released from rationing. How would anybody
know? One only had to look. Released were all olive drab, clay or khaki colored
rubber boots, and lightweight, ankle-fitting rubber boots that depended on
stretching to fit. Quantities were small because merchants did not have
complete stocks.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The paper went on to advise truck owners having tire
certificates but not able to find the tires to apply at the nearest Motor
Transport District Office of the Office of Defense Transportation, which
appears to have been run by Wisconsin’s new State Patrol, which also saw to it
that drivers conserved rubber by not exceeding 40 miles an hour.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Defense Transportation Office was to forward the notice
of inability to buy proper tires to the Office of the Rubber Director who was
to attempt to properly redistribute tires so that the certificates would be
honored. The issue was most significant when truck operators were unable to get
critically needed tires necessary to keep up the supply chain of vital war
freight.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One wishing to buy a stove found it was necessary to get a
certificate at the local war price and rationing boards. When the U.S. had
37,000 air and liquid-cooled internal combustion 20-horsepower engines, they
were controlled by the county farm rationing committees. Farmers or operators
of farm machinery for hire could apply for a certificate based on the need for
engines essential in crop and livestock production.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Planning and keeping dates in mind were nearly fulltime
activities.<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">The September 3, 1943 <i>Record
Herald</i> cautioned those planning to travel by train over Labor Day to know
they would probably have to stand in the aisles because trains were so heavily
loaded. The same paper told farmers they had to estimate their incomes by
September 15 and pay-as-you-go. Single persons earning over $2,700 and married
persons earning more than $3,500 would also need to file declarations as did
anybody making at least $100 in sources other than wages. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">At the same time, the paper
said hog cholera serum was being made in record-breaking quantities. The U.S.
was raising “vast” numbers of hogs. </span>To encourage farmers to cure and
store the bumper crop of sweet potatoes, there was a price support of $1.50 per
bushel for No. 1 cured potatoes, properly packed in crates, bushels and baskets.<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On September 10, the <i>Record Herald</i> told its readers
that Ration Book 3 would become valid on the 12<sup>th</sup>. Stamp A was good
for 16 points through October 2. Brown stamps were valid on successive Sundays
and expired on the Saturday closest to the end of the month. They were used for
meats, fats, oils, and all commodities rationed with red stamps in Ration Book
2. Small stamps with pictures of guns, tanks and ships were not in use. Folks
were told that if they had not received Book 3, they should apply to the local
ration board.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hay loaders, side delivery rakes and manure spreaders were
put under OPA price controls, even if such machinery was sold by farmers or
auctioneers. Maximum prices were based on 85% of cost when the item was new, if
the item was less than a year old, or 70% of the item’s price if the equipment
was over a year old.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rationing made planning Christmas gifts difficult, however
the Army Postal Service felt at least ten million packages would be sent
overseas and wanted the packages sent between September 15 and October 15. The
public was asked to securely wrap the packages, but to wrap in such a way that
they were easily inspected before mailing. Edgar Nell of the ration
distribution office in Algoma announced to parents of service men and women that
in the event their sons and daughters got leaves, they were to ask for
necessary ration papers at their camp. The form required signing by the
applicant and the camp officer. Those failing to get the forms at camp had to
jump through a few more hoops having to travel to the Green Bay Naval Recruiting
Office and then take the signed documents to the ration board office.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKkp2QSDkrJC3VV93fumQ-ggVxlXYWze8BdB_ktnKzHi3RT3NVip8_wZaEoNpNbfS6GPHSwS6rasKYJaDuiQcByH6JQG80ruef2O2q-utt5jlzqPbYY8lzPjm2N9yNkhn2u09fblJzz9-UK99zB0zirX5QU8_JxGZ4W_rK855oCmwXHIzpegw9D00CA/s3116/Blog%20ration%20book%203%20canon.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3116" data-original-width="2945" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKkp2QSDkrJC3VV93fumQ-ggVxlXYWze8BdB_ktnKzHi3RT3NVip8_wZaEoNpNbfS6GPHSwS6rasKYJaDuiQcByH6JQG80ruef2O2q-utt5jlzqPbYY8lzPjm2N9yNkhn2u09fblJzz9-UK99zB0zirX5QU8_JxGZ4W_rK855oCmwXHIzpegw9D00CA/w237-h250/Blog%20ration%20book%203%20canon.JPG" width="237" /></a></div>Just when folks had Book 3 figured out, the government
introduced Ration Book 4. The new book was said to contain more definite
information and would last 96 weeks, or approximately 2 years. The book was
worth more than gold! It combined point and unit stamps containing 384 stamps
printed on safety paper in blue, red, green, and black inks. The green stamps
were to be used on an interim basis in place of the processed food blue stamps
in the way that brown stamps in Ration Book 3 wee being used for meat fats.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Something new were the 96-unit stamps printed in black.
Seventy-two of the stamps were printed with “spare” in case additional ration
currency was needed. Twelve of the stamps said “sugar” and another twelve were
designated for coffee, which was no longer rationed. That being the case, the
OPA said the coffee stamps could be used as additional spare stamps.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rules governed stamp usage and woe be to the person who did
not carefully care for the family ration books. When purchases were made, the
stamp needed to be detached from the book in the presence of the merchant, his
employee, or the person making deliveries for the storekeeper. If a stamp was
torn out before being verified by watchful eyes, it was void. If it were partly
torn or mutilated, it would be valid if at least half remained attached in the
book.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Even those hospitalized adhered to the rules. If anyone
entering a hospital, or any other institution, expected to stay beyond 10 days,
the ration book was to be turned over to the one in charge. The book would be
returned by request upon leaving the facility.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not everything was rationed because of supply. Eggs were a
victim of circumstances. It was obvious that if there was not enough grain for people,
there would not be enough to feed animals. Because of the shortage of
grain to feed chicken, millions of hens were killed and sold as food. Eggs were
rationed by design, which allowed one egg per person per week, however pregnant
women and vegetarians were allowed two eggs.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Most rationing ended at the close of World War ll, however
sugar was rationed until June 1947 while meat was the last rationed item in
1954. Those who are old enough remember eating Spam in the 1940s and 1950s.
Spam was the only meat never rationed. Maybe that’s why Spam got a bad rap, but
it is back. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">CNN Business said World War ll was “decisive” in Spam’s
growth. Being canned, it did not need refrigeration and could be eaten “on the
run.” Sometimes it was the only protein source available. Spam was associated
with the war and rationing, prompting many to say they’d never eat it again,
however the product has made a comeback and is even found in upscale
restaurants. It is back for some of the same reasons it flourished 80 years ago:
it is available, versatile and affordable. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Baby formular is not.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Surces: Algoma Record Herald, CNN Business accessed online., Wikipedia. Rations books are from the Blogger's collection.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-25499329499947719062022-12-31T10:51:00.015-08:002022-12-31T17:07:58.189-08:00Kewaunee County History: Marking an Ahnapee New Year<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNBLeHoHZjM9YINtmML6JZUgm9owprTRHyV84MriNGqIPgMQJ4F1M6G3EwIMISsiHyHCp9qQ9h05zsZPDyvnfqDDCojHzQoOpW_LCSYKprqT0aBMGhyzR4CMvmGX2WGVXFstlYRv69BJXNyT3dDcHffthmzCwkuraOQ0uFelqwqaOw1Lh9JBJVrltTA/s1570/blog%20New%20Years%20postcard.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="1570" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNBLeHoHZjM9YINtmML6JZUgm9owprTRHyV84MriNGqIPgMQJ4F1M6G3EwIMISsiHyHCp9qQ9h05zsZPDyvnfqDDCojHzQoOpW_LCSYKprqT0aBMGhyzR4CMvmGX2WGVXFstlYRv69BJXNyT3dDcHffthmzCwkuraOQ0uFelqwqaOw1Lh9JBJVrltTA/w400-h256/blog%20New%20Years%20postcard.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture postcard was sent early in the 1900s</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Harriet Warner Hall was a 9-year-old child when she arrived
with her parents Orin and Jane Warner on July 4, 1851, to be the 3<sup>rd</sup>
resident family of the place called Wolf River. When Mrs. Hall was interviewed
about the founding of the community years later, she discussed the homemade
beer at the wedding of Amine Parker and George Fowles in 1857. She said when
there was a fiddler around, there was a dance, and that meant homemade beer to
whet the whistle.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Harriet told about the fledgling community’s first
Christmas, one of wont and deprivation. She didn’t describe bringing in the new
year, which became more important as the hamlet gained residents. The 1850s
residents did not bring in the new year with champagne toasts, but as time went
on, that changed.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When Kewaunee Enterprize* began publication in September
1859, among the first ads were those for Berni & Zimmermann’s new Ellis
Street Brewery. Also on Ellis Street was Joseph Duchoslav who was also brewing
lager beer. The <i>Enterprize</i> informed readership about ship arrivals and
in just one month in Fall 1859 ship arrivals at Hills & Carter’s South Pier
in Kewaunee included three trips by Capt. James Flood. Flood brought beer in
three of his four trips: 12 kegs, 10 kegs, 4 kegs which is a lot of beer for a
county with 5,300 residents when roughly 2,400 were under the age of 20. If
county residents wanted to bring in the year raising a glass or two, there
would have been no shortage. Ahnepee* was without a newspaper until June 1873.
Capt. Flood was frequently mentioned and always a popular captain, who no doubt
made Ahnepee with the same products he brought to Kewaunee.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Ahnapee Brewery was operating when the newly organized <i>Record</i>
had thoughts on “spirits” well before New Years, possibly because of the Temperance
movement when it said what a “practical toper proposed.” And what is a toper? Simply
put, according to the Wiktionary, a toper is a drunkard.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As a compromise to Temperance women, the <i>Record </i>reported
that one who “topes” might say, “O, woman, in our hours of ease, you know we’ll
do what ‘ere you please; we’ll promise to renounce the sin of Bourbon, brandy,
rum and gin, and so far as to refrain (except when tempted) from champagne; but
have some mercy, do my dear, and leave, oh, leave us lager beer.” Was the <i>Record</i>
plugging its advertisers!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By
the early 1870s, W.N. Perry was selling California wine and Kentucky whiskies
at his drugstore. Sam Perry was advertising wine and liquor in any quantity and
Weilep, Decker, Boedecker, Villers and Marsh applied for liquor licenses. H.M.
Terens let it be known he “constantly” had liquor in his Alaska House.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">During its first year of publication – 1873 - the <i>Record </i>said
New Year’s passed off quietly in the city* with nothing important going on.
Several churches had services but it was sleigh riding that the young indulged.
It seems as if Perry sold some of that fine wine and whiskey because he ran an
ad asking all who owed him more than 30 days to stop at his drugstore to pay their
debt.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It seemed as if 1877 must have been a slow news New Year as
the <i>Record</i> saw fit to report on the Memoirs of St. Simon who commented
on the hair dressing of the women of Paris in 1713. That year, the Duke and
Duchess of Shrewsbury came from London to have the Duchess say hair fashions
were ridiculous. Parisian women were wearing brass wire edifices to hold up
their hair over two feet. They adorned the “structure” with ribbons and what
the Duchess thought was rubbish. Moving caused the edifice to tremble. King
Louis XlV was disgusted with the hair, but even as King, he could do nothing to
get rid of the fashion that lasted for 10 years. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As it was, 1877 was a year that set records. On January 3,
the <i>Record </i>reported a balmy, spring-like new year with lilac buds
turning green and even opening. Door County farmers were plowing, and Sever
Anderson, in Clay Banks, sowed 4 bushels of spring wheat the day before
Christmas. Cold toes and ears for New Year’s suggested weather was turning.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Baptist Church planned a Dime Sociable which offered
choice readings, singing, instrumental music. All proceeds were to go to
reducing the church debts. That was happening when <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">about 75 people surprised the Charles Fellows family at New Years. The
group met at George Youngs’ residence and then “took the Fellows’ residence by
storm.” The <i>Record</i> said some who had not taken part in such an event in
20 years were among those who turned out, and that Fellows would remember the
evening forever. Fellows invited the throng to gather at his Foscoro home for
New Years Eve 1878. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">During those early years, county residents thought of more
at the New Year than the raised glass. Whether folks went to Fellows’ Foscoro
home in 1878 is debatable because typhoid was almost sweeping the county.
Teacher Fannie Gregor and her sister were quite sick, as were Charles Deda and
Dr. Martin. With Martin in bed and so much sickness, Dr. F. Simon of Manitowoc
was called to Kewaunee to offer his assistance.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Typhoid was there in 1878, along with some scarlet fever
when the weather changed after Christmas. Roads partially froze, although not
hard enough to support teams in places. Some said New Year’s seemed like Sunday
because businesses closed, and folks attended services at nearly every
denomination. “Happy New Year” was heard all over and streets were filled with
smiles even though residents were dealing with serious illnesses.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tanner Michael Luckenbach ended 1878 marketing his house and
lot at the corner of Navarino and 4<sup>th</sup> Streets. Luckenbach felt his
lot, with 80’ frontage on 4<sup>th</sup> and 150’ on Navarino, was the best in
the village. He planned to sell for $800 with $200 down and the balance on easy
terms. Luckenbach sold his tannery to his partner, Mr. Meverden, and in
December 1878 was proprietor of the East River House in Green Bay. Luckenbach didn’t
get the tannery out of his system because his Green Bay hotel was opposite a
large tannery. A small part of the original tannery business burned when
Bearcat’s Fish House was destroyed in a 2021 fire.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With the news there was, one would not think the paper had
to go looking for it. But it did, and reported on an unusual custom found in
the <i>Boston Transcript</i>. Apparently Greeks, Romans, Persians, and Gauls
saw eggs as renewal at both Easter and New Year’s. If those in Boston
celebrated New Years with eggs, it was not noted, however such a custom never
caught on in Ahnapee.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">In 1879 the <i>Record</i>
said the new year was received with feelings of dread as the old was remembered
with regret, however it felt that the year was good to people. It went on to
opine that if there was nothing to regret, there was nothing to hope for in the
future. According to the <i>Record</i>, the beginning of the year is for making
resolutions but later in the season was the time to break the slate. Nothing
new there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">C.J. Barnes bought the <i>Record</i> in August 1879 from
Hiram Wing who received a flattering offer from Jamestown, Dakota. Barnes<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"> thanked customers and asked them to continue the
support. He felt the new decade would bring improvements to the lively, newsy paper
and to the office, a resolution which would not be broken because it was a Leap
Year, and “a little off.” Why a little off? Editor Barnes said 1880 was a year
where “women propose and men dispose.” He continued to make a statement, saying
it was “jubilant when we think how jolly it is going to be to say “no” as “It’s
a long lane that no turn has.” The paper suggested each day should be an
improvement on the past since lives are strengthened by experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Diphtheria raised its ugly head again and </span>New
Year’s Eve 1879 saw the C. Martin family of Carlton lose three children to
diphtheria. They were kept together and buried in one grave. Just after that,
two more of the Martin children died. It was said one school district had 20
children who died of diphtheria.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Light housekeeper Samuel Stone was living in Sandy Bay when
he went to Manitowoc where he saw Dr. Cookley on December 30, 1879. Stone had
surgery for a Rebel bullet to the leg in the Civil War 16 years earlier. Stone
wanted Cookley to prob for the bullet which had pained him for so long. Cookley
made an incision on the opposite side of the leg where he found a good-sized chunk
of lead. Surgery was successful, and Stone said he felt like a different man.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <i>Record</i> marked the end of 1879 by mentioning its
large subscriber list, thanking subscribers and friends for sending in news
items. The paper said it would be glad to have all subscribers pay up a year in
advance and forward names of those who would be possible subscribers. The close
of 1879 found the firm of Hitchcock & Kwapil dissolved by the retirement of
Mr. Hitchcock. His part of the property in the Alaska store and pier was bought
by Frank Shimmel and Joseph H. Janda who joined Frank Kwapil in the new
company. That transaction made the company the largest business in the northern
part of Kewaunee Co. as the firm had three stores in operation, the one in
Ahnapee, one in Forestville and the new company at Alaska.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To round out the year, Simon Pies reminded folks to pay
their City* of Ahnapee taxes which would be collected at his 4<sup>th</sup>
Street residence.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A watch meeting at the Methodist Episcopal Church on New Year’s
Eve welcomed 1880. Residents also brought in the year at two balls, one at the
Temple of Honor, given by William Dingman, and the other at the Wisconsin House.
Both dances were said to “pass off merrily” into the small hours of the
morning. The <i>Record</i> promised the day would linger in the minds of many
with “thoughts of sweet and loving kindness” before passing into time. The same
paper that offered a “Happy New Year” also said, “Pay your taxes.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As the city grew, ads called attention to fine wines and
oysters, which were popular at New Year’s. There were parties and dances for
those who could get there if the roads had hard packed snow to allow the horses
to get through. Harriet Warner Hall felt the pioneer days ended in about 1860. Although
Ahnapee was greatly affected by the Civil War, there were marked changes in the
1860s and 1870s. Ahnapee was no backwater.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">Notes: Renamed
Algoma in 1897, its first name was Wolf River and derivations until 1859 when
it was renamed Ahnepee (Ojibwa for “Where is the river?”) until the place was
chartered as a village in 1873 when there was a change in the spelling. Since the
state and others consistently spelled the place’s name with two a’s and two e’s,
the village couldn’t “beat ‘em” so “joined ‘em.” In 1879 the Village of Ahnapee
was chartered as the City of Ahnapee.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">Kewaunee’s
newspaper underwent a spelling change in 1865 when <i>Enterprize</i> became <i>Enterprise.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">Sources: <i>Ahnapee
Record, Algoma Record Herald; An-An-api-sebe” Where is the River”; Kewaunee
Enterprize/Enterprise; https://en.wiktionary.org. </i>The postcard is from the blogger's collection. Images can be found in the Kannerwurf, Sharpe, Johnson Collection at Algoma Public Library,<o:p></o:p></span></p>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-31126714884608410812022-12-25T18:37:00.001-08:002022-12-27T07:15:48.744-08:00Kewaunee County History: An 1851 Wolf River Christmas<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCB0ANim-XSyc407twWgFlBAoy0rCQ_3AGylPmu8kq3h1lo7glqLmECreGMdHiFeGHSXW-uwGX-HyTVQDKJR_ydgALTH6flDl7cmTYcCi2mkCJ66J6D6wVVomittD881s2yZEUMsAIiZmMtQmLxW61P6bxhCOQPvHbmvCSxeeE7taXD2HX0TKZMMZwSA/s1515/Blog%20Christmas%20card.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1515" data-original-width="973" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCB0ANim-XSyc407twWgFlBAoy0rCQ_3AGylPmu8kq3h1lo7glqLmECreGMdHiFeGHSXW-uwGX-HyTVQDKJR_ydgALTH6flDl7cmTYcCi2mkCJ66J6D6wVVomittD881s2yZEUMsAIiZmMtQmLxW61P6bxhCOQPvHbmvCSxeeE7taXD2HX0TKZMMZwSA/s320/Blog%20Christmas%20card.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>Manhattan Transfer’s “Christmas is a comin’ and the geese
are getting fat……” is a popular take on a song arranged by Frank Luther and
sung by Bing Crosby and others a generation ago. Even the Kingston Trio had a
version. Youngsters recognize the music featured by John Denver in a Muppets’
special, in <i>A Charlie Brown Christmas</i> and more.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The founding residents of Wolf River – Ahnepee in 1859,
Ahnapee in 1873, and Algoma in 1897 – no doubt wished they had geese, fat or
not.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Hughes and Tweedale families arrived in Wolf River at
the end of June 1851. A few days later, on July 4<sup>th</sup>, Orin Warner’s
family became the third permanent family at the place. Orin and Jane Warner had
three children, Harriet aged 9, and two boys, 7 and 3.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Being the first of the firsts was not easy. The three
families had only themselves on whom to depend. It would be the following
summer before Goodrich’s rickety old <i>Citizen</i> changed their lives when it
dropped anchor in the lake, bringing supplies and people.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What was Christmas 1851 like? Years later, Harriet, then
Mrs. Abraham Hall, remembered that first Christmas in an interview with the
local paper, <i>Ahnapee Record</i>. There were no geese getting fat in that
difficult winter of deprivation. Harriet mentioned the deer, ducks, fish,
partridges and the partridge eggs they gathered, but Christmas dinner 1851 was
a salt pork pie. Spring was a long way off and there were no eggs. Ducks and
most birds had gone south. Deer were scarce, and thick river ice needed to be
chopped to fish. More than likely, the salt pork pie was a feast that day.
Laura Ingalls Wilder would later write that “Ma” got ready for Christmas by
baking bread, crackers, pie, and cookies. Caroline Ingalls cooked salt pork
too, but it was in the beans she made.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Had the Warners been in Waukegan where Jane’s parents, the
Bennetts, lived, Christmas would have been far different. Over the years, Ahnapee’s
Christmas celebration changed too.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If the Warner children received gifts, no doubt it was
mittens or stockings that Jane had knitted, or possibly something that Orin got
in Manitowoc on one of his trips walking down the lakeshore for supplies. If
the small log homes were decorated, it was with green boughs adorned with
pinecones, perhaps a ribbon or two, or maybe even strings of popcorn. Christmas
trees would have taken far too much room in the log homes for years to come.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Twelve years later, Ahnapee (the name was respelled in 1873)
had a new newspaper with merchants advertising wares for Christmas giving.
Home-crafted gifts such as preserves, needlework and candies were popular while
stores such as August Fromming’s on 4<sup>th</sup> and Clark Street offered
such things as confections, sachets, perfume, “Yankee notions,” sewing
supplies, tobacco pouches, shaving soaps and slippers. William Perry’s Steele
Street drugstore sold books and stationery. Logancrantz’s jewelry, at the
northwest corner of 4<sup>th</sup> and Steele, sold everything in silver –
dishes, napkin rings, and cutlery. Mr. Logancrantz also pointed to his gold
pens and holders, and all types of jewelry.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Ahnapee Record </i>was in its infancy when it published
its first Christmas edition. The editors, George Wing and Charles Borgman,
reported seeing loads of evergreens on the street while churches smelled like
pine and spruce. Parents were mysterious and children were expectant. Anthems
and carols were joyful, sounding like angels singing. How much that Wolf River Christmas
had changed in a mere 12 years! Even the community’s name changed twice in that
time.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In that first edition, the paper wished readership “peace on
earth and good will to men.” The paper talked of families gathering at the fireside
while other who were gray thought of Christmas gatherings past. Some surely
included Jane and Orin Warner’s family. Others were the Tweedale grandchildren.
The Hughes family left the area around the time of the Civil War.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sir Clement Moore penned <i>A Visit from St. Nicholas</i> on
December 23, 1823. It caught on fast. Just over 25 years later, the paper
echoed the poem, telling stories about the shoes and frocks that “old Santa”
left in Ahnapee stockings.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On the 31<sup>st</sup>, the paper said St. Mary’s services
were of “an interesting nature.” The church Christmas tree was “illuminated by
110 burners for a beautiful emblem of Christmas teachings.” Young and old
participated at St. Paul’s where a Christmas tree was beautifully laden with
presents for the little children who had to wait patiently until the Lutheran
school students sang and recited selections appropriate to Christmas Eve.
Congregants at the German Methodist Church were said to have “enjoyed a season
of rare pleasure.” Following devotionals, youngsters were enthusiastic about
the books, toys and pretty items adorning the tree.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Baptists did not observe Christmas Day with a service,
however the next day was Sunday and the church – as the others in town – was filled
to capacity. On the evening of the 26th, which was the Sabbath, Wilhelmshoe was
the site of a grand ball. The only problem was that not enough tickets were
sold to fund the grand prize which had to be postponed.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A few days later, the Masonic Lodge offered entertainment
beginning with Maj. Joseph McCormick’s words on the tenets of Masonry and its
relationship with Jesus Christ. Ahnapee Quadrille Band provided wonderful music
after McCormick’s remarks, and a midnight supper ended a beautiful evening
attended by many from Kewaunee, Foscoro, Forestville, Casco, Sturgeon Bay, Clay
Banks, and even from Chicago.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Christmas celebrations differed over the years. The influx
of Germans brought Christmas trees which turned into a business in December
1876. Each ethnic group brought its own customs and traditions, but it appears
that salt pork pie was not one of them!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sources: <i>Ahnapee Record; An-An-api-sebe: Where is the River? </i>Postcard is from the blogger's collection.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-17766408382300679462022-11-28T15:24:00.000-08:002022-11-28T15:24:28.522-08:00Kewaunee County History & Algoma's Secret Societies<p> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Transparency. The buzzword of the 2020s. But transparency doesn't exist and probably never will.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Secret societies sound so sinister, yet according to <i>Ahnapee Record</i>, the community had them. It wasn't just the small tow of Ahnapee. Such societies existed around the country and the county, even in neighboring communities such as Forestville, Casco, Kewaunee, Carlton and others. Some of the secretive groups were "anti-treating" - the groups which belonged to the anti-alcohol mpovements whose members pledged not to offer or accept drinks in saloons or other places where alcohol might be bought and sold. Some secret societies focused on mutual aid, but others were just plain secret.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The last of the 19<sup>th</sup> century was the heyday of
such societies, and charlatan leadership was often not far behind. Well before
1900, there was an uproar about secret societies that went as far as an
Anti-Secret Society Convention. When the group had its 1869 meeting, attendees
went after the secular press, saying even religious papers didn’t have the guts
to come out for Christ. It kept on.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">More recently Dan Brown’s <i>DaVinci Code</i> shined light
on such societies. Once editor of the <i>Daily Beast</i> and <i>Rolling Stone,</i>
Noah Shachtman wrote that some groups provided for “open dialogue about everything
from academia to religious discourse, removed from the restrictive eye of
church and state.” Shachtman further stated the societies were “incubators of
democracy, modern science, and ecumenical religion.” Such groups elected
leaders and drew up a constitution. He said George Washington, Ben Franklin and
Voltaire were members of such groups, and “just like today’s networked
radicals, much of their power was wrapped up” in anonymity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lisa Hix penned an article appearing in a 2016 <i>Dallas
Morning News</i> (<span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">accessed
online</span>) about 19<sup>th</sup> century secret societies selling life
insurance within fraternal rituals. Modern Woodmen of America was one of the
societies, and one found in Ahnapee/Algoma. Hix says Modern Woodmen “made life
insurance approachable and fun by packaging it in the familiar order culture of
the day.” She went on to say two Woodmen societies remained in existence although
were no longer fraternal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Until around the mid-1900s, Modern Woodmen restricted
membership to white men from 18 to 45. At a time when Catholics and Jews saw
discrimination, the Woodmen admitted the two faiths as well as all Protestants,
atheists, and agnostics. In the beginning, the white males came from the
healthiest states that included Wisconsin and its neighbors. The group was not
open to those whose occupation was among the most dangerous such as miners and
railroad workers, but even baseball players were thought to be in a dangerous
profession. Those who joined the Woodmen were forced to acknowledge their own
mortality, as did the Masons, a group in Ahnapee by 1869.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">When Maynard T. Parker chronicled the short 22-year history of
Wolf River/Ahnapee in the October 12, 1873 <i>Record</i>, he told readership The
Grand Army of the Republic was the community’s second secret lodge, although it
was disbanded within a short time. He pointed to the Masonic Lodge as the third
secret lodge. Key Lodge #174 was established on June 8, 1869 and a week later Will
Frisbie </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">was its
representative to a convention of the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin F & A.M.
(Free and Accepted Masons) </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The first organized secret lodge must have
been so secret that Parker never mentioned it, however in January 1874, the <i>Record
</i>pointed to the organization of another new secret society in town, although
its name and goals were not known. The organization was Lone Lodge No. 1 of the
Knights of the Iron Band, which history says was formed in the winter of 1874.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By September 1877, Ahnapee had four societies
listing their meeting nights in the weekly <i>Record: </i>the Key Lodge No 174
F & A Masons met in their hall on the corner of 3<sup>rd</sup> and Clark, while
the Sons of Herman met in their 2<sup>nd</sup> Street hall. St. Joseph Society
met in the home of P.M. Simon, the Temple of Honor No. 111 met in their 3<sup>rd</sup>
and Clark<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Steet hall, and the YMCA met
in the Baptist Church parlors. Knights of the Iron Band did not announce
meeting nights.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was secret is a surprise. Wikipedia says it was the largest of all Union Army veterans' groups and the "most single-issue political lobby of the late 19th century, securing massive pensions for veterans and helping to elect fice postwar presidents from its own ranks." For members, it was a secret fraternal group, a charitable group, a provider of entertainment and a patriotic organization.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The GAR seems far from a secret organization although in <i>Secret
Societies in America</i>, author W.S. Harwood called attention to the military
oath and said the military was “knit together by secret threads.” It would seem
that military secrets are necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wolf River/Ahnapee’s early days were healthy. The population
was young, and isolation kept it germ free. As the community grew, so did
lumbering and sailing. Both were dangerous, and both took lives. Then came the
Civil War with the death and disease. Risk of injury and death were always
there in everyday life. If the husband died, who was there to provide for the
wife and children? Nobody wanted to be on the “poor list,” though many were. Joining
secret clubs such as the Freemasons and Odd Fellows, men found networking and
entertainment. They also found help.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Major Joseph McCormick was a member of Ahnapee’s F & A
Lodge when his horse threw his buggy injuring him in 1875. McCormick was 88
years old, in serious condition and unable to move. As a 33<sup>rd</sup> degree
Mason, McCormick was cared for by the Lodge. Googling tells us <span lang="EN" style="color: #202124; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the
thirty-third degree is an honorary </span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">award bestowed upon Scottish Rite Freemasons <span style="color: #202124;">who have made major contributions to society or
Freemasonry. McCormick certainly did. His story is chronicled in previous
posts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Following the Civil War, mutual benefit societies<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>popped up offering insurance. Ahnapee saw the
Sons of Hermann/Herman and Knights of the Iron Band. Even as women and Blacks
were excluded from such societies, between 1890 and 1930, up to 1/3 of American
men belonged to at least one secret society.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wikipedia says the Sons of
Herman was a mutual aid society for German immigrants, formed in Ney York in
July 1840. It remains active in some states today. While membership was
restrictive in the early days, the society is open to all today, providing
insurance and aid. Founded in New York in response to anti-German sentiment,
the group historically preserved German traditions and language. The Sons were
an offshoot of the Odd Fellows, however there were declines in Sons’ membership
with the advent of World War 1, and again because of anti-German sentiment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At one time the Catholic
Church refused to bury members of the Sons because of rituals, but that
disappeared. German Jews were members, and in Milwaukee, those of the Jewish
faith held leadership positions, something that didn’t happen with every group.
Mothers, wives, daughters and sisters were allowed in a female auxillary. It
was in July 1985 when the national organization required all to purchase a life
insurance policy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Sons of Herman organized in Forestville
before founding the Sons of Herman Ahnapee Lodge #23 in September 1874 with twenty-seven
members. </span>John Weilep was elected president of Bismarck Lodge, No 23,
O.D.H.S. (<span style="font-size: x-small;">Der Orden der Hermanns-Soehne</span>) when the Sons of
Herman was organized in Ahnapee by an officer of an officer of the Grand Lodge
of the <span style="font-size: 9pt;">State. </span>Launched with fourteen
charter members, the society flourished, they planned to meet at Weilep’s <span style="font-size: 9pt;">(now the Hotel Stebbins</span>) until their new hall
was ready. Though rejecting the “social glass,” <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sons
of Hermann was known to be a friendly organization and at its organization
members learned the mysteries of the order such as “riding the goat,” which has
several meanings, most associated with Masons.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Not long
following the Lodge’s formation, Ahnapee’s Lutheran congregation passed a resolution.
Feeling that because the German lodge was secret, it was unchristian, and, therefore,
Ahnapee Lutherans felt lodge members should be excluded from church membership.
However, it is unclear if any of the Sons lost their membership. </span><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Catholics too dealt with secret societies. In May 1880, Ahnapee's Father Cipin wrote a letter to the <i>Record </i> defending the church's St. Wenceslaus men's group which was joining the society of St. Louis, another Bohemian society. Cipin said St. Louis was neither a lodge nor secret society as identified by the paper a week earlier, but an open, public society. He said the Catholic church forbid secret societies and any Catholic who joined one would be excommunicated. Cipin said the Society of St. Louis was named Bohemian Catholic Central Association and was focused on mutual support.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On September 20, 1894, the <i>Record </i>listed officers for the new St. Francis Court #465, a subordinate of the Catholic Order of Foresters. Each member carried $1,000 in insurance and after six months would receive weekly benefits in the event of sickness or accident. The paper said the Foresters were the only "secret society, that is, the only society that makes use of a password, sign, grip, etc. connected with the Catholic church at present."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Almost
two years later, in July 1896, <i>Kewaunee Enterprise</i> mentioned Archbishop Frederick
Katzer, third bishop of the Green Bay Diocese, who was Archbishop of Milwaukee
at the time. Katzer fought a proposition to introduce secret rituals into the
Order of the Catholic Knights and went to Stevens Point to fight against the
idea. If the Knights had elected to be a secret society, Archbishop Katzer
would have withdrawn his support.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Iron Band Society, Lone Lodge #1, was founded in
1874 to propagate "anti-treating" ideas, paramount at the Monday
meeting nights. Such leading citizens as Michael McDonald, John R. Doak, George
W. Wing, Orange Conger, Simon Warner, John McDonald, Irving W. Elliot, Maynard
Parker, Levi Parsons, George Bacon, and E.T. Tillapaugh were elected officers
in December 1874.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A fire near the Ahnapee piers was one of the
first big conflagrations to challenge the fledgling fire department. About 3 AM
one night just before Christmas 1874, the Pier Company's store building at the
foot of Steele was engulfed in flames. According to Editor William Seymour, though
the fire department was efficient, the building was destroyed with property
inside. G.W. Youngs, who used a portion of the building as an office, was able
to remove the safe, books and other valuables. The Knights of the Iron Band, the
secret society that met on the second floor, was not so lucky. The society lost
all its property including a valuable English book printed in London during the
early 1700s, other rare books, and geological and vegetable curiosities. The
society had met the previous night and theirs was the only stove lit.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A few hundred dollars’ worth of tools and items, belonging
to the government but stored there, were among the substantial loss. Insurance
agent Peter Schiesser said there was an insurance policy of $1,000 although the
building was worth about $2,000. It was said the fire would have been far worse
for the village had the winds not been blowing from the southwest, so toward
the lake.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
fire did little to dampen enthusiasm in the Knights of the Iron Band.
Immediately following the fire<span style="color: #002060;"> </span>Senior Grand Knight
Michael McDonald announced future meetings would be he in the hall in J.R.
McDonald’s building at the corner of 2<sup>nd</sup> and Steele. The Knights eventually
began meeting in Temple of Honor Hall, the site of the Knights’ entertainment
on January 3, 1881, an evening of entertainment that included recitations, debate,
speeches, instrumental and vocal music.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A few days earlier, on New Year’s Eve, the Lone Lodge
members wore their regalia and emblems during a torch light parade. The paper
said the order’s principles were universal, but mystery was “embodied in its
organization.” It further aid that the society brought curiosity among the
public. Curiosity was somewhat satisfied <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">in
April when the <i>Record</i> reported on a strange, mysterious installation – a
solemn occasion - of Lone Lodge No 1 of Iron Band of the I Alone officers’
ceremony. Readership was informed that more excited residents witnessed<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the event than any other secret society,
partly because it appeared so strange to the populace. While outsiders felt it
was mysterious, many believed it was a horrible, diabolical secret society.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The<i>
Record’s</i> reporter found barely enough room in the area allotted to
spectators. Describing the center of the remaining space with its catafalque
draped in black and decorated with white, the reporter said it held the figure
of a man in clay. He went on to say: “Clothed in the robe of the order, with
hands folded upon his breast, his clear-cut marble-like features showed the
body by the light of four tapers which were sustained by candelabrums (</span><span style="font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">sic</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">)
of gold and silvered glass, stood upon the black drapery at each corner of the
bier upon which his form rested.” High officers stood on an elevated platform
behind the catafalque while two guards, “in gloomy robes,” walked back and
forth armed with spear and battle ax.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As members marched in, the Knight of the
Ceremonies directed them to seats on either side of the hall. As they gave the
Iron Band salutation, they sat facing the bier. Then the Knight escorted the
Grand Senior Knight Commander to his station where he received the salutation
of the Knights.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It was most unusual when the Senior Knight
placed his left hand on the cold forehead of the clay figure as he promised to
be fair, fearless, and faithful in his governance of keeping true temperance,
stressing that excess is dangerous, downgrading, and leads to suffering and
misery. He pledged to maintain the order and not allow it to come into neglect.
Receiving the badge of the order, the other officers came forward<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to pledge a faithful performance before the
Grand Senior Knight delivered an address. Exhorting officers to faithfulness,
vigilance, and earnestness, the Grand Senior Knight warned them about the
responsibilities they were assuming.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Senior Knight went on to discuss
temperance, saying the concept of treating was not “sanctioned or sustained by
the customs of any other nation except our own.” He said it was foolish to
squander money on one who does not care to buy something they don’t want, such
as a headache. While </span><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">he thought it might
be acceptable to have one glass of beer or spirits, to drown one’s sorrows was
hoggish, beastly, and degrading.” He said members were forbidden from giving or
accepting “treats,” thus drunkeness would cease.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As solemn and dark as the installation and
address were, dancing followed the address.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The <i>Record’s</i> reporter told readership he
couldn’t fully explain the society which was so closely connected with
mysterious ceremonies. The black robes were sombre and their badges represented
iron, silver, and golden degrees of the I Alone. The costumes represented Iron
and Golden bands.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiEePydicNtZ7yLe9Q1gPj1RQCI_eJcS7y78Pahf8KA4wzf3QQjoaTV1-jYRqOm-ZvmjQ57Tl0x7CGQSF3aVRvnDxRBbiVW90md2xe_km3yLuSs5CuhJLTTeX8BIjR7Ts12gJ2MPMIfF-phH6uG55Snw_tathROzIT0H2RnbnRU2xDmb4W_Pw5y41lWpw" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="517" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiEePydicNtZ7yLe9Q1gPj1RQCI_eJcS7y78Pahf8KA4wzf3QQjoaTV1-jYRqOm-ZvmjQ57Tl0x7CGQSF3aVRvnDxRBbiVW90md2xe_km3yLuSs5CuhJLTTeX8BIjR7Ts12gJ2MPMIfF-phH6uG55Snw_tathROzIT0H2RnbnRU2xDmb4W_Pw5y41lWpw" width="320" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In June 1881, Lone Lodge No 1 of the I Alone </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">cast a
unanimous vote directing each member to go before a magistrate to make a complaint
about any lodge member who had been expelled for violating the anti-treating
law. The Lodge did not feel its members should have the duty of enforcing laws
on any but its own members. When the Lodge said “temperance,” it meant it.
Temperance in excessive drinking was required, and the Lodge felt “excessive”
happened in saloons and that promoted drunkenness. Saloon owners were not in
favor of the movement.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Temple
of Honor had its beginning in the U.S. about 1845. The society had a secret
ritual based on medieval Knights Templar, a fraternal group with signs,
handshakes, and passwords resembling those of the Masons and Odd Fellows. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ahnapee’s Temple 111 organized in early March
1877<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>with – according to <i>Ahnapee
Record </i>- 27 drinkers, about two-thirds of whom were called hard drinkers.
To look at the list of those in leadership positions, Ahnapee’s leading
citizens were among the fifteen officers selected and installed. Apparently,
some considered themselves hard drinkers as many of the officers held
leadership positions in the Iron Band Society formed a few years earlier. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Algoma Record Herald </i>reported Anti-treating
passed<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wisconsin’s legislature and was
signed by the 14<sup>th</sup> Governor of Wisconsin, William E. Smith in late
March 1881. Any treating in that resulted in conviction was to be fined no less
than $5 and no more than $10 for each offense.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Some thought it was one of the most ridiculous laws ever
while others thought it was the most effective temperance law ever passed. It
permitted a man to drink what he wanted if nobody else paid for it. The<i>
Record</i> saw the new law as a law to be broken, but it hoped for enforcement.
Those who pointed toward ridiculous were proven right.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Cato Institute, in<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>an
article by Mark Thornton, Policy Analysis No. 157, July 17, 1991, explains why
Prohibition was a miserable failure. When Prohibition passed in 1920, it was
felt that law would result in better health and hygiene, reduce crime and corruption,
and even the tax burden from prisons and poorhouses.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Cato Institute’s significant research concluded that," Although consumption of alcohol fell at the beginning of Prohibition, it subsequently increased. Alcohol became more dangerous to consume, crime increased and became "organized," the court and prison systems were stretched to the breaking point, and corruption of public officials was rampant. No measurable gains were made in productivity or reduced absenteeism. Prohibition removed a significant source of tax revenue and greatly increased government spending. It led many drinkers to switch to opium, marajuana, patent medicines, cocaine, and other dangeroussubstances that they would have been unlikely to encounter in the absence of Prohibition." </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The number of Ahnapee saloons seem to indicate the village/city secret societies did not desire to bring an end to all alcohol, just buying a drink for another to consume. Total calls for abstinence came later. Prohibition came to an end in 1933, just as Wisconsin's anti-treating laws did years before.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Depression and Social Security in 1935 ended much of the fraternal insurance since many wee unable to make their payments. As movies and radio came into existence, they supplied the entertainment once offered by the societies, many of which faded into society.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sources: Ahnapee Record/Algoma Record Herald; An-An-api-sebe:Where is the River?; Cato Institute article by Mark Thornton, Policy Analysis No. 157, July 17, 1991; Commercial History of Algoma, WI Vol 1; Hix, Kisa, 2016 Dallas Morning News (accessed online); Lewis, Phil, History of Modern Woodmen an American Fraternity, 4/2021 (accessed online); https://www.history.com/news/secret-societies-freemasons-knights-templar; Wikipedia..</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-85200712572460601632022-10-10T17:05:00.005-07:002022-10-18T07:27:49.245-07:00Kewaunee County History: Courting, Bundling, Pabst Beer and More<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5Ra-LIbcu8caYlInmXe6vtSeEMagK6uRaacnrgkUQz_GqhV-8sNuAWg4gyvAzOc1WjCY9dHV4RXl7HWNMELZ_Xuwq2avQhJyHc2PTD6uT0wxcNJ4mL7PXmSX1KFnTsx0ldvXXpZwecdL49UE7Wy3sC02A4dasRqB5BwDNoe9OqN_dO05TpXJ3JDEdQ/s1633/Blog%20courting.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="1633" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5Ra-LIbcu8caYlInmXe6vtSeEMagK6uRaacnrgkUQz_GqhV-8sNuAWg4gyvAzOc1WjCY9dHV4RXl7HWNMELZ_Xuwq2avQhJyHc2PTD6uT0wxcNJ4mL7PXmSX1KFnTsx0ldvXXpZwecdL49UE7Wy3sC02A4dasRqB5BwDNoe9OqN_dO05TpXJ3JDEdQ/w400-h259/Blog%20courting.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Courting. Dating. Relationship. The words mean essentially
the same thing: the time before marriage. There was a time when women were
married off to enlarge a kingdom or cement foreign relations. Women were married
off to enlarge a farm or married off just to get rid of her feet from under the
family table. One less to feed meant more food for the others. Male children
were physically, thus economically, more important. Males carried on the family
name and inherited property. Females bore children, kept a household intact,
and were even known to pull plows when the family didn’t own a horse or oxen. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Deaths were so frequent following the earliest settling of
the East Coast that it was not unusual for an afternoon wedding to follow a morning
funeral. A widow was joined in marriage with the most recent widower. A woman
needed a man to provide for her, while the man needed a woman to do for him.
There was no courting. There was no time to mourn. The marriage following the
funeral was one of expedience.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As the American west opened, there was a shortage of women,
prompting men to run newspaper ads for wives. Widows and other single eastern
women in lower economic circumstances went west to find a husband. A family’s
prosperity and survival often depended on the marriage, and often, there was no
courtship. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Ancestry.com</i> describes an ad appearing in an Arkansas
newspaper. As Ancestry pointed out, the husband-to-be wanted a woman who would
bring practical skills to the marriage. The ad? “Any gal that got a bed, calico
dress, coffee pot and skillet, knows how to cut out britches and can make a
hunting shirt, knows how to take care of children can have my services until
death do us part.” Ancestry did not say how many flocked to answer that ad.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Generations past, real courting included long conversations
and spending time with each other. Letters include such wording as “my friend” or
“your friend,” while Wikipedia tells us the courting friendship was the “idea
of being intimate friends with someone before becoming an intimate lover.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The times spent in conversations might be followed with a
walk that included a chaperone. Time was spent together at social events. If
things went well, the man would ask for the woman’s hand in marriage, however
in the case of Henry Harkins and Lucy Eveland in Wolf River, it was an
elopement a few years following the first settling of the community that would
become Algoma.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The elopement was an interesting twist of events because the
two families were connected years before. Henry, or Capt. Hank, Harkins was courting
Abram and Almira Eveland's 15-year-old daughter, Lucy, while the Evelands were
still living in Racine. Because of Lucy's tender age, Mr. and Mrs. Eveland
discouraged the courtship and then forbid the marriage, but the young couple
was not dissuaded. By the spring of 1855, the Evelands had relocated to Wolf
River when Harkins, with David Youngs as his mate, sailed the <i>Lucy Ann</i><i> </i>to
the hamlet. Lucy boarded, and the couple, with Dave as the chaperone, sailed
off to elope. Youngs built the fledgling community’s first pier and became the
town’s leading factor. The thing was, Dave was the foster son of the Evelands –
having been taken in at nine years old following the death of his mother - and
the brother-in-law of Hank, the brother of Dave’s late wife Amanda. One would
think the Evelands would have hit the ceiling when their 15-year-old daughter
ran off with their own Dave abetting the marriage. Adding to the the convoluted story, Henry Harkins was Abram Eveland's employee and was captain of the vessel Mr. Eveland named in honor of his daughter, Henry's heart throb. Dave was part owner of the boat. But it all worked out. Lucy
was legally married. What could her parents do? The seemed go with "If ya can't beat 'em, join 'em."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In today’s world, sleeping together and living together are
common. Such bedding was common during the country’s colonial days, but
not the way one would think. Most courting took place within a two-mile radius, the
distance one could easily walk. The cold of winter, depths of snow, and pitch-dark
nights made a difference. The man stayed the night and couples “bundled.” In that arrangement, the
couple would stay fully clothed while sharing a bed, sometimes with a bundling
board between them. Since homes were so cold, the bundling put the kibosh on any
hanky-panky while keeping the young couple warm. Besides that, the couple was
right under the noses of the girl’s parents.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Frequently, the groom was establishing himself and by the
time he married, he was 10 years or more older than the bride. Harriet Warner
was a child of 9 when her parents arrived in Wolf River on July 4, 1851. The
Warners were one of the three founding families. Onetime Lake Michigan mariner Abraham
Hall opened a store in 1852 and followed with a sawmill and then a gristmill. It
was a year following the opening of the grist mill that Hall married
Harriet who was nearly 25 years his junior. The ceremony took place at Harriet's grandmother’s home in Waukegan, Illinois, although the couple always lived in
what became Algoma.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Marriage between close cousins is generally not permitted,
however in the mid-1800s first cousins married. Surprisingly, Charles Darwin
married his first cousin Emma Wedgewood. Jesse James didn’t rush into anything
when he married his first cousin Zerelda Mimms after a 9-year courtship. Such relationships mattered to French Canadians well over 100 years before Darwin when this Blogger found "fourth degree bloodlines" (written in French) on ancestors' matrimonial contract.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Depression made a difference in marriage and brought
long-term courtships. 1930 saw the lowest marriage rates in the U.S. while couples
were sometimes engaged for years as they worked to be self-supporting. The
beginning of World War ll saw marriages on-the-spur-of-the-moment. Women were
widows before they had a chance to be wives, and often the hasty marriages
resulted in divorces at the end of the war.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Courting ended in marriage, and marriages were social events. Tiny
Wolf River’s first notable social event was the marriage of Mary Yates to
Captain Charles Fellows in 1856. <span style="color: black;">Mary's father, “the
courtly” Squire John L.V. Yates, performed the wedding ceremony</span>. Other <i><span style="color: black;">Record Herald </span></i><span style="color: black;">history
says the wedding of Amine Parker and George Fowles was the first in Wolf River
during the winter of 1857 or 1858. They were occasions Harriet Warner Hall
remembered being celebrated with homemade beer and a fiddler.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It was courting that brought good ferry service to
Wolf River in the 1850s when </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Goodrich's three-masted barkentine <i>Cleveland</i>
served Green Bay, Kewaunee, and Wolf River. It’s a story that wraps up with the
Pabst beer dynasty. But how did that happen?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkePJMZwrtVpQ5VwlyLpUWowAR8XWsgaCG6r-NZ3OZtqiX3V0iW22fZZDS4kQ7oGz5dSmcdWdWJMv7A6uyUtkNeykmedEsF8jOyXARSw_L-pMzuDmhh6SuKWFseoRPQgDOMoHs0PDMJv8XTw89fEPszugsqR5zY0eevT_OFbJvJmfGaoUaTKQY93pisw" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="488" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkePJMZwrtVpQ5VwlyLpUWowAR8XWsgaCG6r-NZ3OZtqiX3V0iW22fZZDS4kQ7oGz5dSmcdWdWJMv7A6uyUtkNeykmedEsF8jOyXARSw_L-pMzuDmhh6SuKWFseoRPQgDOMoHs0PDMJv8XTw89fEPszugsqR5zY0eevT_OFbJvJmfGaoUaTKQY93pisw=w131-h134" width="131" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">https://journalofantiques.com/<br />wp-content/uploads/2019/07/1863-<br />Philip-Best</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Captain Frederick Pabst, master of the <i>Cleveland</i>, was
courting brewer Jacob Best’s daughter. It was said that was why Capt. Pabst always made good
time to Milwaukee. Pabst went from the <i>Cleveland </i>to the <i>Comet </i>in
1861 and was said to be "every inch a sailor," known to be a
fearless man who would always pick a German crew if he could. <i>The Enterprise
</i>reported the <i>Comet</i> was "one of the best boats on the lake"
and it was "officered by true gentlemen," great favorites of the
traveling public. Wedding his girl, Maria Best, on March 25, 1862, Johann
Gottlieb Frederich (Frederick) Pabst entered business with his father-in-law
and later began the company bearing the Pabst name. Generations after Capt. Pabst left sailing, his name remained well-known in Ahnapee/Algoma!<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When the Honorable D.A. Reed, Sturgeon Bay District
Attorney, was in Ahnapee courting, the paper informed readership. On wonders
why the <i>Record </i>felt compelled to point out that there was “nothing
improper” in the June 1874 visit. I<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">n March 1875, the <i>Record </i>called
attention to Rufus Wing, S.H. Sedgwick and George Wing of
Kewaunee who paid a visit to Ahnapee. The senior Wing and Sedgwick said they
were in town on legal business while the paper called the visit “paradoxical”
because it was known both were married men who were in town “a’ courting.” Since they were lawyers, the paper was having some fun. It wasn't women they were "courting." </span>In
October 1881, the <i>Record</i> announced the names of Ahnapee men courting in
Kewaunee. It was no secret then because some of the men were widowers playing the field. Men of the era certainly needed to find a woman to “do” for them. Local women no doubt knew too much about them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <i>Record</i> reported in September 1880 that through
the power of Father Cipin, the long-expected marriage of Mary Meunier and
Carsten Smith was “consummated at the Catholic Church.” (Language was used
differently in those days.) According to the paper, townsfolk noticed that each
possessed “an affection for the other that can only be terminated with a union
of the hearts.” Perhaps the popular Smith was a bit shy and needed prodding to
get on with courting and the wedding.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Newspapers got into the courting patterns and October 1880
was no exception when papers brought scandal and sensationalism to the courting
and elopement news. There were stories in the <i>Record, Enterprise, Chicago
Times, DePere News</i>, and who knows where else. The papers said Kewaunee
County priest Fr. Phillip Crud and Miss Zoe Allard were the “principal
characters.” Tongues wagged when Miss Allard broke off her engagement at the
time Crud was leaving the area. In the end, Crud was in Cincinnati and Miss
Allard was in DePere with her father. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A few years later, the paper said there were hundreds of
women who can “thrum” a piano to one who could make a loaf of good bread. The
paper said men enjoy a good dinner more than music. When a man is courting, he
lives at home, and if he needs to travel, he can find good meals at a hotel or
“eating-house.” In a word to the wise, the paper felt even a lion could be tamed with good food.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In March 1886, the <i>Record</i> called attention to the empty-headed
boys who felt they were beyond boyhood and were dudes old enough for courting.
The <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“dudes” called on a neighbor girl who
welcomed them. It was a pleasant evening until her father thought it was time
for bed, but the boys failed to take the hint and over stayed. Just after midnight,
the boys were startled by an apparition in white, shaped like the ”old man”
carrying a club. Bidding a hasty retreat with the ghost in hot pursuit, the
boys got to the door, but it was locked. Seeing an open window, they went
through it. The last boy crawling through the window said the ghost’s club was “awfully
heavy and red hot besides.” More than a few fair maidens had an “old man” who
knew how to get rid of bothersome courters.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Three years later, an article concerned a young courting man
who gave his young lady a lozenge to help relieve her cough. It didn’t work.
The next day he received a note with a coat button in it. The note said he must
have given her the wrong kind of lozenge, one which he might need. Obviously, the woman in the article wasn’t going to sew on his button. The same paper noted
the men marrying widows because they were too lazy to court. At New Year’s Eve,
1899, posters were advertising a dance just before Valentine’s Day. Algoma’s
Dan Tweedale planned to raffle a horse, cutter, and robes. As the <i>Record </i>said<i>,</i>
the raffle presented a good chance to win a courting outfit.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Church should be a good place to meet a mate, but not all
were of that opinion. A July 1904 <i>Enterprise</i> told readership that
English Church officials had different views on courting and courting in
churches was getting controversial. Some felt since marriages were made in
heaven, courting should be allowed in church? Courting is the gate to
marriage as marriage is the gate to heaven. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There were churches that felt to put “Christianity into the
congregation” meant courting would follow the right lines. In churches where men
sat on one side and women on the other, the segregation stopped courting,
prompting the Free and Open Church Association to advocate for greater freedom
of sitting in church. When the <i>Record </i>pointed out in 1900 that a huge
source a matrimonial difficulty came from a lack of housekeeping knowledge by
the wives, the paper didn’t suggest such training as a pre-requisite to
courting.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Just as today, young people had things down to a science. Electric
lights were coming into being around the turn of 1900, and Algoma was the first
Peninsula community to have electric streetlights. A 1903 <i>Record</i> brought
up the problems with such lights that young people felt were no good for
courting purposes. One young man liked the kerosene lamps his girl took care
of. Her family’s piano light had a red shade that softened the light, which was
a plus. The girl was thinking ahead when she filled the lamp with just enough fuel
to burn to the time her folks went to bed. When the flame dimmed, it was 9:30.
The young man was heard to say, “That lamp, controlled by so charming a girl as
mine, is a bonanza.” <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kewaunee Farmers and Merchants State Bank used courting in
their 1921 ads, saying a fellow’s grandfather went courting on horseback
although the fellow’s dad thought a buggy was the height of style in his
courting days. The bank went on to say that in 1921, a young man enjoyed taking
his sweetheart out in a six-cylinder car while their children – if they married
– would likely court behind a cloud bank in “a modern monoplane.” Banking
progressed just as courting and in 2022, both are electronic, but forget the monoplane. The bank went on
to ask if young men were handling their finances through a modern bank, or the
antiquated ways of a grandfather. That question remains 100 years later.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sources: <i>An-An-api sebe: Where is the River?; Ahnapee
Record, Algoma Record Herald, Kewaunee Enterpris</i>e, Ancestry, Journal of Antiques online, Wikipedia. Postcard is from the Blogger's collection.<o:p></o:p></p><br /><p></p>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-8472548265888922082022-08-29T18:38:00.009-07:002022-09-01T14:56:46.134-07:00Kewaunee County History: Ole Olafson Storle, and the Storle Valve Company<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEUuAJCe9bhbJ30TVRkVIWM5OTuVLgHWCo8WvnWQT68a7d4jNZg17GZBc_EQDIFAYKQfJlApgYlQ7sZdUKTdwfQwF4iL7r8-Tn6f_ucnbRVNkRNbiErIKIdNhEMo9F_ey4vPD1_cqOlNiTMEVwJ--1xq4hbfAEfHV8XVBpi8Qm-XsrHvlNMWWPahDPBw/s1581/Blog%20Storle%20valve%20co%20postcard.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="997" data-original-width="1581" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEUuAJCe9bhbJ30TVRkVIWM5OTuVLgHWCo8WvnWQT68a7d4jNZg17GZBc_EQDIFAYKQfJlApgYlQ7sZdUKTdwfQwF4iL7r8-Tn6f_ucnbRVNkRNbiErIKIdNhEMo9F_ey4vPD1_cqOlNiTMEVwJ--1xq4hbfAEfHV8XVBpi8Qm-XsrHvlNMWWPahDPBw/w400-h253/Blog%20Storle%20valve%20co%20postcard.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Storle Valve Company Building, postmarked 1911</div><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal">It was an old postcard photo that prompted some curiosity
about the Storle company in Kewaunee.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The company seems to have appeared in Kewaunee in early
September 1907 when the <i>Enterprise</i> reported that William Karsten presented a
petition signed by 250 Kewaunee taxpayers and citizens, including nearly every
businessman, asking the city to donate a suitable site and building for a new
industry for the manufacture of valves, hydrants, and “specialties.” Discussion
was to be taken up at the regular Council meeting on September 5. On the
following day, the <i>Enterprise</i> said Council was “inclined,” however did not act,
feeling that more information was necessary. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">William Karsten, the city attorney, and an alderman were
appointed to investigate Storle’s proposal and to see about an option on land
Kewaunee Iron Works had for sale. The property in question was between the Iron
Works and adjacent to the Ziemer foundry. Zeimer was the alderman appointed to
the investigating committee. The<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>lot in
question was on the river and could support a 32 x 75’ building.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Storle’s high pressure valve was already being used in
Kewaunee. It was the valve and the invention of a new motor that urged
Kewaunee business to encourage manufacturing in the city. Engineers and other
experts claimed Storle’s valve was the best invented while Joseph Bohman, president
of Kewaunee Brewing Co., said that he used one of the valves for months, and it
was the best the company ever had.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In November, the <i>Record</i> announced that contracts were let
for the building of the newly incorporated O.O. Storle Valve Co. It went on to
say articles of incorporation were filed with the Wisconsin’s Secretary of
State, and $50,000 of capital stock was raised among Kewaunee businessmen.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A few months later, in January 1908, Storle’s son Norman
arrived from Tacoma, Washington, to accept a position with his father. <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">The forge used in manufacturing the tools necessary
for the Storle valve arrived about the same time. Tools needed for valve
manufacture were quite different from tools in other machine shops and Storle
had to manufacture his own. When the first castings for the valve were
received, there were two 2-inch valves and one 2 ½” valve.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Late 1909<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"> saw Storle gone
from Kewaunee for about a month in search of capital, which he found. Returning
to Kewaunee, manufacturing resumed after the plant had been closed while Storle
was looking for money. Although manufacturing began a year earlier and although
the valve was the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>best on market, it was
necessary to raise additional funds to get the valve to market in large
numbers. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Just six months later, an<i> Enterprise </i>headline told
readership the city was losing an industry. Storle Valve Co. was moving to
Green Bay. The paper reminded folks that the city erected a building for Storle
two years earlier and sold about $2000 worth of stock, money mostly used for
machinery. When it was necessary to raise more capital, the local market was
tapped out, forcing Storle to look outside the area. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rumor had it that Storle Valve Co. had never been in
operation because of a lack of capital and had received an offer from Green Bay
parties. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it happened, Kewaunee would
lose an industry which so far had not been beneficial to the town, however it would
mean a great deal in operation. The <i>Record</i> didn’t know when the move
would happen but did say a building was necessary before machinery could be
transferred.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As it was, Green Bay valve manufacturer, William Hess, was
most impressed with the Kewaunee valve and completed a deal for the company’s purchase.
Hess had owned a steam boiler works in Manitowoc. In the deal, Storle retained
half interest and held a salaried position, putting up his patents as his
portion of the payments. Hess controlled the other half of the business which
he financed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stockholders were paid in
full with 7% interest so they made money on Storle’s brief period in Kewaunee.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In an article the<i> Record</i> reprinted from <i>Manitowoc
Daily News,</i> it was said that William Hess moved to Green Bay and founded
Storle Valve Co. there, intending to erect a big factory, but decided to go to
Manitowoc where he conferred with officers and directors of the Manitowoc
Citizen’s Association. Whatever happened, that group refused to divulge
information, and the new site was chosen in Green Bay.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When the City of Green Bay donated 6 acres and buildings, the<i>
Enterprise </i>felt the company was on track to become one of Green Bay’s
largest industries. The Kewaunee factory site and building reverted to the city
when the company left the city.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While that was happening, Sam Newman was in Kewaunee
investigating the Storle Valve Co. with intentions of purchasing stock and
getting the plant into operation. Though the valve was considered one of the
best on the market, the plant was idle for 3 years because of lack of capital.
Newmann owned the brass factory in Algoma and planned to supply brass castings
when the plant went into commission.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When the <i>Record</i> announced Storle’s new gasoline
engine in late in 1911, it said the new gasoline engine added a new chapter to
motor power and would revolutionize it. The two piston rods – rather than one –
will do twice the work with less gas at little expense, said the <i>Record</i>.
It also reported Storle assigned his valve patent to Green Bay parties before
working on the two-piston engine in the Kewaunee Iron Works shop. According to
the paper, local residents marveled at the new engine, and Storle’s sons came
from Tacoma to enter the business. Apparently Norman Storle had returned to Tacoma
because the paper said both Norman and Benjamin came to Kewaunee. The <i>Record</i>
opined that when manufacture began, it would be in the building originally
built for Storle’s valve operation.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Storle received his patent
letters for the improvement of the gasoline engine in early 1914 and organized
the Storle Engine Manufacturing Co., securing the vacant
building once the Storle Valve Co. in addition to purchasing the Zeimer foundry
property. Plans were to begin operation in days.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">As it was, i</span>n November 1912 Kewaunee attorney W.A. Cowell served plantiff Xavier Delain in his suit against members of the Zeimer family, Ella Warner and W. Seyk Co. foreclosing on the Zeimer foundry. Legal notices appearing in the<i> Enterprise</i>, gave notice that by virtue of judgement on November 14, 1912, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the real estate and mortgaged property in Lot 2, Block 13 in the City of Kewaunee, would be sold by Sheriff J.J. Kulhanek at <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a Sheriff’s Sale at 2 PM on January 17, 1914. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Two days after receiving the patent, on January 26,
1914, the new company composed of O.O. Storle, O.L. Pierpont and Wenzel Heck
of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kewaunee and H.O. Brandenberg of Appleton
incorporated as Storle Engine Mfg. Co. to build Storle’s patented gas engine. Two
engines would be manfuactured – one as a 2-cylinder for farm use and the other
a 4-cylinder for autos.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">In December 1914, the “wizard
of mechanical science,” O.O. Storle, told the <i>Record</i> he received a
patent that would assist in the manufacture of violins. The new invention enabled
the regulation of tone which, in the past, sometimes ruined a violin. Chippewa
Falls’s Hellerd Bros. manufactured violins and were interested in the invention
was looking.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">The <i>Enterprise</i> revived
interest in the Storle Engine Company in late April 1916 when Mr. Storle came
from Washington, where he spent the winter with his family, to push his
business plans. For two years, the Enterprise said, business cirecles discussed
the Storle engine. He said he was completing manufacturing arrangements.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Storle’s partner, H.O.
Brandenberg of Oshkosh was expected to arrive within two weeks to arrange
manufacture which would begin soon. Storle had secured all the patents. When
Storle was questioned about the plans, he had little to say, however did say
that manufacturing would be carried on in the old building. Peculiar that it
seems, two year earlier, in December 1914, H.O. Grandberg of Oskosh was the
promoter of the gasoline engine plant at Kewaunee and was going to begin
organizing the manufacturing about January 1. Plans were on hold until
Grandberg, who was confined to his Oshkosh home, recovered from his broken leg.
Who knows what happened between January 1915 and April 1916?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">On May 4, 1923 the papers
listed a </span>delinquent tax <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for Storle
Valve Co. located on Lots 15-16-17-18 of Block 12 in the City of Kewaunee.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Ole O. Storle was remembered in
a November 1933<i> Enterprise</i> article about Storle’s Civil War Union Army service
and his capture and escape from Libby prison. Storle was 93 and a resident
of Tacoma when the Enterprise reprinted a column from <i>Chicago Journal of
Commerce</i>. Making his escape, Storle was wounded in the knee and weak from
blood loss as he crawled through corn fields for a week, living on raw corn.
The article went on to say that the successful Storle left Kewaunee almost 20
years earlier, after several years residence. The man with 65 patents ran his
company in the building across from the Harbor Service Station (in business in
1933) which was then owned by Svoboda Church Furniture.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When Kewaunee was about to get a 2<sup>nd</sup> Standard Oil
Co. in early 1952, it was on land purchased from Svoboda Church Furniture Co.,
and Trottman and Selner on lower Milwaukee St. The property fronted on
Milwaukee St. and extended to the Co-op. Part of the work to be done was moving
the old Storle Valve Co. warehouse to the northwest corner of Dodge and Park
where it would remain part of the Svoboda Co.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Who was Ole Olafson Storle?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYc9z5bpAK7ugi5zlzGVzfbka5ogj8ayrX0kl0vKluE0E9-kUb1W2T-c3Tn_nyIbLgxBxErDn5MKVKRoctmYnsEYe7sPAPNY0FRitWE_dfwz-qzEYCTcS4B1SqMJyIQZZK6xQu6JrdLVXQQNmCqE0X6bEcAs756V1aPr2W5S2N2f8TLTfzkxvXrYNXg/s1200/Blog%20Storle%20tombstone.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="822" data-original-width="1200" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYc9z5bpAK7ugi5zlzGVzfbka5ogj8ayrX0kl0vKluE0E9-kUb1W2T-c3Tn_nyIbLgxBxErDn5MKVKRoctmYnsEYe7sPAPNY0FRitWE_dfwz-qzEYCTcS4B1SqMJyIQZZK6xQu6JrdLVXQQNmCqE0X6bEcAs756V1aPr2W5S2N2f8TLTfzkxvXrYNXg/s320/Blog%20Storle%20tombstone.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Although Storle’s gravestone in Tacoma Town Cemetery,
Tacoma, Washington, records his dates as 1841-1939, the Racine Journal Times,
July 23, 1937, ran an article about the man’s 100<sup>th</sup> birthday,
celebrated at his Tacoma home. As the inventor of the “Kant Leak” valve, Storle
was an organizer/partner of Burlington Brass in 1904. His partners included
C.G. Raasch and John Gill, both of whom eventually relocated to California.
Storle’s Burlington residence stood on Storle Avenue in Burlington. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <i>Racine Journal</i> article indicates that the company
was not successful, and Storle sold his interest to C.B. McCanna and moved to
Tacoma. The article mentioned the visit to Storle in Tacoma by the secretary of
the Milwaukee law firm that took care of his patents and legal work. She told
the Racine paper about Storle’s children giving the 100<sup>th</sup> birthday
party. Elderly in years, the hale, hearty man was still enjoying tromping the
beaches and finding agates, spotting before the younger people did.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Biographical information said Storle, who came to America
from Norway at age 3, invented hundreds of mechanical gadgets, patenting 250 of
them. Did get 250 patents, or was it 65 as the <i>Enterprise </i> said? Either way, it is a lot of patents. One of Storle's initial inventions was the first wire knotter for a grain
binder bought by Cyrus McCormick. After working a few years for McCormick, he
went to the William Deere Co. (<span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 107%;">article
says William, not John</span>) and International Harvester.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Racine article continues saying Storle joined Co. H, 10<sup>th</sup> Wisconsin Infantry at
Lincoln’s first call for volunteers in what would later be called the Civil
War. He was wounded three times. After 3 ½ years he returned to Burlington,
resumed inventing, and married in 1876.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The biographical article fails to mention Storle’s company,
and work, in Kewaunee, nor does it mention his Green Bay connection. Given
communications in the late 1930s on the eve of World War ll, perhaps the law
secretary was providing what she knew, or perhaps the paper left out what was
regarded as unsuccessful for only a few years in a long life. Whatever the
reason, Ole Olafson Storle had an impact on Kewaunee County. Having 65 or maybe 250 mechanical
patents, it is certain he touched those who never heard of him.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">A Google search
for Storle’s patents describes an invention in the National Museum of American
History, however it was not pictured online. To learn more, see patent model,harvester rake automatic trip| National Museum of American History, https://americanhistory.si.edu>object>nmah_857207 to find the patent modek for the harvester rake automatic trip. Patent number 266.063 2qw recorded on October 17, 1882. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Below is an image found at https://patents.google.com,
US77675A, and found under “mowers combined with apparatus performing additional
operations while mowing with rakes” which was an improvement to what had been
available earlier.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ygB2v42-zkl2X_4hMCcpcKvRty82OOA2jyyoaZRh08nkcWaIHFs8h2lRR5-5D9IcRwJOW7_W-q5oceIGBRV92HV_8WRPTJ-Y8FLJGloZ0OqXP-zChJVKkdFpyopxFKXQuEH_ohWM6GhDPDrl4qUHPm-iRj3mMIcNu-7DIUo9UK1ySd0b4f-YPHrUyA/s1500/Blog%20Storle%20harvester%20rake.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1053" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ygB2v42-zkl2X_4hMCcpcKvRty82OOA2jyyoaZRh08nkcWaIHFs8h2lRR5-5D9IcRwJOW7_W-q5oceIGBRV92HV_8WRPTJ-Y8FLJGloZ0OqXP-zChJVKkdFpyopxFKXQuEH_ohWM6GhDPDrl4qUHPm-iRj3mMIcNu-7DIUo9UK1ySd0b4f-YPHrUyA/w281-h400/Blog%20Storle%20harvester%20rake.jpg" width="281" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-align: center;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Sources: Ahnapee Record,
Algoma Record, Algoma Record Herald, Find a Grave, Kewaunee Enterprise.
Postcard is from the blogger’s collection.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-42165368223460533842022-08-24T13:24:00.004-07:002022-09-12T15:15:31.053-07:00Kewaunee County History: Algoma & The Lake Street Hiil, Ski Jump and Toboggan Slide<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Ninety-degree humid summer days bring wistful thoughts of
winter. For a couple of minutes, at least.</p>Though summers are cooler near the lake, winter sports were
on the minds of Ahnapee, now Algoma, residents well before 1900. By the
mid-1920s, city residents were thinking ahead to using the new toboggan slide
at the Camp Site, the name given to the area just before the southern cusp of
Crescent Beach. Winter sports were about to get kicked up a notch.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMrIIdM2iyMVvcZkV7Y2SfQ1I8ICsyceLaQ6efvUX1bW02GM1ek9cC6h7gyOyLZ0M0Nhp1aMq3cpGzZjwAIVARBHoyGdjidTf4q_oEiGB2c_qT_2nfiTzJXVT83jgZvCzeoZ7qSHFMNOUtvGks0KmkG6rROlPO-8NuaU-y0ahEenyDBU1-1dHHzYMzcg/s1585/Blog%20ice%20cam%20site%20and%20crescent%20beach%20early%201900s.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1012" data-original-width="1585" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMrIIdM2iyMVvcZkV7Y2SfQ1I8ICsyceLaQ6efvUX1bW02GM1ek9cC6h7gyOyLZ0M0Nhp1aMq3cpGzZjwAIVARBHoyGdjidTf4q_oEiGB2c_qT_2nfiTzJXVT83jgZvCzeoZ7qSHFMNOUtvGks0KmkG6rROlPO-8NuaU-y0ahEenyDBU1-1dHHzYMzcg/w400-h255/Blog%20ice%20cam%20site%20and%20crescent%20beach%20early%201900s.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camp Siteand Crescent Beach \, early1900s</td></tr></tbody></table><div><p class="MsoNormal">Fifty years before the toboggan slide became a reality,
winter sports routinely made the <i>Record</i>. According to a December 1874 paper,
ice skating was good although it wasn’t only young people skating. “Frisky old
men and matrons were (also) enjoying a season of pleasures on the ice,” said
the <i>Record.</i> Language was used a bit differently 150 years ago! Tragedy
was averted a year later when young Louis Fellows broke through the ice while
skating on the river near Knowles dye house on the north side of the river near
the 2<sup>nd</sup> St. Bridge. Fortunately, Michael Wenniger was near and
pushed a board toward Louis who was able to pull himself from the water. River
conditions were always changing and so did the ice. By 1879, rough ice wasn’t
stopping the boys, although the paper didn’t mention the frisky men and matrons.</p>The <i>Record </i>usually commented <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>on ice conditions and in 1898, the Ahnapee River
was frozen solid with days perfect for skating in early December. Crowds
gathered just beyond the new 2<sup>nd</sup> Street Bridge to skate up and down
the river. On Sunday afternoon and evening, residents had so much fun that
peals of laughter could be heard blocks away. Monday and Tuesday found rough
ice that didn’t seem to matter to the skaters, but Wednesday’s cold snap froze
ice as smooth as glass from the 2<sup>nd</sup> Street Bridge to Seyk’s
warehouse at the base of Steele Street. The <i>Record’s</i> editors knew that
the river would be crowded until the next snowfall spoiled it.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Skaters always took advantage of good skating on the river. When
Kewaunee was arranging for an ice rink and enlisted the aid of the fire
department in December 1910, the <i>Record</i> encouraged local sports’ lovers
to lobby Algoma city officials to follow suit to keep a piece of river ice in
suitable condition.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ96W7d8fEA2pf0pEMcPLMdXpNGx7poyl6tMIpZDc5oxP50vRT9k9XE-BdE2V76bUgfrxTu4YlWd2y0yxOI_KmQHB8cJ90lyFILrRV8fnXesDMSnwXD45BLt9OOuAth2_TWEoj5UrOu1HTg4M-LCcu0bbN17yN4iI5azaM-ME6vLqavbI91cpE4gHKkQ/s900/Blog%20ice%201888%20ice%20skates.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="900" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ96W7d8fEA2pf0pEMcPLMdXpNGx7poyl6tMIpZDc5oxP50vRT9k9XE-BdE2V76bUgfrxTu4YlWd2y0yxOI_KmQHB8cJ90lyFILrRV8fnXesDMSnwXD45BLt9OOuAth2_TWEoj5UrOu1HTg4M-LCcu0bbN17yN4iI5azaM-ME6vLqavbI91cpE4gHKkQ/s320/Blog%20ice%201888%20ice%20skates.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">188 ice skates found on line</td></tr></tbody></table>History tells us Lake Michigan froze over in 1912. How did
anyone know for sure? Because of the ice, Goodrich Transit boats discontinued
their trips, which meant skaters could use lakeshore ice. During the first week
of February, lake water washed over the ice banks and froze to make the best
ice rink anywhere. The exceptional ice made skating to Kewaunee almost common.
Each weeks boys from both cities were skating back and forth. 1912 skates were not much better than those manufactured in 1888. How could the boys travel 20 miiles on such things?<o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">In late December 1920, the <i>Record</i> offered a plan for
making the most of the great outdoors. Youngsters and older residents alike
enjoyed winter sports, however the paper felt Algoma lacked necessary
facilities. It said a municipal open-air ice rink would cost taxpayers little,
and suggested city workmen clear a spot in the river where firemen could see to
periodic flooding, keeping the rink in good condition.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Algoma <i>Record Herald</i> continued to opine about
the need for exercise in adolescent boys while saying there was little
available in Algoma during the winter. The paper again promoted an ice rink in December 1922, then saying a toboggan slide or ski club might serve the purpose that, perhaps,
the businessmen would assist in funding.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The idea was there nearly ten years earlier when in December
1911 city resident George Ziemer built a skating rink near his 6<sup>th</sup>
Street residence. He flooded available land but was waiting for a good freeze. Though
the river had always been a popular skating spot, early storms in 1911 affected
the ice, and Ziemer’s clean, smooth rink had the river ice beat.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When a spell of warm weather spoiled the rink a month later,
Ziemer planned for a new 60 x 100’ square rink that would accommodate even more
skaters. In a winter when the river ice was too rough to offer good skating,
Algoma skaters had Ziemer to thank for winter fun.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When the city finally followed up on the <i>Record Herald’s</i>
suggestion, residents were excited. Not only was Algoma getting a toboggan
slide - a ski jump was also in the works. It all happened on what became known
as the Lake Street hill.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nature provided part of the toboggan chute, and the Chamber
of Commerce did the rest when it had a 10’ scaffold built at the top of the
chute made of boards laid at a 40-degree incline. The tipping platform on the
hill got toboggans on the way. The bottom was packed with clay, which – with
the boards – were iced.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJn9Wk66ZoonL7n1vhSHsiYJ3dnLUyHlsYftxmWunzDPiekfN28QJJVQZz4Uzioy9eJaatHxvyBs8J_xTnVS9KlClnAEqwhd0RYkS_wFkbTOuBokY383HxBVDdclByq6By1niuP2XrlTpaLEs8uO91CMKfs3807qr-qzgVR-Djxui1aed8c-JQ87xwPQ/s1200/Blog%20ice%20skate%20camp%20kitchen.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1194" data-original-width="1200" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJn9Wk66ZoonL7n1vhSHsiYJ3dnLUyHlsYftxmWunzDPiekfN28QJJVQZz4Uzioy9eJaatHxvyBs8J_xTnVS9KlClnAEqwhd0RYkS_wFkbTOuBokY383HxBVDdclByq6By1niuP2XrlTpaLEs8uO91CMKfs3807qr-qzgVR-Djxui1aed8c-JQ87xwPQ/s320/Blog%20ice%20skate%20camp%20kitchen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Riders experienced two bumps – or waves – to speed the sled
along. From the bottom of the chute, the toboggan would keep going until
momentum slowed at the camp kitchen, a distance of about a quarter mile. <span style="font-size: x-small;">The kitchen was in the approximate area of today's fire memorial. The kitchen is the white buildingnext to the road that ran through the Camp Site.</span><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_Hlk111928054">The hill also provided the ski jump.</a>
The base of the hill was leveled to provide the jump, the take-off of
which was just west of the toboggan slide. Since nature provided the hill with
a natural incline, there was a high enough take-off, thus no need to spend
additional money building a tower.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">When the Chamber’s directors
began considering the construction of a ski hill and tobaggan slide, the <i>Record
Herald</i> said it was capitalizing on Algoma’s winter climate. The paper said
neither skiing nor tobagganing were sports for the feint-hearted but demanded
robust, daring, skillful people. The paper felt lawn tennis was harder on the
heart than skiing. It also thought skiing was as thrilling as mountain
climbing, while saying ski-jumping was not an exhausting sport. Not all
agreed. It continued saying tobagganing used muscles and although both sports
provided exercise, they were “mild enough” sports for men, women and children
from 7 to 70.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">The paper which espoused
winter sports was cautioning folks in early January 1925 when the community
eagerly awaited a good snow. It stressed the danger in tabogganing when snow
was rough, saying every bump injured the spine and no matter how much backbone
one had, it wouldn’t take a lot of serious jolts. The community was urged to
hang on for safety sake. Snow was surely coming.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While Algoma’s toboggan slide needed snow at the bottom,
skiing at Krohn’s Lake was good. The landing at Krohn’s was said to be
“difficult,” however it was also said skiers got plenty of exercise climbing
the hill. <span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 107%;">(There were no tows or
lifts.) </span>The paper pointed out that ski <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>jumping on glazed snow took “stout pants or
agility” and those lacking in agility better have some “stout pants.” The paper
did say whether one used skis or trousers in landing, there was no sport as
thrilling and inexpensive as ski jumping.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A week later, snow came bringing weather perfect for
ski-jumping and tobogganing. But, said the <i>Record Herald’s </i>editor, there
was a word of caution to “the fair maidens.” Magazine covers showing beautiful
winter wear weren’t “worth a whoop” outdoors, but “hothouse ladies” found the
beautiful wear sufficient. Winter sports required more than fashionable clothes.
There were more than a few times that the paper let readership know how it felt
about Flappers and those who wore pants, but the paper said pants were
necessary for winter sports, and said those same sports were an invitation to
the “pants-inclined Flappers.” Who could resist winter sports that gave such
women an excuse?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Late in 1925, R.P. Birdsall, Chamber of Commerce secretary,
called for help at the Camp Site to assist in readying the ski hill. Folks were
asked to bring shovels, pails, and sprinklers, and just before Christmas , the <i>Record
Herald</i> thanked the Chamber of Commerce, Nature and the young contractors,
Wulf and Nelson, who made things work. Mentioning another town, the paper said
when that town put away winter, it was just a summer resort with a nice climate
and bathing beaches, welcoming tourists as well as its own citizens. Enjoyment
of winter sports only meant having adequate warm clothing. Winter or summer,
Algoma had it all.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What happened to the toboggan and ski hill? While the ending
is not clear, the winter sports on the hill did not last long, and could have
been a result of relocation of the lake shore road. Because of the hill and
other issues between Alaska and Algoma, the highway – Highway 17 – did not
enter Algoma,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In 1927, Algoma City Council called for cooperation
from Kewaunee County Board in petitioning the state highway commission for the
relocation of Highway 17 to follow the Lake Shore Road and enter Algoma
via the hill. The original and main highway from the south came from Kewaunee
to approximately a mile east of Alaska where it turned north at Cmeyla Corner,
following Longfellow Road to County Highway K before turning north
on Evergreen Road to Fremont St. where it entered Algoma. Early Highway 54
turned north at the old "Fenske School" (</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Pleasant Hill School</span><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">)
to also enter Algoma on Fremont Street.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When the State rebuilt the lake road, it became Highway 42 and
entered Algoma as it does today. Learn more about the highway, see blog post <i>Crescent
Beach: What a View on Highway 42! </i>What is now the Lake Street hill has been
regraded and lowered multiple times in the last 100 years. The hill that
offered residents a natural ski hill and toboggan slide in the 1920s was
dangerous and frightening to descend with a horse and wagon. Skiing and
tobogganing disappeared, however the hill offers the most beautiful lake view
on the western shore of Lake Michigan at any time of year.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sources: <i>Ahnapee Record; Algoma Record Herald; </i>Blogger's post card collection.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p></div>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068836951728316834.post-23548561551248556352022-07-19T14:45:00.001-07:002022-09-01T14:58:11.821-07:00Kewaunee County History: The Devastating Fires of 1886: "Deja Vu All Over Again"<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyM9GqV99rtouifS3zSEmYTjlKJsYasqoTYGRnTxpyz2VacvUvYX7neJyyh2QF09dG28CLnnZTtYNH-uesmNqTsIBT_DFwG-twZsCj7-QTOy7HQhNoyNKxwvvE7n85eOyyeZ9ccBwoVvNenL5WEm1TwoacuEMWvkPj5oRcWmItitn5fBm3KUw1Wej9wg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1160" data-original-width="1102" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyM9GqV99rtouifS3zSEmYTjlKJsYasqoTYGRnTxpyz2VacvUvYX7neJyyh2QF09dG28CLnnZTtYNH-uesmNqTsIBT_DFwG-twZsCj7-QTOy7HQhNoyNKxwvvE7n85eOyyeZ9ccBwoVvNenL5WEm1TwoacuEMWvkPj5oRcWmItitn5fBm3KUw1Wej9wg" width="228" /></a></div><br /> On October 8, 2021, Northeast Wisconsin commemorated the 150<sup>th</sup>
anniversary of the Great Fire, more widely known as the 1871 Peshtigo Fire.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Just two years after the Great Fire, <i>Kewaunee Enterprise</i>
editor, John Read, was warning folks who were again casting caution to the
wind. While farmers were setting their spring pasture fires, fires were
spreading in the woods. Why the pasture fires? Farmers were ridding the ground
of weeds and overgrowth to make it easier for mostly wooden plows to break
ground. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Fifteen years after the Great Fire - August 1886 - fires
were doing inestimable damages in Door and Kewaunee Counties. The fires brought
havoc to farms, destroying fields, homes, and other buildings. Although <i>Ahnapee
Record</i> reported the losses in the thousands, the paper said it didn’t have
all the information. However, one thing was certain: the two counties were
experiencing a major drought. Fires went from bad to worse, and farmers were in
eminent danger. Once again, miles of fences and standing grain burned while
cattle died in smoke and flames. Without a heavy rain, opined the <i>Record, </i>the
fire would be as disastrous, if not more so, as 1871.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In late May, the <i>Enterprise</i> reported that the home
and all contents belonging to Mrs. Ellen Fitzgibbons, about two miles north of
Kewaunee on the Ahnapee Road, was totally destroyed. The fire began in a lower
room while Mrs. Fitzgibbons and her son Pat were in the kitchen. The fire
spread so fast that there was nothing they could do, however, Pat tried to get
upstairs for clothing and other property. Smoke made breathing impossible, and in trying
to open a window, he severed his left wrist artery. Pat and his mother quickly
got to Kewaunee where Dr. Simon was able to dress the life-threatening cut and
take care of Mrs. Fitzgibbons’ badly burned face and hands. The house was
insured for $350, but the total loss was about $600.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On the same date, the Hamachek & Co. foundry and machine
shop at Ahnapee caught fire, narrowly escaping total destruction. The fire
originated when chimney sparks hit the roof. Most machinery had been removed
and damage stood at about $215.00. It was felt business would be up and running
within a short time. A month earlier, fire broke out in the Ahnapee brewery
causing about $1,000 in damages covered by insurance. While the two businesses
had fires within a month, neither seemed to be associated with fires in the
woods. If the drought was a major issue, it was not mentioned.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then, Knipfer’s wagon shop, tools, wagon, buggy, and
seasoned wood were destroyed by fire in August. Fire threatened the place twice before the 12<sup>th</sup> when it burned. On the 5<sup>th</sup> , pails of water saved the place The next time, citizens saved the building,
but the third time was destructive.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was another story when just after the Hamachek fire, word
reached Ahnapee that Ed Decker’s Casco woodenware works and sawmill were
burning down, however, the fire was extinguished and damage was not
significant. Decker was again fortunate. At the time of the Great Fire, his mill
was among the seven sawmills in a line from Scofield’s at Red River to Daul’s
in New Franken, and the one that escaped major damage fifteen years earlier.
Though Decker was lucky, Fred Dickinson of Casco
was forced to flee his residence. Another Casco resident, Joseph Wessley,
lost his barn on the 18<sup>th</sup>. Its contents were saved, however 5,000’ of
lumber burned in a loss estimated to be $400. Fires were jumping around’ </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When folks in Tisch Mills said in June that the soil was
exceptionally dry and a heavy rain would be welcome, they spoke for everyone in
Kewaunee County. The <i>Enterprise </i>concurred saying south and east of Tisch
Mills the fires and damage would be as disastrous as 1871, if not greater.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Fires were raging in Montpelier and to New Denmark and to
the Brown County line. Behind the fire there were only ashes. The<i> Enterprise</i>
referred to the Quenching Fire Society and the Water Tank Association, two
groups made up of “noble” farmers who, the paper said, would live on in
memories as long as residents lived. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A few weeks later, Montpelier farmer S. Hanschak’s home and
contents were destroyed in a nighttime fire. The family woke in time to escape
with their lives and the clothing they were wearing. Being of limited means and
having six children but no insurance, Hanscheks solicitated food and clothing
for the children. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If it was possible, the ground was getting drier while winds
were so strong that resisting the fire was almost in vain. In early July, several
families left their homes to seek shelter elsewhere, feeling if rain didn’t
come soon, everything would be lost. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By the third week of July, Franklin residents were
terrorized having seen nothing but fire and ashes since July 4<sup>th</sup>. It
was said fires were relentless in their destruction. Forest lands belonging to
James DeWane, Fred Long, Joseph Lipse, Peter Wineken, John Wurnekin, M. Lawlor,
H. Houlihan, George Wohen, Fred Berber and many others were either partially or
totally wiped out.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">August did not improve: fires got worse. A Pierce Town farm family
– Grab – had gone to bed before their fire started. It was difficult to escape
without being burned, but the family did. Grabs were another of the poor
families who lost everything.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It wasn’t only Kewaunee County families. On August 12, the <i>Record</i>
told readers that John Mueller of Forestville was away when a fire that had raged
in the woods for several days destroyed his home and its contents before
anybody was aware of the fire. Joseph Bretl was another Forestville resident
who lost his home. It was felt the home was incinerated as flames spread
rapidly when a stiff breeze came up. Clay Banks farmer Caspar Sileny was
another who fell victim to the fire when his barn, four hogs, the hay, and a
field of peas were destroyed. Insurance was expected to cover the $400 loss. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Within a week the paper pointed to burning bridges and
culverts, making some roads impassable. Residents said the smoke was so dense
that the sun was obscured, and that ash and cinders were strewn across the
entire town of Forestville just as in 1871. One hundred years later, the great
Yogi Bera would have said, “It’s déjà vu all over again.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Reports of Bottkol Bros.
losing their Town of Lincoln mill were without foundation, but Lincoln farmer
Martin Kumbers lost everything while helping others. Offering his assistance,
Kumbers left his home to aid neighbors fight the fires. Although fires were not
in evidence around his house when he left, Kumbers returned in the evening to find
the fire had destroyed his home, stables and the cattle in them, the outhouse, and farm machinery. His losses stood at $1000, partially covered by $700 in
insurance. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In West Kewaunee, there were grave concerns for Stransky’s
mill<span style="color: red;">. </span>On August 9, Kewaunee City Council met to allow
Wojta Stransky to use the old fire engine and hose “provided he returns said
engine in case of need.” A large number of men and one of the Kewaunee
fire engines went out to guard the buildings. Although two barns and a granary
were lost, the fire was kept from Stransky’s mill and home.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">West Kewaunee was seeing such fierce flames that Kewaunee
residents went to help fight fires as they did in the Town of Pierce in 1871.
Fred Keup was among the unfortunate when his barn, 23 tons of hay, 20 bushels of
wheat, 10 bushels of rye, an entire crop of peas, his wagon, new harnesses, 5
dressed pigs, all his poultry, granary, and farm machinery were destroyed.
Although Keup was insured for $300, the
loss was estimated at $1,000. W. Nowak of West Kewaunee lost his barn,
hay and fodder while trying to save his horses from the burning barn. He and
his brother were both severely burned. Nowak’s insurance - $700 – was expected
to cover his losses.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A few days later, Kewaunee’s fire company brought out the
new fire engine to wet down buildings in the village. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thirteen farmers were burned out in Montpelier and Luxemburg,
and then George Pachl, treasurer of Farmers’ Home Fire Insurance Co. of
Montpelier, reported 17 losses to his
company. Lorenz Kadletz, Peter Schwiner, John Hallada, Jacob Repitz, John
Murphy, John Kolar, Joseph Wortruba and John Anderele were burned out. Matt
Konop was thought to be fortunate when he “only” lost his barn and some crops. Anton
Mahlik told the <i>Enterprise</i> the forest fires caused damaged buildings,
fences, crops, and timber. He lost two buildings and contents, 8 pigs, and a
quantity of wheat. His store and residence narrowly escaped destruction while a
nearby schoolhouse, District #5, was destroyed.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">John Bucholtz had just finished a new barn before the fire
burned it along with the machinery in it and four hogs. Bucholtz had insurance
to cover the $400 loss. William Kuehl lived a few miles south of Kewaunee. His
home and barn were burned. Joe Pavlat was another who lost his barn, which was
insured. Pavlat buried most of his household goods in an old well before going
to Kewaunee till the fire danger passed. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Town of Franklin was reporting dire conditions in mid-August.
Hot weather and heavy winds brought thousands of dollars of losses to farm
property and standing crops. Its correspondent to the <i>Enterprise </i>felt
that without heavy rains to check progress of the fires, the results would be a
repeat of 1871.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Besides the above, the Franklin correspondent said many other
hamlets were destroyed, however the scribe did not have names of the
unfortunate. During the first two days of the week, it was reported that
terrified farmers and their families went to Kewaunee to get away from danger.
Franklin District #6 school was in danger of burning just as the “Franklin heroes”
arrived in time to save it. Crops were in poor condition when Jacob Selner lost
most of what he had left.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Just over the Kewaunee-Manitowoc County line, there were
major fires between Two Rivers and Two Creeks. The stage driver between the two
places said he saw over 50 teams hauling water to fight the fire, and farmers
were plowing to prevent the spread of fires. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Once again, as it was in 1871, smoke from burning forests
made breathing difficult and odors made folks nauseous. Again, the sun was
nearly blocked out and there was so much smoke on the lakes, blowing fog
whistles was necessary to prevent boats from colliding.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While the county papers
reported on fires within the county, they also reported that fires were worse
in other parts of the state. The Marathon County village of Spencer was nearly
wiped out the day before seven blocks of homes in DePere burned leaving 30
families homeless. There were other fires in Brown County and beyond.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On September 9, 1886, the <i>Enterprise</i> called attention
that leaving home for 30 days negated insurance policies unless the insurance
company gave its written consent.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Insurance scams followed the Great Fire of 1871, and it
appeared that it was happening again when the <i>Door County Advocate</i>
reported in August that St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co. agent John
McClure was in the Door County Towns of Brussels, Union, and Gardner. Company
executives had sent McClure to assess the risk of the insured because of the
forest fires. McClure cancelled 21 policies and adjusted losses of others,
including those of J.P. Kirby’s barn and the loss of O. Dedekar’s (Dedecker’s) farmhouse,
barn, and contents. Both lived in the Town of Brussels. McClure planned to
return within a few weeks to cancel other policies in Door and Kewaunee
Counties.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The droughts of 1871 and 1886 were not the most severe in
Wisconsin. The Dust Bowl Drought, 1931-1939, was the worst in human history. https://www,drought.gov/states/wisconsin tells us, "Since 200, the longest duration of drought (Dl-D4) in Wisconsin lasted 108 weeks beginning on August 26, 2008, and ending on September 14, 2010. The most intense period of drought occurred the week of July 24, 1012, where D3 affected 19.69 of Wisconsin land." </p><p class="MsoNormal">To learn more about droughts, and specifically droughts in Wisconsin, simply Google to find information and maps from the National WEather Service, and other specialized government agencies. One site mentions a mid-west drought in the 1200s, and https://www. Wisconsin history.org says, "Forest fires scorched Wisconsin's landscape in almost every decade in the 19th and 20th centuries. The most serious disasters occurred between 1847 and 1899, with 1871 as the worst year for foret fires in state history. Rapid settlement outpaced the development of controls and safety measures. </p><p class="MsoNormal">To put the victims' 1886 losses in perspective, the CPI Inflation Calculator gives the value of $1,000 from 1886 to 2002 saying, "$1,000 in 1886 is equivalent in purchasing power to <b>about</b> $31,522.45 today, an increase of $30,522.45 over 136 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 2.57% per year between 1886 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 3,052.24%." </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirACTf3zd9Y7LUrjA2DHcTksAU_S3jTDJd68GVgxxYzR9KVlD1ZMnPRt1u6OGL5e75IsQgALUvxnpnpg4FsMtVv6DkC8nMbKufvovysxAxvl9ohJRVA5egjGq0kYHpOKWfwQnu8V9yUsaXm5ridxB-C5AAqyI5el0-6IXJLWeHyISUTG6YyPYFmxbZTg/s1384/Blog%201886%20fire%20truck.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="1384" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirACTf3zd9Y7LUrjA2DHcTksAU_S3jTDJd68GVgxxYzR9KVlD1ZMnPRt1u6OGL5e75IsQgALUvxnpnpg4FsMtVv6DkC8nMbKufvovysxAxvl9ohJRVA5egjGq0kYHpOKWfwQnu8V9yUsaXm5ridxB-C5AAqyI5el0-6IXJLWeHyISUTG6YyPYFmxbZTg/w483-h223/Blog%201886%20fire%20truck.jpg" width="483" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ahnapee's original fire pumper was positioned next to the Dug Out when this picture was taken by an Algoma Record Herald photographer. The pumper was spruced up over the years and kept in condition for parades. In 1950, the Record Herald captured a shot of firemen pulling the pumper. In its day, horses would have done the pulling and a hose would have been stretched to the river or to the lake, if possible, The lamplighter/bridge tender was generally the man responsible for keeping the hole in the Ahnapee River ice to make sure there was a water access for a downtown fire.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-ai20E3uUvoBuzIG6Q4doKQJKWthcGNCifHvfb9MTZu5-O_ik9seQRQm_XbpSHZbxwpkivHGWVr4hvxjJ-A4TwOUyoHtsGUdmbiK5aqgq7bP6OqehfPrMhbjQMN7ofHQ7Lv1_dey0Y_IcxkB_MzwN6Gd7koKXK1jtQrdUOLl6nY9jdaPI4ejOr-fdw/s842/Blog%20fire%20hand%20pumper%20in%20parade%201950.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="842" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-ai20E3uUvoBuzIG6Q4doKQJKWthcGNCifHvfb9MTZu5-O_ik9seQRQm_XbpSHZbxwpkivHGWVr4hvxjJ-A4TwOUyoHtsGUdmbiK5aqgq7bP6OqehfPrMhbjQMN7ofHQ7Lv1_dey0Y_IcxkB_MzwN6Gd7koKXK1jtQrdUOLl6nY9jdaPI4ejOr-fdw/w436-h288/Blog%20fire%20hand%20pumper%20in%20parade%201950.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On December 8, 1933, Algoma Record ran an article about Kewaunee's old pumper, saying that while its history spanned over 100 years, the pumper stood in Firemane's Park where it was exposed to the element. The paper called for preservation and possible exhibition at the fairgrounds when it said the pumper was a relic and unlikely another existed. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The photo of the old pumper was taken from a postcard sent in 1906.</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #202124; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">Sources:
<i>Ahnapee Record</i>, CPI Inflation Calculator, <i>Door County Advocate,
Kewaunee Enterprise</i>; </span><a href="https://www.drought.gov/states/wisconsin"><span style="color: black; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%; text-decoration-line: none;">https://www.drought.gov/states/wisconsin</span></a><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">;
</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #202124; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">https://www.Wisconsinhistory.org</span><span style="color: #202124; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p><p></p>HistoryLady1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03283446473921836944noreply@blogger.com0