Slab Town and the South Branch of the Ahnapee River

South Branch of the Ahnapee about 1915

Over 130 years ago, the area along the South Branch of the Ahnapee was referred to as Slab Town. Hall’s Mill on the South Branch began operation in the 1850s and eventually the chair factory, the broom factory and other short-lived businesses operated in the same area. It was said that as far as one could see up and down the river were piles of logs or lumber awaiting shipping. Mill owners as far upriver as Forestville pitched slabs, sawdust and waste into the river, a situation addressed as early as the first editions of the Ahnapee Record in 1873. The paper's editors were 16 year old George Wing and 17 year old Charles Borgman, boys ahead of their time. They’d surely never heard of pollution, but they recognized it when they saw it!

Plumbers on left bank - Plywood on right bank

By 1892 Mel Perry returned to town and, with money from community stockholders, organized the veneer factory. Known locally as The Veneer and Seating Plant, The Panel, The Plywood and now as Algoma Hardwoods, the facility has had a storied history and has always been a major city employer. About the same time that Perry went into business, Sam Newman opened his toilet seat factory across the South Branch. For most of 100 years, the factories operated in the shadow of the other.

In the early days, the Ahnapee River was deep enough to allow schooner traffic, and Newman's lumber came via his own vessel. At one point, the Veneer plant was allowed to dam a portion of the river. Whatever happened is unclear, but the damming prompted vandalism to the dam, which was built in such a fashion that neither fish nor smaller boats were prevented from going upriver.

Before 1940, most employees of both plants were men, though clerical positions were often filled by unmarried women. With the advent of World War ll, things changed dramatically. Women had worked alongside their husbands on farms, in grocery stores and other family businesses. Women had been employed in the textile factories of the northeast well before the turn of the century and in the breweries of Milwaukee following the heavy German immigration to Wisconsin, but women in manufacturing positions in Algoma, Wisconsin, were largely unknown.

A 1912 Veneer and Seating Plant 20th anniversary photo shows the 108 employees, who were given white canes and hats for the picture. Lydia Overbeck, the only woman in the picture, was sitting in a carriage with Edgar Parker. Another picture, dated 1915, shows 75 employees, all men. Just three female office employees were the women on a photo as late as 1937. Then, on May 9, 1941, Esther Rosengren was recognized. She was the only woman of the 38 employees who had served 20 years. By then, the winds of war were blowing and the employment of women in Algoma’s U.S. Plywood manufacturing positions was about to change.

Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the drafting and enlistment of Algoma's men, and defense contracts, women were hired in manufacturing positions for the first time in the Plywood's history. Area women were thrust into positions they would not have accepted in normal times. Married women, especially those with children, did not work outside the home and few single women desired employment in a "plan." However, this was war. Seventy years later, young people would find it difficult to understand words such as "duty," "commitment" and "pull together" as they applied to the early 1940s.

An August 28, 1942 Record Herald editorial encouraged those seeking employment to take positions in Algoma to help the war effort rather than going to the shipyards. The article pointed out that Algoma's industries could return to peacetime work, thus offering some job security. An editorial on October 10, 1942 pointed out that all four of Algoma's manufacturing plants were engaged in either "war work or work vital to the prosecution of the war" and "not a single plant was working on non-essentials." The editorial continued saying that while Selective Service had taken many of the area's men and would take many more, women were responding and filling the men's places. The editorial view was that the city was "going to have to pay" in directing every effort to doing its part to win the war. 

 

Women in the office usually worked an eight-hour day, putting in overtime for quarterly inventories. Normal production hours were 7:00 - 5:00, five days a week, plus 7:00 to noon on Saturdays. Sometimes those working in the boat works put in additional hours. Working married women were still responsible for the all the household chores they would have been doing during peacetime. Women whose husbands had not been drafted did not expect them to help with the household work.  Farm women had additional chores before and after work. Millie Nimmer was among those who would schedule her week of vacation during haying.


Most of the women at the Plywood worked in the "boat works." Boat hulls manufactured during the war were light landing craft for water that was not too deep.  Few realized the Army boat hulls were among the largest and most complicated pieces of plywood being made in the U.S. The PT boat carrying General Douglas MacArthur from the Bataan Peninsula to Australia was constructed using materials manufactured at Algoma Plywood. Molded plywood shells were converted into hulls for Coast Guard patrol boats. One such hull built for the Army was hung from the ceiling for a display at the 15th anniversary of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

In August 1943 the Algoma Record Herald reported that five Japanese planes had been shot out of the air over Guadalcanal by Lt. Murray Shubin flying a Lockheed P-38 Lightening plane for which Algoma Plywood supplied parts. The article pointed out that not only was it a red-letter day for Lt. Shubin, but also for the Algoma Plywood. The workers received a pat on the back in a telegram from the assistant chief of the Army's Air Force staff, Major General Giles. In his telegram, he praised those on the production line who "had done your work exceedingly well and I thought you would like to know it." 

A September 1944 Weldwood News article mentioned the July production rally. Eight-hundred Algoma Plywood employees attended the rally "to rededicate ourselves as free citizens to an all-out effort to produce war material so vitally needed by our Armed forces."  Lt. Com. J.F. McEndry, the Naval officer in charge of the program, emphasized not letting down and keeping up an all-out effort. He said the employees were working for the Navy just as "we are” and their efforts were needed to insure victory.

A Century of Quality Woodworking; 1892-1992 Algoma Hardwoods indicates that before the women came into the plant, it was stripped of its "calendars and other pictures," but according to the women interviewed for Women of the Plywood: The World War ll Years, they were accepted. They felt that sexual harassment, as it was known in the mid-1990s, did not exist until after the war when the men started coming home. As the men returned, most of the women who had taken their jobs were laid off. A few women remained until the boat works was sold to Wagemaker of Michigan, quitting at that point rather than relocating.

Women responding to the war employment call helped pave the way for women of the future. The October 2, 1942, Record Herald editorial was ahead of its time when writing that Algoma citizens thought about the future of industrial and employment opportunities in order that there be a continued "diversity and balance in industry when the war is over and the peace treaty is signed.”

There is much, much more to the mills, shipping, pollution, women in the workforce and the two companies that put Algoma on the map over 100 years ago. It all began in a small area nicknamed "Slab Town."


Sources: An-An-api-sebe: Where is the River?, Women of the Plywood: The World War ll Years, A Century of Quality Woodworking; 1892-1992 Algoma Hardwoods, Commercial History of Algoma, WI, and the microfilmed files of Ahnapee Record/Algoma Record Herald, all of which can be found at Algoma Public Library. Weldwood News and postcards are in the blogger's files.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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November 11: Kewaunee County Veterans

Today we pay tribute to our country's veterans. Kewaunee County's first veteran was Major Joseph McCormick, a veteran of the War of 1812. McCormick is buried at Algoma's Evergreen Cemetery.

Stories told by Indians aroused the curiosity of  Manitowoc resident McCormick who in 1834 visited what is now Algoma to observe the area and locate lands. He and his companions sailed up the, now Ahnapee River - so much wider and deeper in those days - to present day Forestville. They were impressed by the thick cedar and hemlock along the slow moving river and by the hardwood and pines on higher ground. Although the men told stories of fertile soil and abundant game in the beautifully timbered area, it too 17 years for the first settlers to arrive.

Scots-Irish Joseph McCormick was born in Pennsylvania in 1787. He was an expert river pilot who ran lumber from New York to the Chesapeake Bay. After serving in the War of 1812, he went to Indiana and then Manitowoc. At 84, he was the oldest (at that time) person ever elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 1870. When he was 87, the Enterprise said he was "just as fresh and vigorous on public matters as he was 50 years ago." McCormick died in 1875.

Nine years after Kewaunee became a county, the Civil War broke out. When the war was over, of the 408 Kewaunee County men who served, 65 (13%) died. Almost twice as many died of disease than were killed in battle. Many were buried where they fell. Most of the Civil War veterans in Kewaunee County cemeteries are identified by the Civil War marker on the grave site or attached to the stone. Following the Civil War, county residents planned a memorial in honor of those who served. By the time the memorial was erected in front of the courthouse, the U.S. had fought a new war and the monument was also dedicated to those who had served in the Spanish-American War

Looking at the draft lists, it appears that about 1,200 county men were eligible for duty in World War l. A little more than half that number served in “the war to end all wars,” but then came World War ll. Just as the Civil War and World War l before it, just about every family in the county was affected. It wasn't long before Korea, and then Vietnam. There were actions in Somalia, Grenada and wars in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan. Kewaunee County residents have always served.

 

 

Last year Wisconsin Public Radio joined the effort to find a photo for each of the 1,244 Wisconsinites listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington D.C.  This blogger was asked to join one of the "A Face for Every Name" project workshops. WPR's Jeffrey Potter just emailed the group saying, "As of September, more than 700 photos have been found, including more than 115 in the past year!  While we're proud of that progress, there are more than 400 photos remaining to be found in locations throughout the state.  Some communities, like Milwaukee, are missing more than 100 photos.  But others, like Racine, Eau Claire and Appleton are just missing a handful of images." Jeffery went on to say, "We need your help.  We're hoping that you will help us spread the word and sign up to search for photos in your community and around the state.  This summer, we worked with our partners to develop a strategy that would minimize confusion and anxiety for families and friends who lost loved ones in the war.

Coordinating efforts statewide.  We have a master list from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) in Washington D.C. and our regional manager in Green Bay, Ellen Clark, is coordinating efforts statewide.  She can help you find names and details for those who still need a photo associated with their name.  We are also coordinating our efforts with Don Jones, a Vietnam War veteran who is working on the project through Wisconsin Public Television.  Don is well networked with veterans organizations statewide."

WPR updated their webpage: wpr.org/veterans.  

As Potter said, "We are committed to finding a photo for every single Wisconsinite listed on the Wall.  We can't do this without your help and you won't have to do it without ours.  Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television, WUWM and Milwaukee Public Television are working together to support this effort."

If you'd like to see the "virtual wall" or find out what's going on, check the web links. There are ways to help and to be informed.

All photos were taken at the Evergreen Cemetery in Algoma and are courtesy of T. Duescher.

Information on McCormick comes from An-An-api-sebe: Where is the River? Note: Door County historian Hjalmar Holand wrote in his History of Door Co., the County Beautiful, that McCormick was given the rank of Major in the war with Mexico. If McCormick was just under 90 when he died, he would have been about 60 when the Mexican War began in 1846, which seems impossible.

Kewaunee County Men: Co. E, 14th Wisconsin and Vicksburg

Control of the Mississippi River was vital to the federal government from the very beginnings of the Civil War. Control ensured transportation of men and supplies. Control also meant isolating sections of the Confederacy, which had fortifications along the river to make sure it didn't happen. One such fortification was at Vicksburg, a city high on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. Bayous and swamps offered more protection. If the Civil War had started 15 years later, outcomes might have been different. During the 1870s the course of the river changed somewhat, moving away from the city.

That Vicksburg would fall was unlikely in the eyes of its residents whose food supply was eventually so reduced that many ate rats. It would later be written that residents missed dogs and mules. It wasn't hard to imagine what happened to them. President Abraham Lincoln felt a victory at Vicksburg would end the war, and General U.S. Grant expected to open the river.

For most of five months, in one battle after another - at places such as Port Gibson, Jackson, Champion Hill and Big Black River Bridge - Grant was squeezing General John Pemberton's Confederate army at Vicksburg. The first two attacks on Vicksburg itself were repelled and the loss of men was staggering. Finally Grant laid siege, trenching into the hills around and under the city. Pemberton's soldiers could hear, and even feel, Grant's men under them, but it was hard to know exactly where they were. On July 4, 1863, Pemberton surrendered the city. That followed General Robert E. Lee's defeat at Gettysburg a day or two earlier.

Co. E., 14th Wisconsin saw plenty of action in the campaign. Sergeant Major John M. Read of Kewaunee appears to have been the county's highest ranking officer.  Also ranking was Commissary Sergeant Hanford Smith, who had received the promotion following the Battle of Shiloh.

Banners waved and handkerchiefs fluttered as the Kewaunee County boys of Co. E boarded the Comet  on October 12, 1861. In the group was William I. Henry who rose in the ranks. Oliver Rouse was chosen sergeant and Julius  Wintermeyer as corporal by the men before they left that day. Matt Perry, who fifed The Girl I Left Behind Me as the Ahnapee band led the send-off for the men, continued playing as the 14th's musician.

By war's end, Read was serving as Adjutant, but to whom is unclear. Read served as an officer in Kewaunee's G.A.R. Post which was later renamed in his honor as John M. Read Post. Wintermeyer was recruited in Ahnapee by Manitowoc's Lt. Waldo who was killed at Shiloh. Rouse was known to be in Kewaunee County as early as 1859 when he witnessed Benoni Boutin's Naturalization. Rouse became an officer for a company of colored troops, something of a distinction at the time. He returned to farming after the war.

Smith, known to friends as Hamp, had originally come to Wolf River from New York to take charge of Abraham Hall's store, later purchasing an interest in it. When Hamp took the news about the firing on Fort Sumter to Hall's Mill that April day, he surely could not have foreseen that by mid-October he would be one of the 36 Ahnapee and Kewaunee men to join the Manitowoc and Kewaunee Rifles, later known as Co. E.

As many others, Smith carried with him a gilt-edged pocket bible that was printed in 1853. When he mustered out on August 5, 1865, he did not have his bible. Feeling it was either lost or stolen during the Battle of Nashville, Smith knew he would never see it again. But something strange happened. Nearly 50 years later Hamp's bible and other things were given to a Kentucky woman following the death of her uncle. Hamp's name was on the flyleaf and when a newspaper article appeared in 1913, his relatives saw it. The bible made its way back to Smith, who was by then living in Nebraska.

Perry was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, in 1836 and arrived at Wolf River in the 1850s, going almost immediately to what would become Forestville. He enlisted for a three month stint right after Fort Sumter and then reenlisted and served till the end of the war when he participated in the Grand Review at Washington, D.C. Perry, who was with Grant at Vicksburg, was with Sherman in the march-to-the-sea.

William I. Henry was 41 years old when he enlisted as a private and was one of the Ahnapee men who marched with Sherman on the famous march to the sea. It was said the 14th did such a fine job at Shiloh "due to the grizzled old fisherman from Wolf River." It was also said Henry was a dour Scotsman who knew what had to be done and did it. Apparently Henry did not realize that his advances and retreats were silently directing his comrades in battle. His leadership was recognized. Henry was the county's most distinguished soldier, advancing to the rank of Major. Henry and his men served with distinction not only at Shiloh, but also at Corinth and Vicksburg.

The men of Co. E were in Camp Wood at Fond du Lac until leaving for Chicago in March 1862.  There they were met at the depot by Ellsworth's Zouaves and a regiment of U.S. regulars for a parade through the streets. Then they left for St. Louis and the front. George A. Hartman wrote the Enterprize telling about the parade and the 14th, which he felt was superior to anything he had seen in Chicago. He went on to say he saw such familiar faces as Andreas and Tucker Eveland, John and Michael Lovel, teacher Charles Brown, Andrew Sloggy, Julius Laviuski, Smith and others. Sloggy and Smith superintended the cooking for Co. E prompting another letter to the Enterprize saying the men had the requisites for running a hotel.

Of the original men, Sam Stone was sent home to recruit only to return and be shot at Vicksburg. He survived but was called a physical wreck. Ahnapee's Maurice VanDoozer was wounded and later shot in the head and killed while taking a chew of tobacco. Samuel Gokie survived Vicksburg and Shiloh where he was wounded. Two years later, he died in a tragic fire while in the Kewaunee jail, apparently being locked up for what was called insanity. Gokie set the fire that killed him. Another time, such a mental state was called "shell shock." William Herring and Christian Haugens were wounded at Vicksburg. Neither Herring, Haugens nor Sloggy seem to appear in county histories after mustering out in 1865. Herring was in Wolf River as early as 1856 when he appears on a poll list. As for Charles Brown, there were those who felt he showed a "white feather" while laying behind a log at Shiloh. Sandy Bay resident James Flynn became a part of Co. D, 6th Wisconsin. Then he was transferred to Porter's mortar fleet on the Mississippi and fired the only shot at the rebel ram Tennessee when it ran the Union batteries at Vicksburg. Flynn never recovered from injuries received while raising the gun.

The Civil War was not over and the men of Co. E went on to more battles. Wisconsin's mascot, the eagle called Old Abe, is perched atop the Wisconsin obelisk at Vicksburg Military Park, paying tribute to the men of the state who fought there. This inscription is found on the monument dedicated in 1911.

There were many other Kewaunee County men at Vicksburg and all of them appear on the monument. Following are only the men of Co. E, 14th Wisconsin and spellings of names are not always the most widely accepted spelling.

John Barnard, Nick Bregger, Burrell Day, Oresmus Dill, Myron Dill, Nelson Dill, Daniel Eveland, William Fagg, George Flannagen, William Flinn, Samuel Gokie, John Gurdane, Christian Haugens, William Herring, Patrick Hogan, Thomas Laulaa, Jack Lee, Robert Lee, John Looze, Charles McAllister, Michael McDonald, Anthony, McNulty, Henry Meverdan, Henry Meikel, George Monroe, Amon Moore, Joseph Moore, James Murphy, William Nelson, William Poranto, George Preston, Andrew Sloggy, Peter Stadler, Andrew Tufts, Martin Tyler, Chas Van Gott, Peter Walker, Joel Whitcomb, Jacob Williams.

Note: Elmer Ellsworth formed Ellsworth Zouaves, a nationally famous Civil War unit, modeled on French colonial troops. Ellsworth studied law with Abraham Lincon in Springfield and campaigned for him in 1860. Following the outbreak of the Civil War, Ellsworth formed the unit but didn't live to see what would happen with it. Ellsworth was shot in May 1861 in Virginia, across the river from Washington, D.C., and was brought to lie in state in the East Room of the White House.

Information comes from An-An-api-sebe: Where is the River?, www.militaryindexes.com/civilwar, Ahnapee Record and Kewaunee Enterprise. All photos were taken by the author. Kewaunee Enterprise originated as Kewaunee Enterprize.

Door-Kewaunee County College: The Normal School

A normal school?  Is there such a thing?  An Act of 1865 allowed Wisconsin to create normal schools as teacher training facilities. County Teacher Training Schools came about at the turn of the 20^th century and were renamed County Rural Normal Schools in 1923. The jokes followed.

One-year teacher training courses for the common, or rural, schools were offered in local high schools when county normal schools were established by an 1899 Act of the Legislature. A few years later, a 2-year course was standard in the county schools, which the U.S. Office of Education classed as junior colleges. County normal schools were the only tax supported schools to focus specifically on the training of teachers. Normal schools supplied the rural school districts, and laboratory schools were at the center of student teaching. College students put learning into practice immediately while under close supervision in the lab schools. By 1918, Door-Kewaunee County Normal School was distinctive. Of Wisconsin’s 30 county normal schools, it was the only school jointly operated by two county boards.

Local normal schools trained teachers for their students’ lives.  The majority of rural students stayed in their local area where their life’s work revolved around farming. It was felt that rural schools should fit country life just as a city child was trained for urban community needs. It was also felt that since many rural teachers came from the city, they needed training to adapt to rural life. Teachers in rural areas were expected to understand rural life and be in sympathy with it while becoming members of the community in which they taught, rather than merely being contracted workers.

Algoma was most centrally located to serve both counties and its railroad service meant dependable transportation. When the school opened in September 1908, there were 52 students. Nine others were turned away due to lack of space as classes were held on the second floor of the building then housing Algoma High School. Students of both counties were able to attend school free of tuition, a boon to those with limited resources.  It was not long before a self-contained school opened at the southwest corner of 4^th and Fremont Streets in Algoma.  The building had been constructed in the late 1870s as the short-lived Ahnapee Baptist Church before being remodeled as the Enola House. It was used as a furniture store and implement shop before being used as the school. 

In 1922, the Busse home to the west was purchased for use as a dormitory.

A year later the joint board decided the needs of female students would be better met with the construction of a new dormitory. D-K’s new dorm was thought to be modern, well equipped and comfortable with its steam heat, hot and cold running water and bathtubs. There was a well stocked library. A large basement provided space for manual training, agriculture and a playroom. That dorm now serves as the City of Algoma’s offices.

Entrance requirements were far different than today’s expectations. Initially students needed to have an 8^th grade education to enter without taking an entrance exam. After 1921, students who had never before taught were required to be high school graduates and have one year of teacher training. 1918 was the last year 8^th grade graduates could take the course and be qualified before the 1921 rule was in effect.

Eventually renamed as Door-Kewaunee County College, the school did the job it was charged to do. Despite being designed as a school for teacher training only, Door-Kewaunee Normal School offered a chance for furthering an education and many made use of the opportunity.

Herb Foshion, who gave so much to Algoma and the surrounding area, was a 1916 graduate. Foshion went on to school and became a physician. Seeing the need for a hospital, he established Algoma’s first in 1928 on Mill Street. Foshion was interested in flying and maintained a plane and a hanger at Algoma’s airfield, along the lake in the approximate vicinity of today’s Highway S and Arlington Street.  Foshion’s wife Pearl Dewaerzeggers graduated the following year. She went on to advocate the chronicling of Algoma’s history. As a member of the Women’s Club, she worked to that effort.

Bill Albrecht, who led Algoma High School’s baseball team to state fame in 1937, was a 1922 D-K athletic standout when the Bugler - the school’s yearbook - noted that he was captain of both the football and baseball team. He played basketball.  Albrecht’s 1937 team took second in the state, but the team was first in the hearts of residents for a generation. Bill’s son Jeff found Algoma’s trophy following his dad’s death. It was returned to Algoma and, during a reception, presented to Dennis Sell, who facilitated the return, and George Miller who accepted it on behalf of Algoma. The trophy was displayed in the collection of Kewaunee County Historical Society Research Center at 319 Steele St., Algoma.

 Further information can be found in D-K yearbooks, Algoma Record Herald, The Monograph, c. 1972, and at the ARC-UW-GB. Postcards and photo are from the author's collection.

After being destroyed by fire in the late 1930s, a new facility was constructed on the site. Both the college and dorm were photographed for the 1960 postcard at the top of this narrative. Today the former college houses Algoma Library while the dorm is the site of Algoma's city offices. The site has been designated by Kewaunee County Historical Society as one of the county's historic sites and craftsman Henry Diefenbach's unique miniature stone buildings enhance the circular sidewalk area in front of the library.

Algoma Boat Club and the Founding of the Rescue Squad

The recent death of Algoma's Jackie Jorgenson marked the end of an era. Christened John, Jackie was the son of Blackjack Jorgenson, an original member of Algoma's Boat Club.

Recreational boating was still in its infancy when Syd Holub, George Hudson and Maynard Feld were talking in the Feld driveway one 1948 day. By the time Holub and Hudson left, the idea of a boating club was born.

First meetings were held upstairs in an old barn behind what is now Algoma Sewing Center. A short time later, when Foxy Kashik and his brother Cuts joined the fledgling group, meetings were held above Kashik's Meat Market at 222 Steele Street, now the site of Harmann's Studios. Just before Christmas 1950, the men of the newly organized Boat Club offered a vote of thanks to the Kashiks for the use of their facility as an early meeting place.

At 21, Jackie Jorgenson was the youngest when he accompanied his dad to the meetings at Kashik's, which was about the same time that Skinny Henry and the Laurents - Johnny and Al - joined the club. Those men, Frank Golotka, Frank Tiedtke, George Thomas, Pat Patzlaff and Stan Fitscher talked about the need for a clubhouse. But where?

Dutch Detjen and Maynard Feld owned a boathouse on the south side of the Ahnapee River immediately west of the 4th Street Bridge. Just after World War ll, Dutch and Maynard were two of the few men in Algoma with recreational boats, rather than commercial fishing boats. By 1949, the men had decided to use the 16' x 16' boathouse (left) as a club house. The boathouse - four walls and a roof - was moved farther west to Charles Schmitt's land adjacent to the river, behind the Farrell Lumber Co. A club house became a reality. Access was provided to the west off the south side of 4th Street just before passing over the bridge.

It was not until Fall 1954 that Schmitt's company was paid a land rental. Six months after John Schmitt was named an honorary member, negotiations began with Farrell for the purchase of adjacent land. The desired pie-shaped piece was not to exceed $850 plus legal fees for the affairs handled by attorneys George Miller and S. Dean Pies.

Most original club members were employed at U.S. Plywood and when a new clubhouse was built in 1955, the beautiful and exotic woods were purchased from the Plywood, ensuring that the new building was a showcase of and a tribute to the exceptional products manufactured at the Algoma company.

Though the club was a social organization formed to promote recreational boating, its members were community oriented. Working together, the men promoted and supported Algoma while effecting positive change.

When the Youth Club organized the Variety Show, Prof Cmeyla and Skinny Henry entered a skit. When Algoma had a Home Show at the Dug-Out, the club advertised with signage and offered drawings for free boat race tickets. Community Chest received Boat Club support as did the 1952 centennial parade, Christmas and other parades. The club supported a drive to get new uniforms for the men of Algoma Fire Department and encouraged other community organizations to support their efforts. The men encouraged voting and assisted at the polls on Election Day.

Algoma residents had fun and vied for a savings bond prize when the Boat Club ran a contest predicting the date and time at which the ice would go out on the Ahnapee River. Ralph Detjen built a plywood penguin and club members rigged a raft with a flag and clock to be set in place near "the bend," the area now known as Olson Park. When the ice went out, the clock dropped and stopped.

When Edgar Nell organized a dance benefiting the American Heart Club, the club supported John Laurent's daughter Pat as a queen candidate. When funds were being raised to remodel the Youth Club, the Boat Club responded. March of Dimes was the recipient of profits from a venison lunch. Cerebral Palsy was also supported and Algoma and Hunting and Fishing Club was among the organizations borrowing the club's bar, tables and chairs. Supplies were furnished for the children in county's special education school at Rio Creek and ring buoys were purchased for safety at Krohn's Lake. Even the animals were not forgotten. Funds were designated for planting seed upriver to provide food for waterfowl. The Coast Guard was often recognized and receipts from a Christmas party were donated to the Coast Guards' Dependent's Fund. When the club bought a pram in 1965, the Boating Education Committee set up rules for use. Safety materials were always furnished. The club sponsored the Explorer Scouts, Post 612 of the Boy Scouts of America and allowed the Sea Scout boat to tie up at the Boat Club dock. Then the club offered winter storage.

Blackjack Jorgenson represented the Boat Club at a county board meeting that was considering the 1955 opening of Krohn's Lake, a project favored by the public. Urging the city to back the bill for deepening the channel completing the St. Lawrence Seaway project, letters were written to Algoma's Harbor Commission as well as to, then. Senator Joseph McCarthy and 8th District Congressman John Byrnes.

Programs provided for membership education. Bob Runke taught artificial resuscitation and Ed Wells presented programs on Indian relics and Wisconsin lore. Safety and boat handling were always issues of importance. Green Bay Power Squadron presented ten week classes and there were trips that were educational as well as social.

Algoma Boat Club's most lasting contribution came following suggestions from Coroner Buckshot Cherovosky and Sheriff Hogan Kuehl that the club organize a rescue squad. At its 9-year anniversary in 1965, Mayor Art Dettman noted that rescue squad appropriations received less criticism than any other city department. As early as 1958, the club voted to loan the Rescue Squad money for a boat and trailer if the city refused to provide the funds.

Built in Maynard Feld's workshop with materials obtained from him at reduced prices, the launch was christened Clarice Ann in honor of Feld's wife and daughters. The hull, from Cruiser Inc. of Oconto, was built of 3/8" lap strake fir plywood over oak framing, put together with brass screws and bolts. The 19' boat had a teak wood forward deck and a 7' 2" beam with a high freeboard for safety in rough water. Equipped with an automatic bailer, the Coast Guard-registered boat was powered with a 40 h.p. outboard motor mounted on a bracket allowing extra freeboard on the stern to provide for shorter turns. Future plans included an extra motor in the event of trouble in the first engine.

Gordon Mercer emceed the September 1958 christening ceremonies at the Boat Club ramp along the Ahnapee River at the rear of Farrell Lumber Co.  Mayor Dick DeGuelle was among the dignitaries in attendance. The Friday christening kickoff  preceded a benefit dance held at Kolstad's Hall in Kodan that evening. Funds were raised to provide additional equipment for the active squad, which numbered 36 men. During that first year of operation, when low water was a significant problem, Boat Club members marked stones and rocks that were a threat in the riverbed.

An inboard cruiser from the Chicago area was about a mile offshore north of Algoma in August 1966 when the boat hit a rock and began sinking. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Muench saw the flares and called the Coast Guard, which in turn called the Rescue Squad because it had a boat. Night was approaching and the cruiser had run out of flares. By the time the squad arrived, the four boaters were huddled on top the cabin, the only part of the 25' boat above water. Commercial fisherman Toot Wenniger sent two of his pond boats to salvage the cruiser and tow it to Algoma Marine, Inc.  The rescue brought praise in an Algoma Record Herald editorial, however it bothered the editor that Algoma had a boatless Coast Guard staff, thus necessitating that rescue operations were left to civilians.

It wasn't only water rescue. In October 1858, the men assisted in the search of a Kodan woods after two young hunters found a human skull. A few years later, tribute was paid to Jackie Jorgenson whose squad training saved a fellow employee at Algoma Plywood. Business leaders were receiving training using a mannequin when the newspaper too this 1956 photo. Mayor Art Dettman is 3rd from the left.

Throughout its 50 plus year history, the Boat Club has reflected the ideals of its membership. Original members would no doubt shake their heads in astonishment, stunned to know what their efforts accomplished. Jackie said, "It is a story that needs to be told." However, the full story will never be known. It is neither in the sketchy minutes nor in press releases. It is buried in the hearts of the original men who shared a vision.

During Summer 2012, a monument dedicated to the men of the fire and rescue squads was built on the bluff along Crescent Beach. Names of many who served since 1873 are engraved on the granite panels making up the monument, but few of the Rescue Squads' original members are recognized. In 1956, the men gave generously of their time and monetarily underwrote the beginnings of Algoma Rescue Squad. They've been forgotten by the community for which they did so much, however they live on in The History of Algoma Boat Club, c. 2005, and the microfilmed files of Algoma Record Herald found in Algoma Public Library.

Information and pictures are taken from the above referenced history and are used with permission. Undated newspaper clippings come from private collections but, no doubt, originated in the Record Herald. Helmet and insignia in the author's collection.

Algoma has been called a place of nicknames. The baptismal names follow what some would call the men's real names. Jackie Jorgenson, John; Blackjack Jorgenson, Virgil; Foxy Kashik, Leon; Cutz Kashik, Urban; Skinny Henry, Charles; Pat Patzlaff, Erwin; Dutch Detjen, Wilfred; Prof Cmeyla, Quentin.

Wolf River, Ahnapee and School District #2

Feeling their daughter Harriet needed to be educated, Orin and Jane Bennett Warner sent her to school in Kewaunee. It was 1854 and Harriet was 12. The teacher was ill, school was delayed, Harriet was lonesome for her home at Wolf River, and her father went to get her.

Wisconsin's Constitution required each township to set aside land for public schools, however there weren't any public schools in 1855 Kewaunee County. Within four years, the county had 30 organized districts. Laws governing the county superintendent, enacted in 1861, held each town responsible for the students within its jurisdiction. Six years later - 1867 - Kewaunee Co. had 47 school districts with 45 teachers employed. At the time, the school census revealed 3,140 children between 4 and 20, 1,886 of whom were actually attending school.

Accounts of Wolf River schools differ. It is written that Wolf River's first public school was founded in 1855 in a little frame building on the north side of the river, near the site that would become Irving School at the approximate intersection of today's Church and Arlington Streets. Mrs. Sanborn, a Door County widow, was the teacher in the school that had 10 - 15 pupils. It is also written that Miss Irene Yates was the first teacher in a little log shanty on the south side of the river in 1856. Though other accounts say the north side school was not a public school, Mrs. Sanborn taught nearly all the children on the "Canada" side of the river.

What is certain is that what became District #2 had its first recorded meeting on September 27, 1858. Math Simon was voted in as clerk for one year. Treasurer Orin Warner won a 2 year term while William VanDoozer was voted a director for 3 years. District #2 raised $200 for the 1858-59 school year and again in 1859. The board generally met once a year to transact all business. After raising $200 two years in a row, the board voted to raise $100 for 1860. Funds were earmarked for the teacher's salary and for lath and plaster for the school house.

By 1861 the board called for 3 month winter and summer terms. Spring and fall were devoted to planting and harvesting. That year, $60 was allotted for wages, $40 for repairs and $6 for wood that was to be delivered. A year later, though wages remained the same, wood went up a dollar and the school year was increased to 7 months.

During the Civil War, in 1863, the board wanted a female teacher and raised $140 for the salary which covered the school year that was increased to 10 months. Just a year later, the school year was again restructured into winter and summer terms of 4 months each. The board again wanted to hire a female, this time noting "like Miss Startern" or "some other good person." By then Caspar Zimmermann was paid $12 to deliver wood, something he did for a few years at higher prices. He was required to split and pile the wood in a 4' x 8' woodshed built in September 1865.

Meetings continued in the same vein, however minutes contain curious entries. When in 1866 the board again decided on 10 months, they voted for have a female teacher in summer but required a male for the winter. Perhaps it was felt a male was more capable of making fires and keeping the building warm, however reasons were not given. They also decided a new school was a necessity and appointed a committee to draw the plans. After Jackson VanVranken built the new 22' x 36' x 12' structure, the old building was sold to the highest bidder. A year later the school was insured for $600, double the $300 cost of building it.

When the school census was compiled in 1867, of the 4 - 20 year olds in the district, 46 were enrolled in school, 20 didn't attend school, 8 went to the Catholic school and 4 attended the Evangelical school.*

Big changes came in 1874 when Henry Schmiling was the lowest bidder for the laying of a floor. The job included a 6' x 16' platform at the front of the room. A new lock was put on the door and windows and doors and outhouses were repaired at a cost of $34. Then Tom Osborn submitted a $27 bid for painting. He was awarded the contract for two coats of white paint. A dictionary was donated in 1868 when the board paid about $33 for other books. In 1874 the clerk was appointed to purchase books and blackboards for the teachers. Early books included McGuffey readers and spellers. Some schools had arithmetic, U.S. history, grammar and geography books though some children used the books their parents had a generation earlier.

A nine month school year was voted down in 1882 when the board kept 4 months in the fall and 3 in the spring. On the advice of the state, there was a change in books. In an effort to relieve families of the purchase of expensive books, the Wisconsin Assembly proposed that districts post of list of books which would be used for at least 3 years. A few years later, the district decided its books should be the same as those used in District 1. In 1887 the board had Mr. Tietz put in a "sufficient well pump" and "build sufficient outhouses." At the time, the school was equipped with new seats and desks.

Schools of the 1860s were generally small log buildings with lighting dependent on windows that were few in number. Glass was expensive and difficult to obtain. Scholars  sat on benches that were little more than logs on blocks. Few schools had blackboards but the children usually had slates and chalk. Eventually schools got a globe, a map, blackboards and desks. Grades as we know them were unheard of in 1860 Kewaunee County. Students were either beginners or advanced. Years later, Ahnapee offered an intermediate department. As Ahnapee grew, so did its schools.

Ahnapee's early newspaper editors stressed the need for quality schools while lobbying for improved buildings as an inducement to attracting new families. Quality education has been on the minds of Algoma residents since that day 159 years ago when Orin Warner took Harriet by sailboat to school in Kewaunee.

Note: The Evangelical school was the Lutheran school. Ahnapee's early newspapers had ads run by several merchants announcing that school books were available for purchase. Ahnapee was spelled as Ahnepee until 1873 when residents decided that as long as the village's name was consistently misspelled by the state and others, they'd give up the spelling. Even postmarks are inconsistent.

Information for this article was found in microfilmed files of Ahnapee Record, An-An-api-sebe: Where is the River? c. 2001, and in the ARC at UW-Green Bay. The postcard of Kewaunee's first school comes from the author's collection.

Silver Creek: Where Did It Go?

Walking the lakeshore near the mouth of Silver Creek in Ahnapee Town's Section 7 is like walking the shore any place north Algoma. One would never guess what happened there, or that it was a hub of activity 150 years ago. Kewaunee County has many long-forgotten hamlets, but, though little remains, most at least have a 45 mph traffic sign. Silver Creek doesn't even have that.

It was in 1855 that James  Norman purchased and received a patent from the federal government for 58 ½ acres in at the mouth of Silver Creek in Section 7, Town 25N, Range 26E. One acre was set aside for a school that later became known as Woodside and ½ acre for a burying ground. Captain Zeb Shaw’s grave is about all that remains visible in the old cemetery.

Early businessman Albert Wells, who also patented substantial property, built a pier out to a few hundred feet into water deep enough to allow schooners in to load wood products. Pine, hemlock, cedar and hardwood was brought to the pier by oxen or horse drawn sleds and loaded onto the boats and shipped, primarily to Chicago markets. 

Captain Zeb Shaw was Silver Creek’s third resident, but his story begins long before that.  Early in the 19th century, Moses Shaw I, a native of England, settled at Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.  His son Zebina was born on Christmas Day 1815. As other young men, he grew up seeking adventure and went to sea. The close of 1850 found him in Memphis where he soon found an Irish bride, Katherine O'Brien.  Zeb always seemed to find his way around, meeting George Fellows, Sr. in Chicago and then sailing with him. The association led Shaw to Wolf River in 1855 when the young Mrs. Shaw was landed on the beach at the foot of Tweedale's Hill - today Algoma's Lake St. hill. No doubt she remembered small boats coming out to ferry people ashore. No doubt she also remembered animals being thrown off the boats so they would swim to shore. Whatever her story, it was said she relished the retelling all of her life, something she probably did while having the pipe which she so much enjoyed.

Terrence O'Brien and his 19 year old daughter Katherine left Ireland in 1851. Considering the ocean voyage would have been undertaken no earlier than March and that the O'Brien's documented trip took 8 weeks, there was not much time for Shaw to get to Memphis, meet his wife and get married and get back to Chicago to begin sailing with Charles Fellows, Sr. later in 1851. Zeb  and Katherine apparently didn't feel the need for a long courtship.

Arriving in Wolf River, the Shaws kept house for David Youngs and operated Captain Fellows' Tremont House, today the Stebbins, before relocating to Silver Creek where there was a sawmill, store and Welles and Valentine's pier, a Chicago business at which Shaw was employed as superintendent. Captain Shaw's father came with him and it was believed the elder Mr. Shaw was the first teacher at Silver Creek School. Captain Shaw, owner of the Falcon, was not remembered as a great farmer but he was indeed an alert and cautious seaman, hauling wood products before relocating to the farm that remained in the family for over 100 years. Shaw was also one of the area captains who supplemented his income by cutting Christmas trees in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan and transporting them to Milwaukee and Chicago.

There were fishermen at Silver Creek before the War Between the States.Jackson Jordan was one of them. Jordan made his home with Captain Charles Ross and with Eli Dunham and Willet A. Wheeler, also of Silver Creek, enlisted in the war. Dunham was an Easterner who came to the area to visit his brother Spencer Dunham, an employee of Wells' sawmill. Wheeler was an employee of the same company, though his military career was brief and ended at the first battle of Shiloh when the trigger finger of his right hand was shot off.

News was made during the spring and summer of 1868 when the 180 ton schooner Bessie Boalt was built in Ahnapee for the richest man in town, C.G. Boalt. The impressive $32,000 vessel was launched directly into the lake from the beach.** Civil War hero, master designer and craftsman Major William Henry built both model and ship. When she sailed from the north pier on her 1^st voyage, she was under command of Captain John McDonald, a full crew of Ahnapee seamen and with Zebina Shaw as 1^st mate. A few years later the Bessie went down in a storm off Two Rivers while in tow of a tug which had rescued her from the treacherous sand bar off that point.


Zebina and Katherine Shaw were the parents of eleven children, three of whom survived to adulthood.  Son Moses Shaw II, born November 8, 1861, spent his life on the homestead at Silver Creek.  At fourteen he had gone as far as possible in the school and there after devoted his time to farming and serving on the school board. As Highway Commissioner from 1912 to 1923, he oversaw the building of the first macadam and the first concrete highways built in Kewaunee County. He was appointed State Highway Inspector for both Kewaunee and Calumet Countys and served as the Kewaunee County director of the N.R.A. or National Recovery Administration,during the alphabet soup days of the New Deal. 

Eventually Moses Shaw applied for a post office at Woodside and for a time Zeb carried mail between Ahnapee and Two Rivers. Shaw's site request follows this document. Shaw, his sons, and Fellows’ son Charles had a significant historical impact on Silver Creek, the village of Foscoro - now Stony Creek - and the Town of Ahnapee in general. In the early days, the highway called County S did not exist. To avoid swampland, the road going out from Ahnapee turned east at the Shaw farm (above), at the intersection of today's Highways S and U, and followed the lake shore much of the way to Sturgeon Bay. 

Today it is difficult to believe that Mrs. Perry Austin operated a restaurant a short distance from the mouth of Silver Creek or that the area eventually had its own post office. Theodore Tronson used windmills to provide power to his sawmill business and Charles Serrahn built a cheese factory, the area’s last place of business. Today there is no sign of the pier or any of the other businesses in another of Kewaunee County’s long-forgotten early villages.

**Henry's shipyard was a small "bay" on the north side of the river, now the area between the motel and the channel.  Filled in, the same area held the coal docks. The one story section of the Shaw home above served as the Woodside post office. Pictures are in the author's collection. Mrs. Perry Austin was Charlotte Berg before her marriage.

 

                 

 

Youngs, Swaty, Mc Donald and Algoma's Lakefront

Algoma's downtown lakefront has changed dramatically since this photo was taken in the early 1960s.

Significant buildings identified by number follow with their original use and current status, if any, today. Number 1 was the utility plant which has been torn down;  2 is the utility building and office, now the Haegele Center and home of Farm Market Kitchen; 3 is Dick DeGuelle's home which has been relocated, and 4 is DeGuelle's tavern which was torn down and replaced with a marina parking lot; 5 was the 1901 Charles  saloon, now Von Stiehl's warehouse;  6 was  the cheese cold storage building that became Jag Outdoor Advertising; 7 is a garage that was torn down, 8 is the Steam Laundry that was also torn down; 9 is  Ahnapee Brewery and now Von Stiehl Winery; 10 was built as Toebe's saloon and shoe store, now a private residence; 11 was Gericke's store, now demolished; 11 was the Fuel Co. office and now Natural Light Gallery; 13 and 14. are the Fuel Co. cabinet shop and shed, also demolished.

Youngs and Steele Plat Block 12, the area in the lower left quadrant of the photo, has one of Algoma’s more interesting histories. Activity dates to some of Wolf River’s earliest residents including the Youngs, Swatys and McDonalds. During 2000, the city purchased Lot 10, numbers 2 and 3 on the photo, and razed what many remember as the DeGuelle tavern and liquor store. That property - today a park and marina parking area - is connected to all three families.

DeGuelle’s tavern building dates to the 1860’s when it was operating as a small boarding house or hotel, called the Rosiere House, while also serving as Mollie McDonald’s news depot, telegraph office and sewing machine sales room. Over the years, the building changed. Eighty years later, and after several refurbishings, the second story was converted to apartments to accommodate the World War ll housing shortage. Originally a frame building, it was brick veneered in 1882. Its yellow brick came from the Swaty Brickyard in what is now the Lake Street hill. During the 1950’s the brick veneer was replaced with asphalt shingles. Until the 1940's, Julie Swaty lived in a little yellow house on the east side of the building, which was approximately where her father, Franz Swaty, opened his store shortly before the start of the Civil War.

One hundred years ago grain warehouses stood between the hotel and Lake Michigan, and a livery stood just south of the hotel which by then was the Charles House. In later years, Pleck's Ice Cream and Dairy used the livery building as an ice cream and soda warehouse. Then Jerry Seiler used it as a tire warehouse. Both buildings were torn down before the picture was taken.

Joe Villers, who also appears in documents as Williams or Willems, bought, in 1876, what most remember as the DeGuelle building and started calling it the Rosiere House. Telesphore Charles purchased it a few years later and changed the name to the St. Charles Hotel. For most of its history, the building held a saloon or tavern. Coisman, Nesemann, Schmidt, Wacek, DeGuelle and Jennings are only a few of the names associated with ownership of the property.

It was David Youngs, his Chicago business partner George Steele, and Solomon McKitchum and William Clark who owned most of what is today's downtown Algoma. Properties were sold back and forth so it was eventually mostly in Youngs' name. It was platted as Youngs and Steele Plat in 1858.

Youngs built a slab mercantile on the south bank of the (then) Wolf River on the approximate site of the cheese storage building, best remembered as Jag's. Youngs was thought to have common sense and business acumen, though he did meet with financial misfortune. He was known as one whose integrity was never questioned. He was noted for his openhanded generosity and never turned away a needy person. As commerce grew, so did the need for piers which were built up and down the lake shore. Realizing the advantages of a pier, the farsighted Youngs built a bridge pier on the north side of the river during the spring and early summer of 1856. It was organized as Youngs, Fellows and Co. Seymour Palmer was the "and Co." When Youngs died in 1874, the Record commented that while he was not a Christian, "Christians would do well to follow his example."

Bohemian immigrant Franz Swaty and his family arrived in the fledgling village in 1860. It was Swaty who was credited with encouraging his countrymen to settle in the area. He opened a store on the approximate site that became DeGuelle's. For a time, he was a partner in the brewery and a partner in the gristmill at what became Bruemmerville. Too old to serve in the Civil War, the patriotic Swaty did what he could for the women whose husbands served and for widows and orphans. His patriotism extended to the naming of two daughters Liberty and Columbia. Liberty taught in Ahnapee. Julie, the youngest, was the only one of Swaty's children to remain in Algoma, living in the little yellow house that had been in the Swaty family for most of 100 years.

The first of the McDonalds came to Wolf River with their mother, Jane McDonald Loval. Jane McDonald was a widow when she married Jack Loval. She opened her 1857 Union House just south of the small white building at the left of building #5 in the photo above. Her hotel was one of Wolf River's first frame structures. Jane's children had a significant impact on the community.

While the names Youngs, Swaty and McDonald no longer appear in Algoma, it is possible there are descendants. If there are, no doubt they are continuing to make an impact 150 years later.

Note: The photo has been cropped from a postcard in the author's collection. Much of the information comes from An-An-api-sebe, Where is the River?

 

Honoring the Boys of World War l

Kewaunee County joined Wisconsin counties and individual communities to honor the men of World War 1. Mrs. George Wing summed up the June 1919 event when she wrote from Casco a little over a month later. Mrs. Wing felt it was a “beautiful thing for the county to give its soldier boys.”

On July 1, 1919, Kewaunee County Clerk Joseph G. Lazansky – as a directive from the Kewaunee County Board of Supervisors - wrote to Whitehead & Hoag Co. in Milwaukee thanking the company for contributing to “the grandest day in the history of Kewaunee County.” Lazansky was thrilled. The day devoted to honoring World War l veterans and those who made the supreme sacrifice brought words of praise and admiration from the boys and their parents.

As part of the planning, articles in the Record Herald and the Enterprise told about honor medals and requested names of those who served. Five hundred such medals were presented to the “soldier and sailor boys” at an event witnessed by 6,000 people from all parts of the county. Lazansky's letter said it would be too difficult for him to explain and was sending a copy of the official county paper.

Next-of-kin were presented Gold Star Medals in an impressive ceremony that pleased Colonel Phillip Westphal, Commander of the 121^st Field Artillery and Captain Edward Reynolds, Commander of Co. F. Lazansky wrote that Westphal and Reynolds “who by their  presence honored the boys by whom they are so loved and esteemed.”

As soon residents read about the celebration, responses came pouring in. John Neuzil of Rio Creek, who saw the article in the Record, said he was the father of Herman and John who were each land soldiers. M.W. Burke wrote the next day saying Ensign William D. Burke was in the Merchant Marine and Private Edmund F. Burke was in the Army. Arthur Fenske wrote on May 21 to say Private Hugo Perlewitz, Co. A, 6^th Div., 161 was at 161 Depot Brigade at Camp Grant, Illinois, but that Private Oswald Perlewitz was still “over there” in Co. C, 57 Eng. in Paris, France. Wenzel Tuma wrote from Luxemburg to say he was a Private in Co. M, 103 Reg. Inf. 26^th Div. and was glad to celebrate.

Private Jacob Blahnik and John Edward Koss sent in their own names while, on May 23, Mrs. Fred Wendrickx of R. 2, Casco, asked for two medals, though she did not say for whom. Charles H. Kickbusch said “my boy is still in France,” and requested a medal for him, Private Albert C. Kickbusch, 85C Trans. Corp. Fred Leischow said he served in a dental corp.

Walter Prokash wrote from Waukegon on May 25^th saying he was a Sergeant with 221 Field Signal Battalion and would be at the celebration. Guy Birdsall said he was in the 4^th WI Inf. National Guard in 1917 and landed in France on February 10, 1918. There he served with the 32^nd Division and was promoted to Sgt. 1^st Class. He was discharged on April 23, 1919 following 14 months of duty in France. Pvt. Walter Peter Duchert, 40 Co., 4 Group, said, “as I am one of the boys, I hope to take part that day.” Jacob A. Velicer asked to have his badge mailed and Wenzel A. Spacek just sent his name and address from R. 2, Box 53, Algoma. Pvt. Frank Helebrandt only said he was with 305 Machine Gun Battalion. Pvt. 1^st Class William Holdorf offered little more, just saying he was coming.

John Simonar of R. 1, Luxemburg (Neuren) wrote to say he had two boys. Lawrence did not serve overseas and was at home, though John G. was still in Russia. George Radey said he was coming as did J.E. Pelnar and George Pribyl, who said they were an ex-sailor and an ex-soldier. Paul Ticalsky was attached to Supply 340 Inf. and Luxemburg’s Walter C. Siegmund said he was in the Battle of Argonne. George O. Sullivan was “a boy who would appreciate a bronze Honor Medal though he lived in Kenosha.” He wrote a second time to say he could not attend the event but would still like a medal. Apparently he was employed at The Simmons Co. of Kenosha, as he used the stationery for his R.S.V.P. Henry Ruttner, Edwin Cemyla and Ed Waterstreet lived in Milwaukee. Waterstreet wrote that he was one of a number of Kewaunee boys living in Milwaukee who would be at the celebration. Octaves Bader planned to attend. Bader enlisted on May 31, 1917 and served with 121 1^st Field Artillery, Battery B, 32^nd Div. He wrote that he left Green Bay on July 1, 1917 and, following 8 months training, he sailed for France, arriving in March.  

Joseph Barta of Wyandotte looked forward to receiving a medal, but was unable to attend. Barta served in Puerto Rico as a 1^st Lt., 374 USA Inf. Arthur J. Schwantes sent his R.S.V.P. from Wabeno where he was a part of the Land Clearing Special. He planned to attend, but on August 21, 1919 he wrote from Escanaba saying though he didn’t get to Kewaunee he would like to have his medal. Major T.A. Baumeister submitted his name from Camp Pike, Little Rock, Arkansas. He didn’t make it either.

Bugler George F. Winnekens came from Stangelville. George F. Sekadlo was another bugler who was coming. He wrote that he was “proud of being a soldier in Uncle Sam’s army” and he would be proud of the big day.

Oswald Thibaudeau lived at R. 6, Kewaunee and served in Co. G, 9^th Us Inf. A.E.T. Leonard Thibaudeau lived in Sturgeon Bay and said he was a Kewaunee boy who served in the Navy at Great Lakes, Illinois, and would make the big day. Clarence Toppe and Bernhart Schneider wanted to be recognized, Matt Jerovetz was coming and both Benny H. Jahnke and Edwin J. Jahnke, both of Luxemburg, were pleased to take part. Pvt. Fred A. Graycarek planned to wear his uniform.

Henry Gerlach of R. 4, Box 15, Algoma, sent his son’s name. William H. Gerlach was serving in Co. F, 128 Inf. when he was killed in action on November 10, 1918. Paul G. Stangel’s siblings wrote to say he was in the Navy and had served in 12^th Reg., Co. I of the Hospital Corps. Paul did not make it home. Joseph Koukalik’s mother wrote. Joe was a Franklin man who sacrificed his life and died in a southern camp though his body was returned to Stangelville for burial. Frances H. Bach was with the Portage Red Cross when she asked for a medal for her husband Edward George (Ted) Bach. Ted was with U.S. Base Hospital, Unit 13. Ted’s status was not made clear.

Dr. F. Brunckhorst wrote from Hortonville saying though he enlisted from another county, he was still a “Kewaunee boy.” Brunckhorst felt Kewaunee County had an “enviable record throughout the war and was always ahead of others.”

There were errors. Algoma’s Mayor James McGowan wrote to Lazansky saying Miss Paul had stopped in the office to report that her brother Frank Paul, a resident of the Town of Ahnapee, was in Co. F, 12^th Ammunition Train and did not receive a medal. Miss Paul felt the mayor was probably distributing medals for those not in the county. Mr. Paul was at Faithorn, Michigan at the time. McGowan did indeed pass out additional medals. Two were Gold Stars. Algoma had more Gold Stars than the letters to Lazansky indicated. Ernest Haucke was killed in action at Chateau Thiry, Frank Lidral at St. Mihiel and Ralph Perry in the Argonne. Fred Naze was also killed in action. Fred Schmidt and William Pfluger were both overseas when they died of pneumonia. Frank Jirtle died at the Coast Guard Academy and Edward Hanel, a sailor, died at a rifle range.

Whitehead and Hoag Co. expected errors. When the medals were sent, Lazansky was told that if there was a spelling error, the medal would be remade. If the error was Lazansky’s fault, the county would incur additional costs. More medals were required after the initial order was placed. On June 2, 100 were ordered: 45 were cast without gold stars, 8 were cast with gold stars and there were 47 blanks. There was another order for 10 by July 3^rd. As people continued to learn about the event, more came forward, and on July 17, another 100 were ordered. Included were two 10kt sold gold stars for Roger Moore and Herman Gaulke. Gaulke died at Verdun. In August additional blank bronze medals were ordered, and then in September John Bitzan, then of Milwaukee, said he saw service from September to December 1918 and would like a medal in “rememberance of the war.”

Lazansky let it be known that if men learned about the event too late to respond, they could still receive a medal by leaving their information at the Karsten Hotel. John L. Rataichek, Peter Sconzert, and Victor F. Langer did that. Arthur J. Koller, George A. Lohrey and Herbert F. Brensike said they never received information. Though Edwin and Bernard Jahnke sent their R.S.V.P., they said they didn’t know about the medals.

Charlie Peters used stationery from Luxemburg’s Bach-Kieweg Co. when he he told “Friend Joe” that he regretted not being able to take an “active part in the honoring celebration for the boys.” Peters said that the business houses in Luxemburg were going to close for the day and Lazansky could expect a number of delegates. Peters praised the event and offered his service during the day. Algoma harness maker F.G. Jirtle wrote about his late son, Frank J. Jirtle and also offered his help. Luxemburg's Hector Boncher used his company stationery to say Andrew, Edward and Joseph Bragger were single sons of Henry Bragger and all deserved medals. Andrew served in the Army while the other two were in the Navy.

Looking at the draft lists, it appears that about 1,200 men were eligible for duty. A little more than half that number served in “the war to end all wars.”
 

Information came from Lazansky’s correspondence found at the ARC at UW-Green Bay, Gold Star Mothers by Harry Heidmann and Lester Heidmann, Algoma Printing Co. and the newspapers mentioned. Names are as listed on documents. The World War l postcard is in the author's collection.