Kewaunee County History: The Devastating Fires of 1886: "Deja Vu All Over Again"

 On October 8, 2021, Northeast Wisconsin commemorated the 150^th anniversary of the Great Fire, more widely known as the 1871 Peshtigo Fire.

Just two years after the Great Fire, Kewaunee Enterprise 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.

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 Ahnapee Record 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 Record, the fire would be as disastrous, if not more so, as 1871.

In late May, the Enterprise 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.

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.

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^th when it burned. On the 5^th , pails of water saved the place The next time, citizens saved the building, but the third time was destructive.

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^th. Its contents were saved, however 5,000’ of lumber burned in a loss estimated to be $400. Fires were jumping around’ 

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 Enterprise concurred saying south and east of Tisch Mills the fires and damage would be as disastrous as 1871, if not greater.

Fires were raging in Montpelier and to New Denmark and to the Brown County line. Behind the fire there were only ashes. The Enterprise 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.

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.                                                             

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.

By the third week of July, Franklin residents were terrorized having seen nothing but fire and ashes since July 4^th. 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.

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.

It wasn’t only Kewaunee County families. On August 12, the Record 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.

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.”

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.

In West Kewaunee, there were grave concerns for Stransky’s mill. 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.

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.

A few days later, Kewaunee’s fire company brought out the new fire engine to wet down buildings in the village.

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 Enterprise 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.

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.

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 Enterprise felt that without heavy rains to check progress of the fires, the results would be a repeat of 1871.

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.

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.

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.

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.

On September 9, 1886, the Enterprise called attention that leaving home for 30 days negated insurance policies unless the insurance company gave its written consent.

Insurance scams followed the Great Fire of 1871, and it appeared that it was happening again when the Door County Advocate 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.

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."  

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.  

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 about $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%." 

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.

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. 

The photo of the old pumper was taken from a postcard sent in 1906.

Sources: Ahnapee Record, CPI Inflation Calculator, Door County Advocate, Kewaunee Enterprise; https://www.drought.gov/states/wisconsin; https://www.Wisconsinhistory.org

 

Kewaunee County and a "Flecken" Called Franksville

When John Herbeck, Sr. died five months short of his 100^th birthday in 1942, the paper recalled that John had come to Kewaunee Co. 60 years earlier, about 1888, with his wife Mary and children, settling on a farm in the community known as Franksville. After three years there, they moved to another Casco Town farm, cutting timber and clearing the land. Herbeck could not tolerate idleness and was still working hard farming until just a few years before his death.

But Franksville? Where was that? It wasn’t in the Kewaunee County Town of Franksville named in honor of John Franks in whose home the town’s organizational meeting was held. The Town of Franksville wasn’t around long before it was renamed Town of Franklin. Adding to the confusion, Franksville was also known as Adams Corners. Adams Corners?

Finding Franksville is a challenge today. The miniscule crossroads community of Franksville was close to the tiny community of Clyde and the community of Slovan, which was nearly big enough to be a hamlet. Franksville boasted a cheese factory, a school and even a carpet weaver. Franksville also boasted fine folks with such surnames as Lazansky, Kinstetter, Thiry, Novotny, Lukes, Ouradnik, Worachek, Hostak, Paplham, Urban, Novak, Altman, and Kelliher, names still found in the towns of Casco and West Kewaunee. Had the early folks been German, rather than predominently Bohemian,  the place might have been called “Franksflecken.” “Flecken” is a German word for “spot,” and Franksville was indeed a spot.

Franksville is at the point where Casco Sections 26, 27, 34 and 35 meet. The railroad at Clyde Station is approximately 1.4 miles from Franksville on this 1912 Kewaunee Co. Plat Map. Franksville/Rosebud School is in Section 26, while the cheese factory is across the road in Section 27. The road separating the sections is now called Rosebud Road.

Folks were informed about the goings-on in Franksville mostly by reading the Algoma Record Herald or the Enterprise. For years, Franksville had its own correspondent to the papers so that news was kept up to date. Everyone knew who passed through the place on their way to Slovan, Casco or to a larger world. They knew in December 1915 that George Cain who was employed in Franksville went home to Casco to spend Christmas with his parents. Readers knew all about Agnes Opicka from Slovan who taught in Casco District #1, Franksville School, which was being identified as Rosebud School in 1921. In April 1920 Joseph Ouradnik and William Lazansky of Franksville went to Casco to look at autos, and from all the grain Bill Herrick was hauling to market, folks surely knew the money he was making would pay for a truck to enable even more hauling.

The Franksville correspondent and all the other correspondents to the papers in a by-gone era were the Facebook of the times, however when Sunday visitors stayed for dinner, there were no pictures of the food or anything else to show one was there. Sometimes, the correspondent didn’t get the news in on time. That prompted the Enterprise to say in May 1913 that not much was going on in Franksville because there was no news. The reporter asked, “What’s the trouble?” In the 1940s, the Casco and Slovan correspondents took over the Franksville news, and a separate Franksville column disappeared. Within the next few years, mentions of Franksville ceased to exist in all but a few obituaries.

Franksville/Rosebud School

The news from school was always important, and the news was big in February 1913 when there was a spelldown between Rostok and Franksville schools. It was the Alaska correspondent doing the reporting, and that reporter seemed biased when Franksville lost. The reporter poured salt on the wounds, saying Franksville should cheer up because they would have another chance. There seemed to be some rivalry between the Alaska and Franksville correspondents because the Franksville writer said he/she never resorted to sarcasm or digs, and the Alaska writer’s attack was unjustified. The Alaska scribe went on to snip that Franksville people should quit reading the news of a pessimist. Snippiness appeared in print 100 years ago. Today it is on any channel that carries “news.”

Franksville captured attention in February 1911 during a four-day trial in Judge J.H. DeWane’s court. It was not a murder case that took most of the week: Bohumil Baumgartner sued to recover $122 for milk he claimed was sold to Joseph Adams who operated his cheese factory on a commission basis. At the time suit was brought, Adams had not paid Baumgartner because he (Adams) had not been paid for his shipment to a larger company. However, he had been paid before the trial began, so had the funds. Who would think a four-day trial was necessary to determine the plaintiff was owed $109, which he finally accepted and settled the case?

Franksville Cheese Factory taken from the
Heritage Hill website

It was Adam’s cheese factory that keeps Franskville in the world of 2022. The cheese factory is part of the agriculture heritage section of Heritage Hill, the beautiful state park overlooking the Fox River on Webster Avenue, just off Highway 172, in Green Bay.

Heritage Hill’s website says the cheese factory was built by A. Anashek in 1894 and sold to Joseph and Mary Adams a year later. Key-word searches of the Algoma and Kewaunee papers fail to bring up Anashek, but there is news about the factory.

Joseph Adams was still operating the business in April 1904 when the Enterprise called attention to the new cheese factory equipment for both Joseph Adams and Hoebrecks Bros. of Tonet that came into Kewaunee harbor via water, and then taken by team to the respective locations. It is curious that Adams’ equipment wasn’t taken by train, which came to a mile from his factory. It would have eliminated the heavy equipment traveling on still primitive roads.

J.F. Adams operated the cheese factory at Adams Corner/Franksville until Frank Paplham purchased it. Then Adams relocated to Port Arthur, Texas, where, for several years, he was working in the oil fields in that state. By late 1913, he was interested in oil drilling in Kewaunee County.

Paplham didn’t run the cheese factory long before selling it, and his store, to employee Joseph Ouradnik in March 1917. The Enterprise said Joseph W. Ouradnik left his position on the stage to enter merchandizing and cheese making while saying Joe was well-known and all wished him well. From the stage to cheesemaking? Slovan had an active dramatic society that performed at Ripley’s Hall, which appears to be the stage Joseph Ouradnik left.

The Enterprise reported Paplham’s sale to W. Ouradnik (rather than Joseph Ouradnik) of Slovan at a price of $6,500 in a deal closed by Joseph Jirtle. Ouradnik planned to remodel and take charge of the store and large factory on April 1. When the Record Herald commented on the sale, it opined that the Franksville factory had one of the county’s best locations. In the facility’s updates,  Joe’s brother James Ouradnik of Slovan hauled cement for the new concrete floor in the make room work. “Kidap” – which seems to be Joe Ouradnik’s nickname – installed two new cheese vats and made repairs to the whey butter machine. In September 1918, Pat Burke and Son upgraded buildings at Franksville when they installed lightning rods on Ouradnik’s cheese factory and other buildings.

There was another Ouradnik in Franksville. Ed was the carpet weaver. He made news in February 1915 when thread prices were soaring. Ed was forced to raise prices while making it clear that labor prices and other supplies weren’t going up, however he would raise prices from 22 cents to 25 cents per yard to cover the thread. A carpet weaver in such a small place seems peculiar, but Mr. Ouradnik had competition throughout the area.

Although the small area could support a carpet weaver, a patrolman on such primitive roads seems like a stretch. But the area had one.

It was November 1920 when the Enterprise told subscribers that because Kewaunee County petitioned Wisconsin Highway Commission for aid on the new construction work to the County System of Protective State-Aid Highways, there was the possibility of a county patrolman being placed on the road. One hundred years later, a patrolman on that section of road would be a head-scratcher, however in 1920, Franksville, Slovan, and Clyde were busy places in the Town of Casco, especially after the railroad went through in 1892. Primitive roads or not, law and order was called for.

It started when the County Board added the West Kewaunee highway known as the River Road to the County System of Protective State-aid Highways. The highway began on State Trunk Line 17 (today Highway 42) in the City of Kewaunee near the Glandt-Kuffan and Priebe warehouse, now Port ‘O Call. Running along River Road through Sections 2 and 12 in the Town of West Kewaunee and into Casco Town along the line to Kinstetter Corner, the road went north one mile to intersect with State Trunk 76 at the Adams cheese factory, the site called Franksville.

The people of Franksville were hard working normal people doing the things normal people do. Their children went to Rosebud School, presented programs at Christmas, made valentines for their February 14^th party, observed George Washington’s birthday and other patriotic days. The kids played baseball at school, competed with other rural schools, and celebrated at the school picnics.

Even as news from Franksville faded away, the community was periodically mentioned. Franksville news and humor made the Record Herald in November 1950 when Joe Crabb won a duck at a church picnic sometime earlier. Maybe Joe’s duck was lonesome. Who knows? But he took the duck to Franksville where he put it in the water with other ducks. While the duck was getting used to the new area, it suddenly took off running, taking flight and flying away over the schoolhouse. Joe was quoted saying, “It flew the coop.” The "flecken" called Franksville disappeared too.

Sources: Ahnapee Record, Algoma Record Herald, Here Comes the Mail: Post Offices of Kewaunee Couty, Kewaunee Enterprise, 1912 Kewaunee County Plat Map.

  

Kewaunee County's Ellisville: A Long History

 

Gator Janda's tavern and St. Paul's church and school are all that remains of the Ellisville of 1907, then a small, vibrant community in the Kewaunee County Town of Montpelier. When the postcard photo was taken of the Rural Free Delivery, or R.F.D. (above), the mail carrier was traveling south from the hamlet on the present County Highway AB. Ellisville was a busy place then. But not quite as flourishing as it was only a few years before when it sported a cheese factory, blacksmith shop, flouring mill, sawmill, store, livery, slaughterhouse, schools, hotel, wagonmakers and more. Ellisville even had its own post office before the days of R.F.D.

Kewaunee County was a little less than 10 years old when Ellisville appeard in the fledgling Kewaunee Enterprise. Although the early history is elusive, Ellisville dates to before December 26, 1861, the date Levi Mack was named postmaster of the first Ellisville postoffice. After serving the community for 44 years, the office was closed with the advent of R.F.D. in Kewaunee County in 1904.

There are histories telling us Ellisville had its beginnings in the 1870s when August Kons/Kohns bought land and opened a store and saloon, however articles in the Kewaunee Enterprise indicate otherwise. Ellisville was supposedly named by Mrs. Thomas Paddleford, whose husband, Thomas, named the town for his home in Montpelier, Vermont. Mrs. Paddleford’s maiden name was Ellis and the hamlet became Ellisville. The Ellis family was well-known in the early days. Albert Ellis was the first to patent land in the Wisconsin Territory on September 1, 1838, in what would become the Town of Montpelier in the State of Wisconsin 20 years later. Lazarus W. Ellis began making significant purchases in 1856. Mrs. (Sophronia Ellis) Paddleford patented land in her name in December 1856 while her husband appears to have patented his first Montpelier land in 1858.

As early as June 1862, someone thought Ellisville was a stand-out community. Kewaunee Enterprise editor, Dexter Garland, ran a citizen’s letter informing readership about “the quiet little Village of Ellisville.” Garland opined that for “pleasantness,” Ellisville compared with Casco and the other inland places although while it was not consumed with commerce, it was in the midst of good farming lands, lands that were not expensive. Land records tell us Edmund Freeman patented the NE ¼ of Sec 22 on February 22, 1858 and originated the first blacksmith shop. Did Freeman move on, or, perhaps, die? At the time of the article, its author said Ellisville needed a blacksmith, a tradesman essential to pioneer communities. Another Freeman – Seaborne - was no doubt connected to Edmund. Seaborne and Ahnapee’s* millman Abraham Hall were partners in a Montpelier land patent. Opportunity abounded in Ellisville. The forward-thinking place boasted the Town of Montpelier’s first school.  

County history tells us  that in 1857 Conrad Kimpel  operated a sawmill about a ½ mile north of the Franklin/Montpelier line, today on County Highway AB. Records also indicate that William Baldwin’s sawmill was in about the same place at the same time. Is that where Baldwinsville was? Interestingly, that puts the mills in either Section 34 or 35, so on a spot very near Henry Christman’s mill. Land Management records indicate one Truman Baldwin patented Sections 34 and 35 in 1858. A year earlier, Solomon Baldwin and millman Isaac Taylor bought land in Section 22, the location of Ellisville. The area around Ellisville was rich in limestone, and at one time there were seven operating limekilns within the town.

While there was plenty of land to be purchased in the Town of Montpelier, a search of Land Management records fails to find one named Kimpel, Kimbal, Kimble and so on. Perhaps Mr. Kimpel was employed by someone else. Freeman and Baldwins appear in land records, but very little is found in the Enterprise. Searching records points to the overwhelming number of acres patented by lumbermen Slausson and Taylor beginning in 1854. A portion of the patents show additional partners. Surprising is the date of the last patent recording: 1912.

The June 1862 letter was preceded by an April letter from someone unabashedly touting the advantages of Montpelier. Its author said that Montpelier’s agricultural lands were among the best in the country. The author claimed most land was high and rolling, rich and productive, timbered with elm, sugar maple and basswood. Roads led to Ellisville thus ensuring Baldwin’s mill was easily accessed. The author signed his letter as “A Subscriber” and refers to Ellisville as Baldwinsville, a first-rate place for settling or building up a trade. Things get confusing. Could the author have been Mr. Baldwin himself? By 1873 the Enterprise was touting C.W. Baldwin ‘s corn. His acreage averaged corn 6’ high and was considered impressive for the county.

In June, the Enterprise received another letter from one who referred to the letter from “A Subscriber,” saying it was “partial to Baldwinsville.” The June penman went on to stress soil fertility in all of Montpelier, which was well adapted to agriculture and horticulture. He went on to discuss the adaptation of timothy and clover hay, and to point out springs, creeks, and larger water sources. He said Montpelier would begin marketing high quality cheese and butter while pointing to the woman who won the prize for cheese-making at the county fair. The scribe knew there would be competition because of excellence within the town. George Wing’s history says Thomas Paddleford won the cheese prize, so, perhaps, it was won by his wife Sophronia.

The letter-writer went on to say Montpelier was comprised of honest, hard-working Germans, Bohemians, and Irish immigrants, as well as Yankees, who were good Americans. Realizing the high price of cotton, the astute farmers were looking at flax. Some, such as the letter-writer, began sheep farming with thoughts of manufacturing cloth. The writer was calling for apple trees and said within five years, neighbors would see apples growing in his yard. The writer discussed religious and civil interests in Montpelier.

The June 1862 letters came on the heels of the Homestead Bill, which had been passed in Congress to take effect on January 1, 1863. The law said all lands owned by the U.S. government were open to settlement for quantities not to exceed 160 acres. Anyone – a citizen or one who filed a Declaration of Intention – was eligible if 21 years old, or the head of a family, or had served in the military of the U.S. (the Civil War), and could make entry for ten dollars and fees at the land office. The act required a residence and cultivation within five years to “perfect the title.” Montpelier Town had land.

The Montpelier Centennial Book, 1957, tells us that at the first meeting of the Kewaunee County Board on November 11, 1856, a resolution was passed to organize after April 1, 1857 seven towns in Kewaunee County, including Montpelier. On April 15, 1857, the first of Montpelier’s Town meetings was held at Thomas Paddleford’s home. The Centennial Book further says that on April 1, 1855, early settlers came to make their homes in the “Forest Primeval” of wolves, deer, red fox, and other animals in the hunting grounds of the Oneidas. Chippewa and Menominee peoples.

Carlton F. Hall was elected to represent the town on the county board. A year later Augustus McAllister was elected to the seat. George Wing tells us both men were early American pioneers who settled in Montpelier – which was a part of Coryville until 1857 -  in 1856 and lived in the town until the 1870s. On February 22, 1858, Hall patented the NE ¼ of Section 34, most of the section also patented by the Baldwins. One Michael Hall also patented land in 1858, however in Section 28. Eliab McAllister also patented land in 1858.

Little is known about any of the men, however Carlton T. Hall served in the 6^th WI, Iron Brigade, and was discharged on July 8, 1865, after seeing hard service under General U.S. Grant near the close of the War  of Rebellion/Civil War. Six months later, the Enterprise in February 1866 reported a terrible accident. Carlton Hall and Elias McAllister were felling a tree when a limb struck McAllister on the head, causing his death within minutes. The limb missed Hall, barely grazing his hand. McAllister was married and had one child.

Longtime resident Henry Christman was elected to the board in 1860. Christman patented the E ½ of the SE ¼, Section 34 on November 6, 1855. It was there that he established a store on the southeast corner of the property in the late 1850s, and a sawmill just to the north. Ahnapee Record in August 1873 called attention to Christman, and his partner Mr. Brandt, who ran a large, well-stocked store in addition to their new sawmill which was capable of sawing 6 thousand board feet of mostly custom work daily.

While the 1860 Census indicates Montpelier had about 40 families, the early town settlers saw to their children’s educations and to the town’s religious needs.

Organized in 1860, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church was the first church in the town. Land records connected to the building of the church point oddities that one noted historian has been researching for years. A March 30, 1961 article in Algoma Record Herald reported that Zion Evangelical United Brethren Church was constructed about 1873 and razed in March 1961. The congregation, however, was organized in 1869 and disbanded in the 1940s. Its cemetery holds the grave Thomas J. Paddleford who came to the area in 1855 and, as the story goes, was the oldest settler, thus given the honor of naming the town. Paddleford was 67 at his death. The cemetery is also the resting place for his daughter Mary Jane who died at 3 days old.

St. Wenceslaus Church was the first Catholic Church in the town, built about 1 ½ miles north of Pilsen in 1874. Early burials started in 1870 in the cemetery across the road (from where the church was built). A few years later, St. Mary’s was built at Pilsen. Its first baptism was recorded in 1877. Early settler John Doehler built a flour mill in the late 1870s. Purchased by P.L. Reinke in 1899, the historic mill is is on the Historic Register.

There were schools, the first of which was formed on September 30, 1858, eventually becoming Montpelier District #3. The town's early school history is somewhat sketchy. Some articles seem to suggest a school was a replacement for another. Locations and names changed with new buildings. 

The Ellisville of 2022 is not the hopping place it appeared to be in the letters to the editor of the Enterprise. The community was viable early in the 1900s. 

After R.F.D. came to the county in 1904, country folk no longer had to go to a post office to pick up mail; the mail came to them in a box-like delivery wagon, such as the one above that resembled an outhouse on wheels more than anything else.

During the winter, the mail carrier carried a small stove helping to keep him warm, dry, and comfortable. Carriers brought much more than traditional mail. R.F.D. brought everything. Papers and magazines were popular, and catalogues such as Sears and Montgomery Ward seemed to offer everything from the outside world. Brides ordered trousseaus while farmers ordered baby chicks and farm implements. Often such items were in the same delivery wagon. If one ordered a Sear's house from the catalogue, it came on the train.

And the mail carrier in the original photo? He was from the Luxemburg office. Luxemburg's rural carriers then were men named Miller, Weinfurter, Salmon, Alsteen, Seidl and Liebl. Which one was on the postcard, and did he ever know it?

To drvie north on Highway 163 today is to realize that not a lot has changed since the rual mail carrier was on the road in 1907.

Note* From its beginnings in 1859 to 1865, the Kewaunee paper was known as the Enterprize. The name was changed to Enterprise and was known with that spelling until publication ended. Enterprise is used here although the spelling had yet to be changed. Ahnepee became Ahnapee in 1873, and the second spelling is used here.

Sources: Ahnapee Record, Algoma Record Herald, Here Comes the Mail: Post Offices of Kewaunee County; Kewaunee Enterprise; George Wing Histories and historian J. Zeitler. Painting used with permission of NL Johnson Art.

Kewaunee County History: Remembering the Veterans

In 1869, General John A. Logan, then commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, announced that May 30 was being designated as the day on which veterans’ graves should be beautified with flags and flowers. Before that, those in both the North and the South decorated graves with flowers on different early spring dates. A specific country-wide day came a year after the first national observance at Arlington National Cemetery.

Veterans today are eligible for government supplied cemetery headstones, markers, and medallions. The VA - Department of Veterans Affairs - furnishes the above for any U.S. veteran in any cemetery around the world, regardless of date of death. Additionally, a headstone or marker may be provided for any vet dying after November 1, 1990, even if the grave is marked with a private headstone. Medallions are provided for eligible veterans who served on or after April 6, 1917, if the grave is marked with a privately purchased headstone or marker.

Such markers were not always provided. An April 1879 Ahnapee Record told readers that in 1873 Congress passed a law providing for durable headstones on the graves of veterans buried in the national cemeteries, and by then (1879) all graves were permanently marked. At the insistence of the War Department, Congress authorized permanent headstones for the graves of all Union soldiers wherever they were buried, in public or private cemeteries. Those knowing of a veteran whose grave was unmarked was encouraged to contact the Quartermaster General with such information as regiment, company, and date of death if known. The Department also requested such information from those in charge of cemeteries, however, said the Department, headstones would not be furnished for the graves already having one erected by family or friends.

During March 1893, Kewaunee Enterprise reported that the R.L. Wing Camp of the Sons of Veterans received a shipment of headstones from the Army Quartermaster Department. As soon as weather permitted, plans were to hold appropriate ceremonies when placing the stones on the unmarked graves of Kewaunee County’s Union soldiers. Although the County thought all graves were marked, in October 1895, Ahnapee Record reported that County Clerk Mowry found 15 unmarked veterans’ burial sites. Headstones were being furnished by the government.

Kewaunee County, which has always honored its veterans, began planning in the 1890s for a soldiers' and sailors' monument to be located on the court house lawn. As early as August 1898, the women of Kewaunee’s St. Anne’s Society held a war song concert on John Wattawa’s lawn. White’s band came from Green Bay to accompany about 50 trained voices singing patriotic songs. The concert was one of several fundraising events where proceeds benefitted the monument fund.

A May 1899 Kewaunee Enterprise told readership the county’s Memorial Day observance  would be most impressive because of the unveiling of the  soldiers’ monument on a day that would be a fitting tribute to the “departed dead.”

The massive, imposing, 25-ton monument was placed at the southeast corner of the courthouse square. The 20’ statue was 8 feet square at its base. The base, die and cap were made of Barre granite while the statue itself – representing a soldier loading a gun – was made of Westerly granite. The statue was purchased locally from Empey & Cameron in Algoma for a cost of $1,475. Its inscription: “Erected to the memory of the soldiers and marines of Kewaunee County, who fought for freedom in 1861-1865; Also to those who fought for liberty of Cuba in 1898.” It was Louis Trottman who had the contract for transferring the huge monument from the railroad cars. As the Enterprise said, Trottman was an old hand and the move was made without a hitch.

A year earlier the war with Spain was being fought, making May 1899 the first time since the close of the Civil War that other soldiers and sailors were honored. Far beyond Kewaunee County, the day was observed with parades and ceremonies. Flag were lowered to half-mast at all military posts, and every regimental band was ordered to play the dirge “Departed Days” after the noon salute.

When the May 31, 1899, Algoma Press reported on the event, it said that almost 3,000 people were in Kewaunee to mark the dedication of the soldiers’ monument in the court house square a day earlier.

On that morning, a man stood at the ready next to the monument. As the sun rose, the man lit the canon next to the monument, proclaiming Memorial Day. Reville was sounded and throngs of people poured into Kewaunee from every direction. The train brought folks from Sturgeon Bay, Casco and Algoma, including the Algoma Cadet Band and the G.A.R. Post who were met at the Kewaunee depot by the John M. Read Post of the GAR.

At 10:00, little girls dressed in white, carrying flags and flowers, headed a procession, followed by the Luxemburg band, school children and members of the Posts who marched to the Catholic and private cemeteries where graves were decorated.

From there, they went to the G.A.R. hall before the old soldiers marched to the residence of George Wing where they were served dinner. At 12:30, another parade was formed at the G.A.R. headquarters. Led by the martial music of Algoma and Luxemburg bands, the veterans marched to the courthouse amid cheers and tears. The Enterprise noted the martial steps of the disciplined soldiers – some bent with age and infirmity - nearly 35 years after the war. Although most stood on the courthouse grounds, veterans were given seating.

Dedication ceremonies included a musical quartette, prayers by Rev. F.J. Eppling, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in  Algoma, and a presentation by Atty. John Wattawa. Rev. Eppling’s well-chosen prayers were especially poignant. He served as a chaplain during the war. Those who were close enough to hear Wattawa’s remarks listened with rapt attention.

At the conclusion of speeches, the boom of a canon signaled the unveiling of the statue by Leona Read, daughter of the late John Read after whom the Post was named. The crowd cheered as bells rang while bands played. Judge Louis Bruemmer accepted the monument on behalf of the veterans with an address that was called “appropriate, patriotic and touching.”

Albert Schmidt, a Manitowoc orator of exceptional skill, delivered a speech citing memories and the day. The audience marked the end of the remarkable tribute singing “America.”

Years later, the 67^th Congress passed a new Veterans’ Relief Act that said any veteran dying without a sufficient estate large enough to cover transportation expenses within the continental U.S., or for a  funeral and burial, the Veterans’ Bureau would pay for a flag to drape the casket and burial expenses not to exceed $100. Following the funeral, the flag was to be given to the next of kin. The provision extended to a larger class of veterans than had been provided for earlier. The Act included those who served in the Spanish War, the Philippine insurrection, and Boxer Rebellion. By then the bills also covered neuro-psychiatric and tubercular ailments and lapsed insurance of the mentally incompetent.

Algoma Record Herald told readers in December 1945 that Kewaunee County Board minutes indicated furnished government headstones would cost $30 each and that burial flags for 11 veterans had cost $5 each. When the county veterans’ service officer, Frank A. Hanson, submitted his report to the county board on December 1, 1945, he presented all service-connected reports for both World War l and World War ll veterans. Included was the “Death Gratuity,” a cash payment equal to six months of pay equal to the rate of pay at the time of the veteran’s death.

Hanson pointed out that about 2,000 of Kewaunee County’s young people – to whom he referred to as returning boys and girls-  served in World War ll. Up to December 1, 462 had been discharged with more returning daily. The county’s death loss was 38 on that date. Hanson mentioned the boys and girls several more times when he said they appreciated the county’s assistance in advice and support in their rehabilitation and readjustment, while also saying he knew he could count on both the Board’s and the taxpayers’ cooperation in helping his office to remain efficient.

Across Kewaunee County, U.S. flags denote each military veteran’s grave on Memorial Day. Kewaunee County does not forget.

 

Note: From 1868 to 1970, Memorial Day was celebrated on May 30. Memorial Day has been the official name for the day since the 1880s, and became a legal holiday in 1967. Following the Civil War, the day was known as Decoration Day, a term still used.

Barre Granite comes from Barre, Vermont and is made up of quartz, feldspar and mica. Westerly granite is found in Westerly Rhode Island. It is fine grained and known locally as "swamp granite." 

Sources: Ahnapee Record, Algoma Press, Algoma Record Herald, Kewaunee Enterprise, Wikipedia.

Phote: Blogger's collection, postmarked 1909.

Kewaunee County Irish: Erin Go Bragh"

Irish immigration to Kewaunee County never matched the Germans, Bohemians or Belgians, and most Irish who made the county their home went to Casco and Franklin Towns. Early papers point to St. Patrick’s Day observances, however in the 1880s, celebrations didn’t include green beer, shamrock shakes, or Irish Cream custard.

History tells us that the first U.S. St. Pat’s Day parade was held in 1762 in New York, originating with lonesome Irish soldiers in the British army. To put that in perspective, it was fourteen years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Savannah, Georgia, and Suffolk County, Massachusetts, have made St. Patrick’s Day a legal holiday. Irish ancestry is most populous in Boston where, according to Irish-Italian friends, St. Patrick’s celebration coincides with Evacuation Day, the day commemorating the end of British occupation in the city.

All the present hoopla seems to have started about 1960 or so. It was then when Chicago began celebrating by turning the Chicago River green. The White House followed suit in 2009 by dying the north fountain green. March is a month for green.

On December 21, 1900, the Enterprise told readership that during the 1800s, 4 ½ million people of Irish birth immigrated to the U.S. As the century closed out, over 5 million Americans boasted Irish descent. At the time, the U.S. had more people with Irish parentage than did Ireland itself. Three-fifths of Irish immigrants and their descendants then lived in New England. One-fourth lived in the north central states, and that included Wisconsin and its neighbors.

So, what were the Irish of Kewaunee County doing? A 1934 Enterprise said the Irish came into the county during the rapid settlement of the 1850s. If the Irish celebrated during the county’s “pioneer era,” it does not appear to be recorded. But within a few years, that changed.

The Temperance movement had caught on before the Casco Catholic T.A.S. – Temperance Abstinence Society – entertained in their hall in honor of St. Patrick’s Day in 1888. What did they do without green beer? An April 1892 Enterprise reported that one of the Franklin “sluggers” celebrated a little too much three weeks earlier on St. Patrick’s Day when he got his nose too close to somebody’s fist. It was several weeks later when he was back to normal, but, as he said, it was all for St. Patrick’s sake. It didn’t appear the fight started at a Temperance party! The following year, while Casco’s St. Patrick’s Society was arranging a program expected to eclipse anything that happened before, folks in Algoma were rehearsing “Ten Nights in a Barroom” to be performed in the Temperance Hall on St. Pat’s Day. Seems as if something was wrong with that picture. The Enterprise began reporting about the shamrocks and green ribbons being extensively worn in honor of Ireland’s patron saint. St. Patrick’s Day was gaining more than Irish popularity in the county.

In 1909, Sandy Bay residents Miss Lillian Alberts and Mr. Oscar Alberts entertained their friends on St. Patrick’s evening in honor of one who participated in two plays a few evenings before. The group enjoyed refreshments as they listened to selections on the violin, organ, and piano before relishing an 11 o’clock supper. As guests left, they were presented with a shamrock leaf as a token of the special evening. As the Enterprise reported, guests had a good time that would be long remembered.

By 1925, St. Patrick’s Day was observed in county schools as a day to reflect on Irish history. Door-Kewaunee County Normal School, the teacher training school for both counties, gave its most successful program ever, according to the Record Herald. Musical entertainment included such Irish favorites as “My Wild Irish Rose,” “Where the River Shannon Flows,” and “When Irish Eyes are Smiling.” Then came the play “Pat and His Countrymen” and, finally, Principal Donovan’s presentation, “A Humorous Irish Selection,” which put the observance over the top.

Kewaunee residents marked the 1926 St. Patrick’s Day  when the Ladies Auxiliary of Kewaunee’s Congregation Church served a delicious St. Patrick’s Day supper. For a charge of 50 cents there was baked ham, creamed parsley potatoes, escalloped corn, Boston baked beans, rye bread, hot rolls, pickles, olives, and relishes, plus cakes and coffee. The Christian Endeavor Society was planning entertainment to follow the supper, however it was postponed a week because of the special attractions at the Opera House. As stuffed as attendees were, the postponement was probably a good thing. There might have been snoring when some of the sated drifted off.

Casco marked its 35^th year of St. Patrick’s Day observances in 1929 with a comedy-drama presented in the evening and at a matinee at Decker’s Hall. The following year, Casco offered a two-day entertainment when the St. Patrick’s Day events included a play presented by Casco’s Home Talent. Called a delightful comedy-drama, “The Gilded Age of Youth,” was presented by well-known local actors and produced at Casco Park Hall. The well-known cast had such names as Drury, Donovan, O’Donnell, Doyle in addition to a few Irish folks whose names did not begin with a “D.”

A March Enterprise wrote about Mrs. Dworak - married to a Czech - who was one of the Irish ladies giving a party “reliving the old spirit of St. Patrick.” Green and white decorations provided an Irish atmosphere for the cards and Irish anecdotes enjoyed during the evening. There was even a traveling prize called “The Spirit of St. Patrick” won by one of Irish descent, Elizabeth Donovan. After a late evening repast, guests left the party shouting “Erin Go Bragh” – “Ireland to the end of time” in Gaelic.

During the 1940s, Casco Irish celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with a “roaring minstrel show” at the high school auditorium. Casco Holy Name Society sponsored the show that was staged by the St. Phillip Parish players of Green Bay. It was said the show was 2 ½ hours of such hilarious entertainment that at the end, sides hurt from laughing and eyes hurt from crying. A Green Bay orchestra offered appropriate music between the acts.

Bank of Kewaunee was not to be left out. The “Old Reliable” seemed to think more than a little of their “bread and butter” came from those with Irish heritage. For years during the 1940s. the bank ran ads highlighting the “brave Irish immigrants, seeking opportunity and freedom on new soil. The people met hardships with their fine Irish humor, and took part in county affairs with their eager Irish spirit. To honor the lads and lassies, and their descendants who have contributed so much to Kewaunee County, let us all be ‘a wearin’ the green’ next Wednesday, St. Patrick’s Day.”

There was some head-scratching when folks read the 1947 Record Herald headline, “Casco Irish Are Hosts to Czechs.” As it was, the Czechs in question also lived in Casco. Bohemian-in-charge, Lee Metzner, invited people to a “Spring Pohle,” a Bohemian fun and frolic. Casco residents were entertained with such characters of Peva Barrel King, a Spanish - yet Czech - bull fighter, a Bavarian Czech Panna and more. Irish joined in the fun and Mr. Finnerty, an Irishman, dressed like the Bavarian Beer Panna.

As St. Patrick’s Day 1948 rolled around, State Health Office Dr. Carl Neupert pointed out the state map illustrating the nationalities represented in the 72 counties. He used that representation to determine how the Irish were doing and was not surprised that Irish names popped up throughout the state public health picture. Irish doctors, nurses, local health officers and groups of citizens gave a healthy boost to their communities. Neupert felt the variety of ancestries represented in Wisconsin might hold the secret to Wisconsin’s health as one of the five healthiest states in the U.S.

St. Patrick celebrations continued, and not all in bars. Ron’s Cheese in Luxemburg offered green cheese curds in 2015. The company made national news with its pink curds for Valentine Day a month earlier. In 2018 Thumb Knuckle Brewery celebrated its first anniversary with Irish foods – that somehow included booyah - and Cold Country Wines and Vines offered tastings that included a souvenir glass, while pancake and porky breakfasts were church fundraisers.

After being so restricted for two years with the Pandemic, St. Patrick’s Day 2022 was truly a time for socialization and camaraderie from the parade on City Deck in Green Bay and the post-parade activities at St. Brendan’s Inn, to the Shamrock Shuffle (a race) in Madison, and the New Dublin Fest in New London. Sturgeon Bay’s Kitty O’Reilly’s was part of the sponsorship for a parade there. Many other Wisconsin communities enjoyed parades on March 19, a beautiful day for being outside when green was the name of the game all over.

St. Patrick’s Day has changed since Kewaunee County saw the first of the Culligans, Burkes, Hocks, Finnertys, Donovans, Smithwicks, Murphys and so many more. What would they be sayin’ ‘bout “the wearin’ o’ the green” 150 years later? Maybe they’d be enjoying the green brew at one of the local watering holes wondering how to dye the snow and ice in Casco Creek green.

 

 

Algoma Record Herald 1929

Sources: Ahnapee Record, Algoma Record, Algoma Record Herald, Kewaunee Enterprise.

Kewaunee County & Remy's: See the U.S. A. in Your Chevrolet

One hundred years ago, Algoma folks weren’t thinking of skyrocketing gas prices. They were thinking of buying autos which then cost an average of six hundred dollars or so. It was a lot of money then, about $9639.36 in 2022 dollars. By today’s standards, it was not an expensive for a car. 1925 Kewaunee County still saw horses on the road, and even if one had an auto, it often took a horse to get anywhere on rural roads in the winter.

Today’s Algoma has one car dealership, and, in our world of shortages, its inventory offers few choices. Imagine Algoma having four auto dealers in the 1920s. Gaspard-White, Algoma Motor Car Co. and Lakeshore Garage were the companies remembered years later, however there was another: Remy Motor Company.

On March 26, 1926, Algoma Record Herald announced that J.E. Remy of Green Bay leased the former Algoma Motor Car Co. building at 4^th and Fremont, the site of the Temple of Honor ten years earlier. When Ted Richmond purchased the Temple building, he had a section moved, and then repaired the rest of it and cleaned the site for Algoma Motor Car Co. In May 1916, the Record felt the completed 60’ x 100’ concrete building with the white stucco pebble look on the south and west sides would be “most pretentious.” F.V. Leischow and Berl Rider owned the property and partnered in Algoma Motor Car Co. Ownership changed several times over the next few years until Remy reopened the old Motor Car business about April 1, 1926. Two weeks earlier, it was announced that two carloads of Chevrolet cars and a full line of parts were in transit while Remy was looking for a residence for his family.

Remy’s first newspaper ad ran on April 2, 1926. He called attention to low priced, quality autos costing from $395 for a ½ ton truck to $765 for a Landau car, all F.O.B. Flint, Michigan. Remy advertised beautiful colors, - the early Fords were all painted black - an attractive Fisher body, 3-speed transmission, balloon tires (a broad tire filled with low air to cushion the shock of uneven surfaces), Alemite lubrication (a method of using pressure to inject grease into bearings), water and oil pumps, and rustless airplane metal radiator shells while being vacuum fuel fed. Remy advertised electric starting, lighting and ignition, safe and easy steering, and light action dry-plate disc-clutch.  This modern streamlined beauty was a completely closed car that had an instrument panel with speedometer. Who could imagine what Chevrolet brought? It was easy enough to find out because Remy encouraged asking for a demonstration.

J.E. Remy came from Green Bay to open his garage. Maybe he had big city ideas because in May 1926, he wanted an electric sign. Remy got the sign after Alderman Koch directed the street committee to supervise its installation. Remy wasn’t exactly on the cutting edge as there were a couple of other lighted signs in Algoma, but he was the first auto dealer to use one in his business.*

Https://www.triaccollection.ro/en/collection/cars/1927 says that the 1927 Chevrolet Series AA Capitol was the car that helped Chevy knock Ford from the top of the U.S. car sales’ chart. Ford had sold 15 million Model-Ts, known as Tin Lizzies, between 1918 and 1927. Billed as “The most beautiful Chevrolet ever,” Remy was touting all the new features in his newspaper ads.  “Remarkably smart” cars came in lustrous colors and sold for $745. Lustrous colors beat out 10 years of all black Tin Lizzies.

In October, “marvelous smoothness” at any speed was the way to go when the coups selling for about $645 were getting tops speeds of 30 mph. To sweeten the deal, Remy advertised Chev’s small downpayment, convenient terms, and told folks to ask about the 6% Purchase Certificate Plan, a kind of rebate program.

By late January 1927, Remy was advertising a host of improvements at reduced prices. Fish-tail styling and balloon tires were standard equipment on all models. To buy from Remy meant such features as ignition and steering locks and remote-control door locks. Although there was no color in the newspapers of the time, peacocks appeared in Remy’s ads. The black and white peacocks called attention to the choices in auto colors. 

A few weeks later, Chevrolet was advertising the most beautiful sedan in Chevrolet history. The peacock drew attention to the $695 purchase price of such beauty. Wikipedia says Chev started manufacturing in 1912 and sold for about $2100 in the early days. Mass production made a difference.

Adoring women were featured in 1927 ads, suggesting there was “a car for her too.” Most men nixed that idea feeling that driving was far beyond the brain of a woman. Fifty years later there were woman who still did not have an operator’s license and older men still crabbin’ about the “damned women drivers.” In 1927, Chev pointed to two-car families and even offered financing. Chevy felt a woman needed her own car to get groceries, take the children to school and do afternoon calling. Such big city foolishness did not go over then. It was after World War ll and women in the workforce when that began happening in Kewaunee County. One wonders how Remy’s was perceived in his 1927ads ad?

In anticipation of spring, shipments of new autos were coming to Algoma in February 1927. Lakeshore Garage got new Fords. Gasper-White touted the new Whippet Six Landau, something new in the Willys-Knight-Overland Line, while Remy Motors got Chevrolets, including the new cabriolet model. Algoma was the place for dreaming in February. Remy was selling trucks too. His March 1927 ads claimed Chev sold more gear-shift trucks than anyone in the world. Unchallenged in its 3-speed transmissions, the company offered oil filters and air filters. Chevrolet was advertising its economical truck transportation with the lowest cost for ton-mile. Chev said a ton-mile was the cost of transporting one ton of material for one mile. That ½ ton truck sold for $395 and the “world’s most popular gear-shift truck” was said to give unrivaled performance. If the buyer needed a larger truck, a one-ton truck was available for $695.

When Remy was advertising the “The Coach” in June 1927, the company called attention to the “scientifically balanced” auto that offered comfort on the road hour after hour. The astonishing Coach sold for $595.

Chevy said one needed to comprehend its cars to further understand how the company could sell at such low prices. The company claimed its “vast resources, tremendous purchasing power, and mammoth engineering organization, 12 factories equipped with the most modern machinery known to science and its tremendous production volume” made Chev such an affordable car. The company said their vehicles “provided the greatest dollar-for-dollar value in the history of the automotive industry.” The auto industry was not that old. Wikipedia says the first car bought in the U.S. was a Winton purchased by 71-year-old Robert Allison on April 1, 1898. Allison paid $1,000, far more than the cost of a Chevrolet less than 30 years later. Mass production made the difference.

Buick was rarely mentioned in a Remy ad, but he sold some. Remy’s ad of January 14, 1927 offered evidence, in that ad, that in 1926 more Buicks toured Yellowstone Park than any other car except one of the lowest price. Believe it or not, Buick said it held the honor since the park opened to auto traffic. Wikipedia says the first car legally into Yellowstone was a Ford Model T in 1915. The Model T was indeed a much less expensive auto.

For the few years Remy was in business, his ads indicated T.A. Dillenburg of Casco would also be of service. In January 1924, the Record Herald reported that Anton (Tony) Dillenburg, a local garage man, was constructing a Chevrolet snowmobile to be used for his winter business. Chevrolet was advertising when Remy selling and Remy was a big advertiser in Algoma Record Herald for the few years he was in business. Tony Dillenburg’s name was found at the bottom of each of Remy’s Chev ads.

It all happened 25 years or so before the Dinah Shore’s Chevy Show kicked off with Dinah singing, “See the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet, America’s asking you to call…….” Copyrighted as a jingle in 1949, it was a year later when Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy recorded the song. Later, singer Pat Boone sang the song on his Chevy Showroom. Even a couple of the Los Angeles Dodgers were singing the song, but announcer Vince Scully thought their singing careers were going nowhere.

One hundred years after J.E. Remy brought the dealership to Algoma, folks are still driving their Chevrolet through the U.S.A., but maybe not so much with gas prices over $4 per gallon. A few years ago, one could go to Algoma Motors, or any other dealership, find a beauty on the lot and drive away with a big smile after a sweet deal. Today’s lack of inventory puts a new slant on everything.

Notes:**When F.W. Lidral purchased his up-to-date gasoline storage tank, it was one of the best on the market. It had an electric sign marking its spot on the curb. Lidral’s sign was Algoma’s first lit sign, in May 1914, it was at a time when many citizens had not upgraded to electric lighting. Joseph Knaapen installed an electric sign at his Home Bakery in May 1923. Deep Rock Oil Co. was given permission to erect an electric sign on their property in October 1924, and in May 1925 Alderman Busch moved to refer the request of V.L. Wheeler to the Street and Bridge Committee. Wheeler want to call attention to his new restaurant, bar and bowling alley. Lit signs became more and more popular.

Remy's was on the east side of 4th, between Clark and Fremont, on the approximate site of today's BP One Stop.

Sources: Algoma Record/Algoma Recor Herald, Commercial History of Algoma, Wisconsin, Vol 1, https://www.triaccollection.ro/en/collection/cars/1927, Wikipedia. colored ad was found on Google; other ads are fromAlgoma Record Herald.

Kewaunee County's Early Norwegians

 

During Wisconsin’s territorial days, the few non-native people in what became Kewaunee County were transient, being employed at the lumber mill on the Kewaunee River or the mill at Red River. In the week from June 28 to July 4, 1851, Wolf River (now Algoma) saw its first three settling families. However, the Warner, Hughes and Tweedale families lived in Door County at the time. That county had just been sent off from Brown a few months earlier. The three families were also Kewaunee County’s earliest settling families when the county was set off from Door in May 1852.

They were Yankees who were followed by a few more Yankees, but not far behind were the German immigrants. Close on their heels were Bohemians, and, in 1858, Belgian immigrants who were making their way to build homes in what would become the Towns of Red River and Lincoln.

Although Kewaunee County is not generally known as a Norwegian enclave, Norwegians were settling in the towns of Carlton and Franklin, also in the 1850s. Names such as Gulickson, Hoverson, Christianson, Knutson, Nelson and Olson are only a few of those represented, and they made an impact on the new county.

Carlton’s earliest land sales, however, were to non-Norwegians, James Doty on September 1, 1838, and Lode Baker in 1839. Doty – 2nd Territorial Governor of what would become Wisconsin -  was a speculator who felt what became the settlement of Carlton was an ideal place for a city. Though Lode Baker has eluded an historical lens, he patented more Carlton land than anyone other than Isaac and Joel Taylor who made their purchases in the early 1850s. Baker's purchases would seem to make him a speculator or one intent on purchasing pine lands. The Taylors were indeed looking for timberland.

Commenting on immigrants to Wisconsin, the November 9, 1859 Enterprize* reprinted an article from the Milwaukee Sentinel saying that nearly every day the Detroit & Milwaukee Railway brought immigrants - mostly Norwegians and Germans - who wanted to settle in Wisconsin. The paper saw a return to more prosperous times (after the Panic of 1857) and felt a great inrush of immigrants would follow in the coming spring. Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota were considered broad enough and rich enough to furnish comfortable homes and honest employment for all “whose good destiny may send them hither.”

In June 1866,  the Enterprise* was touting Kewaunee County for its unrivaled beauty, soil fertility, and healthy climate that was entirely exempt from fever, ague, and other local diseases. It was a good place to locate homes and business, and to trade and farm. The new county looked to induce uncertain emigrants to see the county before going to other states. A December article continued saying a company was established at Copenhagen to encourage Norwegians, Danes, and Swedes to come to the U.S.

When the State Board of Immigration met just after the turn of 1870, reports showed Wisconsin had 22,932 immigrants coming through Milwaukee and Chicago. The Board further said 11,263 came through Wisconsin as they traveled to other states. It went on to say more arrived at Green Bay, Manitowoc, and other lake ports, however records were not kept in those places. Over thirty-three hundred dollars was expended by the Board for brochures touting the advantages and resources enticing immigrants while arrangements were made with a company in Holland to produce 5,000 brochures in Norwegian, 5,000 in German, 2,000 in Dutch and some in French. According to an article in the State Journal and reprinted in the Enterprise, Milwaukee and Chicago immigration offices would keep busy.

Much was written about Tulif Olson who came from the area of Stavanger, Norway. George Wing’s history  indicates Olson  bought 160 acres in the Town of Carlton, sight unseen, from the federal government in October 1855 when he paid 50 cents per acre for land on the north side of today’s Highway AB near to what became the village of Tisch Mills. Bureau of Land Management records, however, indicate Olson bought his land in February 1858. Ole Pedersen Berger purchased land next to Olson. There were no roads in the primitive area and the Olsens and Bergers carried their belongings and supplies inland. Getting through the thickly wooded, hilly, and, sometimes, swampy terrain was a long, difficult job. According to Wing, Diedrich Christianson paid 50 cents for Olson’s acreage, and that eventually some of Olson’s land on the East Twin River was sold to Charles Tisch who built a sawmill and gristmill. It was said that after Olsons’ home burned down in 1862, they exchanged their land for Charles Tisch’s farm. Tisch paid the Olsons an additional $20. From then on, the area was known as Tisch or Tisch’s Mills.

Another Olson - Anton -  also came from Norway, however from Valders. In his earlier years, he was a lake sailor. His wife sailed with him and did the cooking for the crew, while caring for their daughter whose early years were spent on the ship. It was said that Olson’s ship hit a buoy somewhere near Kewaunee and sank, thus Olson settled near Tisch Mills and began farming, although he maintained his sea-going skills. If men needed rope spliced, Olson was the man to do it. He was instrumental in the organization of the telephone company, having the switchboard operated by his daughter in his home. Anton Olson donated land for the second school, built in 1889.

Eventually, there were so many Olsons that they were marrying each other. September 1918 saw a Norwegian wedding when Meta Olson married Orrin Olsen. When the “write up” appeared in the paper, guests were listed. Included were many more Olsens and Olsons. Witnessing the ceremony performed by Rev. O.K. Aspeseth at Sandy Bay Norwegian Church were those named Birkedal, Peterson, Jensen, Thompson, Knutson, Jacobsen, and Johnson.

Norwegian Lutheran Church of Sandy Bay was incorporated in 1886. It was built on the county line road about a mile west of the lake. Located on the southwest corner of Section 35 on County Highway BB in Carlton in 1893, the church held services until 1953, thus serving the community for about 60 years. It was torn down in the 1960s when the road was widened. Services were bi-weekly and conducted by pastors from Manitowoc. During September 1915, Sandy Bay Norwegian Church offered Norwegian and English services with Rev. O.K. Aspeseth in charge. Sandy Bay Norwegian Church was affiliated with the Franklin Lutheran Church in Section 25 of Franklin. Sandy Bay Church had a choir in April 1896 when a “singing society” was organized at the church. Meeting twice each month, the Enterprise pointed out  the group’s progress.

Sandy Bay Cemetery was located at the corner of the NE ¼ of Section 26, on Highway 42, a mile and a quarter north of the Manitowoc-Kewaunee County line. It was also known as St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery, that congregation being formed in 1869 and disbanding in 1947. One hundred years after its founding, the cemetery was turned over to Carlton Township in 1969.

Church and cemetery locations are a bit confusing on the plat maps. The 1876 plat map shows a church at the SW corner of the SW 1/4 of Section 25. A cemetery is next to the church, but it is in the SE 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of Section 26. The 1895 plat map shows a church where the cemetery was show in 1876.

The 1895 map shows a church at the NE corner of the SE 1/4 of Section 25 in the Town of Franklin. When the religious Norwegians built Franklin Lutheran Church, with a cemetery next to it, it was a mile west and a mile and a half north of Tisch Mills. Destroyed by fire from a bolt of lightning in 1954, the church was never rebuilt. In the horse and buggy days, a minister came from Manitowoc about once a month - a 20-mile trip that necessitated an overnight stay. Norwegians joined the Bohemians who were settling the Town of Franklin, and Paul Hoverson was one of the Norwegians who served in Franklin offices in addition to serving in the State Assembly for two years.

Thomas Gullikson/Gullickson was a pioneer who settled in Carlton in 1857. When he died in 1920, he was living on the farm he settled on immigration, a farm then owned by his son-in-law Anton Olson. Gullickson  was said to have remarkable stories of pioneer life in Kewaunee County, although it appears that his stories do not live on in print. When he was buried in the Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery in Franklin, Gullikson’s pall bearers included other Norwegians, Tollef Jorgensen, Knute Olson, Ole Holderson, and Charles Olson. Knutsons also lived in Franklin, and their names are found in the Franklin Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery.

In December 1860, one John Olsen Otien of Carlton wrote to the editor of the Emigranten, one of the earliest and most prominent of the Norwegian newspapers in Wisconsin. Emigranten (The Emigrant) was located at the corner of King and Webster Streets in Madison. It was one of the many publications that helped immigrants keep abreast of news in their own language.

The newspapers provided fellowship and connections in a day without radios, telephones, televisions, computers, and the social media of 2021, but in 1860, it was Otien’s letter that spoke about Kewaunee County Norwegians. Otien told the editor that Norwegian settlement began in the Town of Carlton about 5 ½ years earlier, so possibly in summer of 1854. By 1860, there were 50 families trying to farm. However, farming came slowly as Carlton was densely forested. First, the trees had to come down. Otien said it was the hope of a free home and a better future that helped the pioneers endure. When Otien wrote, he said their pastor, Jacob Aall Ottesen, had moved to Dane County. Even so, the community laid the cornerstone during the summer with hopes to be in the new church during the winter. Otien said the Norwegians looked forward to a Manitowoc pastor serving them four times a year.

Organizing went on for a long time. The Enterprise of July 27, 1907, reported that Wisconsin Norwegians were asked to join an international organization for fraternal purposes. Promoting closer connections between those in the new county and the fatherland, part of the mission was to protect the rights of Norwegian-American citizens and help then navigate their way in the commercial world. It was expected that hundreds of Kewaunee County Norwegians would join. It was a surprise to some that Kewaunee County was home to hundreds of Norwegians. As late as November 1930, the comment was made that, a “babel of tongues” from North Europe was voiced by emigrants from the countries around the waters of the North Sea and the Baltic.

Norwegians in Kewaunee County affected the foodstuff economy. Was it Norwegians who prompted sales of Hutchinson’s Cough Cure? Druggists C. & J. Roberts were advertising it in the fall of 1884 and made it available at their drug store.

Ahnapee Record didn't seem to carry herring advertising, but the paper did carry articles about Plumb and Nelson's stock, which could be found at their stores in Manitowoc, Two Rivers, Appleton, and Sturgeon Bay. Plumb and Nelson said their prices were so fair that nobody could "attend to your business" as promptly as they could. In early 1883, Plumb and Nelson said thet sold the finest Holland Herrings at $1.20 a keg. If one only wanted fine herring, it was $1.00 a keg. Settling for "good" herring was even less at 75 cents a keg. Norwegian anchovies were going for 35 cents a quart. One hundred years later, Norwegians were eating anchovies on their Italian pizza. Lefse, a bread made from potatoes and baked flat, fed the Norwegians on their ocean voyage and was always a part of their diet. In more recent years, lefse has become a delicacy that is most always served at Christmas. If one doesn't have a Norwegian baker in the family, one that can purchase lefse at many specialty shops, such as Weinke's Farm Market north of Algoma on Highway S, and supermarkets such as Festival Foods.

Norwegians coming into Manitowoc County usually stayed there or went into southern Kewaunee County. However, there were those who went north to Door County, settling in the Town of Clay Banks. Some went farther north in Door County to settle among other Scandinavians.

To learn more about Norwegian immigration to Wisconsin, check Door County Historical Society's site to find out about Norwegian Day, scheduled for mid-May at the Hans and Bertha Hanson House on Utah Street, just east of its intersection with Highway 42-57, in Sturgeon Bay. The restored house offers examples of Norwegian construction during 1857. Today - over 160 years later - it is said many of the joints "are still so tight you cannot slip a knife between the logs." The day will showcase all things Norwegian and have something for all.

*Note: Known as Kewaunee Enterprise, the paper had its beginnings in 1859 as Kewaunee Enterprize. The spelling changed to Enterprise in 1865.

Jacob Aall Ottesen and John Olsen Otien are two whos surnames reflect Norwegian naming patterns where a farm name is used after a patronymic name to distinguish themselves. WSHS says the name servered much like a postal address everytime they moved.

 Sources: Ahnapee Record; Algoma Record Herald; Door County Advocate; Here Comes the Mail: Post Offices of Kewaunee County; Kewaunee Enterprize/Enterprise; Wing Histories; BLM online.