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Generations

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4-H families create a legacy down the years 4-H clubs trace their roots to Kewaunee County McMahon’s businesses are family traditions Luxemburg Implement Co. Wiesner & Massart has grown through the generations

Door County S t u rg e on Bay & Sou t h e r n D o or 1 Business, civic work continue in Wulf tradition 4 The May family knows its 104-year-old niche 6 Draeb Jewelers a downtown fixture 8 150-plus years on the farm for the Delveauxes 10 Chaudoirs a big part of Belgian heritage e g g h a r bor 13 Bertschingers mean more than just the Alpine f i sh c r e e k & g i br a lta r 15 Seven generations and beyond in Gibraltar 18 Lundberg store kept Fish Creek going ba i l e y s h a r bor & jac k son p or t 20 Stores, sheriffs and more highlight Brann family 23 Zahn carved out his own niche si s t e r bay & e ph r a i m 25 Andersons were early leaders in Ephraim 28 Caspersons offering comfort for three generations, 93 years 30 Cabin, church among reminders of the Goodletsons e l l i s on bay & g i l l s ro c k 33 Five generations on the water for Weborgs wa sh i ng t on i sl a n d 35 Baseball a way of life for Jorgensons 37 Washington Island Ferry Line Inc., A Fourth-Generation Island Business 39 Six generations of family have run Sunset Resort

d o or & k e wau n e e c ou n t i e s

Generations Stories that span Generations Families from all over Europe have been moving into the Door-Kewaunee peninsula since the mid-19th century, and some of them have made a mark that passes through the years in many ways. The editorial staffs of the Door County Advocate and Kewaunee County Star-News have gathered some of those stories into the publications inside this wrapper. “Generations” highlights historical, pioneering, well-known families and/or businesses in Door and Kewaunee county communities — the families who built the communities and have held a presence here for, well, generations. Along the way we got a lot of help from the families and local historians, who provided many of the historic photos and several of the articles you’ll find inside, so we want to give special thanks to the Kewaunee County Historical Society, Peninsula Belgian American Club, Sister Bay Historical Society, Baileys Harbor Historical Society, Gibraltar Historical Association, Ephraim Historical Foundation and Washington Island Archives for their invaluable contributions to Generations. A project even of this scope can only scratch the surface of our area’s rich heritage and history. There are many more stories to tell, and if this special section is a success, we hope to tell more stories someday. In the meantime, please enjoy this helping of Door and Kewaunee county history!

Christopher Clough, Generations editor Warren Bluhm, news editor Scott Johnson / Publisher Terrie Haen / Operations Manager Leah Clover / Advertising Sales Manager Warren Bluhm / Advocate/Star-News News Editor Christopher Clough / Section Editor Ruth Johnson / Section Coordinator Kristy Gnadt / Graphic Artist

saturday, june 21, 2014

door & kewaunee county generations

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Melissa Dorner wears the dress she made for the 1999 4-H Kewaunee County Dress Review. Melissa’s dress won the competition. Submitted

4-H families create a legacy down the years By Alyssa Bloechl | Kewaunee County Star-News

Kewaunee County 4-H has been around for 100 years, and its members through the decades have laid down a legacy of a thriving community of 4-Hers. Many families throughout the area have roots in 4-H, and many families have found themselves a new cause with 4-H, with four of every 10 youth in the county in 4-H, it holds a strong presence.

A handful of 4-H families have brought some great information forward about their family’s generational presence with the organization.

Sarah and Kim Dorner, third and second from right in the bottom row, with the other Kewaunee County 4-H poultry exhibitors at the 2003 Wisconsin State Fair. Submitted

Dorner Family

Lynn and Allan Dorner of Luxemburg and their daughters, Melissa (Morris), Kimberly and Sarah, are all active in the 4-H community, but it started with Lynn’s mother, Shirley Hermans, who lived six miles away from the Dorner farm when she grew up. Hermans was part of Brown County’s 4-H program, and within the sewing project with the Brown County fair, she won the dress review – an event in which the students model their creations, and winners advance to the Wisconsin State Fair Dress Review. Interestingly, Lynn also won the Brown County Dress Review and went to the state fair in 1970 when she was a sophmore in high school. Then a third generation, Melissa, Lynn’s oldest daughter, won the Kewaunee County Dress Review in 1999. The state fair dress review is more than just modeling the dress.

The contestants from across the state are broken into groups and they design the show, including themes, roles and more. Lynn’s talent in sewing, baking and knitting came from her mother, who with the help of another woman created the Willing Workers 4-H Club in Brown County. Herman’s had four siblings, three of whom were also in 4-H. The Dorners raised their daughters in the Pilsen Skylighters 4-H Club in Kewaunee County, where Lynn has

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<<< continued from page 1 been a general and knitting leader for more than 22 years. Dorner is co-general leader with Renee Van Donsel. She is also the treasurer of the Kewaunee County’s Leaders Association board of directors. Her talents brought her the 2004 Outstanding 4-H Leader award. At one point the Skylighters had more than 114 members, all of which are focused on community service like garbage cleanup along Wisconsin 29, raising funds for the Cerebral Palsy Telethon, participating in the Fair Parade, and visiting and playing bingo with the elderly. Skylighters are also known to show many projects at the fair, including photography, baking, legos, crops and a variety of animals. A newer member of the Skylighters is Melissa’s stepdaughter, Adilynn Schroeder, who is 12 and has been with the club since 2009. Adilynn will be joined by brother William Morris, who is 3. “4-H has brought Adilynn to interact with others; it gets her out in the community,” Morris said. Melissa and her sisters made a splash with their poultry projects at the county and state fairs while they were youth members. In 2002, Melissa and Sarah together brought home 11 first place awards at the state fair. “4-H teaches kids how to interact and to become teachers,” Lynn said. “I remember one year when the girls got permission to take their birds out of their cages at the state fair, and allowed fair-goers to pet them. I was proud because my girls were teaching strangers about farm life.” Dorner said that through the years she has enjoyed seeing youth grow and learn and take pride in the work that they do. “We leaders in 4-H strive to teach children to do their best, and to try and improve as years go on,” Dorner said. “I think 4-H is a fantastic program.” The interesting lessons the Dorners learned included how to wash chickens, make white chickens whiter and how to blow dry their feathers. “Kids are staying out of trouble because they are doing something constructive, no matter what the project may be,” Dorner said.

Malcore Family

Judy and Mike Malcore, located on a small steer and horse farm outside of Algoma, are also in the middle of a 4-H-focused family. It all started with Agnes and Nick Salentine, Judy’s parents. Agnes is well known and is considered a Kewaunee County legend for her 52 years as an active general leader with three 4-H clubs, which makes her the longest-running leader in the county. She started out in the Luxemburg Bucky Beavers, of which seven of eight of the Salentine’s children were part, moved to the Lincoln Champions and

then the Champion Sparkplugs. Salentine was general leader for all those years, and she also was a leader of cake decorating and leather craft, which she taught to 4-Hers until her time ended with 4-H. Over her years of 4-H, Salentine was awarded with the Outstanding 4-H Leader Award in 1988 with Stella Jerovetz and then Volunteer of the Year in 2005 with Darlene Boeder. Judy recollected some of the projects the Beavers members participated in, specifically the two required demonstrations each member was to give at meetings. “All of us needed to present a demonstration talking about anything that we wanted and at some other point during the year we were to also provide information on a topic health or nutrition related,” Malcore said. “These gave us the chance to develop our public speaking skills as well as encourage us to learn about topics we typically wouldn’t explore.” Instead of fast rides and funnel cakes, the county fair revolves around crafting projects and preparing animals for show for the children of 4-H, and Malcore remembered one project that she disliked but came to appreciate. “Mom also taught sewing, and I hated it,” Malcore said. “She made me do a project every year, but by the time I entered junior high, I ended up loving it.” Malcore participated in the dress review, and did so well in 1970, she became Kewaunee County’s first alternate. She may not have attended state fair for her sewing skills, but to this day she is a sewing leader with the Lincoln Champions. 4-Hers in the sewing project and even those not in 4-H reach out to Malcore and spend most of a day with her in her home working on their project. “I even have some boys who do sewing projects,” Malcore said. “A lot of them really enjoy making aprons. I have plenty of photos of aprons that have come through here.” Salentine’s contribution to Kewaunee County 4-H has spread with the help of her daughters and grandchildren. Judy’s sister Marge took over teaching leather craft in Manitowoc County 4-H after their mother passed away. Granddaughter Jenny, who works at Dental Associates, owned by John and Margaret Zwing, in Green Bay, has been talking about the great things that 4-H can do for a child at work and

TOP: Judy Malcore, second for right in top row, with the Kewaunee County group at the 1972 4-H state congress. Submitted Bottom: Jason and Wendy Malcore, far right in the bottom and second rows, with the Kewaunee County 4-H’ers and their blue ribbons from 1999. Submitted

her inspiration sparked a donation for a refrigerated cake case, in Agnes’ name for the fairgrounds. Another fun part about Malcore’s time in 4-H, was that she was the Maple Syrup Queen in Kewaunee County. She was honored with this award for selling the most syrup in the area, and then she went to state fair with the other Maple Syrup Queens throughout the state to participate in an interview contest for the state queen title. An aspect of going to state as the queen resulted in her working at the Reynold’s Maple Syrup Stand and be in the state fair parade. When the Malcore children, Jenny, Sara, Jason, Kenny, Wendy and Brenda, started becoming more involved with Lincoln Champions and 4-H, Malcore’s husband, Mike, came along for the ride. “I got him into 4-H, and he has done a lot of fundraising for the club, including working at Packer games with local Lions Clubs,” Malcore said. “He did that for about eight years, including some time doing the stadium running, which was hard work.” Mike himself was named the Outstanding Leader Award in 2001 with Dianne Lambrecht. Mike and

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saturday, june 21, 2014 <<< continued from page 2 Judy together received the Volunteer of the Year Award in 2007 with Meg Kline. As the third generation of Malcores began getting involved with their club, they ended up following in the mother’s footsteps in the programs they became involved with. The Intrastate Exchange, which is a county-to-county student exchange where the 4-Hers would stay with a family four days at a time to educate and talk about their county’s 4-H program. She chaired the committee in Kewaunee County for eight years, which prepared both her and her children for the Out of State Exchange program, which has taken the family all over the United States. “I went as a member to Massachusetts, then I had the chance to go back and meet with the girl I stayed with while working as a chaperone when my kids participated,” Malcore said. Both she and kids had the opportunity to attend the Youth Conference in Madison, where 4-Hers represent their county and take part in peer networking and attending learning session about future careers and projects. Malcore was also part of the State 4-H Chorus, which sings at the State Fair. Daughter Jenny ended up directing Noteworthy, Kewaunee County’s 4-H chorus, who sang all over the county. Siblings Wendy and Jason were part of Noteworthy, making for a family activity. Malcore has seven grandchildren, three of them old enough and participating in 4-H with the Champion Sparkplugs. Jenny is a Cloverbud and scrapbooking leader, and Sara assists her. Jenny has received awards including the New Teen Leader Award in 1991 and the Outstanding 4-H Leader award in 1999. Wendy was also awarded the New Teen Leader award in 2000 and the Outstanding Teen award in 2002. Jason and Brenda were also awarded with the Outstanding Teen award. “Being in 4-H and getting involved makes you want to stay involved; then when your kids are involved, you are involved,” Malcore said. “You are treated as an equal by your peers when in 4-H, and there is an appeal to stick with it.” In the past she organized 4-H day camp for four years, which Jenny now oversees. Malcore was part of the 4-H Leaders Association, ran a Largest Pumpkin and Sunflower contest, participated in parades with the family and much more. Her efforts led to recognition as Outstanding 4-H leader in 1993 with Marian Fager. She continues to sell advertising for the plat book and stays involved with her family and their projects for 4-H. Malcore said that she and all of her children have put their 4-H experiences on resumes for jobs, and she has no doubt that it has helped them get to where they are today. There are many Kewaunee County 4-H families spread over 13 current clubs who have generations of activities, projects, experiences and memories. Their participation and dedication to 4-H has made an exceptional program over the last 100 years. l

door & kewaunee county generations

4-H clubs trace their roots to Kewaunee County By Alyssa Bloechl | Kewaunee County Star-News It has been 100 years since Ransom Asa Moore introduced 4-H into the state of Wisconsin, and his idea has grown into something special. Moore, who was born and raised in Kewaunee County is considered the “Father of Wisconsin 4-H.” During the 75 year celebration of 4-H Marjorie L. and William E. Gleason, sponsored by Kewaunee County 4-H, assembled and published “The Father of Wisconsin 4-H: The Ransom Moore Story.” The history of Moore’s life and legacy are within a 233-page volume, outlining his contributions to the area and 4-H. Much of this brief write up comes from information compiled by the Gleasons. Moore is the son of Seth Moore, who originally lived overseas and came to live in Racine County, but moved to Kewaunee County in the 1850s to build a homestead. The Dana Farm is host to the childhood cabin of Ransom and is located on a portion of the original Seth Moore farm. The cabin was dedicated to Ransom’s memory and is now used solely for 4-H youth education. Ransom grew up within the wild, working hard on the farm and becoming responsible for tending fires in the lime kilns. He passed his time reading and learning what he could. By the age of 21 he suffered a back injury that took him away from hard labor, and so began his teaching career. After becoming superintendent of schools in 1889, many had expressed concern about the small number of agricultural exhibits at the county fair. Moore called upon his teachers to encourage their students to grow and create plants and crafts to show. The jump in exhibits drew the attention of University of Wisconsin President Thomas Chamberlin, who Moore frequently corresponded with, recommending students to the university. Dean William A. Henry of the UW College of Agriculture recruited Moore to run the short course and recruit students to enroll in in it. Moore’s work in higher education resulted in new agricultural research involving topics from butter processing to breeding dairy cows.

In 1903, Ransom wanted to involve youth in the great advances in improved grain variety research, so as to demonstrate to farmers the potential of growing the new strains. At the Richland County Fair in 1904, farm boys under the age of 20 entered the “Great Youth Corn Growing Contest” with seed packets they were given. This portrait of Ransom Moore hangs in A cash prize was the entrance of Moore Hall at the given out to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. winners by local supPhoto courtesy Kewaunee County 4-H porters, and Moore is quoted as saying the 50 entries were the “best he ever saw.” By 1910, the idea had blossomed and more than $16,000 in prizes were awarded to corn growers at 45 fairs. The idea came to be applied to other projects like sewing and food preparation. Similar ideals for youth involvement in agriculture were also working in other states, but Ransom Moore started it all for those in Wisconsin. Today there are 13 4-H clubs in Kewaunee County, all taking part in fun projects including the county fair, 4-H Ambassadors, animal projects, plant sales, community service, educational conferences and much more. Ransom Moore’s legacy and passion for agriculture and youth involvement truly lives on in his birthplace. This year’s Kewaunee County Fair Theme is “Come Celebrate 100 Years of 4-H Fun and Friendship,” and to celebrate these values, the Kewaunee County Leaders Association has a variety of events and promotions lined up. Moore also had a series of stories titled “The Hunter of Kewaunee,” which are first-person accounts of his life that were submitted and published in the Hoards Dairyman from October 1927 to December 1928. To read and learn more about Ransom Asa Moore, visit the Kewaunee County Historical Society to read the compilation by the Gleasons. To learn more about the statewide 4-H celebration, visit blogs.ces.uwex.edu/4hcentennial. l

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saturday, june 21, 2014

McMahon’s businesses are family traditions By Richard L. Dorner | Kewaunee County Historical Society

Murcille and Ed McMahon came to Luxemburg in 1935 to purchase the furniture store and funeral home from Joseph Buchanan. Ed was quoted on an occasion, “My name is Mack Ma Han. I’m 100 percent Irish and proud of it.” So what is in a name like McMahon’s? Is it just a link to an Irish founder or associated with an annual St. Patrick’s Sale in March of every year with window decorations with leprechauns and black hawthorne shillelagh? No not in the least! McMahon’s has become a household name, an established landmark in downtown Luxemburg. The name is a symbol of quality for household furniture, flooring and accessories. McMahon’s Funeral Home is highly respected and recognized for high quality service. The name stands for quality, service and dependability. The name, McMahon’s has developed its current status because of its fairness to its customers. But even more important, this level of respect is reflected in its employees. McMahon’s prides itself on having had employees, who have over the years, spent their entire working careers in the furniture business and funeral services. Ed McMahon died in February of 1942 leaving Murcille as the business woman to continue to build a legacy for Luxemburg. In 1944, she became a licensed embalmer and

funeral director. It was under her leadership that the name McMahon really took hold and became the McMahon’s of today. Murcille purchased the old Kieweg-Peters Co. store in 1948, which became the furniture store on Main Street. It was here that she developed the “model room” concept of displays. Room groupings were designed to visualize what furniture would look like in the customer’s home. McMahon’s expanded its business by purchasing the A.M. Hoppe & Sons Co. store across the street. This building has become the “Sleep Shop.” Bedroom furniture and mattress selections are on display and can be easily viewed. Today’s McMahon’s consists of three buildings: the Funeral Home, Furniture Store and the Sleep Shop. Buildings are only a small part of what makes the name McMahon’s. From 1935 until 1972, Murcille was the driving force behind the business. It was however, her dedicated employees who really made the busi-

TOP: This 1972 photo shows the transfer of ownership from Murcill McMahon to the store’s long-term employees. From left to right are Gerald Cravillion, sales; Thomas Rueckl, funeral director; Murcille and Robert Heim, carpet craftsman. Submitted BOTTOM: The current McMahon’s store. Submitted

ness grow and become McMahon’s. Murcille built a business but developed a family of dedicated employees. Thomas Rueckl, a licensed embalmer and funeral director, worked with Murcille in the Funeral Home services. Gerald (Jerry) Cravillion and Robert Heim were involved in the furniture store business.

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<<< continued from page 4 These three employees purchased the business from Murcille in 1972 and continued the McMahon tradition of quality and fairness, which were such an intergral part of Murcille’s legacy and are what the name McMahon’s represents. McMahon’s, which transitioned to the second generation, will be observing its 80th year in business and service in 2015. Jeff Rueckl, son of Thomas Rueckl is now the business manager of the firm. Mark Heim, son of Robert Heim, and Jon Cravillion, son of Gerald Cravillion, are part owners and are involved in sales and service. All three owners also work as assistants for funerals. Included also in their long-term staffing are Marilyn Rank, who works in sales and bookkeeping, and Dennis Cravillion, who has had many years of service as flooring and carpet installer. McMahon’s Funeral Home has had since 1994 the dedicated services of Kathleen Peters-Anderson, a licensed funeral director.

Kathleen is one of several long-term employees of the McMahon’s firm. Currently, Kimberly McDowell is a funeral director apprentice at McMahon’s. On-call services at the funeral home are sometimes provided by Ervin DePas. From its early beginnings to the present time, McMahon’s has been as important family owned business serving the community of Luxemburg and the surrounding areas. The name, McMahon’s, is firmly etched in the minds of three generations. The commitment to quality and service makes McMahon’s a highly respected part of the local business community. l

The staff at McMahon’s in 1970 was, back row from left to right, Gerald Cravillion, Harold Peters, Robert Heim, Thomas Rueckl and Donald Sladky; front row from left to right, Julian Romuald, Dorothy Harding, Raymond Liebl, Marilyn Rank and Lyle Zellner. Submitted

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saturday, june 21, 2014

Luxemburg Implement Co. By Arletta Bertrand | Kewaunee County Historical Society

The property where Luxemburg Implement Co. now stands dates to 1855 when Johann Kaut owned the land. Shortly after the arrival of the railroad to Luxemburg, Anton Grassel purchased the property and erected a building. Ownership was transferred to Nick Spitzer, Michael Ley and Joseph Gotstein, who operated the under the name of SpitzerLey Implement Co. In 1916 Alfred and George Rueckl entered the firm. George Seidl and his son Leo Seidl bought shares in the company from George Rueckl in 1929, when they moved to Luxemburg after selling the farm they owned on Ridge Road in Green Bay. Leo was 19 years old at that time. Years later Leo’s brothers George Jr. and Leonard joined them.

TOP: A photo of Luxemburg Implement from the early 1900s, soon after the business started. Photo courtesy Kewaunee County Historical Society BOTTOM: An advertising flyer used long ago by Luxemburg Implement touts IHC Wagons. Photo courtesy Kewaunee County Historical Society

In 1936 Leo married Ann Dorner; their children were Carol Lee, Thomas, and Lawrence. Leo’s dad, George Sr., retired from the business in 1953, and in 1955 Leo’s brothers Leonard and George Jr. left the business to pursue other interests. Leo took over the operations and ownership of the implement company during this time, becoming president, and his wife, Ann, was secretary. Leo’s sons Tom and Larry began working part-time for the business while in high school in 1953, and they purchased it from their parents in 1972. Besides the business, Leo was a member of the Bank of Luxemburg board of directors, serving as chairman of the board from 1979 to 1986. Leo continued in the business even after Tom and Larry took over. Leo’s wife Ann, died in March 1982, and

Leo died in November 1999 at the age of 89. Two years later in November 2001, Larry passed away at the age of 61 after 46 years at the business. Tom and his son’s Brian and Bruce are now the company’s officers. Fifth-generation sons Brent, Tyler, and Zach work with their fathers and are growing up with the business. The present staff includes Chad Seidl, Mark Ullman, Mike Kugel, Mike Dart, Brent Seidl, Zach Seidl, and Tyler Seidl. “We have all been together for so long a time that we consider them all a part of our family,” Tom said. In the fall of 2005 the Luxemburg Chamber of Commerce honored Luxemburg Implement Co. for 100 years of service in the Luxemburg community.

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OUR TRACTORS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES

TOP: The current Seidls and the rest of their Luxemburg Implement “family” are shown inside the business. Back row from left, Brent Seidl, Mike Kugel, Mike Dart, Jon Seidl and Bruce Seidl; front row from left, Brian Seidl, Mark Ullman and Chad Seidl. Photo courtesy Kewaunee County Historical Society

<<< continued from page 6 Now about the company’s early years. Since 1904 there were many different products sold at Luxemburg Implement Co. They started with horse-drawn equipment, along with horses and other farm animals which were kept in a barn next to the main building. After horses came the tractor era, brands included Mugel, Titan, McCormick Deering, Farmall, International, Same, Leyland and Valmet. Through the years the Implement also sold International trucks, including fire trucks, and school buses, International refrigerators, and freezers, and McCormick milk machines and milk coolers. Other farm equipment brands included Fox, Algoma, and OK choppers, feed cutters, and blowers. Plymouth and Desoto automobiles were also sold for many years. The original building was built sometime before 1904. An addition was added to the north side of the original building in 1912, and in 1946 a new brick and glass front was added. In 1955 the First

Street warehouse was built on the property. In 1976 the new shop was added on to the west side of the main building and in 1990, a new warehouse was built on the property purchased from the Fred Schuch estate. Over the years with the changing farm scene and the sale of their major line in 1984, they had to look for other products to sell. Their present line is quite different from the early years. They still sell the short lines of farm equipment, but now have more lawn and garden products with the Cub Cadets, Hustler, and Steiner lines. They also have Kawasaki ATV and utility vehicles, along with the Bobcat steer loaders. When you travel the Main Street of Luxemburg, it’s common to reminisce about what businesses used to be there and what once was located here, how this and that has changed, but when you get to 913 Main St., it continues to be Luxemburg Implement. Good luck to the next generation of the Seidl Family. l

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saturday, june 21, 2014

Wiesner & Massart has grown through the generations By Alyssa Bloechl | Kewaunee County Star-News

When John J. Wiesner and his wife, Pauline, opened J.J. Wiesner Furniture and Undertaking in 1904, they probably didn’t suspect that they were establishing a business that would still be an anchor of downtown Casco 110 years later. The business was located on Church Street in Casco where formerly Frank Barta had run a harness shop. They built chairs and beds as well as caskets for funerals, and the embalming and wakes were done in the homes of the deceased. According to clippings from the Kewaunee Enterprise and the Algoma Record Herald, collected and compiled by Hans Nell, Wiesner took a course in embalming in Eau Claire. J.J. became known as an all-around handyman, serving as a local undertaker, embalmer, furniture dealer, mechanic, painter and mason. J.J. and Pauline had a daughter named Eleanor, who married Nelson Massart in 1930, and this is when the business became Wiesner & Massart. John J. Wiesner died in 1933 at age 55, leaving the business in the hands of his remaining relatives, primarily Pauline and next-generation family members Nelson and Eleanor. Eleanor and Nelson had three children – Jim, who is a priest; Jack, a retired doctor; and Rose LeFevre, who is one of the current owners of Wiesner and Massart with her sons, Jim and Tim Kinnard. Rose married the late Lloyd Kinnard, who died in 1976, and later remarried Sam LeFevre. The running of the business and sense of family tradition has been strong throughout the years. At one time after 1948, there were three generations of family members living in the current Casco location in the living quarters and apartments: Rose’s grandmothers, Pauline Wiesner

LEFT: Nelson Massart looks at one of five bullet holes vandals shot into the window of his store in this photo from the Jan. 14, 1981 Algoma Record Herald. Submitted

and Rose Massart, both lived there with Nelson and Eleanor, Rose and her brothers. “It was wonderful,” LeFevre said. “Grandma Rose only spoke Belgian and Pauline didn’t; they had some interesting interactions.” Pauline was so involved with the store even after J.J. passed, always making her home within the store. Nelson, Rose’s father, kept the Belgium tradition and sense of community strong within the store, sitting with local Belgian farmers on the furniture. “He’d sit and jabber in Belgian with people who would come in,” LeFevre said. “It was treated as a gathering place.” Both LeFevre and Kinnard believed that Nelson was a key player in making the business work. “He was compassionate, caring and never charged interest on his sales,” Kinnard said. “He would say, ‘Everyone needs furniture.’” Wiesner & Massart still follow the practice of not charging their customers interest, keeping their grandfather’s values at heart. By the end of the 1990s, both Nelson and Eleanor Mas-

RIGHT: The current Wiesner & Massart Funeral Home and W&M Furniture in Casco. Alyssa Bloechel/Kewaunee County Star-News

sart had passed away, Nelson in 1991 and Eleanor in 1996. Eleanor Massart worked at the business until she was 101 years old. According to LeFevre and Kinnard, every relative who has taken an active role in the family business has worked up until their death. Both Rose and Lloyd (Kinnard) were always helping out in the store but had other careers as well. Rose worked as an RN in surgery at St.Vincent Hospital in Green Bay for about 15 years. Lloyd was a school teacher for 20 years. He started his career teaching and acting as principal at a one-room schoolhouse in Lincoln, and at the end of his teaching career taught fifth grade. The elder Kinnard joined Wiesner & Massart as a licensed embalmer in 1975 after attending Milwaukee Area Technical College Mortuary School. He passed away just less than one year later. “Everyone always just worked here, and there was no question as to who would be there,” Jim Kinnard said. “Even our funeral directors we employ that are not family members become part of the family.” Dave Hudson, who passed away in 2012, was very special to Rose and the Kinnards as an acting funeral director and store worker.

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<<< continued from page 8 Hudson worked for Wisener & Massart for 30 years, and was also Kewaunee County coroner, beginning in 2001. Wiesner & Massart celebrated 100 years of service in 2004, and in a news article by Lee Lawrenz that October, the family history is outlined. Current co-owners and brothers Jim and Tim have been helping since they were young children, specifically with their grandpa Nelson. “I remember going on my first funeral call when I was 15 years old with Grandpa,” Kinnard said. “We were at 4 p.m. Mass in Lincoln, and people came for him to remove the body from an accident scene, and I went with him.” Jim and Tim each attended Milwaukee Area Technical College of Mortuary Science, the only mortuary school in the state, as they decided to move into working full time with the business. For the last 32 years, Jim Kinnard has continued his family’s work alongside his mother and brother. He graduated from Luxemburg-Casco High School in 1985, attended the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay for a degree economics,

which then led to gaining his associate degree in mortuary services in 1991. Tim followed his older brother’s footsteps, graduating from L-C in 1989, attending UWPlatteville for a degree in animal science. For two years, Tim worked as a herdsman at Kinnard Farms, but came back to Wiesner & Massart full time after being licensed in 2002. Both Tim and Jim have stayed active in participating in the family business needs throughout their lives, continuing a long legacy of hard work, which they hope they are instilling into their children, the fifth generation. Jim has four children, Steffi, Cassi, Lexi and Jack. Tim and his wife, Cindy, have two children, Rachel and Travis, all of whom have worked with their fathers and grandmother at the stores and funeral homes since they were young. Jim mentioned there is a possibility Jack and Travis may take an interest in continuing with the work in their post-collegiate years. Jim’s friend Renae and Tim’s wife, Cindy Kinnard (public health nurse with Kewaunee County), also take an active role in the business activities as well.

The fifth generation of the Wiesner & Massart family at Christmastime 2013. From left are Lexi, Jack, Travis, Steffi, Rachel and Cassi Kinnard. Submitted

continued on page 10 >>> ~ The History of Union State Bank ~ It’s been more than 100 Years since stock was sold for a new bank in the City of In 1934 the Farmers and Merchants State Bank consolidated with the Dairyman’s State Kewaunee, Wisconsin. The Farmers & Merchants State Bank. Located on the corner Bank, which was located across the street, and the Union State Bank was formed. of Ellis & Milwaukee Streets in Kewaunee, the Bank’s slogan was “A Bank of the It was reported in the local paper that “The union of two banks is particularly for the People, By the People and For the People - A Bank for All the People,” and invited beneﬁt of depositors. All the experience, ability and training gained through many the community “if you are not a customer, become one, and we assure you that your years of banking service is combined here primarily for your protection. The conﬁdence interests will be protected in every legitimate manner.” that has been cultivated over past years is now being strengthened.”

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Union State Bank has grown and changed since our start in 1911, but one thing remains constant - our commitment to our customers. We are proud to be the only independent bank in Kewaunee, which allows us the ability to offer a wide array of services that are designed to meet the individual needs of our customers. Union State Bank has employees with well over three decades of service. Both the customer and employee loyalty to the bank and its bond to the community is a unique characteristic of Union State Bank, which has four locations in the cities of Kewaunee, Green Bay and Two Rivers.

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KEWAUNEE: 223 Ellis Street & 931 Marquette Drive Kewaunee, WI 54216 (920) 388-3466 (920) 388-4001

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TWO RIVERS: 2221 Lincoln Avenue Two Rivers, WI 54241 (920) 793-1551

door & kewaunee county generations

saturday, june 21, 2014

<<< continued from page 9 reported. After the fire, in 1944, the family decided to expand its funeral services into Algoma, hoping to overcome their losses. They purchased the former Foley’s Funeral Home, which also included 24-hour ambulance services Cleanup and building of a new building in the aftermath of the fire began in 1943 and continued well after World War II, not finishing until 1948. Jim Kinnard said rebuilding in the middle of the war made for a shortage of workers, who were all fighting overseas, as well as a shortage of materials. “Some of the supplies used to build here were reused from the building that burned,” Kinnard said. “Some of the 4 by 10s have charred marks on them.” Remaining lumber ended up coming from Washington

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Island and was sawed in Casco on site. Construction of the 100 by 90 foot brick building is cited in the Algoma Record Herald as the largest project the village had seen. In 2000, the family sold their Algoma funeral home (Foley’s) on Fremont Street after 55 years at the location and built a new location on Flora Avenue. The new building offers a better setting with 4,000 square feet of space, is handicapped-accessible and has more parking options. In addition, about five years ago, they built an inventory building to the west of their Casco location. Wiesner & Massart Funeral Homes are currently located in Algoma and Casco and the W&M Furniture, Flooring and Bedding are also located in the two communities; the Algoma location opened earlier this year on Wisconsin 54. l

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saturday, june 21, 2014

door & kewaunee county generations

Sturgeon Bay & Southern Door

door cou n t Y

Business, civic work continue in Wulf tradition By Christopher Clough | Door County Advocate

Things have come full circle for the Wulf family in its 135 years of business and community involvement in Sturgeon Bay. Among the many businesses brothers Charles and Louis Wulf ran in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was a building and installing heaters. Today, four generations later, after the Wulf family owned and ran a hardware store and propane distributorship for a large part of the 20th century,

Wulf Brothers, Inc., is back to offering heating services, along with air conditioning, fireplaces, stoves, security systems and hot tubs. Working to serve to community is part of the Wulf legacy, too, from Charles’ time on the county and local school boards to great-grandson and Wulf Brothers president and CEO Cap Wulf’s efforts to redevelop the Sturgeon Bay waterfront. But it’s not just the business that reflects its roots – it’s the name, too. “In 1981, my brother Todd and I bought my father out,” Cap Wulf said. “We later changed the name to Wulf Brothers; I wanted to get the propane name out of the business.

“I found out later the business was originally called Wulf Brothers (under Charles and Louis); I didn’t know that. So it went from Wulf Brothers to Wulf Hardware to Wulf Propane, back to Wulf Brothers. It was just a quirk of fate, not knowing. “Along the way, I find out the family was in the heating and tinning business 100 years ago. It was like, wow, I didn’t even know.” The circle goes back to at least 1859, when Charles’ and Louis’ parents emigrated from Germany with their young children (four boys and a girl) and settled in Manitowoc, according to Charles’ obituary in the April 8, 1915 Sturgeon Bay Advocate. The family moved to Forestville in 1867, then to Bay View, which would later become part of Sturgeon Bay, in 1871. Charles began a funeral and wagon/sleigh manufacturing business in 1879, Cap Wulf said, then Louis came on board and the business became

above: An undated photo of Wulf Hardware. Photo of photograph by Tina M. Gohr/Door County Advocate

continued on page 2 >>>

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Dennis J. Starr Paul M. Dreutzer Robert M. Starr Realtor Emeritus

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door & kewaunee county generations

saturday, june 21, 2014

<<< continued from page 1 Wulf Brothers (for the first time) in 1880. Louis also owned a blacksmith shop, and other articles from the Advocate indicate the brothers were involved with paint supply and warehousing at various times. “They did a lot of different things,” Cap Wulf said. “Whatever you’ve gotta do to survive, I guess, back in those days.” As well as hardware, after Charles opened his store in 1894, according to his obituary. Heating became part of the Wulf resume shortly after, as several business notes in the Advocate from the 1900s have C. Wulf & Co. installing heating plants in homes, churches and schools. Also becoming part of the businesses was Charles’ son (and Cap’s grandfather) Alfred, who ran a funeral and furniture business until joining his father’s and uncle’s work in 1905, at age 26. Alfred would take over the hardware store after Charles passed away in 1915 and Louis retired in 1920. The store was at the site of what is now Bay Electronics on Oak Street. Alfred’s son and Cap’s father, Lawrence (“Larry”), joined him in the business in 1935. After Alfred died in 1951 at age 72, Larry sold out his interest in the hardware store in 1953 and moved into propane.

Community plans

Cap, whose education and background is in planning, joined his father’s business in 1978 after some time in Green Bay, where he served on that city’s Redevelopment Authority. He said he was part of the effort to develop the downtown Port Plaza Mall and set up Green Bay’s first tax increment financing (TIF) district. After Larry passed in 1984, three years after Cap and Todd bought the business from him, Wulf Brothers started to move from propane supply to propane service to its current offerings. It grew from the five people on staff when Cap joined to 60 today, with its main office now in the Sturgeon Bay industrial park and branch offices in Sister Bay and Luxemburg. Hi Tec Fabrication in Sturgeon Bay also is part of the Wulf portfolio, growing out of sheet metal shop the heating/cooling business used to manufacture ducts and parts. The Wulfs have been involved in the community almost from the start. As noted above, Charles was a school board and County Board member, and Cap noted his mother, Eilleen, who he said was called “Spike” by all, was very active in community matters, as well as a real go-getter. “She was a Rosie Riveter in World War II,” Cap said, referring to the women who worked in

factories during the war, often manufacturing warships and munitions. “She ended up in Los Angeles after the war, was an equestrian, and she wanted to get back to Denver with these horses. She couldn’t figure out how, couldn’t afford to put them on the train. So she rode them from L.A. to Denver.” Cap said perhaps Spike’s most notable legacy was her work that led to establishing what is now Sunshine House, a Sturgeon Bay organization that provides services to people with special needs and disabilities. “She always had a passion and compassion for handicapped people,” Cap said. “They sought out shut-ins that were mentally and physically handicapped, never were able to get out of the house, sometimes living in miserable conditions, and got permission from their caretakers – which sometimes was difficult – and once a week would take them to Peterson Pool. That was the precursor to Sunshine house.” Those efforts made an impression on Cap, who got emotional when recalling his mother’s work. “She would bring some of these people home for the weekend,” Cap said. “She’d kick my sister out of her bedroom, give these kids a pampered weekend. I remember as kids, we never appreciated that like we do now.” Along with coaching the Sturgeon Bay High School swim teams from 2007 to ’10, Cap’s community involvement includes six years as a Sturgeon Bay alderman, chairman of the city’s Redevelopment Authority for its first four years (1989-92) and chairing the Planning and Park commissions. In his municipal roles, Cap said he was proud of his efforts to redevelop the city’s waterfront on both sides of the canal, with Stone Harbor Resort as the centerpiece, as well as drafting the resolution to build the MapleOregon Bridge. “When I came up here (from Green Bay), I looked at this waterfront we have,” Cap said. “It was so underused, deteriorating. And you had this dividing line, East Side, West Side. The effort always was to make the waterfront accessible to the public.” Cap continues to work on planning as a member of the city’s Waterfront Redevelopment Authority. “I’ve been building this business, but my passion has always been planning, redevelopment,” he said.

TOP: Cap Wulf holds a promotional metal matchstick holder from his family’s century-old business. Reflecting its business at the time, the stamped printing on it says, “Wulf & Co. Hardware, Plumbing, Steamfitting and Tinning/Sawyer -- Wis.’’ Tina M. Gohr/Door County Advocate BOTTOM: A C. Wulf & Co. Hardware Store receipt dated Jan. 9, 1895 is framed and on display at Wulf Brothers, Inc. The first item on the list is a gallon of paint for $1.35. Photographed by Tina M. Gohr/Door County Advocate

Still in the family

Family other than Cap is still involved in the business. Todd sold his interest in Wulf Brothers to Cap in the late ‘80s and became a certified diving instructor in the Cayman Islands, but he’s back now as a sales representative at Hi Tec. Their sister Barbara recently moved from Minneapolis and does some marketing and graphic art work for Wulf Brothers. A fifth generation may keep it going, too, as Cap’s son, Ian, is a recent college graduate who Cap said is interested in going into the heating/cooling trade. Cap said he’s not sure what mark the Wulf name has left on Sturgeon Bay, but he hopes it’s mattered over the years. “I guess everyone has a part. A lot of things are by fate, where you end up, why did you end up here,” Cap said. “I think everyone who’s started an enterprise has left some kind of mark. It’s fortunate that our business has survived all these generations, all these gyrations. “I don’t know that there’s anything special about what we do. The things that are more special are the community things. I had this opportunity to come back to my hometown, be involved in the family business, but I also had the opportunity to be involved in developing this beautiful waterfront. I’m happy to have been able to have that impact. “It’s been an interesting ride.” Contact Christopher Clough at cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com or (920) 743-3321, Ext. 143. l

saturday, june 21, 2014

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saturday, june 21, 2014

The May family knows its 104-year-old niche By Erin Hunsader | Advocate correspondent

Karl May looks quite at home sitting in his office of 49 years surrounded by computer screens and manila folders like any busy tax preparer. And while the office on North Third Avenue in downtown Sturgeon Bay is like a second home to Karl, the business of May Realty began before he was born.

MAY REALTY

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“My grandfather John A. May was the founder of May Realty in 1910.” Karl May said. “He was a farmer, an assessor, a real estate broker – he did a lot of things. Older guys in town who remembered him used to tell me he had ‘a threshing machine,’ too (chuckles). Whatever that means. I have no idea but apparently back then it was unusual.” With May Realty now over a century old, Karl admitted that he never had the opportunity to work with his grandfather simply because he was too young, but he does remember his grandfather being pretty good at what he did. “He was very successful,” Karl said. “He owned and rented a lot of real estate.” John May moved from West Bend before starting the small family business in 1910. Karl’s father, Bernard E. May (nicknamed “Pat”), was instrumental in continuing the company after John retired. He also started a small loan company called Door County Loan and Finance, Karl said. “When my dad started the finance company, there was a need for that,” he said. “He built it up and it was very successful … That was his niche.” So it all added up when Karl himself decided to join the ranks as the third generation in the family firm. After graduating from St. Norbert College in De Pere in 1965, he came back to Sturgeon Bay, and, as he put it, “It was kind of like osmosis. It was just the way it was supposed to go.” He worked with his father until 1982, when Pat retired. His uncle Leon also joined the business after retiring from the U.S. Post Office.

AVOVE: Bernard E. May, father of current May Realty owner Karl May. Submitted BELOW: This sign once hung in front of May Realty when founder John A. May ran the business. Submitted

Leon’s niche seemed to be working with numbers. “He did a lot of the tax preparation and bookkeeping,” Karl said. With so many family members together under one roof, one might wonder how they kept things going over the decades, but Karl proudly recalled how well they all worked together. “I learned so much from my father. I was trained right here. You start to walk, you start to run and you take off,” Karl said. “And my Uncle Leon came in here, and we were very close. He was the brother I never had, the father after my dad died, a good friend. We worked well together, we socialized together, had a close relationship.” Adding a fourth generation, Karl mentioned how well he worked with his son Patrick, who joined May Realty in 1992 after graduating from the University of WisconsinStevens Point, noting that he fit in well with the family business and saying he was well-known and well-liked. But in 2012, at the age of 42, Patrick “had an untimely death after he lost his battle with depression,” Karl said, as he admitted to still struggling with the loss. “Unless you’re familiar with that (depression) or have had a bout with it, it’s hard to understand,” Karl said. “It’s still hard for me to understand how he could give up so much – he has two children. It just got the best of him”

continued on page 5 >>>

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door & kewaunee county generations

<<< continued from page 4 So Karl keeps busy, throwing himself into his work, doing what he knows best - the business of real estate and tax preparation. And, much like his father before him, he knows his niche. “Tax preparation work has always been very interesting to me. I’m a general practitioner, not a brain surgeon,” he jokingly said, “I refer tax clients when they get to a certain point or they need a different expertise.” While their real estate business remains focused in and around Sturgeon Bay with no plans to expand on that, May said he likes it that way. “Years ago I wrote an article for something and I called us ‘the Birmingham’s (Bar, in Sturgeon Bay) hamburger in the day of McDonald’s’ because there are franchises and big companies, yet we’re still a niche,” he said. “Real estate-wise, we’re in and around Sturgeon Bay. We’re probably the oldest one around, and we choose not to be big. We want to be the size we are Still, no matter the size of the business, things are always changing. The biggest change over the past 49 years has been the use of computers, Karl said. And while one might think it was a challenge for someone who didn’t grow up with computers to switch over in the blink of an eye, Karl said he never had a problem adjusting. “I had to change or I wouldn’t have been able to keep doing business,” he said. “Every year software changes for taxes.” May is grateful for the electronic upgrade, recalling the days when taxes were much more, well, taxing to prepare. “I started out preparing taxes with carbon paper,” May said. “After that I had a copy machine, and in 1992, when Patrick came back, that’s the first year we used computers.” Looking back on that, May chuckled. “If you made an error (using the carbon paper), you had to do them all over again,” he said. “And then you’d flip the carbons and it would be all screwed up. The only time that changed was when we started using computers.” The Internet has also made significant changes to the real estate business, ac-

cording to May. “You know, my grandfather and father used to drive people from place to place to look at properties, but today, in real estate, very few people walk in the door anymore,” he said. “They see stuff on the website, they call us and make appointments. We meet people at the property or email. Even contractually, you’re scanning documents, signing them online, passing stuff back and forth. And same with taxes, everything is computer-driven.” There have also been changes in Sturgeon Bay that May said have significantly helped his real estate business. “It used to be that everyone would drive through Sturgeon Bay to get to Door County,” May said. “Now Sturgeon Bay is a destination.” Still, he can’t help but notice how his family’s business is now becoming part of Sturgeon Bay’s history. “I remember my Dad and my Uncle Leon talking about Sturgeon Bay’s history and what used to be here and what used to be there,” May said, “and now I’m the guy who’s talking about ‘that gas station was on the corner, and this used to be there.’ Of course, there have been times when May imagined a different path for himself, but he knows everything worked out as it was supposed to in terms of his career. “Sometimes I’ve wondered what it would be like to work for XYZ Company, but now, I’m 71 and I’ll work until I can’t or my mind turns to mush,” May said “(I’m) proud of the fact that we’re still here and, at 71 years old, I’m still providing service.” He offered a bit of wisdom gained during his half-century in the family business – “You can be in business for 49 years or you can be in business one year, 49 times.” While the succession plan for the business is uncertain, May said that won’t change its history in Sturgeon Bay. “After 104 years,” he said, “we’ve had a pretty good run.” l

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saturday, june 21, 2014

Draeb Jewelers a downtown fixture By Mike Shaw | Advocate correspondent

Trivia contests sponsored by George Draeb’s Sturgeon Bay Rotary Club occasionally feature the topic “What Was There Then?” focusing on the changing storefronts of the city’s downtown landmarks through history. For example, the correct answer for the James Parsons accounting office at the corner of Third Avenue and Michigan Street would be that it was formerly Merchants Exchange Bank. The Stangel accounting firm was the city library, the Harmann Building the Door County Advocate, the Fairfield Building the city hospital. The new Unleashed tattoo parlor was Peterson Builders Inc. shipbuilding headquarters and before that the Door Theater. Associated Bank (originally First National Bank) was the Hotel Swoboda before it became a moneychanging center. But if Draeb asked about his own business Draeb Jewelers, it would be a trick question. You’d have to be an extreme old-timer and Sturgeon Bay lifer – age 99 to be exact – to have been alive when Draeb Jewelers wasn’t Draeb Jewelers at 50 N. Third Ave. “We actually celebrate three anniversaries,” Draeb said. “There’s 1904, the year my grandfather (company founder George A. Draeb) entered the jewelry business. There’s 1910, when he struck out on his own, and there’s 1915, when he bought this building.” The site was already occupied by a jeweler named Richard Weitlich when 16-year-old George A. demonstrated at an early age that honesty was his policy. Karma eventually repaid him and his family with a prosperous, century-old, four-generation business.

“My grandfather was sweeping up and doing maintenance work at a department store kitty-corner from this building; don’t know the name, but it was Bunda’s when I was a kid,” the present-day George W. Draeb said. “He found a $20 bill either on the sidewalk or inside the store, and instead of pocketing it he went up and down the street and into the stores to find out who it belonged to. “Weitlich (the jeweler) said, ‘Now here’s an honest boy! I want him working for me.’” That 20-spot amounted to a decent week or so of wages 110 years ago – roughly $525 today. “Supposedly it belonged to a girl who dropped it while trying to carry a baby,” George W. said. Though he hired young George A. to do sweeping and other odd jobs, Weitlich also schooled him in a trade that his eighth-grade education hadn’t. He sent George to engraving school in 1906 before his 22-year-old protege opened his own shop in 1910 on the West Side – then commonly called Sawyer, after the logging community across the bay that eventually united with Sturgeon Bay in the late 19th century. George A. moved back home, in a sense, when he purchased his former boss’ storefront five years later. George A. kept regular hours at the store until his death in 1959. The business subsequently passed

ABOVE: George A. Draeb, founder of Draeb Jewelers. Submitted BELOW: William George “Bill” Draeb, the fourth generation of Draebs to work in the family jewelry business. Submitted

down, in direct generational succession, into the hands of his son John William, known simply as Bill, who died in 1999; grandson George William, today’s co-owner; and great-grandson William George, also known as Bill and a partner with his father. Joan Draeb, the first Bill’s wife and George W.’s mother, tended the books for nearly a half century before retiring in 2008. She married J. William in 1947, following his service as an X-ray technician in the Philippines during World War II. He was getting his feet wet in the family business at the time, then dived in full-time in 1950 following two years studying watchmaking at Bradley University. The patriarch of all these purveyors of diamonds and gold – in Door County, at least – was one John Drab (note the missing “e” in the surname). The Drabs immigrated from Bohemia when

continued on page 7 >>>

saturday, june 21, 2014

door & kewaunee county generations

<<< continued from page 6 John was a child and, as family folklore tells it, he added the “e” following an embarrassing putdown at school in Kewaunee. “The superintendent said, ‘We don’t want any drab kids around here’. That’s the story at least,” George W. said with a smile. “Some of my relatives out west pronounce it ‘Drabe,’ I use the original (pronunciation), but I’ll sometimes say it as ‘Drabe’ if I’m out of town at a trade show or whatever, just to avoid the confusion.” John, the father of the company founder, was an artisan in his own right, but in building construction rather than things that glitter. He moved to Sturgeon Bay partly because tourism was fueling development – sound familiar? – and helped build the Alpine Resort in Egg Harbor. “The downtown’s become more tourist-oriented over the years,” George said. “There used to be more (services for local residents like) pharmacies, grocery stores, theaters. But we still get a lot of walk-by traffic here.”

Surviving trial by fire

Draeb Jewelers survived its greatest crisis during the depths of the Great Depression, but it wasn’t financial instability that imperiled the business. The scourge, rather, was Sturgeon Bay’s epic downtown fire of Feb. 26, 1935. The blaze destroyed what was then the Washburn H.C. Prange department store (at the present site of Younkers). But despite battling subzero temperatures as well as flames, city firefighters managed to spare the neighboring jewelry store from any major damage. The good fortune would run out overnight, however, when the fire rekindled and wiped out Draeb’s as well. The blaze remains the costliest in Sturgeon Bay history in terms of property loss. Salvaging what merchandise he could from the debris, George A. Draeb miraculously managed to remain open with the help of a good Samaritan business neighbor. “He was back open the next day because the Hahn Funeral Home across the street gave him use of their parlor (as a showroom), so they stayed there temporarily,” George W. said. Commercial insurance was nearly nonexistent in those days, so George A. had to pound the pavement tirelessly before finding a local bank willing to finance the reconstruction in lean times. He was back in business at the old location by August. Other than the huge exception of that tragedy, Draeb’s weathered the Depression and World War II rather well, George W. said. “Dad and Grandpa would drive down to Chicago and still get whatever merchandise they needed (during the Depression years),” George said. “And I’m not aware of any downturn during the war.

“The shipyards were going full-bore for the war effort, so there was money being made. There were still people needing watches, wedding gifts, repair work. People were still getting married.” George W. gave college a try and worked at Bay Shipbuilding for six months before committing to the family business by going away for two years of watchmaking school. “I started washing windows here when I was 10, did clock repair in high school,” George said. “I’ve been here full-time 38, 39 years and I’m planning on retiring in 10 years when I turn 70 – maybe.” Likewise, 31-year-old Bill G. worked part-time at the store in high school, then dabbled in other potential pursuits before becoming the face of the fourth generation of ownership. He demonstrated a remarkable mechanical aptitude at an early age – which comes in handy for clock repair – but needed to get a youthful wanderlust out of his system first. “After high school, I went to Colorado and was a ski bum for a year,” Bill said. “Then I came back home (and) worked at the Fish Creek marina before getting an opportunity to (go aboard) a Palmer Johnson yacht as a deckhand. Did that for eight months cruising the eastern seaboard from Halifax (Nova Scotia) to Key West. “Then the owner sold the boat, and I was let go with severance. I had been working so much, I never had an opportunity to spend the money I had made. So I did a three-month road trip to both coasts.” But on a trip back home in 2003, Bill joined his father and grandmother for a trade show in Washington, D.C. There he decided he would accept the torch of the family legacy. He soon enrolled at the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, Calif. “I talked to some people and decided it was time to stop messing around,” Bill said. “The money was starting to run out, and I needed to figure out a way to start making money again.” Although keeping the Draeb name on the store is no doubt dear to the family’s collective heart, George said he never pressured his son to join him – just like he never received any arm-twisting from his own father. “Am I happy he’s with me? Yes, of course,” George said. “But it had to be his decision, and it was his decision.” Bill brings a social media savvy and painstaking nature to the company. In cable TV spots filmed abroad, he tells how he earned the nickname “Le Difficile” – loosely translated as “The Picky One” – from the gemstone cutters and wholesalers he buys from in the diamond capital of Antwerp, Belgium. “Trends change constantly now, especially with the Internet,” Bill said. “We used to be two years behind the trends on the coasts, but now the coastal trends will be shorter and spread a little quicker.” The Draebs have left their mark on the wider com-

munity, as well, with George active in Rotary Club, Bayview Lutheran Church, Boy Scouting and the Bayside Cemetery Association. The elder Bill served for years on the city Fire and Police Commission. And the multiple generations of Draebs have witnessed multiple generations of the same families pass through their doors as customers. They’ve made sparkle the sons and daughters of their early customers, while tending to the hand-me-down heirlooms within those clans. “The repairs (to those passed-down keepsakes) are a big part of our business, probably a big reason we’ve been around for so long,” George said. “You just don’t see many full-service shops anymore; they’ve gone the way of the full-service gas station. “We helped the kids of our customers with (engagement and wedding) rings, and now we’re starting on the grandkids.” l

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150-plus years on the farm for the Delveauxes By Peter J. Devlin | Advocate correspondent

There’s a farm about a mile west of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in the Town of Brussels where Belgian settlers named Delveaux first turned the soil and planted crops in the 1850s. The farm that sits near the corner of present-day Brussels and Cemetery roads is near where their first house was erected. The Delveaux family farm was certified in 2006 as the oldest family farm in Door County. The farm was recognized that year at the Wisconsin State Fair for remaining in the same family for 150 years. The first Delveaux, Ferdinand, arrived from Belgium and gained title to the original tract of land on Nov. 18, 1856, just five years after the county of Door came into existence. On Feb. 27, 1864, Constant Delveaux acquired the deed to the farm and continued working the land while raising his family there. Thirty-nine years later – in 1903 – he handed off the land to a second Delveaux named Ferdinand. More than a decade after that transaction – in 1919 and at the age of 90 – Constant dictated a family history to a Mrs. Toussaint Mathy of Brussels, recounting his family’s journey from Canton de Wavre, Province de Brabant, Belgium (southeast of Brussels) in the company of Etienne

This Delveaux family photo was taken at Christmastime 2011, four months before George Delveaux, Jr, passed away. Shown from left are, front row, Braden Delveaux and Brock Delveaux; second row, Mike Delveaux, Nicole Delveaux and Crystal Drager; third row, Nancy Delveaux and George Delveaux, Jr.; back row, John Delveaux, John Booth, Tyler Booth, Shelly Booth, Nathan Booth, Joe Delveaux, June Delveaux, Joe Delveaux, Jr. and Nicole Delveaux. Submitted

Dandois and his family, including sons-in-law Alexis Franc and Francois Patris. “We had become like brothers on our trip, having chosen our homesteads together,” Constant told Mathy, who transcribed the recollections. Constant recalled they were penniless and survived by working their new land. “We cut the logs (for homes) to a size that four persons could carry,” he said. “We had men … who came to saw them into boards as was done in olden times, and to make shingles for roofing.” As to the crops in the early days, Constant said, “We brought along from the old country some stones for grinding flour, which were three feet in diameter. We had them fixed up for us by our village miller. “By means of them we could easily grind a bushel of wheat in one hour with two men working,” he said.

A bushel of wheat produces 60 pounds of whole wheat flour. If the wheat kernels were made into white flour, the bushel would make about 42 pounds. From 1903 to 1932, Ferdinand Delveaux served as family patriarch. Then George Delveaux assumed ownership of the farm. In 1974, his son, George, Jr., became clan leader. He and his wife, Nancy, along with his sister, Jean, and her husband, Gaylen LaCrosse, continued to work the farm. In addition to the farm, George, Jr. was involved in protecting and governing the Town of Brussels. He was a founding member of the Brussels-Union-Gardner Fire Department in the late 1960s and served as Town Chairman from 1991 until 2012. On his involvement with the fire department, he said, “A bunch of guys I knew asked me if I wanted to be a fireman. I said, ‘Sure.’” After hanging up his turn-out gear for the last time, George became president of the department’s board of directors. All the while, the family farm was shrinking.

continued on page 9 >>>

saturday, june 21, 2014

door & kewaunee county generations

<<< continued from page 8 Times were changing in the last decades of the 20th century and the first years of the new millennium. Neither of George, Jr.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sons, Joe or Mike, wanted to work the land and tend a dairy herd as a fulltime, 365-days-a-year, occupation. In 2003, the cows were sold, Joe said. In 2012, on the April day his son said he received a check from the sale of 80 acres of the farmland, George Delveaux, Jr., passed away.

The family still owns 40 acres thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leased for raising crops, Joe said. The sons continue to reside on Brussels Road, not far from the home George and Nancy shared and where she continues to live. The Delveaux family name is likely to continue in Brussels. Joe is father of sons Joey and

Brock. Mikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son is named Braden. In addition to the sons who would carry on the family name, George and Nancyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughter, Shelley, is mother of two children. From Ferdinand to Constant, a second Ferdinand, two Georges, Joe and Mike, and now their sons, seven generations of Delveauxs have called Brussels their home. l

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The elder Justin Peter Chaudoir, who came to the U.S. from Belgium in 1873. Submitted

By Lisa Colombo | For the Door County Advocate

Growing up in Southern Door County, one could not help but be aware of the strong Belgian presence in this area. The familiar red brick houses with wayside chapels, Belgian Kermiss, Belgian Days and the nearby shrine Our Lady of Good Help (where Our Blessed Mother appeared to a young Belgian girl, Adele Brice), all were part of our Belgian heritage. Of course we cannot forget all of the wonderful Belgian foods served in the area: Belgian pies, jutt, chicken booyah and Marchant’s famous Belgian trippe, to name a few. My family lived in Forestville with my Grandpa and Grandma, Alvin and Dora (Miller) Chaudoir. Most of our social life involved visiting extended family members, where I would often overhear them sharing family stories, which led me to my interest in genealogy. My great-great-uncles Antoine and Alexandre Chaudoir, residents of Tourinnes-la-Grosse, District of Nivelles, Province of Brabant, Belgium, were the first of my ancestors to immigrate to the U.S. from Belgium in 1856. The Province of Brabant was in the center of Belgium and was very crowded. The farms were small and could barely support a family. The allure of cheap land, good soil and abundant hunting led these self-reliant young Chaudoir men to Wisconsin. My great-great-grandfather Justin Peter Chaudoir stayed behind to care for his parents and family farm and, with his family, came to America in 1873, after his father had passed away. According to Justin’s Declaration of Intent he landed in the port of Detroit in 1873. On Nov. 2, 1874, he became a U.S. citizen. The most interesting person to me was my greatgrandfather Justin Chaudoir, Jr. Although I never met him, there were numerous stories surrounding this captivating man. Justin was born Dec. 5, 1886 in the town of Union to Justin and Anatalie (VanCaster) Chaudoir.

He worked on his father’s farm until his marriage to Leona Delfosse in 1904. As a young man he worked in Brussels for the PierreVirlee Mill, then moved to Jacksonport, where he ran a farm for the Frank LeMere Estate. After that, he and a brother and sister bought out the Pierre Virlee & Co. business in Brussels and operated it as the Chaudoir Company until the fall of 1917, when the mill burned and was a complete loss. Justin went on to sell lightning rods throughout Door and Kewaunee counties. In 1918 Justin took over the Forestville branch of the Kewaunee County Grain Company and ran it until 1943, when he opened his own feed business. Every morning he would walk with one blue and one red handkerchief in his back pockets, from his home across from the Lutheran Church in Forestville to his feed store at Wisconsin 42 and Main Street. Many people have told me stories of how Justin would attend all wedding dances at Forestville Legion Hall and lead the Grand March. Being a large man, he would use his stature to back the guests up and holler, “Attention, make way for the bride and the groom.” He was very civic-minded and was the Chairman of the March of Dimes dance and campaign, also held at Forestville Legion Hall. At one particularly memorable dance, someone threw a skunk into the dance hall. Justin loudly said, “I will give any amount of money to whoever will tell

me who threw that ‘freeze cat’ onto this dance floor.” Justin was often called the “unofficial Mayor of Forestville” and led many parades and civic celebrations. He enjoyed running schafskopf card tournaments in winter months, and my mother, Gayle Gulley, still has the card carrier he used for tournaments. Hunting and fishing were two of his main hobbies, and he took many hunting trips with his best friend, Sheriff Hallie Rowe. As President of the Door County Conservation Club, he was very involved in game conservation. Everyone who knew Justin knew of his love for the outdoors, whether he was foraging for morels or working in his enormous garden, where he was the happiest. On the north side of his house he always grew the herb chervil, which our family used to make a soup with pork shoulder and fresh vegetables. My husband always plants this for me to keep the tradition of chervil soup alive. ABOVE: Justin Chaudoir, Jr. leads a Grand March at a wedding at Forestville Town Hall, as he often was known to do. Submitted BELOW: An image from a calendar Justin Chaudoir, Jr. would give his feed store customers at Christmastime. Submitted

continued on page 11 >>>

saturday, june 21, 2014

door & kewaunee county generations

<<< continued from page 10 Justin and Leona had seven children: George, Alvin, Grayce, Stella, Willard, Bernard, and Leonard, all of whom inherited the love of the land from Justin. My grandfather Alvin also had a huge garden and was well-known for the strawberries and raspberries he sold. He also started his own business like his father did, owning Chaudoir Oil Company, which was located by the Forestville Dam.

So many of these family traits and traditions that we have, have been passed down through our Belgian ancestors. That is one reason I love family history, keeping the connection between the old and the new, meeting relatives and sharing family stories. We are so fortunate in this area where so many people are willing to work to keep our Belgian Heri-

tage alive. Bill and Cheryl Chaudoir of the Namur Belgian Heritage Foundation; Gina Wautier, who teaches Belgian pie making classes; the Belgian American Club; Belgian Days in Brussels each summer; and so many others are teaching the next generation to carry on Belgian traditions. l

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Bertschingers mean more than just the Alpine By Samantha Hernandez | Door County Advocate

The Bertschinger family has a long history of doing business in Door County while leaving its mark on Egg Harbor, including building and continuing to operate Alpine Resort and Golf Course. Brothers Paul and John Bertschinger, the children of Swiss immigrants, came to Door County at different times in the 1900s. They and their brother Fred were all born in Switzerland. In 1904 John purchased a tavern, the Kewaunee House in Egg Harbor, from his wife Anna’s relative.

“The owner wanted to get out so John bought it,” said Paul’s son Bill Bertschinger. John enlarged it, added a dining room and renamed it the Harbor Inn before getting out of the business in 1912. The building is still at the corner of County G and Wisconsin 42, now housing Shipwrecked Restaurant, Brew Pub and Inn. At the time Paul was working as a butcher in Milwaukee. Eventually Paul came up to visit John. While in Egg Harbor, John showed Paul a piece of land he had just sold. The land would be the future site of the Alpine.

ABOVE: The Bertschinger family portrait from 1902 portrait shows, back row from left, sons Bill, Bob, John, Paul, Charlie and Fred; and front row, mother Berta, daughter Lilly and father John Bertschinger. Sons John and Paul built the Alpine Resort in Egg Harbor. Photograph of photograph by Tina M. Gohr/Door County Advocate

“My dad told John, ‘You sold the best piece of property you will ever own,’” Bill said. They bought the land back in 1914 for twice what John sold it for. After John got out of the tavern business, he went into the hauling supplies with a rebuilt boat called the Colbert. The brothers began con-

BELOW: Bill and Marie Bertschinger inside their expansive Tyrolean Raum at Alpine Resort featuring hundreds of collectibles from its past. Tina M. Gohr/Door County Advocate

continued on page 14 >>>

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<<< continued from page 13 struction of Alpine Resort in 1921, opening a year later. The men took on separate parts of the business, with Paul leaving his butchering business to run the food and lodging portion of the Alpine, now in its 93rd season. “At the time the brothers decided to build the resort, tourism was increasing 10-fold in Door County,” Bill said. Paul and John Bertschinger initially built 20 cottages and later added additional buildings and purchased a golf course. For a short while they even had an office in Chicago to help bring tourists to the resort. Other businesses John started in Door County over the years included a lumber yard, orchard and several farms. In 1937 he bought what is now The Lodge at Leathem Smith in Sturgeon Bay, operating it as the Lucerne Hotel. Bill Bertschinger and Bill’s children and grandchildren now run the resort. Bill and his sister Dorothy took over managing the Alpine in the 1960s. Paul and his wife, Emily, had two other children named Gladys and Bob. Even now Bill starts his day at the Alpine at 6:15 a.m. and goes home after 11 p.m. He takes an hour off in the afternoon. “It’s fun to work with family,” said Bill’s wife, Marie Bertschinger. In 1992 Bill asked two of his daughters, Cindy Livingston and Emily Pitchford, to help run the business. “When my father asked me to come back here from Texas … I really had to think about that one,” Pitchford said. “It was fun growing up here so I knew my kids would really enjoy it.” Having family in the area also helped. Bill retained his title of chairman of the board but his daughters took over managing the resort. He now takes care of physical upkeep of the Alpine and is golf course supervisor. Bill and Marie have two other daughters, Carey Bertschinger and Christy Bertschinger. All four children and grandchildren have worked at the resort at one time or another. Cindy Livingston’s son, T.J., has spent summers for as long as he can remember at the Alpine and one of his first jobs was washing the golf carts at age 14. Both Pitchford and T.J. Livingston can remember waiting for their friends to show up year after year. Some of the visitors that come to the resort go back three generations, T.J. Livingston said. “I think part of the reason the guest come is because we are a family business,” he said. Reminders of the past are everywhere at the Alpine. A room called the Tyrolean Raum houses family memorabilia, including toys that belonged to Bill and his siblings, and items from the early days of the hotel, including a matchbook dispenser and dishes. The bar room displays photos of the Bertschingers. Besides the community the family has created with its guests, they also are active throughout Door County. Bill Bertschinger spent 32 years on the Egg Harbor Village Board. He and his children have sat on or volun-

teered for various boards and committees and given back to the community over the years. Those groups include the Door County Golf Association, YMCA of Door County, Lions Club, Egg Harbor Business Association, MS Society of Wisconsin and Egg Harbor Historical Society. “Cindy and I, because we live here, we try volunteer a lot of time to local organizations,” Pitchford said.

The family also gave back to Egg Harbor by donating money toward the Paul J. Bertschinger Community Center, which houses the Village Administration office and hosts various events. “As a legacy to Paul, our family basically donated the community center to the village,” Bill said. Contact Samantha Hernandez at svhernande@doorcountyadvocate.com or (920) 743-3321, Ext. 112. l

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Seven generations and beyond in Gibraltar By Barbara (Kinsey) McKesson | Gibraltar Historical Association

Seven generations of family are a lot of people, and it is by no means an easy task to understand the relationships. The stories told around our kitchen table, and the ancestors I am writing of, are a number of pioneering families that made their way to this place called Wisconsin before it became a state. The land and harbors and bluffs had been seen by the explorers Marquette and Nicolet, but until these people forged a new path in the wilderness, it remained untouched by the white man. This story begins in 1795, with the birth of Increase Claflin, my great-great-great-grandfather. He was the son of Increase Claflin, Sr., and grandson of Cornelius Claflin. These strong-hearted pioneers of the late 18th century traveled and fought for a new country at its very

beginnings. Cornelius and Increase Sr. fought in the Revolutionary War, Increase being a Minuteman, and later Increase Jr. fought in the War of 1812, true founders of this new country. Although born in Wyndham N.Y., young Increase was an explorer. He traveled the South and settled for some time in New Orleans. However, being a hunter and trapper, he heard stories about the riches of land and water near the Great Lakes and traveled north. He and his wife, Mary, were the first pioneers to settle the Door Peninsula in 1835. In 1844, Increase and Mary moved from Little Sturgeon to what is now Weborg’s Point in Peninsula State Park, just across the harbor from Fish Creek. He made the journey by putting his boat on runners, packing up his family of five, and leading a team of horses up the Peninsula on the ice from Little Sturgeon. He traded horses with the Indians and hunted and trapped for a livelihood. About the same time, three brothers named Thorp also left New York to seek their fortune. Asa, the

Asa Thorp. Photo courtesy Gibraltar Historical Association

eldest, had heard stories of the new lands to the west as he worked as a barge boy on the Erie Canal. He landed in Milwaukee and made his way north looking for work. Asa selected land in Rubicon, rich in soil and timber. He returned to New York to take a wife. He, his two brothers, the new wife and his father returned to Rubicon. Back in the new land, Asa was elected to register the land at the government office in Menasha. Instead of returning to his family, Asa, in need of money, continued up river, making butter firkins and wooden barrels. In De Pere, he met a fisherman who convinced him to go to Rock Island, “where the real money was being made.” Here Asa made fish barrels for the fishermen. To make this trip to Rock Island, Thorp boarded one of the many boats that plied the Green Bay waters. One captain noted as they passed a beautiful

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door & kewaunee county generations

saturday, june 21, 2014

<<< continued from page 15 natural harbor, now Fish Creek, that this harbor would be a fine location for a pier for passing steamers to pick up cordwood fuel. Asa listened carefully and did not forget. On his return trip to Menasha that fall, he registered the land surrounding the “beautiful harbor.” Jacob Thorp, Asa’s brother, came to Fish Creek in 1850 to look after his brother’s land interests. While waiting for Asa, Jacob worked for Claflin as a cooper (barrel maker) and met Maria, the second daughter of Increase. Asa returned to Fish Creek in 1854, and the brothers constructed the first pier in Fish Creek, the only pier on the east shore of Green Bay between Ft. Howard and Washington Island. By 1857 the County Board designated all the land north of Sevastopol to the tip of the Peninsula, approximately 40 miles, as Gibraltar Township. Loggers, fishermen, hunters and trappers followed trails making their way to Asa Thorp’s house for the first-ever Town Meeting and elected officers there. Asa did not serve on the board, but rather supported those who did. He was involved in the welfare of the town and was community-minded. He donated the land for the Fish Creek Seventh Day Adventist Church founded in 1876. Asa Thorp owned several hundred acres of land. When men hoped to start a business, or desired to build a home, or wanted a summer cottage, they went to Asa. He was Door County’s first land baron. Along with business success, Asa was forward-thinking. He provided housing for the loggers, warehouse men and merchants in his own home by adding on a rooming house. As ship passengers asked about possible accommodations in the rooming house, Asa became aware of a new opportunity. In 1870, Asa built the Peninsula’s first hotel, located on the Founder’s Square property. Thorp Hotel was an instant success, and before long he enlarged the hotel and built separate summer cottages for families wanting to stay for longer vacations. One could say that Asa Thorp and his new hotel became the “father” of summer tourism. Not long after the Thorp Hotel was built, The Casino, The Nook Hotel and The Central Hotel followed. Indeed, the “beautiful harbor,” Fish Creek, became a tourist destination and began to thrive. In 1855, Jacob and the third Thorp brother, Levi, bought all of the land around Egg Harbor. Jacob married

ABOVE: The Thorp Hotel, built by Asa Thorp in 1870 as the Peninsula’s first hotel. Photo courtesy Gibraltar Historical Association BELOW: Jessie (Kinsey) Thorp. Photo courtesy Gibraltar Historical Association

Maria Claflin. Jacob and Maria settled in Egg Harbor, built a log cabin and started a family. The first born was Emma, then Roy Francis, Freeman, and finally Lillian. Jacob Thorp, or Jake as he was called, was an avid hunter and fisherman. He and Levi built a pier in Egg Harbor and the steamers passing from Buffalo, N.Y. to Ft. Howard hauled cordwood, crops, fish and lumber. Jacob and Maria added a room to their cabin and ran a small store and trading post. Their lumber mill continued to supply cordwood as fuel for steamers and they also sold lumber to the Milwaukee and Ft. Howard markets. Jake also became the first sheriff of Door County. Roy Francis married Matilda Chambers in 1877, and they had five children; Bertha (my grandmother), May, Grace, Pearl, and Merle. Great-grandpa Roy Thorp was a nonconformist, a characteristic inherited from his father, Jake, so the stories go. This “characteristic” could also get him into trouble, as on one of Roy’s famous fishing adventures. The headline on an article in the Door County Democrat newspaper read, “Sherman Kinsey saves Roy Thorp from drowning.” Ironically, Sherman Kinsey’s happening upon and pulling Roy Thorp from the freezing water was but a mere beginning of the relationships between these two families. While the Thorp brothers and Roy were harvesting cord wood and building docks, Ingham Kinsey was fishing, farming and raising a family just up the road in what is now Juddville. Ingham and Elrica Minor Kinsey were married in 1862 and raised a family of 10: George, Sherman, Belle, Sanford, Jessie, Martin, Archie, Alson, Ingham Jr. and Earl.

This is where the Kinsey and Thorp families become intertwined. Jessie Kinsey, Sherman’s sister, married Roy Thorp’s brother, Freeman. Like any newlyweds, they had dreams and hopes, and together they planned to build a beautiful new home. So Freeman purchased a tract of land that rose from Main Street to the bluff. The home would look out on the ever-changing waters of the harbor and beyond. Freeman planned a home that would display his craftsmanship and skill as a carpenter. By the spring of 1903, the large two-story Victorian home stood with a wide front porch offering a magnificent view of the bay. Freeman took special pride in the interior, choosing maple and oak for the hardwood floors that he hand laid in concentric rectangles. The finishing also included rosette moldings, acorn finials and etched glass. With the first floor almost complete, Freeman planned a visit to Menominee, Mich. to pick up more lumber and supplies. On the deck of the Hackley, Freeman looked across the water to study his almost-completed home. History tells us that on the return trip from Menominee, the Hackley encountered tornadic winds just east of Green Island, quickly foundered and sank in deep water with the loss of 11 people. The sinking of the Hackley was a horrible loss for the Fish Creek community. Almost everyone in town lost a loved one in the tragedy. Jessie Kinsey Thorp, now a widow, was but one. Alone, she set about finishing the home Freeman had built and when completed, five bedrooms were ready to house guests on the second floor. Today, it is known as the Thorp House Inn, painstakingly restored by Chris and Sverre Falk-Pederson. To strengthen the Kinsey/Thorp family ties even further, two of Roy’s daughters, Bertha and May, married two of Ingham Kinsey’s sons, Martin and Alson. These four people raised our father, Roy Earl Kinsey. Roy was born in 1912 to Martin and Bertha, who had moved near Rock Springs, Mont. to homestead land in the early 1900s. Three years later, Roy’s first sibling, Jessie Kinsey, was born in Fish Creek as Bertha had returned

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saturday, june 21, 2014

door & kewaunee county generations

<<< continued from page 16 home for the event. Next in the family were Hazel and Pat, both born in Montana. When Roy was old enough to start school, Martin believed the three-mile walk to town was too far, but he wanted his children educated, so Roy’s Uncle Alson and Aunt May, who had no children of their own, came to Montana to pick up Roy and take him back to Fish Creek so he could attend school. Meanwhile, Martin and Bertha continued to farm on their 160 acres, raising cattle and growing wheat and flax. After continuing the struggle for many years, most during drought conditions, Martin finally raised a bumper crop of flax. As the tale goes, he was very proud as he patiently waited his turn for the harvesting crew. Finally the machines arrived, but one of the threshers ignited the flax and the entire crop was destroyed by fire. In 1930, Martin and Bertha packed up the family and returned to Wisconsin. The home of May and Alson served as the post office, where May acted as postmistress. When Bertha and Martin returned to Fish Creek, Roy lived and played comfortably between the two families. While Bertha was busy running the Kinsey Home Bakery in the home built by the Hill brothers directly east of the Bayside Tavern, Martin was building boats and fishing off of the bay. Before steam, Green Bay and Lake Michigan fisherman developed the Mackinaw boat. They were gaff-rigged with fore and mail sails of equal size and were 30 to 40 feet long. They had a deep centerboard, and were known to be lean and fast. As one story goes, Martin Kinsey left Garden Bay for Fish Creek with a moderate north wind. With both sails set wing on wing, he planned to stop at Washington Island, but the wind increased steadily and by the time he got into the Door, he was moving so fast he was afraid to tack or touch his sails, being alone in the boat. So he sailed on with the sheets cracking and the rigging groaning. He looked back at his wake to see a rooster tail behind the rudder like a speedboat. With a run like that, it’s no wonder that life by the water ran in the veins of Martin’s children. Roy’s playground became the beaches, docks, marshes, springs and creeks surrounding Fish Creek. He may have been hauling in a stringer of fish with his cousin Everil Kinsey or training seagulls to sit on his shoulder and feed. Basically, if no one could find him around the house, they would take the search to the water – and there was Roy. As he grew older, one of the more popular activities for young adults was going to dance to big band music. All would gather, pile into whatever wheels were available and dance the evening away at Fernwood Gardens Dance Hall. It was during these teenage years that Roy met Virginia Magnette, who would become my mother. Virginia was a woman of vision and was strong-willed and stubborn to boot. It was her vision that allowed her to be successful as well. An unusual building built in 1910 held a great fascination for Virginia. It was the Maple Tree Café and it had been built for the Barringer sisters, Meta and Cora, who had lost two

siblings and Meta’s husband in the sinking of the Hackley. The Café was built to serve tourists who came to Fish Creek, mostly on boats of the Goodrich Steamship Line. The steamships Georgia, Alabama and especially the Carolina made Fish Creek a regular port of call. The Barringer daughters operated the café until 1934, and in the next few years Roy and Virginia watched the building begin to deteriorate. Maybe this is where Mom’s determination to preserve the history of the building, and future ones like Town Hall and Noble House, began. Roy and Virginia purchased the Maple Tree Café in 1937, renamed it the Summertime Gift Shop and operated it for the next 38 years. At the same time Roy was busy continuing a life on the water. He followed in the footsteps of the generations before him and worked as a commercial fisherman. The commercial fisherman’s life is also one filled with uncertainty, dictated by the fish – what is running, what is the market, and can we get them on ice fast enough. When Dad was young and still fishing with his father, the two main markets were Green Bay and the “twin cities” across the bay, Marinette and Menominee. Later, when roads replaced the trails previously used, the fish were packed and sent by truck to Milwaukee and Chicago. In the early 1930s herring was still running and a fisherman could possibly expect to get $2.75 for a package – approximately 160 pounds of fish. As the herring era ended about 1940, a new era, the one of whitefish, began. Dad could earn 2 to 3 cents per pound of fish, depending on the demand. Virginia, in addition to running the Summertime, also kept busy looking after the budding resort business that began with Aunt May’s renting the little Shorhaven cottage, a prefabricated Sears and Roebuck cottage that is still on the waterfront today. When Aunt May began renting this cottage it was on the “working side” of the harbor, where cordwood was stacked and fish were dressed and packed – not exactly a place for a resort. Despite this, Aunt May received many inquiries about the Shorehaven, the first waterfront cottage in Fish Creek. Later the coach house was turned into a cottage and Roy added the Holiday Cottage along the west property line. In 1950, Roy and Virginia opened Holiday Harbor Cottages, and the business rents the three cottages to this day. In 1938, the year after the Summertime was purchased, Roy Kinsey and Virginia Magnette were married. Mom and Dad had four children: Nancy, Andrea, Barbara and Charlie, representing the sixth generation of the family. Although they grew up on the water, they were not destined to be fishermen or to marry fishermen as the economy of Fish Creek was changing. Love of water ran deep in their veins. At very early ages, they played in rowboats. The family had a roundbottomed rowboat that skimmed easily over the water when rowed by a child. They loved to row over to Weborg’s Point or to the mouth of the creek with a picnic lunch, catching frogs or looking for red-winged black-

birds, blue herons, ducks or the ominous snapping turtle. If the afternoon at the slough didn’t work out, the focus turned back to town, where the children would dive off the top deck of the Quo Vadis, play bibble-babble at the old Thorp dock or spend the afternoon at the public beach with friends. If they weren’t at the beach or at the waterfront, they were at the Summertime helping their Mom. As Charlie grew old enough to play at the beach and swim, his love of and respect for the water grew. Whether he was fishing off of the main pier, checking for crayfish, or down at the dock house sailing in one of Fletch Waller’s prams, Charlie was like his father – at the water’s edge. Not even the cold of winter could prevent him from sailing; he just traded in a hull for runners on an ice boat that Dad had made for him, and the family dog would give chase across the ice. Although a carpenter by trade, Charlie’s work has always included the water. Restoring wooden boats filled winter hours. This love launched the beginning of the Annual Antique and Unique Wooden Boat Shows. The first one took place on our waterfront in 1981, and the shows continued for 8 years. Many boats from across the bay and across the state attended. The event outgrew our small facilities, and Charlie turned over all of the information and contacts to interested wooden boat enthusiasts in Sturgeon Bay. This same exhibit takes place every year as the Door County Classic and Wooden Boat Show at the Door County Maritime Museum. Like his ancestors, Charlie built docks. Crib docks often succumbed to the vicious winds and ice conditions on the bay. Each spring, time was spent repairing or replacing parts of the cribs or the decking on the docks or the bulkheads that protected the waterfront. Charlie served on the Harbor Commission for the Town of Gibraltar for over 10 years and oversaw the reconstruction of the main pier in Fish Creek, setting up the mooring area in the harbor. Charlie married Lynn Vogt in 1991 on the bow of the Lazy Lou in Shanty Bay. In addition to renovating wooden boats and doing carpentry work in the winters, in the summers Charlie ran a charter and lighter service from Fish Creek to Chambers Island. Daily you would see the Aurora B, Chief or the Northern Lighter taking people and goods to the island. As the economy continued to change, Charlie had found yet another enterprise that sustained life on the water. He worked this business until his untimely death in 2011. As for the girls, their careers took them from Door County and Fish Creek. They married and raised their families – the seventh generation of those strong pioneers who helped to settle this land. Although they did not make their livings in Fish Creek, they all returned and two of the three built retirement homes. The youngest daughter returned to the 100-year-old family home and runs Holiday Harbor Waterfront Cottages. Perhaps one of those children will take up the torch and make their living in this very special place we call home. l

door & kewaunee county generations

saturday, june 21, 2014

Lundberg store kept Fish Creek going By Nancy Waldo Fisher | Gibraltar Historical Association

In the spring of 1847, a rangy Swedish carpenter built a wooden trunk for his Norwegian bride, and together they packed the clothing and tools needed for life in America. Charles Alexander (called Carl) and Karn Lundberg, both 26 years old, landed in Milwaukee, where a large number of earlier Norwegian émigrés helped new arrivals to acclimate and find work. Son Charles was born in 1854, and a second son Cassander several years later. Following service in the Wisconsin 51st Regiment in the U.S. Civil War, Carl’s skill as a cooper brought the Lundberg family to Door County in 1867. The Lundberg family found the area around Blossomburg most congenial and purchased a cabin from the Engborg family, who had purchased the land from Increase Claflin. Carl and his sons added a cooper’s shop, and they thrived in the beautiful wooded area that 50 years later would become Peninsula State Park. In 1870, according to Town of Gibraltar census records, Carl and Karn were at home with 16-year-old Charles Alexander, 12-year-old Cassander and 9-year-old Rudolphina. By the 1880 census, only Carl and Caroline remained Fish Creek with their daughter, now a school teacher. Charles Alexander (Alex) was discovering the Great Lakes cities by working on sailing and steam vessels transporting all manner of goods from Lake Superior to Lake Ontario. Alex made meticulous

notes regarding transport times, supplies most in demand, and the reputable tradespeople in each port. He was planning a return to Door County, and the start of his adult life. In 1885, Alex married Alice Schuyler, a Clay Banks school teacher and daughter of veterinarian Albert Schuyler. Alice brought her teacher’s organizational skills to Alex’s dreams, and together that took them to the foot of Juddville Road. A wharf and a dualpurpose building were constructed. The Lundbergs worked diligently to make Juddville a viable stop, using his contacts with shipping agents to establish a general store and chandlery. Lundberg daughters Ruth, Gertrude and Alma were born in Juddville, before the enterprise was given up for a more promising location. The move to a prominent location in Fish Creek – at the bottom of the hill on the main north/south road – proved momentous. “(Lundberg) carries a large stock of goods and enjoys extensive patronage. His business methods … will bear the closest investigation,” Hjalmar Holand wrote in his book “History of Door County.” “He has recognized that satisfied patrons are the best advertisement.” Proximity to the commercial pier in Fish Creek made the Lundberg store a natural place to re-supply both ships and supplies for sailors. Every type of household good was carried or could be ordered, from fabric to grocery items, pulleys and rope to celluloid collars and scented soap. Families trading at the Lundberg store each had a page in the ledger book with careful detail on dates and specific purchases. Many settled up at the end of the harvest season. Customers also included the doomed ship Hackley, the Gibraltar school, and Camp Manawa

ABOVE: In front of the Lundberg home in 1952 are, from left, Lucille Lundberg, Dr. Proctor Waldo, Alice Lundberg, Florence and Ernest Waldo, Alma Lundberg Waldo with Nancy Waldo Fisher, Dr. Charles Fisher with son. Alice Lundberg was 88 years old at the time. Photo courtesy Gibraltar Historical Association. BELOW: The Lundberg store is now the On Deck clothing store on Main Street in Fish Creek. Submitted

in Peninsula State Park. The pages disclose their own history of Fish Creek and how lives varied between farmers and business people. Of the two surviving store ledgers, one has been donated to the Historical Village at Crossroads at Big Creek, the other to the Gibraltar Historical Association. Alex and Alice Lundberg worked diligently in and for the Door County community. Alex was a director at the Bank of Sturgeon Bay and on the board of the Door County Democrat newspaper. Alice was mindful of the tourists coming to Fish Creek and the increasing importance of the hospitality businesses, as well as homes along Cottage Row. Fish Creek ladies were the forerunner to the Civic Association; they quilted and baked to raise the funds for oiling the street (to tamp down the dust), bringing lights

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saturday, june 21, 2014

door & kewaunee county generations

<<< continued from page 18 to Main Street, and other improvements. The Lundberg store had one of the first telephones north of Sturgeon Bay, and Alice would take phone messages for families for miles around. She pinned the notes to her store apron so as not to forget to give them to the family coming in to shop. Alice fiercely believed in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, and no alcohol ever was allowed in the store. She was a savvy buyer, often going to Carson Pirie Scott in Chicago to find items for her store. The Lundberg family home, on the corner of Maple Street and Cottage Row, was a warm and welcoming one that also saw its share of loss. Daughter Ruth passed away at age 14 due to tuberculosis, and son Robert died at 11. The strong Baptist faith of Alice and Alex helped ease the pain while spurring the desire for a church in Fish Creek. In 1917, the Lundbergs donated land behind their house for construction of a church. Alma Lundberg’s marriage to Dr. Proctor Waldo in August 1919 was the first wedding held in the new church. Alice taught Sunday school there into the 1950s. Initially affiliated with the Baptist Church, the church became an independent Community Church in 1978. Following a very brief illness, Alex Lundberg died in 1925. Alice continued to run the store with brother-in-law Cassander until January 1930, when she leased it to William Bunda of Sister Bay. He was the great-grandfather of Mitchell Larson, owner of On Deck Clothing Company and

the man who purchased the building. Alice Lundberg lived to be 94 years old, always involved and interested in the well-being of her Fish Creek friends. Her daughter Lucille built a home on Juddville Hill Road while daughter Alma Lundberg Waldo, the only one with children and grandchildren, inherited their family home in 1956. Dr. Waldo, a pediatrician in Oak Park, Ill., also had a Wisconsin medical license. The kitchen of the Lundberg/Waldo home could be turned into a small clinic quickly when a hapless camper at Peninsula State Park gashed a leg or caught a finger with a fish hook. Alma was happiest in the spring when the house was opened up for the first time, and she gave the front porch chairs their annual coat of blue paint. Grandchildren coming to spend a portion of their summer vacation were expected to pick cherries at the Schuyler farm on County EE. Alma and the other ladies of Community Church made hundreds of pies for the fish boils, then a fundraiser for the church and not something restaurants were doing. Fish Creek summers in the 1950s and ‘60s had a pace and charm now lost. When she began to lose her sight in the mid-1970s, Alma coped remarkably well; she knew every floorboard in the Lundberg house. She passed away on Christmas Eve 1978, Dr. Waldo five years later. Their daughter Margaret Waldo Fisher inherited the house from her mother. In 1984, Margaret Fisher sold the property to Andy and Jan Coulson, proprietors of White Gull Inn. The Coulsons upgraded and have cared for

The Lundberg store used this safe to protect its ledgers and valuables. Submitted

the house in a most respectful way. Scandal disclosed – As he lay dying in 1983, Dr. Waldo whispered a secret to his daughter Margaret – the truth about his marriage to Alma Lundberg. Their nuptials in August 1919 in Fish Creek were their second wedding. Although Alma was the chief surgical nurse at Passavant Hospital in Chicago, and Proctor was a graduate of Bradley University and Rush Medical College, they were uncertain that Alice Schuyler Lundberg would give her blessing to the match. After all, Dr. Waldo was a sophisticated fraternity boy who both smoked and drank. They were married clandestinely on June 7, 1919, several weeks before Alice signed off on the marriage plans. Alma and Proctor Waldo vowed never to reveal the secret and almost made it. Members of the Lundberg, Schuyler, and Waldo families are buried at Blossomburg cemetery in Peninsula State Park. There is a special display of Lundberg family memorabilia this summer at the Noble House Museum in Fish Creek. l

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door & kewaunee county generations

saturday, june 21, 2014

baileys harbor & jacksonport door cou n t Y

Stores, sheriffs and more highlight Brann family By Mike Shaw | Advocate Correspondent

The Brann family hasn’t been leaving its footprints on the fields, forests and roads of Baileys Harbor for as long as the town itself’s been around. It just seems that way.

abundant timber and limestone to be harvested in the wild, unsettled refuge where he had dropped anchor. Similarly, about three decades later, a crew of waylaid Finnish sailors set a new course for Baileys Harbor when they heard of the woodcutting opportunities and general economic potential of the growing town. Among the settlers were the Finnish-born quartet that were the brothers Brann: John, Andrew, William, and August. The brothers brought their parents from Finland to Baileys Harbor in 1880. Two sisters, Johanna (Brann) Olander and Maria (Brann) Starr, also lived in town with their families. The town had endured a slump almost immediately after its founding when Sweet’s fortunes went south, but rebounded through the hard work

The town owes its very existence to a sailor, Capt. Justice Bailey, who didn’t intend to land there in 1848, but was forced to seek shelter from a severe storm in the area’s fine natural harbor. The ship’s owner, Milwaukee merchant Alanson Sweet, soon founded a business colony at the future Door County hamlet, after Bailey brought him samples of the

of a second wave of leaders and entrepreneurs. “John Brann was the oldest of the brothers. He helped with the businesses the brothers established, but he was primarily a seafarer and captained the Brann schooners as they plied Lake Michigan,” according to Leann Despotes, president of the Baileys Harbor Historical Society and a Brann relative. Despotes provided much of the generational history listed here, along with the excellent newsletters of the BHHS and other archival sources. From the original settlers, the Branns went forth and multiplied.

John Brann, the eldest of the four Brann brothers who first came to Baileys Harbor from Finland in the 1870s, with his wife, Ellen, and their children. Submitted

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door & kewaunee county generations

<<< continued from page 20 John married Ellen (Short) Shea, and they had several children. They lost three in the diphtheria epidemic of 1889. Finally, their daughter Torie married and moved to Crystal Falls, Mich. After John died, Ellen moved to Michigan, also. August and William established the Brann Bros. store, selling hardware and general merchandise in the historic building that is now the Cornerstone Pub. The brothers also operated a mortuary and horsedrawn hearse, which remained at the Cornerstone site after the store relocated to what is now Nelson’s Shopping Center across Wisconsin 57. August and Will eventually owned a fleet of schooners and, using the long pier behind the new store, started shipping timber products out of Baileys Harbor, often bartering goods with settlers for the wood they cleared off their farms. William, or simply “Will,” was a horseman who was a racing judge at the Door County and Wisconsin State fairs for years. He frequently showed his steeds at the Door County Fair and also led appropriately dignified processions from the funeral parlor with his twin-horse carriage. The family and community were shocked when Will succumbed to the great influenza pandemic that blazed around the globe in 1918-19, killing at least 20 million by most estimates and exacting a greater death toll than the battlefields of World War I. “Will never married, though some old letters indicate he might have been considering it shortly before his death,” Despotes said. The remaining two brothers, John and Andrew, also prospered in the occupations of farming, hardware, furniture, and seafaring.

Children make their marks

Johanna Brann married Alfred Olander, who was a fisherman. Their children left Baileys Harbor when they became adults, except for daughter Alene (“Lena”). Lena, married to Bernard Boettcher, was a respected teacher for many years and active in the Immanuel Lutheran Church as well. Lena and Bernard’s son, Bill Boettcher, has lived in Door County all of his life. He has been a successful businessman, as a car dealer like his father, and also well known as one of the finest golfers in the county. An annual, Ryder Cup-style golf meet between Sturgeon Bay and Southern Door high schools, the Boettcher Cup, bears his name. August and wife Lena raised six children: Lester, Harry, August (“Gus”), Wally, Lenora and Gordon. All of them made their marks in the world. Lenora and Gordy were longtime teachers in the county; Harry was an entrepreneur as well as Door County sheriff. Wally was a skilled carpenter in Algoma, and Gus and Lester were businessmen in the Milwaukee area. August, also a co-founder of the Door County Telephone Co., continues to be remembered long after the Brann Bros. store was lost to a fire in 1928. He was honored by the Baileys Harbor Historical Society in the fall of 2013 with the organization’s tribute scarecrow in the Town Hall gardens. August Brann was revered in the town not only for his moneymaking talents but for his “sense of humor, honesty and easygoing manner,” according to the BHHS’s autumn ‘13 newsletter. The Brann store “lives on” at the Nelson Shopping Center in two ways. The shopping center itself is built upon the huge old foundations of the original store, and Brann Bros. is one of the scenes depicted in

ABOVE: William (“Will”) Brann was a horseman and racing judge at the Door County and Wisconsin State fairs. He is shown with harness race horse Mucco Elect in an undated photo. Will Brann also established Brann Bros. store with his brother August. Submitted BELOW: The Brann Bros. store, established by August and William Brann, sold hardware and general merchandise in what is now the Cornerstone Pub in Baileys Harbor. Submitted

Baileys Harbor’s ambitious community mural project. Although illustrations like the mural show what appears to be stone construction, the facade was actually made of tin. The ribbon-cutting for the mural was held at the “door” of the artistically recreated store. August and Will provided general goods for the settlers in Baileys Harbor, and brother Andrew provided the hardware. Having sailed around the world at least once, Andrew finally landed back in Baileys Harbor. In 1913, having torn down his old hardware store, a new one was constructed which is currently Chives Restaurant on Wisconsin 57. “His store was reported as having a complete stock of hardware and as being a first-class store,” Despotes said. He ran the store for 40 years. Andrew and Louisa lost two children in the diphtheria epidemic, and another son died while still at university. The agricultural sector benefited from their two remaining offspring. Andrew Jr. (born 1894) became an agricultural agent in Oneida County in 1923, based in Rhinelander, and was credited with clearing 4,586 acres for cropland. Andrew farmed in Ellison Bay from 1920-22 after returning from the service in World War I, then left the farmstead in the hands of a manager after moving to Oneida County. During the Great War, Andrew Brann was detailed to the 20th Army, 1st Engineers Regiment

and was discharged as a corporal. He shipped out to France in March 1918, where he assisted with forest clearing and railroad construction. He was gassed in the trenches but survived, only to die of tuberculosis as a young man, leaving his wife and daughter, Betty Lou, behind. Andrew’s brother, John W., married hometown girl Nina Blakefield and was employed for a time as a state inspector for certified seed potatoes. He later became a professor of horticulture at the University of Wisconsin. Their son, John N., was a chemist for a large American company. John was also well known for his prowess as golfer, playing in many local and regional tournaments and encouraging high school golf as a school sport.

Baseball and the law

“Baseball has always been wildly popular in Baileys Harbor, and the sons of both August and Andrew Brann were prominent on the Baileys Harbor team in the early years of the 20th century,” Despotes said. Andrew Jr. was a talented pitcher; August’s son Lester was rather short and referred to as ‘‘Little’’ Brann on the sports page. Andrew’s brother Paul, and Lester’s brothers Harry, Gus, and Wally, all suited up for the games. Appropriately enough, the team in those days played at what was known as Brann’s Field south of the Cornerstone. August’s youngest son, Gordy, is a Door County Baseball hall of famer and “considered by some to be one of the finest players ever to participate” in the county league, Despotes said. Notable among other Branns born in the 20th century were Lester William Brann, an attorney and chief executive of the Milwaukee city and

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door & kewaunee county generations

saturday, june 21, 2014

<<< continued from page 21 Illinois state chambers of commerce for a career spanning 33 years; and Charles Brann, the longtime sheriff of Door County until his retirement in 2002. The latter followed in the footsteps of his uncle Harry Brann, and great-uncle Walter Olson, both former Door County sheriffs. Both Lester and Charles are grandsons of August Brann. Lester passed away in 1993. Charlie Brann, now 67 and Despotes’ first cousin, became a Door County supervisor two years after stepping down from law enforcement. As sheriff, Charles Brann provided leadership at many a time of crisis, including the 1996 two-week manhunt for suspected killer David Dellis, when police famously lifted Sturgeon Bay’s two (at that time) bridges to trap the fugitive in the northern half of the Peninsula; and the drownings of three Illinois teens in a 2001 paddleboat accident on the waters of Green Bay. The sheriff’s department investigated and found evidence of an underage drinking party that preceded the tragedy. Charles Brann actually made his first “public appearance” at age 6, in a 1953 Door County Advocate photograph showing him climbing the flagpole in the background while, in the foreground, the Baileys Harbor entry in the DCL celebrates its playoff championship. Gordy, his legendary player of a father, is among the jubilant team members in the main frame.

Creative spouses

Some ladies who became Branns by marriage also left their imprints on the family tree. Milwaukee native Lois Brann, Lester’s wife who died in 2005, was the regular summer musical entertainment at the Baileys Harbor Yacht Club for many years. She also hosted “Say It With Music” on WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee, a “Name That Tune”-like game show in which competing musicians had to correctly guess and play a song based on hearing just the first three notes. Lois displayed a prodigy’s talent for music, first studying piano at age 4 and a few years later performing “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” for an audience on keyboard strictly by ear. The story goes that the appreciative spectators clamored for an encore, but young Lois didn’t know the meaning of the term. Told by her father that it means continuing to play, she dejectedly replied that she was out of material. But she was able to produce her jazzy follow-up simply by listening to her dad hum the tune. The similarly creative Claire Brann retired to Door County with her husband, John, and taught weaving at The Clearing Folk School in Ellison Bay. She also was a volunteer at The Ridges Sanctuary until her death in

2012. John and Claire spent summers only in Baileys Harbor, preferring to winter in New Smyrna, Fla., to pursue their mutual passion for golf. “Descendants of Andrew and August Brann continue to maintain a presence in Baileys Harbor,” Despotes said. Andrew and Louisa’s great-granddaughter, Sara Fortune, and her family have a vacation home in Baileys Harbor and enjoy the family connection with the town. August’s granddaughter, Barbara (Brann) Lawrie, and her husband, Army Col. Thomas “Tim” Lawrie (ret.), live in the August Brann home on Wisconsin 57. The Lawries established Simon Creek Winery in 2003. Lawrie was an adviser to Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the 1990 Persian Gulf War and President George W. Bush’s first secretary of state. And then there’s Despotes herself, the former Leann Johns who also retains the house she grew up in and spends about half of each year in Baileys Harbor. Her mother, Lenore (Brann) Johns, is a sister to the mother of Charles Brann, the former sheriff. August’s great-grandson, businessman Lester William “Bill” Brann III and his family also enjoy the Baileys Harbor vacation home that once belonged to his parents. l

Gustave’s Getaway Historic 1887 Door County Log Cabin Vacation Home Rental 2604 Grove Rd. Baileys Harbor, WI 54202

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door & kewaunee county generations

Zahn carved out his own niche By Samantha Hernandez | Door County Advocate

As a young boy Randy Zahn of Baileys Harbor became fascinated with the wood folk art carvings of his greatgrandfather. Albert Zahn, whose work became wellknown after his death in 1953, also lived in Baileys Harbor for many years. Albert emigrated from Pomerania with his family after serving his mandatory time in the military there. While in the service he began carving to pass the time. Later in life, Albert carved so much that people began to buy his work, which he displayed outside his home, which he called “Bird’s Park,” at 8223 Wisconsin 57 in Baileys Harbor. The sales of carvings supplemented his income as he grew older. Since his death, the carvings of the “Birdman of Baileys Harbor” have been featured in shows at fine art galleries such as the Guggenheim and the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago. Most recently Zahn’s birds and other pieces were featured in the important “Uncom-

mon Folk” exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Randy Zahn started carving when he was 14 years old. “There were a couple pieces that we had. The angels my parents got for a wedding present … I was always fascinated by them. I knew there would never be any more, so decided to whittle my own,” he said. Carving helps him feel connected to his roots. He also continues to live on the original homestead that Albert lived on and has several pieces of his great-grandfather’s work displayed. Albert’s Bird’s Park was sold years ago and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. As children, Randy and others in his family would play with the carvings like toys. Albert tried to get his own nine children interested in carving. “From what I understand, he wanted them to (carve), with the idea not so much about being art but for a little extra income on the side,” Zahn said. “But nobody was interested.” One possible reason the carvings, which Zahn called Albert’s pastime, were placed outside was because there were so many of them. Many of his outdoor carvings were of birds. “He was a deeply religious man. A lot of the stuff had angels on it,” Zahn said.

Some carvings by now-renowned folk artist Albert Zahn, on display at a recent fundraiser for the Baileys Harbor Historical Society. Samantha Hernandez/Door County Advocate

TOP: Albert Zahn and his wife, Louise. Submitted. BOTTOM: A photo of how Albert Zahn’s Bird’s Park looked with Zahn’s carvings decorating the outside. The building is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Submitted

People have commented to Randy Zahn that Albert’s carvings make them look heavenward for some reason. Albert’s wife, Louise, painted his carvings. When she died three years before Albert, he stopped carving, Zahn said. Zahn, who also sells his carvings, creates a number of animals, including birds. He focuses more on the shape and the color of what he is creating. Zahn tried to teach his two daughters but they were not interested in learning his craft. “I feel anybody could pick up a knife and with a little practice could do it as well as I do,” he said. As far as Zahn knows, he is the only one in the family to take up where Albert left off. “He probably would have been happy that someone would have carried on his tradition,” Zahn said. Contact Samantha Hernandez at svhernande@doorcountyadvocate.com or (920) 743-3321, Ext. 112. l

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Andersons were early leaders in Ephraim By Sally Jacobson | Ephraim Historical Foundation

For over 155 years the Anderson family has impacted the economic, religious and social life of Ephraim in ways few others have. That impact continues today with the involvement by members of the fourth generation of the family in significant ways in the community. Brothers Aslag and Halvor Anderson of Larvik, Norway, embarked on their journey to America in June 1849. They

were escorting Mary Nilsdatter, the fiance of their friend, Peter Peterson. They arrived in Milwaukee on Aug. 6. After delivering their charge, Halvor, 29, and Aslag, 22, traveled first to Escanaba, Mich., then to Cedar River to work in the lumber industry. In 1854 seven families sailed from Norway for this country, encouraged by Ole Larsen, who lived on Eagle Island. Cholera had struck this small group on the ship, and they were forced to remain on Eagle Island until the disease had run its course. Seven of them, including Hans Hanson, died of cholera and were buried on the island. His widow, Andrea, and her six children, including Greta and Nettie, survived. Andrea supported her family by nursing and acting as midwife. The Anderson brothers came to visit Peter Peterson in Ephraim in 1855, two years after the community was established by Moravian missionary Andreas Iverson and his small flock of Norwegian

Moravians from Green Bay. The Hanson family, including the two oldest sisters, met the brothers and may have played a part in their returning to the small village in 1858. Aslag and Halvor had come to an agreement with the Moravian community that they would build a deepwater dock to benefit the community if they could purchase land at the north end of the village from the Moravians for the same price that they had acquired it from the government. Halvor bought 56 acres for $65, and Aslag bought 110 acres for $124 from Iverson, and the brothers built the dock with help from local men. In addition, Aslag also built the Anderson Store, while Halvor preferred to focus on owning his own land and farming.

Halvor and Nettie Anderson. Photo courtesy Ephraim Historical Foundation.

continued on page 26 >>>

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<<< continued from page 25 In 1861, Greta Hanson was working for a family in Milwaukee when she received a letter from older sister Nettie that she was getting married to Halvor Anderson. Greta’s teasing reply that “I can say the same” evidently precipitated action on the part of Aslag, since he promptly traveled to Milwaukee and proposed marriage to Greta. When they married, Greta was 17 and Aslag was 32 years old, Nettie was 20 and Halvor was 39. The two families remained close through the loss of their first-born children (Nettie and Halvor’s first three died soon after birth). Ultimately Nettie would bear 12 children, nine of whom grew up, and Greta had 13, 10 of whom grew to adulthood. In 1862 Greta and Aslag’s daughter Anna Elise Marie (“Lizzie”) was born, and in 1863 Halvor and Nettie’s daughter Mary was born. Halvor and his family lived in the original homestead on what was Halvor’s farm, while Aslag built a small log cabin in the meadow on the east side of Moravia Street, the corner of which is currently displayed in the Ephraim Historical Foundation’s Anderson Barn Museum. During the busiest part of the summer, it is related, the family lived above the store so Greta would be able to help out while Aslag also worked the dock and farm. Halvor and his wife farmed their acreage north of Aslag’s farm. Halvor became one of the founding members of Bethany Lutheran Church in 1882, along with Thomas Goodletson. Although he had attended the Moravian Church for many years, Halvor seemed to miss his Norwegian Lutheran traditions. Of his children, Petrina Marie was the one who maintained the most presence in Ephraim. She was born in 1871, the fourth of the nine children who grew to adulthood. She married Samuel Rogers in 1904 in Ephraim; his father, also Samuel, had a large logging and trading enterprise in Rowley’s Bay. Petrina’s older brother, Alexander (Alex) established his farm along Wisconsin 57, and the property has now been historically restored as The Corner of the Past museum in Sister Bay. Petrina and her husband farmed and worked in lumbering, living briefly in Gladstone, Mich,, returning to Ephraim in 1912. Sam was Ephraim’s taxi driver in later life. They had three children: Julia Rogers Volkmann, Anne Rogers

TOP: The interior of Anderson Store, back in the day. Photo courtesy Ephraim Historical Foundation. MIDDLE: The exterior of Anderson Store as it appears today. The store is one of the Ephraim Historical Foundation’s five museums. Photo courtesy Ephraim Historical Foundation. BOTTOM: The SS Carolina pulls into Anderson Dock in Ephraim’s Eagle Harbor in 1913. Photo courtesy Ephraim Historical Foundation.

Lowman and James Rogers. James continued farming Halvor’s property, and two of his daughters and their families share the original homestead. Julia spent most summers of her life in Ephraim and was very active in the Ephraim Foundation’s Anderson Store and Pioneer Schoolhouse museums. Her son Richard (“Dick”) Volkmann is current president of the Ephraim Men’s Club, supporting their scholarship program for Gibraltar School students. Both he and his wife, Susan are members of the Ephraim Yacht Club, and they also maintain a home on part of Halvor’s original farm. Susan is a past-president of the Ephraim Foundation and Dick is currently vice president. Their son, Richard, and his wife, Kristin, are also members of the founda-

tion, and Rick provides expertise on web design and marketing from his home in Atlanta. In 1870 the north part of the Anderson home (now Anderson House Shop and Gallery) was built, along with a summer kitchen; the same year, the store provided space to host the new telegraph service which was being extended to northern Door County. The telegraph is still visible at the back of the Anderson Store Museum. Education was very important in the village (Andreas Iverson was the first school superintendent in Northern Door County), and Aslag arranged for the schoolteacher to live with them so that the children would learn English before attending school. Business at the store was primarily conducted in English, along with Norwegian, German and Swedish. Although the Anderson Store was one of three general stores in Ephraim, it became the hub of the village because of the proximity to its deepwater dock. The cedar posts that were shipped to Milwaukee and Chicago in the early 1860s (under a contract negotiated by Iverson to save the struggling community) sailed away on schooners, along with salted fish and other goods being sold by Aslag’s local customers, the proceeds of which were credited against their store accounts. In 1881 Lizzie returned from school in Hope,

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<<< continued from page 26 Indiana, and began working and managing the store, which she did until she died in 1943. Adolph, one of Aslag’s sons, attended Ripon College and Oshkosh Business School. Lizzie and Adolph were two of the most influential people in the community and worked together to take care of their family after the deaths of their parents in the early 1890s while growing their businesses. They were the first welcoming faces that many visitors to the village encountered as they disembarked from the steamships bringing them to Door County from the stifling cities to the south. Three of Aslag’s other children, Olive, Munda and Frank, remained unmarried, living with Lizzie in the family home for their entire lives. Olive managed the home, while Frank was the farmer and family photographer – most of the Anderson photographs in the EHF archives were taken by Frank. He also served as village clerk and trustee. Munda was also active in the store. Lizzie was very active in the Moravian Church and was its organist and treasurer. She was the village clerk for many years and acted as agent for the Hart and Goodrich steamer lines. She handled many requests for opening and closing cottages, including ordering and delivering groceries. Anderson Dock was enlarged in 1880 and again in the early 1900s to provide adequate space for boats, cargo and travelers’ trunks. All summer long, steamers came in from the Hart and Goodrich lines, and travelers and boaters rented and docked their boats. In the spring and fall much work was done getting everything ready for the upcoming season; in the winter, ice was cut from the bay to store in the ice house next to the dock, which provided ice to many of the resorts and summer residents. Adolph was the driving force in many improvements in the village, including the electric generator installed in the old cheese factory

downtown (now the Chef’s Hat restaurant) which operated from 1916 until the mid-1920s. The generator was fired up at 8 every morning, and at 9:30 at night a whistle blew to remind residents to light their kerosene lamps since the generator was powered down at 10 p.m. Adolph was also treasurer of the Board of Trustees for the Moravian Church and on the board of the local telephone company. In 1906, at age 40, Adolph married Matilda “Tillie” Valentine, proprietress of the Stonewall Cottage on Moravia Street (later the Anderson Hotel), who had a son, Everett. Their son, Henry Adolph Anderson II, was born in 1909, and in 1915 they adopted a daughter, Louise, from an orphan train that came through Green Bay. Louise married young and moved back to Norway. Dr. Henry Anderson II became the Medical Director at River Pines Tuberculosis Sanitarium in Stevens Point and later became the medical director of the regional office for Social Security Disability in Madison. He was very active in Ephraim affairs, including the Men’s Club, Ephraim Yacht Club, and was a founding member of the Ephraim Foundation in 1949. He and his wife, Irene, had 3 children: Judy Cloninger, Henry III (Andy) and Lonnie Vitse. As seasonal residents, they share the family home that their parents built along the shore next to Anderson Dock. The original ice house also stands on their property as a reminder of the vital services that their ancestors provided for the community. All are members of the Ephraim Historical Foundation, as are several of their children. Lonnie, a retired registered nurse, is the foundation board secretary and in charge of several programs, including the popular “Cemetery Tour” in conjunction with the Ephraim Moravian Church, where Lonnie and her husband, Gary, are members. Twenty-seven acres of Aslag’s original farm east of Moravia Street became part of the Door County Land Trust in 2005 to create The Ephraim Preserve at Anderson Pond. The family and its legacy – the Anderson Store Museum, Anderson Dock (housing the Hardy Gallery), Anderson House and Anderson Barn Museum – remain central to the preservation of the historical culture and beauty of the village. l

Sister Bay Historical Society

Old Anderson House Museum and Corner of the Past

The Corner of the Past is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 to 3. Located 1.5 miles south of downtown Sister Bay along Route 57, you can tour a renovated 1875 farmhouse and many vintage buildings featuring century-old furnishings, artifacts, historic photos, tools, and farm implements. Admission of $5.00 (children 12 and under free) includes use of Discovery Pen to hear history come alive during your tour. Farmers Market and Heritage Demonstrations on Saturdays beginning June 28th. A free special event from 10 to 2 on June 21st is the Grand Opening of Birch Cottage and a presentation by Susan Armour of the history of Liberty Park Resort. Lunch will be provided as well and this is open to everyone. The museum will be open for those who wish to tour the entire complex. Check our website for schedule updates sisterbayhistory.org “Wisconsin State History Society 2004 Commendation” WI-5001800599

door & kewaunee county generations

saturday, june 21, 2014

Caspersons offering comfort for three generations, 93 years By Erin Hunsader | Advocate correspondent

People’s childhood memories are often linked to their parents’ professions, so for Greg Casperson, taking over Casperson Funeral Home as funeral director just made sense.

“In 1919 or 1920, he found himself wondering why, when people died, the farmers had to take the caskets out to the cemetery on buckboards. So when he was visiting Marinette/Menominee, he saw a funeral coach on a sleigh sled. He purchased it and brought it across the ice into Ellison Bay. He left it with the Johnson/Hansen family (relatives) to use.” Not long after that, Edwin went to Sturgeon Bay and “trained under a funeral director there,” Casperson said. “He got his license as a mortician and funeral director. My grandmother also applied and received her license (as funeral director).” Edwin purchased the building, “which was actually a harness shop,” Casperson noted, “with the front of the building extending about another 25 or 30 feet across the street, until the highway made its way through.” While Greg Casperson said he never knew his grandfather, he feels blessed to have a close relationship with his father, Clyde Casperson, who also entered the

“I grew up as part of it (the business),” Casperson said. “Our household was the center of, I don’t want to say chaos, but my dad was fire chief in Sister Bay, we ran the ambulance in Northern Door from 1921 to 1975. So every emergency call from Northern Door came to our house. There were no first responders. So I grew up with my dad constantly going to a fire or taking the ambulance. It was what I knew.” Casperson Funeral home has called Main Street in Sister Bay its home since 1921, when Greg Casperson’s grandfather, Edwin Casperson, recognized a need for both his family and the community. “Before starting the funeral home, he was living on Chambers Island.” Greg Casperson explained. “His oldest daughter was getting ready to go to school and he realized there were no schools on Chambers Island.” So in an effort to move back to Sister Bay, Edwin started to search out a new profession.

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ABOVE: Edwin Casperson. Submitted BELOW: Greg Casperson. Submitted

business and is still alive at age 93. Clyde’s transition into the family business happened in a more roundabout way than Edwin’s. “When my dad was 17, he had a full scholarship to go to Ripon College and play basketball.” Casperson said. “Then my grandfather died from a gallbladder attack. At that time, my father decided to go to mortuary school. He was there when Word War II broke out, so he went into the navy and my grandmother was running the business. My dad’s cousin stayed here during the war years and ran the funeral home with my grandmother.” When Clyde returned home from the navy in 1946, he took over the business. For Greg, he said his journey into joining the family business happened a little more like his father’s, with him originally planning to pursue

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door & kewaunee county generations This sleigh was used by Edwin Casperson as a hearse when he started Casperson Funeral Home in Sister Bay in 1921. Submitted

<<< continued from page 26 something else. “When I finished high school, I went to Carthage College in Kenosha. I graduated with a degree in history with a concentration in elementary education,” Casperson said. “I always loved athletics, so I thought I’d teach and coach. My dad had some other health problems, so when I graduated, I thought if I was ever to come back here, I still had to get my degree in mortuary science.” Casperson pursued that in Indianapolis, completing two years of school in a one-year time frame. Once finished, he was surprised at how smoothly he transitioned into the family business. “It was part of my life. I grew up with it,” he said. “I helped around the funeral home and the ambulance my whole life. Not to mention, you can’t help but love Door County.” That was in 1971, when he returned to worked side-by-side with his father. Clyde recently retired, handling his last funeral on Washington Island – at age 89. Besides his partnership with his father, Casperson said he is thankful for the working relationship shared between the other funeral homes in Door County. “We’re good friends with other funeral directors (in the county) and their families, because they understand the business, and sometimes you have to lean on each other,” he said “If we need help, we help each other out. We have to; we’re all small firms. We trust each other.” Trust is important when you’re on call all the time. The hours in the profession can take a toll on a person, Casperson said. “From a physical standpoint, the 24 hours, 7 days, 365 days a year can be a challenge,” Casperson said. “When you’re younger, that doesn’t matter, but it does disrupt your family life. I grew up with it, so that’s what I knew, but when I got married it was a big adjustment for my wife. But she’s done real well. She’s been my backbone.” Casperson said the positive parts of the job always outweigh the negative. “It’s easy to become jaded, but in the hardest of times, you see how the com-

munity comes together and helps each other,” he said. “They rally around the families, even people they don’t know, and we get to see that. We see the best in people.” Like any business, things change over time. Casperson noted that the biggest change has been technology. “Now we do DVD’s for families; a lot of funerals homes stream funeral services so people can see them,” he said. “You know if someone is in Iraq, they can watch it online. We’re gradually going to that.” As things change, Casperson feels grateful for his years of experience working with his father, who was one of his greatest teachers. “At a young age (high school), I had to accompany my father to the home of a family where someone had passed away who we knew,” Casperson said. “Then some years later, when I had to go to a family in a similar situation, I remembered how he handled it. That always stuck in my head.” He said he knows how important the funeral process is for people to gain closure. “The biggest thing I hope continues are funeral ceremonies, because it allows the non-family member to greet the family and talk to them,” Casperson said. “Nobody knows what to say – I even have a hard time finding words – but once I’ve seen that person, the next day, if I see them at the post office or the store, I can say carry a normal conversation.

“If you don’t have that interaction, then six weeks later you see them and think, ‘Oh my goodness, I haven’t seen them since his wife died,’ and you turn and go the other way because you don’t want to face that. So that’s crucial – the interaction with the family, the community.” After 93 years in business, the Casperson funeral home is for sale, and although Greg Casperson loves what he does, he is looking forward to the future. “A week after I leave, somebody else is going to be here who’s going to do a wonderful job and you won’t remember me,” Casperson said. “And I hope that happens because, to me, that means that they’re getting the care that they need. You want people to live in the present. You can admire the past, learn from the past, but be in the present.” He said he will always remember the care he, his father and grandfather strived to give people through simply listening and being kind to those they dealt with. “My dad always said, ‘If you shake somebody’s hand and you treat them like family, it’s going to work out,’” Casperson said. “That’s been our philosophy since 1921 and it hasn’t failed us yet.” l

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saturday, june 21, 2014

Cabin, church among reminders of the Goodletsons By Thea Thompson | Ephraim Historical Foundation

The story of this family begins in southern Norway with a young couple, Thomas and Kjesten Goodletson, and their children, Goodlet, Jennie and Emma. The name Goodletson is fairly unusual and deserves a bit of explanation. Traditional Scandinavian naming requires a child to take his (or her) father’s first name as their surname. For example, Thomas’ father’s name was Goodlet, therefore, Thomas became Thomas Goodletson. A daughter would have used the name Goodletsdatter. Consider the number of Scandinavian names common in the Midwest – Thompson, Olson, Nelson, Hendrickson, Severson, Iverson and so on, all follow the same pattern. However, once immigrants arrived in America, they often stopped the tradition and kept the same surname through multiple generations. The Goodletsons did this; the children

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ABOVE: Thomas Goodletson. Photo courtesy Ephraim Historical Foundation. BELOW: Kjesten Goodletson. Photo courtesy Ephraim Historical Foundation.

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The Goodletson family of Ephraim represents a true Norwegian immigrant family in every sense – it endured great hardship and loss in the wilderness of Wisconsin, but these sacrifices also achieved great possibilities for their children, grandchildren, and all their descendants.

otherwise would have been given the surname Thomasson or Thompson (“son of Thomas”). Many of the Goodletson children took an additional step and shortened their name to Goodlett, which is a wellknown name in Ephraim; only the descendants of the eldest son of Thomas and Kjesten, Goodlet, retained the original Goodletson. To this day there are Goodletsons throughout Door and Brown Counties and beyond and they are active in the communities their ancestors helped create. The Goodletsons lived in a parish in southern Norway called Holt, located in Aust-Agder. The Holt Church was located only about a dozen miles from the Dypvåg Church, to which another well-known Ephraim family, the Andersons, belonged. Because of the close proximity of these two parishes and the fact that the Andersons and the Goodletsons both settled in Ephraim, there is a high likelihood that the two families knew each other in Norway.

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saturday, june 21, 2014

door & kewaunee county generations

<<< continued from page 30 Thomas and Kjesten formally left their church in Norway in 1853, with their children, and immigrated to America. According to a story passed down through the family, Thomas and Kjesten traveled to the United States on their own ship they themselves built. This is would have been an amazing feat and there is a great deal of evidence to indicate members of the Goodletson family were excellent sailors; however, no records yet have been found to support this story. But there have been no records found to indicate the family traveled to America on an immigrant ship, either. Research continues into discovering how the Goodletsons traveled to America and the origins of this family story. The family first settled in Escanaba, Mich., where Thomas worked in the lumber industry. (This is also where Aslag and Halvor Anderson initially settled and worked.) Thomas soon learned of the new settlement of Ephraim located on the Door Peninsula and decided to move his family there. It is likely that Thomas told his friends, the Anderson brothers, about life in Ephraim and encouraged them to visit; the Anderson brothers’ eventual arrival led to the construction of some of Ephraim’s most recognizable buildings, including Anderson Dock and the Anderson General Store. Like many immigrant families, the Goodletsons’ first home in Ephraim was a tiny log cabin. Log construction was the easiest and most efficient way to build a house in the early days of Ephraim, and log cabins were often the first homes built by new settlers. A small group of people could build a cabin with readily available materials, and without using nails and other hardware, which were usually scarce on the frontier. After the logs were prepared, a cabin could be erected within a day. The Goodletson cabin is of early pioneer design. It is a flat-hewn log building with dovetail corner timbering. The upper part of the cabin, a loft area, was the children’s room, while the parents slept on the bed downstairs. Sometimes, when it got very cold, some of the farm animals would join the family in the house to stay warm. The family built this log cabin on

Horseshoe Island, probably around 1855, and later decided to move to the mainland. The Goodletsons moved their cabin across the bay, most likely during the winter when the water was frozen, and settled it on the southern side of the village. This one-room cabin accommodated the growing Goodletson family: six more children were born to Thomas and Kjesten after they settled in America: Peter, Jane, Cornelius, Anne Christina, Peter Franklin, and Louisa. Kjesten Goodletson has the distinction of being one of the first women to give birth in the new settlement of Ephraim, founded in 1853. The Goodletson family lived in the cabin until the late 1800s, when a frame house was built for the family. Several decades later, the cabin was used by the former Hotel Ephraim as the honeymoon suite. In the mid-1970s, the owners donated the cabin to the Ephraim Historical Foundation, and it was moved to its current location on Moravia Street and opened to the public as one of the foundation’s museums. Like many of the original settlers of Ephraim, the Goodletson were Norwegian, but unlike the original settlers, they were not Moravians, but Lutherans. While the two Protestant groups existed well together, as more Lutheran immigrants arrived in Ephraim, the desire to have their own Lutheran church grew. Thomas and Kjesten were instrumental in the establishment of a Lutheran congregation in Ephraim. Early church services often were held in their tiny log cabin before Bethany Lutheran Church was built in 1880. Kjesten was a founding member of the Lutheran Ladies’ Aid and served as its treasurer. Once the family had settled into their new life in Ephraim, Thomas and Kjesten operated a small family farm and raised their family. Goodlet, the eldest son, served in the U.S. Navy during the U.S. Civil War. After the war, Goodlet married and settled his family on Washington Island. He owned a cargo ship called the Lucy Graham, thus giving him the title of Capt. Goodlet. Descendants of Goodlet still carry the Goodletson name and can be found in the Green Bay area.

continued on page 32 >>>

Supper Club f o s r a e Y Celebrating 50

The Sister Bay Bowl began in 1942 when Louie Willems purchased what was then the Sister Bay Hotel. At the time, his son, Earl, was studying to become a chiropractor and met a waitress named Rita. Upon meeting her, Earl told his friends, “I’m going to marry that girl.” Rita, meanwhile, told her girlfriends, “I hear he is a little fast with the ladies,” and stood him up on their first date. As time would tell, the young couple couldn’t out run fate and their 60 years of marriage began five years later in 1947. Earl and Rita bought the Sister Bay Hotel from Louie in 1950. Rita maintained the thirteen-room, threebathroom upstairs hotel and the downstairs dance hall and bar. She was the “power behind the throne” while Earl was the greeter at the bar. Earl’s big smile complete with his trademark cigar welcomed guests while his stories and drinks entertained them for hours. Earl and Rita lived with their four children in the space where the dinning room is located today. The kids; Belgie, Sharon, Barnie and Penny, were quite literally raised in this business. In 1957 construction began to convert the dance hall into the six-lane bowling alley that’s still in use today. While the original pinsetters gave way to automatic machines, the scoring is still manual. In 1964 Rita put to use her skills in the kitchen and opened up the supper club. Their philosophy was that a good reputation is built on a simple, quality menu, a friendly welcoming atmosphere and word of mouth. They were right. The Friday fish fry made the Bowl famous. Over the years word spread and people gathered to eat, socialize and catch up on local news as they still do today with the fourth generation. Most days Penny and Belgie can be found behind the bar, Sharon hostessing and Barney tending to the grounds with one or more of the grandchildren working alongside them. This place is not just where they work, it’s where they gather as a family (often spontaneously). The Willems are not the only family represented in the business. Multiple generations of families have worked at the Bowl including 16 mother-daughter and 13 mother-son pairs. Adding to the Bowl’s long-standing tradition of family are the generations of diners who continue to bring their children and grandchildren in, making memories to last a lifetime. The Willems’ tradition of friendly service, fine food and drink remain as the fourth generation make small updates to the menu and building. The Alley bar is the recently added outside bar and dining area on the north side of the Bowl and provides an excellent place to enjoy a conversation (drink in hand, of course) overlooking downtown Sister Bay. We encourage you to come in and join the tradition that has customers coming back to the Bowl week after week, year after year. We thank our employees, customers and family for their loyalty. To Earl and Rita, we thank you for your work ethic and commitment to your dreams and family. You taught us how to work hard, and at the end of the day, slow down, savor the moment and enjoy the people around you. That’s what the Bowl is. Cheers to 50 years and all the wonderful memories. ~The Willems Family

The Willems Family

Located on the corner of Maple & Hwy 42 Sister Bay • Open Daily • 920-854-2841 WI-5001803584

door & kewaunee county generations

saturday, june 21, 2014

<<< continued from page 31 Jennie married and moved to Michigan. She and her husband raised six children. Emma married, had two children and then gave birth to twins. The family lived in Washington Harbor. Tragically, Emma suffered a stroke shortly after the birth of her twins. She died at the age of 30. Her children returned to Ephraim and were raised by family and friends of Emma. Descendants of Emma still live in Sturgeon Bay today. Peter sadly drowned off Anderson Dock when he was nine years old. Jane died only a few days after her birth. Cornelius Goodlett took over the farm after his parents. By all accounts, he was a kind and generous man. He and his wife raised 10 children, several of whom were born in the Goodletson Cabin. A few of his sons became ship captains and sailed the Great Lakes and the world’s oceans. Cornelius’ youngest daughter, Ella Mae, was instrumental in establishing the Peninsula Music Festival. Ella Mae’s sister-in-law, Doris Heise Miller, was a noted Door County jeweler whose work is still worn today. Cornelius’ granddaughter, Marilyn Cushing, currently serves as president of the Ephraim Histori-

Cornelius Goodlett rides in a surrey with his 10 children. Photo courtesy Ephraim Historical Foundation.

cal Foundation, which is the steward of the Goodletson Cabin today. Another granddaughter, Hedy Heise, was named Ephraim’s Fyr Bal Chieftain in 2013. Today Hedy lives in the house Cornelius built. Descendants of Cornelius still live in Ephraim today. Anne Christina married and the couple raised six children in Ephraim. Her husband died suddenly in 1898 and she was left to support herself and her six children. She decided to take advantage of the stream of tourists arriving in Door County and opened a hotel in Ephraim called the Malmer House. Her children continued to operate the hotel for a time after her death. Peter Franklin married and had three children. The family settled in Marinette. He captained two Great Lakes schooners during his life, first the Arrow and then the J.H. Stevens. His daughter, Ella May, died at age 4 from measles and was the first person interred at the Bethany Lutheran Cemetery, the church her grandparents helped found. Louisa married and lived in Chicago with her husband. After his

death, she returned to Ephraim to help care for her mother. A goal of many immigrants was (and still is) to give their children a chance at a better life. Sadly, not all of the children of Thomas and Kjesten survived to adulthood, but for the ones who did, they had the chance to live their lives as they chose and to create their own legacies. The descendants of Thomas and Kjesten continue to impact the Ephraim and Door County community to this day. In addition, Bethany Lutheran Church and the Goodletson Cabin Museum remain physical reminders of the work, dedication, and courage of the original Goodletsons, Thomas and Kjesten. l

sister bay & ephraim d ow n t h r o u g h t h e y e a r s Ephraim Moravian Church Door County’s Oldest Church

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10 a.m. Sunday Services Nursery Provided Totally Accessible Look for our 8 a.m. services added in July, and come to our Anderson Docks-ology ecumenical sunset services July 9 through August 20, 7:30 p.m. on Anderson Dock in Ephraim WI-5001803120

12 Years Young…

Sister Bay

Where Faith Meets Real Life

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1 1/2 Miles S. of Downtown Sister Bay On hwy 57 920-854-7680 sisterbayhistory.org

Celebrating 50 Years of Supper Club Corner of Maple Road & Hwy 42 - Sister Bay

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161 years and counting

Door of Life CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Pastor Ed House

2731 Highway 42, Sister Bay

(920) 421-1525

saturday, june 21, 2014

door & kewaunee county generations

ellison bay & gills rock

door cou n t Y Capt. Jeff Weborg, Rick Johnson and Eric Weborg, from left, pull in a trap net aboard the Heather J during a work day at the Weborgs’ J&M Fisheries. Tina M. Gohr/Door County Advocate

Five generations on the water for Weborgs

ellison bay & gills rock

By Ramelle Bintz | Door County Advocate

A Dec. 30, 1886 account in the Door County Advocate shows Andrew Weborg purchasing fish and conveying them to the nearest railway station when sleighing begins. An Advocate Feb. 11, 1888 story reports: “Andrew Nelson and Ole Anderson, each with a load of fish, and Andrew Weborg, with two loads, were at the

exchange on Wednesday bound for Menominee … They say that the average catch of trout is about one ton per day in the vicinity of the Door.” This early business brief goes on to make this prediction: “There are quite a large number of persons engaged in the business. The aggregate amount of money realized from this source amounts to many thousands of dollars … It is safe to say that the fishing industry is one of the most important in the county and it should be fostered with jealous care.” Andrew’s sons, Arthur and Alfred, all had sons who became fishermen. By the time Arthur’s son, Marvin, was a fisherman, the family had transitioned from farming to fishing. The family settled in Hedgehog Harbor, which by 1870 became known as Gills Rock. The Weborg name also changed from the original spelling of Wiborg in Norway. Fourth-generation fisherman Jeff

d ow n t h rough the years

53YEARS Weborg got seasick and suffered from asthma as a young man, so it didn’t seem likely he would follow the family trade. “The first two months I started fishing in November and December during the worst weather months you could get,” Jeff said. “I was seasick every day.” It didn’t matter if it was rough or still — he tried every remedy and nothing worked. One day he put the nets and coal in the boat and went out with his father, fishing for chubs. He just couldn’t breathe,

While Rick Johnson nets fish in the background, Eric Spieser, Eric Weborg and Jeff Weborg, from left, crate whitefish. Tina M Gohr/Door County Advocate

continued on page 34 >>>

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In the 1860s Andrew Weborg’s family came to Door County from Norway as farmers. But the rocky soil of Door County didn’t yield as much food as the fish in the waters surrounding it.

763 State Rd. 42 Gills Rock, WI 54210

www.beashomadeproducts.com

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saturday, june 21, 2014 <<< continued from page 33

1962-2014 Celebrating 53 Years A

t a homestead owned by four generations of Landins since 1884, Bea’s Ho-Made Products is located 1/2 mile east of Gills Rock on Hwy. 42. The canning business started quite by accident. In 1962, The Landin’s oldest daughter Linda, started selling cherries from a picnic table by the roadside. The following year she included an over supply of beans and cucumbers from the garden. Motivated by her success, she included her grandmother’s famous chopped cherry jam. The jam sold very well, inspiring her mother, Bea, to expand the selection to include strawberry jam, raspberry jam, and various pickled items. Each year something new was added and the business grew slowly. The Landins operated a farm by day and did their canning by night, selling the ﬁnished products on a picnic table by the roadside. No preservatives or artiﬁcial colors are added. Bea’s Ho-Made Products has grown to include over 100 varieties or jams, jellies, pickles, and relishes plus homemade pies.

OPEN DAILY 763 State Rd 42 Gills Rock-Ellison Bay

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“Start at the top, shop the rock”

so he crawled down by the coal stove, where hot air seemed to help, and fell asleep. He woke up to his father hollering for him to look for the buoy and awoke to rough water – then soon realized he was no longer sick. He hasn’t been seasick since. In 1970, he and his brother, Mark, started J&M Fisheries in Gills Rock and began a thriving commercial fishing company now run by a fifth generation: Jeff’s son, Eric; his brother’s son-in-law, Jim Laughlin; and James Rice. Jeff is now semi-retired, but an early water mishap almost ended his life as a youngster. Always hanging around docks and boats, he was playing with a handmade boat as a preschooler. It was spring, with ice cakes in the harbor. He remembers pushing a stick to break the ice when he fell in. A man working for his father noticed Jeff’s green plastic glove sticking out of the water, reached in and yanked him out of the bay. Weborg awoke on the dock, having his stomach pushed in, coughing, water gushing out. “It wasn’t my time just yet,” he said. His father soon decided he needed to learn how to swim, which he did by tying a rope around Jeff’s waist and having him figure out how to keep his head above water while paddling beside a steel boat. There was nothing to grab onto, he said, so he soon learned how. One March day in 1973, the wind shifted as he and his brother become stranded out fishing when ice shoved under the boat, squeezing in the sides by almost a foot and lifting it out of the water with ice chunks on either side. The Coast Guard came to his rescue. He also fished with his cousin, Leif Weborg, out of Kewaunee, whose boat and life were lost off Port Washington. His brother, Mark, lost an arm while fishing several years ago. “It’s been difficult,” he said, “but we continued fishing.”

Last connection to the old-timers

Weborg tried to give up fishing once as a young man, briefly leaving to pursue church work. He met his lifelong partner, Betty, while both attended a Bible college in British Columbia. Both returned to Door County, and he’s been fishing for more than 50 years and married for 44. In his semi-retirement he carries on the church involvement his parents had with Bethel Baptist Church and has been a visiting speaker in the Ukraine for the past 11 years.

He wishes he had recorded some of the stories of adventures he heard from older fisherman in their day. “That flavor is gone now,” he said. “I am the last connection to the old-timers.” Back then, he said, it was a race to see would go out or stay in when the waters were rough. There were so many more fishermen that if everybody stayed in, it would be OK. But if one started, regardless of the weather, they all went out to be the first to get a lift of fish. In 1900, there were more than 200 fishermen plying the waters around Door County. Now there are only a handful left. “In the old time, fishermen had wooden boats but they were iron men,” he said. “Now we have iron boats and wooden men.” He has seen the industry evolve from fishing with set hooks for lake trout to using nets. J&M now includes wholesaling frozen fish to an international market. But his real claim to fame, he said, was a low-budget fictional movie in 1984 called “Islander” in which he has a daughter who wants to be a fisherman. “There were two movie theaters in Sturgeon Bay,” he said, “and we outdrew ‘Rambo.’” Farming would be a second career if he would not have been destined to be a fisherman. Whether he would like to see his grandson, Andrew, carry on the tradition, he said, is really up to his son and grandson. “It’s just different than when I started,” he said. “You don’t have tradition. It’s all business now.” Invasion of exotics means there is no security in fishing, he said, and no one can predict whether there will be any fish from year to year. “It used to take a whitefish three years from the time it hatched, and now it’s six years because the quality of food is not there,” Weborg said. Now it demands marketing skills and discipline with money to weather the bad catches with the good, so there are assets set aside for unforeseen circumstances. Weborg had to dredge two years ago due to low water levels on Lake Michigan, and a botulism scare several years ago temporarily devastated the market. As for this past winter, he said, it finally was a normal winter like it used to be. “I sometimes laugh about people talking the good ol’ days,” he said. “It was hard work.”

Contact Ramelle Bintz at rbintz@doorcountyadvocate.com. l

saturday, june 21, 2014

door & kewaunee county generations

washington island

door cou n t Y

Baseball a way of life for Jorgensons By Korey Mallien | Door County Advocate

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I call it my baseball wall,â&#x20AC;? said Catherine. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have about 15 or 20 photos, including several of the Island baseball teams that Perry played on, a nice one of Perry close up, several that I cut out of the newspaper and had enlarged, one of our son Todd playing, and one of our grandson Troy when he started out in the Washington Island Little League. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got them in the porch, so people can see them right when they walk into our house.â&#x20AC;? Yes, baseball is important to the Jorgensons and their family, who have a long history of turning out players for Washington Island teams. In fact,

the Jorgensons have been playing baseball on the Island for more than 80 years. The four-generation baseball lineage in this particular Jorgenson family started with Leonard in the 1930s, continued with sons Perry, Kermit, Lonny and Russ, then with grandchildren Glenn, Jim, Mike, Todd and Dan, and most recently with great-grandchild Troy, whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s currently the Islandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s starting pitcher in the Door County League. Leonard Jorgenson, who died in 1988, played third base and pitched for the Island years and years ago. In a newspaper article from 1933, it was reported that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jorgenson did the twirling for Washington Island for

ABOVE: Cathy and Perry Jorgenson have dedicated a wall to their familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rich history of baseball on Washington Island. Tina M. Gohr/ Door County Advocate BELOW: An Islanders game photographed in 1948. Photo of photograph by Tina M. Gohr

eight inningsâ&#x20AC;? and he also had a hit and scored two runs in a win over Sevastopol. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He was a very good ballplayer,â&#x20AC;? recalls Perry, 76. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As kids, we used to watch his games on Sundays. That was a lot of fun.â&#x20AC;? Perry said his father wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like a lot of parents today who push their children into playing sports. Instead, Perry and his three brothers grew to love baseball on their own.

continued on page 36 >>>

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In the porch of Perry and Catherine Jorgensonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home on Washington Island, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a collection thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s near and dear to their hearts.

door & kewaunee county generations

saturday, june 21, 2014

<<< continued from page 35 “Baseball is the only thing Washington Island ever had when we were kids,” said Perry. “At recess time during school, we’d walk to the field and play.” Perry began playing for the Islanders in the amateur Door County League in 1952 and continued until 1979, when he managed the team for a year in his son Todd’s first season. Perry and his brothers all played together for a period of time with the Islanders. “That was exciting,” said Perry. “Kermit played shortstop and Lonny and Russy played in the outfield. Kermit was the best hitter. He could really hit the ball and won a few games for us with home runs. We depended on him quite a bit.” The Jorgensons helped the Islanders win the DCL championship in 1954. Perry was regarded as one of the best pitchers in the league during his day. “Perry threw so hard that catcher Walt Jorgenson (no relation) had to put some extra padding in his glove,” according to a piece written by unofficial Washington Island baseball historian Jake Ellefson. “He used an underhand change of pace, but his main pitch was a blazing fastball.” Perry, who was inducted into the Door County Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000, said Walt Jorgenson used a “falsie” in his glove to cushion the blow when he was pitching. “Perry had a wicked ball,” said Catherine. “So Walt took a cup from a woman’s padded bra and crammed it into his mitt.” “Everybody got a kick out of that,” added Perry. Perry and Kermit had tryouts with the Milwaukee Braves in 1958 after a scout saw them play for the Island. Going through baseball drills in the old Milwaukee County Stadium was an eye-opener for Perry, who was 20 years old at the time and had never previously traveled that far off the Island. “I wasn’t much for big crowds of people,” said Perry. “But it was a good experience; something different.”

Kermit won the DCL batting title in 1960 with a .421 average. The four Jorgenson brothers played many combined years for the Islanders, much to the delight of their mother Sylvia, who died in 2007. Nicknamed “Sib,” she was a big supporter of her sons and the Washington Island team. “She was very encouraging and hard as nails on those boys,” said Catherine. “If they didn’t catch a ball, she’d say, ‘We’ll have to put a skirt on you.’ “When we were dating, she always told me to make sure Perry was home by 11 if he had a game the next day. She wanted to make sure he was ready to play.” “She ruled the roost,” added Perry. “And everyone knew her at the games. She was always hollering.”

‘We lived for baseball’

The Jorgenson baseball tree extended into a third generation in the 1970s and 1980s, when Lonny’s sons Glenn, Jim and Mike, Perry’s son Todd, and Kermit’s son Dan began playing for the Islanders. “I used to go to practice with my dad as a kid,” recalls Glenn Jorgenson, 52. “I can remember shagging fly balls as a 10-year-old, and the older players would let us bat once in a while. I started playing for the Islanders when I was 16. They needed prospects, so they let us get involved at an early age.” Glenn said his brothers and cousins and other boys on the Island often started out with the team as batboys and then began playing when they reached high school. “We would attend practices and watch our fathers play on Sunday,” said Glenn. “It was a ritual on the Island. It was a big thing on Sundays. We lived for baseball.” Glenn and his brothers played together for about 20 years, often times making up one-third of the Islanders’ starting lineup. Along with cousin Todd, they were part of the Islanders’ last team that won a DCL championship in 2001. “That whole year was something special,” said Glenn. “Winning a title together was something we always wanted to do and it finally happened that year. I love my brothers so much for sticking with it and hanging on all those years.”

TOP: Seen in this 2004 photograph are, back row from left, Mike, Glen, Jim, Perry and Lonny Jorgenson. Front row is Perry and Lonnie’s mother, Sylvia, along with family friend Matt Hecht. Photo of photo by Tina M. Gohr/Door County Advocate BOTTOM: Washington Island pitcher Troy Jorgenson, left, shares a laugh on the mound with catcher Caleb Cornell prior to the start of a Door County League game against Kolberg. Tina M. Gohr/Door County Advocate

Keeping the ‘tradition’ alive

Troy Jorgenson represents the fourth generation of the Leonard Jorgenson baseball family. Troy, son of Todd, grew up on the Island before moving to Sturgeon Bay when he was 12 years old and his parents divorced. He lived with his mother, Katherine, but joined the Island team at age 14. “We kidded him that if he didn’t come back to the Island and pitch for us, we’d disown him,” joked his grandmother Catherine. “His mother made it a point to get him up here, so he commutes back and forth. It just warms my heart.” Troy, 24, said he grew to love baseball by hanging around his father and other Island players when he was a young boy. “I played baseball because that’s all my family did,” he said. “I always bugged my parents to play catch in the yard or let me hit and pitch to them. I broke a lot of windows when I was a kid.” “I used to babysit him when he was a little boy, and he’d say, ‘Play ball grandma! Play ball grandma!’” recalls Catherine. “He wasn’t happy unless he had a ball in his hands. And, boy, could he hit a ball.” Troy was an all-conference player for Sturgeon Bay High School and later played junior college baseball at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Troy played sparingly for the Islanders during high school and college because of other baseball commitments, but he’s been a regular with the team since 2010. He’s currently in his fifth season as the Islanders’ starting pitcher. “A lot of my buddies from high school play with other DCL teams and want me to play with them, but I’d probably get hated if I left the Island,” joked Troy. “It’s kind of like a family tradition to play for the same team that my dad’s family has been a part of for so long. I’m trying to carry it on and hopefully someday when I have kids we’ll keep it going even longer.” Troy is currently the only Jorgenson on the Island team and might be for some time. The only other boy coming up in the family is Mike’s son Ryan, who’s just starting Little League. “He’ll be the next one,” said Catherine. “And maybe Glenn’s girls or Jimmy’s girls will have some boys that fit in there too and keep it going.” Contact Korey Mallien at kmallien@doorcoutnyadvocate.com. l

saturday, june 21, 2014

door & kewaunee county generations

Washington Island Ferry Line Inc. A Fourth-Generation Island Business By Dick Purinton | For the Door County Advocate

Washington Island Ferry Line was started in 1940 when Carl and Arni Richter, father and son, purchased two wooden ferries. These were the assets of Captain William Jepson’s Washington Island Ferry Co., a service that began in the late 1920s. Initially, the Richters wanted to provide basic ferry service for people, vehicles and freight. Over time, the ferry business expanded to include winter service, with ferry design and scheduling keeping pace with changing island needs. In the earliest decades of the Richters’ ferry business, farming, commercial fishing, and logging were the most relied upon sources for Island income. Tourism had been a factor, but a distant category behind other local industries. Freight,

always of great importance to Island residents, years ago was comprised of feed sacks, seed, fertilizer and farm equipment. Products that were exported from the island were every bit as fundamental to the Island economy: wheels of cheese; boxes of cherries and apples; and sacks of potatoes. Because of the predominant commercial fishing activity from Island ports, it wasn’t unusual stack on the deck of a ferry several hundred wooden boxes of fish packed in ice. Those fish, most boxes, at least, were destined for Chicago and New York markets. The first leg to market was by ferry.

Carl Richter is seen on the ice in about 1941 with his sleigh and converted Model T with snow track, the only way to get supplies back and forth in winter when the ferries had wooden hulls and could not navigate as icebreakers. Submitted photo

Arni Richter in 2003, on the deck of the new ferry named after him. Submitted photo by Timothy Graul

Gradually, in the 1960s and 1970s, the original Island industries began to wane, replaced in dollar volume and overall importance by tourism, the construction of summer homes, tours, restaurants and the various businesses that support tourism. Like Door County’s economy as a whole, the Island economy by 1980 had clearly shifted toward tourism. Soon to celebrate 75 years in business, the Washington Island Ferry Line still operates as essential water transportation service. Most notable, perhaps, is the often difficult, specialized ice breaking capabilities that winter service requires to keep the Island going year around. In order to provide regular, safe and reliable service, seven steel ferries were constructed, six of them by Sturgeon Bay shipyards. Today, with four ferries providing the year-round service schedule, the Ferry Line’s marketing emphasis

continued on page 38 >>>

door & kewaunee county generations

saturday, june 21, 2014

<<< continued from page 37 is on the fun of a ferry ride as well as the practical aspect of crossing Death’s Door, ever mindful that responsibility is both to the year-round Island community and to the summer trade. During the summer of 2013, for the first time the Rock Island ferry Karfi was operated by the Ferry Line, after having been operated for many years by the Cornell family. A combination ticket purchased at Northport Pier will allow travelers to continue on to Rock Island State Park by taking the small passenger ferry from Jackson Harbor. Carl Richter, who began his career sailing on schooners and in commercial fishing, became a ferry captain. He lent his name to the ferry C.G. Richter when it was launched in 1950. Said Arni of his father, “Dad worked until 82 or 83, right on the boat until the last. I’d feel funny if I couldn’t outlast him!” Carl passed on in 1962 at the age of 91. Arni, who had run the company’s day-to-day operations as president since that day of purchase in April 11, 1940, retired from an official role in February 2001, but in fact, his involvement continued for well over 60 years. When he died in December 2009, Arni was a few months shy of his 99th birthday. The all-season ferry Arni J. Richter, constructed at Bay Shipbuilding Co., replaced the C.G. Richter. It was christened in June 2003 with Arni ceremoniously swinging the bottle against the ferry bulwarks. During his many years with the company, he was a hands-on owner who enjoyed taking the helm of one of his ferries just as much as he did talking with customers. Arni’s graciousness with customers and Island visitors, coupled with his business intuitions, were widely recognized. He served on the Door County Chamber of Commerce (the organization’s original name) for many years, and served as its president. He served as a director for the Bank of Sturgeon Bay (later Baylake Bank). Most of the major company decisions through the year 2000 were made by Arni. Whether it was a new ferry, the enlargement or protection of a pier, or a new ferry termi-

ABOVE: From left, Dick Purinton, Arni Richter and Island Postmaster Dick Jepson pose near the bow of the ferry Arni J. Richter in June 2003, commemorating more than 60 years of carrying U.S. mail between the Ellison Bay and Washington Island post offices. Submitted BELOW: A fourth generation at helm of the Ferry Line, Hoyt Purinton, with his two sons Aidan and Magnus, in the wheelhouse of the ferry C.G. Richter in 2009. Submitted photo by Dick Purinton

nal, such decisions were intended with improved service in mind. I entered the ferry business through marriage to Mary Jo, youngest daughter of Arni and Mary Richter, and my interest in marine activities. My participation in this family business has been as a sonin-law, deckhand, ferry captain, general manager, and eventually, company president. I am now a “partly retired” CEO. My role in the workplace, as I chose to interpret it, was placeholder between the original founders, Carl and Arni, and the eventual, future direction of the Washington Island Ferry Line. That future direction is being shaped now. Since my first day on the job as a deckhand in late November 1974, one business accomplishment I am most proud of was when our oldest son, Hoyt Richter Purinton, grandson of Arni Richter, became president.

He and Kirsten have two sons, so there is the prospect of yet another generation to manage the company, some future day. Hoyt continues in the legacy of family ownership, and he guides the Ferry Line’s future along with many capable co-workers. Some Ferry Line crew can claim decades of service with the company, both in vessel operations and maintenance, and in the service of our customers. All of the Ferry Line’s full-time employees are Island residents. Company improvements are sometimes subtle, ones the public can’t always see or appreciate, but each decision is designed to advance dependability, safety, and allaround better service. The range in effort is wide, in order to maintain waterfront properties, dredge around piers, repower and remodel existing ferry vessels, and incorporate environmental standards into daily operations. Speaking only as one family member who has proudly served in a multi-generational business, it remains my privilege (as Arni Richter once expressed it) to do something positive for the community in which we live. In turn, what we do allows us, our families and friends, to continue to live and work here. l

saturday, june 21, 2014

door & kewaunee county generations

Six generations of family have run Sunset Resort By Jewel Lee Grandy | Washington Island Archives Committee

Sunset Resortâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legacy of welcoming guests to Washington Island is a 112-year ancestral journey. To understand the generations of passion and dedication the family has for the business, one has to travel with the founder, Torger Engelson, and share his vision as an early pioneer. The journey began when Torger left his native Norway in 1880 at age 20. After completing a four-year apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker he was eager to work, but the country was experiencing an economic crisis and scores of tradesmen, including Torger, left Norway to seek work in America. Chicago had been welcoming thousands of immigrants to help rebuild after the great fire, and it was a perfect destination for a trained woodworker. Torger prospered in Chicago for a decade. He married Anna Opdahl, a recent Norwegian immigrant, and they had four children. He built a two-story home and lived a comfortable life until the building boom came to an abrupt halt and the nation faced a severe depression. Torger lost his Chicago home when his mortgage went into default after generously using his home as collateral to help a friend. In the summer of 1894, Torger, Anna and their children loaded household belongings onto a Goodrich steamship and left Chicago behind. This journey was much shorter than

the 19-day voyage from Noway to America, but the apprehension was just as great, as he now had a large family to support and little money left. It must have been emotional for Torger as he first viewed the farmhouse and acreage he had recently purchased on Washington Island. With only a brief description of the land, and out of options, he purchased the property sight unseen. The acreage was heavily wooded and the small farmhouse sat on top of a hill with an expansive view over the bay of Green Bay. But the ambitious Torger Engelson saw endless possibilities. His enthusiasm weakened temporarily when the family discovered their meager farmhouse

ABOVE: Torger and Anna Engelson, founders of Pine Beach Retreat, later to become Sunset Resort, sit on the porch of Pine Beach in 1925. Submitted BELOW: Pine Beach Retreat in about 1902, which later was renamed and grew into Sunset Resort. Submitted

had renters still in residence. With no temporary housing available on the Island, Torger and family traveled to St. Martin Island and for several weeks squatted in a vacant cabin until the tenants vacated. On their return to Washington Island, Torger wasted little time utilizing the natural resources. He started farming, set up a saw mill, sold cord wood to passing steamers, and helped build Plum Island Station. Next, he crafted a 47-foot fish tug, the Tillie E, and began a successful commercial fishing business. Anna tended to her garden, the children, the animals, mended nets into the night, and shared her husbandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spirit and drive.

With word spreading that the Island was a scenic and peaceful spot to vacation, accommodations were needed to meet the recent demand of visitors. Never missing an opportunity, in 1900 Torger borrowed money from his friend Bo L. Anderson, owner of the Ida Bo Inn, and began a large two-story addition. In 1902, Torger and Anna Engelson became innkeepers and welcomed their first guests to what they called Pine Beach Retreat. Early visitors included school teachers who stayed most of the summer. The rate was $1 a day and

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door & kewaunee county generations

saturday, june 21, 2014

<<< continued from page 39 included three meals. Daughters Tillie and Annie helped their mother cater to the guests, while sons Martin and Bill worked with Torger in his fishing business, now spanning the beach with a warehouse, net sheds and a large dock. Pine Beach Retreat thrived for 30 more years as the children grew up and had families of their own. The inn closed for a period of time during the Great Depression after the stock market crash of 1929. Most of the family moved to Kenosha, where Torger had been winter fishing and had another residence. After the deaths of Torger and Anna, their youngest son, Bill, and his wife, Dora, inherited the Island property and moved back in 1938. They wasted no time making improvements to the west shore property. Soon kerosene lamps were replaced with a generator for electric lights. Chamber pots and wash basins were traded for flush toilets and shared showers, and a name change was needed, worthy of the new modern inn. Sunset Resort said it all, and they could now charge $2.50 per night including three meals. It was a joyous era for Sunset Resort and Bill and Dora were congenial hosts. Their grandchildren roamed the grounds and beaches and swam and fished every afternoon with friends and guests. The guests became family, often staying at least a week and returning year after year. The memories of these fun-filled summers, of grandchildren working alongside parents and grandparents, bound the family to the property and solidified the Sunset Resort legacy. After the deaths of Dora and Bill Engelson, their daughters Maxine Engstrom and Lois Hagen became partners in the business in 1960. With years of training, the transition was seamless as they carried forward the high standards set by their parents and grandparents.

TOP: Descendants of Torger and Anna Engelson working at Sunset Resort today are, from left, Corinn Sevcik, Steven Reiss, Phyllis Kirchner, Sophia Hagen and Lee Engstrom, Submitted MIDDLE: Sunset Resort as it looks in 2014. Submitted BOTTOM: Alex Reiss, the sixth generation of family to operate and work at what is now Sunset Resort on Washington Island, holds a picture of resort founder Torger Engelson. Submitted

With encouragement from their children, Maxine and Lois took on large remodeling projects. The dining room was enlarged, as well as all of the guest rooms, to include large windows overlooking the bay with modern private baths. They added new personal living quarters and gave Sunset an upgrade while leaving reminders of the past tucked in every corner. The fourth generation of the family was clearly in the picture throughout the partnership and was well-prepared to take the reins as Maxine and Lois began their retirement years in the late 1980s. Both of Maxine’s children – Dee and her husband, Tim, and Lee and his wife, Janet – along with Lois’ children, Jay, Jewel Lee and Jo, all played a part in bringing Sunset Resort to the present, where you will still

find generations of Engelson descendants hard at work, carrying on Torger’s legend. This summer, Lee Engstrom, great-grandson of Torger, will co-manage with great-great-grandson Steve Reiss, son of Jo Hagen, and his partner Phyllis Kirchner. Fifth-generation members Corinn Sevcik and Sophia Hagen, along with sixth-generation Alec Reiss, will be on the support team, ready to welcome many familiar customers and new clientele. The dining room is open to the public for breakfast and features a Scandinavian flair with many recipes that, of course, were handed down through the generations. Sunset Resort guests gather each evening to share the same magnificent view Torger, Anna and their family first witnessed that summer of 1894. Over 43,400 sunsets have remained a staple through generations of change and transition that span 120 years. l

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