Christmas Eve Special Feature
Juergenmeyers on Taylor Street
225 Taylor Street
Kaukauna, Wisconsin

This two storey home with the basement and broad front porch was the home of  Martin, Marie, and Hazel Juergenmeyer in the 1920's and early 1930's.
Martin Juergenmeyer ran a small bus company between Kaukauna and Appleton.  After their daughter Hazel was married in 1934, Martin and Marie Juergenmeyer rented out the house and moved to Seymour, Wisconsin.  Here Martin bought a Phillip's 66 Gas Station (See Blog Post Saturday Travel Feature, "Phillips 66 in Seymour", Saturday, March 20, 2010) and built a house attached to the back.  Marie and Martin planted statice on part of the acreage behind the house and sold it to the local funeral parlor for floral presentations. 

When Martin died in 1948 his wife Marie moved back to the house at 225 Taylor Street in Kaukauna.   The house was modified for her to live upstairs and she continued to rent out the downstairs.  An enclosed stairway and entrance porch was added to the back of the house to protect her from climbing the stairs in the snowy Wisconsin winter.  The upstairs apartment had a  large square hall leading to the living room that looked out to Taylor street and a kitchen, to a bedroom, and to a bathroom.

The downstairs was rented to Bill and Betty Roerig.  Here is Bill's description of their time on 225 Taylor Street. "225 Taylor Street is the source of many fond memories. It was our first home... We arrived in Kaukauna very newly married--August 22, 1948--and the promise of a house to rent from a local dry cleaner. In going in to get the key, etc., we were informed that they had changed their mind. Now what? On leaving the store we bumped into a local police officer who told us that your grandmother in Seymour was planning to move back to Kaukauna. So, off we went to Seymour, introduced ourselves to your grandma who told us that there had already been 14 folks ahead of us. Oh boy! She did not seem very friendly but asked us what church we intended to join. Knowing that Kaukauna was mostly Catholic we quietly said we were Lutheran. She asked if we would be willing to take her to church [Trinity] from time to time and of course we said, certainly. The rest is 7 years of a very good relationship, especially for Betty as your grandmother acted as a mother figure for a young girl 220 miles from home for the first time---

"At first we shared the bath upstairs for a year, or so, and after a  couple of awkward incidents I put a toilet and a shower in the basement. Your grandma bought a TV, wonder of wonders, and she would invite us up there for a 30 minute program, much to our delight... In 1955 we began building our own home on the South Side of Kaukauna and our relationship with your grandma was coming to the end. She had lost her health and , I believe, was hospitalized for a short period. After being discharged from the hospital she went to stay with her old friend, a Mrs. Clough (sic). She then wanted to return to her own home and with the help of a friend of mine we managed to bring her up the outside stairs to her own bed. Betty helped care for her, read to her, prayed with her almost to the end. I do not recall the details of that period since I was busy building and teaching. We treasured those years with your grandma who was a "no nonsense", lovable lady...


"The house faced North and the lower rooms were oriented as follows; The kitchen was in the southeast corner with the rear entrance on the south side. Entry was at ground level with maybe 3 steps up to the kitchen and several steps down into the basement. ( I was in charge of keeping the furnace going where I once blew the furnace door off , not knowing how to handle Pocahontas(sic) coal----also, if grandma needed heat upstairs in the morning there were several thumps on the floor to rouse me out of my slug-a-bed laziness---one night, due to my lack of knowledge about coal, we burned coke at home, I found myself on the roof  stamping out sparks from a chimney fire).---The northeast room was designed for a dining area but was used for a living room since there was no suitably large room for a master bedroom which , in turn, was the northwest corner with access through French doors. The stairway to the upstairs was in the south center off the "master bedroom" and a smaller southwest bedroom which became the boy's room.

"The basement consisted of a cistern to the right of the stairs, the furnace was the octopus style in the center of the basement, the coal bin was in the northwest corner and  a small room in the northeast corner served later as a shower and toilet..." (Bill Roerig 2010.)

In 2010 Zestimate (See Link.) reported that the 2009 tax assessor's value of the house was $94,000.  The lot size was listed as 7,405 sq. ft.

The house at 225 Taylor Street was the home of Suzanne Wilson's grandparents and her mother Hazel.  Suzanne has vivid memories of her grandmother, Marie, living in the upstairs apartment and the Roerigs.  Marie is the middle name of both Suzanne Wilson and her granddaughter Holly Misner.


Thank You: To Bill Roerig for his memories of 225 Taylor Street.

Photo: Taken in Kaukauna, Wisconsin in 2006 by SW.
Link: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/225-Taylor-St-Kaukauna-WI-54130/69784528_zpid/

Anton Frank in Front of Original Grocery Store

on Tobacnoir Street 1908

Special Birthday Feature

Happy Birthday Suzanne

The Frank Compound

Kaukauna, Wisconsin

The Frank Family Compound started in 1888 when Peter Frank and his family moved from Sherwood, Wisconsin to Kaukauna, Wisconsin and he and his son John purchased the grocery store on Tobacnoir Street.  They not only owned and operated the store until 1907, but bought a family home around the corner at 806 Oviate Street. 

In 1908 Peter Frank moved to Shawano, Wisconsin and sold his co-ownership to his son Anton Harold Frank.   Anton Frank is pictured in front of the store in that year. Then Anton Frank also purchased the house on Oviate St. from his brother and father.  Anton, his wife Dorothea, and their children, Emmet, Orville, Harold, Geneafava, Elaine, and Dorothy May moved into the house.

Original Store on Tobacinoir Street Converted to Apartment Building

In 1926 a red brick grocery store was built on the corner of Tobacnoir Street and Oviate Street. The symbol on the second floor above the front doors states the 1926 date. On the ground at the front doors was the name "Frank" in mosaic tiles.  The original red brick store had two large front store window and the check out counter was in the center. In 1930 when his father Anton Frank died, Harold Frank became the store manager. He ran the store for his mother Dorothea Frank until she died in 1968 and the store was sold.  By 1994 the building housed a laundomat.

1926 Grocery Store On Corner of Tobacnoir and Oviate Streets

The Frank family home originally had brown siding. There was a large glassed in porch all the way across the front of  the first floor and a porch on the second floor. The back of the house was also a glassed in porch. Inside on the first floor of the house was a living room on the right, a dining room on the left and behind it a kitchen and small bedroom. In these rooms is where Orville Frank and Hazel Juergenmeyer (Suzanne (Frank) Wilson's parents) were married. Between the living room and the dining room was a large center stairway with an open railing on the livingroom side. Other bedrooms were upstairs. After Anton died, his wife Dorothea (Suzanne (Frank) Wilson's grandmother) "took to her chair". A lift was installed on the center stairway and from then on she greeted her grandchildren and twisted colored foil onto wheat seeds on stalks to make bouquets from a chair next to a table in the living room.

Frank Family Home at 806 Oviate Street

The large flower garden between the 1926 red brick store and the family home completed the compound.

Photos: Top-Old family photo of Anton Harold Frank, grandfather of Suzanne
                           (Frank) Wilson 1908 in front of first Frank Grocery Store on the
                           100 block of Tobacnoir  Street in Kaukauna, Wisconsin.
                2nd-Store from 1908 now turned into a building with apartments. 
                          Sold in 1968.  Photo taken in 2006 by SW.
                3rd-1926 Frank Grocery Store.  Sold in 1968. Photo taken in
                         2006 by SW.
               Bottom-Frank family home at 806 Oviate Street.  Sold in 1968.
                         Photo taken in 2006 by SW.
Note: Suzanne(Frank) Wilson is the daughter of Orville Carlton Frank, the
              granddaughter of Anton Harold Frank, and the great granddaughter of
              Peter Frank.
Thank You: To Karen (Frank)  Hull for family history information.
       

Sunday Church Feature

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

According to the "1970 Photo Directory" of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, it was founded and dedicated in 1870.  The "1970 Photo Directory" which included the history of the church was published to commemorate its 100th anniversary.  The original entrance to the church was at 1023 Russell Avenue in the heart of the Bay View area on the south side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  The high vaulted ceiling of the sanctuary gave it the look of a cathedral.

Later additions to the church included the stained glass windows.  The primary window faces east and the church's school building.  The other five major windows depict the "Mysteries of the Rosary".  A new entrance, in the photo above,  on Kinnickinnic Avenue the main commercial street of Bay View, was built in 1959.  It features four Greek columns.  Sometime after 1959 the most spectacular feature of the church building was added.  This was the 2 1/2 storey high mosaic mural behind the front altar of the sanctuary.  It depicts the family tree of Jesus from Adam and Eve to Mary and Joseph.

Today 500 families  are registered as member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.  The Pastor is Rev. Ronald E. Kotecki and the Youth Minister is Bob Boehm.

Thank You: To Immaculate Conception Catholic Church Youth Minister Bob Boehm for the information references from the "1970 Photo Directory" regarding the history of the church.

Photo: Taken in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2006  by SW.

Link:  http://icbayview.wordpress.com/

Note: Suzanne Wilson grew up on Logan Avenue (See Blog Post August 4, 2010.) two blocks from Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, (or "IC" as the neighbors called it). 

Saturday Travel Feature
Milwaukee Art Museum by Calatrava
Milwaukee, Wisconsin


"The Milwaukee Arts Museum has its roots in two Milwaukee art groups from the 1880s. These organizations and their collections merged under one roof for the first time in 1957. The Museum and its holdings continued to grow over the decades. In 2001, a major addition put the Museum on the map, nationally as well as internationally.

 "The Milwaukee Art Association encouraged Frederick Layton, owner of a meatpacking business, to fulfill a promise he made a few years earlier to establish Milwaukee’s first art gallery. A new Greek Revival building costing $115,000 was erected downtown on the corner of Mason and Jefferson Streets, and opened in 1888 as the Layton Art Gallery. The building was designed by London architects W.J. and G.A. Audsley, and constructed by E.T. Mix & Co. Layton provided the gallery with a $100,000 endowment and 38 paintings, many of which remain as the nucleus of the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Layton Art Collection.

 "By 1911, the Milwaukee Art Society, formerly the Milwaukee Art Association, had moved into its newly purchased building and property on Jefferson Street, located just north of the Layton Art Gallery. Nearly 600 members strong by 1914, the Milwaukee Art Society began the annual Wisconsin Painters and Sculptors exhibition and offered free Saturday classes for children, a tradition continued by the Museum today. In 1913, Dudley Crafts Watson became the first director of the Milwaukee Art Society and, in 1916, changed the name to the Milwaukee Art Institute. In 1918, the first annual grant of $5,000 was provided to the Milwaukee Art Institute by the City of Milwaukee. In 1919, city support grew to $10,000, then to $13,000 in 1920, and to $20,000 in 1922.


"In the later years of World War II, three women’s clubs—Altrusa, Zonta, and the Business and Professional Women’s Club—became united in the purpose of establishing a war memorial in Milwaukee County. Inspired by their vision, the Milwaukee Civil Alliance formed the Milwaukee War Memorial Corporation and invited famed architect Eliel Saarinen (1873–1950) to design the War Memorial Center. When Eliel Saarinen died suddenly in 1950, his son, Eero Saarinen took over the project. Hailed as a masterpiece of mid-twentieth-century design, the War Memorial Center was dedicated “To Honor the Dead by Serving the Living” on November 11, 1957. When the Milwaukee Art Institute and Layton Art Gallery moved into their new quarters, the Layton collection came under the curatorial supervision of the Milwaukee Art Institute (today the Milwaukee Art Museum), where it continues to be preserved and exhibited today. In January 1958, the Milwaukee Art Institute changed its name to the Milwaukee Art Center.


"In the late 1960s, Peg Bradley, wife of Harry Lynde Bradley who co-founded the Allen-Bradley Company, offered her entire collection of more than 600 Modern, American, and European works of art to the Museum. She challenged the community to build a museum addition to house the extensive collection, and donated $1 million towards construction. The challenge was met: in 1975, the Kahler building addition opened with vastly enlarged galleries.


"In 1980, the Milwaukee Art Center changed its name to the Milwaukee Art Museum, to reflect its mission to collect, preserve, and exhibit art. The Museum was fully accredited by the American Association of Museums in 1983.


"In the early stages of planning for the Museum’s centennial birthday, another major expansion was proposed and accepted. In 1994, based upon his international vision and skill as an engineer and architect, Spanish-born architect Santiago Calatrava was chosen to be the designer to carry the Museum into the next millennium. On December 10, 1997, the Milwaukee Art Museum broke ground for the new addition.


"The Quadracci Pavilion, the first Calatrava-designed building to be completed in the United States, opened in 2001 to rave reviews. The expansion project included new exhibition galleries and an auditorium, as well as a museum store and cafe. In addition, the Museum completely renovated and remodeled its Collection galleries." (See Link.)

Photo: Taken in Milwaukee Wisconsin in 2006 by SW.
Link:  http://www.mam.org/info/history.php

Sunday Church Feature
St. John's the Evangelist Catholic Church
Green Bay, Wisconsin

"In the Fall of 1831, a young Dominican missionary, Reverend Samuel Mazzuchelli, was sent to La Baye to establish a Catholic parish for the Indians and French-Canadian fur traders living here. The first church was built at Shantytown, the site of the present Allouez Catholic Cemetery, on land donated by Joseph Ducharme.



"The Redemptorist Fathers and other pioneer missionaries continued the work of Father Mazzuchelli. A fire in 1847 and the change in the center of population brought the congregation to the site in the borough of Green Bay. This church was purchased from a Methodist congregation. This church was also destroyed by fire in March of 1872. A new, twin-spired brick building was built to replace the former Methodist church structure and was completed in 1873. Faulty wiring led to a fire which destroyed this church on March 13, 1911. On May 11th of that same year, Bishop Fox and the St. John's Parish trustees approved the building of the new church on the corner of Milwaukee and Madison Streets. Joseph Foeller was contracted to be the General Contractor for the new church at a cost of $54,099.00. The present day church was completed in 1915." (See Link 1.)

"The roof line on all sides includes miniature arches below the eaves. The semi-circular arches are repeated in the windows, with most enhanced by white stonework that's reminiscent of an eyebrow. Walls are massive. Decorative elements are abundant. High up in the two towers are Roman columns.  The church is considered architecturally significant as a textbook example of the Romanesque Revival style.



"Many people wonder why the towers are of different heights. That's a sign of the Romanesque Revival style that was popular starting in the late 19th century, the 1988 survey notes. The taller of the towers holds two bells. The larger bell is named St. John, and and the smaller bell is named St. Mary." (See Reference.)


"Structure (in the photo above) as seen in 2006 (at 413 St. John's Street). Note the absence of stained glass in round windows as all windows are being restored in celebration of 100th anniversary.

"St. John the Evangelist is the oldest continuous parish in the State of Wisconsin."(See Link.)

Photo: Taken in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 2006 by SW.
Link: http://www.stjohnevangb.org/briefhist.html
Reference: wgerds@greenbaypressgazette.com • April 28, 2010

Saturday Travel Feature
Heat Your Home With Corn
Green Bay, Wisconsin

 "Hello and welcome to the Corn Stove Warehouse One. Corn Stove Warehouse One HQ'd 720 Bay Beach Road, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, we and our affiliates sell and service corn burning stoves, bio-fuel stoves and furnaces. Our brand names are the best in the business: Amaizablaze and Energy King. Not sure which is right for you? Give us a call! We'll explain the differences and help you out!


"If you found this website...You are looking to save money and for alternative ways to heat your house or shop! To get right at it, click the "products" link above and see what we have to offer! We hope you'll take some time to learn more about using renewable fuels to heat your home on our links page.


"Knowing that energy prices were on the rise we did some research and settled on the Amaizablaze Brand of corn stoves. Made in the good old U.S.A., Amaizablaze is, at this time, one of only a handful of manufacturers that have been fully safety tested and approved by Underwriters Laboratory , (meaning your insurance company won't balk at you putting one in your home).


"Our Internet Store is always open!


"Phones are staffed: M-F 10AM-6PM, Sat 10-1PM 920-430-2012.


"Our warehouse is open by appointment to view stoves, and for pick-up and delivery only:


"Can't come to us? We'll come to you! We have a Mobile Showroom give us a call, we'll bring the stoves to your house so you can see them for yourself!"


"Most Corn or Bio-fuel Stove Manufacturers have a dedicated dealer network in place. CSW respects these territories, but may be able to ship stoves in cases where there is not a dealer near you. We handle shipping requests on a case-by-case basis. If you are having trouble locating a dealer near you, give us a call!



"NESCO, the manufacturers of the Amaizablaze brand of corn stoves, has three models to choose from. One is sure to be right for you! Click Here to see them.


"A true furnace that burns corn or wood pellets.

"Click here to see Energy King's awesome corn/pellet furnace, the BK-140.


"Hawkeye Steel Mini Bins.  Economical Bins for your corn fuel storage needs! Click here for more information about them.


"Seymour's Fire Blox. These are the best fire starters on the market. For more information click here.


"Wind Easy, Wind Easy Series of Wind Turbines have a modern aesthetic appeal for the 21 Century Green Conscious Family.: (See Link.)

Wisconsin in one ofthe major corn growing States in the United States. In 2004 corn production was 38% of the total Wisconsin crop.  In 2007 4 million acres of corn were produced.  It sold for $3.50 a bushel.


Photo: Taken in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 2006 by SW.
Link: cornstovewarehouse.com

Sunday Church Feature
1898 Divine Temple, Church of God in Christ
Green Bay, Wisconsin

"With steeply pitched roofs, pointed-arch windows and an overall look of something from the Middle Ages, Divine Temple Church of God in Christ is considered a locally significant example of Gothic Revival architecture. It has lasted much longer than two earlier churches that were built at the northwest corner of Cherry and Madison streets in downtown Green Bay. Both burned down. Limestone is dominant in the current structure, which redefines "current" a bit. The cornerstone was laid in 1898. The walls are about two feet thick...

"The steeple and side walls of the church are supported by buttresses that are smaller than the famed flying buttresses on larger Gothic structures, but function much the same. Such "ribs" in combination with arches help open spaces for stained-glass windows. The church has 15 such windows, three of which are large.
While some elements of the windows are repeated in each — the ornate tracery of the Gothic style and a design that looks like a three-leaf clover — the focal image in the stained glass is different from window to window.


"The original style dates to the Medieval period, and some of the church's exterior elements look like they're straight off a castle in the time of knights." (See Link.)

Green Bay is the home of the foot ball team the Green Bay Packers.

Photo: Taken in Green Bay Wisconsin in 2006 by SW.
Link:http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090415/GPG04/904150685/Divine-Temple-s-exterior-illustrates-Gothic-Revival-style

Saturday Travel Feature
Lambeau Field
Green Bay, Wisconsin

"Originally built at a cost of $960,000, an amount shared equally by the Packer Corporation and the city of Green Bay, the facility was financed by way of a bond issue that received 2-to-1 voter approval in a municipal referendum conducted April 3, 1956.

"Located in southwest Green Bay, surrounded on three sides by the village of Ashwaubenon, Lambeau Field originally was built on farmland, purchased for $73,305. The stadium's original architect, Somerville Inc., favored the current site because it was sloped, making it perfect to build a bowl.


"Lambeau Field, now in its 53rd NFL season, is the longest continuously occupied stadium in the league -- 10 years more than the next-closest venue, Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego at 43 years. In pro sports as a whole, only the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park (98 seasons) and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field (96 seasons) have longer active home field tenures.


"Including the redevelopment, eight seating additions -- all paid for by the Green Bay Packers, Inc. -- have increased capacity from its original 32,150 to 38,669 in 1961, to 42,327 in 1963, to 50,852 in 1965 and to 56,263 in 1970. Construction of 72 initial suites in 1985 moved capacity to 56,926, and a 1990 addition of 36 boxes and 1,920 theatre-style club seats changed the number to 59,543. The seventh seating addition, a $4.7-million project in 1995, put 90 more suites in the previously open north end zone, for the first time giving the stadium the feel of a complete bowl and upping capacity to 60,890. ...the structure has been transformed from a football stadium that fans could use only 10 days during the season to a Packers cultural center that can be enjoyed throughout the year. Ultimately, the eighth addition bumped stadium seating capacity to 72,928. During the 2002 campaign, with work ongoing, capacity fluctuated between 65,290 and 66,110 as the season progressed.


"Not forgetting the Packers' rich tradition and history at Lambeau Field, then-GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman requested three slabs of concrete that were located in the team's former field tunnel at the north end -- which were walked over by many of the greatest players in club history -- to be moved to the new tunnel in the southeast corner; the players began using it during the 2002 season. A nearby plaque recognizes the presence of the concrete from the old tunnel.


"In 2007, the Packers installed an entirely new play playing surface, including a completely new drainage and heating system, bringing the latest technology in field management to the famous stadium. Also prominent within the stadium are the names of the 21 Packers players and coaches elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.


"Lambeau Field now is owned by the city of Green Bay and the Green Bay/Brown County Professional Football Stadium District; retirement of the city's original $960,000 debt was celebrated at a mortgage burning ceremony in May of 1978." (See Link.)


Photo: Taken in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 2006 by SW.
Link: http://www.lambeaufield.com/stadium_info/history/

Sunday Church Feature
St. Mary's Catholic Church
Port Washington, Wisconsin

"Franklin Street in downtown Port Washington has several buildings with interesting features, but the highlight of this street scene is St. Mary's Catholic Church, which is located on a bluff that is high above the entire downtown area.



"The original St. Mary's church was a small frame church built in 1849. It was replaced with a stone church in. 1860. This limestone edifice was erected in 1882.


"Slatted windows on the four sides of the bell tower, which houses three church bells, are what makes them sound unusually rich and full as they are heard for miles around. In appreciation, the people of Port Washington, in 1885, donated a four dial clock that is also housed in the bell tower. The square tower changes to an eight sided spire and a simple cross is mounted at the tip of the spire. This cross, which is seven feet, eight inches tall, can be seen for miles out into Lake Michigan and has long been a guide for sailors.

Center Church Doors

"The church was completed at a cost of about $70,000 and was dedicated on Thursday, October 9, 1884." (See Link.)

See Blog Post August 7, "1860 Light Station", for more information on Port Washington Wisconsin.

Photos: Taken in Port Washington, Wisconsin in 2006 by SW.
Link: http://www.co.ozaukee.wi.us/history/StMary.htm

Saturday Travel Feature
1860 Light Station
Port Washington, Wisconsin


"Port Washington's first lighthouse was built on purchased land, in 1849. The land was bought from Henry and Emma Allen, for $200 in 1848 and includes the current site... The lighthouse rose 36-38 feet from the ground to the lantern. The lantern housed a 14" reflector and 5 fixed lamps. Lighthouse and keeper's dwelling were constructed of cream city brick... In 1856 the lantern was refitted with a sixth order lens, white light. Focal plane 36' above base of tower and 109' above sea level. Distance visible: 9 miles.


"By 1859 the lighthouse had to be replaced, possibly due to poor mortar or substandard bricks. This was the case at many sites around Lake Michigan...
The current lighthouse was completed in 1860... It appears that the old brick was salvaged and reused in the new construction... In Scott's New Coast Pilot, 1899 it reads, "Port Washington Light Station. A fixed white light, visible 18 1/4 miles, 4th order. Lantern on yellow brick dwelling, 40 feet high. A coast-light on the bluff in the north part of the town of Port Washington..." The tower on top of the dwelling was of beam construction. 8" x 8" beams rose from the attic to the lantern. The tower was supported by bearing walls on the first and second floors, with 8" x8" cross beams in the basement which rested on 3 brick piers and the front foundation. The lantern was cast iron, 9 sided. The cast iron frame was wainscoted below the glass panels. The lantern was made accessible via a stairway in the SW corner of the first floor and then a series of three ladder stairs rising from the second floor to the attic, attic to watch room and watch room to lantern deck.


"1889 Port Washington's first pier head lighthouse was built. It housed a sixth order fresnel lens and was a red fixed light. The light was exhibited for the first time on the night of September 15, 1889. It was powered by a gasoline generator. The "gas machine" was removed in 1902. At that time the lamps were converted to electricity and the sixth order lens replaced by "improved fifth order lamps." The lighthouse was a pyramidal wooden framework tower with upper portion enclosed. It had a cast iron lantern. Height of tower from base to center of ventilator ball, 42' 11". Focal plane: 36' 2". The tower was built by local contractors under the guidance of the Light-House Superintendent of this district.


"From September 15, 1889 to October 31, 1903 the light keeper, later with the help of an assistant, was responsible for keeping both lights lit.


"Light Station beacon was discontinued October 31, 1903.


"Lightkeeper Charles Lewis, Jr. retired in 1924. The pierhead light was automated and the city ran the fog siren from the water works. No keeper was needed.


"The tower and lantern were removed in 1934 when the new pierhead light was nearing completion. It was at this time that the entire light station was gutted and converted into a two family dwelling.


"Port Washington had either civilian or Coast Guard "keepers" manning the light until 1976 when the pierhead light was fully automated. It is now serviced by Coast Guard personnel out of Milwaukee and occasionally from Sheboygan..."(See Link.)

Restoration of the Light House began in 2001 and is now complete.

The small town of Port Washington is on highway 94 north of Milwaukee on the shores of Lake Michigan.


Photo: Taken in Port Washington, Wisconsin in 2006 by SW.

Link: http://www.portlightstation.org/restoration.htm

Special Birthday Feature
Happy Birthday Amy
2839 So. Logan Avenue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

This craftsman bungalow at 2839 So. Logan Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is described in the 2010 Assessor Property Records as being: 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,140 sq. ft. and built in 1920. That is part of the story.

The house was the family home of Suzanne (Frank) Wilson and her brother Mark Frank as children. Her mother, Hazel(Juergenmeyer) Frank, a graduate of Columbia Nursing School, and father, Orville Frank, a mechanical engineer, had lived next door to the left as newlyweds in 1934. They moved into 2839 in 1938 the year Suzanne was born and lived there until their deaths in 1966 and 1967 respectively.

The photograph of the house was taken in the year 2006. Only the color of the shakes on the front dormer, the front door, and the steps had been changed. When Suzanne was a child all of these were green. The California pillars on sandstone blocks framing the front porch, the decorative slats of the railing, and the narrow rectangular windows on either side of the front door (although they each originally had two squares of green glass at the top and bottom) were the same. The house had always been painted white.

The original floor plan of the first floor was a square entry hall and a living room in the front, a dining room and kitchen in the back. Between the living room and dining room were bookcases facing the living room with small wood California pillars in a arched cut out on top. On the dining room side were tall narrow wood doored cupboards. In the dining room there was also a built in buffet with drawers, glass doored cupboards and a mirror. Simple green glass tulips decorated the piano window in the living room and the two windows above the buffet in the dining room. A doored hall connected the entry hall and the kitchen and included a door to the basement stairs and an open stairway to the upstairs. There had originally been a pantry off the kitchen with a milk chute to the outside. However, to accommodate the family it was converted to a bathroom, toilet only, but still had the milk chute.

Upstairs there were three bedrooms and a bathroom, all connected by a hall. Outside the small back bedroom (originally a sewing room) was a small porch. Attic space was under the eaves of the house off the front and back bedrooms and off the landing going up to the second floor. (A 12 inch high brass urn with cloisonne trim was found in one of these attics by Hazel and Orville when they moved in and now sits in Suzanne's living room.) In the basement was a fruit cellar next to the stairs, a coal bin diagonally across the open space, and in the adjacent corner twin stationary tubs for washing. It was in this corner with the stationary tubs and washing machine that Orville Frank set up his photography dark room. It included an enlarger that he made from old camera parts.

The backyard held the clothes posts, a large garden of rose bushes and tuberous begonias, later a patio, and a two car garage with windows looking out to the garden and side opening doors to the alley.

The 2800 block of Logan Avenue is centrally located in the area of Milwaukee called Bay View. It is a block of bungalows and two storey two family flats. A block away from the house at 2839 Logan Avenue are: Humbolt Park, Bay View High School, and the shopping area of Kinnickinnic Avenue.

Photo: Taken in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2006 by SW.
Note: Amy Wilson is the daughter of Suzanne Wilson and granddaughter of Hazel and Orville Frank. She vividly remembers this house that she visited as a small child.

Easter Sunday Church Feature

Lutherans in Kaukauna

On April 15, 1877 Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized with 22 charter members in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. The minister was Rev. Reinhold Pieper of Wrightstown and the services were conducted in German. The next year they built the small wooden church with the single steeple that (shown in the photo below) on the 800 block of Grignon Street. In 1885 the Rev. William Hinnerthan was installed as the first official pastor and in 1889 a charter was granted to the church. In 1917 the Rev. Paul Oehlert became pastor and the following year a Sunday School was started. The present red brick church with the two square steeples was dedicated in 1915. Starting in 1920 services were conducted in English as well as German. In 1965 the Rev. John Mattek became pastor and in 1969 the new front entrance was built onto the 1915 church. (Link. )(See photo above.)

1878 Small Wooden Church on right (Link.)

It is interesting to note that the 1915 Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kaukauna, Wisconsin and the Emmanuel Lutheran Church (See March 21, 2010 blog post.) built in 1915 similar styles. Both are red brick and have two square steeples. The street that the Kaukauna church is on, Grignon Street, is named for Charles A. Grignon who obtained the first land deed in Wisconsin.

Sanctuary Altar (Link.)

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church was the home church of Marie Juergenmeyer when she, her husband Martin, and daughter Hazel lived on Taylor Street in Kaukauna in the late 1920's and early 1930's. The family then moved to Seymour where she attended Emmanuel Lutheran Church. Following Martin's death in the 1950's she returned to live in the Taylor Street house in Kaukauna and again attended Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. Marie and Martin Juergenmeyer were the grandparents and Hazel the mother of Suzanne Wilson.

For more information on Kaukauna, Wisconsin see blog post from April 3, 2010. 

Thank you: To Irene Luehring and Bill Roerig of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran  

               Church, Kaukauna, Wisconsin, for the information and the memories.

Photos: Colored taken in 2006 by SW.

               B and W probably taken shortly after 1915. See Link.

Link: http://www.trinitykaukauna.com/index.php?pg=pages%2ftrinity_history.htm

Saturday Travel Feature

School on  the Fox
 
Kaukauna, Wisconsin is 100 miles north of Milwaukee and is east of Lake Winnebago. The town of 12,983 people sits on the banks of the mighty Fox River. Kaukauna High School is on an island in the middle of this river that divides the town into North Side and South Side. Kaukauna High School has
1,350 students and is the only public high school in Kaukauna. The original school was built in the late 1850's. The school in the photo is that school but it is now a middle school.

There are five bridges that cross the river within the city. There is also a hydroelectric company with its dam. And because of the dam there are locks for the movement of boats along the river. In the 1940's all the Kaukauna children knew the chant describing the boat whistles, "One for danger, two for dock, three for passing, and four for locks."

"The city includes diverse industrial and manufacturing businesses, including the Oscar Thilmany Paper Mill, constructed in 1883. The name dropped off the mill when it was purchased by HammerMill in 1969, which was in turn bought by International Paper in 1986. In 2005, theNew York-based equity firm Kohlberg & Company bought the mill, changed the name back to Thilmany, and created a company of the same name. It is this paper mill that is the cause of a less than desirable odor that can be detected at times throughout the Fox Valley. ^[4] Kaukauna club cheese, once made in the city, is now manufactured by the Bel/Kaukauna corporation in the neighboring village of Little Chute."
Link.

Kaukauna High School is where Suzanne Wilson's parents, Hazel Juergenmeyer and Orville Frank, met.

Photo: Taken in 2006 by SW.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaukauna,_Wisconsin

Saturday Travel Feature
"Terry's shack is a thing of beauty..."

The "shack" in question is the ice fishing house of Terry Frank of Sherwood, Wisconsin. His actual home is on the shores of Lake Winnebago, but each February with thousands of others he heads for his "shack" to try to spear the elusive sturgeon. "Try" is the operative word for as his niece says, "He has been spearing for a bazillion years." However, she continues on, "and has never even seen a sturgeon." Liz.

Lake Winnebago is the largest fresh water lake in Wisconsin. It is 30 miles long and 10 miles wide. Its depth averages 15.5 feet with a maximum of 21 feet. Before the ice fishing is allowed the thickness of the ice must be 20 inches. Roads from the boat landings to the ice shanties are marked with Christmas trees: 2 trees=1 mile out, 3 threes= 2 miles out, etc. There are bridges over large cracks. There are about 4000 ice fishing shacks and 10,000 fishermen. They come out to their shacks by ATV, snowmobile or snowshoes. (Notes from Liz.)

The " shack is built on wood blocks so it doesn't freeze to the ice then you pack snow around it for insulation and to keep any stray light from getting in. The only light in the shack comes up through the hole in the ice. It glows an eerie green. The shack is small; just wide enough to cover the hole and long enough for the door to open so two people can sit over the hole and maybe 3 people can stand behind them. Terry has a car radio hooked up to a battery, ad two tanks of propane strapped to the back wall for the heater. It was like a sauna inside..."Liz The actual hole is cut with a chain saw and in this shack it is 18 feet deep and is angled for better visibility. PVC is lowered down to the bottom of the lake to also aid in seeing the fish. Hand carved lead weighted decoys with copper fins are also lowered into the hole. A spear with a rope attached it is throw down the hole at any sign of the fish. (Notes from Liz.)

Sturgeon are caught. One of those caught this year was a 6 foot long pregnant female weighing 110 pounds. The head was almost the size of a humans and the fins were as big as a man's hands. (Described by Liz.)

"Ice fishing"

"Ice fishing is popular on Lake Winnebago. It is not uncommon for 10,000 cars parked on Lake Winnebago during the ice fishing season.^[2] Expansion cracks on the ice are bridged. Many cities along east and west shores plow roads on the icy surface.^[2] Saugerwhite bass catches.^[2] and walleye predominate.

"The spear fishing season for sturgeon is in February. The first season of regulated sturgeon spearing was in 1903, when an eight-pound limit was introduced.^[6] All sturgeon spearing was banned from 1915 until 1931. The lake had the largest population of sturgeon in the United States in 2003.^[6] The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources regulates the number of fish taken each year." Link.


Thank you: To cousin Kay's daughter Liz who e mailed me about her adventure ice fishing with the family on Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin. As a child Suzanne Wilson visited with her cousin Kay at her parent's cottage on Lake Winnebago. 
Photo: e mailed from cousin Kay's daughter Liz, then printed, photographed by SW, downloaded to computer, photo shopped, hence the "arty" look.
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Winnebago