In January of 1915, Hubert Fassbender’s cheese factories in the Town of Ellington, Outagamie County, Wisconsin, were running at full capacity. His wife Anna was about four months pregnant with their fourth child, their first-born, a son they named Clemens, was born on August 10, 1904, but sadly passed away just eight days later, and was buried in the St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Greenville. Living at home were eight-year-old Mabel, born May 24, 1906, and five-year-old Gertrude, born July 28, 1909.
Bluhill Cheese Package
It was around this time that Hubert was approached with a business proposition. He met with Appleton resident John L. Jacquot whom he had known for several years. Jacquot who had moved to Appleton in 1903,1 owned and operated a cold storage and distribution depot on College Avenue, which moved local cheese all over the country. At the Jacquot facility in 1910, the first “Big Cheese,” a 4,000-pound American cheese, was constructed for the National Dairy Show, held in Chicago, from October 20th through the 29th.2
Hubert was invited to join Jacquot, who had partnered with the Ingersoll Packing Company of Ottawa, Canada, and the Martin Brothers and Company of Denver, Colorado in a new business venture, the business to be called The Bluhill Cheese Company would manufacture Anona Cheese for distribution west of the Mississippi.
410 W. Prospect Ave.
In preparation for this new phase in life, on March 20, 1915, Hubert purchased a home in Appleton on Prospect Street from Flank Slattery.3 The home which was located at 930 Prospect Street, was renumbered in 1925 to its current address, 410 West Prospect Avenue. Hubert would live in this home until his death in 1947, and it was here that he and Anna welcomed their son, Hubert Peter, on July 27, 1915.
Six days before to the birth of his son, on July 21st, Hubert joined John Jacquot and Fred V. Heinemann in the office of George T. Richard at the Outagamie Loan and Title Co. to execute the new firm’s Articles of Organization.4
Two days later on July 29th, The BluHill Cheese Company, was incorporated with a capital stock of $30,000, three stockholders, and three hundred shares valued at one hundred dollars each. The stated purpose of the company was to “Manufacture, Buy, Sell, Store, Ship and deal in Cheese, Dairy Products and Food Products and to conduct such business incident thereto.”
The new company planned on opening on October 1st on West College Avenue next to John Jacquot’s cold storage facility at 1102 College Avenue.5 The building was just across Locust Street “where the Ruhsam Grocery store” was located. The address was 1086 College Avenue,6 and the building was situated on the west side of the block with College on the south, Richmond Street on the east, North Locust Street on the west, and West Washington Street on the north. Walgreens is currently (May 2023) the only building on this block, numbered 700 West College Avenue. The Ruhsam grocery building was to be the temporary location for the new company, as plans were being made for a new “factory, modern in every respect” which they planned to build in 1916.7
O. J. Ruhsam announced on August 18 that he had secured a new location, and Monday, August 23rd he would be open for business in the “old Maurer brick store at the corner of College avenue and Cherry street, near the C. & N. W. tracks.”8
While the newspaper does not announce the opening of the Bluhill plant, we can assume that it occurred on schedule as on December 10th an amendment to the articles of incorporation was filed, changing the name to the Anona Cheese Co., with C. C. L. Wilson of Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada as president, and J. L. Jacquot, secretary and treasurer.9
1917 Appleton Map overlay onto Google Earth. Star on the right is the location of the current plant, the Square is the location for the proposed building, and the Star is Godfirnon Grocery Store.
By January 1916 the factory was in full operation, and there was a curiosity about this new product that “looks like a cross between cheese and butter,” which “can be spread over bread the same as butter” with one “brand” containing green chili. “It is very appetizing, and from an economical standpoint is a good product. Butter at present is worth about thirty-eight cents, while [a pound of] Anona Cheese sell for ten and fifteen cents.” “One package of the Anona cheese would go as far as one pound of butter.”
The Appleton Evening Crescent reported that “Hobart [sic] Fassbender, Maker is Closely Guarded During the Mixing Process—Cream Cheese and Other Ingredients Unknown to Public Used in Manufacturing.” “…he is closely guarded, because be it known, he alone knows the process by which Anona Cheese is made, and his employers are very desirous that this knowledge remain where it belongs, in the factory on the west end of College avenue.”10
Hubert was “enclosed by a big cage of wood, within which he is again caged in a steel enclosure, where he does the mixing that produces the Anona cheese, made from the best cream cheese and other ingredients unknown to the public in general…the secret of the process remains with him alone. Day after day he enters the cage, works all alone and emerges after the day’s work, conversing with no one except at meal time and evenings. Lonely work, but important.”11
The cheese used in Anona cheese was all made in Outagamie County from “summer made cheese.” While there was no retail outlet for the cheese, a “number of local concerns” were selling the product which was first placed on the market the last week in December 1915.12
It must have been heartbreaking to see the error on his headstone.
Wednesday, January 12, 1916, may have dawned bright but soon darkened. While working in the plant Hubert “suffered a broken arm when he was caught in a belt.”13 Arriving home after his arm had been set, he learned that his five-month-old son who had the flu, was not getting better.14 Hubert Peter Fassbender passed away that evening at 6:00 p.m., “after a severe attack of convulsions.” He was buried two days later on Friday in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery.15
In May plans to build a state-of-the-art facility were well underway, with the Appleton architectural firm DeLong and Son in charge of the design. The location chosen for the new building was on “the north side of the ravine, near the Maurer tailor shop, but across the ravine from it”16 and “opposite the Godfirnon Grocery store, adjoining the Haussmann property on the north side of the avenue.”17 The location? Where the Viking Theater would be built in 1941.
The building was to be eight stories tall, and the three below ground would be used as a cold storage facility, principally for Anona Cheese, and the Simon Cheese company, with room for other industries. The Appleton Ford Company would occupy the ground floor, and other industries and offices utilizing the rest of the space. Estimated to cost $100,000, the building would be “the most imposing structure on College avenue, the front to be of enameled terra cotta…[with a] frontage of 100 feet, and a depth of 150 feet.”18 The building will be of heavy construction, reinforced concrete, suitable for manufacturing purposes. Two elevators will afford transit accommodations for the building tenants.19
In 1942, at the time the Bahcall Building’s Viking Theater was built, the Appleton Post-Crescent described the ravine property this way: the property was “once a deep ravine in which rubbish and snow removed from city streets was dumped…Residents of Appleton who have forgotten the depth of the ravine, and since the filling in have lost their conception of the building’s [the Bahcall Building] depth under the ground level, will be amazed at the floor space in the basement and sub-basement. Not only are they tremendous in size, but both are 16 feet in height with the exception of the portion under the theater which varies from 10 to 16 feet because of the auditorium’s sloping floor…”20 The perfect space to house cold storage.
The proposed building designed by DeLong & Son
On June 21st for $2,500, the Appleton Ford Company purchased two tracts of land adjoining the land for the new building. This T-shaped piece of property would presumably have been a car lot, with the showroom located on the ground floor of the new building.21
The location of the building was chosen not only for the benefit of the ravine but theproximity to the railway lines. Surveys were run “for the trackage, which will reach the building on the north and west sides,” and the company now awaited “sanction of the city council before going ahead with the actual construction” of the building.22 The plan was to have two Chicago & Northwestern railway tracks “one running along the north side of the building, the other on the west side. Besides these, there will be team tracks on the west side. If the tracks are laid as outlined, one of the cement sheds near the market on Walnut street will have to be removed.” “Mayor Knuppel said…that no decision would be given relative to running the track through the stock fair grounds until an engineer has shown them just what was desired.”23
It is not known whether the city did not approve the petition for a new sidetrack from the C. & N.W. Railway, or the fact that the Chicago and Northwestern Railway failed to build a “much heralded” new freight depot. The new depot had been promised by the railroad for more than two years and was to have been constructed in 1916.24
Whatever the reason, the Anona stockholders decided not to go ahead with the proposed building on College Avenue. Instead, they reversed course and made the decision to move the company to Chicago citing “poor shipping facilities” as the reason for the move and they “expected that better shipping facilities will greatly aid business.”25 Interestingly enough, the Appleton Evening Crescent published an article directly above the Anona announcement titled: “New Freight Depot Now A Certainty” which reported that the plans for the new freight depot were ready, and work would start in the spring.
His young family was settling into life in Appleton, and Hubert decided not to move with the company to Chicago, sending a letter on February 10, 1917, to C. C. Martin in Denver stating his decision and inquiring about disposing of his stock. Martin responded on February 17th, stating that he had forwarded Hubert’s request and decision to the Ingersoll Packing Co. in Canada. He went on to say that the company would prefer the stock be held by the original incorporators, but if not, at the “proper time” it would be “absorbed by those remaining in the company.” Hubert agreed to stay with the company to assist with preparing for the move, which Martin expected to occur “about the last week in March.”26
By the middle of March the new facilities near the Fulton markets, were ready, and the packing of the machinery was completed, ready for the three-day journey to Chicago. Work had already begun in tearing down the plant on West College Avenue.27
On April 18, 1917, following a special meeting of the stockholders, “the articles of said corporation be so amended so as to increase the capital stock of said Anona Cheese Co. from three hundred (300) shares of one hundred ($100) dollars each, to five hundred (500) shares at one hundred ($100) dollars each, so that the authorized capital stock of the corporation shall be fifty thousand ($50,000) dollars; and that the said articles be further amended empowering the said corporation to do business both within and without the state of Wisconsin.” The change was signed by C. C. L. Wilson, President, and J. L. Jacquot, Secretary and Treasurer.28
April 1935 Advertisement
With Anona leaving Appleton for Chicago, Hubert was left without a job. His whole life having been spent in the dairy industry, it is no surprise that 10 months later, in early February 1918, Hubert, his wife, Anna, and Peter Ulmen signed incorporation documents for the South Kaukauna Dairy. The new factory was located in South Kaukauna, Outagamie, Wisconsin, and was incorporated with a capital stock of $10,000.29
Hubert never forgot his short time with Anona. He loved to talk about his years in the milk and creamery business, and area Rotary Clubs were eager to invite him to speak. In April 1929, speaking at the Kaukauna Rotary business meeting, he had this to say: “At [sic] the honor of making the first Anona cheese. This still is being made by that company in Chicago.”30
Two years later on March 2, 1931, Borden Company acquired “the entire assets and business of the Anona Cheese Company of Chicago…”31 The dissolution of the company occurred at a stockholder meeting held in Madison, Dane, Wisconsin. “The firm had 1,000 shares of stock and all voted in favor of the dissolution. Officers of the company were: C. C. Martin, president; and J. F. Tines, secretary.”3233
And two years after the dissolution of the Anona Cheese Co., Hubert introduced a natural cheese product that “Spreads Like Butter.” He created four flavors: Plain, Chili, Pimento, and Limburger. Coincidence? I personally don’t think so. But that is a story for another day.
Sources
Thomas H. Ryan, Editor-in-Chief, History of Outagamie County Wisconsin: Being a General Survey of Outagamie County History including a History of the Cities, Towns and Villages throughout the County, from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time (Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Historical Association, 1911), p. 946-947.
“To Make 4,000 Pound Cheese,” Appleton Evening Crescent, 9 Sep 1910, Friday, p. 1, col. 1; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 13 Jun 2023).
“Real Estate,” Appleton Evening Crescent, 20 Mar 1915, Saturday, p. 5, col. 5; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 3 Sep 2018).
Anona Cheese Company, Corporation Documents, 1915-1931; File no. A 001286, Box no. 0022; Domestic Corporation; Outagamie County, Corporations Index; Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Dane, Wisconsin, United States.
Anona Cheese is Now Being Made in City,” Appleton Evening Crescent, 5 Jan 1916, Wednesday, p. 1, col. 7; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 3 Sep 2018).
“$30,000 Cheese Industry Is To Be Opened Here,” Appleton Evening Crescent, 31 Jul 1915, Saturday, p. 1, col. 6; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 3 Sep 2018).
“Ruhsam to Occupy New Grocery Quarters,” Appleton Evening Crescent, 18 Aug 1915, Wednesday, p. 1, col. 4; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 28 May 2023).
”Bluhill Cheese Company Has Changed Its Name,” Appleton Evening Crescent, 16 Dec 1915, Thursday, p. 3, col. 4; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 20 Jan 2020).
Ibid.
Ibid.
“Looking Backward. 10 Years Ago,” Appleton Post-Crescent, 13 Jan 1926, Wednesday, p. 4, col. 3; digital images, NewspaperARCHIVE (www.newspaperarchive.com : accessed 2 Feb 2005).
Wisconsin, “Deaths,” 1916, vol. 12, p. 76, Hubert Fassbender, 12 Jan 1916; Register of Deeds, Outagamie County Courthouse, Appleton, Wisconsin, United States.
“Hubert Fossbender Dies of Convulsions Last Night,” Appleton Evening Crescent, 13 Jan 1916, Thursday, p. 1, col. 3.
“Eight Story Building in Ravine a Go,” EXTRA, Appleton Evening Crescent, 5 May 1916, Friday, p. 1, col. 5; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 May 2023).
“Start Survey of the Track For New Building,” Appleton Evening Crescent, 6 May 1916, Saturday, p. 1, col. 5; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 7 Sep 2018).
“Proposed $100,000 Eight Story Building For College Avenue,” Appleton Evening Crescent, 11 May 1916, Thursday, p. 1, col. 4; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 May 2023).
“Start Survey of Track for New Building,” Saturday, p. 1, col. 5.
“1 2-3 Acres of Space on 4 Floors of Bahcall Building,” Appleton Post-Crescent, 28 Jan 1942, Wednesday, p. 21; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 May 2023).
Ford Company Buys Ravine Property,” Appleton Evening Crescent, 21 Jun 1916, Wednesday, p. 4, col. 4; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 May 2023).
“Proposed $100,000 Eight Story Building For College Avenue,” Thursday, p. 1, col. 4.
“Start Survey of Track for New Building,” Saturday, p. 1, col. 5.
“City Impatient at Long Delay,” Appleton Evening Crescent, 19 Jul 1916, Wednesday, p. 1, col. 4; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 1 Jul 2023).
“Anona Cheese Co. Moves to Chicago,” Appleton Evening Crescent, 16 Mar 1917, Friday, p. 5, col. 5; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 3 Sep 2018).
Letter, Fassbender Memorabilia; privately held by Susan Sternitzky Fassbender, 2012. C. C. Martin to Mr. H. F. Fassbender, 17 Feb 1917. Bernard and Marie Fassbender Family Archives.
“Anona Cheese Co. Moves to Chicago,” Friday, p. 5, col. 5.
“Cheese Men Incorporate,” The Sheboygan Press, 8 Feb 1918, Friday, p. 8, col. 2; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 Nov 2017).
“Rotary Club Hears Talk on Creamy Business,” Appleton Post-Crescent, 18 Apr 1929, Thursday Evening, p. 19, col. 2.
“Borden Company Lists Capital Stock Increase,” Poughkeepsie Eagle News, 13 Mar 1931, Friday, p. 9, col. 5; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 3 Sep 2018).
“Anona Cheese Co. Quits Business,” Appleton Post-Crescent, 18 Mar 1931, Wednesday Evening, p. 2, col. 1; digital images, NewspaperARCHIVE (www.newspaperarchive.com : accessed 9 Dec 2006).
It was a warm July day 117 years ago this month, when an Appleton Evening Crescent reporter strolled through City Park accompanied by a staff photographer, Le Roy.
2330-Appelton Park, Appelton, Wis
They were looking for the men who, for the past ten years [1895], had been spending lazy afternoons in the park. The men, ranging in age from 58 to 85 lived within walking distance and on “sunshiny afternoon[s]” “when the park trees made oasis of shade, and the lawn mower hummed busily away over in some distant corner of the green square,” they would gather. The men were known as Appleton’s “Uncommon Council.”
It started simply. The retired men would “take long rambling walks about the city, and one after the other formed the habit of stopping for a moment at the city park.” Peter Fassbender was one of these men who after his move to Appleton in 1901, found his way to the park, to the northwest corner where there were high-backed red benches, “more comfortable than the usual family of park bench.” “One can’t imagine how comfortable and homelike three plain park benches can be made to look until one has seen those three benches occupied by a group of white-bearded, snow-haired old men, leaning on the cane that rests between their knees, their hats in the hands, their pipe, perhaps, held comfortably in the hollow of the left palm, and their faces full of the look of comfort, and companionship, and now and then wreathed in a smile that is followed by a chuckle, as one of their numbers breaks into a witticism.”
Park Ave. looking toward City Park, Appleton, Wis.
There was a green bandstand in the center of the park. In those days it contained four tables, shiny from years of coat sleeves and card paying, games such as seven-up or Schafskopf. The perfect spot to spend a rainy afternoon.
When they were not playing cards, you might hear them speak of the past. Of their days serving our country during the Civil War, or as they swatted a mosquito, recalling the pests of times past…”’Why, back in Oconto county we used to wear gloves on our hands and veils on our faces when we ploughed…’”
The reporter states that “old age means loneliness, sometimes” as wives pass away, and children marry and move away. But these men found friendship, companionship, and a way to spend a hot summer afternoon in the cool and shady park. 1
Peter Fassbender is standing, far left.
Sources
‘“Appleton’s Uncommon Council.”’ Appleton Evening Crescent, 1 Jul 1905, Saturday, p. 1, col. 2; digital imges, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 31 Aug 2018).
Every so often I enter “White Clover Dairy, Hollandtown” into a search engine just to see what will pop up. This time I got a surprise.
Dairy Foods Magazine’s James Carper wrote an article about Arla Foods which was published on March 8, 2017.1 I cannot comment on the accuracy of the article as it pertains to Arla’s cheese production, but I can, and will comment on his opening statement.
About 1923. The photographer is standing on County Road D, looking west.
I have written before as to my feelings about how Arla has wiped the Fassbender family from the history of the property and the plant. And this article is no exception.
Carper opens the article with this statement: “To see how White Clover Dairy grew up [GREW UP!!!?] to become Arla Foods, it helps to look at a series of aerial photos hung in the entrance hallway to this cheese plant in Hollandtown, Wis.” [HOW did Arla get these images? Minus the one were “the house is gone,” these images are in our families possession]. He continues: “In the first image there is a farmhouse near the original plant. Later images show how expansions to the plant crept closer and closer to the house. Eventually, the plant completely surrounds the farmhouse, and in the last image, the house is gone…”
View from Henry and Ida’s front porch, looking toward County Road D.
If Carper had chosen to enter “White Clover Dairy, Hollandtown” into a search engine, he would have quickly discovered that this “farmhouse” was the original owner and cheesemaker’s home.
The house built in 1916 was not a farmhouse, never hosted thrashers, and the nearest cows belonged to the farm across the street from both the house and the factory. The closest that Ida Fassbender came to feeding farmhands, was when she would feed lunch to factory workers. But these men and women did not come in from the fields, but at noon walked next door for a home-cooked meal.
Henry Fassbender purchased White Clover in 1906, and it is because of his leadership, his vision, and his passion, all of which he passed down to his children, that there was a factory in Hollandtown for Arla to purchase. I am proud of this legacy, and will continue to work to keep it alive.
Many memories of Thanksgiving are tied to food. The big turkeys, the stuffing, the cranberries.
Yesterday I made a batch of cranberry sauce for Thursday’s feast, and as I do every year as I watch the sauce come to a boil and the berries start to pop as they heat up, my thoughts wander back to another Thanksgiving, either 2000 or 2001.
The computer was on in the library, connected to the internet, and email open. We designed the corner desk to be visible from the family room and kitchen with the intent that I could monitor the kid’s activity on the computer from the other rooms. The added benefit was that I could also monitor for incoming email – genealogy email.
As it was the week of Thanksgiving I was starting the cranberries while the kids were doing homework and just hanging out in the family room. Just as the berries were coming to a boil, I heard the tell-tale signal that I had just received an email. Forgetting to set a timer, and after one last glance at the pot, I hurried into the library to check my email. And that is where I got into trouble.
I had heard from Germany!! I had recently connected with a gentleman in Bonn who was helping me with my Fassbender line. He was retrieving birth, death, baptism, and marriage information for me from Schloß Augustusburg in Brühl. The best part is that he was also helping me with translating the documents, plus providing invaluable insight into the Rhineland in the late 1700s to early 1800s.
I got distracted. I was jolted out of my excitement by the kids yelling that the cranberries were spattering all over the stove. I had not yet burned them, just created a sticky mess on the cooktop.
So each year as I watch the cranberries bubble in the pot, I am taken back to the early days of “online” genealogy when there were real people at the other end of the discovery of a document. I love the ease of Ancestry, but miss the connection with people all over the world.
I make cranberry sauce the way my mother-in-law taught me many years ago. I shared this recipe last year, but it is worth sharing again.
Marie’s Cranberry Sauce
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 12 oz. package of fresh cranberries
Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; add cranberries, return to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pour sauce into a bowl. Cover and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until serving time. Makes 2 1/4 cups
To make strained cranberry sauce:
Follow directions in step 1 as written. After boiling the cranberries for 10 minutes, remove pan from heat and strain. Return sauce back to the pan, adding an additional cup of sugar. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes.
Pour sauce into a bowl. Cover and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until serving time.
Elisabeth Fassbender was admitted to Appleton’s St. Elizabeth Hospital in late March 1937. Her daughter, Anna, had passed away on February 2nd at the age of 71, and at 97, Elisabeth herself was beginning to slow down.
Monday afternoon, March 23rd, Henry and Ida drove from their home in Hollandtown, Brown County, to Appleton to visit his mother. They made the approximately 13-mile drive in the company car, a “1935 model Ford sedan, dark green, with the 1937 Wisconsin license plates No. 198-968,” registered to the Fassbender Brothers.1 Parking in the lot, they entered the hospital to spend time with Elisabeth. I would like to think that they met Henry’s sister, Elizabeth, and brother, Hubert in the room so that it was a nice family visit.
Upon leaving his mother’s bedside at approximately 8:30 p.m. they were shocked to discover that the car was missing. It had been stolen.
How did they return home that evening? A call may have been made to Elizabeth’s son, Arthur Ellenbecker. After filling out the police report, it was very late, and the 37-year-old was the perfect person to make the trek out to Hollandtown and back to Appleton.
Elisabeth was released from the hospital and returned home where she passed away peacefully on Wednesday afternoon, 14 Apr 1937. She was survived by four sons, one daughter, 34 grandchildren, and 34 great-grandchildren. The oldest grandchild was 41, and the youngest, Henry’s daughter, Rosemary, was just 11 years old.
But what about Henry’s car? What happened to it?
Tuesday afternoon, March 24th, the car was recovered at the St. Mary school grounds in Menasha, Winnebago County, by the Menasha police.2 “Apparently” the car had been taken for “transportation from Appleton to the basketball tournament under way” at St. Mary’s.3
“Four Plead Guilty Of Car Theft” read the Appleton Post-Crescent headline 26 Mar 1937. “Four youths plead guilty of operating automobiles without the owners consent.” Two of the youths 17 and 18 years of age were from Kimberly, Outagamie County. They were arraigned on two warrants, one dating February 25th, and the second being Henry’s car.
The other men, 19 year old residents of Appleton, were on probation when they drove to Menasha in the Fassbender vehicle, returning to Appleton in a second stolen car, as the previous October they had been convicted of taking two nickel slot machines from a Menasha tavern. They were arraigned on three counts of operating a car without the owners consent.
A total of eight vehicles had been stolen and used for “joy-riding about the country” by the young men; five cars from Outagamie and three from Winnebago County. One of the boys told the Outagamie county sheriff that one of the cars “was nearly new, with less than 500 miles on the speedometer. The sheriff said he boasted that he had ‘had it up to 90 miles an hour.’”4
The two 19-year-olds were charged to “three years in the state penitentiary [in Waupun] on each of the four counts on which they were arraigned. The sentences will run concurrently.”
In December a judge canceled the probation of the two younger men, and they were sentenced to serve three years in the state reformatory at Green Bay, Brown County.5 The paper doesn’t give a reason for this, but it may have had something to do with the fact that “a loaded automatic was found on” one youth’s “person when he was picked up,” and “police reported finding a revolver under the mattress” at the other youth’s home.”6
So as the newspaper reported: “The Court Closes Crime Career.” I am sure that Henry was happy to have the car returned with only a few extra miles put on the speedometer, and without being damaged.
Sources:
“Report Auto Theft,” Appleton Post-Crescent, 23 Mar 1937, Tuesday Evening, p. 13, col. 4; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 4 Feb 2022).
“Car Is Recovered,” The Daily Northwestern, 25 Mar 1937, Thursday, p. 17, col. 4; digital images, NewspaperARCHIVE (www.newspaperarchive.com : accessed 18 Nov 2015).
“Car is Recovered” The Daily Northwestern, 25 Mar 1937, Thursday, p. 17, col. 4; NewspaperARCHIVE (www.newspaperarchive.com : accessed 18 Nov 2015).
“Youths Are Held While Car Thefts Are Investigated,” The Daily Northwestern, 23 Mar 1937, Wednesday, p. 4, col. 1; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 18 Feb 2022).
“Cancel Probations of Two Kimberly Youths,” Appleton Post-Crescent, 2 Dec 1937, Thursday Evening, p. 12, col. 6; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 19 Feb 2022).
“Youths Are Held While Car Thefts Are Investigated,” Wednesday, p. 4, col. 1.
Last Friday the 1950 U.S. Census was finally released for viewing, and so I decided to make a trip to Hollandtown, Brown, Wisconsin to visit my in-laws, my husband’s grandparents, and any other family members who happened to be living in this small community in April 1950.
“Heading into town” that morning, I had no idea that I would still be there a few days later. I love how the enumerator, Mrs. Margaret Farrell used St. Francis Catholic church as the departure point for her notes. The homes were unnumbered at this time, so people lived on “County Trunk D 1/2 mile church,” or “1/4 mile church,” and “near church.” She enumerated this community of 1,017 people, living in 231 dwellings between March 31, and April 21st.
What kept me in Hollandtown was the insight into the lives of people I knew, some casually, some very well, all sparking memories of days gone by. Has it really been 36 years since I first stepped foot into Van Abel’s supper club for the 40th wedding celebration of Bernard and Marie Campbell Fassbender?
Speaking of the Van Abel’s, I “ran into” them first. Living a 1/2 mile from the church on County Trunk D, was Nell Van Abel and her son, Wilfred, or Will, as we knew him. Nell had just lost her husband Bill in January, and Will would not marry Anne Duffy until 1954. Nell was enumerated as Keeping House, and Will the Proprietor of a “Tavern-Bolding.”
The 1950 census includes many chances for a person to be part of the “Sample Line,” and Will, enumerated on Line 8, was one such person. Unlike other censuses, no indication is made as to who provided the information, so it is left to our imagination as to why questions 33a-33c were left unanswered. The questions read: “If Male— (Ask each question) Did he ever serve in the U.S. Armed Forces during—World War II, World War I, any other time, including present service.” These questions were simply left unanswered. Will most definitely served during World War II and had also spent 18 months as a prisoner of war. Was the memory just too fresh to even answer with a simple, yes?
Living a 1/4 mile from the church is his brother, and partner in the tavern, Don, who was enumerated with his family, wife Bernice, 3-year-old Patricia, and 2-year-old Sue. He was also enumerated as the Proprietor of a “Tavern-Bolding.” Bolding? I have to believe that Mrs. Farrell had a weak moment, and spelled the word Bowling as Bolding, as bowling lanes had been added to the property a few years before. Both men spent long hours working in the tavern, each stating that the prior week they had worked 84 hours.
Continuing my walk with Mrs. Farrell, I finally arrive at my in-law’s household. I was surprised to see that the street was named Church Road in 1950, and delighted to see that she named their place of business White Clover Dairy rather than the expected generic “cheese factory.”
And here was a moment of Oh My Gosh. On this day, the day of Mrs. Farrell’s visit, 28-year-old Marie was eight months pregnant with her second child; her first child, Dick, was 2 years old. Dick must have been a rambunctious child if the number of photos of him that include bandaids is any indication. Mrs. Farrell asked Marie the question as to how many hours her 37-year-old husband had worked the week prior, Marie answered, 84. 84 hours. That’s a lot of hours alone, and with all chores being much more labor-intensive than they are today – imagine the laundry! Well, I don’t have to, there are pictures.
Bernard (Butch), holding Richard (Dick) in the side yard of the house in Hollandtown.
Moving two doors down to take a look at Butch’s parent’s entry, I found that 70-year-old Henry was still working as a cheesemaker, working 70 hours the week before, and his daughter, 23-year-old Rose Mary, put in 48 working in the office. Rosie would marry Victor Busse in May 1951.
It got me thinking, how many people in this small community worked at White Clover? I found 19, and some even were part of the Sample Line. Four Fassbender family members, and 15 people from the community. A newspaper article dated October 1948 states that at that time the factory employed 14 people above and beyond the Fassbender brothers, so I am fairly confident that I have captured all of the employees.
Occupation: Proprietor
Bernard W. Fassbender, age 37, Hours worked last week: 84
Occupation: Cheesemaker
Henry J. Fassbender, age 70. Hours worked last week: 70
Norbert J. Fassbender, age 38. Hours worked last week: 75
Sample Line: Weeks worked in 1949 – 52, Income earned from working in own business – $3,000
Earl Vande Hey, age 23. Hours worked last week: 65
Sample Line: Worked in Own Business in 1949
Joseph F. Nies, age 24. Hours worked last week: 77
Donald J. Hart, age 23. Hours worked last week: 63.
Sample Line: Weeks worked in 1949 – 52, wages earned $2,181
Occupation: Office Work
Mike Flynn, age 54. Hours worked last week: 40
Sample Line: Weeks worked in 1949 – 52, wages earned $1,800.00
Rose M. Fassbender, age 23. Hours worked last week: 48
Occupation: Factory Helper/Cheese Helper/Helps Make Cheese
William Verheyen, age 18. Hours worked last week: 65
Alfred A. Brochtrup, age 21. Hours worked last week: 60
Clarence R. Kelly, age 43. Hours worked last week: 56
Occupation: Waxing Cheese
Theresa Van De Loo, age 18. Hours worked last week – not reported
Noeim Clark, age 20. Hours worked last week: 45
Occupation: Wrapping Cheese
Ann Van De Loo, age 18. Hours worked last week: 48
Sample Line: Weeks worked in 1949 – 26, wages earned $600.00
Dolores M. Liebergen, age 20. Hours worked last week: 51
Eileen M. Penterman, age 20. Hours worked last week: 32
Estella A. Hagens, age 31. Hours worked last week: 40
Arlene J. Fink, age 19. Hours worked last week: 54
Occupation: Hauls Milk
Donald J. Weber, age 25. Hours worked last week: 65
To round up the rest of the Fassbender family I had to travel first to Dundas:
Occupation: Cheese Maker
Hubert Fassbender, age 31. Hours worked last week: 84
Then to Kaukauna:
Occupation: Partner/Proprietor
Fassbender, Harold, age 41. Hours worked last week: 65
Occupation: Cheese Wrapper
Fassbender, Mary, age 42. Hours worked last week: 27
Sample Line: Weeks worked in 1949 – 39, wages earned $1,200.
There were two residents of Hollandtown that worked for South Kaukauna Dairy. Namely, Jerome D. Van Abel, age 38, (brother of Will and Don), who worked 38 hours as a Bookkeeper, and Mary B. Wall, age 23, who packed cheese. She worked 32 hours the previous week, and her Sample Line tells us that she worked 26 hours in 1949 and earned $800.00.
Also working at South Kaukauna Dairy was the husband of Mildred Fassbender, Leroy C. Gerharz, age 41. He had worked the previous week 42 hours as a Traffic Manager.
Now that I have compiled this information, I am comparing it to the company financial statements I have from this period. Also, newspaper articles provide me with additional anecdotal information. So much, that my head is spinning.
