440 Fox River Valley Legend Spring 1976 WKCHS 42
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440 Fox River Valley Legend Spring 1976 WKCHS 42
-
Spring, 1976, Vol 1, Issue 1. The first of two publications pertaining to the history of the area. The second of the series is in booklet #439.
-
3441282
-
1976
-
SOS 440 OCR Fox River Valley Legend Spring 1976 WKCHS 42.pdf
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Linda Valentine Snippets
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Kenosha County, Wisconsin
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Valentine
SNIPPETS of SALEM
440 - Fox River Valley
Legend
USA'76
Spring, 1976
Vol 1, Issue 1
Contents:
The first of two publications pertaining to the history of the area.
The second of the series is in booklet #439.
The original booklets were printed in two color.
Depending on the PDF size, the original pages may be in color.
There will not be a paper booklet of this PDF.
The original documents will be relocated to the WKCHS school house
library.
Some of the items may be scanned and may exist in JPG form.
0-40 pages
NOTE:
The materials herein were contributed by those of the area who wished that the history they have
experienced be saved for the future generations. These may represent private documents as well
as previously published articles and obituaries and images from their saved collections ..
Researchers should also refer to the Valentine Digital archives at the SALEM COMMUNITY
LIBRARY (and perhaps other websites) for more images in this collection or digital images of
items photocopied in this booklet or related to the topic.
Compiled 4/2014 by L S Valentine Copyright©Valentine2014
Valentine
SNIPPETS of SALEM
440 - Fox River Valley
Legend
USA'76
Spring, 1976
Vol 1, Issue 1
Contents:
The first of two publications pertaining to the history of the area.
The second of the series is in booklet #439.
The original booklets were printed in two color.
Depending on the PDF size, the original pages may be in color.
There will not be a paper booklet of this PDF.
The original documents will be relocated to the WKCHS school house
library.
Some of the items may be scanned and may exist in JPG form.
0-40 pages
NOTE:
The materials herein were contributed by those of the area who wished that the history they have
experienced be saved for the future generations. These may represent private documents as well
as previously published articles and obituaries and images from their saved collections ..
Researchers should also refer to the Valentine Digital archives at the SALEM COMMUNITY
LIBRARY (and perhaps other websites) for more images in this collection or digital images of
items photocopied in this booklet or related to the topic.
Compiled 4/2014 by L S Valentine Copyright©Valentine2014
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In a day when problems seem to arise in unlimited quantities and in unlimited conditions, we are
pleased and proud that we can say our friends and neighbors are the finest ln America. We Salute
Western Kenosha County and, in particular, those leaders of Randall Township who have given of
their time and effort to insure that we will continue to maintain this standard of living.
CHAIRMAN
SUPERVISORS
Fred Sherman 1900-1901
George McKesson 1901-1904
Charles Stauton 1900-1901
John Bernhoft 1900-1903
Ferd Jahns 1901-1903
August Voss 1903-1904
Charles Kline 1904-1912
John Bernhoft 1912-1913
Charles Kline 1913-1915
Ben Elverman 1915-1'917
Fran/<. Zerfas 1917-1934
George Dean 1935--194'9
CLERK
William Kline 1900-1905
H. C. Goupe 1905-1906
William Kline 1906-1917
Henry Gaffenberger 1917-1919
Gilbert Keok:hOff'19t9-1935
Star:tlev.-Sioxen _1935-<1941
Charles Freerninl1941-1945
Fred R!lsch 1949-1964'·
George H. Bovet< t9-6_4·:r005·:i~~&.i¥ -<',.~_-· -.,frank..~
Charles A. H0Henccln;lp~~t9G5~l'~-f~;?:~(:~;. -~-·-H~ty~tes
Bovee 1973-1975·.---;<·cA...· d# .. Wflham
Edwln Volbrech't ·1945-1947
G. Kaskin-1947-1967
1967
Richard
Edmund
Donald f
Kenneth SchuB-t'man·
Rose Podel!a 1973
,,
tQ3_9-1959
ThtriH _1959·_1963
. Robert K-.isken 1963-1965
William Podella 196!;i-1969
Leo LaPalm 1969-1913
Jffli-
RANDALL TOWNSHIP
2
Editorial
ISSUE I
VOLUME I
SPRING, 1976
A historical society, to many, seems like a stuffy group of old people who
have nothing better to do than to think of the "good old days" and to
wish they were back there. In the case of the Western ~enosha County
Historical Society, this illusion is a great disillusion.
Western Keno,lta County Historico/ Sodety
VAoiiEY
{.EGEND
Published in cooperation with the
Western Kenosha County Historical
Society, a non·profit organization.
MICHAEL PALECEK
Recently, I had the opportunity of attending the society's winter dinner, ·
held in the home of one of its members. True, there were many senior
citizens there, but on the other hand, there was a balance of younger
people as well. These persons, some still only in their teens, do not just
sit back in the group, in the back rows and stifled because they haven't
been around long enough. They are as much a speaking part of the
society as anyone else.
The society has a cross-section of persons from all walks of life, from
ministers and teachers, to housewives, laborers, office workers and retirees.
They are all equal, sharing their knowledge of old, as well as new-found
information of Kenosha County's past.
EDITOR
JOHNSON BUSINESS FORMS
PUBLISHER
The LEGEND is distributed free to
all post office boxholders and rural
route patrons residing west of In·
terstate Highway 94 in Kenosha
County, Wisconsin.
They are amateurs, they are not scholars. They are common people, in
their thinking, acting, and living, like the rest of us. I say this to encourage
each one of you interested, to join. Input is requested and needed to further
document our local history, but not demanded in the least. One need only
attend and listen to accounts of yesteryear and witness the past come alive.
But why is all of this important? Some say "who cares about the past,
let it be forgotten." But the past should be remembered, to learn from
it and to appreciate things as they are now, because something can be
appreciated better when it is understood and how and why it happened
and what happened to it from its conception to the current moment.
The people of the Western Kenosha County Historical Society realize this
idea, and they work to uncover the past for all of us to appreciate. For
this, the LEGEND salutes them.
BUSINESS OFFICE:
Johnson Business Forms
Highway KD
Bassett, Wisconsin
Advertising Representatives:
J. P. McBride
R. D. Johnson
M. D. Johnson
Copyright 1976 by Johnson Business Forms. No portion of this
magazine may be reproduced with·
out express written consent of the
editor.
Address all inquiries and corres·
pondence to: Editor, Fox River
Valley Legend, P. 0. Box 115, Bas·
sett, Wisconsin 53101.
IN THIS ISSUE . . .
1
History Has Recorded, What s In A Name ............................................................ Page 4
A Link With History, Mugwump, Agitator or News., ........................................... Page 15
The Growing Of Kenosha County West.. ............................................................. .Page 18
The Wilmot Mill, From Fame To Fire ............. ,..,..,. ...................... ,. ...... ,. ............. Page 23
Four G!aciers Later, Kenosha County Prairie, By linda Wilson Curtis .................... Page 26
11
11
How KD Came To Be ....... ., ..............................................................................Page 30
American ice, Once Solid, Now Mefted, By Rev, Uoyd Wenzei. .............................. Page 31
Our Native Mlneral, Kenosha County lce ............................................ ., ............... Page 33
Kenosha County Diggings Reveal Former Residents ............................ ,. .......... , ... Page 37
A Concluding Comment., ..,,. ........................ ,. ...... ,.,. .................... ,........ ,. ............... Page 38
3
History Has RecordedWhat's In A Name
(Editor's Note: For a long time,
persons have tried to C017Jpile a
historical description of all settle·
ments in $enosha County. In the
next paragraphs, the LEGEND presents a list of sketches on the communities of the area. Perhaps some
will disagree with this listing, saying
it is not complete. Perhaps they
will say it is not representative of
the total history. And, the LEGEND
agrees, it is not a total history, only
a small sketch In the issues to come
we wish to put down for all to read
the history of each community in
detail, not all at once, but a little at
a time.)
Kenosha CountY Boundaries
By an act of the Wisconsin Legislature, approved January 30, 1850,
Kenosha County was created from
portions of Racine County. The
boundaries of Kenosha County were
established as follows and remain
the same to date:
Beginning at the southwest corner
of township 1, range 19 east, of the
meridian aforesaid in the southern
boundary of this state, hence northerly along the eastern boundary line
of this stale to the township line
between townships 2 and 3 north.
Thence south on said range line to
the section line between ranges 19
HILDEBRANDTS
and 20 east; thence south on said
range line to the section line be·
tween section 24 and 25, township
· 2 northj range 19 east; thence west
on said section line to the range
line between ranges 18 and 19 east;
thence south on said range line to
the place of beginning.
-Origin and Legislative History of
County Boundaries in Wisconsin.
The Benedictine Fathers, owning
the south half of the lake front
property and some five hundred
acres of local land, established a
monastery and seminary here in
1945. The Benet Lake post office
was established near the monastery,
and the lake took on the name.
Bassett is named after Henry Bassett,
a local pioneer settler, having pur~
chased 120 acres in. 1842. The vil·
}age was named in his honor when
he donated land to the Kenosha
and Davenport Railroad to build
through the community.
BONG (Brighton Twp.)
Bong was established as a site of
an Air Force base in the late 1940's
but was later abandoned, and fell
AMERICAN LEGION CLUB
Silver lake, Wis.
889-4853
Serving Food, Beer &
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HALL FOR RENT
THE KEY TO YOUR REAL ESTATE. NEEDS
• Acreage
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• Farms
• Homes
• Business
o Lots
and has been for about I 00 years.
It was originally the stopping point
for the Bain Wagon Works, but now
is the stopping point for freight on
the southwest side of Kenosha.
BASSETT (Randall Twp.)
The lake was earlier named Cooper
Lake. Benet comes from the old
English form of the word "Benedict"
one of the famous saints of England.
Some of the property owners on
the north end of the lake objected
to the change and took it to the
county circuit court. The case was
not contested, and in the end the
judge decided the lake should have
two legal names: Shangri-La for the
BAIN (Pleasant Prairie Twp.)
Bain is listed on train timetables,
fJ win
north half, and Benet Lake for the
south half.
BENEDICT LAKE
(Salem and Bristol Twp.)
(Lake County, Illinois)
J\udrell ~udyn ~ealtll
_
NEXT TO
THE BANK
.... r ...... . , . . -
[H
EVENING
279-5618
TWIN LAKES
REALTOR
When you think furniture think
-- --TOTAL
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Eleat'tia
PHILIP FISHBACK
P. 0. BOX97
TWIN LAKES
~
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8:
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UNION GROVE
Telephone (414) 877-2967
~
.
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Don't Miss our Daily Specials!
Tues. -Sat. 5 p.m. - 10 p.m. -Sun. 12 to 8 p.m.
VITO'S lAKESIDE RESORT
5 Miles North of Antioch/ 2 Miles West of Hwy. 83
at Hwy. SA & AH.
Phone: 414-889-4221
4
TOTAL
WAREHOUSE
OUTLET
OPEN 10 A.M. TO 9 P.M. MON. • FRI.
FURNITURE
SAT. 10-5 P.M. SUNDAY NOON TO 5 P.M.
IN BURLINGTON - 480 S. PINE STREET - 763-2980
IN KENOSHA - 8400 57TH ST. (HWY. 50) - 694-3444
into disuse. Overgrown, the proper~
ty was originally condemmed by
the government and reverted back
to Kenosha County and Wisconsin
controL The county has recently
turned portions of Bong Base into
SnoW~ffiObile trails, shooting ranges,
natural areas, as well as golf courses.
Part of Bong Base is also natural
wildlife areas or hunting preserves.
Bong is named after General Bong,
a Milwaukee Air Force Commander
who was relieved of his duties dur~
ing World War One for his ideas on
aircraft use during war. His ideas
were used in fighting during the
Second World War.
BRIGHTON
Brighton, a fanning community,set~
!led by a mixed group of im·
migrants and New Englanders, was
started in the early 1840's. During
the years, much emphasis was placed on religion, education and fam~
ily life as well as the necessary
way of life for almost all farming.
The township did not drastically
grow, but wavered with population
change, as crop conditions changed.
It is now beginning to grow with
the very beginnings of urban sprawl
in the region.
BRISTOL
There are two conflicting stories as
to the naming of BristoL One states
that in 1837, with a mail route going to the community from South~
port, a name was necessary, and the
town was named in honor of Rev.
Ira Bristol, a religious leader and
early settler. The other story states
that the name was suggested by
David Wilder, an early settler who
who came from Bristol, New York.
This story states that in December,
1837, a meeting was held at the
home of A. B. Jackson, a community leader, where the deciding
vote was taken.
Either way, Bristol, as a stop on
the Kenosha~Davenport Railroad, as
well as along Highway 45 (an old
Indian trail from Chicago to Milwaukee), grew to a significant cen·
tral farming town.
CAMP LAKE
(Salem Twp.)
Legend states that Camp Lake was
named so because it was an old
Indian campsite with a view of
Central). Planned summer home
subdivisions were later initiated at
Camp Lake, and for a time during
the 1920's, Camp Lake had its own
radio station, WCLO-AM.
three lakes, a rolling timbered hillside and a pleasant glade. Camp
Lake grew through the ice industry
and resort industry, due both to
railroad transportation (Wisconsin
PhiL
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Quasar Cl:iD SYUIANIA
COLOR T.V.
TELEVISION RADIO & STEREO CENTER
SALES AND SERVICE
RADIO
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SERVICE ON ALL MAKES
RADIO DISPATCHED TRUCKS
Located 2 Blocks South of NESTLE'S on Hy. 83 South
Route 5, Burlington - Phone 763-7755
SERVING THE LAKE AREA FOR OVER 20 YEARS
Farm Equipment
Lawn & Garden
Equipment
1/tJtJ.Je
?u~teJ-111
llcme
Snowmobiles
Our 54th Year
24 Hit AMBULANCE SERVICE
GENOA CITY
279...5933
113 FREEMAN ST.
DAVID E. HAASE
DIRECTOR
5
At one time, Liberty Corners was
proposed as the site of a college but
the town fathers would not permit
its construction. The college pro-
Varney's
lounge
Looking South along Bristol's Main Street. - Historical Society Photo
served as a stopping point for setmain purpose today is for municipal
FOX RIVER
tlers to traverse to other areas to
water service and water recreation.
(Salem and Wheatland Twps.)
settle. Liberty Corners served in its
finest capacity as the social, religKENOSHA
The Fox River was named as an inious, and education center of the
terpretation of Potawatomi ''Pisrural area. During the 1840's, it was
Kenosha is the Potawatomi Indian
teka" meaning Fox of Five River.
the site of the first fraternal organname for "pike" or "pickeral''. The
Pisteka is the formal geographic and
ization in the area. During the
first white hunters and trappers are
historical name for the river, for
1860's, it was the center of the
reported as having used Kenosha in
there are two other Fox Rivers in
region's Congregational Church (rereference to the region. The city
Wisconsin; one which flows into the
maining open until 1913) as well as
was first called Pike and later SouthWisconsin River, and the other into
the meeting point for the Kenosha
port, because it was the southernGreen Bay. The Pisteka flows into
County Teacher's Annual Convenmost port in Wisconsin. Kenosha
the Illinois River.
tions. Mary D. Bradford, famous
incorporated as a city in 1850, at
Kenosha County educator, taught
the same time the county separated
Once used for water power, milling
school at Liberty Corners, as well as
from Racine County, the communiand barge transportation, the river's
at Paris in Kenosha County.
ty and county took on the original
Indian
name.
CREATIONS INC FLORISTS
HOT SANDWICHES
Open 7 Days a Week
6514 Greenbay Road
Kenosha, Wisconsin
SUGAR & SPICE
WOMEN TOO!
BEAUTY SALON
Men's Hair Dressing
BETTY FRANK
JUDY KLUENDER
315 Lake- 889-4654
Silver Lake, Wisconsin
Designed Professional Arrangements
Complete Wedding Service
Sympathy Sprays-Corsages-Cut Flowers
Graduates Of Am. Floral Art School
Wire Services
... 877-2389
i204 N Lake Twn Lks.
LIBERTY CORNERS
(Salem Township)
Liberty Corners, in 1837, was the
first settlement in Salem Twp. lt
.Dave Wiseman
Agency
AUTO
FIR.IE
HIEAUH
LIFE
324 Main Street in Twin Lakes- Phone 877-2300
(414) 279-5494
(414) 537-2615
30 YEARS OF SERVICE
That's an important part of our History too!
While the product has changed - our service has not!
Isn't it nice to know you can stand up and be counted
as a member of a great western Kenosha County and
a great group of our customers.
We pride ourselves on saying, "We do business with
all our friends and all our friends do business with us."
-D. & L.. PETERSON, LTD.
EXCAVATING CONTRACTOR
SARBACKER GARAGE
RICK AND RED SARBACKER
D. W. PETERSON
President
6
Box 141
Powers Lake, Wis. 53159
BASSETT, WISCONSIN
posed, was later founded as Ripon
(Wisconsin) College, still in existence today.
PADDOCK LAKE
(Salem Township)
Paddock Lake was originally settled
by the Paddock family in the late
1850's and became the site of the
Old Settler's Association annual picnic. From that event, came the
founding of the Old Settler's Park.
Paddock Lake grew largely through
the use of planned subdivision by
George Illges, Jr. and Sr., and as a
rural retreat for city folk, because
travel to Kenosha is relatively conw
venient. The community was it1corw
porated as a village in 1960.
NEW MUNSTER
(Wheatland Twp.)
This German settlement atop a glacial hill, one of Kenosha County's
most scenic stops, was named by
immigrants during the 1840's after
Munster in Germany. It served as a
farming center for northwest Ken~
osha County, as a stop on the stage
route, and a refreshing inn area on
the Geneva Road. It was recorded
as a community in the U.S. Census
of 1880.
PARIS
(Paris Township)
SILVER LAKE
FOOD MART
The generally flatland township of
Paris, serving as an agricultural region from its beginning, was found~
ed by Seth Meryick in 1838 and
named after his former home in
Oneida County, New York. Not
being blessed with lakes or railroads,
the township has had either slow
growth or decline in the past cen:
tury, and is just recently showing
an increase due primarily to urban
spillover from the lakeshore cities.
• GROCERIES
• MEATS
• VEGETABLES
• FROZEN FOODS
Serving this Community
Since 1953
TWIN LAKES
REXALL PHARMACY
PLEASANT PRAIRIE
Pleasant Prairie was named for its
appeal to many settlers who saw
the ease of planting and fanning in
the prairie, a place where there was
neither log, or root or rock to make
plowing difficult, with rich soil
fertilized by constant natural prairie
fires. The township was settled by
1844. Like Somers Township, it
was affected, and will remain influenced by urban Kenosha.
POWERS LAKE
(Randall Twp.)
was said to have been several huge
hotels on the lake, some of which
have burned to the ground years
ago. After the days of the ice industry were over, Powers Lake became somewhat of a hideout for
bootleggers, needing a place to make
booze. It also served as a quick
getaway spot to Canada and a site
to set the cast for illegal activities.
After prohibition, Powers Lake continued in its resort role to the
present day. The name of the lake
is believed to honor an early settler.
RANDALL
(Randall Twp.)
Powers Lake was a recreation area
until the ice industry came into
the area in the late 1870's. There
Until recent years, Randall has been
small in population compared to
other Kenosha County townships,
§lC<GJNT§
*TRUCKS LETTERED
*STORE WINDOWS
*BILLBOARDS
*SNOWMOBILES
630 HERDA AVE.
TWIN LAKES, WIS. 53181
(414) 1177-3678
"We Paint Signs on Anything"
THE
BR
£B
REALTORt
'E BULL
•SEA FOODS
• PRIME STEAKS
• DELICIOUS SANDWICHES
• FISH FRY FRIDAYS
• PIANO- ORGAN BAR
OPEN 5:00P.M. DAlLY
CLOSED MONDAYS
SPECIALIZING IN
COUNTRY ESTATES- HOMES WITH ACREAGEFARMS - VACANT LAND
843-2565
LOCATED ON ROUTE 83
ONE HALF MILE NORTH
0
0
0
"Call Anytime"
OF ANTIOCH, ILL.
CHICAGO
R.F.D. 2 SALEM- HWY. AH, 1 MILE E. OF HWY. 83
PHONE 414-862-2442 FOR RESERVATIONS
and has been largely agriculturally
oriented. It was split from Wheatland Township in 1850 when Kenosha County was created from por~
lions of Racine County. Randall
Township was named after Wisconsin Governor Alexander Randall,
the governor at the time of the
township's birth.
SALEM
The community of Salem is another
Salem's Town Square - Historical Society Photo
Drake's Super Valu
A COMPLETE LINE OF
•
•
•
•
MEATS
GROCERIES
PRODUCE
FROZEN FOODS
example of a group of farmlands
which became a settlement where
the railroad crossed a major pathway
(now Highway 83). The town became the center of the area in the
1880's when the Kenosha-Davenport was constructed through the
new town. It was originally known
as Salem Station.
Kenosha· Davenport and the Wiscon·
sin Central Railroads crossed one
another just north of town. The
community thrived through a com·
bination of railroad commerce and
the ice industry. At one time there
were seven ice houses around the
shore lines of Silver Lake. The
village supposedly took its name
from the silvery sheen of the waters in the evening moonlight.
General John Bullen set up the
first inn at the Fox River in Silver
Lake in the 1840's. The inn was
terminal of the Kenosha Plank Road
which ran from Highway K to the
present Highway 75, and on through
the old Brass Ball Corners (a block
Salem Township was reportedly set·
tled primarily by persons from New
England and New York. Settlement
occurred in 1837 in Liberty Corners.
308 MAIN ST.
'f'WIN LAKES
SILVER LAKE
~
(Salem Twp.)
HIGHWAY 50· PADDOCK LAKE, WISCONSIN
+£~.£!
The village of Silver Lake, incorporated in 1920, was a main railroad
junction in Salem Township. The
.....~
<414) 877-278!5
-~~miGT
~~ ~ tf'lf;l'Fl
r..'!J
(U. S. A. RET.)
~ lm '\!!If l!'A
~~~D
®
~ ~l r
REAL TOR
HANDLING ...
e FARMS
e
e ACREAGE
e LAKE PROPERTIES
COMMERCIAL
e
INDUSTRIAL
I 843 d2951J
P.O. Box 117
e HOMES
a :
SALEM
located 112 Mile South of Hwy. 50o
On Hwy. F SALEM, WIS.
~
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!
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Professional Service
With A Personal Touch
!Ready 9:'o
Se~ve
Cljou
f!at/(MI
o.{J(JI!MU4
tk 1wfl.iint lJal(t
WtCe
ol 184
LAKE
GENEVA
PHONE
8
414-862-6212
BROILED
LOBSTER TAIL
SJ.95
all you can eat
PER
PERSON
FISH FRY
sz.so
all you can eat
FOR ONLY
PER PERSON
Includes Drawn Butter, Baked or French Fried Potato,
Salad, Choice of Dressing, Bread and Butter
EVERY TUESDAY AND THURSDAY
T
ITALIAN & AMERICAN MENU
COMPLETE CARRY OUT SERVICE
5:00p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
FRIDAY NIGHT SPECIAL
u IL 0
Cocktails and Daily Specials
Banquet Facilities for up to 80
*Pizza
* Lazagna
*Ravioli
*Veal Parmesan
*Mostaccioli
*Bombers
*T-Bone
*Filet Mignon
*N.Y. Strip
*Chicken
*Pork Chops
*Sandwiches
*Stuffed Trout
*Breaded Shrimp
*King Crab
*Lobster
*Red Snapper
*Chef Salad
HOME OF KENOSHA'S FIRST AND FINEST
DEEP PAN PIZZA
THIN CRUST PIZZA
Fri. & Sat.
11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.
ALSO PIZZA TURNOVERS
OPEN 7 DAYS
A WEEK
Sun. Thru Thurs.
11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
2801 • 30th Avenue Kenosha, Wisconsin Phone 551-8004
CASUAL DINING
IN A FRIENDLY ATMOSPHERE
Your Hosts Meno Domenic and Jay F. Passarelli
9
west of the current corners). The
road proceeded along Highway F
to the Silver Lake Bridge, where
Bullen's inn sat, as a toll booth
and refreshment stop. The trail
westward from Silver Lake was
hardly more than a beaten path.
Bullen is believed to be largely responsible for the building of the
plank road.
Norb & Helen's Tavern
"FRIENDS SEE FRIENDS"
WHISKEY HILL
SLADES CORNERS
(Wheatland Twp.)
TREVOR
(Salem Twp.)
Slades Corners, a junction between
the old "Geneva Road" (Highway
50) and a path to Burlington, was
probably named after a proprietor
of a local tavern, the stopping point
for the stage coach. Slades Corners
later became a supply center for
the area farmers and even produced a weekly newspaper for many
years. Today the town still maintains its character as a small supply
center for area residents.
Trevor was no more than a group
of scattered farms until the Wisconsin Central Railroad built its
track through the community in
the late 1870's. From that time it
grew as a shipping point. Among
feed mills, general stores, saloons,
and hotels, Trevor had even a stockyard, where cattle were shipped,
fattened and sent to Chicago when
the market was at its peak paying
point. Trevor is said to be named
for one of the ()ificial.s of the
Wisconsin Central.
NEW MUNSTER, WISCONSIN
Phone 537-4760
Norb & Helen Poepping
SOMERS
(Somers Twp.)
Whiskey Corners Garage
COMPLETE AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE
HIGHWAYS 12 & 31
RICHMOND, ILLINOIS
Phone 815-678-4096
Emmett Reynolds, Owner
46 Years Of Service
Since 1929
YOUR WESTERN KENOSHA COUNTY
INSURANCE SERVICE AGENCY
Even in the days of our founder, service was much
more important than selling. Our customers have
come to know us for this. In 1929, when M. J.
Martin (Mush to many of you) sold his first policy,
his main concern was serving his customers in
Western Kenosha County.
We continue to offer this kind of service as our
most important product to our customers.
Be it life, accidenr, tJusiness, health, auto, home
fire or theft, we pride ourselves on giving you the
kind of attention you deserve and the best coverage possible.
Yes, you can reach us throughout western Kenosha
County by calling 889-4373 in Silver Lake or
843-2342 in Bristol.
SCHENNING INS. AGENCY
SILVER LAKE, WISCONSIN
10
The first settlement, in 1834, occurred along the Pike River in Somers Township. Before this time, no
one resided in Kenosha County,
save the native American. Somers
was originally the farming fringe of
the small city of Kenosha, but as
the city grew 1 urban sprawl took
place, and Somers became a group
of residential suburbs of Kenosha.
Farming still remains today, especially in the northern and western
areas, where cabbage and corn are
main crops. It is predicted that by
the year 2,000, Somers will be completely urbanized, no longer a buffer
zone between Racine and Kenosha.
The town was oftlcially named
Pike by the Act of the Wisconsin
Legislature in 1843, and was changw
ed to Somers in 1851. There is no
record as to the reason for the
change, but it is believed that the
settlers named the town in honor
of a wealthy Englishman named
Somers who came and either pro~
vided money for the railroad, or
the naming was done as an act to
try to interest him in investing.
TWIN LAKES
(Randall Twp.)
Incorporated in the 1890's, Twin
Lakes was a resort area from the
turn of the century. Even in the
1870's, through railroad photos, the
community was pictured as a most
scenic spot for travelers to enjoy.
Twin Lakes was settled in 1842,
and the Immesan family was the
first to have twins, named Mary
and Elizabeth. It is said that one
day at a picnic it was decided to
name the lakes for each twin. The
community later adopted the same
name.
LITTLE DICK'S
FRIENDLY TAP
"LOWER TWIN LAKES"
PHONE 877-9170
WESTOSHA AIRPORT
A good place to base I
*NEW HARD-SURFACE
RUNWAY
*STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS
* AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE
One mile West of Wilmot
WHEATLAND
Although there are no records to
date Wheatland's settlement and
name, it is certain that the township was named in the early 1840's.
The township, with a high German
population, was in 1850, the largest
of rural Kenosha County towns,
but declined greatly in years to
come due to wheat crop failures.
Wheatland was probably named for
the high yields of grain production
in early times.
The community of Wheatland had
access to railroad travel and prospered under it until the time came
that automobiles became the king
of the road. The community is
basically agriculturally oriented today.
WILMOT
(Randall and Salem Twps.)
As one of the largest of early rural
Kenosha County communities, and
still maintaining most of its charm
by way of old and restored buildings, Wilmot has received most of
the publicity for western Kenosha
County communities.
TRIAN
Wilmot was truely the agricultural
center of the western end of the
county. Not only recorded as the
population center in the 1880 census, Wilmot was the destination
point for proposed highway construction from Kenosha and·Racine.
It was a transportation center by
stage coach as well as by river.
office, considered to be the last
visible sign of considerable railroad
activity a half century ago. In the
middle 1850's, the Kenosha-Davenport railroad was built through
.woodworth, and the location was
designated after the name of the
local prominent family, the Woodworths. Without the railroad travel
that made it a success, Woodworth
today is mainly a farming and residential settlement .
405 N. LAKE STREET
TWIN LAKES, WISCONSIN
(414)877-2151
Wilmot was called Gilead prior to
1884, named so by Asabel Benham
calling the town that name in honor
of his parents' hometown in Connecticut. However, in 1884, local
citizens made protest to that name,
and after heated discussion, a Mr.
Wilber quipped that since there was
so much talk of the Wilmot Proviso
in recent weeks, that the town
should be named after it. His suggestion was taken seriously and the
vote made it Wilmot.
WOODWORTH
(Bristol Twp.)
Woodworth, in section 10 of Bristol
Township, still today has a post
53181
GlllliNS A/1111111111111 1/IPPlY
1002 MOBIL STREET
LAKE GENEVA, WISCONSIN
(414) 248-4441
53147
TWIN LAKES AREA
Chamber Of Commerce
SERVING THE AREA SINCE 1972
Write or phone for information
P. 0. Box 818
Phone 414-877-2220
TWIN LAKES, WISCONSIN 53181
E LOUNGE
"LOWER LEVEL"
*WEDDINGS
*BANQUETS
*DANCING
*PRIVATE PARTIES
DAVE'S
CORNER OF
"EM" & "F 11
• PACKAGE
GOODS
TRIANGLE
TWIN LAKES, WISCONSIN
• SNOWMOBILE
SALES
• AUTO REPAIR
• 24-HOUR WRECKER
SERVICE
• SNOW PLOWING
COUNTY LINE "C"- P.O. BOX 172
TREVOR, WISCONSIN 53179
PHONES 414-862-6314 & 6311
NIGHT PHONE 414-862-2740
Lakes All Season
Sales & Service
11
for Children Only
It's funny how big people talk.
Grandma sits in her rocking chair
and tells stories of how things were
in the good old days. She is so happy when she does that.
Grandma would say, "I remember
when I was a little girl and we
ORIOLE SPRINGS
ORCHARDS
TWIN LAKES, WISCONSIN
stewart
OLSON IMPLEMENT
CO. inc.
ROUTE 2, BOX 134
ANTIOCH, ILLINOIS
• INT. TRUCKS
• PARTS
• F ARMALL IMPS.
• HOMELITE
moved to Kenosha County. There
were hardly any people around. We
found some good farm land and began to build a house. It was just a
My dad and older
log cabin.
brothers would chop down some big
trees and chop on the wood until it
was almost square.
Then they would put the logs on
the ground, piling them one on top
of another, like one would make a
Lincoln-log cabin. All the neighbors
would come and help build. They
would fit the logs as tight as possible. They would then patch the
holes with mortar, a sticky cement~
like mud, and they would stuff it in
the cracks, too.
They wouldn't use any nails, because nails were so rare. Some
places people would even use nails
like money. When leaving a place to
move somewhere else, folks would
burn their houses down, just to get
the nails back. They would dig
through the ashes to find the nails.
work to do. We didn't even go to
school. That was because there
weren't any schools around. Someone older would teach us by the
fire at night when the sun set.
In making the cabin, a doorway and
a window hole or two would be cut
in the wood. We needed some way
to see outside, and also to let light
in. The cabin was very dark, and
needed all the light it could get.
We would learn all of the necessary
things to keep one alive by doing
them. The girls would cook, sew
and wash clothes. We would even
make our own material, or use animal hides. We would also help on
The cabin floor was dirt, and in one
corner was a stone fireplace. By the
fireplace, my mother would cook
all the meals. We would all sleep by
the fire too, because it was so cold
anywhere else. It helped some to
put whatever cloth we had over the
window holes, but dad usually put
up boards in the windows to keep
the cold out.
D. & L. CONSTRUCTION
PHONE 279-6875
NIPPERSINK
We would always help with the
work. There was always so much
OS AN
• AIR CONDITIONED RJNERAl CHAPS.
• 24 HOUR AMBULANCE SERVICE
• OXYGEN EQUIPPED
funeral rqapel
LICENSED IN WISCONSIN,
ILLINOIS & IOWA
• GLEN OSMAN - Director
CALL COLLECT
414 877-3013
620 LEGION DR. TWIN LAKES, WIS.
SERVING
4 P.M. TO MIDNIGHT DAILY
SUN. 12 NOON TO 10 P.M.
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
PRIME RIB
OF BEEF
LIVE
MAINE
lOBSTER
"WE CATER TO PARTIES
AND BANQUETS"
815
678-7766
11106 U.S. 12 NORTH RICHMOND
12
ENTERTAINMENT
NEW
COCKTAIL
LOUNGE
deer and other animals for food
with heavy and loud guns.
Life was harder then than it is now.
We were close as a family and
happy most of the time. Sometimes
when things got bad, we would
have to go with little food, and
then freeze in the cold all night.
Everyone got sick a lot, and usual~
ly they would get better. But a lot
of people never got better, and
they would die.
Things are different now. People
depend a lot on other people,
where we could rely pretty much
on ourself for everything we needM
ed. No one was in a rush and things
were peaceful."
Camp Lake, August, 1909 - Historical Society Photo
the farm by feeding the chickens
and milking the cows. During harvest, we would pick the vegetables.
The boys would work in the fields
with our father. They would take
tl)_e ox or horse and drive through
the fields with a wooden plow at-
cu
1t1'a:iruitw
lining innm
& COCKTAIL LOUNGE
Open Daily 11 :30 A.M.
TWIN LAKES, WISCONSiN
Shelly & Bonnie Elvermon
FARMERS INSURANCE GROUP
Call on us to SAVE on
1
!ached to the beast. This is how
they made rows to plant seed.
There were no tractors back then.
'NON-SMOKER''
Auto· life
"Chuck" Mc:Ghm
Phone 877-3200
405 Bassett Street
They would also weed and water
the fields, so the crops would grow
good. They would also hunt for
IN
Then grandma would smile and just
look up with big soft eyes. Then
she would say, "But, that's just an
old lady talking." But we always
liked to hear her stories.
HAM
• RESIDENTIAL
• COMMERCIAl.
• INIHJSTRIAL
Buick - Olds, Inc.
MODE.RN EQPT. -
FULLY INSURED
Experienced Drillers
BUICK & OLDSMOBILE
WATER WELL FROM 4 TO 8 INCHES
SUBJECT TO STATE CODE
SALES AND SERVICE
Dial 877-2435
TWIN LAKES, WIS.
• SALES & LEASING SERVICE
• VALUE RATED USED CARS
• COMPLETE BODY SHOP
241 E. JEFFERSON ST.
BURLINGTON, WISCONSIN
DOWN BY THE RAILROAD TRACKS
PHONE 763-3585
"WE DO THE COMPLETE
JOB"
REPAIR WORK
PUMP SAlES & SERVICE - STA-RITE
ESTIMATES - WE GO ANYWHERE
KENNETH GEHRING
WELL DRilLERS & WATER SYSTEMS
TWIN lAKES
WISCONSIN
13
A Wisconsin Dairy Farm
- 1890
1976
1776
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
State Representative RUSS OLSON suggests we take a moment to reflect on the fantastic advances in
our way of life since the birth of our country when
there were no
automobiles or panty hose
Mobile homes or synrhetic clothing
milking machines or cigarettes
paved highways or disposable diapers
airplanes or aerosol cans
funeral parlors or neon signs
indoor plumbing or TV dinners
central heat or nursery schools
electricity or Green Bay Packers
skyscrapers or body deodorant
University of Wis. or Coca Cola
movie theaters or permanent waves
hospitals or paper plates
railroads, trains or power lawn mowers
diesel tractors or ball point pens
daily newspapers or golf courses
telephone or electric blankets
miracle drugs or polaroid cameras
astronauts or safety razors
school buses or water skis
radio, TV or contact lenses
wrist watches or stereo
Many facilities and government programs which we now accept as
new in a country 200 years old, Do you remember these "firsts"
Wisconsin Income Tax
Social Security
A1d to Dependent Children
1st Life Insurance
1st Labor Union
University of Wisconsin
1st Wisconsin Licensed Physician
1st Wisconsin Auto License
FBI
1st Womens Vote
1st Wisconsin Hospital
1st Wisconsin High School
(in Kenosha)
our way of life actually are relatively
in Wisconsin?
1911
1935
1936
1792
1881
1848
1897
1905
1908
1920
1816
1849
WE'VE COME A LONG WAY
rrHappy Birthday U.S.A."
STATE REPRESENTATIVE
14
RUSS OLSON
66TH DISTRICT
A link With HistoryMugwump, Agitator or News
The gathering and spewing of information has always been important in history. Newspapers in
America have, since pre-Revolutionary days, been an extremely influential factor on the lives and attitudes of the readers, who were
most of the citizens of the community the newspaper served.
The newspaper played the leading
role, as it still does to a great extent today, in informing people on
what was happening in their own
community as well as in the rest of
the world.
As well, it has been the main motivator, in countless cases, of change,
R&R
CENTRAL
SHELL
843-9121
Paddock Lake
for newspapers would print to
some extent what they wanted to
have the public believe. Unfortunately, the public was too often too
believing in the "news". · On other
items, the newspaper has greatly
improved the human conditions
through this editorial action.
Kenosha County newspapers have
never been an exception to this set
of rules. People eagerly awaited the
daily or weekly call of "Extra,
extra, read all about it", taking
newspapers "just hot off the presses" and devouring every inked let·
ter, and when through, hungering
for more.
There was such a demand for news
that throughout its history, Kenosha County had a total of 34
newspapers,
four of which are
printing today. Kenosha can also
boast of having the second founded
paper in Wisconsin, the Telegraph-
Korner Kitchen
& Bath Shoppe
• COUNTERTOPS
• SINKS
• FAUCETS
• CEILING TILE
• TILE - SHINYL VINYLS
• CARPETING
• PANELING
• Z-BRICK
• SHELVING
• VANITIES
• BATHROOM FIXTURES
,,...__
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Courier, which began printing on
June 16, 1840. An editor of the
paper, C.L. Scholes, later invented
the typewriter, now a necessity in
office and newspaper work.
Most of the newspapers serviced
Kenosha as well as gave some coverage to county events, but there
were several newspapers that were
published for use especially .in the
county.
The longest running of these newspapers was the Slades Corners MUGWUMP, a weekly that consisted of
a page with news on both sides as
well as a page of advertisements.
The MUGWUMP was published from
September, 1892 to 1941.
The WEST OSHA has a sister paper,
the WESTlNE REPORTER for the
western portion of Racine County,
as well as a member of the BURLINGTON STANDARD PRESS
group, The WESTOSHA is published at Burlington.
The Wilmot AGITATOR ran from
January 1901 to February 1913,
a span of a dozen years. This
weekly was an eight pager, pub'lished by the Swenson Brothers.
The AGITATOR published news on
events occuring in all of rural Kenosha County, having cmrespondents
in various locales. The AGITATOR
was noted for its coverage of social
SlatiN em,ee.; (ia~:a~e
Next in contention for the longestrunning title is the WESTOSHA
REPORTER, currently being edited
by Katherine Gallagher. Originally
the TWIN LAKES REPORTER,
from 1934 to 1955, edited by Al
bert Johnson and Albert Hagerty,
this weekly newspaper was changed
in name to the WESTERN KENOSHA COUNTY REPORTER in
1955 and was later changed in name
to the WEST OSHA during the 1960s.
AUTO REPAIR
HY. 50 & C.T.P.
BURLINGTON, WISC. 53105
(414) 539-2974
RAY WAGNER
Prop.
~
St~~de
LUMBER CO.
VANITY TOPS
SHOWER STALLS
BATHTUBS
WATER CLOSETS
MIRRORS
CABINET Ml RRORS
LIGHTING
CERAMIC TILE
'&"'nerock •.• The Leader In
Fine Decorative Hardware
A Division Of Silver lake lumber Co., Inc.
Corner Of Lake & 2nd St. - Silver Lake, Wis.
• Building Materials
• lumber - Hardware - Millwork - Insulation - Stains Siding
• A Complete Home
Improvement & Remodeling
Center
• Furnishing Building Needs
For New Construction . . .
Be It A New Home, Garage
Or Barn
See Our Ad for Korner
Kitchen & 8oth Shoppe At
"Kitchen Cabinets"
209 E. lAKE
SILVER LAKE, WIS.
15
events, of where people were travel~
ing to and from, of who passed
away and what their accomplishments were, and of poetry and light
verse, often on a news or editorial
*
*
*
*
subject. The AGITATOR was also
very outspoken on Wisconsin Government activities. They also ran
syndicated news from across the
nation.
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Picnic Benches
Food To
There were also several short-term
papers that didn't become a success
and therefore folded within a short
time of their inception. These papers, all published at Antioch, Ill.
between 1888 and 1892, were the
Wilmot WITNESS, Wilmot JOURNAL, Trevor TREVORITE, and
Silver Lake CLIPPER.
Please
The
Gods
Anything on the Menu
Can be Carry-outs
Your Hosts: Gust & Flo Vo!akakis
In addition to these papers, was a
magazine of thirty to eighty pages
in length, published four to six
times a year. The FOX VALLEY
MIRROR, printed in Carpentersville, Illinois during the 1930's and
40's was a feature magazine of life
along the Fox River villages of Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin.
Bus. 414-537-4728
RES. 414~537-4724
:?aufs :?ainl & Varn.ish Company
PAUL TREFZ
WILLIAM TREFZ
KEITH
JO
The BI-STATE REPORTER, published in Antioch, Illinois for readers in rural Kenosha County, is probably the only other successful paper in Western Kenosha County history. This new paper is in its fourth
year of publication.
SON
REALTY
'
~~
1111_
),;1"11.
•'
..
f··.;..~---
In the MIRROR's mid-summer
1944 issue, Richard B. Swenson,
past editor of the Wilmot AGITATOR, then Editor of the HERALD
of Monmouth, Oregon, told of how
the AGITATOR was started. He
wrote, "It was at (the time Wilmot's second mill burned in 1899)
that Destiny gave Wilmot a newspaper. I had tried out a larger field
and found I did not have a constitution to stand it. Now with my
brother, Chauncey, I bought a 7 by
11 foot power Gordon presS, which
had once belonged to Harry Marden, starter and finisher of several
papers in Kenosha. We had a miscellaneous line of second hand
type. I recall the first job we did
was postal cards announcing his agency for Big Jo Flour for C.W.
Voak. With a liberal use of "dutchman" whittled from pine, we got
the form so it would "lift" and
could be put in the press. We could
offer standing room only, but our
audience was as large as the shop
would accommodate.
''People encouraged us to start a
paper and we picked on the somewhat sinister name of the AGITATOR. It attracted attention anyway
and in time became quite well~
known in our section of the state.
Joe Moneghan, who had some sort
of farm machine agency, used to
laugh every week when we reported
a subscriber in some state not previously included. In three month's
time, we had a new press,a glorified
army press, known as a Vaughn
Ideal. This lasted a couple years
when we traded it in for an improved country Campbell. With a
Fairbanks-Morse engine, we were
all set."
"My brother got some boxwood
blocks, cut for the purpose by
Louis Schmidt, the village carriage
maker. He had artistic taste and
some of these cuts made with wood
carving tools, were clever. Later he
got a chalkplate outfit and casting
box. Then we went to town. I
wrote poems or fables and he illustrated them."
Swenson then went on to tell of
local events and how the paper became involved. Then he wrote,
"Newspapers had become expellsive operations looking towards
linotypes and folding machines. My
father and mother died within one
week in 1912. This made it easier
for us to feed the spirit of adventuring. I had one bad spell of sickness and felt this a hint toward a
different climate."And so it ended,
Swenson left Wilmot, without an
editor, without a paper, to start yet
another publication in the Far West.
ENTERTAINMENT
IIIII
IIIII
IIIII
IIIII
RESIDENTIAL
COMMERCIAL
FARM
LAKE HOMES
843-2900
ZACK'S
SHAMROCK INN
After Houn Coli
862-6153
1win Lakes, Wisconsin 53181
Junction of Highway 50 and 83
NORTHEAST CORNER OF BRASS BALL CORNERS
SALEM, WISCONSIN
16
Area Code 414
877-9185
FOOD
"Lc~a•
TWIN
OF
LAKES
[F-
!{[NOSHA COUNTY
-F~.Jr-----1>!
~
N
We Salute
• • •
Western Kenosha County and we are proud to be
a part of the heritage of the county in this bi-centennial
year. We look forward with anticipation of additional
'----/.._centuries of quiet prosperity and continued growth.
I
Twin Lakes - 1885
The
Village
Of
Twin Lakes
Twin Lakes - Today
17
The Growing Of .
• •
Kenosha County West
Modem Statisticians tell us that
five variables normally determined
the pace of mobility: the relative
per capita income in the expelling
and attracting areas, the job opportunity in each, the distance separat~
ing them, population density, and
regional affinity. A person adjusted
to a distinctive social climate usually sought a similar social climate
when he moved.
An analysis of census statistics for
1850, shows that the higher the job
opportunity, the smaller the distance, the lower the population
density {and hence the greater
chance to secure land), and the
more alike to the cultural and
physical climate of a region, the
larger the migration into it.
Statistical evidence, in other words,
simply supports the generalizations
of Frederick Jackson Turner and
DANCING
his disciples; people moved to the
frontier to secure more land and
greater opportunity; they tended to
shift into nearby areas least isolated
by geographic barriers; they moved
along isothennic lines rather than
northward or southward iuto differing cultural areas. -Ray Billington, in Westward Expansion: A History of The American Frontier.
In agriculturally-rural oriented America one hundred and fifty years
ago, when Kenosha County was totally unsettled, save by the Indians,
the questions of movement are
somewhat different than they are
today. The technology and society
of the era are separated and greatly
different now than in 1850. But
there are several constants. Job opportunity appears to still be a major constant in the selection of a
place to live, as well as the regional
affinity as a still very important
factor, while certainly none can dispute the importance of a relative
per capita income in the expelling
and attracting area, as selection for
movement. Yes, even population
414-877-3525
density is important in where one
wishes to live or settle down.
Today, what are the differences in
settlement choice? For .. one thing,
MIXED DRINKS
DRAFT BEER
PIZZA
COLD BEER TO GO
DOWNTOWN
TWIN LAKES, WIS.
"ARNIE and PAT"
7'oweza l!ake 1nazine
SALES- SERVICE- STORAGE
BOATS- MOTORS- SNOWMOBILES
(414) 279-3324
ROUTE 1
GENOA CITY, WISCONSIN 53128
RESTAURANT
liVE ENTERTAINMENT
"Our Food is Good,
You Can Bank On It"
PIZZA
CHI CHEN
COCKTAILS
All YOU CAN EAT
CHICKEN- PIZZA- SALAD- MO-JO'S
11:30 A.M. to 1:30 P.M.
FISH - PIZZA - SALAD - MO-JO'S
Friday 5 P.M. to 8 P.M.
PIZZA - CHICKEN - MO-JO'S
SERVED ALL THE TIME
$2.00 OFF ON ANY FAMILY SIZE PIZZA
Offer Expires April 1, 1976
CARRY OUT ORDERS 654-0485
PRIVATE PARTY FACiliTIES
6208 GREEN BAY ROAD
18
RAT StOP
is so proud of their, Brat and
Steak SandWiches they want
everyone to try one, so , ..
WITH THIS AD
51'11111 OF BIElER
(Hamm's, falstaff, Stroh's)
AND
IIATWURST OR
STEAK SAIIWICH
so•
Offer Expiers April 1, 1976
One Per Customer
No Carry Outs
Open Daily at 9 A.M.
1-94 and Hiway 50
America is not agriculturally ori~
ented any longer. Perhaps one
could say that the symbols of yesteryear were the plow and the
farmsteading log cabin; today, history might say that the models are
the computer and the apartment
home. Relative per capita income,
that years ago would have been excellent, as if one were a wheat
farmer, for example, today would
be considered as very poor mater~
ially. Yesteryear, a garbage man
would have made less, where today
this is not true. Instead of wishing
for low population density, today's
landseeker is looking for something
conveniently close but convenient-
HARBAUGH
LUMBER
-co.LUMBER·· HARDWARE
MINNESOTA PAINTS
ly away from the city, where one
can get the best of both worlds.
The pioneer settler of the area
carne for good, cheap farmland,
Kenosha County's rich virgin till
gave exceptionally high yields. As
written in the Detroit POST in
1838: "This country has a high destination before it. As an agricultural count~y, it will surpass any other
on earth'. The farmer may locate
himself here and undergo none of
the fatigues of clearing his farm.
The hand of Providence has done
that for him. It has smoothed down
the mountain and raised up the valley ready for his use. Wisconsin, in
my humble opinion, is the Eden of
our beloved country."
It becomes necessary to study ag~
gregate population tracts to get
some idea of the changes in Kenosha County's growth, and to historically recall occurrences that
have molded such growth, or loss
of growth.
By 1850, in Kenosha County, there
were 10,734 residents, with only
32.2% living in the Kenosha Proper.
This represents a relatively large
FINANCING
TWIN LAKES, WIS.
E JOY
4 Big Boys (25 lb. capacity)
* 17 Dryers
By 1860, the transition from wheat
farming to dairy and cattle farming,
and emigration to the West in pur~
suit of minerals or better farm land
was taking place. Between 1850
and 1860, Kenosha County suffered blight from insect pestilence
and at the same time faced prob~
lems of growing transportation to
the West and Great Plains, where
farmers could easily and quickly
ship their grains directly to market.
With the Advent of the railroads,
cities were either made or broke by
the rails, the new, faster, bigger and
better mode of transportation. The
editor of a newspaper in Wilmot
(Salem Twp.-Kenosha County) recalling some
forty years later,
wrote: "Before the 'Soo', then the
Wisconsin Central Railroad, was
built, Wilmot and Antioch (Illinois)
were towns of about equal size and
prestige. There was rivalry as to
where this railroad should be built.
My recollection is that the deciding
influence was that the Lehmann es~
tate of Chicago, which owned lands
1976
PLUS
* 36 Dial-a-Fabric Maytag Washers
*
central settlement but at the same
time shows the great importance of
agriculture in the region.
*
*
in the vicinity of Lake Villa
(lllinois) and which was willing to
do more in the way of financial en·
couragement. Lake Villa received
special favors from the Wisconsin
Central. All through our section,
people who wanted to get to Chicago earlier were accustomed to take
the 'Milk Train' to Lake Villa and
then board the Limited which had
no north scheduled stop short of
Burlington (Wisconsin).
With the railroad built, Antioch
grew steadily ahead of Wilmot, and
quite a few of our residents moved
there and went into business. The
town (Wilmot) could never get a
J_,\nloch
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425 LAKE STREET
ANTIOCH, ILLINOIS
312-395-0665
Service at no extra cost!
MOREl
I I
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DOWNTOWN TWIN LAKES,,PLENTY OF PARKING,,ALWAYS ATTENDED
Open Daily 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturdays 7 a,m, to 6 p.m.
Sundays 10 a.m. to 5 p,m.
pETERs 0 N 's
·
·
Phone: 414-877-3035
LAUN-DRY ·CLEAN CENT R
19
railroad. The star of hope burned
quite brightly at times but Wilmot
was out, as far as east and west
railroads were concerned, because
of the things that had made its
creeks possible, the high range of
land to the west. A railroad grade
across it would be too expensive
and the rails went north or south."
Kenosha was in an almost similar
shape. Either Kenosha needed a
railroad, or Kenosha would not be
needed.
So the community
formed a railroad, the Kenosha
and Beloit and sold shares to finance the rail. The line nearly became bankrupt many times, and
with it the town, because nearly
everyone had put all possible cash
into making the railroad go. Not
only is this fact documented many
places, but the population figures
of 1870 reflect it, with a total
county loss of 147 persons.
Population losses were suffered in
all of the county west of the current metropolitan boundary line,
that of Somers Twp., Pleasant
Prairie Twp., and the City of Kenosha. These losses were due to fi-
nancial depression as well as poor
farming commerce. Still, in 1880
the city did not dominate yet 40%
of total population. The county
may have lost population with migration to the city.
There were gains in all but the
three northern, poorest, and still
today most sparcely settled areas in
the county, Brighton, Paris and
Wheatland Twps., all with a sizable
German population. The City of
Kenosha picked up a record total
of 1,493 new residents, with a re~
cord
trend continuing through
1930. This fact marks a significant
boom in the industrial sector, with
some limited commuting to the
city for work.
Rural farming in Brighton and Paris
still declined, and Wheatland made
only small residential growth in
1900. The City of Kenosha on the
other hand, doubled in size in the
past decade, and at this time, contained over half of the county's
residents. Randall Twp. doubled in
size over a twenty year period, to
show growth in dairy farming, and
the township in 1910 would not be
the smallest of Kenosha townships.
SERVING THE
TWIN LAKES AREA
FOR OVER
16 YEARS!
(Randall and Wheatland have an
area of 24 square miles, all the rest
have 36 sq. mi. or slightly more,
with Kenosha being a part of Somers and Pleasant Prairie Townships.)
A near re-doubling of the size of
Kenosha is recorded in 1910, and
the city contained nearly 67% of all
Kenosha County population. It has
not been documented, but an inter~
PALi..£TS ·ROOF TRUSSES
~
SHIPPING DEVICES
Builtby
Trusstex Company
P.O. SoX 6, BASSETT, WI. 53101
OFFICE PHONE 312-392-8704
FACTORY PHONE 414-877-3949
JOHN REZNAR
BARB BURKE
PALLET SPECIALIST
TRUSS SPECIALIST
TWIN LAKES
Food Store
OPEN FROM 7 A.M. UNTIL 11 P.M. DAlLY
GERALD M. SIEBERT
AGENCY
• 32 WASHERS
• 12 NEW DRYERS
Your Clothes are washed and
rinsed in rain soft water in
our front and top load
Westinghouse Washers
9 POUNDS .............................................................. 25¢
15 POUNDS ............•................ ·-----------------------·--- ... 35¢
20 POUNDS ................... ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,60¢
LOVELY'S LAUNDROMAT
150 EAST MAIN STREET
TWIN LAKES, WISCONSIN
TELEPHONE 877-9177
ALL LINES OF INSURANCE
Specializing In low Cost Homeowners and Automobile
FIRE • THEFT • LIABILITY • LIFE
BURGLARY • WINDSTORM • PACKAGE POLICIES
CALL SALEM 843-2800
NEXT TO THE FAIRVIEW RESTAURANT
OPEN 7 A.M. TO 10 P.M. SEVEN DAYS WK.
AND All HOLIDAYS TOO!
20
IF YOU DON'T KNOW INSURANCE- KNOW YOUR AGENT
POPULATION FIGURES FOR TOWNSHIPS (City of Kenosha excluded)
1850
880
Brighton
1,125
Bristol
956
Paris
959
Pleasant Prairie
Randall
363
1,123
Salem
Somers
680
Wheatland
1,193
1860
1,238
1,392
1,374
1,400
662
1,472
1,277
1,095
esting question is what political
ramifications this fact had in coun-1
ty government. It certainly must
have been great. Rural areas show
only modest advance, and two
townships: Salem, a typically moderately advancing area, and Brighton, which last registered an increase in 1860, are both in the red.
With 1920, is the third doubling
of the city, which now contains a
historic high of 80% of all population in the county. By the end of
this decade, county government
shows corruption, and this top
heavy statistic may have been the
item that stopped checks and balances between rural and urban interests of the day. Pleasant Prairie
suffers a drop in population, most
probably due to annexation into
the most populated areas to the
city. The remainder of rural regions
show slow growth or decline, probably somewhat from migration to
urban living.
CERAMICS
BY
MURIEL
Wholesale & Retail
CERAMICS & PORCELAIN
Porcelain & Ceramic Classes
Hwy. 83 at 83rd St., Salem, Wis.
4 Miles North of 111.-Wis. Line
1 Mile South of Hwy. 50
1870
1,185
1,140
1,015
1,377
553
1,386
1,359
843
1880
1,024
1,069
1,002
1,386
451
1,286
1,458
835
1890
926
1,071
871
1,646
658
1,493
1,622
752
1900
850
1,151
818
1,776
784
1,846
2,004
832
There is still great gain in 1930 in
Kenosha. Rural areas suffer, as a
total, losing 186 persons. All metropolitan areas register a goodly
gain, and Pleasant Prairie and Somers Twps. double.
Due, probably to the loss of jobs
during the depression, Kenosha
city showed a large drop in 1940.
Suburban Pleasant Prairie and Som·
ers, show a sizable increase, and for
the first time, all townships report
gains. At this time, through improved transportation, mainly pas·
senger train service, large numbers
of rural residents become city com·
routers.
Excepting for minor decline in
Brighton Township, the county re·
gisters another period of total increase, with Salem Twp. doubling
in size. 1950 shows a large number
of persons migrating to suburban
and City Kenosha, with a total of a
9,807 gain.
1960 produces total gain for Kenosha City and County, with the
City showing the largest increase,
13,531, but non-city
areas are
growing faster than the cities (this
is shown by total percentage drop
in city to total county population.)
All areas show a great gain, signifying in part, influx of persons outmigrating from the Chicago area.
This trend of rapid growth and migration from metro Chicago to the
far-far north suburbs continues in
1910
838
1,215
869
3,217
950
1,820
1,788
861
1920
843
1,198
898
2,030
1,166
1.796
2,084
800
1930
765
1,299
842
3,457
916
1,911
3,046
779
1940
827
1,397
1,006
3,892
963
2,137
3,641
877
1970, with a total and rapid increase in Kenosha County. This
growth is also a repercussion of the
Post-World War II baby boom. Kenosha City had 64.4% of all county
population, showing continued suburban development.
1960
1,081
2,155
1,423
10,287
2,510
6,618
7,139
1,503
1950
814
1,564
1,073
6,207
1,221
3,470
5,530
991
1970
1,199
2,240
1,744
12,019
3,858
8,235
12,019
2,047
TWIN LAKES FLORAL
140 Main Street
Twin Lakes, Wis. 53181
PHONE 4 I 4-877-2354
BiWs Plumbing & Heating
RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL
KOHLER & AMERICAN STANDARD FIXTURES
~
WATER SOFTENERS & PUMPS
'
HYDRONIC HEATING
""'
~
LICENSED MASTER PLUMBER
BILL PODELLA
TWIN LAKES
877-2362
"The Plumber Protects the Health of the Nation"
BUL
Sewerage Contractor
COMPLETE SEWER INSTALLATIONS, LATERALS
SEPTIC SYSTEMS, HOLDING TANKS,
CLEANING· REPAIRING· RODDING
RTIFIED SOIL
I
STATE LICENSE NO. 55-883
INSURED AN
®
*AUTO
* HOME
* HEALTH
* LIFE
VERN ROENFANZ
PHONE 414·843-2345
23512 ·75TH· PADDOCK LAKE
TELEPHONE 414-537-4848
Route 7, Box 440, Burlington, Wisconsin
21
Through observation, several statements may be made. First, Kenosha
County had, at all times, a dominant transportation point, the City
of Kenosha, which provided the
most number of higher paying jobs
and opportunities.
Second, in the beginning (1840),
land was cheaply available and
farming was a popular way of life.
Today that popularity has greatly
declined.
Third, when crops fail, there is
nearby industry, many people can
live in the same community, commuting to the city, or move to the
city when distance and hardship becomes too overbearing. One will
r;;3REYNOLDS
BALUMINUM
GENERAL CONTRACTOR
ANO CONSTRUCTION
SIDING, SOFFIT, FACIA
a
GUTTERS
L. F. LoSCHlA. VO &. SONS
123 5CHOORS LANE
TWIN LAKES. WIS. 53181
PHONE (414) 877-3625
PtiONE 1414) 248-4112
either move to a new agricultural
area, or work in the local city's industrial sector.
Fourth, when cities become too
large, it is desirable to move to a
less dense environment, and to
commute to work. Or cities can expand outward, and spread themselves out, both in the residential,
industrial, and commercial sectors.
We are facing this state, mainly because of improved technology and
cultural development. Somehow
the problems related to this type of
living must be approached, as many
of these problems are beginning to
be dealt with now, like zoning,
traffic flow, education, police and
fire protection, and housing, for
examples, while at the same time
the encouragement of agriculture,
to provide food to non-farmers,
must continue.
But what will be the next stage of
the life environment of Kenosha
County' Will it be a pseudo-urbansuburban environment, with industry focusing on the lakefront and
consumer services on the industrial
fringe and in the midst of residential clusters? It appears to be trending in that direction. We must pro-
TWIN LAKES
MARINE
ject ahead, ten, twenty-five, fifty,
and even a hundred years in the future, to begin to prepare for it.
In 1926, a school teacher of Kenosha County wrote: "The farm
home of tomorrow will be a modern up-to-date city residence
placed in the pure, wholesome air
of the country, with the city
brought to its back door by auto,
bus, train, and truck, and--~perhaps
airplane." Some of these predictions she made have already come
true, but the forecast is not yet
complete. They may still happen.
One question remains unanswered:
what of the current predictions
for tomorrow? Shall we "humbug"
them, or listen and prepare for the
future of Kenosha County. This
question remains unanswered, and
only us, the citizens of this county
can answer it.
FRANK Z. PLATTS
VILLAGE TRUSTEE
TWIN LAKES
WISCONSIN
KENOSHA
CARBONIC
COMPANY
• Plants
• Centerpieces
• Cut Flowers
FOX ALLEY FLORISTS
WILMOT, WIS.
414-862-6100
FUEL OIL
MERCURY & MERCRUISER
SALES & SERVICE
MARK TWAIN
HARRIS FLOTE BOTE
PONTOON
BAJA BOATS
ALCORT SAILBOATS
MERCURY
SNOWMOBILES
SNOWMOBILE
CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES
SHORE STATION
Boat lifts & Piers
Sno-land'R and Shore land'R
Trailers
Complete Lines
• Marine Supplies
• Hunting Supplies
PHONE 414-877-2462 - 146 MAIN, TWIN LAKES, WISC.
22
BOB KRUZAN • AGENT
RELIABLE SERVICE
GASOLINE - FUEL OILS
MOTOR OIL - KEEP FULL SERVICE
BUDGET PAYMENT PLAN
HOT LINE HEATING SERVICE
889-4292
Wheatland 537-4853
SILVER LAKE, WIS.
STANDARD OIL
Div. of AMOCO Oil Co.
THE WILMOT MILL
From Fame To Fire
"A mill is a needed thing for
Western Kenosha County," was
probably the thought of Asabel
Benham when he bought the land
surrounding Wilmot in 1839. That's
because the milling business would
not only be prosperous for him,
but would attract outside business
and residents to live On the land
that he held title to.
Naming the area "Gilead" in honor
of his parents' Connecticut hometown, and buying the land deed
from Lewis Hatch in 1839, Benham
began digging ditches in the marshlands to the hills west of Wilmot_
By doing so, the water would drain
downhill and power a small grain
mill. While working on this project,
he also, in 1844 began to construct
the first frame house in the community.
The milling business became prosperous quickly. After all, it was inevitable, for the rich glacial till of
the virgin prairie land was just right
for wheat fanning. It was so good
in fact, that by 1850. Kenosha
County became Wisconsin's highest
yielding wheat producer, and Wisconsin was among the top growers
world-wide.
Business boomed for Benham. Farmers came from as far away as
Waukegan by horse and wagon, a
two day trip, to have their grain
turned into flour at Benham's mill.
Because of such demand, Benham
built a dam and mill on the Fox
River at the present site of Sonny's
Bait Shop, that, according to a 1937
history of Wilmot, had two wheels
to furnish power for the grinding
of flour, buckwheat and rye with
stone crushers in use.
Benham's other boom came into
being with more persons becoming
attracted to the area, centered
around the local need for the mill
and other related central city services in an agricultural area. Businesses and homes rapidly sprang
up, and these were all on plots
sold by Benham to newcomers.
There was strong opposition to
Benham's economic stronghold by
the new frontiersmen who also
wanted part of the Say in what
happened in the community. A
major action of rebellion was a
move for a new name for the village of '"Gilead".
At a town meeting in i848, there
was a long and heated discussion
over this important point. Legend
or fact passed down over generations, has it that a Mr. Wilbur
stood up and jokingly told his fellow citizens, "Well, since we're
hearing so much about the Wilmot
Proviso these days, why not name
our town Wilmot." His humor was
taken seriously, and Gilead became
Wilmot.
The Wilmot Proviso, ironically, may
have had something to do with the
economic ruin of Benham. Directly,
the Civil War's effect on wheat
farming in southeast Wisconsin and
northeast Illinois and insect devastation of the crops was the -cause
of Benham's loss, but indirectly
HISTORICAL. I.. Y SPEAKING
We Speak "Packereze" (That's Green Bay
Packer Talk) and they've got a bit of
history too. We know you'll recall these
great Packer ·coaches that have brought
fame and fun to Packerland.
1921 -1949- Earl "Curley" Lambeau
1950- 1953- Gene Ronzani
1954- 1957- lislie W. Blackourn
1958
-Ray Mclean
1959-1967- Vince Lombardi
1968- 1970- Phil Bengston
1971 -1974- Dan DeVine
1975
- Bart Starr
We also know you'll enjoy the friendly
atmosphere and discussion here at the
Packer Inn. Won't you join us?
PACKER INN
SILVER LAKE, WIS.
AND
LIGHTWEIGHT
BlOCKS
Mill House spanning the Fox River at the turn of the century.
-Historical Society Photo
TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY- 11:00a.m. to 8:00p.m.
SATURDAY-8:00a.m. to 2:00p.m.
Twin Lakes Barbershop
SPECIALIZING IN LONG HAIR SHAPING, BEARD TRIMMING
HAIR STYLING AND LADIES HAIR SHAPING
209 E. Main Street, Twin. Lakes, Wisconsin
BRUCE SARNA, PROP. M.B., S.M.
STATE TESTED &
APPROVED MFRS. OF
CONCRETE SEPTIC TANKS
500 - 750 & 1000 GAL.
DELIVERY SERVICE
862-2341
IF NO ANSWER
862-6424
RAUSCH
CONCRETE PRODUCTS
WILMOT (CO. TNK. C)
WIS.
23
the Wilmot Proviso was involved.
The Proviso, introduced m the Unit~
ed States House of Representatives
in 1846 by Pennsylvanian David
Wilmot, was a resolution to bar
slavery from western lands obtained
in the 1848 war with Mexico. All
over America, congressional argu~
ments spread to the street corners
where angry men shouted insults
Al C. PADDOCK
Insurance Agent
24221 Hwy. so
STATE FARM
Paddock lake, Wis. 53168
Ofc: 414-843-2771
AUTO-LIFE-FIRE-HEALTH
INSURANCE
®
GUNDELACH'S CANVAS SHOP
IN BUSINESS SINCE 1960
e BOAT COVERS" TENT REPAIRS
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e PICKUP TRUCK COVERS e
e WINDSHIELDS e CONVERTIBLE TOPS
e AIR CONDITIONER COVERS
"BOAT UPHOLSTERING
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NAUGAHYDE VINYL FABRICS
RT 173 1 Y• MD WEST OF RT 59
ANTIOCH
or exchanged blows, to country
stores for potbelly stove debates,
and to farm gatherings and the
discussions on streets of the com·
munity. Everywhere, including in
Wilmot, men argued the merits of
slavery which threatened national
unity.
The Proviso was a factor in bringing
about the Civil War, taking men
from the fields to flght. The lack
of grain farmers to produce wheat
thus destroyed Benham's prosperity.
Near the end of the Civil War,
John Voak picked up ownership of
the mill, after the deed passed brief·
ly through the hands of John Carey.
From August of 1864 when Voak
owned the mill, he faced the prob·
lerns of Wisconsin's decline in wheat
production by insect pestilance and
the economy's disruption from the
Civil War, as well as a lower mar·
ket value of wheat because of the
increased production of the Great
Plains and competition from more
mills with lower service costs. The
latter two problems resulted from
improved transportation, particular~
ly the railroad. In the Great Plains,
wheat could easily be shipped to
market thousands of miles
and on the local scene grain
be ground more cheaply at
graineries and immediately
ported to eastern markets.
away,
could
larger
trans·
As of an 1878 writing on Wilmot,
the milling interests were described
as "at one time quite an item in
the economy of Wihnot, but oflate
years, it has fallen off somewhat."
On March 14th of the following
year, the mill was completely des·
troyed by fire, supposedly caused
by a defective chhnney. An em·
ployee, Emery Whaples, died while
trying to save the records when a
grain bin above Wm gave way and
buried him in the burning building.
Emery Whaples' death was not the
only mill related death. His father,
S. W. Whaples, master mechanic of
the mill, drowned in the mill wheel
TWIN LAKES
BEAUTY STUDIO
The Ultimate in Hair Care
Phone 877-2128 or 877-2434
SPECIALIZING IN LAKE
AND COUNTRY HOMES
SERVING THIS AREA
FOR OVER 40 YEARS
PADDOCK LAKE
ID REALTY ~)
REALTOR
COMPLETE REAl ESTATE SERVICE
P. 0. BOX 67
SALEM, WISC
24
PHONE 414-843-3000
24826 - 73RD ST.
PADDOCK LAKE
base in 1860. He was said to be
working alone repairing the mill
wheel and was believed to have been
accidently caught in the wheel and
swept underwater. Three unknown
Irishmen also drowned in the river
as they helped in the construction
of the dam in 1846, when their
skiff overturned.
After the mill fire of 1879, Voak
rebuilt at the site. Previously the
mill had a roller system and a capacity of 1,500 bushels a day. The
new mill was three stories high,
having the five water wheels with a
capacity of one hundred barrels a
day. John Voak retired from this
larger mill when purchased by his
sons, Charles and Edward in March
1893.
The mill was again razed by fire in
April 1900. This time the fire
~
FREE GIFTS FOR SAVING
$500 OR MORE.
7'4%
7v.%
6'4%
6v.%
5'4%
5w'l(l
$1,000
C•rtlllc&~.
o,..''"'"'mum, ,_,,...,,
11,0011 Cortlllr;olo,
·
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8.17%
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5.39%
BURLINGTON
SAVINGS
TWIN LAKES
ACE
spread and destroyed a blacksmith
shop, wagon shop and the Episcopal
Church as well. The milling interests were sold to Walter Carey.
Carey rebuilt, using a bun mill
system for grist and a stone process for grinding buckwheat, rye
and graham flour. At first it was
operated by water power and later
by a gasoline electric generator.
Por several years the mill also ran a
lumber cutting operation.
Carey, who also owned two general
stores, the Carey & Nett in Wilmot
and Carey & Montgomery in Trevor
connected the two with telephone
lines in 1895. In that year, they
were connected to his home in
English Prairie, Illinois, making the
lines the first interstate telephone
line in the village.
Using power from the mill, Carey
operated ms teiepnone 11ne ana ex·
panded his service to the communi·
ty in the form of the New Era Telephone Company. With this company, Carey provided electric ser*
vice to the area as well. By 1926
when all interests were sold to a
Chicago party, the New Era had
125 miles of line and serviced 18
communities i.q_ Kenosha and Wal·
worth Counties in Wisconsin and
Lake and McHenry Counties in
Illinois.
In conclusion, the mill was created
and rebuilt because of the effort
and ability of local persons, who
used a renewable natural resource
as a tool for mankind. But, in
standing alongside the dam at Wilmot, pondering the story of the
mill, is just like the swirling water
of the Fox, it's all over the dam,
just part of the past.
AUTO WRECKING & SALVAGE UK
UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT
DINING ROOM OPENS 5 P.M.
HAPPY HOUR- All BAR DRINKS 50c
5 to 8 Mon., Tues. & Wed.
SALAD BAR DAILY
5 P.M. TILL CLOSING
Every Wednesday
Chicken & Dumplings All you can eat $3.95
Children Under 10 - $2.25
DINING ROOM OPENS AT 5 P.M.
FISH FRY FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS
All you can eat $2.25, includes salad bar
Early Bird Breakfast Fri. & Sat.
Midnight until 4 A.M.
Breakfast Brunch Sun. 8 A.M. - 2 P.M.
OPEN DAILY EXCEPT THURSDAY
Now Accepting
Reservations for All Parties
We cater to small groups of 15 to 100 people
"this is the plac:e"
10 ACRES OF GOOD
- USED PARTS WE BUY WRECKS & SCRAP METAL
LOCATED ON HWY. SO
ON£ MILE WEST OF HWY. 83
R.F.D. 2
SALEM
1414 843-3100
L__ ___
COACH HOUSE
-·--·-
112 Main Street
Twin lakes
Telephone 414-877-2670
I
--
25
Four Glaciers Later .
• •
Kenosha County Prairie
change again advanced northward.
At the same time, smaller lakes
formed in depressions in the soil
and accumulated pollen and plant
remains on the lake bottoms. By
by LINDA WILSON CURTIS
(Editor's Note: Linda Wilson Curtis
is an instructor of Botany and Life
Science at the College of Lake
County in Grayslake, Illinois. Ms.
Curtis earned her .Master of Science
degree in Botany at the Universitv
of Wisconsin¥Milwaukee in the sum~
mer of 1974.
She devoted much time to studying
flora species of Kenosha County
and wrote her masters thesis on "A
Vegetation Analysis of Benedict
Prairie, Kenosha County, Wisconsin". Edited for the LEGEND , a
portion of this paper appears in this
issue of the LEGEND.)
During the past one million years,
four glaciers crushed and gouged
their way into the Great Lakes region. Before that time, the area was
not hilly, but only winding and ancient river valleys. The thick ice
When the final glacier melted some
12,000 years ago, vegetation that
retreated southward due to climatic
It is generally believed by such studies, that the climate slowly warmed
lake George
lobed from the north enlarged the
valleys into basins that later filled
with water melting from the ice to
form the Great Lakes.
In the last substage of the Wisconsin glacier sheet, the land adjacent
to Lake Michigan in Kenosha and
Racine Counties of Wisconsin and
Lake and Cook Counties of Illinois
were shaped into a series of moraines, long north-south ridges of
glacial debris. This glacier that ere~
ated the moraines pulsed and re~
treated several times. The first of
the final two pulses left a sand, gra~
vel, and silty sand till, or soil, called
the Haeger Till. The last advance of
the ice left a distinctly different
grey till called the Wadsworth.
analyzing these bottoms, one can
scientifically tell the history of vegetation growth in the area.
a•rn & Che• Mart
PACKAGE GOODS· BEER ·CHEESE
SANDWICHES - PIZZA
Tom and Fran Webb
HIGHWAY 45 & JS, BRISTOL, WISCONSIN
r· FARM~EQUIPMENfl
-Since 1937
~
NEW HOllAND
NEW IDEA
GEHl
KEWANEE
Phone 395-3700
PEDERSEN BROS.
IMPLEMENT CO.
ml
£CJ.V.l0iiill
TRUCKS
CORNER HIGHWAYS 173 & US 45
ANTIOCH, ILL.
"If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody,
there would be very little printed."
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
KENOSHA. NEWS
SERVING GREATER KENOSHA FOR MORE THAN 81 YEARS
26
and became drier. Fossil pollen of
spruce followed by mixed conifer
forest and tben hardwood forest in
lake bottom sediment document
tbis theory worldwide. Temperatures supposedly reached a maximum about 6000 years ago, with
water levels in the Great Lakes as
well as in inland lakes lowering
drastically, with many smaller bodies of water drying up completely.
In this first period of dryness, grassland vegetation thrived. Forests died
out locally, and grew in much moister cllmates. Grasslands extended
far into middle Canada and even to
the Atlantic coast.
Following this dry period was an
era of cooler temperatures and in·
creased rainfall. Water levels again
rose on the lakes and forests grew
locally once more.
About 500 to 1000 years ago was
another dry period favoring prairie
growth. A generally warm dry climate worldwide during the Middle
Ages is reasonably documented by
tree rings, historical records, Nile
Valley floods, and remains of old
settlements. The end of this dry cy-
cle about at 1100 A.D. marked the
beginning of the current forest climate for the upper Midwest.
The prairies of southern Wisconsin
mark the northern boundaries of
the Midwest prairie peninsula. Only
remnants remain now as most of
the prairie peninsula in general, and
the Kenosha·Racine area in particu~
lar, has many species in common
with prairies as far west as Nebraska.
The prairie peninsula climate is
cooler and moister today than in
1100 A.D. with occasional drought
intervals_ Because the climate now
favors either grassland or forest, in
this region certain soils and topo·
graphy favor one formation over
the other. The local area is a mosaic
of distinct forests and prairies,
rather than a smooth transition
which the gently rolling topography would appear to favor.
3 LOCATIONS
TO SERVE YOU BETTER
Wilmot Auto Service
HARMON
GARWOOD
862-630
0
WILMOT, WIS.
Silver Lake Auto Service
TOM
GARWOOD
889-4912
SILVER LAKE, WIS.
Salem Auto Service
TIM
GARWOOD
25
843-3636
YEARS OF DEPENDABLE
SERVICE TO THIS AREA
AT ALL LOCATIONS
.
SALEM, WIS.
Jl<~
.,..~
(SZ!IIID:RD
llr
*AUTO REPAIRS* BRAKE SERVICE* WRECKER
*WHEEL ALIGNMENT & BALANCING
Kenosha county has. three distinct
belts of landforms parallel to Lake
Michigan. The first of these is a terrace of a mile to several miles west
of Lake Michigan. This district's
western border is a ridge of grav~
elly, sandy material which marks
ROMANO'S FAMILY STYLE
RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE
CLUB BENEDICT
* ROAD SERVICE * AIR CONDITIONING SERVICE
AT WILMOT LOCATION ONLY
.G
*COIN-OPERATED SELF-SERVICE CAR WASH
I * SELF-SERVICE GASOLINE PUMPS
l..:..J
HOURS 7 A.M.
TO 9 P.M.
£H
VILLAGE
REALTY INC .
REALTOR"'
ON LAKE BENEDICT
Highway Z, 1 mile west of P. or Route 12 from Richmond, turn
right on P. left to Z, 1 block south of Powers Lake.
CHEF IVAN FRANZEN
Formerly of the Four Seasons Restaurant
HOME COOKING - HOT DINNERS
Wednesday Special - 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. - Italian Night
Friday Special - 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. - Fish Fry & Country Style Ribs
Saturday Special - 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. - Roast Beef or Broasted Chicken
Sunday Special - 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. · Chicken in Wine Sauce and Mushrooms
Steak or Shrimp
HOT SANDWICHES
ITALIAN BEEF
ROMANO'S SPECIAL HAMBURGER
ITALIAN SAUSAGE
SLOPPY JOE ON A BOMBER
ITALIAN MEAT BALLS
STEAK SANDWICH
HOT DOGS- ALL WITH TRIMMINGS
HOMEMADE CHILl & SOUPS
PICNIC GROUNDS AVAILABLE
BOATS- BEACH - PARKING - LAUNCHING - GAS
ROOMS BY THE DAY OR WEEK OR???
PHONE 279-9994
~
~
fi·HJUII.
LEON & ROSEMARY KERKMAN
REALTORS
Complete Real
Estate & Rental
Service
REAL ESTATE
RESIDENTIAL • INDUSTRIAL
COMMERCIAL • FARM
LAKE HOMES
WHEN BUYING, SELLING, OR TRADING
or 877-2121
1)~ 877-2686
or BURLINGTON OFC. 763-7300
WATERFORD OFC. 534-2100
143 MAIN STREET
TWIN LAKES, WISCONSIN
27
the old beach line when Lake Michigan was much larger.
The middle belt, where the preserved prairies in Kenosha County
lie, is a series of low moraines forming gently rolling plains. The soil
was laid down as the main part of
the glacier action as it melted.
The third belt is a recessional moraine of sand and gravel known as
LOWELL DEVRIES
912 Wilmot Road
Twin Lakes, Wisconsin
the part of Valparaiso Moraine.
Most of the lakes in this area were
formed by ice blocks buried in the
sand and gravel deposits as the glacier melted. This western belt is
rolling and of broken ridges, having
much forested area.
Prairie soils develop in unconsolidated material, usually sand, silt and
clay. Prairie soils do not usually develop on bedrock. These soils have
organic matter added directly into
it through decay and prairie fire.
The prairie vegetation develops a
dark band of topsoil with much organic material formed by slowly decaying roots. Carbon 14 dates of
17 YEARS" EXPERIENCE
• NEW ROOfS
•
•
•
•
REPAIRS
HOT ROOfiNG
ROll ROOfiNG
SHINGlES of oil k1nd1
• GUTTER &
PETE'S
~~:·.
. 'h. ' ;:>
.. >f,,
~~~·.·.;
~:!:.'·
- ~ iVi.;
a<
-~-·
CHIMNEY REPAIR
• TAR • GRAVH
• ASPHAlT
1
• fREE ESTIMATES
• fUllY INSURED
·y ""\
~~·· ~WI .. I ' " '
P.O. BOX 92
BASSETT
• A~'(':::
;::;../
the top six inches of some prairie
soils are from 300 to 500 years old.
Locally, a Milwaukee scientist discovered the Benedict Prairie, a onehalf mile long abandoned railroad
right-of~way, in Bristol Township in
1955 and considered it among the
best prairie remnants for his study
of prairie in southeast Wisconsin.
Historically, this prairie land was
acquired by the Kenosha-Davenport
Railroad and by 1862, the pick and
shovel crew dug out the moraines
and built up the low areas to prepare a level railroad bed for further
construction. The winding creek
nearby was straightened and channeled along the elevated bed. Fences were put up to prevent cattle
from straying onto the tracks, but
this also prevented grazing necessary
for prairie flora to thrive.
Benedict, for whom the prairie IS
named. Benedict used the pathway
for a tractor access to adjacent
farmland.
The prairie was purchased in 1963
by the Wisconsin Chapter of the
Nature Conservancy, and is now a
OW-Milwaukee field station. Soon
afterward, the prairie was burned to
bring natural growth to relife, and
forest trees, including pines the
Benedicts planted in 1960 were
killed off. This was the first action
of Whitford and the newly-formed
Aldo Leopold Conservation Club.
They mapped, tallied, and attempted to rid the prairie of woody
species by slashing and burning. Re-
The line being abandoned in 1939,
the railroad ties and rails were removed in the early 1940's. Gravel
was dug out of the bed and sold.
After the land was acquired by a
farmer of the area, it was later sold
as part of an estate to Elmer
SENTRY FOODS
TWIN LAKES
&
LAKE GENEVA
LYLE SKINNER
AND FAMILY
HI PARDNER! VISIT
STllt\NG
r\JN£R.Rl HOM£
MILlER'S SAlOON
The Friendly
Place With
~
The Western
Atmosphere
On The South Side of Powers Lake - Hwy. Z
One Mile West of Hwy. P
Phone 414-279-675.0
Eddie and Blanche Miller
Food and Live Music on Saturday Night
No More "Hitches" - SALOON It Is
1055 MAIN ST.
312-395-4000
ANTIOCH, ILL,
liCENSED IN WISCONSIN & ILLINOIS
28
(Powers Lake) -- With last week's ruling on the word
"saloon' being permissible, a Powers Lake tavern is adopting it for a drinking establishment,
When Mrs. Blanche Miller found out she couldn't call
her ptace "Miller's Saloon• she took her cue from all the
"bitches• that were causing her trouble in getting her
business organized and re-named her watering place "1be
Hitching Post. •
Then, on June 5, Dane County Circuit Judge Richard
Bardwell ruled that it is unconstitutional to ban the wol-d
"saloon,' a law that had been on the books since the
prohibition era when unsavory coiUlotations surrounded
the word and lawmakers baimed it.
So, the old state and local law is now "history• but Mrs.
Miller bad derived her choice of the name • saloon• from
history a lot older than prohibition. She's using the Old
West motif in her place and what else was a saloon called
in those days other than a saloon?
moister climate, the prairie will
soon become forest unless there is
a well planned, regular program of
burn, cut and spray with herbicides.
Presently, the Benedict Prairie still
blooms in colorful layers as the
taller species overtop others in the
growing season. This prairie is one
of our few reminders of the past
and with a slight stretch of the imagination, one can visualize the ad~.
jacent fields as similar waves of color.
ROGER 8: JEAN
ERICKSON
TWIN LAKES, WISCONSIN
Modern day winter woodland scene drawn by Wilmot artist Barbara S'iebman
ART SCHU
PlUMBING
& HEATING
z
*PLUMBING
*HEATING
*WATER PUMPS
*SOFTENERS
*FREE ESTIMATES
*TERMS AVAILABLE
*WATER LINES
* SEWER L.INES
*HOLDING TANKS
PHONE
889~4600
SILVER LAKE
Windows & Screens
MIRRORS, THERMOPANES, PLEXIGLAS$
REPAIRED
sprouting from stumps and root
stocks proved that fire was ineffec~
tive for eliminating many types of
plants and shrubs.
Since the process of succession to~
ward forest had begun, it would be
a matter of time before the taller
trees and shrubs would shade out
the prairie species or reduce them
to openings in the forested area.
Occasionally, droughts, accompan~
ied by fire, could reduce the woody
shrubs to brush prairie, but with
present tendency to cooler and
EDDIE'S
WONDER BAR
BALLROOM AVAILABLE
• WEDDINGS
o PARTIES
• SPECIAL EVENTS
TWIN LAKES, WISCONSIN
OLD
r·' VILLIOI
~
tf~
WILMOT, WIS.
~-o
0
;-
•
-
-
---·'""'-"'
-
-
---·--
-
.··-·
~tiques,
tArts, Crafts, Gifts,
t111d 'FiJ!e food S)1ops ·
ANYWHERE IN WEST KENOSHA COUNTY
MONDAY THRU SATURDAY
Waf.Nka
GLASS & LOCK
The Blue Mushroom
Margaretha Art Gallery
The Enchanted Cottage
Gilead House
Horn and Crank
LOCKSMITH SERVICE
RAILROAD AVE., (JUST OFF COGSWELL DRIVE)
SILVER LAKE, WISCONSIN
414- 889- 4123
Red Arrow Antiques
The Silver Tree
Studio Aspen
This-N- That Shop
Wilmot Cafe
Jimmie's Antiques &
Collectibles
Wilmot Stage Stop
Knock on Wood
The Wright Place Antiques
29
How uKD" Came To Be
Almost all of Kenosha County roads
were named after persons, with
their initials forming the letters
designating county trunk highways.
Here is a partial listing of the
various county trunks and their exw
planations.
JS- Jackson, past Bristol Town
Chairman and Smith, past
Salem Town Chairman.
PH - Peter Harris, past county
board member and highway
EU - Egan Uhen, past head of the
county park commission.
K - Kenosha Road.
EW- Eleanor Wagner (EU was changed to EW because of confusion of EU and UE.
KD- Kerkman, past Wheatland
Town Chairman and Dean,
past Randali Town Chairman.
AH - Arthur Hartnell, past Salem
Town Chairman.
EZ- Ernie Zanders, a tavern owner
on 39th Ave.
KR - Kenosha-Racine county line.
BB - Named because of the crossing
of Highway B.
FR- Fred Rasch, past Randall Town
Chairman.
CJ- Clarence Jackson, past county
board member.
HH - Howard Herzog, past highway
commissioner.
EA- Elaine Angelo, past highway
department office.
EE New extension of county
trunk E.
EM - Elizabeth and Mary, the
twin lakes
HM- Harriet Marlatt, highway
department office.
M
JB- Jim Brooks, county board
member.
T. 8: J. CLEANERS
153 E. Main Street
Twin Lakes, Wisconsin
Phone 877-3225
JI- Julius Ingwersen, past highway
commissioner.
JR- Jay Rhodes, county board
member.
WE LIKE VALUE
IF YOU VALUE LIFE IN AMERICA _ ..
IF YOU VALUE LIFE IN KENOSHA COUNTY . _ ,
Then Please Value You
WE DO!
We know about things like life, health, happiness, kids,
cars, home and business and we know the value you place
on them. That's why our customers keep counting on
us to give them the best protection possible for the things
they value most.
YOUR INSURANCE NEEDS ARE OUR BUSINESS!
Established 1921
218 East Main Street, Twin Lakes- Phone 414-877-2011
210 Freeman Street, Genoa City- Phone 414-279-6474 or 279-3123
217 Broad Street, Lake Geneva - Phone 414-248-3863
30
committee
MB - Meredith, past Paris Town
Chairman and Bacon, past
Bristol Town Chairman.
SA - Salvation Army.
T -Town Hall of Pleasant
Prairie.
UE - Urban Eppers, past Brighton
Town Chairman.
W - Wilmot Road
ML- Marge Larsen, employee of
the U. W. Extension officeAgriculture.
~o,S TO <t
~
,..,
111111
JF- Joe Fox, past Salem Town
Chairman.
MS - Martin Schenning, county
board member.
()11
"RYfHrAL
""
c-w::
~
...,~R"l
.
~
;A
111111
,...
. ,I
~~
WG - William Gleason, past Bristol
Town Chairman.
TOOLS 8: EQUIPMENT
FOR
• HOME
• INDUSTRY
• CONTRACTOR
Things to rent
for every Event!
ONE MILE NORTH OF TWIN LAKES ON HWY. "F"
Lakeview Motel
AIR CONDITIONING
TV • CARPETING • TUBS 8: SHOWERS
KITCHENETTE APTS.
OPEN YEAR 'ROUND
CONVENIENTLY LOCATED IN TOWN
131 S. Lake Street, Twin Lakes Phone 877-3043
Bamboo Hut
Lounge & Restaurant
FRESH HOME MADE PIZZA
SPECIALIZING IN MEXICAN FOOD
ALSO AMERICAN FOOD
Wed. - Sat. 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Sunday 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Closed Monday & Tuesday
PHONE AHEAD FOR CARRY OUTS
877-2456
American Ice . . .
Once Solid, Now Melted
way of the ship "Favorite". He
was ridiculed by Boston's citizens
who said he would land with a boat
full of water. He arrived on the
island with the cargo unmelted.
only to lose $3,000 because there
was no market for his ice. Introducing ice cream to the West Indies,
his later ventures became a success
and he hired hundreds of men to
cut and haul the ice from the
Boston area.
The history of the ice industry
goes back to 1799, when Ice was
cut from Canal Street in New York
City and sent south to Charleston,
South Carolina. Actually, farmers
for centuries before cut pond ice
and stored it in cellars for the summer months, however, this was the
first recorded cutting for city use.
The first ice houses were farm root
cellars. Pennsylvania farmers, for
example, shoveled snow and ice into
their root cellars just before the
thaw in spring, packing it with
meadow grass so that the ice would
remain frozen throughout the summer.
In the Midwest, the beginning of
commercial harvesting of ice came
much later than back in the East
with the industry really getting
under full swing just after the Civil
War.
By 1830, ice houses became standard farm equipment. These houses
were built of two walls of cement
or field stone with hay on the inside to serve as insulation. The
other sides and the roof were made
of thatched hay, and the ice was
placed on an inner compartment of
straw.
By 1869 the harvesting of ice in
the Wisconsin Lakes and ponds became so large that the legislature
passed a law requiring ice cutters
to fence the openings with brush,
or other material. In 1879 ice harvesters enjoyed a boom that was to
continue for fifty years. After Chrismas, workmen would gather at
empty storage houses in search of
work. Thousands of workmen were
transported from the cities to the
ice fields to work for six weeks
The first commercial venture of ice
was in 1806, when Bostonite Fredrick Tudor sent pond ice to the
equatorial island of Martinique by
harvesting the ice. One Milwaukee
company, at one time, hired 1,000
men to work the ice.
The work was hard. with icemen
having to lift 200 pound blocks
for ten hours a day, seven days a
week for more than a month. During the working day, most of them
would be exposed to the elements,
harshest of the lakes and unprotected from gusts of cold Canadian
winds.
Occasionally a man would fall into
the water. and it was very common
for teams of horses to break through
thin ice. Men and teams of horses
would pull as mightily as they
could to get the workhorses out of
the freezing water, but it didn't
always work, and sometimes horses
would drown. Other times, men
would be working on a huge chunk
of ice, trying to break it up, and
Loth Realty
317 LAKE STREET
SILVER LAKE, WIS.
PHONE 414·889-4065
LAKE MARY RESORT
OPEN YEAR 'ROUND
Cocktails - Lounge - Dining Room
Motel - Party Facilities
Your Host- Rose Mittler
Phone 877-9180
Twin Lakes, Wisconsin
SILVER .LAGE
STATE BANK
740 Cogswell Drive
Silver L~~e. Wi. 53170
P. 0. BOX 337
SALEM, WISCONSIN 53168
PHONE 414-843·2424
4fiSra. Oil
WHITE MOfOR
CORPORATION
INTERSTATE
FARM !EQUIPMENT INC.
HWY. K & U.S. 45
COURTEOUS
SERVICE
NO
CHARGE
CHECKING
FOR All
OPEN 6 DAYS
A WEEK
INCLUDING
FRIDAY NIGHT
"Bank Where It Pays Not Where It Costs"
9:43-6----,6
8---::--::--8
.--1
~
CONVENIENT
DRIVE-UP
BANKING
I
MEMBER F.D.I.C.
31
,,,
FOR CONDITIONED WATER, CALL AND SAY
FREE
'·
• Water Analysis
• Estimates
No Obligation
Rentals, Sales,
Service for Home
and Industry
Some ice huus~s, like this one at Silver Lake, were so large that clouds
would form inside, and it would actually rain. -Historical Society Photo
it would break off from the main
chunk and float free, with the men
stranded on top of the berg. They
would then have to be rescued. A
fire would be kept going for the
men to dry out.
At times a cable to haul the ice
into the icehouse would break loose
and the ice would slide down the
chute at great rates of speed, endangering the cutters.
LARRY'S BARBERSHOP
NEW MUNSTER, WIS.
Tues., Wed., & Thurs.
8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Fri., 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sat., 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Closed Sun. & Mon.
In the city, eventually laws were
passed, requiring vendors to post
on their wagons a sign saying from
which lake their ice was harvested. This was a health measure, and
because of it, companies would
advertise "our ice comes from clear
spring water having no swamps."
In 1920, Midwestern railroads dis~
continued shipping ice to the cities,
and ice houses were no longer need~
ed. The land, upon which ice houses
stood, were sold as whole parcels,
many of which were subdivided
into the area's first planned com~
munities.
Today only the foundations of ice
houses stand. The lodges icemen
lived in have been converted into
homes and only the abandoned rail~
road beds remain of the ice harvest~
ing era. The tales of ice harvesting
are treasures in the memory of this
toilsome trade.
RIVERSIDE INN
Located on the bank of the Fox River at
the Wilmot Dam, a favorite Fisherman's Paradise.
The property dates back to 1839, and the building
built over 125 years ago, was originally an
Indian Trading Post.
JIM & PAT MINNI
32
Serving Kenosha County
FOR 29 YEARS
1946
1915
CULLIGAN SOR WATER SERVICE CO.
East Of Hwy. 83
PHONE KENOSHA 657-9600
West Of Hwy. 83
(EXCEPT SALEM)
PHONE LAKE GENEVA- ENTERPRISE 4161
Our Native Mineral:
Kenosha County Ice
Who would pay hard earned cash
for blocks of frozen lakewater from
Kenosha County's own Twin, Silver,
Hooker, Camp, Rock, Powers or
Paddock Lake? Today, with electronic refrigeration, no one would.
But, at the turn of the century
Kenosha County ice was a multi~
million dollar industry.
Everyone wanted and needed ice
to keep their perishables fresh. A
milk cooler, ice pick and ice tongs
LO'S HARDWARE
326 MAIN STREET
TWIN LAKES, WISCONSIN
PHONE 414-877·2664
~6
.._....1 D111f
9&...
~~~ -~··Doy.=.
\~~)
7'30 a.m.- 5'30
Twin Lakes, Wis.
877-3221
lake Geneva, Wis.
248-9918
were essentials to every kitchen.
Living in the city, clear, fresh and
healthy ice had to be transported
from Kenosha County where ice
was harvested as a "crop".
As soon as the ice was 24 inches
thick, a large ice field was marked
on the lake. It was a first come,
first serve operation on the lake,
and disputes were rare. It is re~
ported,however, that the companies
didn't hoard up ice, instead they
took what they needed to fill their
storehouse and ship to Chicago and
left the rest for other ice harvesters.
Icemen breaking ice into single blocks (foreground), harvesters pushing
floating blocks through canal (midd/eground), to be stored in icehouse
(left background). The lodging house is in the right background. -His·
torical Society Photo
Major- -Minor Overhauling
Complete Tune-Ups
Mechanic On Duty - 7
Days A Week
After the plots were drawn out, a
horse drawn plow would mark off
the ice into two by four foot
squares. These plows would then
begin to cut the ice, starting by
opening up the center of the lake
and working inland. A channel from
the center to the ramp of the ice
house would be opened and the
Mufflers - Brakes
Snow Plowing
PETE IS
SHELL SERVICE
YOUR ONE STOP
SERVICE HEADQUARTERS
1889-49091
S. COGSWtll UR.
SilVER lAKE
WIS.
For Your Next
Car or Truck
NEW • USED • PURCHASE • LEASE
SEE
HARRY
rrsUD"
STOXEN
YOUR TRANSPORTATION COUNSELOR
IN SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN
414·763-2474 BUS.
414·889·4551 HOME
"''LL WORK TO DESERVE
YOUR BUSINESS"
ohn
Chevrolet
Pontiac
Sales Inc.
ynch
941 MILWAUKEE AVE.
HWY. 36 N. BURLINGTON
33
huge chunks of ice would be floated
and pushed with long ice poles to
the ramp. The ramp, adjustable and
elevated to the level that the ice
was being stacked in the ice house,
Complete Maintenance Service For
Bank$, Offices, Etc.
was a drive chain with a wood
housing that hauled the ice up·
wards. At the top of the ramp,
the ice was hoisted by two men
with hooks to a position on the
stacks, with another man packing
the blocks as close together as pos~
sible so the maximum number of
blocks could be stored, but at the
same time the blocks could become
separated from one another when
needed. Layers of hay and sawdust
were placed on top of the ice and
around it to insulate it to prevent
melting.
The removable sides of the ice
house would gradually be added on,
and the ramp adjusted to greater
heights to fit in as much ice as
CARPET CLEANING
We Won't Rub It In, We'll Remove lt.
FREE ESTIMATES
HY-WAY
JANITORIAL SERVICE
1889-4696
CAMP LAKE
I
See the dirt being
lifted before your
eyes, Amazing!
WIS.
Twin [!kes
TW~~~c~;;,N state bank
53181
MEMBER F.D.I.C.
The railroad shipped ice loaded in insulated cars to the Chicago mar~
ket. Most of the men employed all year around were local residents.Historical Society Photo
Thanks Commander!
The future of the county and community is directly
proportional to the activities of community organizations. We are proud to have been an active part
of Twin Lakes' history and say "Thanks" to those
who have led us as our commanders.
1950 - Elmer Winter
1951 - Wm. Kayser
1952 · Frank Platts
1953- Fred Sarbacker, Jr.
1954 ·lies Rochette
1955 ·Merlin Jahns
1956- Harold Gauger
1957 ·Fred Flesch, Jr.
1958- John Kjellander
1959- Edward Walsh
1960- Ellsworth (AI) Barton
1961 *Victor Lucas
1962 - James Brandes
1963- Robert Fuchs
1964- Thomas Johnson
1965- Urban Cappelli
1966 - Claude Foubare
1967- William Meinke
1968 - Howard Peltier
1969- David Brunner
1970- Eugene Belakiewicz
1971- Martin Bauman
19721973197419751976-
Edwin Lech
Phillip Prasisi
Richard Burke
Richard Sarbacker
Phillip Fishback
AMERICAN LEGION
POST 544
TWIN LAKES, WISCONSIN
34
MAD DAN'S
ALL YOU '"""'u
EAT
WEDNESDAY:
Spaghetti or Mostaciolli
includes tossed salad, garlic
or homemade bread .
THURSDAY:
Fried Chicken, choice of potato,
tossed salad, garlic or homemade
bread.
Regular and children's menu also available
3101 East lake Shore Drive on County EM
%miles North of Flte. 173
Twin Lakes, Wisconsin
414-877-2586
Vito's Tavern in Camp Lake and
bet how long it would take for me
to carry one ton of ice into the
basement. It would take me less
than five minutes."
A
Loth said the pay was little and
the days were long. The better and
faster you were, the more you got
paid. The fellows working in the
winter only received less than vet-
STATE FARM INSURANCE COMPANIES
mn tA.ut
HOME OFFICE • BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS
ROBERT B. HOFNER
INSURANCE AGENT
season, except Loading ice on
cars, was deweeding the lake, so the ice was purer. In several local
lakes, weed control was a problem. Until the tum of the century,
weeding was done by hand, as shown in the photo. Later on, mechanical underwater weed cutters were introduced by Chester Hackney
in Silver Lake. Hackney invented the weed cutter. His first cutter was
attached to a boat and was a set of sickle blades in a paddlewheel.
Afterwards, he used a Model-T chassis adapted to floating on water,
with a paddlewheel set-up for cutting. -Historical Society Photo
possible, to store through the spring
Ray Loth, a local man who worked
summer and fall, until the next
the ice in the 1920's, reminisced,
"We used to make deliveries all
harvest. During the off months,
only the smaller group of local emaround. Each block of ice weighed
ployees remained to ship ice on
208 pounds, and many of us could
trains to the city and to make
easily carry two blocks at a time.
local deliveries.
I used to go down to what is now
PHONE 414-537-2381
Motel
NEW MUNSTER, WIS. 53152
Banquets
Lounge
{J;nt fioutJe
201 Lance Dr.
Twin Lakes Wisconsin
Phone: (414) 877-2783
Jean & Blackie
FLEE ENTERPRISES
40 to 60 Percent Off
ON ALL JEWELRY
Big Discounts
ON
* C B RADIOS
*STEREOS
*TAPE DECKS
A. ZERFAS
TWIN LAKES, WISCONSIN 53181
PHONE 414-877-3324
• 24 HOUR
WRECKER SERVICE
• FOREIGN CAR SERVICE
• DOMESTIC CAR SERVICE
• BODY WORK
M& R AUTO SERVICE
M.MATHES-R. HANKE
PHONE 877-2474
BASSETT, WISCONSIN
35
Icemen guiding ice up the chUte system to the warehouse. Note that
one man has an open coat, and another has rags wrapped around his
shoes. The strain of the work keep the men's bodies warm, but not
their feet. Many "hobos" did not have overshoes and had to wrap
rags around their feet to keep warm. -Historical Society Photo.
eran workers. A lot of the winter
workers were bums rounded up in
Chicago on skid row, put into a box
car with the door locked so they
wouldn't jump off. When they got
here they were let out, and they
worked, partially because they did
not have any way back to the city.
When the season was over, they
AXTELL
REALTY
would all be taken back to Chicago.
Local residents referred to them
as "hobos".
Loth says that ice harvesting is
harder work than anything else he
has ever done, harder than most
people can imagine. Inside the ice
house, where the block was stored,
he said workmen worked up such
a sweat that it wasn't necessary for
them to wear coats. Besides lifting
the two hundred pound blocks, they
had to steer them and work quickly,
for the next one was there before
one knew it.
The hearty iceman would spend his
off duty time mainly either in the
bunk or in a saloon. By locating
where the old ice bunkhouses were,
it is apparent that many a tavern
thrived from their business, gone
now some 40 or 50 years later.
curiosity and display as an antique.
But, at one time, This Kenosha
County product had great importance in the homes of many Americans.
Today there is no need for such
gadgets as Hackney's Underwater
Weed Cutters, a combination of a
wheat thrasher, paddleboat and a
Model-T, which Chester Hackney
of Silver Lake invented to cut the
lake weeds, to make clearer and
cleaner ice. Today there is no real
need for ice, save the picnickers
and ice sculptors. There is .no need
for ice picks, or ice plows, ice tongs
or ice saws, except to tease our
BRASS BALL CHEESE MART
HICKORY SMOKED MEATS
WISCONSIN NATURAL CHEESE
Hwy. 50, I block W. of 83
SALEM, WISCONSIN
Phone 843·3083
24 HR. EMERGENCY SERVICE
BASSETT PLUMBING & HEATING
.JOE BEYER
P,O. BOX 87
BASSETT, WIS. 83101
NEW INSTALLATIONS AND REMODELING
HOME PHONI£ 877-2302
OI"'J"ICE PHONE
GENERAL CONTAACTOR
We specialize in remodeling
I & G CONSTRUCTION
aox
RT. 7,
377
8URL.INOTON, WIS. SSIOIS
PHONE 414-837-2206
BOB MIETCALF
GORDIE BERBERICH
GLEN AXTELL
-
The
BROKER
PHONE 414-862-2620
110 th St. & 264th Ave.
RTE f, BOX 208
TREVOR, WISC. 53179
Servi~g
·
BRISTOl· SALEM· PADDOCK lAKE
SILVER lAKE· TWIN LAKES
TREVOR - WilMOT
CAMP LAKE & NEARBY AREAS
Dutchman
-FINE FOODSpecial Dinners Daily
Highway 83~27
1 Mile N. of Antioch
Phone 414-862-9119
RADIO
DISPATCHED
TRUCKS
BASSETT READY MIX
- Saturday Delivery -
rsr1:211-n
letter Buys in
USED CARS
Auto Service and Repairs
Dick Norman, Owner
1 Mile S. of Hwy. 50 on 45 Bristol, Wis.
· PERRY CAMPBELL, MGR.
CTH. HY. F
BASSETT, WIS.
CAMP LAKE
BRISTOl MOTORS
36
'
TELEVISION
SALES & SERVICE
• VISIT OUR lARGE DISPlAY
o fiNANCING AVAilABlE
located in Post Office 8ldg.
Camp lake, Wi$.
• Cvrtis Mathes Color TV
And Stereos
• 1 Year free Service
* Servi(e
*
On Mo.t
Makes & Models
Over 28 Yeors'
b:perience
-Call-
889-4814
KENOSHA COUNTY
DIGGINGS REVEAL
FORMER RESIDENTS
In the recent weeks, a Kenosha resident, David Wasion, discovered a
skull of a person believed to have
died in Kenosha County some 5,000
years ago. The skull, Wasion describes, was sticking out of the
ground in a farmer's field. He dug
the find out with the utmost care,
but when the warm air hit the damp
and partially frozen bone, it shattered into many pieces, which he
later glued back together.
Certainly, this skull is the most interesting of his finds, but his most
significant is an unannounced discovery in southern Kenosha along
the abandoned lake beach, where he
•C.,~~
·-~'
CASE AND
PACKAGE GOODS
Next to Sentry
PHONE 877-2201
Twin Lakes, Wisconsin
• TOASTED
SANDWICHES
• DELICIOUS
PIZZA
found remains of an Indian village
some l0,500years old. He estimates
the time through use of arrowheads,
points, and tools that he finds in the
vicinity. These tools match other
points found in the four documented sites in the Upper Great Lakes,
where expensive dating has been
done. He also estimates age through
use of bones of animals found in the
firepits. He has found elk and bison
bones at the site, which the Field
Museum of Chicago has verified
dates. His final method of dating is
by tracing the sand level created by
the beach to make comparisons with
known dated levels. These levels are
dated by both oceanographic geologic and anthropologic techniques.
A key in this dating has been a petrified wood that has been found
near the site, which dates, according
to Carbon 14 dating and the level it
is on to the time that Wasion makes
estimation of.
Wasion is looking for a link between
mastadon, or great-elephant, remains
in Kenosha County to sites where
this "paleo" Indian lived. He is
looking for a spot where both their
Indian hunting points and mastadon
bones lie in the same spot. This
would unquestionably verify that
paleo man hunted these beasts until
their extinction. This has been verified, but only speculated for the
eastern half of the United States.
Wasion is searching for this link at a
Paris Township site, where on one
digging, there are paleo points. In
the adjacent farmfield lies mastadon
remains. There are three other sites
to work at; one in Bristol, Somers,
and Brighton townships.
He describes Kenosha County, as
once one of the richest Indian sites
in the Upper Great Lakes. Currently, through lack of recognizing evidence and the problems of white
man's habitation and growth, he
called ruins as "pitifully lost".
Twin Lakes Realty
324 MAIN STREET
TWIN LAKES, WISCONSIN
Wasion has openly revealed that he
needs assistance in carrying out
work, both in research and in actual
excavation. He is a qualified archaeologist, having done work in sevw
eral famous sites. If anyone is interested in working with him or giving
him information about site locations, please contact him in care of
the Western Kenosha County Historical Society, Wilmot, Wis. 53192.
ANTIQUES
SALEM, WISCONSIN
HIGHWAY 83
Just South of Hwy 50
• FURNITURE
• GLASSWARE
• COLLECTABLES
LEON J. GREVING
And other treasures
of Yesteryear
GENERAL. CONTRACTOR
• REMODELING
• ADDITIONS
SALEM ANTIQUES
:
P. 0. Box 125
• ROOFING
WE BUY & SELL
• NEW HOMES
P. 0. BOX 894
UNIQUE ANTIQUES LTD.
TWIN LAKES, WISCONSIN
Auction and Direct Sales
Phone 414-843-3411
PHONE 414-877-3090
PADDOCK LAKE HARDWARE
BUILDING AND GENERAL
HARDWARE
PAINT
GIFTS
WE MAKE KEYS
414-843-2422
RTE 50 SALEM, WIS. 53168
SNACK SHACK
404 LAKE A VENUE
• LUNCHES
TWIN LAKES, WISCONSIN
• QUICK SERVICE
PHONE 877-2644 ANDY & SOFIA CONDOGEORGE
JAMES A. WILLIAMS
Special Agent
913 Cogswell Drive, Silver Lake, Wis. 53170
Phone: (414) Off. 889-4001 or 654-5739 Res. 889-4649
50 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE AREA
J. E. CAREY· DAVE WISEMAN -PEGGY WISEMAN
Phone 414-877-2741
THE NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL LIFE lNI~
INSURANCE COMPANY. MILWAUKEE
NML
37
·A Concluding Comm
For example, grandfather, who op-
There is a history behind everything. This is the belief that every·
'one, every creation, everything is
somehow significant during its 1ifetime. This is the idea that this magazine is founded upon.
1
But in history, .all too often, only
the ''important" persons, places and
things are remembered. The "common11 is too quickly forgotten.
Why is it that it seems as it people
don't care about anything less than
the significant? Anything that does
not regis~er improvement or activity
isn't remembered or mentioned.
Local history attempts to bridge the
gap. Local history states everything
is of some importance, at least in
, reflecting the attitudes and trends
·of the total and overall regional,
national and worldwide picture.
erated the town s general store for
decades, is important, not only for
how he lived his life, but as an
example of a vital part of the community, for the man provided the
residents with not only goods and
services, but gave them a potbellied
stove in a side room to discuss
community events of the day. By
his actions, he condoned discussion
of outside events.
The housewife, caring fo_r the family, by bringing up the children and
instilling a community and family
spirit in the life of the whole clan,
illustrates another portion of history so important, but so terribly
forgotten.
Even the traveling salesman who
used to sell his wares with annoyingly slick salesmanship, trying to
tell the local folk that his goods
were the .best, was important, for
he brought not only improved tech-
no logy, but touched this local culture with his own, intermingling and
somewhat changing both worlds
through his travels.
Who knows what tales lie unspoken
behind the minds, lips and letters
of so many of us. What stories,
happenings and events are behind
every sing]e building in our Kenosha
county? How did this area react
ana adjust to outside influence,
and how did rural Kenosha county
change part of the rest of the
world?
It seems almost unbelievable to
some of us that our farmlands and
homesteads could move the culture,
knowledge and technology of the
rest of the plain, but it did.
This county prides itself with at
lea~t the father of the inventor of
farm equipment vital to dairy production yet today, a jack-of-alltrades, creator of apparatus for
healthier and more efficient home
food storage, and a newspaper editor who assembled the ideas and
machinery for the making of the
typewriter. These are just a few
instances of already recorded ac-
counts of how this area affected the
world. What more still lies untold?
In the months and years ahead, a
group of dedicated people, set on
preserving the past for this generation and ages of the future to use
and to understand the present, and
maybe even project into the future,
are working to compile facts and
11
11
reasons, called history •
Through the LEGEND in months
ahead, we will publish the results
of their work. We will put in black
and white for all to see, the for·
gotten but important history of
rural Kenosha County, so that it
will be forever remembered. The
LEGEND will also help to compile
1
contributions from a!! of the area s
citizens to tell of this type of his·
tory, so that our local color may
be preserved.
We ask, after you nave read the
LEGEND, for your contributions,
your insight, your knowledge, how~
ever slight and insignificant you
may consider it to be? For, to us,
11
many so_·called "insignificants piec~
ed together, make a well-jelled account of the heritage of all of
rural Kenosha County.
INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF WINE AND CHEESE
PHONE (414) 279·6171 OR (815) 678-7171
CONVENIENTLY LOCATED AT U.S. RT. 12 & COUNTY P
INTERNATIONAL
HOUSE
OF WINE
AND CHEESE
RICHMOND, ILLINOIS
'O
l<iii:BRON
& RT
47
SOLON
PRIZE WINNING DOMESTIC
CASUAL DINING
AND COCKTAILS
& IMPORTED CHEESE
COMPLETE LIQUOR
SELECTION, SPECIALIZING
IN IMPORTED WINES,
CORDIALS & BEER
Fifteen~star Flag, 1795
THE PARTY SHOP
AND DELICATESSEN
Medalllon Flag, 1867
Open Every Day Of The Year!
38
... o-.~~
SANITARY SERVICE
ROUTE 7, BOX 498- BURLINGTON, WI 53105
TELEPHONE 1-414-537-4988
PUMPING OF ALL LIQUID AND SEMI LIQUID WASTES - PORTABLE TOILET RENTALS
"WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
ABOUT YOUR SEPTIC TANK"
GROUND LINE
,·
'
::_.
DRAINAGE SYSTEM
SEPTIC TANK RISER
·::
.,.,.,,,. ·'·"'-" ·,-•, ' '
'
" ' ' ·I' , ..
INLET
1
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SCUM
=
=~
,:[U
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=-=lufl
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1,_
,.-
LIQUIDS
l''lf
L:5E~~y
'
·"··~::tOUTLET
'".
~
TOP VIEW
:::.,--~;·.~·.,·
The material disposed of from your home into your septic tank is basically composed of sugar and starch.
The sugar collects as solids on the bottom of the tank while the starch floats and forms a heavy oil-like
liquid in the middle and top of the tank. If your tank is not cleaned in time, this sugar and starch overflows into the drain field or drywell. The starch seals the dirt, making it almost impossible for water to
drain away into the ground. When a drainage system becomes completely sealed, sewage will either back
up into your house or overflow on top of the ground by your septic tank or drainage system. The drain*
age system then must be relocated which is a costly operation:
The formula for a cleaning schedule is as follows: Multiply the number of people in your family by 100
gaL (The average amount of sugar and starch one person disposes of in one year.) When you reach your
septic tank volume, it should be cleaned. For example: 5 people x 100 gal. = 500 gal. of waste per year.
A 500 gal. tank should be cleaned every year or a 1000 gal. tank should be cleaned every two years. We
recommend every tank be cleaned at least every three years. If you have a garbage disposal, it should be
cleaned every 6 months to a year.
39
VA1rEY
Non-Profit Org
fLGENo
U.S. Postage
RURAL ROUTE OR POST OFFICE BOXHOLDER
P.O. BOX 115
1.8cPAID
Bassett, Wis.
Permit No.2
BASSETT, WISCONSIN 53101
O!
±WJtW IIi b±ULJ:L :;i,''
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;~~~~l~rn=rH,~r~:rnn+
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ROUTE 1 BOX 53 GENOA CITY, WISCONSIN 53128
OlI
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10
DESIGNERS AND MANUFACTURERS Of
COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL PRINTING
lo
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Ol
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*
CUSTOM CONTINUOUS FORMS
SNAP-OUT FORMS
*
STOCK TAB FORMS
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LABELS
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BOOKLETS
STATIONERY
*
INVOICES
ENVELOPES
PmNT" OF" PURCHASE DISPLAYS
*
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PRESSURE SENSITIVE STICKERS
BILLS OF
CATALOGS
SIGNS
*
r
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DING
*
BROCHURES
BANNERS
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PURC ASE ORDERS
I
STATEMENTS
~
POSTERS
SILK SCREEN PRINTING
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DECALS
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BUMPER STICKERS
--------------------------1
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0
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fOR IMNIEDIA TE ATTENTION TO
AH YOUR PRINTING NEEDS CALL
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414-248-9009
414-877-3684
*
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815-344-1988
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E. JOHN COLLINS · PRESIDENT
*
VIC FLODIN~ VICE-PRESIDENT
*
DON LAING~ SALES MANAGER
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