PART 11 : History of Outagamie County Wisconsin, in PDF Format
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1010 HISTORY OF OUTAGAMIE COUNTY in politics, has always taken an active part, locally, in the activities of his party, having been elected a delegate to county, Congressional and State conventions many times until the primary superceded such gatherings. Dr. Tanner was one of the promoters who organized the Rio Tamasopo Sugar Company, owning a sugar refinery and large tracts of land in Mexico. This company was organized in 1903, and the Doctor is now, (1911), serving his sixth term as president of this corporation having retired from the practice of his profession six years ago, and now usually spends his winters on the company's plantation in Mexico. On September 1, 1881, he married Miss Mary G. M. Boyd, daughter of James M. and Maria M. (Lawe) Boyd, of Brown county, Wisconsin, a granddaughter of Col. George and Har- riet (Johnson) Boyd, and a great-granddaughter of Joshua Johnson, a pioneer of Maryland, the first United States consul appointed to London, England, by President Washington. Col. George Boyd was a brother-in-law of President John Quincy Adams and served the Government in different positions of responsibility all his life. The children of Dr. and Mrs. Tanner a.re: Kenneth Boyd Tan- ner, born July 20, 1883, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and now residing in Mexico; Blanche Lawe Tanner, born January 25, 1885, a graduate of Milwaukee Downer College in 1905, and in 1911, a student in Columbia. University, New York City; Harold Ford Tanner, born November 24, 1887, a student in U. W. 1907-08, married Zula Grey in 1909, and has one son, born December 6, 1910, named Herbert Battles Tanner, Jr., now living in Texas; Herbert Johnson Tanner, born March 17, 1894, now a student in Pennington Seminary, New Jersey. Dr. Tanner is much interested in historical matters, having written a number of historical papers for the local societies as well as one recently published in the Kaukauna "Times," on the names of the streets of Kaukauna; he has a large collection of documents pertaining to the early local history of the state to which .he is adding as opportunity offers. Dr. Tanner, for many years, has been one of the foremost men of Outagamie county. He was an able physician when devoting himself to his profession. He is a forceful writer, a keen student of public events, and a loyal friend and neighbor. ALEX. ZENIER, pianist, organist, teacher, director and critic. Coming to Appleton a very young man in 1885 to teach piano at Lawrence College, conduct a chorus at the same institution, and act as organist and' director of music at the M. E. Church, Mr. Zenier has been a. most conspicuous figure in the advancement of the cause of music not only in Appleton but throughout the state as well, for his influence has been far-reaching, and what he has accomplished is a matter of history. He was instrumental in organizing the Mendelssohn ,Club in 1885, which was the first choral society formed here for the study of oratorios, taking up such works as The Messiah, Creation, Elijah, Hymn of Praise, etc. Mi. G. Freeman was director of the 'Club for a number of years, and the membership in- eluded such names as AT. A. Clark, W. B. Murphy, Chas. AT. Mory, HISTORY OF OUTAGAMIE COUNTY 1011 Chas. Greenfield, Geo. Verity, B. T. Rogers, Jr., E. P. Humphrey, Fred Wheeler, Mr. and Mrs. Max Meyer, Mrs. Foye, Mrs. Bacon, Mrs. McGillan, Mrs. Stowell, the Misses Whorton, Graham, Babcock, Mead, McGillan, etc. It was by the invitation of this organization that the Wisconsin State Music Teachers' Association met here in 1886, bringing together the principal musicians of the state in a session of several days' duration, and the year following being priv- ileged to participate in an orchestral festival in Milwaukee under the direction of Theodore Thomas. Mr. Zenier severed his connection with the college about this time and returned to New York for con- tinued study with such masters as S. B. Mills, Win. Mason, Dudley Buck and Frederic Archer. Returning to Appleton in 1890 he opened a studio on College avenue, which has become famous for its many concerts and entertainments, and where have appeared for the first time in this section of the country and in most cases in any city in the state outside of Milwaukee, such artists as Emilio Gogorza, David Bispham, Schumann-Heink, the Kneisel Quartet, George Hamlin, XScharwenka, Rider-Kelsey, Christine Miller, Evan Wil- liams, Gadski, Reed Miller, Glenn Hall, Arthur Hartman, Fannie Bloomfield-Zeisler, Witherspoon, Ernest Hutcheson, Maud Powell, Ellsa Ruegger, Olive Mead Quartet, Bruno Steindel, the Dolmetsches, and others too numerous to mention. These concerts (Artists' Re- citals) were instituted about the beginning of the new century, and had the backing of such people as Lyman E. Barnes, Bertin Ramsay, H. G. Freeman, Chas. W. Mory, E. P. Humphrey, M. F. Mitchell, Thos. Orbison, A. S. Galpin, Geo. C. Sherman, E. G. Jones, Miss Mor- gan, Mrs. F. C. Shattuck, Mrs. A. WT. Patten, Mrs. Oborn, Mrs. Thos. Patten the Stansburys, Van Nortwicks, Kimberlys, Smiths, Ullmans and others. Later Mr. Wertheimer became interested, also Mr. Con- way, Mr. Utz, Mr. Erb, Mr. Gilbert and Mr. McNaughton, followed by Mr. Rosebush, and still later the younger generation, including Geo. and Chas. Baldwin, Fred F. Wettingel, Dr. H. Schaper, Albert Gilbert, Dr. Brooks, Frank Young, Wm. Hoyt, Mr. Walker, Miss Hartung, Miss Harriet Smith; Miss Buchanan, Miss Thom, Miss Ryan and others, and it would seem as if after all these years of con- tinued success the concerts were now permanently established. This was the pioneer course, and has been copied by others in this vicinity, although differing from many in that its object has been to raise the standard of music with no thought of pecuniary profits. In the pub- lic schools Mr. Zenier worked for many years, turning out some ex- cellent singers, readers and teachers. His pupils were also taught harmony, history, theory, and analysis, and with him contributed many volumes to the public library on these subjects. In his piano work he has perhaps been most successful, and many a well known celebrity can thank him for a splendid technical foundation. In 1892 with the co-operation of Miss Ida Graham, Clarence Shepard and A. M. Maeder, all local teachers, Mr. Zenier organized a series of quarterly Historical Recitals, at first, as an experiment to interest the pupils in obtaining a more thorough knowledge of compositions in general than could be crowded into a lesson of a half hour's duration. 1012 HISTORYZ OF OUTAGAMIE COUNTY The interest and enthusiasm in these concerts has steadily increased, and as they are now in their nineteenth year, a liberal education has been handed out free of charge to the pupils and their friends. Many works of all the old masters have been studied and illustrated, in- cluding compositions for clavichord, piano, violin, organ -and 'cello, also chamber music, opera, cantata, oratorio, symphony, ensemble music, and the folk songs of various nations. In scanning the pro- grams of these concerts, all of which have been preserved, one finds the names of Theda Clark, Blanche Ullman, Martha and Mary Van Nortwick, Edith and Edna Beveridge, Clara Hartung, Winifred Willson, Nellie West, Laura Erb, Alice Barnes, Hallie and Ethel Ramsay, Elmma Patten, Georgia Hall, Ann Thomas, Madge Hoyt, Dora Heyman, Florence Brown, Gertrude Creedon, Edward and John Schlosser, Herbert and'Win. Harwood, Dr. C. E. Schmidt, Carl Schneider, Geo. H. Schmidt, Edward Hilfert, Morris Wilson, Arthur Shattuck, Lyman E. Barnes, Mr. and Mrs. Ledyard Smith, Mrs. Ramsey, Mrs. Wertheimer, Mrs. Oborn, Mrs. Voecks, Mrs. Clinedinst and many others-some whose names are now hardly more than a memory. In 1909 the Philharmonic Society was organized with a mem- bership of a little less than one hundred and included the principal vocalists of the city. It was the first choral society to take out a char- ter, and among its officers were Geo. I. Schmidt, its first president; Dr. C. E. Schmidt, vice-president; William W. Houston, secretary; and on the committees Miss Perry, F. F. Wettengel, John Buchanan, Miss Willson, Dr. Brooks, Fred V. Heinemann, Dr. and Mrs. Dohearty, Mrs. Victor Marshall, Mrs. George H. Peerenboom, Louis Kirchner, etc. Mr. Zenier was re-elected director in 1910. The Society has many fine entertainments to its credit, such as the Forty- second Psalm of Mendelssohn, which was given with Miss Vina Shattuck as soloist, Dubois' "Seven Last Words" (two performances), with Miss Willson, Wim. Harwood and AWin.AW. Houston as soloists, Rossini's Stabat Mater (three performances), Miss Willson, Mrs. Oborn, Mr. Graber, and Dr. Schmidt in the solo parts; The Holy City with Fred V. Heinemann, the operas of the Chimes of Norman- dy and Pinafore (each two performances) with large orchestras and stage accessories, and in which operas the young people were given an opportunity to display their talents vocal and histrionic, and in many instances the right to lay claim to being professionals. It is the hope of Mr. Zenier and of many members of the Society that the time is not far distant when the Philharmonics will have a home and hall of their own, equipped with pipe organ, grand piano, library, etc. The Society is not affiliated with any church or school, and welcomes all singers who have good voices and a knowledge of music. Mr. Zenier's preparation as an organist was most thorough, for besides the teachers already named, he was also a pupil of Widor and Libert in Paris, and did considerable work in composition with Albert Lavignac.