NO. 234 SEPTEMBER 2016 HISTORIC WAUWATOSA PUBLISHED BY THE WAUWATOSA HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC. KNEELAND-WALKER HOUSE

WHS 2016 TOUR OF HOMES Washington Highlands 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1 @ Advance tickets $14 WHS members* 100 $17 non-members Order online *For discount, members must call 414-774-8672 or order on line: WauwatosaHistoricalSociety.org Advance ticket locations (cash or check only) Garden and Pet 8520 W. North Ave. The Little Read Book 7603 W. State St. Tour-day ticket sales 6300 Washington Circle House descriptions begin on page 4 $17 WHS members $20 non-members

When the Highlands housed mostly horses An excerpt from John Eastberg’s Pabst Farms, page 8

This painting by Theodore Breidweiser depicts Captain Pabst, his two sons, and the farm manager inspecting their stock. NOTEWORTHY WHS EMMER WAS A DREAM Linda and Jerry Stepaniak for VOLUNTEER, DOCENT overseeing popcorn sales; Phil The non-profit, Warner for maintaining the educational Wau- Any active WHS members in- watosa Historical grounds; Patty Fibich-Warner terested in local history probably for handling financial matters; Society (WHS) knew Dan Emmer even if they was founded to Kathy Causier for overseeing the research the his- didn’t know him by name. silent auction; Chris Vogel for tory of our area Emmer, who died July 28 at age hosting the artist reception; Steve and to collect, pre- 77, frequently portrayed historic Weber and Troop 21 Boy Scouts serve and exhibit figures at special events, most objects from our who helped take down tents and past. WHS is an recently as millionaire Emery put away tables and chairs plus affiliate of the Wis- Walker, one-time owner of the helping artists set up. consin Historical mansion that is WHS headquar- Kudos to James Steeno, whose Society. Member- ters. ships include a 2016 Firefly poster design drew subscription to Emmer also volunteered as a rave reviews. Historic Wauwa- docent at the Kneeland-Walker WHS also is grateful to Firefly tosa, discounts off House, the Pabst Mansion, Real Estate for sponsoring the art registration fees Lowell Damon House, Trim- for adult educa- fair and to supporters Sprecher tion programs and born Farm and at the Brewing Co. and Leff’s Lucky other benefits. County Historical Society. He Town. also sometimes portrayed Capt. MEMBER on tours of Forest CATEGORIES TOMCZAK PURSUES DEGREE Home Cemetery in Milwaukee. IN ARCHIVES, RECORDS Platinum Star $1,000 Sharon Braun, a long-time Gold Star $500 Silver Star $150 volunteer at the Pabst Mansion Sharon Braun and Dan Emmer Merisa Tomczak, WHS com- Firefly $75 and mega-volunteer for WHS, portraying Constance and Emery munications specialist since Business $50 said she encouraged Emmer to get Walker in December at a Knee- January 2015, left the office staff Organization $35 land-Walker House party. Household $25 involved about 20 years ago. in August to pursue a two-year Household (Senior*) $15 “He loved greeting visitors to two side porches have been gradu- masters of science degree from Individual $15 the Kneeland-Walker House while the University of North Carolina Individual (Senior*) $10 ally pulling away from the house. dressed as Emery Walker,” Braun at Chapel Hill. Tomczak will *Senior: age 62 and up The back porch is being rebuilt. said. “He even looked a little like In conjunction with masonry specialize in archives and record OFFICERS Emery. “He was so good with work, the new porch should solve management. PRESIDENT walking tours for Historic Mil- the problem of water seeping into Before joining the WHS staff Chris Vogel waukee. “He will be missed.” the basement. in January 2015, she volunteered 257-2982 for a year in the WHS research JERRY SMAGLIK, FIREFLY ART A rotted cornice near the en- VP DEVELOPMENT trance to the coach house also is library. More recently, Tomczak Bill Cummings FAIR FOUNDER, DIES being replaced. also has worked as the research 774-4756 library and collections manager. Jerome “Jerry” Smaglik, a At the Little Red Store, two VP MARKETING, EDUCATION rotted windows facing the Beth Jaworski long-time WHS volunteer who 456-1582 launched the Firefly Art Fair in Menomonee River are being MEMORIALS & TRIBUTES replaced. TREASURER 1987, died May 21 at age 79. He Bryan Stutzki is survived by his wife, Carole, The historical society recognizes 778-0614 and four children. NO GRUMBLES ABOUT THIS gifts made in honor or memory of YEAR’S FIREFLY WEATHER SECRETARY “With the purchase of the the following: Peggy Devitt Katz Kneeland-Walker House that year, This summer’s Firefly Art Fair 771-4666 the historical society needed to may have enjoyed the best week- In Memory of STAFF grow in membership and in in- end of weather in its 30-year run. come,” said Janel Ruzicka, WHS DANIEL EMMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR But it wasn’t just the fine weath- executive director. “Carole was on Janel Ruzicka er that made it a success. Thank James and Janel Ruzicka the board of directors at that time you to all of the more than 100 Rachael Ver Duin HISTORIC WAUWATOSA EDITOR and she and Jerry stepped up and volunteers who contributed to Dave Vogel In Honor of led the way with organizing the the success of this most important EMAIL: first Firefly Art Fair.” JANEL & JIM RUZICKA staff@ WHS fund-raiser of the year. wauwatosahistoricalsociety.org ANOTHER SEASON OF Special thanks to Joan Riggin Chris & Dave Vogel for preparing the artist breakfast; PHONE: REPAIR WORK UNDERWAY In Memory of 414-774-8672 Jim Ruzicka for handling bever- ages; Jocelyn Ruzicka for orga- JEROME SMAGLIK Wauwatosa His- All three entry porches to the nizing the desserts booth; Deb- torical Society Inc. Kneeland-Walker House are Fran Borkowski publishes Historic bie Dubinski and Sue Flatley Wauwatosa [ISSN undergoing an estimated $12,000 for coordinating food operations; Carolyn Dressler 0195-2951] six in repairs. Rachael Ver Duin for preparing James and Janel Ruzicka times a year: Janu- Wood on the front porch, hid- ary, March, May, the photo exhibit; Dean Teofilo Rachael Ver Duin July, September den by shrubs that were removed for coordinating the musicians; and November. two years ago, had rotted. The

WWW.WAUWATOSAHISTORICALSOCIETY.ORG HISTORIC WAUWATOSA PAGE 2, SEPTEMBER 2016 Longtime WHS leader Janel Ruzicka retiring the air-conditioning system, At center of success fixing a faucet or bartending for 26 years at one of the Mystery Nights at the mansion. Janel Ruzicka, a leader of Janel Ruzicka also serves on the Wauwatosa Historical So- the city’s Historic Preserva- ciety for more than a quarter tion Commission and will century, has announced she continue in the post. plans to retire before the end Some retirement reactions: of the year. Under her leadership: Kathy Ehley, mayor and former WHS board presi- Janel Ruzicka led refurbishing n WHS restored and now the Kneeland-Walker House staffs the Little Red Store dent: “When the Wauwa- tosa Historical Society first (above), often spoke to various Community and Visitor organizations and appeared on Center in the Village. bought the Kneeland-Walker property in 1987, we were all TV’s “Around the Corner with n WHS led the way in re- John McGivern” (right), and storing New Deal-era murals volunteers. But we quickly saw the need for permanent led the way in saving the Little long buried inside the walls Red Store (below). at Wauwatosa East High staff. It was challenging to School. know what expertise we n WHS took on major needed to run the Histori- repairs, paint jobs and costly cal Society, including caring reroofing of the Kneeland- for and preserving this Walker House. glorious historical home. Ruzicka was named “his- “In my tenure as Presi- toric site administrator” in dent of the WHS board, January 1992. She resigned we hit the jackpot when as WHS president to accept we hired Janel Ruzicka. We that new half-time position. knew Janel as a volunteer Her responsibilities were and a board member and continuing the Firefly Art knew she loved the organiza- Fair and other annual events, tion and loved the property adult education, school pro- as if it were her own. grams, exhibits and special- “Over Janel’s more than 25 use requests. The actual job year tenure, she helped grow went well beyond that and the organization into what it her title was changed in 1998 is today — an organization to executive director. dedicated to preserving the Ruzicka first joined the history of our community board of directors in 1990 and a membership of over watched every penny that’s crumbling walls. and was named president in 500 making WHS one of the spent, gone to Wauwatosa “Her ability to pull together 1994. largest city historical societies businesses and into the com- many threads from many While she’s retiring from in the state. She restored the munity to drum up support, places and work with a large the top job at WHS, don’t house with volunteers who and cultivated a loyal cadre number of interests in all expect her to disappear. She planted flowers, painted and of volunteers. I’ll bet nobody, aspects of local history and said she plans to volunteer wallpapered; and oversaw even Janel, could guess how historic building care made at next year’s Firefly Art Fair, major repairs, such as the much time and energy she her a pleasure to work with.” but in a less demanding new roof and rentals of the has devoted to the historical capacity. house and gardens. society — days, nights and Kathy Causier, alderman “Maybe I’ll sit at the admis- “Janel’s dedication and te- weekends.” and former WHS president nacity has been ongoing, and who followed Ruzicka in sions table and sell tickets,” Jim Vint she said. she will be greatly missed. I , a former WHS chairing the Firefly Art Fair: Often working with her at hope she will continue on her president: “Janel faced a “She has managed volunteers, the Firefly and other WHS own schedule as a volunteer.” great range of tasks involv- painters, roofers, gardeners, events has been her husband, ing house management, delivery men and Wauwatosa Chris Vogel, WHS presi- volunteer guidance, events Jim. dent: “Sometimes those who residents wanting to know Jim frequently has served as production and much more, about the history. I only hope know her joke about her fru- including electrical panels a volunteer handyman at the gality, but the society is one she has kept good notes for Kneeland-Walker House, was smoldering in the basement, her successor. We were lucky of the strongest in Wisconsin major restoration and renova- sometimes seen on weekends because Janel has carefully to have her for as long as we or weeknights tinkering with tion projects, falling trees and did; she will be missed.”

WWW.WAUWATOSAHISTORICALSOCIETY.ORG HISTORIC WAUWATOSA PAGE 3, SEPTEMBER 2016 Washington Highlands @ 100

6300 Washington Circle 6147 Washington Circle

6101 Washington Circle 6548 Washington Circle

1731 Alta Vista Ave. 1605 Alta Vista Ave. is year’s Wauwatosa Historical Society Tour of from 1992-98. Homes commemorates the 100th anniversary Donald W. Layden, an attorney and business executive, and of the design of the Washington Highlands, his wife, Mary Jo, bought the house in 1998. They sold it in 2012 to Patrick and Jodi Keller. Patrick is a radiologist. an historic residential district bounded by W. Architectural Description: LloydT Street, N. 60th Street, Milwaukee Avenue and N. This three-story house is designed in the Tudor-Revival 68th Street. style. It is faced with limestone, and the front-facing gable The 133-acre former stock and hops farm owned by features a two-story copper-capped bay window. The roof beer baron Frederick Pabst was laid out by internation- is covered in red slate, broken up with two wood-trimmed ally-famous city planners Werner Hegemann and Elbert plaster dormers, and is capped by copper trim. Peets with curving streets that preserve the natural The entry vestibule has a tile floor and a vaulted ceiling. The interior features many original metal-trimmed light fixtures. topographical features of the site. The plan minimizes The cherry wood stair is trimmed with an elaborately detailed through traffic while providing private parks, design wrought iron baluster capped with a wooden handrail. In the controls and a variety of housing types. living room, the stone-trimmed fireplace features a pointed The following six houses are featured in this year’s tour arch design and raised tile hearth. The living room ceiling on Saturday, Oct. 1: features geometric-patterned plaster medallions and a plaster rope crown molding and decorative cornice. Windows are wood-trimmed leaded-glass casements. The dining room is clad in wood paneling and features a vaulted ceiling with 6300 Washington Circle decorative plaster ribs and a painted sky mural. The four- panel casement window has seasonal-themed lead glass inset panels. With 5,488 square feet, this Tudor-Revival style house is A garage/carriage house is constructed behind the main one of the largest in the Washington Highlands. house in the same style. It was built in 1930 by Frederick A. “Fritz” Miller, president of the Miller Brewing Co., and his wife, May. The house and a three-car coach house were built on two undivided lots. Before construction began, the estimated cost 6147 Washington Circle of the two buildings was $62,500. Fritz, born in 1867, was the son of , who had come from Germany in 1854 and settled in Milwaukee This Colonial-Revival style home has had three owners in 1855. He purchased a small brewery on the site of the since it was built in 1920 by Henry Weber, a self-employed present Miller Brewery from Best Brothers for $8,000. contractor. Fritz attended Milwaukee public schools and what later Weber sold it to his daughter, Harriet, and her husband was named Marquette University High School. While in his Arthur Baumgartner, a dentist. The Baumgartners lived in the teens, he was sent east to a brewers’ school and then to Bis- house for 57 years, raising their two children. marck, N.D., to manage a branch of the Miller Brewing Co. They introduced a Hollywood-style Asian motif, popular in When his father died in 1888, Fritz returned to Milwaukee the 1960s. According to Bonnie Shinken, the second owner, to manage the brewery with an older brother, Ernst. Another Harriet had an interest in butterflies, which was reflected in brother, Emil, joined the business several years later. some of the original designs used. Fritz was president until three years before he died in 1942 Arthur died in 1973. Four years later, in 1977, Harriet sold at age 76. At the time, the brewery’s annual output was a mil- the house and moved to California. She died later that year. lion barrels. Leo and Bonnie Shinken bought the house in June 1977. “Mr. Miller shunned the spotlight,” a Milwaukee Jour- Leo was born in Oshkosh, but the family relocated to nal obituary said, adding that he devoted almost all of his Milwaukee, where he earned a law degree from Marquette interest to the brewery. “When it came time for pictures at University. He and a brother practiced together in Milwau- employee picnics at the old Miller’s Gardens, a resort on the kee. His wife, Bonnie, grew up in Milwaukee. They raised Menomonee Valley bluff, he would be missing.” two sons in the house. Besides their home in the Highlands, the Millers spent Bonnie continued building on the house’s design, adding winters in Florida and summers at a home on the east shore her own touches and features over the years to “soften” the of Lake Nagawicka. May sold the Highlands home in 1952 look. The Shinkens lived in the house for more than 25 years. and died in 1970. The Shinkens added the family room and deck. After Leo While the kitchen and bathrooms have been modernized, died in 2004, Bonnie sold the house in 2008 and moved to there have been no major modifications. The Millers’ mono- Brookfield, where she lives today. gram “M” in stone remains over the front door. Robert and Margaret Gintoft bought the house in early The main house has seven bedrooms, four full bathrooms September 2008, a month before the financial and hous- and two half baths. The Millers had no children. ing crisis peaked. Robert is vice president of industrial and Three of the bedrooms and a full bath are on the third floor, investment real estate at Ogden & Company and Margaret evidently for house servants. The chauffeur and gardener ap- is an independent out-patient psychotherapist practicing at parently occupied quarters over the garage. Therapies East Associates in Milwaukee. A horseshoe-shaped masonry arch that presumably led to a Architectural description: large garden remains on the east side of the site. The two-story home is faced with brown colored brick with Lawrence and Marilyn Hargarten owned the house from the front façade featuring a one-story projecting porch cover- 1952 to 1968 and raised eight children there. Other owners ing the entry. The arched entry porch is supported by painted were Carl and Janet Peter from 1970-78; David and Geri Doric columns. The arched entry door is flanked by leaded- Tschopp from 1979-92; and A. Thomas and Rita Indresano glass sidelights. The roof overhang showcases the builder’s

WWW.WAUWATOSAHISTORICALSOCIETY.ORG HISTORIC WAUWATOSA PAGE 5, SEPTEMBER 2016 skills in creating elaborately profiled rafter tails and a bead- board soffit. A one-story wood-sided 1970s-era addition was constructed at the rear of the house. 6548 Washington Circle Large portions were changed by previous owners and required extensive remodeling to restore the interiors. The Gintofts stripped the staircase, which features birch rails, Herman F. and Ella A. Thiel built this Tudor-Revival style risers, and balusters. Stair treads are oak. The brick fireplace house in 1929 and lived in it until 1940. In 1930, it was in the living room was stripped and restored to its original valued at $25,000. design. Other architectural features include a vaulted ceiling Herman was a dentist in Milwaukee. He retired in 1950 in the dining room, wood-framed arched openings between and died two years later. Ella died in 1963. rooms, and a leaded glass window on the stair landing. The Thomas R. and Nancy M. Gettelman owned the house kitchen and first-floor bathroom have been updated in a style from 1941 to 1944. Thomas was the great-grandson of the sympathetic to the original house. man whose brewery bore his name, Adam Gettelman. Every facet of Thomas’ early life revolved around A. Gettelman Brewing Co. Thomas (Tom) was born in 1917 in Milwaukee and met his 6101 Washington Circle wife, Nancy Moore, at Wauwatosa High School. She was a British Columbia native who had been living with relatives in town. Tom earned a degree from Lawrence College and grad- Ralph C. and Sylvia Feerick were the first owners of this uated in April 1941 from the Siebel Institute in in house, built about 1932. Its style Colonial Style with Greek- brewing technology. In 1941 he and his brother Fred became Revival influences. more actively involved in management of the brewery. When Ralph was the son and only child of William C. Feerick, their father died in 1954, Tom and Fred took on the roles of founder of Feerick Funeral Home. president and chairman of the board, respectively. They sold William Feerick accumulated a large amount of property the brewery to the Miller Brewing Co. in 1961. in the area, including a 150-acre farm in Wauwatosa. Feerick Clayton E. and Martha T. Harrisson owned the house from Street and Feerick Place are named for the family. 1946 to 1955. While still a young man, Ralph joined his father in the Robert W. and Mary Schoeffler owned the house from funeral home business. At age 19, Ralph married Sylvia Ko- 1956 to 1957 when they sold it to Wauwatosa natives Henry osch. They moved into the Washington Circle house by 1932 M. and Betty L. Wisland Jr. The Wislands owned the house and remained there until 1946 when Louis E. and Margue- until 1979. rite Wheeler bought it. Betty was an organizer of the first Highland Fling, the an- Louis was an executive with Brewing Co. nual Washington Highlands’ neighborhood party. Louis and Marguerite had two daughters. By 1949 Louis was Henry had a long career with Robert W. Baird & Co. The a director with JSB Company. Wislands had three children. Henry died in March 1993; Paul and Veda Pullen moved to the house by 1957. Paul Betty died in 2012. was an attorney. They lived there until 1964 when they sold Mary Newton and James Sanger bought the house in 1979. it to James and Jane Brown. James was an engineer at Square They raised four children in their home. D Company. James and Jane had two sons and lived there Sanger is a hand surgeon with the Medical College of Wis- until 1977 when they sold the house to Peter J. and Joan consin and the Veterans Administration Hospital. Newton Christenson. was an attorney for 10 years and then co-founded Dance- Peter worked for Rexnord in Waukesha and in 1986 was works, a non-profit dance education and performance center employed by Rex Chain Belt. In 1991, they moved to 6256 in Milwaukee. She is associate director of the Children’s N. Upper Parkway, and sold the house to Paul and Joan Dyslexia Center in Milwaukee. Westerdale. Paul was a sales engineer for ABB Industrial In 1986, a swimming pool at the back of the house was Systems, and Joan was a graphic designer, operating her busi- incorporated into the property. It originally was attached ness, Westerdale Design, out of her home. By 1994 Paul was to a property on Alta Vista Avenue. Newton and Sanger marketing representative for Westerdale Design. purchased it and installed stone stairs leading up the hill. In Jeffrey S. and Kathleen P. Groux bought the house in 2005 1988, a three-season family room that had been added in and sold it in 2009. Eric J. and Joy Meier lived in the house 1960 was replaced and enlarged, with a new bedroom and from 2010 to 2015 when they sold it to Jeff and Christa bathroom added above it. Klarer. Architectural description: The Klarers moved into the house in April. They have four This two-story house is faced with tan brick with the front children. Jeff is a manager in market and competitive analysis gable featuring a one-story projecting bay window and for Wisconsin Energy Corporation. Christa is a nurse. capped with wood siding in the peak with an unusual wave Architectural description: pattern. Another unusual feature is the up-turned ridge at The two-story painted brick façade features a pediment the roof edges and flared eaves. The oak-arched entry door is framing an arched window facing the street and a projecting inset and trimmed with limestone. A two-story brick-faced entry flanked by four painted Doric columns. The entry door addition was constructed at the rear of the house in 1988. is capped by a low arched leaded-glass window and leaded- The entry vestibule floor is tile, and the entry hall features glass sidelights. original leaded-glass light fixtures. The oak stair is trimmed Interior features include pine floors, painted woodwork, with a wrought iron handrail and balusters. In the living and a painted wood fireplace surround in the living room. room, the stone-trimmed fireplace recently was rebuilt and The kitchen recently was remodeled with white cabinets and stays true to the original design. The living room also fea- black granite counter tops. Other features include a fully tures a plaster rope crown molding and an oak-trimmed bay finished basement and arched plaster niches. window with leaded-glass casement windows. The center

WWW.WAUWATOSAHISTORICALSOCIETY.ORG HISTORIC WAUWATOSA PAGE 6, SEPTEMBER 2016 casement widow has a medieval-themed leaded-glass inset. as homes, including Marquette University High School, The library off of the entry hall is trimmed in birch and has Messmer High School, and Wauwatosa’s Hawthorne Junior a vaulted ceiling and leaded glass casement windows. The High School, now Hawthorne Terrace Apartments. kitchen and bathrooms have been updated in a style sympa- Arthur Rock, a physician, died in 1936. Monica sold the thetic to the original house. house in 1950 to Gustave A. and Mildred E. Larson. Monica died later that year. The Larsons owned the house until 1966. Gustave was born in Gothenburg, Västergötland, Sweden. He immigrated to Chicago by himself at age 16. In 1926, 1731 Alta Vista Gustave married Mildred E. Pletch in Frankfort, Ind. They had one son. Mildred died in 1961, and Gustave died in 1975. Earlier, Gustave sold the house to his son, Karl. This mid-century modern style house was built in 1953 by Karl and his wife, Madeleine, sold the house in 1974 to Anthony J. and Blanche Verdone at a cost of $28,000. A.N. Duncan P. Forbes Jr. and his wife, Jane. They owned the Chaconas was the architect. house until 1979 when they sold it to Frederick C. and Kay The Verdones divorced in 1966. Blanche was granted own- W. Austermann. Fred is a retired dentist. Kay graduated from ership and lived in the house until 1968. She died in 1993. the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee as a medical techni- Anthony died in Florida in 1978. cian, but later earned a stockbroker’s license and worked for After prolonged legal battles with the Verdones, William First Wisconsin National Bank. and Salomea Range bought the house at a foreclosure auction Architectural description: in 1967. The Lannon stone street facade is well proportioned and Constantine (Gus) and Anna Katsune, long-time owners of dominated by a large stone-faced gable facing the street with food stores in the Milwaukee area, bought the house in 1968. a large wood-trimmed bay window at the first floor. To the Anna was born in Greece, and she and Constantine were left of the main gable is a smaller gable over the main entry married there in 1963. Gus and Anna had one child. Con- faced with stucco and half-timber trim. The steeply pitched stantine died in 1991. Anna continued living in the house roof is covered in red tile. The street facade features copper until she sold it to Eric Reid in 1998. gutters and downspouts, decorative wood brackets support- Reid lived in the house from 1998 until he sold it to Rich- ing the second floor bays, and a stone-arched main entry with ard Wilkie in 2002. a stained oak door. Wilkie is senior director in product management for Ora- This house features a high level of original decoration that cle, a technology company in Redwood City, Calif., manag- has been exceptionally well preserved. The entry hall features ing software development. He graduated from the University a vaulted ceiling with decorative plaster brackets at the base of Michigan and received a master’s degree in management of the vaults and a multi-colored tile floor. The initial view information systems from the University of Wisconsin - upon entry is of the wood stair that features a wrought iron Milwaukee. His parents, Charles Wilkie, a professor emeritus balustrade capped in an oak rail. Next to the stair is an arched of chemistry at Marquette University, and Nancy, also live in niche to display art. the Washington Highlands. The living room features a large oak-trimmed bay window Wilkie’s husband, Steven Stolman, until recently was the facing the street with decorative leaded glass panels in the president of Scalamandre, a New York decorative textiles transom above the lower casement windows. A multi-layered company established in 1929 with emphasis on restoring his- decorative plaster rope crown molding trims the perimeter of toric houses and furnishing. He graduated from the Parsons the living room ceiling. The tile fireplace features decorative School of Design in New York. tile accents. Original decorative wall-mounted metal light Stolman is a designer and author of three books, including fixtures flank the fireplace and bay window, and are inset in Confessions of a Serial Entertainer. the arched openings that separate the library from the living Architectural description: room. The house features strong horizontal lines bisected with a The dining room is entered through an arched opening vertical stone chimney. The base of the façade is clad in lime- surrounded by decorative tile accents. A wide plaster band stone while the upper part is clad in random-width vertical topped by a decorative plaster rope and a leaf theme in the cypress planks. A hip-roof covered with dark brown asphalt field encircles the perimeter of the dining room wall just shingles and matching metal trim caps the home, further below the ceiling. emphasizing the ground-hugging massing. The main entry Second-floor features include wood doors with decorative features a full glass door set next to the chimney and sur- inlays, door casings with back-banding, decorative plaster rounded by limestone trim. The windows are simply trimmed moldings, wood-trimmed casement windows with decora- and feature large panes of fixed glass over ventilation panels. tive leaded glass panels, fully tiled bathrooms, and a tiled fire The entry hall has a slate tile floor and is divided from place in the master bedroom. the living room by the stone chimney. The interior features The finished basement features a den with a full bar, ter- built-in cabinets of blond-stained/painted oak. The recently razzo floors and stone fireplace. remodeled kitchen and bathrooms stay true to the original architectural character of the home. BEHIND THE SCENES Histories of properties exhibited on the tour were re- searched by Carolyn Dressler, Barb Ingram, John Goudie, 1605 Alta Vista Ave. Katy Kern, Carol Rosen and Chris Shea. The architectural Arthur and Monica Rock built this English Tudor-Revival consultant was Erik Madisen. Andrea Del Balso Fell style house in 1926. It was designed by the architectural firm designed posters and tickets for the event. Our sponsors of Herbst & Kuenzli and cost $20,000. are Shorewest Realtors, LandCrafters Inc. and the Wash- Herbst & Kuenzli designed many public buildings as well ington Highlands Historical Preservation Corporation.

WWW.WAUWATOSAHISTORICALSOCIETY.ORG HISTORIC WAUWATOSA PAGE 7, SEPTEMBER 2016 ne might not expect as one of the finest in the state a beer baron’s son to and was frequently mentioned become one of the in contemporary books and most famous and periodicals. A Milwaukee Jour- influential livestock nal reporter went into great breeders in the state of Wisconsin. detail regarding the layout and OGiven the close ties between the condition of the buildings: brewing industry and agriculture The barns, and there are in the nineteenth century, how- several of them, are regular ever, it should not be too surpris- common sense structures, hav- ing that Frederick Pabst Jr. would ing evidently been created with turn to farming as his avocation. a view to comfort rather than His love of the land was fostered external show. These build- at an early age by his father, Cap- ings are constructed in the tain Frederick Pabst, who turned most substantial manner, with a small local brewing concern plenty of ventilation and good into the world’s largest brewer of light, besides abundance of lager beer in the course of three room outside of the spacious decades. The observant young box stalls for easy handling. Fred witnessed much of this rapid They are kept scrupulously growth and learned from his fa- clean, which in itself is an evi- ther that hard work and attention dence of the careful and very to detail mattered. proper attention given to every department connected with * * * this thriving concern. A profound influence on Fred’s The farm, as most people by life was the Phillip Best Brewing A father and his son this time know, is in the neigh- Company’s purchase of farmland borhood of two miles directly outside Milwaukee, in the nearby west on Vliet Street, from village of Wauwatosa. The first Cold Spring Park. It is admi- acquisition occurred in October By John C. Eastberg rably situated for stock raising 1871, when Captain Frederick purposes, being high and dry, Pabst and Emil Schandein bought Chapter One, an excerpt and in addition to these valu- the farm of Ernst and Bertha able conditions, a pure clear Baumbach and Abraham and Jane stream of living water wends Rorick. Initially the land was to serve longer, than any other breed.” In addi- its way across the property. Its near- as a stock farm for the horses used at tion to raising horses for the brewery, ness to the city also makes it unusually the brewing company. With subsequent Captain Pabst established a well-known valuable for hospital purposes, so that land purchases the Wauwatosa farm stud service, increasing the popularity with but very little loss of time, horses grew to encompass 217 acres and a and quality of the breed in the United that have become sick, weary or lame complex of more than ten barns. The States. At the head of this stud for five in the [brewing] company’s city service, purchase of the neighboring 10-acre years was a magnificent dark dapple- are quickly and easily transferred to the Thomas Greenwood farm brought with gray Percheron stallion named Burg, soothing atmosphere, and cool green it a large “farm villa” that would be from which the foundation of the Pabst pastures of the farm. used for many years as the Pabst fam- Stock Farm was built. In addition to breeding Percheron ily’s summer retreat. The main farm- Throughout the 1880s Pabst Perche- draft horses, the Pabst Stock Farm also house, nestled among hundreds of fruit ron horses garnered first-place medals began breeding Oldenburg coach horses trees and a small vineyard, was located and ribbons, establishing the Pabst and trotters under the supervision of on a high bluff overlooking the farm, name in the arena of horse breeding. It John M. Greer. Greer’s department, also the surrounding countryside, and even was recalled years later that “these farms referred to as the “speed department,” could be seen in the were the special delight of Captain worked to develop faster and finer distance. Pabst in the days when he was active racehorses. This department maintained In 1885 Captain Pabst purchased the in business management. It was his a “half-mile track at the Pabst farm entire farm from the brewing company custom to make almost daily visits to [that] has been fitted up to the queen’s and began assembling a herd of pure- inspect the horses, over their welfare he taste, and is now in excellent condition. bred Percheron mares and stallions that watched with a zealous eye.” Captain As an additional precaution Mr. Greer he imported from France. Percherons Pabst’s passion for horses extended far has covered this with a liberal coating were draft horses admired for their beyond his own stock and was certainly of manure, so that during the winter stamina and good temperament and a central motivation in his becoming months, in open weather, the horses were therefore well suited for pulling one of the founders of the Wisconsin can been be given regular work without brewing company delivery wagons Humane Society in 1879. Because of pounding their feet all to pieces.” Greer around the city. Pabst confidently his son’s growing interest in livestock, had also taken notice of the youngest touted his selection of Percherons as Fred Jr. was placed in charge of his Pabst son and proclaimed that Fred Jr. the ideal horse in a promotional piece father’s horses. They successfully com- was “not only a level headed, conserva- for his farm: “Experience has proved peted in county fairs around Wisconsin tive young man, but a thorough good that the Percheron could do my work and at the state fair in Milwaukee. judge of a horse.” better, make a finer appearance, and last The Pabst Stock Farm was regarded Fred Pabst Jr. was enthralled by the

WWW.WAUWATOSAHISTORICALSOCIETY.ORG HISTORIC WAUWATOSA PAGE 8 SEPTEMBER 2016 activities of the farm even as a young reached the point that they were haul- coming down the wagons could more man, and his father saw this and ing enough beer the six blocks to the easily be braked. The sand also dead- encouraged him. By the time he was Pabst shipping depot to fill seventy-five ened the clatter which the unevenness ten years old, Fred was riding his horse boxcars a day. The constant stream of of the cobblestones would cause. daily, something that he would con- horses and wagons required to accom- Although Percherons accomplished tinue to do for much of his life. the bulk of the city delivery service Captain Pabst, wanting his son for Pabst, a small team of sleek to learn how to select excellent Hackneys was retained for de- horse stock, sent him to France livering beer to the finer areas of with Orin B. Dickinson, the farm Milwaukee. A beautifully polished manager, to procure Percherons. black carriage that held sixty cases Fred, who was then sixteen, wrote of beer, drawn by two matched to his father from Nogent-le- Hackneys, would take Pabst Rotrou in April 1886: “Since I products directly to the door to fill last wrote home we bought ten special orders. mares and four suckers, two of which are colts. . . . We start away * * * for horses about eight or nine As Captain Pabst’s health de- o’clock every morning and come clined, his thoughts drifted away home about six.” Trotters were from business and returned to what of particular interest to Fred Jr. gave him peace of mind—his stock He was soon stabling and train- farm. While recovering from two ing his own horses at his father’s This was the Pabst summer house on the stock strokes in the summer of 1903, his farm. His favorite filly was Mista, farm, now the site of the Washington Highlands. great pleasure was to spend time get of the famous $25,000 dark at the farm. Pabst wrote to August bay, Alcazar, owned jointly by Uihlein, “I drive out to the farm Captain Pabst and the Uihlein broth- plish this task seems almost unimagi- every day, look at my stock and get a ers, proprietors of the Joseph Schlitz nable today. little fun out of that.” The captain had Brewing Company. Knowing that Fred The captain always made sure that his even considered selling his home in the was so engaged in the activities of the horses were meticulously groomed and city and moving to the farm perma- stock farm, the captain sold a one-half adorned in leather harnesses embla- nently. This was not to be, however. interest in it to him in July 1891, when zoned with the company’s emblem in Captain Frederick Pabst died shortly Fred was only twenty-one years old. gleaming brass. after noon on New Year’s Day 1904. This would be the beginning of Fred’s * * * lifelong interest in the breeding and The stables at the brewing company * * * management of fine livestock. also included a hospital ward for lame While horse culture and the brewing Under the auspices of Captain Pabst horses. A periodical published by company had gone hand in hand for and Emil Schandein, the Phillip Best the noted, many years, the world was changing Brewing Company continued to grow “Whenever any of the horses showed rapidly. Whereas Captain Pabst had rapidly. By the end of the 1880s the the least sign of ill health they were never purchased a car, both his sons by company had become one of the largest put in the Pabst hospital—the only this time had automobiles. It was clear producers of lager beer in the world. In one of its kind at the time, it was said. that the horse was no longer indispen- July 1888, just as it was attaining inter- It was steam heated, had big windows sible for delivering beer around Mil- national prominence, Schandein died for sunlight and fresh air and huge box waukee. On February 17, 1904, within unexpectedly while abroad in Germany. stalls which were so equipped that the weeks of Captain Pabst’s death, most of Pabst, who had been effectively run- big animals could be turned from side his horse stock at the Pabst Stock Farm ning the operation for years, consoli- to side if they were unable to stand up.” in Wauwatosa was sold at public auc- dated his position in the company and As the Pabst Brewing Company sat tion. More than five hundred people in March 1889 changed its name to the high on a hill and everything had to from all over the Midwest attended Pabst Brewing Company. be hauled up or down by horse and the sale on a bitterly cold afternoon. While the captain’s business respon- wagon, Captain Pabst utilized special The dispersal sale earned $30,000. sibilities were vast, his devotion to the German methods to pave the street, The property was later leased to Julius well-being of his horses was legend- easing the burden on his horses. Ac- Scholtka, who used it for agricultural ary and certainly made an impression cording to Bertha Kitchell Whyte, the purposes rather than as a stock farm. on his sons and his employees. The captain had the cobblestones laid in a immaculate horse stables of the Pabst “curious pattern at his own expense.” SPEAKER Brewing Company were under the She explains: direction of James G. Boyd, who served With an eye to solving the problem John C. Eastberg, execu- as the stable superintendent and Pabst of holding back the wagons on the Stock Farm manager as well. The stable descent and resting the horses on the tive director of the Captain accommodated roughly one hundred ascent [Pabst had the] cobblestones set Frederick Pabst Mansion Percherons that were rotated from his alternately high and low on the diago- and author of Pabst Farms, stock in Wauwatosa and were used to nal. The depressions thus formed were will speak at 7 p.m. Tues- accomplish the company’s daily city kept filled with sand. The horse’s shoes delivery. Not only were the Pabst horses could grip the sand and hold a firm day, Sept. 13, at the First making deliveries around the city, but footing; the wagon wheels could be Congregational Church, the production of the brewery had brought to a rest going up the hill; and 1511 Church St.

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KNEELAND-WALKER HOUSE

A FAMILY REUNION A SPECIAL TOUR FOR WALKER FAMILY Seventeen descendants of Emery and Mabelle Walker recently celebrated a family reunion and toured the Kneeland-Walker House, headquarters for the Wauwatosa Historical Society. They are part of Elizabeth Walker Peters’ branch of the family tree, and each of the six in the photo at right are grandchildren of Elizabeth Walker Peters. Elizabeth was one of three daughters of Emery and Mabelle and grew up in the Kneeland- Walker House. In preparation for their July visit, John Serrano, WHS research library intern, and Merisa Tomczak, research library and collections manager, created an exhibit of photos, objects and family history displayed throughout the Kneeland-Walker House, including Mabelle Scott Walker’s journal from her time in India, Emery’s Cornell University diploma, copies of some of Emery’s patents, his engineer- ing notebooks, the Walker family Bible, complete family trees for both the Walker and Scott families, and framed photographs of several generations of From left are Barbie Heisler, Rob Bokram, Susan Bokram, Karen Lefler, each family. Jill Owens and Annie Nielsen.