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Board of Directors Begins Setting Society’s Calendar for 2001 Encouraged by the success of its first two public events last year, the Historical Society’s Board of Directors has decided to repeat both events in 2001 and to add a third. At its December meeting, the Board began to fill out the society’s calendar for its second full year. Both the Memorial Day observation and the open house highlighting work on the restoration of the former schoolhouse will be repeated. A holiday event with the Fairwater Lions will round out the year. The Board endorsed the idea of creating a float for the annual Memorial Day parade on May 28. It also decided to open the old Fairwater school for a display of military memorabilia and an exhibit honoring Fairwater’s Born family. Four Born brothers--Gordon, Laurence, Milton, and Roy--enlisted in the military during World War II. Roy Born died in action. The Board is also considering developing a booklet identifying Fairwater’s veterans in collaboration with the American Legion for distribution during the Legion’s ceremony at the cemetery. The Board decided to hold its open house earlier than last year and identified the last two weekends in August as likely dates. It also decided to explore the possibility of a joint event with the Fairwater Lions during the day of the open house. The society will collaborate with the Lions Club for a holiday event late in the year. The Board marked March 3 for the society’s annual meeting and will schedule guest speakers for four of the year’s remaining ten meetings. Suggested presentations include a speaker from the State Historical Society’s Historic Preservation Division, a military historian for the meeting preceding Memorial Day, and a representative from the Badger Mining Corporation to discuss the history of mining operations at Utley. The board recommended that a presentation by June Ezold, Chairperson of the Brothertown Indians, be rescheduled following its cancellation in December due to bad weather. The Board also began to identify a work schedule for the former school. The restoration committee will meet in January to identify repair priorities for the year and will arrange for electrical work to be completed during the spring. The Board voted to make arrangements with the Fox Lake Correctional Institution for a work team to repair and paint ceilings in the building prior to Memorial Day. Work days for members and volunteers will be scheduled throughout the spring and summer. Tasks will include general cleaning and painting, the beginning of restoration work in the upper division classroom, and the construction of displays to house donations of Fairwater church items.
Early Village Board Records Are Made Available To Society for Reference Collection The Village has made the record books of its Board of Trustees available to the Historical Society to make copies for the society’s reference library. The books date from April 7, 1921, the first meeting of the Board following the village’s incorporation. The following excerpts are taken from the first of the books, covering the period from April, 1921, through March, 1928.The records are handwritten by the village’s first clerk, Hugo Born. Fair Water Wis April 7th 1921The Village Board met at the Fair Water State Bank. Roy. E. Smith took oaths of the following officers. W. R. Abercrombie as President H. H. Born as Clerk C. W. Kuehn as Assessor John Reimer as Trustee 2 years C. O. Tinkham as Trustee 2 years W. H. Kuehn as Trustee 2 years R. R. Blodgett as Trustee 1 year H. G. Leiske as Trustee 1 year D. W. Horn as Trustee 1 year Rhudolph [sic] Baker Justice of the Peace with the following sureties D. W. Horn and H. G. Leiske elected for two years. E. G. Stellmacher Justice of the Peace with the following sureties C. O. Tinkham and Julius Block elected for one year. Edward Bahr as Constable with the following sureties Fair Water Wis April 19th 1921 Oct 15th Fair Water Wis Fair Water Wis Oct 18th 1921 Mch 28th 1922 Mach 30th 1922 April 11th [1922] Fair Water Wis Mch 6th 1943 May 23rd 1922 Special Meeting [Undated--June, 1923] Fair Water Feby 12th 1924 Fair Water Wis Mch 4th 1924 Fair Water Wis May 6th 1924 Fair Water Wis June 3rd 1924 Fair Water Wis July 1st 1924 Fair Water Wis Oct 2nd 1924 Fair Water Wis June 2nd 1925 Fair Water Wis Oct 13th 1925 Fair Water Wis Feb 2nd 1926 Fair Water Wis Mch 25th 1926 A Request for Aid I, Bertha Vick, being in poor Health and
Financially Not able to provide the Necessities of life, hereby petition your honorable
body to provide for me during My present Illness, and in the future should I be unable to
Work. I have this day placed in Escrew [sic] with the Fair Water State Bank a good and
Sufficient Warranty Deed from Myself to the Village of Fair Water Conveying the property
Which I own in said Village. The Bank is to hold this deed in safe keeping until after My
death, at which time it is to become the property of the Village. It Is My Desire that
after my decease the property should be sold as soon as a reasonable offer is received for
same and the proceeds used as follows: First: to reimburse the Village of Fair Water for
any and all expenses that they May have had for my support, Medical treatment, Funeral
expenses Etc. Second: To pay any and all obligations that I may now leave or that may be
outstanding at that time (there being a Mortgage of $150.00 on my house to the Farmers
State Bank of Markesan and a Note for $25.00 to the Fair Water State Bank at this time).
Third: there is due me at this time Eight Hundred ($800.00) Dollars from my son Carl Vick
and I empower said Village of Fair Water to Collect any part or all of this sum at this
time or in the future and use same for my support. Fourth: To pay to the Fair Water
Cemetery Association the sum of Fifty ($50.00) Dollars for the perpetual Care of my lot in
said cemetery. Fifth: Any Funds that May be left after all the above obligations have been
taken care of shall be divided evenly between My Son Carl and his Children (one half to My
Son and one half divided among his Children) Providing he has repaid all of the Eight
Hundred Dollars Which he Now owes. If Not, then all Surplus Monies are to go to his
Children and None to Said Carl Vick. The share left for Said Children is to be deposited
for each Child at the Fair Water State Bank and is to be left on Deposit until such Child
attains the age of twenty one years at which time the Said Child Can draw the amount then
on deposit. I Trust That your Honorable Board will accept this request for aid and that
you May see fit to dispose of My property as I have set forth. In Witness Whereof I have
hereunto set My hand and Seal this sixth day of March A. D. 1926. Fair Water Wis June 1st 1926 Fair Water Wis June 6th 1927 Fair Water Wis June 28th 1927 1910 Post Card Documents Long Work Week in Fairwater Area Kathy Schuster has found an early Fairwater post card at a Madison area antique shop that, in addition to providing a unique view of early Jim Town, raises an interesting question. Postmarked Fairwater, May 10, 1910, the card was written to "ma" by Louis Verheyden and reads in part, "I could not get away to come home. I tried my best but they would not let me come. We work 11 hours a day an[d] ever[y] Sunday. I tell you I am tired." The card predates the construction of William Sink’s canning company and raises the question of who it was who required the unusual Sunday workdays.
Society Receives Holiday Donations During December, the society received several gifts in commemoration of the holiday season. Donations to the society’s school restoration fund were received from Fairwater’s Zion Lutheran Church, Lowell Laper, Robert Daehn, and former teacher Lucille Leatherberry. Also received were two gifts of currency with historic interest. Fred Harris donated four early silver certificate dollar bills to start a display recognizing the activities of young collectors in Fairwater. Richard Damerau donated a facsimile of a First National Bank of Ripon ten dollar National Currency bill, Series 1902. The bill bears the signatures of two men with Fairwater ties, Gard Miller, President, and J. W. Lyons, Register of the Treasury. Mr. Damerau also shared written copies of two Fairwater stories, one from an annual school Christmas program at Daehn’s Hall prior to 1940, and the other from an inspection of the Fairwater State Bank during the 1930s. Pat Adams Michael donated photographs, Zion Lutheran Church bulletins, and a booklet published in 1945 in conjunction with the church’s seventy-fifth anniversary. The gifts to the society’s collections were made in memory of her father, Reverend Arlin Adams, pastor of the church from 1946 to 1953. Michael Klawitter donated a photograph of the Fairwater school grades one through four from 1954 and two photographs of Zion Lutheran Bible School classes for 1953 and 1959.
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| NEWSLETTER Fairwater Historical Society PO Box 151 Fairwater, Wisconsin 53931
Meetings The Fairwater Historical Society meets the first Saturday of each month at the Fairwater Lion’s Club on south Main Street. An exchange of photographs and information begins at 2:00, followed at 2:30 by the meeting. The public is invited. The annual meeting is held the first Saturday of March. Acquisitions The Fairwater society accepts donations of items with historic ties to the immediate Fairwater area. Contact Lois Schmuhl, accessions officer, at Radio Road, Brandon, WI 53919. Membership Membership in the Fairwater Historical Society is $10 annually for individuals and families, $100 lifetime for individuals. Contact Arlene Leppin, PO Box 151, Fairwater, WI 53931 Web Site The society maintains a Web site on the Wisconsin Local History Network. Featuring projects, activities, calendars, and copies of the FHS newsletter, the society’s site can be browsed at: www.wlhn.org/fairwater_histsoc Newsletter Current issues are available at the Fairwater post office. Past issues and mailings are available through Bob Schuster, 6020 Kristi Circle, Monona, WI 53716 (608-221-1421).
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