This column, the 223rd in the series, will be the last one printed in my fifth year of publication; the first one was printed on February 1, 2020. I like to use these “special columns” to fill in information that I may have found after a column was printed as well as to share feedback received about the columns. I still continue to be amazed by the power of the Internet and the people that have contacted me because of these columns.
I mentioned in the column about the Benson-Perry wedding, published in March 2024 that the article from the newspaper didn’t mention the bride’s first name nor her parents’ names. I have since found a marriage notice that was printed in the newspaper a week earlier. It said, “Rev. and Mrs. Benson invite the people of Monroe to the public marriage of their daughter Lulu Nina to William L. Llewellyn Parry, at the M. E. Church, on Wednesday, May 14th, at Midnight. No cards to any in the city.”
I also found another article about Ulrich Schar, who started the Clarno Lumber business and was featured in a column in September. The Monroe Sentinel of May 14, 1890 stated, “Mr. Ulrich Schar, recently arrived here, has purchased the Cashman property on Racine [12th] Street, and will work the stone quarry on the property. He is a stone mason by trade.”
In case you didn’t learn enough about the Shriner funeral home, I found another article from July 26, 1920. It shared that Charles Shriner and Jerome Schwaiger took Shriner’s new hearse to Madison where it was used in a demonstration at the Wisconsin Undertakers’ Association. The hearse was the only one of its kind to be displayed there. Shriner’s older automobile hearse had been redecorated in aluminum finish and completely overhauled.
In the columns about the Schmidt Shoe Store last month, the Times mentioned in May 1920 that the upstairs above the shoe store was going to be remodeled into two flats after the stairway was added to the front of the building. However, it was announced on July 21 that those plans had changed; the training school [predecessor of the Green County Normal School] would locate in that upstairs. School opened on September 13. The rooms included an assembly room, library, office, domestic science room, rest room, and two recitation rooms.
Helen Johnson, Browntown, shared the photo of the Stover Brothers, whose mother was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in Browntown in 1898. Wesley Stover, 13, witnessed the murder of Emma Trickel-Bedford. His brother, Edward, was 10 at the time of the murder.
When that column was printed, there wasn’t enough room for me to include that Beth Stannard, great-great-granddaughter of Mrs. Bedford, made the trip from Santa Clara, California. She was able to lay a flower on her ancestor’s grave at the Franklin [Kelly] cemetery just west of Monroe. That had to be so gratifying for the people at the Browntown Historical Society who were able to share the information with her about Emma’s tragic death
I always appreciate the feedback from any of the readers of this column. I tell people that the only reason I keep writing is because of the positive feedback that I receive. Sometimes that feedback is very unexpected. After returning from the library on the afternoon of September 30, I found a message on my answering machine from Joe Evers of northern Minnesota. He asked if there had been a bar in Monroe named The Elephant and wanted to know where it was located. When I called him back, I told him that I’d answer his question, but then he had to tell me how he found my phone number. After I told him where Joe’s White Elephant was located, he told me that he had grown up in Freeport and recently had been in a conversation with a friend. They were having a discussion as to where the bar that they had stopped at on their way home from the Lake Geneva area was located back then. When he searched the Internet, he found the article that I had written about the taverns in Monroe. Of course it had my phone number at the bottom of it.
I always hope when I’m writing these columns, that somebody will learn something about their family, a business, or a building that they have a connection to. That happened when I printed the article about Ulrich Schar. On October 17, I received an email message from Mr. Schar’s great-great-granddaughter; she said that her family had no information about Schar’s history. I sent her all of the clippings out of the newspaper, as well as the one I included earlier in this article. I am sure she appreciated that and learned more about her family.
I, obviously, get the most feedback from the subjects that are close to people’s hearts. One of the more popular topics that I’ve written about has been the rural schools because those of us who attended them have so many positive memories about those experiences. The article about the beginning of the Monroe Country Club also brought some comments. Jean Tullett wrote from Washington, “I love the detailed descriptions they printed of getting the course and the clubhouse ready for use.” I feel sorry for people a century from now who are trying to get information about today’s history. With digital cameras and cell phones, I’m afraid not too many photographs will be preserved; there is very little detailed information printed in the newspapers any more. The most recent city directory was printed in 1988. Too many people and businesses are no longer included in the telephone books. Hopefully, the local historical societies have the insight to record and file detailed notes and print photographs so the history being made now will be preserved. Sadly, this may be the only resource in the future!
— Matt Figi is a Monroe resident and a local historian. His column will appear periodically on Saturdays in the Times. He can be reached at mfigi48@tds.net or at 608-325-6503.
