Double Tragedy

It was an early spring night in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but with the cold, damp air which settled over this northern city, combined with the hour, one should just as well have been in bed.  Yet, 110 years ago on this day, there was a lonely near fifty-year old man walking by the corner of Twentieth Avenue N and Washington Avenue.  It was about one hour and ten minutes before the stroke of midnight.  The next day would be Easter Sunday, the most holy of days on the Christian calendar.   But, neither the risen Christ, or he Easter Bunny were on the man's mind.  As he walked past the corner he came upon Minneapolis patrolman G.A. Larsen.  The forty-nine year old man, who was of medium build and height for his time, told the officer that he was going “to leave the booze alone” and "in time", he said, “Hoped to make up with my family.”  As the man continued on his journey Officer Larsen suggested that he “keep away from the hotel.”  This was an era when patrolmen had the same beat, and would come to know the trials, sorrows and joys of daily life of neighborhood residents they served.  The forty-nine year old man, even though he had been in Minneapolis only for a few years, was well known, suggesting a gregarious and outgoing personality.  Larsen, as we will see, had good measure to suggest he not make his way to the hotel.  The hotel in question was located in Minneapolis at 1914 Washington Avenue N, and the man’s wife operated and lived at the hotel with two of their three children.

1914 Washington Ave N,
Google maps street view

The man himself had once lived in the hotel, but had been ordered out by his wife several months earlier, probably in the later part of 1906.  After having been kicked out of the hotel he resided at 319 Washington Ave. N.  The 1906 Minneapolis City Directory lists him as living at the hotel, but having an occupation as a porter at 228 20th Avenue N.  Earlier in the month of March 1907 he had been sentenced, at the behest of his wife, to the work house for ten days due to drunk and disorderly conduct.  After intervention by friends, he was released in four days.  

Joseph Havel farm was in section 34, shown in this map as owned
by Albert Laraway.  John Hovel farm is in section 33 in this map owned by JF Holden
Union Township, Worth County, IA
1913 plat map, University of Iowa collection

The man continued his journey, and a few minutes after his brief encounter with Officer Larsen, he came upon Sargent Martin Ginsburg.  He relayed to Sgt. Ginsburg the same story he had told Larsen.  Ginsburg told him to avoid trouble and to also stay away from the hotel.  He would not heed the warnings.  Within two minutes Ginsburg, as reported would hear four shots, which he said were fired in rapid succession.  Ginsburg, immediately thinking the man to whom he had talked two minutes earlier was involved, rushed to the hotel at 1914 Washington Avenue N.  Meanwhile, a patron of the hotel saw a young lady coming down the stairs with a gunshot wound to her cheek, and she quickly relayed what she knew.  The patron, Mr. Harrison, left the building to find the police.  Mr. Harrison appears to have left by the back door, and I suppose it possible that Sgt. Ginsburg was heading for the front door.  The young lady with a gunshot wound was the daughter of the man who made his way to the hotel.   The story the young lady, only two weeks and a day shy of her seventeenth birthday, would bare to Sargent Ginsburg was of a double tragedy.  Her story would recount a deplorable act, and probably the most heinous in family history, certainly in its known history.  For you see, the young lady who met Sgt. Ginsburg, was Rose Havel, the daughter of Joseph Havel.  Joseph was my great grand uncle, a younger brother to my great grandfather.

Joseph Havel Baptismal Record (second entry)
digi.ceskearchivy.cz

Earlier that night after having passed Sargent Ginsburg, Joseph went to the hotel.  When he entered the building, Joseph saw Rose with his wife  (her mother) Otillia, who had recently filed for divorce, in the parlor of the building.  Accounts in the Minneapolis and area newspapers vary, one account has them talking in the parlor before the two women went to bed; another account has Joseph upon entering the parlor pulling a gun saying to his spouse, “You are going to die now.”  Rose and her mother were both shot in the bedroom.  The first account saying he re-entered the bedroom as they fell asleep, while the other account has his wife running from him into the bedroom, where he shot her and then the daughter as she entered.  The details in news accounts vary, but the end result is the same.  He shot his wife twice in the head, and turned and shot his daughter (which the first account has her waking up at the initial gun shots).  Before seeing the result of his actions, the man turned the gun on himself.  It is said he died five minutes later.  It was reported that Otillia died immediately.  The daughter, Rose, was so distraught that, even though the wound was reported to be superficial she required attention through the night.  The “Minneapolis Journal,” in its report on the event states that as of its printing she was still under care of a physician, and had not yet been told of the death of her parents.  It was a hotel of horror that week.  The prior night, a man named John Wing committed suicide by gas inhalation.  Earlier that winter two other men were killed by gas poisoning.

London, MN Lower right corner in section 25
Freeborn County genweb site

What poisoned Josef to the level that he would commit such an act?  A common thread appears to be alcohol, showing one reason why prohibition would come to the United States in 13 years’ time.  The Star Tribune article sub-head line, reads: "Habitual Drunkenness Given as Cause of Original Trouble in Family."  Another Minneapolis paper, published on March 31, 1907, refers to it as an “old, old story of a hardworking wife who kept the family together and of a spendthrift husband who hindered and nagged her at every turn.” Apparently, drunkenness, or at least such behavior, was not uncommon at the time, if it was an “old, old story.”  Joseph was referred to in that paper as “mentally deranged by excessive dissipation.”  According to the article he had previously twice threatened to kill his wife.  A different news article relates that his wife never thought much of the threats, and never reported them to authorities.

1908 Minneapolis City Directory
Familysearch.org

Joseph’s wife had filed for divorce due to his heavy drinking.  One article has them having married 21 years earlier.  Tillie was born in 1868, the youngest of six children of John and Josephine Popp.  The John Popp family had farmed in Dodge County, Wisconsin, just north of Jefferson County, as reported in the 1860 and 1870 census records.  Census records also indicate that John Popp and his spouse Josephine Stimper were both born in Bohemia, so the family connection may go back to the old country, although at this point no clear evidence exists.  As of 1885 Otillia, is reported in the census as age 18, and was living with her parents, John and Josephine Popp, along with several siblings and a sister-in-law on the Popp family farm in Rock Township, Mitchell County, Iowa.  The sister-in-law, happened to be Joseph’s younger sister Catherine Hovel, who married Emil Henry Popp in July 1864.  Yet the family connection may have been even deeper.  Family lore suggests that Otillia’s older sister Mary was married to John Hovel, Josef’s oldest brother. Mary is thought to have died in child birth.   In 1885, Joseph, who was born in 1857, cannot be found in a state census, but the Wisconsin census of that year only lists head of household, and given descriptions of gender and place of birth, I think he was living on the former Josef Havel (his father and mother’s home farm) farm east of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, with his sister and her husband.  The farm was now operated by Joseph’s sister, Rose and her husband George Kachel.  Otillia and Joseph were listed as being married 13 years in the 1900 census and that figure generally corresponds to the marriage noted in the newspaper.

1885 Iowa Census  (if readable, see lines 10-15)
Ancestry.com

Joseph and Otillia would have three children--two boys and a girl.  The oldest child, Joseph Frank (aka Frank Joseph), was born in August 1889; Rose in April 1891 and Rufus John in June 1896.  In 1895, they are reported as farming in Union township, next door to Joseph’s sister Annie Fitzl and her husband Jacob.  Nearby, less than a quarter mile as the crow flies, is the farm originally founded by his brother John.  By 1900, however, Joseph and Otillia have sold their farm and are living in Falls Township, Cerro Gordo County, near Plymouth.  Joseph’s occupation is not highly readable in the record, but appears to say "general" with an unknown word following.  Falls Township is just south of Union Township, Worth County.  At this time, they were still close to family. In the town of Falls they owned a house with a mortgage.  Before moving to Minneapolis, they would take residence in the the crossroads community of London, MN, not far north of the Iowa border.  Perhaps they wished a new start.

News article  7 Oct 1904
Albert Lea Freeborn newspaper

What can be pieced together is a pattern of discontent.  Was it an unceasing energy, or was it his desire for fortune?  Perhaps it was his consumption of alcohol.  Maybe it was a combination of all three, but after selling the farm, Joseph would go from one business to the next.  Combined with hard drinking it was likely a recipe for the horrendous outcome on this day 110 years ago.  It appears that the farm was likely sold by 1897, as a JD Havel was accused of operating an eatery on a Sunday.  In that same year, he was also charged with possessing liquor with intent to sell.  The police dumped a few kegs of beer.  You can tell it was not Wisconsin, as I doubt any good Wisconsinite would waste beer.   Not unlike Joseph being at the forefront of farming in Worth County, a newspaper in Albert Lea, MN, reports that he was on the forefront of business activity in the small community of London, near Albert Lea, Minnesota.

Joseph Havel death certificate
Minnesota Historical Society archives

In that small community he opened a general store in April 1902.  Area newspapers report him having made trips to Albert Lea, and Chicago prior to opening day to obtain provisions for the general store. The family probably moved to Minnesota in or before late 1901.  In December 1901 he been convicted in Freeborn County, MN of selling liquor without a license.  More interestingly, he was accused of running a “blind pig” operation, which is like a speakeasy.  Charges in the blind pig operation, for he and his supplier, were dismissed when one of the alleged bottles of alcohol was opened in court and turned out to be ginger ale. (A prosecution precursor to if the "glove doesn't fit, you must acquit" made famous from the OJ Simpson trial.)  In August 1902 he and his wife were said to have entertained guests at their home.  All must have seemed well in the J. D. Havel household, at least for that one day.  An advertisement for his general store, on Christmas Eve 1902, indicates it has a “hotel and boarding house in connection.” This would show the occupation taken by his wife in Minneapolis at 1914 Washington Ave. N.   He also sold farm machinery.  He had an “up to date millinery” and reportedly had the only one in the small burg of London, MN.  The idea of the millinery in this small burg of London reminds me of the scene in "Field of Dreams" where the doctor in the small Minnesota town bought hats for his wife.  We do know he was recognized for selling “the ‘1900 Washer’” which would “wash the clothes in 6 minutes.” The 1900 Company would later become Whirlpool.   Otillia and Rufus would travel to Mitchell County Iowa for several days in February 1903 to visit relatives.  Showing a level of discontent, by July 1903 Joseph is already thinking of selling his store, reportedly, in order to move to town so his children can attend better schools.  While his wife went to Myrtle, MN to visit relatives (which relatives lived in Myrtle, I do not know), Joseph made a trip to North Dakota in regard to selling his store.   It would take a year, but in August 17, 1904 one Albert Lea newspaper reported in its London news “J.D. Havel, who has been one of the most ablest business men since the town was platted has sold his effects here.”  The article goes on to say that “Mr. Havel is yet undecided what he will do.  He has our best wishes for success in whatever line of business he may engage in.”

Newspaper ad
24 December 1902 Albert Lea Enterprise

The first outward sign of discontent in the family is a small easy to miss snippet in the Albert Lea Freeborn newspaper of October 7, 1904, it read: “Mrs. Havel and her children took the train for Minneapolis Saturday morning where they will reside for the present.”  One assumes that Joseph is remaining for the time being in London. But, he did not long remain in London, MN.  The 1905 Minneapolis City Directory lists Joseph as residing at 1914 Washington Ave. N, and employed as what appears to be a cleaner.  In 1906 he is listed as a porter at 228 20th Ave N, but still residing at 1914 Washington Ave N.  Rose is listed at the same address as an apprentice for both years.  In 1907 Rose is listed as a stenographer, but for Joseph a simple entry in that year’s directory tells his fate:  “Joseph died Mar 30 ’07 age 50.”   My writing skills cannot compare to the elegant early 20th century prose, and below I quote an article in the April 11, 1907 edition of the “Worth County Index” in its entirety:

Our neighborhood was widely shocked upon hearing of the death and untimely end of our old neighbor, Joseph D. Havel and wife in Minneapolis, a week ago Saturday.  The details are too heart-rending to record, but we cannot let the matter go past without a word to two:  Joe and his wife were once owners of the fine farm on which A. Laraway now resides, and improved the place up to the number-one mark.  Joe worked hard and his good wife did her share of the grubbing faithfully and well.  Prosperity seemed to be something Joe couldn’t stand and he left the farm to indulge in various pursuits.  He finally lost all he had and drifted from bad to worse until the care and support of the family fell entirely to the already hard lot of the little mother.  When goaded beyond the limit of human endurance she applied to the courts for relief in the way of divorce, but before the case came before the courts Joe took matters in his own hands and shot his faithful wife and then himself, besides attempting to take the life of his 16-year old daughter.  Sorrowing relatives brought the bodies home to Mitchell County where they were laid to rest in one grave.  Three children were left orphans to face the cold world and its trials:  Joseph aged 19 years who serves in the U.S. navy.  Rosa, aged 16, a young school girl, and Rufus aged 11.  Mrs. Langschadl of Plymouth who was bereaved by the loss of her own children years ago, has been a ministering angel in this sad chapter in life’s history. 

Otillia Havel death certificate
Minnesota Historical Society archives

It is, indeed, a sad chapter in life’s history.  I have not located a grave in an Iowa grave site database.  Perhaps the grave is unmarked. Today,  1914 Washington Avenue N is near the intersection of Broadway Avenue and is just over a mile, as the crow flies, north of Target Field.  It is also next to Interstate 94, where over 100,0000 vehicles per day pass by the location of the murder.   I myself have driven that route several times, but likely never noticed the old three story building that appears to be before the turn of the century.  Ironically, today a liquor store sits next door to the to the address of the crime.  For some things, perhaps anonymity is best.  For Joseph Havel, the level of discontent he experienced is not necessarily bad; discontent can lead to great things, but one’s energy has to be properly channeled.  Lacking the proper channel, discontent has a terrible downside.  The difference between the two is a fine line.  It was for Joseph D. Havel.  Unfortunately, violence of this type is still present.

1900 Washer, Google images

Hard work which led to success on the farm was not found in Joseph’s other ventures.  One wonders if the lack of success was related more to desire for the drink, than his business acumen.  Did the drinking follow the lack of success or did the drinking lead to lack of success?  Although, his venture in London, MN seems to have met with some success, so was he creating and flipping business operations in an attempt to make a profit?   His level of discontent after leaving the farm is apparent.  We know that farm life in that era was difficult and demanding, but the Worth County Index reports him having “improved the place to a number-one mark.”  In selling his farm and starting varied business operations he never found contentment.  Instead, the cruel hand of fate would intervene, and he would bring the life of his spouse and his own to an end in a terrible manner.  The answer to the actual cause of this sad chapter lies in the vapor of history.  A series of sad, unfortunate events turned into, what new accounts termend "a double tragedy."


Author's note:  While it was a difficult story to write, and perhaps for the reader to read, I struggled more with whether or not to tell the story.  Would anonymity have been best?

Razor Blades

There is a saying that if you have a technical problem with one of the many electronic devices in a household, call a fourteen year old.  Young people have grown up with the devices, their software and other aspects that some older persons can find daunting.  A fourteen year old is part of what is called the I-generation, named for the I-phone, and I-pad commonly found among children.  This generation would be about 21 years of age and younger.  As for me, I am fine with my trac-phone. Each generation brings a different set of abilities.  While I could go on with varied stories, one story recently relayed to me by a co-worker, who is a millennial, regarding razor blades shows a difference.

This co-worker's father, who is in his early 70's is a truck driver, and can easily back up a large semi-trailer into many a tight corner or space.  A week or so ago co-worker told me the story of how her dad went to Wal-Mart to find blades for his razor, and was unable to find any.  He then went to Target, and was unable to find any at that mega-store either.  He did make an inquiry of someone at Target who provided a product number, and suggested he order them at Target.com.  Not having the Internet, he called his youngest daughter, my co-worker. "Did you know you can go to Target.com, he said "and order something and have it delivered to your door?"  She thought it was kinda of cute, and did not have the heart to tell him how often she has ordered from Target.com,  He continued, just like an Internet expert, saying, "Now go to Target.com and enter this number in the search area...." So, she placed the order and told him she would keep him abreast of the delivery date.  She also told me about her Dad's trepidation of having a package delivered to his home.  He lives in a rural area in Polk County, WI, with few neighbors near his farm.  To deal with his trepidation, she told me that he had put a small cooler on the porch and hoped the delivery person would get the hint and stick the package in the cooler.  She did not have the heart to tell him the delivery person probably thought that someone was going to pick up the cooler.  The delivery person did not place the package in the cooler. 

The on-line effect to retail is significant.  JC Penny is closing more stores. And Sears, a company which began as mail-order company, in a sense so similar to on-line placed orders of Amazon and other major e-retailers, is on its last leg.  Sears was a company that became too entrenched in the brick and mortar store system, lost its original mail-order purpose.  Had Sears retained a more robust business model in keeping with its original mail-order purpose it may well have had a leg up in e-retailing. In its heyday, one could get most anything you desired from Sears, even a prefabricated house.  One cannot use a computer as toilet paper, as the old stories of the use of re purposed Sears Catalog was said to occur in the outhouse.

As children, my siblings and I would look through the large catalogs from Sears and other businesses from which to make our Christmas lists.  I suppose today children do not lie on the family room floor with the television running, while they sort through varied catalogs to find that special item they desire. Rather, they probably use their I-phone while splayed on a sofa, listening to music through their ear buds.  The large thick colored catalogs have gone the way of the can opener and the oil can opener, just to name two household items now almost as past as the dodo bird.  The Smithsonian Institution may well wish to place some of these items in an exhibit, as there are now people reaching adult hood that will wonder what purpose of such items.  Part of me thinks that due to craft beer, the bottle opener (part of the can opener) is making a comeback.  It is like the gas stations of old, where someone would come out pump your gas, check your oil, and look at the car tires. Such stations are few and far between, like S& H Greenstamps. Gas stations with a small repair shop have been replaced by the general store of our day, the convenience store, selling gas and a whole host of other items.  You just cannot get your car repaired at such a location.

There does not seem to be as much niche retailing in big box stores any longer.  Menard's now sells food, and not just snacks, but ribs, and olive oil, and most anything a supermarket may sell.  Kroger's is coming out with a new store that is like a Super Target or the Super Wal-mart, to sell both groceries and department store type goods.  Yet, what my co-workers father experienced is that as large as the stores are, they do not sell common products one would expect.  While he used to buy his razor blades at a store, he now has to have someone go on-line to order them for him.  I certainly understand that older men are probably at the bottom rung of the purchase demographic, as they probably buy little, but they still have items to purchase for their daily lives.  They may also be one of the demographic groups least attuned to the Internet.  

Yet, they have some traits which we younger people may have a hard time replicating.  This same co-workers dad is a widower, and he has a lady friend who is a widow.  Their main past time is ballroom dancing.  One recent weekend they were dancing at a German restaurant in Minneapolis, and after dancing for a while they took a break, and a young couple (which my co-worker thinks "young" in her Dad's mind was probably in the forty year age range) came up to her Dad and his lady friend and inquired if they gave dancing lessons.  It pleased their hearts to hear such a compliment.  but, no they don't give dance lessons.

There can be more to dancing than gyrating your body in odd contortions to what many young people may term as music (noise?).  I find much of it difficult to understand, not to mention to try and converse over the noise.  American culture is a living and breathing series of events.  With the advance of the computer age, it also seems that culture is changing more quickly than in the past.  In 50 year time people may look at and wonder about the purpose of a selfie-stick.  Maybe that will even apply to an I-phone or an I-pad.  It will not even take that long for person to look at a CD and wonder what purpose this shiny wheel looking device had.  Times are a changing, but each generation brings its own skill set. The father of my c-worker does not have the Internet, but perhaps sometime in the future he may find himself adapting to changing shopping patterns and buy his razor blades on-line by himself using Target.com.

Fish Fry

It is said to be a uniquely Wisconsin tradition--the Friday night fish fry.  The unique nature of the fish fry is not that there is a fish fry, many states  have them, but in Wisconsin it is taken to a different , higher, level.  It is a statewide institution and tradition, with perhaps the only other commensurate state-wide cultural  commonality being the Green Bay Packers.  In 1983 a New York Times writer referred to it as a "matter of state." Fish Fries are held in the local tavern, at the local church, the Knights of Columbus Hall, and even at trendy new eateries which hope to glean on to the long-held tradition. It spans the state from north to south and east to west.  It spans the rural and urban divide.  It is a cultural phenomenon that spans generations.  Ironically, it is so common that few Wisconsinites may realize the unique nature of this event and its meaning, much less its history.  There is a competition as to what is the best fish fry in your locale.  Newspapers regularly report on the best fish fry locations.  Eating out has long been apart of human culture.  So, the question is what drove the fish fry to new heights in Wisconsin?  Borrowing from news sources, and adding some of my own thoughts, this post will explore the Wisconsin fish fry and the unique place it holds in Wisconsin culture.  It was a confluence of cultural events that took the fish fry to its place in Wisconsin culture.  Many writers have recognized the events leading to the iconic nature of the fish fry as being:  religion, lakes, and Prohibition.  To this list I would add factories.

1930's Empire Bar, Sheboygan
Source:  jsonline

Geographically, the state is blessed with fresh water.  Lake Superior to the north, Lake Michigan to the east, the Wisconsin River through its center.  the Mississippi to its west.  Not to mention the 10,000 plus lakes (yes, more than Minnesota).  Common to the waters was algae, oh, I mean fish.  Perhaps it was perch, bluegill, walleye or catfish.  Each region would fry that fish type which was readily available.  Ubiquitous for the fish fry today is cod.  Today cod is fished outside of US waters,and is imported from regions around Canada.  The lakes supplied the fish, but it was the Catholic culture that began the fish fry.

1960,  Fish Fry at St. Thomas Aquinas Church
source:  State Historical Society

To say that the religion is the backbone of the fish fry would be a vast understatement.  Wisconsin, historically, was settled by a variety of ethnic groups, but one of the most prominent were the Germans  There were both Lutheran and Roman Catholic Germans.  In addition, to those from Germany there were the British, and Yankees (who moved west), Scandinavians (all generally protestant), but also other more Catholic groups from Eastern Europe that would make sizable contributions--the Bohemians and Poles come to mind.  The state would see varied settlements of these ethnic groups, which in many locales are in play today.  Milwaukee would see a large Polish concentration, but there is also settlements of Poles in northeast Wisconsin.  If you don't believe me go to Armstrong Creek.  Belgians settled near Green Bay, and of course Germans in both urban and rural settlements spread throughout much of the state.  but, it was the Roman Catholic heritage in so many varied parts of the state that has allowed the fish fry to be a statewide cultural event.  Starting in about the fourth century to 1966 Roman Catholics were required to abstain from eating meeting on a Friday.  It was an act of penance to recall Christ's death on a Friday.  Relaxed, in 1966, Catholics now are required to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and the Friday's of lent.  The rule against eating meat, meant that people would then gravitate toward fish.  The fish fry is thought to have started in the Catholic concentrations in Milwaukee and Green Bay and then spread state wide.  The abstinence provision, until 1966, is the reason the fish fry is held year-around, although it is most prominent during lent.  Even the Pope approved reduction of abstinence could not take away what had become a Wisconsin Institution.  Showing a level of ignorance to as Catholic teaching, Professor Ruth Olson comments that Jeff Hagen who as she says has "done research on this issue," says that the "Wisconsin's population consists of a great number of German Catholics , and they have  continued their tradition of meatless Fridays (which began with the Lenten season and seems to have spread to all Fridays for some)."  No, the abstinence on all Fridays of the year led to the fish fry all year around.  Today, with the 1966 changed rule, Lent is given the prime spot for fish fries.

source:  google images

It is not uncommon for a fish fry to be held in the church basement, or, as is common in Milwaukee, with church festivals.  Just this past Sunday the "Wisconsin State Journal" had an article on St.Peter's Catholic Church in Ashton, WI, a small unincorporated community in the northwest part of Dane County.  Like Roxbury to the east, it was settled predominantly by German Catholics, most in the business of farming.  The last names of the volunteers to this day reflect that heritage--Wagner, Breunig, Meier, Meinholz, and Acker.  Held in the basement of the 150 year old parish school, they hold eight events a school year starting in October to fund raise of the parish.  What is amazing is not the 1,200 pounds of fish, 250 pounds of potatoes, or the 360 lbs of cabbage, or even the 420 lbs of french fries. It is not even the  near $60,000 they raise during a good year for the up to 1,200 diners at an event. Or, is it  that church members bake the bread and desserts in their home ovens that is served.  What is amazing, is the camaraderie of the church members who volunteer for the events--120 persons per event.  But, it is even larger. They have two shifts of volunteers who each do four events, that is 240 volunteers. A sense of community important to the Catholics in and around Ashton.  It is a small parish, with big hearts.  As one parishioner said in the "Wisconsin State Journal," "This is a community get together.  Everything works out good with God and hard work." Attesting to the austere nature of the Lenten season, the table centerpieces are a small simple cross of made of sticks with a purple cloth draped over the side rails.

Where is the rye bread?

The fish fry is a cultural appropriation, of which Catholics seem unconcerned.  The fish fry is now more than Roman Catholic--it is catholic--in that it is state wide, by its advancing to other religions and cultures. Heck even Stoughton, that bastion of Norwegians, has a local VFW fish fry.  I have two co-workers who live in Stoughton and argue about the best fish fry in their community.  You can probably even find a fish fry in a non-Catholic church.  Cultural appropriation may be seen as bad by some cultures, but this appropriation, what used to be called assimilation is what has given strength to the nation.  Varied ethnic groups making a contribution to the culture of the state.  In this instance, the religious roots of the fish fry are what made it ubiquitous.  It is a commonality shared by all Wisconsinites, and perhaps a tradition for which Wisconsin expatriates yearn.  Particularly those expatriates in Minnesota.

Deep fried fish

One writer says that the fish fry was popular back to in the 1800's.  That is probably true.  However, what made the Friday fish fry take-off, and to be embraced by commercial establishments was prohibition (1920-1933).  Roman Catholics, as a whole, never have seemed to view alcohol as the drink of the devil, compared to many religions.  Thus, many of the same communities and urban neighborhoods would have near their Catholic Church a tavern, or two, or three.  The corner and rural taverns are another cultural aspect while not unique to Wisconsin, the state has taken to a whole other level.  Prohibition clamped down on the use of alcohol, yet the taverns were the livelihood for the individual proprietor and their family.  What could they do to keep their livelihood?  They commercialized the fish fry.  The fish is fried, because, well it is easy to cook that way, in fact I could probably do it. At St. Peter's they cut the cod into uniform pieces to assure uniform cooking in the fryer. It was the advent of the fish fry that allowed some of these small businesses to remain viable during their dark days of prohibition.  Although this was probably coupled with  a beer being provided "under the table."  The first commercial operation fish fry is thought to have started in Appleton, WI in 1920.  As prohibition was lifted additional corner bars and rural taverns were reestablished and with them they copied the fish fry. The fish fry cost as little as a dime back in that era.

Line out the door at St. Peter's in Ashton
Source:  madison.com

Yet, also tied to this is the factory worker.  After a long week of work, they would get paid and take their spouse and family to the local tavern for the fish fry.  It was the TGIF, before such an acronym was ever created.  It was a time for the family to start to unwind, to start the weekend.   At this time, the state had many local factories, owned and operated by local persons.  It was before globalization and multi-national corporations.  Think Mirro Aluminum in Manitowoc, Regal in Eau Claire, to Connor Lumber in Laona.  It was a pattern repeated in communities small and large.  Perhaps my wife's paternal grandfather Rollo Goff and his wife, non-Catholics, would have attended a fish fry in Manitowoc after having left the assembly line building submarines for use in WWII.   The other aspect is the
German Gemuetlikeit, which, as one writer noted about the fish fry in Sheboygan, "meshed well with the community atmosphere of an evening meal held in a public forum with friends rather than just family."  During the depression, the morale of the nation mirrored that of the name.  The sharing of a family-style served fish fry with its heaping plates of fish, coleslaw, warm bread and french fries was a cheap meal, and allowed for conversation.  Today, St. Peter's in Ashton continues the tradition of seating at tables, eating with others you may not know, and the family style service of large plates heaped with food.  As Lori Meinholz said about the St. Peter fish fry, "It's all about the camaraderie with the people."

St. Peter's Ashton, and a tub of fish
source:  madison.com

People are brought together at commercial establishments, as well;  particularly at the bar.  Fish fries in commercial establishments are much more expensive today than even 30 years ago.  Ads proclaim old fashioned fish fries, or classic fish fries.  Each ethnic group, however, would provide their own variety of sides  One place may have potato pancakes instead of french fries. Rye bread, a custom of Germans is common, but another ethnic group may use something different.    Long gone is the all you can eat fish fry, although as a young man I found out all you can eat is not all you can eat, but that is another story.  Today one will pay about $13 for three pieces of cod.  In the 1980's the cost was about $4.00.  Climate change, over fishing, invasive species have all taken a toll on what was a more plentiful fish supply.  The fish fry is an important fund raiser.  We see that in Ashton, but also in Sun Prairie.  On the old Hovel family farm sits the Knights of Columbus Round Table, which hosts several fish fries supporting local youth organizations from the St. Albert youth group and scout groups to swim, softball or bowling teams.  The Knights do the cooking and tend bar, while the groups provide the person power for serving and clean up.  It brings forth a sense of community, and shows that not all are Bowling Alone (see Robert Putnam's book of that name).

St Peter's Ashton, a full dining hall
source:  madison.com

The Romans used to hold festivals and many of those feast days carried over to Christianity.  As Christianity grew so too did the feast days.  In the Catholic church there is one feast day, however, which can even outdo the Wisconsin fish fry.  Every now and then it falls on a Friday, and it is not uncommon for the local bishop to provide a dispensation for the flock from the meatless Friday rule.  No sense in over-aggravating their Irish, and Irish-for-a-day.  St Patrick's Day apparently rules over the fish fry.  The German Catholics may have started the Wisconsin Fish Fry, but it will take second fiddle to St. Patrick's Day this coming Friday.  It is said that well over half of the bishops of Catholic dioceses in the nation, and all in Wisconsin, granted dispensation to allow meat on that Friday.  Why an island nation would have a dinner of corned beef is beyond me when they could well have fish.   What this shows is the power of varied ethnic groups in the nation, and it is a time to celebrate how they get along.  There are more Irish on March 17, than there were the day before, or the day after.  Of course, historically, in small Mineral Point, WI there was once two Catholic churches--one for the Germans and one for the Irish.  It was part of the process of assimilation, and gravitation toward that most familiar.  Although, I am sure rivalry had something to do with it, too.  yet, the fish fry has been adapted depending upon the ethnic location.

St Peter's in Ashton Church
source:  Google images

It was a confluence of events that led the fish fry to be a cultural phenomenon.  There was once a deep faith behind what cultural icon in Wisconsin.  St Peter's Church in Ashton is vestige of quickly disappearing Catholic Wisconsin.  There will come a time, perhaps not too distant, where the great great grandchildren or great great great grandchildren will no longer remember the faith that their ancestors lived, and how it generated this long-standing Wisconsin tradition.  That would be a mistake, for where we were can teach us a great deal about ourselves, our culture and our traditions.  The Wisconsin fish fry is part of the Wisconsin DNA, and we have a confluence of natural elements (water and fish) with cultural elements (religion and prohibition) that made the fish fry what it is today.  Who says that geography does not matter?  Enjoy your fish fry, or this weekend your corned beef or Irish stew.

Bar in Roxbury, another German Catholic Community
Source:  Wisconsin Historical Society

Doll

She turns fifty-eight years old today, but looks as young as ever, although she is only as spry as molded plastic will allow. She is the Barbie doll. Not unlike the American Girl dolls, Barbie has a back story, albeit, from what I found, much shorter. She hailed from the fictional community of Willow, Wisconsin. Although some have changed the narrative for her to be from New York state.  Until I wrote this post I did not know Barbie had an associated home town, much less it being in Wisconsin.  How did a girl from a small town Wisconsin turn out so successful? And with success comes negative comments and derision. Barbie, in that sense, is like a celebrity in her own right. As well she should be, as of 1959 more than 800 million have been sold, and with related merchandise it brings in over one billion dollars annually for Mattel.

Ruth Handler,

Barbie was the brain child of Ruth Handler, who was a co-founded Mattel, Inc. with her husband, and a business partner in 1945. The doll is named after Ruth’s daughter.  Ruth noticed that her then young daughter shoved the baby or childlike dolls aside and would play make-believe using paper dolls of adult women. Ruth’s creation was not original as she used a doll based on a German comic strip character as her model. Mattel bought the rights to that German doll named Lilli, and Barbie was born. The German doll, Lilli, was originally a racy gag gift for men visiting tobacco shops.If the backstory was one of being in a brothel, it would suggest much as to persistent claims that Barbie is, well rather promiscuous. She is a doll for goodness sake, who has no moral compass or direction except that provided by the child handler, or those who wish to make some comment.  The comments say less about Barbie and more about the state of mind of the person making the comment.   The original doll, marketed in 1959 was priced at $3, and over 300,000 were sold the first year.  Mattel used a captive audience with their advertising on the Mickey Mouse Club television show, to spur the doll to fame. Their main demographic group were girls in the 3 to 6 year old range.  In 1961 she added Ken Carson to the collection (the first name taken from Handler’s son) later a best friend of Barbie, and a sister for Barbie. I recall Barbie having a preference for convertibles, not to mention glitz and glamour. The lifestyle attributed to Barbie seems a long way from that one would experience in a rural Wisconsin community.  How else can one think of Willow, other than rural.  Maybe it was like Winneconne.

Barbie

For some reason girls seem fascinated by horses, and Barbie’s first pet was a horse named Dancer. Was her desire for a horse related to her small town upbringing in Wisconsin?  Barbie has been attributed to a variety of careers, A Renaissance women. Depending upon a source of information she has been associated with either 108 or 180 career types, with many in non-traditional female rolls. Barbie did not have a glass ceiling. She was a pilot, doctor, astronaut, and an Olympic Athlete. Getting into stereotyping, I could see her as a beach volleyball player. Much controversy she generates is in regard to appearance, particularly when magnified to human proportion. Her measurements are said to associate to 36-18-35 are often derided with claims of harm to young girls, but no one seems to talk about her extraordinary height of over 7 feet—now there is a volleyball, or perhaps basketball, player. The comments made of Barbie and her measurements only seems to fuel the controversy of seeing females in regard to such statistics. Why cannot Barbie be viewed as what she is—a plastic molded doll?  I never had the abs or muscles of GI Joe doll (or Ken, for that matter, but I have not dwelled on that fact.

Barb Handel Segal, 

Referring to a women as a Barbie, can go both ways. Looking at varied websites, some say it a complement, others a derogatory remark of a banal, dumb blond; in a way such criticisms enhance stereotypes. Although, all web sites seem to agree that if a women refers to another women as a “Barbie” it is not a complement. Some say, since she is predominantly blond, it exacerbates the stereo-types of blonds. The doll is what people make of it. Certainly the use of the word doll is generally meant as a positive, although it seems to be going out of favor (probably due to some latent sexism). Think of the phrase, “Would you be a doll and set the table.”

Ken Carson Doll

Barbie would go on to lead the fast life in California. Her Malibu beach house is said, if it were real, to be valued at $16 million. But, I guess when you are responsible for over billion dollars annually for a company, you can well afford the fast California life-style. Forty-eight years later and Barbie doll sales are still strong. This shows me that Ruth Handler devised a product that not only hit a cord with girls of the later part of the baby boom generation (my wife owned one, and I know at least one of my sisters did too), but with subsequent generations. Barbie has staying power, and prestige. Not bad for a lady who hailed from Willow, Wisconsin.

And to think I could have written about the battle between the Monitor and the Merrimack.  Does anyone know the significance of that battle?

Images from Google images