1929 was a momentous year for the Anton H. Tapper, Sr. household. A year that started with such bright promise and much excitement for the younger members of the household.
“Rollie in front of his platoon”
In June, sons Roland and Anton graduated from Culver Military Academy, located in Culver, Marshall, Indiana, on Wednesday, June 5th, 1929. Both Roland and his brother were members of the Culver Legion and the prestigious Black Horse Troop, with Roland receiving an honorable discharge as a 2nd Lieutenant from the troop. The whole Tapper family, along with “…Miss Verna Grey [sic]…attended the commencement exercises.”1
Two days later, Anton went to the clerk’s office of the U.S. District Court in Hammond, Lake, Indiana, and applied for passports for himself, his sons, Anton and Roland, and his daughter, Alice.2 They were going to spend the summer in Europe!
Anton Tapper, Sr.
Anton’s wife, Louise, was not able to make the trip as she was the primary caregiver for her granddaughter. 16-month-old Gwendolyn Warber’s mother, Gretje Tapper Warber had tragically died of an embolism at age 27, on 25 Mar 1928, one month after her baby was born.3 At this time, Anton and Louise had taken the baby into their home to raise as their own. Helping her family prepare for this trip had to be bittersweet for Louise, as it was only four years before, in 1925, that she and her daughter, Gretje, spent the summer in Germany. Their eldest son, Norman, was also staying home as he was married and had two young sons.
The preparations complete, on Friday, June 28th, the family loaded the car with their luggage, and set out on the to drive to New York City4 in anticipation of their ships departure on Saturday, July 6th.5 Nothing is known as to how long it took to drive to New York or where they stayed upon their arrival.
Anton Tapper, Jr.Roland TapperAlice Tapper
We do know that they set sail aboard the S.S. Veendam, heading for Rotterdam, Holland. The ship arrived in Holland on Monday, July 15th, after a nine-day journey.6
Anton celebrated his 22nd birthday on July 24th, most likely while traveling in England.
On July 27th, The Lake County Times published a report sent by Anton Jr., where he writes that “his trip to Europe has been fine and they are enjoying the sights.” The last report from the family, they were “enjoying the sights of Plymouth Devon, England.”7
Roland celebrated his 20th birthday on August 1st, somewhere in Europe as sadly, no reports appear in the newspaper during the month of August, but the next report dated September 4th took place during the month.
The Lake County Times’ report is a good one and bears the sub-heading: “Tapper Boys Climb Snow Covered Mountain in Switzerland.”
“Word has recently come from Interlaken, Switzerland from a reader of The Times, of an interesting day which Anton Tapper, his sons, Roland and Anton and his daughter, Alice, enjoyed in Switzerland, one of the countries they have been visiting on the continent during their stay abroad.
The Tappers were said to be up on the Jungfrau, Switzerland’s highest mountain. From there the Tapper boys took a guide and climbed one of the neighboring peaks, while Mr. Tapper, Senior, and his daughter watched them through a telescope as they made their way over the rocks and snow of the Mathildaspital, which is 3,560 meters high.
The descent was a hazardous one for the course took the boys over dangerously slippery rocks. Both young travelers are said to have declared the mountain climb the real thrill of their lives. They both seemed relieved to return to solid ground.”8
As they made their way from Switzerland back to Holland for the return home, they stopped in Germany, in the Black Forest.
They set sail on Wednesday, September 4th, from Rotterdam, Holland, aboard the S.S. Volendam. Later that day the ship picked up additional passengers in Southampton, and Boulogne-Sur-Mer, before heading on to New York, and arriving in New York Harbor on Friday, September 13th.
The passenger list was manifested,9 and they were recorded as:
No. 10, Anton H. Tapper, age 61, Male, Married, If Naturalized: Citizen by Father’s Papers, Address: 616 Ann str, Hammond, Ind.
No. 11, Anton H. Tapper, age 22, Male, Single, Native of U.S., b. 24th July 1907, Hammond, Ind.
No. 12, Roland Tapper, age 20, Male, Single, Native of U.S., b. 1st Aug 1909, Hammond, Ind.
No. 13, Alice Tapper, age 17, Female, Single, Native of U.S., b. 26th Sep 1912, Hammond, Ind.
Not knowing what time the ship arrived in the harbor, we do know it would have taken time for them to disembark, retrieve their luggage, wait for the car to be taken to shore, and finally be ready to head home. They must have been eager to return to Hammond, as they made good time, arriving in Hammond on Sunday evening, September 15th.10
Ten days later, Alice would celebrate her 18th birthday at home in Hammond.
Louise Tapper
The family was not allowed to end 1929 on this high note, as on 8 Nov 1929, Louise entered St. Margaret’s Hospital in Hammond to have her appendix removed. She passed away, at the age of 49, on Friday, November 29th. The newspaper report of her death states that “She [had] stood the operation well but physicians were concerned over a blood clot which had formed, threatening a condition similar to that which had resulted in the death of Mrs. Gretje Warber, daughter of the Tappers about a year ago. However she had shown a marked improvement in the last week.” The whole family had been gathered in her hospital room that night, discussing plans for her return home in the next day or so. Leaving at 9:00 p.m., they went home looking forward to bringing her home. She passed away just a short while later at 10:46 p.m., “as an unabsorbed portion of the blood clot was carried to her brain.”11
I just can’t imagine the grief, the loss. After her death, Anton pasted this small piece of paper onto the glass of a framed image of Louise, which says: “‘I Put All the Girls in the World in a Row and Picked Your Mother'”
Why am I writing this story now? I have been slowly attacking the vast amount of family heirlooms that need to be recorded so that my children will have some understanding of what is junk and what is special. Then it will up to them to decide what to keep, and what to toss. Items purchased on this trip have long been part of my family life. Purchased in the Black Forest region of Germany are two music boxes, one a bowl that my mother always used for nuts for cracking at Christmas, and another square box that was given to me so many years ago, I have no memory of NOT owning it. Other pieces purchased in the Black Forest piece are a trick Vesta match safe and a Cuckoo clock that Roland purchased as a gift for Verna Gray.
One piece that I would like to share here is a framed piece of Edelweiss, “Picked on Jungfau Mt.”
“College News,” About Our Young People, The Lake County Times, 7 Jun 1929, Friday, p. 24, col. 5; digital images, Newspapers.com(www.newspapers.com : accessed 7 Aug 2017). ↩︎
“Did You Hear That,” The Lake County Times, 8 Jun 1929, Saturday, p. 15, col. 1; digital images, Newspapers.com(www.newspapers.com : accessed 1 Mar 2024). ↩︎
Indiana Archives and Records Administration, “Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2017,” database and images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015, Ancestry.com (ancestry.com ; accessed 19 Aug 2019), Lake County, 1928, Registered no. 140 (penned), no. 8107 (stamped), Gretje Sophia Warber; citing Indiana State Board of Health. Death Certificates, 1900-2011. Microfilm, Indianapolis, Indiana. ↩︎
“Personals,” The Lake County Times, 28 Jun 1929, Friday, p. 24, col.3; digital images, Newspapers.com(www.newspapers.com : accessed 1 Mar 2024). ↩︎
“Personals,” The Lake County Times, 15 Jul 1929, Monday, p. 10, col.4; digital images, Newspapers.com(www.newspapers.com : accessed 1 Mar 2024). ↩︎
“Did You Hear That,” The Lake County Times, 27 Jul 1929, Saturday, p. 1, col. 2; digital images, Newspapers.com(www.newspapers.com : accessed 1 Mar 2024). ↩︎
“Hammondites Have Thrill in Europe,” The Lake County Times, 4 Sep 1929, Wednesday, p. 10, col. 3; digital images, Newspapers.com(www.newspapers.com : accessed 7 Aug 2017). ↩︎
National Archives, “New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957,” database and images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 2010, Ancestry.com(www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 Aug 2018), 13 Sep 1929, S.S. Volendam, p. 1 (penned), p. 40 (stamped), e74, No. 10-13, Tapper Family; citing The National Archives at Washington, D.C. ↩︎
“Personals,” The Lake County Times, 16 Sep 1929, Monday, p. 17, col. 6; digital images, Newspapers.com(www.newspapers.com : accessed 1 Mar 2024). ↩︎
“Mrs. Tapper Dies from Embolism,” The Lake County Times, 30 Nov 1929, Saturday, p. 1, col. 6; Hammond Public Library Microfilm Collection. ↩︎
Last night, I prepared for dinner a turkey breast with homemade stuffing – or, in this case, dressing. The meal choice sparked memories, and the conversation turned to 2001.
I came down with pneumonia as Gary was preparing to spend the week of October 8th at the Fluno Center in Madison, Wisconsin, where he was taking a continuing education management course. He had no choice but to pack his bags and head to Madison for the week.
It was a rough week. I have vivid memories of sitting in the family room, alternately dealing with the heat as I spiked a high fever and, when it broke, freezing to death. I had a follow-up visit with the doctor, that I was somehow able to drag myself into the car to go to. I learned that my lungs were full, and I was still sick.
28 Mar 2011. In the breakfast room. Marie’s birthday at our home.
Thankfully, we were on the bus route, and the kids were old enough to get themselves breakfast and down to the bus for school.
By Thursday, we were eating the last of the food that I had in the house, with it looking dire that I could get to the store to fill the fridge. Dinner was looking pretty lean. Thankfully, Gary was scheduled to return home the next night following the last class session. We could do this!
The kids were home from school, and at 4:30 (or so my memory tells me), we heard a car drive up the driveway, and then the doorbell rang. Looking out, I could see my mother-in-law’s car and Marie standing on the step at the side door. Opening the door to speak to her, she quickly backed off the step. Today, we would say that she was practicing social distancing. Then she said something that was music to my ears: she had brought us dinner. BUT!!! She would not come in, and I was only to open the door wide enough for her to pass the dishes through.
Standing there in my nightgown, I cracked open the screen door just enough to grab a dish and put it on the counter next to the door. First to enter was a turkey breast, warm and smelling delicious. Next was a container of stuffing. We cannot remember if it was her homemade or if she had run up to Van Abel’s for a container. Most likely, the latter. None of us remember a veg, but if she had gone to Van Abel’s, she might have added an order of corn to the order for dressing. Last but not least was a pineapple upside-down cake, fresh from the oven.
Closing the door, the three of us yelled our thanks. Waving goodbye as she drove down the driveway. She was heading a few blocks south to Rennes Health Center to visit her husband, Butch. Her daily visits were the reason that she would take no chance in catching whatever I might want to spread. Butch had had a massive stroke on December 30, 1998, and moved to Rennes in early 1999. Daily visits were the lifeline for both of them.
Marie had spent the better part of the day preparing a meal for her family. And we were grateful. All three of us have vivid memories of how good the food tasted; we can still remember how thankful we were that Grandma Marie had taken the time and effort to feed us.
Gary returned home the next day. He filled the pantry, stocked the fridge, and life returned to normal. I could not shake the pneumonia and did not have clear lungs until after Halloween.
But the warmth of the memory of sitting down to eat that night will never leave us. A meal prepared with love. And for our family that night, a life-saving dinner delivery.
I first posted this piece on 13 Jan 2024 but soon realized that I had not dug deep enough. So this is the original post, plus the additional research.
The original 1934 label. Click to view a color image of this label.
Tuesday was a good day. It was a day when I had confirmation that my writing was reaching people, informing them, and encouraging questions.
Carol from the Stoneware Museum of Monmouth contacted me asking what I might know about the relationship between Hubert Fassbender and the Western Stoneware Pottery company. The Museum is dedicated to preserving the past of the Monmouth, Illinois community and sharing knowledge of stoneware. (Visit them at their website https://monmouthstonewaremuseum.com/ )
What DID I know? Well, Kaukauna Klub cheese has always been packed in crocks. Not the answer she was looking for. I knew I could collect bits and pieces from my research, but what did I know, and what was I missing? Challenge accepted. I created a timeline with accompanying documents, but I now feel compelled to flesh out the facts and take another look.
Kaukauna Klub Cheese is a spreadable natural cheese product, and as Hubert Fassbender, “the originator,” would say, “It is not processed cheese.” I believe it is a variation of the product that he first produced in 1915 for the Anona Cheese Co. in Appleton, Wisconsin. When Anona dissolved in 1931, selling its assets to the Borden company, I believe that Hubert began tinkering with the recipes he had produced many years ago. However, there is also the thought that he never STOPPED tinkering with the product. This idea is supported by comments that state: “Called Kaukauna Klub cheese, it represents the results of 15 years of experiments and development of special equipment.”1 1933 minus 15 equals 1918, which is the year that Hubert started the South Kaukauna Dairy Company and one year after Anona moved their production facility to Chicago, Illinois.
Company lore states that in the winter of 1933, “the lowest point of the depression,” Hubert mixed a small batch of cheese in a mixing bowl in the office of South Kaukauna Dairy. ‘He called in the help and asked people to taste it.’ Everyone liked it. Taking it home, ‘the folks at home liked it too.’2
Appleton Post-Crescent 8 Sep 1933
1918 to 1933. It was in 1918 that Congress passed the 18th Amendment to the Constitution prohibiting the manufacture, transportation and sale of alcoholic beverages, passing into law 17 Jan 1920. But now, at the end of 1933 (5 Dec 1933), Prohibition was ending, and Americans could once again legally sell and consume alcohol. A means of distribution was needed.
South Kaukauna Dairy had the refrigeration equipment needed, and so Hubert added a beer depot to his list of offerings, proudly distributing at least two products, Gettelman’s, a Milwaukee beer produced by the A. Gettelman Brewing Co.3 and Knapstein’s, produced by the Knapstein Brewing Company of New London, a beer “more perfect in every way than you’ve ever tasted. It’s the result of a great combination — Purity, Skill, and Proper Aging.”4
In a letter circa 1935, Hubert stated: “KAUKAUNA KLUB was perfected about the time when beer returned with the only object in mind for local taverns. The originator [Hubert] had not thought of nation wide distribution.” “The Conway Hotel in Appleton, Wisc. was the first account. They served it on their bar [as part of what was called their “free lunch]. Traveling men began to buy it and carried it home with them. They in turn showed it to their friends. It soon happened that they began to form clubs of six and sent to the plant for it to be shipped them. From there it spread all over the United States.”5
One of the drivers for this beer distribution route was Hubert’s nephew Arthur Ellenbecker, whom I interviewed when he was 98 years old, and he well remembered the excitement of the club cheese. He was also quick to state that these routes were not his favorite, as with each delivery, he was expected to sit down and enjoy a glass of beer. This not only delayed his deliveries but was too many beers throughout the day.
1934, the Conway Hotel
The first deliveries of the new cheese product to the Conway Hotel Tavern were packed in paper cottage cheese containers, which Hubert labeled simply: Club Cheese, Manufactured by the South Kaukauna Dairy.6
His daughter, Mabel, reported in 1947 that he had not been satisfied with this simple packaging, which “proved unsatisfactory for keeping the cheese,” she went on to say that “Dad wrote to the stoneware company at Monmouth, Ill., and asked about a stone container. They sent us a three-pound jar they had on hand. He liked it and since then has made a number of patented changes in design to make it right for Kaukauna Klub.
‘When we used up what crocks they had on hand, we could not understand why they were not able to give immediate delivery on more. It was the depression, and they were not even in operation,’ she says.
At first only the three pound size was used. A small crock was made up for samples. Now [1947] there are four sizes.”7
In 1934, the company was ready to label its new product, and the time had come to decide upon a name. After much discussion, Hubert is reported as saying: “‘Why don’t we name it after the place where it is made and call it Kaukauna Club.’ Then it was decided to change the ‘C’ of Club to ‘K’ for copyrighting reasons.”8
The 1935 label. Notice the bail style and embossed lid, which is not domed like the 1934 crock.
On February 24, 1934, a label for Kaukauna Klub was submitted to obtain a Wisconsin trademark. The full-color label can be viewed at the Wisconsin Historical Society website – to view, follow the link: https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM91275. This label was not used very long as a second label was designed in 1935, and if you visit Kaukauna’s website, Our Story page at: https://www.kaukaunacheese.com/our-story/, you will see yet another old label (in addition to a collection of crocks).
If there is one common denominator that we can attribute to how a Fassbender does business, it is this: They view a good business relationship as a partnership and expect the same from the people they do business with. The crock contract with the Western Stoneware Company was no different. Each Labor Day, the company hosted a weekend event, advertising for visitors to stop at the Monmouth Pottery Show Room and Gardens, where, starting in 1935, “…the Kaukauna Klub Cheese organization…will demonstrate their Cheese Products on both days. Their Cheese is fine and you should get acquainted with it.”9 The last year that Kaukauna participated in the event (or at least was advertised to have been in attendance) was 1939, when “The Kaukauna Club Cheese will be here again demonstrating their products and purchases can be made.”10
A 1937 Advertisement showcasing the 1935 label.
As the sturdy crocks that held the Kaukauna Klub Cheese could be reused, a program was set up so that they could be returned for credit. The Kuebler Grocery Company in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, included the return value for each size in an ad they placed in The Oshkosh Northwestern on 2 Mar 1934. The ad tells us that In 1934,11 a 3-lb jar cost 95 cents, with a return value of 15 cents. The 24-oz jar cost 65 cents, and the 13-oz jar 45 cents. Both sizes had a return value of 10 cents.
I got curious and turned to the Inflation Calculator12 to see what the price would be today. The 13-oz crock of Kaukauna Klub cheese would cost $10.23, with a crock return value of $2.27. I looked at walmart.com to see what a tub of Kaukauna would cost today and learned that to purchase two 6.5 oz tubs, equalling 13 oz. of cheese I would pay $12.47.
The Kuebler ad also reported the sale price of two pounds of peanut butter was 21 cents ($4.78), you would pay 26 cents for a pound of butter ($5.91), and a dozen eggs cost 17 cents ($3.87).
Earl Mollet, an “employe” of South Kaukauna Dairy, was invited to speak at a Kaukauna Rotary luncheon. In his talk, he shared that only 2% of the crocks were returned. He went on to say about the crocks that were returned, “It seems that people get the jars confused in their homes and return the wrong ones. When they do, the boys at the plant have a little treat.” He stated, “…once we got one back full of mince meat, another full of salted fish, and some with pickles or candy in them.”13
The fact that only 2% of the crocks were returned indicates to me that Kaukauna Klub was prized not only for what came inside the crock but also for the crock itself. Young’s Market Company ad told readers that the cheese “…comes in cunning stone jars which may be returned for credit if you wish…but you’ll want to keep yours…”14 In 1939, the R. C. Wallace Co. of Helena, Montana, Kaukauna Klub advertisement even stated that the product was “Packed in Oven-Tested Earthen Jars!”15
While Hubert continued to expand the size and shape of Kaukauna Klub, the product continued to be packaged in stone jars for many more years. In 1954, a plastic lid was introduced. “This new lid makes it easier to store in your refrigerator or to stack the jars for display purposes.”16
Braniff International Airways crockThe reverse sideA plastic lid with the KK Logo
In the 1960s, the company partnered with Braniff International Airways to create a small crock of cheese to be served to the airline’s first-class passengers. While I have yet to find any written confirmation as to this partnership, examples of this small crock still exist.
By 1963, a brown crock had been added.17 In 1969, the cheese food caught the attention of a restaurant owner in Anaheim, California. The Aladdin Restaurant began serving the cheese as part of their appetizer offerings. “When each person is seated for dinner a wooden tray with an unusual cheese and crackers is brought to the table. The cheese is a good sharp soft (for easy spreading) Kaukauna Klub. It comes in an attractive brown crock–and it is a good appetizer with cocktails.”18
A crock with an early font, but the newer style of bailcirca 1959 – 1962circa 1975
The plastic tub was introduced following the sale of the company to International Multi-Foods in 1971.19 In 1975, recognizing the continued popularity of the original crock, International Multi-foods began to offer crock refills to their mix of products.20
International Multi-foods label
More research will need to be done to determine who manufactured these later crocks, including taking a hard look at the shape of the lid and the style of the bail. Not to mention what the bottom looks like, as this, too, is indicative of the manufacturer. SHUCKS, more parts to study.
To honor Hubert Fassbender’s achievement, in December 1947, the Kaukauna Common Council approved the appropriation of $1,301.50 for the purchase of a stone monument, a replica of the crock that is now synonymous with Kaukauna Klub. They granted Appleton Marble and Granite Works of Appleton the contract to create the monument of “polished granite with a stainless steel handle and clamp, and rough-cut granite base.”21 The Kaukauna Rotary donated the bronze plaque that reads: ‘Dedicated to the memory of Hubert Fassbender (1875-1947), the originator of the Kaukauna Klub, a dairy product which has made the city of Kaukauna known throughout the country.”22 The monument was dedicated on 8 Nov 1948 by his daughter, Mabel, along with L. C. Smith, master of ceremonies, Mayor Joseph Bayorgeon, and Kaukauna Rotary Club president, James Bamberry.
2023 – Fassbender Park, Kaukauna
If you visit Kaukauna today, you can head to Fassbender Park, next to the Associated Bank building, which sits on the site of the original South Kaukauna Dairy plant. Here, at the triangle of Crooks Avenue, Quinney Avenue, and E 4th Street, you will find a replica of the Western Stoneware crock that made both the product and the city famous.
I would like to end with one last crock story. In 2015 I received an email sharing details of a very large Kaukauna Klub crock. According to the story, Hubert had a large replica crock made for his daughters. His daughters, Mabel and Gertrude, did not want the crock, so it was given to an employee. Later the crock, standing about waist high, made its way back to Kaukauna Klub and was used in the cheese store as a sample table. The factory cheese store is now closed, and the location of the crock is not known.
An oversized replica
SOURCES
“Get New Pleasure From Cheese Made By Kaukauna Firm” Appleton Post-Crescent, 21 Apr 1934, Saturday, p. 18, col. 3; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 Sep 2018). ↩︎
Newspaper Clipping, The Kaukauna Times, 18 Jun 1947 (guesstimate); South Kaukauna Dairy Company History; privately held by Susan Sternitzky Fassbender, 2012. “Hubert Fassbender and New Cheese Product Made Kaukauna Famous.” Bernard and Marie Fassbender Family Archives. ↩︎
“H. Fassbender for Gettelman’s Beer,” Advertisement, Appleton Post-Crescent, 12 Jul 1933, Wednesday Evening, p. 3, col. 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 6 Sep 2018). ↩︎
“H. Fassbender for Knapstein’s Beer,” Advertisement, Appleton Post-Crescent, 6 Oct 1933, Friday, p. 14, col. 5; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 6 Sep 2018). ↩︎
Letter, written by Hubert Fassbender on South Kaukauna Dairy Company letterhead, ca 1935; South Kaukauna Dairy Company History; privately held by Susan C. Sternitzky Fassbender, 2012. ↩︎
Newspaper Clipping, The Kaukauna Times, 18 Jun 1947 (guesstimate); South Kaukauna Dairy Company History; privately held by Susan C. Sternitzky Fassbender, 2012. “Hubert Fassbender and New Cheese Product Made Kaukauna Famous.” Bernard and Marie Fassbender Family Archives. ↩︎
“Visit the Monmouth Pottery Show Room and Gardens” Advertisement, The Rock Island Argus, 29 Aug 1935, Thursday, p. 5, col. 6; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 Jan 2024). ↩︎
“Monmouth Pottery” Advertisement, The Rock Island Argus, 1 Sep 1939, Friday, p. 22, col. 5; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 Jan 2024). ↩︎
“Kuebler Grocery Co. Look! At This,” Advertisement, The Oshkosh Northwestern, 2 Nov 1934, Friday, p. 16, col. 5; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 11 Jan 2024). ↩︎
“Cheese Jars Sometimes Come Back With Pickles,” Appleton Post-Crescent, 5 Aug 1937, Thursday Evening, p. 18, col. 2; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 4 Feb 2018). ↩︎
“Young’s Market Company,” Advertisement, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar 1938, Tuesday Morning, Part II, p. 5, col. 1; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 11 Jan 2024). ↩︎
“Kaukauna Klub,” Advertisement, The Helena Daily Independent, 24 Jun 1939, Saturday, p. 3, col. 7; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 11 Jan 2024). ↩︎
“Has New Plastic Lid. Kaukauna Klub Begins New Advertising Campaign” The Appleton Post-Crescent, 16 Oct 1954, Saturday, p. 9, col. 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 28 Jan 2024). ↩︎
“Beechners,” Advertisement, The Lincoln Star, 13 Dec 1963, Friday, p. 10, col. 3; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 Jan 2024). ↩︎
“Food and Fun,” The Santa Ana Register, 19 Sep 1969, Friday, p. D, col. 6: digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 Jan 2024); Marilyn Nelson. ↩︎
“Firm Buys Kaukauna Dairy Co.,” The Post-Crescent, 2 Mar 1971, Tuesday, p. B12, col. 2; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 28 Jan 2024). ↩︎
“Kaukauna Klub” Advertisement, The Chicago Tribune, 20 Nov 1975, Thursday, Section 6, Food Guide, p. 4, col. 4; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 Jan 2024). ↩︎
“Memorial to Be Erected For Fassbender,” Appleton Post-Crescent, 17 Dec 1947, Wednesday, p. 10, col. 2; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 11 Sep 2018). ↩︎
Newspaper Clipping, The Kaukauna Times, 19 Dec 1947; South Kaukauna Dairy Company History; privately held by Susan C. Sternitzky Fassbender, 2012. “$1,301.50 Appropriated for Hubert Fassbender Memorial.” Bernard and Marie Fassbender Family Archives. ↩︎
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A favorite part of holiday decorating is setting up my Snow Village houses. I received my first house the Christmas of 1986. That year, we purchased both a house, and I also received a tree. Over the years, we added another house, a church, and a ski lodge (plus a park gazebo that I broke, purchased a second, and, while it was years later, broke again). The collection has spent Christmas on top of a TV cabinet, below a window in our basement, over 20 years on a fireplace mantel, and now here in its third house in my Lincoln Cupboard.
Christmas of 1986 was also the year that my mother-in-law started her own village. She was ready to make a change in how she decorated her mantel, and these wonderful light-up houses were just what she was looking for. That first year, she purchased a sweet little white house. Her collection began to grow, and in 1992, she purchased “Grandma’s Cottage.”
Sometime later, I am guessing about 1996, I was in Hollandtown to help decorate for Christmas; I was down in the basement setting up the, well, basement tree. I remember her coming to the top of the stairs and calling me to come up, “he was going to break it!” I headed up the stairs, where she met me in the kitchen, telling me that the lightbulb end of the plug for one of the houses had pushed into the house, a not uncommon occurrence if you do not put them in just so, and Butch was attempting to get it back out with a letter opener.
Entering the living room, I found my father-in-law standing at the mantel, “Grandma’s Cottage” in one hand and his letter opener in the other. Now this was just not any letter opener; it was a letter opener improved by Butch. He liked his letter openers sharp! A tool that would easily and cleanly slip open an envelope. So, he sharpened them on the lathe to a knife edge point. And it was with this that he was digging around in the small opening on the back of the house, trying to get the clamps caught so he could pull out the bulb.
Not THE letter opener, but the exact same style.
As Marie peeked fearfully around the corner at us, I asked Butch if I could try, as I had smaller fingers than he did. He reluctantly let me have the house, and I was able to stick my fingers in, press the clamp enough to pull the bulb out, and properly insert it into the opening. The crisis was diverted, but not without some lasting minor damage. Damage that makes me smile each year as I get “Grandma’s Cottage” out of its box and settled into place next to what we affectionately call “The Rectory.”
Christmas is a time of sharing and many times; this includes the sharing of food, be it a tray of cookies delivered to a neighbor or a New Year’s luncheon. I did not deliver any goods to the neighbors this year; the atmosphere was damp, and the cookies and caramels I made were a disappointment. I did, however, have success when we hosted friends on the 2nd for a New Year’s luncheon. It had been years since we had entertained in a special way, and I was thrilled to discover that I could still put together a complicated menu and get it on the table in good order.
Lasagne. A recipe that I have been making for about 40 years. When I moved into my first apartment as a sophomore in college, I created a cookbook binder for myself, copying my mother’s recipes. This lasagne recipe was one of them. Years later, when I asked my mother about the recipe, she said she had no memory of ever making the recipe and had no idea where she had found it, suggesting that I had found the recipe on my own.
This past weekend, we were told to brace for a major snowstorm. A major storm here in Rhode Island is around six inches. As seasoned Wisconsinites, we did not panic but looked forward to the possibility of snow, and I thought it would be the perfect time to raid the freezer and get out the container of lasagne meat, grab the pie crust left over from Christmas, and finally get the apples out of the basement fridge where they have been waiting since Thanksgiving. Lasagne and apple pie for dinner.
This dish has become a freezer staple in our family. Baking a pan, cutting it into squares, and freezing the individual squares, ready to pull out as needed. This dish was a favorite of our babysitter, Kimmiebabsit (to differentiate her from Kimmie Cousin), and she was always happy when she saw that I had pulled a few pieces out of the freezer for her dinner.
Wherever the recipe originated, I have made it my own over the years. One of the first things I did was to replace the pork with first, ground veal, then ground turkey. Both are delicious. I use 1% milk-fat cottage cheese and increase the amount of mozzarella. It’s all about balance.
I have resolved that 2024 is the year that I get a handle on my mother’s paper. Her paid bill file and her medical bills were all quickly “filed” in the recycle bin. This past weekend, I started going through her recipe binders. As her vision faded with macular degeneration, she created new binders with the recipes in a larger and larger font. Favorite recipes in more than one place. A treasure was finding the sheets from her very first binder, her handwriting strong and confident, and the cooking splatters clearly marking favorite recipes. Included in this pile was the lasagne recipe. Not covered with splatters – so maybe this was just a recipe that she collected but never made?
In addition to the handwritten recipes, I brought her much-deteriorated 1969 copy of the Betty Crocker Cookbook downstairs to look through. Looking for indications of a recipe that she had tried, liked, and even become a family favorite. And there it was on page 292, “Lasagne.” Turning to my own 1987 copy of the cookbook, a lasagne recipe is found on page 54. Similar, but not the same. Updates do not always make for an improved recipe. I will stick with the 1969 version.
While we did not get a lot of snow, it was enough to feel cozy with a fire in the fireplace, lasagne baking in the oven, and the promise of a slice of apple pie to finish the meal.
My mother was an artist. She attended the Art Institute of Chicago and graduated from Drake University with a BFA in Art. Art is just who she was.
I don’t remember when she was first diagnosed with macular degeneration, but she lived with it for well over ten years. At the time of her diagnosis, she was doing finely detailed hand-painted cards. As the disease took away her ability to focus on these details, she explored other paint methods and settled on alcohol ink, loving how fluid the medium was, and yet she could manipulate the paint to create finely detailed pieces of art.
1960s
Cards were always her way of sharing her talent. I have copies of Christmas cards going back to the 1960s. Cards that she created by cutting her design into a linoleum block, then inking, stamping, and hand painting the detail. Others were in watercolor. My birthday invitation was just a black marker on orange paper. Because of this, I have years of her art, created just for me.
Mom passed away from kidney cancer in February 2021. At the end, she was almost blind. She could no longer pass the day reading books on her iPad. She could no longer spend sunny afternoons painting. Today I decided to tackle a stack of paper that was set on a shelf in her closet. I found this handwritten piece dated 18 Feb 2016. Her handwriting was still good. She wrote of her macular degeneration.
Macular Degeneration
“I understand that everyone who has macular degeneration experiences it differently. This is my experience.
I can see the world around me, but I cannot see the fine detail.
I cannot see to read a book a magazine, a menu, people’s faces are distorted — but I can see geese in the sky migrating in the fall, stars on a clear night (what a thrill!), the beautiful white clean world after a snowfall. My world will never be dark. Not perfect, but not dark. Thank you, God!”
In 2018, I took a photo of a blazing orange sunset that I was watching from my kitchen window. I sent it to Mom, wanting to share its beauty and knowing that she could access it on her large iPad, blowing it up, expanding the image with her fingers so that she could see it. The next day, she painted what could see of our backyard and the blazing sky.
Macular degeneration is a funny thing. Mom could not see the television, and listening to programs irritated her. Yet there were mornings as I sorted our supplements, I would drop a Vitamin D gel tablet. Moving to quickly find it before our dog Lizzy would come to help, I would not see it, yet mom could always see it glisten and know just where it was. My mom’s world was not perfect, sometimes irritating, but never dark. Thank you, God!
