Issue 10 - Winter 2022
Log landing in Elcho. Original Muskie Inn behind rail car.
Letter From The President
By Bear Wheeler
A word to sum up the year 2022 for the Elcho Historical Society is stellar. By all accounts, we have set the bar high for the coming year, but with the group of people that we have working the historical society we can get it done. Thank you to everyone who makes this work, this is a community effort. This is something we need to do to preserve the memories of our families and the people who built this area into what we enjoy today.
But having a look back at this year, Siemer's Northwoods Excavating tackled our basement project with full force, weather-permitting. They had done a fantastic job. I was nervous knowing our building was going to be suspended in the air while the guys worked underneath. The new basement is a wonderful addition to our building for storing artifacts and documents. This autumn we have accepted a bid for a new roof and by the time this is published the roof will already be done. Then we have electric hook-up, heat (basement), the front wall, and windows for next year.
In the mean time we are looking for funding for this next leg of the project. Debi Mejak is working tirelessly on getting various grants for our project. So far our project has been largely funded by local people and those who vacation here, of which we have much gratitude. This has also been helped along thankfully by CoVantage Credit Union, Elwyn Remington Foundation, the Modern Woodmen of America, and other organizations. The brat barns and the craft show events have all been very productive. Our brat barns we have raised records with each date. The support of the people has been very encouraging.
We had made a small investment for a large benefit to the museum when Gold Miner Jewelers of Antigo sold us their jewelry display cases. Greg Mejak, Bryan Spransy and a couple of young guys loaded them up and hauled them to our new basement for our future museum. They are absolutely beautiful cabinets and they will suit us well into the future. As we close out 2022 we can be satisfied with our accomplishments and we look forward to this next year working with you to get this done. As we learn about the people who built up this area we must be aware that we have the same effect as they did. It'll be through all of our efforts that future generations can know what happened here and what led us to this place. On behalf of the Elcho Historical Society I want to express our gratitude for your help making this a reality.
The “Grange" Memory Quilt
Submitted by Suzie Rabideau
"Quilt" from the Latin word "Culcita" which means " Stuffed Sack"
Texas Star, Drunkards Path, Monkey Wrench, Quilts of Valor, Missouri Crossroads, Log Cabin, Grandmother's Flower Garden, Graveyard, Jacob's Ladder, Split Rail. The names for quilts are as numerous as the stars in the sky. Wisconsin barn owners paint 8 x 8 Ft plywood boards with quilt designs to hang on their barns.
Memory Quilt Square
This project is called a Memory Quilt from a tradition in the late 1800's. Families preparing to go West were given an autographed quilt in the belief they would never return to their old home in the East. It also held true for wedding gifts.
The Elcho Grange is celebrating their donors with Donor quilts (or tapestries if you like) signed by the donor, to be hung in the Grange Hall. For a donation of $ 1.00 to the "sky's the limit" people have signed their own piece of history .. So far over 500 signatures have been collected on strips of muslin surrounded by scrap pieces of material and sewn together. It takes about 180 4x4 squares surrounding a strip of muslin for 1 top. Unfortunately, this is an in-person opportunity at present.
In Memoriam
Constance Hubatch
May 17, 1936 - November 26, 2022
Connie Hubatch
We have lost an integral part of our team recently. Connie Hubatch was one of our five members on the Board of Directors for the historical society. She was a faithful attendee to all of our monthly meetings along with her husband Jim. At all of our brat barns, craft shows, Music In The Park events, her face was always seen and she was always a pleasure to deal with. Connie will be greatly missed and forever be remembered. Our condolences go out to Jim and the family.
Jacob's Equipment
By Bear Wheeler
Jacob's Equipment was started in the late 1950's here in Elcho, Wisconsin. John Jacobs was born here in 1928 and was the son of vegetable farmers. Growing up in the woods fostered a life-long love for the trees. As he grew into an adult he took the crosscut saw in the woods with him. He worked very hard those first years logging and one day John went to an equipment dealer down in the farm country in Antigo, called Aulik Implement. There he was introduced to a mechanized one man chainsaw called a Mall 12a. The 12a is what took the crosscut out of his hands. After using it a couple years, he went to the Homelite dealer here in Elcho and bought a Homelite Model 17. In those years he became acquainted with a guy from Sayner, Gene Ahlborn. Ahlborn was a Stihl dealer at the time, and he saw an opportunity with John. John had told me that Gene had talked him to going into the chainsaw business and that there was a bright future ahead.
John Jacobs in his later years
In these first years John worked his chainsaw business out of his home. He had a shed behind the house where he would use for storage and did repair out of the basement. I had found old receipt books from these days and it seems that business took right off. He sold mostly 07's and some D24's, which is the Stihl Lightning saw. Tons of parts, bars, and Sabre chain went out the door. John was a real go getter though, he had told me that he could sell refrigerators to Eskimos. His son has told me that his dad would go to the loggers in the woods and sell them saws. His wife and his children would help him work the business. Over the few years or so of selling Stihl, he sold many 07’s and 08's.
One day in 1964 or 1965, I haven't determined yet, two local brothers who were loggers came to him and asked him about Partner chainsaws. They had heard that the Hoe chainsaw (rebadged R11) was really good and they asked John if he could get them a Partner R12. John had heard about the Partner Industries of America down in Chicago and he went down there and purchased two R12's and brought them back home for the brothers. Six and a half decades later the one brother offered me a chance to buy the original R12 from him and I bought it and donated it to the Elcho Historical Society. Now John noticed how nice a saw the Partner was and he became a distributor for Partner chainsaw. By the time he got going in Partner, the new R14's were flying out the door. When the summer of 1966 came along, John moved his business off of his homestead into a historic building in Elcho. This old Woodman/Grange building provided the much needed room for the expansion that he desired.
Grange Hall 1966 - Jacobs Equipment
In the autumn of 1966, Oregon chain was looking for a distributor in this part of the Great Lakes region. John told me that they literally hunted him down to get him on board. He said the reps would come out and they would never find him at the shop because he was out of town or out in the woods selling saws. He said one day he got a call from the president of Oregon Chain and asked him to become a distributor. John had asked him what he needed for money to pay for this, the president gave him a number, and John said he couldn't do it. He had a large family and needed what extra cash to buy saws and parts to keep the business going. Then the president finally asked him, he said, “John, how much do you have in your checkbook? A little over three hundred dollars", he replied. The president offered to him, "how about you drive down to Green Bay on this day, come and meet me, and I'll make you a distributor for three hundred dollars?" John told him that he could do that, and they arranged the meeting which got the ball rolling. When John was telling me this, I had asked him, “what did the president say to you that three hundred dollars was enough to cover the risk they were taking?" He told me that they looked at how many chainsaws and Sabre chain I was selling and they were comfortable with the risk.
As it turned out, the decade of the 1970's was the hottest for Jacob's Equipment. John was a distributor for Partner chainsaws and Oregon chain and bars. John was selling so much product he had to go to Chicago with one of his sons and get parts, bars, chain, and even saws that were needed quickly. Someone would request a certain model of saw he didn't readily have, he either went to Chicago or traded saws with RD Faulkner over in Maine. John would cover all of Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for sales. Partner Industries of America would receive requests from people and then they would refer these to John to get them started out as dealers, much correspondence survives alluding to this. John said that there was a couple years where he sold 1,700 chainsaws. For Oregon chain, he told me that he would sell from 40 to 45 miles of chain in a year. They kept track of the number of rolls they would sell. He said he would order chainsaws six hundred at a time and they would come in a semi and they would unload it at his building. The biggest sellers were R420, P55, and P70. John would employ people to help unload saws along with his children who worked for him steadily. His boys would break down new saws to keep up on the demand for parts and ship new saws and parts to other dealers.
John instructing his son on use of chainsaw
Back in the early years of his business, he said he had convinced the loggers to buy two saws at a time, so they wouldn't be without one in times of repair. John said the Partner saws were notorious for vapor locking and if you had another saw you could let the one cool before gassing it up and just alternate them through the day. In sales he had dominated the area with Partner saws, he said he painted the countryside yellow with them. Trust me when he told me these things he was in his eighties at the time and was not a bragger. He was telling me matter-of-fact. But John also said that once the processors came into the scene heavy the chainsaw business disappeared like the morning fog. He said it took about two years for the really good business to dry up compared to 1975 when he turned over two million dollars in Partner chainsaw and Oregon product sales. Here in 2022 we can't imagine what this kind of business was like, back then a tree could not get cut down unless it was by a chainsaw. So you think about all the loggers that needed a number of working saws per man, all the firewood makers to meet up with a lot higher demand for firewood than today. They sold chainsaws much like a tech store sells cell phones. Then one day all the activity dries up and it goes elsewhere that's causing the newest hype.
After this heyday, even the Partner AB Corporation even took on changes. Once Partner was joined with Pioneer it wasn't long after Jacob's Equipment and Partner parted ways. The same happened with Oregon. The corporations reconfigure and bigger distributors covering more area take over. But in short while John took a trip to Italy to the Alpina Corporation and became the North American distributor for the Alpina/Castor brands. Two of John's sons worked for him full-time up until 1990. Not much else is known about this timeframe yet which spans through the 1990's. The last brand he carried was Dolmar, of which he did well with but nowhere near what he did with the Partner brand. The Partner chainsaw was his favorite.
Last building of Jacob’s Equipment
This was the last old fashioned chainsaw shop in this part of the state. You could go in there at anytime and talk with him, ask questions, get any help you wanted. You could talk with all the rest of the guys in there about politics or religion and everyone got along, just like the old barber shops. But the smell of two stroke engines pushed this over the top of any barber shop. As time would have it, it catches up to us one day. In May of 2020, John Jacobs passed from this life into life eternal, and the forest of Wisconsin forever would miss the chainsaw guy.
Building Renovation
Modern Woodmen of America - Appleton WI & Rock Island, IL
Nilah Visser - Elcho, WI
Barbara & Henry Katz - Manitowoc, WI
Membership Renewals
Suzie Rabideau - Elcho, WI
Clare Ramuta - Summit Lake, WI
John Gilbert - Huntley, IL
Kristine R Sager - Appleton & Elcho, WI
Ann L Sager - Appleton & Elcho, WI
Barbara & Henry Katz - Manitowoc, WI
Perry Michiel - Elcho, WI
Karen & Curtis Saari - Green Bay, WI
Jean Porten - Eagle River, WI
Allison Piech - Elcho, WI
Barbara Weaver Krause - Pelican Lake, WI
John Liss - Elcho, WI
Steve & Teresa Whealon - Elcho, WI
Barbara & Bob Sagsteter - Marshfield, WI
New Members
Steve Spittlemeister - Laughlin, NV
David & Darlene Schingoethe - Bookings, SD
Jerry & Chris Berenz - Wausau, WI
Raymond Venn - Fitchburg, WI
Jim Pukall - Deerbrook, WI
Marcia Graef Robison - Ridgefield, WA
Les Anderson - Three Lakes, WI
Judy Peterson - White Lake, WI
Kathy & Dave Karlsen, Racine, WI
In Memoriam Donations
Mary & Terry Maves in memory of Rod Visser
Gold Miner Jewelers display cases in memory of Bob Curran
Kathryn & Scott Tuckwell in memory of Beatrice Behnke
Gail & Gregory Stong in memory of Beatrice Behnke
Connie & Jim Hubatch in memory of Bonnie Tiegs
Connie & Jim Hubatch in memory of Fritz Kestly
Connie & Jim Hubatch in memory of Ronald Blood
Connie & Jim Hubatch in memory of Rod Visser
Connie & Jim Hubatch in memory of Larry Swomia
Linda, James & Amy Gigi in memory of Beatrice Behnke
Stephen Provancher in memory of Beatrice Behnke
Monetary Donations
Greg & MaryAnn Patrick - Elcho, WI
Marc & Catherine Gasparini, Merrill Lynch - Pecatonica, IL
Andy & Stacey West, Merrill Lynch - Rockton, IL
Linda & Naoyuki Ashida - Bloomingdale, IL
Otto Tiegs - Elcho, WI
Jim & Cindy, Elcho Clubhouse - Elcho, WI
Jane Simon - Ft. Myers, FL
Wildman Arts, Angela Wildman - Antigo, WI
Darlene Dronchi-Tuminello - Pelican Lake, WI
Items Donated
Susan & John Liss – Raffle Baskets (2)
Modern Woodmen of America - Raffle Baskets (2)
Cozy Cottage Café – Gift certificate & mugs (2) for raffle
Ruby Mays - Gift certificate for raffle
Frito Lay - Food for Brat Barn
Culvers - Gift certificate for raffle
Shabby & Sugar Shack - Gifts certificates & lawn art items for raffle
North Trail Store - Gift certificate for raffle
Wagners Shell, Elcho - Pop for Brat Barn
Potato & Vegetable Growers of Antigo - Food for Brat Barn
Kwik Trip - Food for Music in The Park
Reincarnation Resale & Decor - Raffle Basket
Jennifer Redding & Tom Barnum - Antique school desk & crib
Karen Coates -Post cards of Muskie Inn, downtown Elcho, & Char. A Snowden advertising
Alan Welch - Spinning wheel, double prybar & Forest County Co. Elcho boards
Steve & Deb Strugalla - Antique potato planter
Otto Tiegs - Food for Brat Barn
Anonymous Donor - Horseshoe Art
Karen Roethle Parise- Paintings (2) & prints of Olde Elcho
Jamie Olenski - Wooden pulley and loggers pick
Sarilee Maney - Elcho School Yearbooks 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952 & 1888 pocket calendar
Sarilee Maney - Union Leader tobacco tin, Christmas & post cards
Mary Ann & Greg Patrick - food for Brat Barn
Jennai' & Eric Rusch - food for Brat Barn
Jennifer Redding & Tom Barnum - food for brat Barn
Anonymous Donor - Food for Brat Barn
Suzie Rabideau - Pillow cases for sale at fundraisers
Dan Schwanz - Log branding iron, State Bank of Elcho 75th Anniversary mug (1) and glass (1)
Debi Mejak - Wreath for sale at fundraiser
In addition to the specific individuals listed above we would like to THANK all those that supported and worked on our Brat Barn and Music in the Park fundraising events. We couldn’t have accomplished what we did this year without all your generous time and effort.