Lannon History
(in chronologicalorder)
After Incorporation 1930 – 1959
Compiled and Edited by Michael R.Reilly
Last Revised 05/02/2005
Village of Lannon History Pre-Incorporation > After Incorporation 1930-1959 > Lannon History 1960-1989 > The 1990’s to the Present – this issue updated 05/02/2005
1930/2/14: MFN – Lannon Village ElectsOfficers: Electors Choose First Set at Special Election -WaukeshaCounty’s youngest village set about in an orderly way to give expression oftheir choice for the first officers to be chosen to conduct the business of thatmunicipality at a special election, Tuesday, February 11th.
A total of 65 votes were castand the following were elected to serve for the period from the date of theelection to the first Tuesday in April of this year, when there will be aregular annual election of officers as provided under the Statutes. Thefollowing were chosen:
President – Al Meade; Supervisor – Al Meade;Trustees – John Wessner, Theodore Gollner, Otto Rossman, Cuno Quartaro, LouisGissal, Wm. Miller; Clerk – Charles DeLany; Assessor – Glen D.Harmon;Treasurer – Frank Berschens; Justice of the Peace – R.M. Frawley; Constable –Percy Schultz.
Mr. Meade the new president,has has years of experience in the capacity of Supervisor on the County Board.Under the law the same individual can act as president and supervisor.
1930/March – The Wisconsin Lannon Stone Companywas awarded a contract to furnish stone for a $1,250,000 building at theUniversity of Toledo. The company competed with quarries in Indiana and theeastern U.S.
The newly-incorporated Village of Lannon contracted with Wisconsin Gas andElectric to install 14 street lights. The lights are to be hung in the center ofthe streets and at intersections.
/3/14 – The Why andWherefore of the “Lannon New” This issue marks the initialappearance of the “Lannon News” and it might not be amiss to summarizebriefly its necessity of being, its’ aims and objectives.
Every live and growing community needs a newspaper as a vital part of its’scheme of advancement. Lannon, although too small to support a newspaperentirely on its’ own, is able to enjoy a very acceptable substitute through anarrangement with Mr. C.W. Fraser, publisher of the Menomonee FallsNews, wherebya section of the paper has been allotted to us, to be edited and managed here,and used to advance the interests of Lannon.
– the Lannon Cinch Club met at the home of Mrs. Wm. Hilger last Thursday.Prizes were won by Mrs. Schneider, Mrs. Pohl and Mrs. Hecker.
– Next Saturday evening at seven o’clock another educational program will bebroadcast over WTMJ on the “For All Wisconsin” series of programs. Mr.C.P. Heil , head of the Dept of Age and Markets of Madison, will be theprinciple speaker. His talk will be entitled “The New Department ofAgriculture and Markets” This program has been arranged by Mrs. O.V.Fragstein, Lannon Fields, who is the state radio chairman of the WisconsinLeague of Women Voters.
1930/April – Play Ball!The local Lannon baseball team under managers ErvinMiller and E.W. Cullen, will be a member of the Menomonee Valley BaseballLeague. The team was again granted permission by John Ohrt of the Davis Bros.Stone Company to use company land north of the village for a ball park (Thesite is now Joeck’s Memorial Field and Lannon Village Park)
1930’s – The Lannon Village Board holds meetings at the presentday (October, 2000) China Doll Inc., 20481 W. Main St.
1930’s: early – Keith Gissal remembers (as a little boy) when Charles Busse drove through Lannon in the “Meat Wagon” on Meat Marketday, handing out free wieners and a slice of bologna to the kids. (Busseoperated a butcher shop in Sussex from 1910 to 1957.)
Questions – The Lannon Home Makers Club started around 1938 – who startedit, reason for it, history?
Where was the Lannon Field Farm Camp? “Bar LFFRanch” over its’ entrance; any history? See note:
“I attended Lannon Field Farm Camp in the summers from1953-1957. I noted that in your history of Lannon, Wisc. there was a questionabout the location of the Camp. I am not familiar with the area, but I doknow that the property was contiguous to a NIKE missile silo that was to theSouth of the Camp. We saw that area every day when we rode horses in the fieldthere. A road supplied the East border of the property and went past theNIKE silo area also.
Every day we went in a school bus to the quarry for our swimminglessons, and once a year we went on horseback to the quarry for an overnightstay.
E. Jablecki 10/11/2002 I lived in St. Louis, Missouri. Ishould have received the award for the camper who came the greatest distance.The vast majority of the other campers came from Milwaukee and Chicago. Mymother liked the idea of a Farm Camp.”
Circa 1930’s Matchbook from Wm. G. Jung Brewery, Random Lake, Wis.——>
Lannon had 4-H Clubs for boys and girls – in 1938 Mrs.E. Schultz and Mrs. A. Strube were the girls’ leaders – More information onboth?
How about the Lannon 500 Club? (Editor’s Note – Clubwas in existence prior to 1931.)
Or the Lannon Bridge Club? Cinch Club?
1930’s – Reporters for the Menomonee Falls News were Mrs.A.C. Strube (? – 1938), Leona Schalla (circa 1938), and Helen Grgich (circa1939).
1931/Apr. – the Potawatomi Area Council No. 651 forlocal Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts was formed as part of Region No. 7. (Note- during the week of March 4th in 1997, the Council held its’ 65th Annualmeeting)
1933/April – Lannon Grenadiers were defeated by Jansen’sBasketeers by a 27-10 count in a game played at Bert Phillips. Mathiak scoredfour points and Lemke followed with three. Golner had two and Loden one. Rossmanand Monacelli failed to score. Loden suffered a cut lip in a collision withHecker and was forced to leave the game and go to a doctor for medicalattention.
In the April election, Lannon went almost unanimously wet when 101voted for repeal of the 18th Amendment. Somehow or other, there were 8 votesagainst repeal!
The Lannon Red Birds held a reorganization meeting. Ted Golner was reappointedmanager and Doc Lemke was elected field captain. Golner was also reappointedsecretary and treasurer, with Norman Mathiak and Harlan Hecker elected to helpcheck over finances.
May 11, 1935 – Boy Scout Troop 25‘sapplication for charter was filled out by a “Group of Citizens”with Louis Gissal as its’ “Group Chairman”. According tothe application, the new troop would have regular meetings at the Village Hallin Lannon on Mondays. The application lists Seth Pollard, age 34,occupation – road contractor: Chicago, as thenew Scoutmaster, with Lester Golner, age 27, occupation – quarry office, and Millard Pollard,age 19, no occupation listed, as the Assistant Scoutmasters. The Troop Committee consisted of LouisGissal, age 40, occupation – quarry superintendent, as Chairman, with A.P. Walter, age38, occupation – real estate and livestock, and HermanGruetzmacher Jr., age39, occupation – stone cutter, as members. Troop 25 belonged to the Potawatomi Area Council No. 651 Region 7, which was formed in Waukeshaon April 23, 1931, serving Waukesha, and parts of Jefferson, Dodge, andWalworth counties. Richard Leland was the Scout Executive at the time of charterwhich would expire on June 30, 1936, if not renewed. Each adult member orScouter, and Scout, the boy, had to pay a yearly membership dues of$1.00, of which 50 cents was to cover a year’s subscription to the publication Scouting.
The first boys to joinTroop 25 were John J. Butina (age in yrs/mos. – 14/0, BenjaminDeQuardo (age 13/6), Walter E. Fucik (age 12/10), Anthony J.Grgich (age 17/2), David L. Grgich (age 14/10), Keith R. Gissal(age 15/4), Arthur H. Gruetzmacher (age 14/11), Chas. F. Hilger(age 13/0), John J. Miller (age 13/4), William J. Miller (age15/6), Paul J. McCarty (age 16/11), Joseph Wagner (age 13/5), JosephA. Walter (age 13/2), and Richard R. Walsh (age 16/2).
The charter applicationnotes the following – “Note: How many of the boys are – Negro (X); Chinese(X); Japanese (X); Mexican (X); Indian (X). Population of Town or City ifunder 100,000 – 434 (in Village of Lannon).Is Troop in open country – Yes. How many farm boys – 1.” (Tolearn more about Scouting in Lannon click here.)
1936/Nov.29 – William P. Lannon, eldest ofthe five Lannon children dies. Lived on Mill Rd., east of present day WhiskeyCorners.
1937/June 30 – Troop 25 is dropped from theactive troop list by the Potawatomi Area Council. Reasons for drop were due tolack of leadership, without a Scoutmaster for at least 6 months and an AssistantScoutmaster for over one year.
1939 –Lannon Coal & Ice Co., phone “7811”, had a yard on the BugLine.
1938 /Dec. – Boy Scout Troop 25 is reorganized with Lannon StateGraded School PTA as the sponsor. Principal Philip Pejza submits theregistration form to the Potawatomi Area Council No. 651 Region No. 7. The Troopwill meet in the Club Room at the old school on Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. TwoPatrols were initially formed: Eagle Patrol consisting of Patrol LeaderGerald DeLany, Assistant PL Syd Gissal, scouters Myron DeLany, Francis Boyle,Melvin Golner, and James Duncan; and the Wolf Patrol consisting of PatrolLeader Jerry Walter, Assistant PL William Guis, scouters Donald Cawly, JohnWalsh, Vernon Lemke, Carmon Cirrillo, Louis Fischer, Frederich Richard Fischer,Joseph Walsh, and Norman Wildt. Melvin Mathiak became a scout in troop in March1940 but dropped in February 1941 due to lack of interest. Troop 25 wasrechartered by the School at least through 1942.
1940’s – the St. James’ St. Monica’s Circle evolves into theChristian Women Society.
1941: circa – The old two-story St. James rectory (where thenorth parking is now) was sold to the Louis Gissal family. It was cut in half,then jacked upand moved eastward on Hwy 74 and Good Hope Rd., then east on Good Hope to its’ present location,just east of Lannon Rd., a few doors down the hill on the north side. While thebuilding was reassembled and remodeled, the Gissal family lived back up thestreet on Good Hope, about three doors west of Lannon Rd. When finished the CardinalTavern opened with Louis and Mathilda living upstairs. Today the business isknown as the Lannon House Tavern.
1943/3/1 – General food rationing begun; sugar and coffee werealready being rationed.
/8/8 – Volunteer FireCompany had its’ 26th annual picnic at the Lake Five Hotel (Roadside?). Music, games and refreshments were available.
1944/Dec – the Richard Walsh family received word that their sonJohn was wounded in France and had his leg amputated. John was a member of theLannon High School graduating class of 1941 (two year high school).
1945/Jan – The Willow Spring School 4-H Club was headed bypresident Barbara Barrett and vice-president Melvin Metzger.
/Mar. – A popularoutery was to go to the “Milk Jug” on Bluemound Rd. owned by theGolden Guernsey Dairy Co-op.
/Apr. – ElizabethFlanagan, wife of Lannon postmaster and grocery store owner, died after acouple days of illness.
/May – St. John’scelebrates 50th anniversary with 335 members and Pastor George Boldt.
/July 11 – MinnieJoecks (nee Busse) died, 67, born in Germany, came to the U.S. at age 7. Herbrother Charles Busse is Village President of Sussex . Preceded in deathby husband Herman.
/Sept, week of 5th – Cpl. James Boyle, Lannon, son of a Lannon WWI veteran, returned home onfurlough. Fought in the 5 week battle of Brest in Europe. Unit went on to Aachen,Germany with the 2nd Division where he was wounded. He was in the first group tocross the Rhine River into Germany.
, week of 12th – lightning struck the Lannon Fire Co.’s siren. Glenwood Graulichis the principal at Lannon.
, week of 19th – Cpl. Keith Gissal on a week furlough from Scott Field,Illinois.
/Oct., week of 3rd – RichardWalsh of Lannon was ordained a priest and said his first Mass at St. James. FatherFrancis Finnegan was the Pastor.
– Matt Schneider was the Lannon Fire Chief.
/Nov, week of 14th – MaryMargaret Walsh of Lannon was discharged from the U.S. Army Nurse Corp.after 20 months service in the South Pacific.
/Nov., week of 21st –Cpl. Keith Gissal was in Le Havre, France.
– Leonard Joecks and Edwin Fischer left for South Dakota to gopheasant hunting and expected to get the limit every day spent there.
1946/Nov. – Anton Pinter of Lannon bought one of thosenew Kaiser cars.
/Dec. – BeckerElectric had a grand opening in Lannon with the Rev. Francis Finnigan of St.James winning the raffle prize of a radio.
– Staff Sgt. John Butina of Lannon, killed in the later part of WWII, wasreturned for reburial at St. James cemetery.
– a large number of Lannon children were skiing on Tower Hill.
– the Lannon 500 Card Club held its’ Christmas card party at the Louis Gissalhome. 1st prize raffle went to Mrs. Glen Harmon.
/ Dec. 26 – DennisGreengo born to Mr. & Mrs. William Greengo.
/Dec., week of 31st -Mr. & Mrs. John Walters of Lannon went to see their daughter, Jean,perform in Holy Angels Academy High School Christmas cantata.
– the Lannon Fire House on Main St. was decorated for Christmas, and theAdvancement Association decorated the Village Tree at the site of the oldschool.
1947/Jan., week of 14th – Joan & Jean Waltersattended the Wisconsin Catholic Action Convention in Milwaukee.
– Mrs. Steve Kindler returned home with her new infant daughter, Kathleen,born at St. Joseph’s Hospital.
– Paul Zastrow was the local oil man in Lannon.
– Leo Monacelli was driving a new Pontiac.
– Miller’s took the league in the Lisbon-Lannon Dartball League asit was 3 of 3. Walter’s was 2nd after they beat Joecks’ 3 for 3;and Schneider’s took 3 for 3 from Duffy’s.
– a 500 lb. safe was found intact in Lannon’s Davis Quarry. It had beenstolen from Reindeers Bros. in Elm Grove over New Year’s Eve. Thecombination had been knocked off, but the safe was not opened. It contained $71and some company papers.
/Jan., week of 21st -the Holy Name Men’s Society of St. James held a men’s smoker partyusing Willow Spring School Hall.
– August Joecks dies, age 78; born in Germany, came to Lannon in 1894;shortly after, he married Emma Falk.
/Feb., week of4th – Keith Gissal and wife Joan were unexpected hosts of 20 “bobbysoxers” as a howling blizzard bogged down a MFHS bus near their Lannonhome. Blowing drifts blocked some roads for days.
– the Lannon Girl Scouts held a grease drive. (Whatwas the Troop number?)
– the St. James’ Holy Name Society sponsored a fund-raiser dance at theNightingale Ball Room.
/Mar., week of4th – a group of Lannon boys were taking accordion lessons at Duffy’s Hall.
/Mar., week of 11th -Lannon girls who completed their “Tenderfoot” badge to becomefull-fledged Girls Scouts were: Patsy Mehler, Patsy Pinter, ShirleyMiller, and Shirley Gruetzmacher. Their leader was Kathleen DeLany,assisted by Betty Walsh.
– seventy fathers and sons attended the St. James Holy Name Society Fatherand Son Banquet.
/Apr., week of 1st -Lannon Fire Dept called to put out fire at Eric Gruetzmacher’s house.
– the west side Lannon Stone Co. dartball team finished 4th in the MilwaukeeCounty Dartball Tournament.
– about 30 people participated in the Lannon muzzle loader shootingcompetition at its’ rifle range.
/May, week of 6th – BishopFrances Colton of Owensboro, Ky., confirmed 54 people at St. James (inMenomonee Falls?). The choir was under the direction of Mrs. Otto Schleisman.A dinner was served for the visiting clergy by Mrs. Lester Nettisheim andMrs. Peter Nowakowski.
– the Lannon Advancement Association met at the residence of Nic Wildt.
– Cuno Quartaro was the owner of the new City (Cities?) Service garageon Main St.; used to be owned by Rudy Marks.
/May, week of 20th -eight children confirmed by Rev. George Boldt at St. John’s.
– Lannon Fire Dept is planning a two-day picnic in August.
/May, week of 27th -the old Lannon Village Hall was purchased by Walter and Francis Beckerto become an electrical appliance store.
/June, week of 10th –Joan Walters graduates from Holy Angels Academy inMilwaukee.
/June, week of 24th -Lannon Advancement Association offered free outdoor movies some evenings atLannon Grade School. In case of rain on the scheduled night, they were shownat Duffy’s Tavern Hall.
/July, week of 1st – Sydney Gissal went to a firemen’spicnic at North Lake.
– A windstorm up-rooted many trees; Otto Wandsneider had a tree drop onhis garage.
/July, week of 15th -the Lannon Advancement Association was improving the old school grounds withsome playground equipment for the village children.
/July, week of22nd – Lannon held an outdoor movie every Friday nite for the villagechildren.
– The Marblestone Quarries, east of Lannon, were for sale, asking price$150,000. Covering 52 acres, the owner, E. Orlow wanted to retire.
/July, week of 29th -The Lannon Musket Rifle Club had a shoot in the Lannon gravel pit withlarge crowds attending the outing.
/Aug., week of 19th -the Sheriff and six deputies raided a Lannon soft drink parlor andarrested the proprietor for selling beer.
/Sept., week of 2nd –A.P. Walter was a major local real estate salesman living in Lannon. R.W.Doman was an auctioneer for the area.
– a new stone cross was erected on the St. James Steeple by Nic Wildt, JoeRies, Emil Cirillo, Joe Sheiber, Tom Scheridan, and Ed Walsh. It wasdonated by Dominic Monacelli and Ole Swiggum. The old cross hadbeen down for a number of years after a storm tore it off.
1947/Winter – Great snow storm of ’47. Blowing winds createdhuge drifts shutting off town access for weeks.
1949/Nov., week of 2nd – ErvinMiller was president of Lannon Advancement Association.
1950: circa – Lannon VFW association buys an old Army barrackspreviously used in Milwaukee, and erects it on the site of the former two-storywood frame school house (present Village Hall).
1950/July, week of 25th – Lannon was able to hostthe LOL’s All-Star game, due to the newly installed park lights. BudDeLany and Earl “Weiner” Schultz were chosen to theAll-Star team.
/Aug., week of 15th – Second prize in theLannon parade-picnic was won by Mr. and Mrs. Eric Gruetzmacher for the LannonFlorist float.
– The cornerstone of the new St. John’s Evangelical Church was laid. Thefirst church being built in 1895.
/Sept -Lannon and Sussex tied for the Rivers championship after Sussex beatLannon, 8-5.
/Oct.week of 3rd – Augie Schultz picked three bushels of peaches from hissix-year-old peach tree in Lannon.
1951/Jan. week of 16th – Matt Schneider waselected chief at the annual Lannon Fire Department meeting. Louis Gissal waschosen as first assistant chief, and Harvey Rossman the second assistant chief.
/Jan.week of 23rd – Paul Gastrau, occupation stonecutter, died at age 44.
1952/Oct. week of 15th – Lester Schneider put 30locally found fossils into his new Lannon home’s fireplace.
1954 –Henry Walter, pioneer and owner of Lannon Meat Market, died at age 85.
Lannon While plans for this years Lannon famousIndian Festival, Beyond the Frontier, are nearing completion, there isstill time to enter floats and other parade attractions, according to thefestival chairmen.
The parade is open to any civic, business, veteran andlabor organizations. Prizes will be awarded. Those wishing to enter the paradecompetition are requested to contact Mr. Charles Waldo, Indian Festival Parade,at Lannon, up to Wednesday, June 15.
The festival will last three days, beginning at 6 p.m.Friday, June 17, and continuing through Sunday evening, June 19. The main paradewill start at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. The Festival committee said that entrants todate assure more bands, more floats and more variety in the parade than in thepast four years.
Feature theme of the festival will again be ceremonial andwar dances performed at the Lannon ball park by members of the ConsolidatedIndian Tribes of Wisconsin. These colorful bits of Americana will be done bymembers of the Sioux, Oneida, Chippewa, Menominee, Stockbridge, Potowatomi andWinnebago tribes on all three days. The event will be open to the public at nocharge.
Other events will include the crowing of a Festival Queen,and a Little Injun Pet Parade at 6 p.m. Saturday night. Any child with anykind of pet may enter and compete for the prizes.
The festival is one that helps Lannon promote therecreational facilities for the areas youngsters.
Waukesha Daily Freeman, June 8, 1955
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Annual Lannon Indian Festival Is Celebrated This Weekend
Plan 2 Parades; choose Queens
Lannon With over 40,000 or more visitors expected overthis coming weekend of June 17-19, this little village is ready with its biggestand best Lannon Indian Festival Beyond the Frontier. This will bethe fifth of such annual and colorful spectacles put on by the LannonAdvancement Association with cooperation from the consolidated Indian Tribes ofWisconsin. Scores of Indians from seven tribes will perform ancient, traditionaland highly colorful ceremonial dances at the Lannon ball park on Friday andSaturday evenings and on Sunday afternoon and evening. No admission will becharged.
Open to the public, too will be the two major parades. Thefirst starting at 6 p.m. Saturday will be exclusively for children under 15years, called the Little Injun Pet Parade, and its open to theyoungsters with any kind of pet. Many prizes, topped by a bicycle, will beawarded.
At 12:30 p.m. Sunday, the mammoth parade will start.Scores of Indians in their brilliant regalia will be but one of the paradeshighlights.
There will be public participation and competition forprizes in the parade, too among the various floats and ancient jalopies.Music will be provided by famous band like the 60 piece S. C. Johnson Wax co.band from Racine; the 35-piece Milwaukee Road Hiawatha band; the 85-piece SouthMilwaukee Municipal band, and the Walter Miller Post 5 Amvet Drum and Buglecorp. As an added treat, the 1953-4 national drill team from the VFW Gross_Yakshpost 6498 will perform in the Mammoth parade and at the park. As in the past aQueen will preside over both festival and parades. This year there willalso be a Co-Queen to reign over the Indian ceremonies and dances. She will bean Indian girl selected by the Indians themselves.
Profit from the festival will again be used for thedevelopment of the Lannon Athletic field and for organized recreationalfacilities for the youngsters. Waukesha Daily Freeman, Wednesday, June15, 1955, page 16
1956/Aug. – Cub Scout Pack 62 – wasoriginally chartered by the Butina-Zimdar VFW Post 7989 circa August, 1956; thePack (and probably the Troop) originally met every 4th Monday at 7:00 p.m. atthe VFW Hall; later sponsored by LannonLions, meetings held at Lannon Elementary School.
1957/Apr. – Boy Scout Troop 62 – was originally chartered by the Butina-Zimdar VFW Post 7989 circa April,1957. It was disbanded circa May, 1984. It was at this time that Webelos fromCub Scout Pack 62 who “bridged” over as Boy Scouts probably beganjoining Troop 175 sponsored by St. James Catholic Church or went on to a Sussextroop.
1958 – the old Town of Menomonee is carved up, with Lannonreceiving about two square miles of additional territory.
<—- This Town of Menomonee Map shows areas lost through past annexations; Areas Now posted for annexation; and Danger areas which may be posted (1957-1961). Source: Town Clerk’s Records, Town of Menomonee, Wisconsin. This map may show that the Willow Springs / St. James area was lost to Menomonee Falls before 1957. In fact (until proven otherwise) this lost area may never have been within the Village of Lannon limits at all, merely served by its’ post office. Who annexed the other areas isn’t known. See a much later map of Lannon for comparison in 1998, also check out Land Divisions for other earlier maps.
1959/circa – What Happened to Lannon’s Train Depot?Around 1959, Ralph (Bud) Reimer bought it for $25, jacked it up, and trucked itsouth on Lannon Rd. to Main St., then east to R.T. Lannon Stone Quarry (behindthe ball field). Initially used as a shed to cut stone. Later moved to LannonStone quarry on Good Hope Rd. In 1988 a big windstorm blew it down andeventually it was burned.
