Erwin E. “Erv” Miller
“Greenie” Miller
“Father of Lannon Land O’ Lakes Baseball”
By Michael R. Reilly, nephew
Last Revision 07/02/14
Born in West Bend on August 27, 1907 to parents WilliamJacob Miller, Jr. and Magdalena Vogt.
Before his father married, he worked as a typo, settingprint, in the office of the Washington County Pilot. And in 1906he worked at a malt house, possibly associated with West Bend Lithia Companywhere his father worked. Until he married married Magdalena M. Vogt, also known as Lena, onJune 5, 1906, he lived on his mother’sstep-father’s, Jacob Engmann (This probably isn’t true, it probably was theoriginal family farm from his grandfather Louis which was left to his UncleOtto) farm outside West Bend.
The Pilot noted that William, “was a young man of good character,industrious, and of a whole-souled disposition, and will surely prove to be agood husband.” William and Lena then lived with his parents for a time at335 N. 8th Street in West Bend.
About a year after Erwin was born, October 27, 1908,Eugene Stephen Miller was born. Tragedy struck the couple when Eugene died twoyears later on November 11, 1910. (Reason for death?) He was buried on November14 at Holy Angel’s Cemetery, Row 28, (next to his grandparents, William Sr. andAppollonia) in West Bend. The cemetery is located on the corner of Main Streetand Decorah Road.
Very little is known about Erwin’s early life in WestBend. (Did he attend Holy Angels school in West Bend, and one in Milwaukee,Sussex, or Lannon?) A check for records of the Sussex GradedSchool at the Waukesha County Historical Society on 8/8/00 found no attendancerecords for the years 1911-1918.
Shortly after Eugene’s death, about the same time Lena’s mother moved toMilwaukee, the family packed up and also went to that city. (Reasons for themove are unknown. One could speculate the need for Lena to get away, or becauseof potential work opportunities for William. Several of Lena’s relatives alreadylived there as did William’s brother Stephen.) A review of the Milwaukee CityDirectories for the time period 1910 – 1915 shows that Lena’s mother’s namefirst appears in the 1911 volume as “Annie, Wid., Frank, h 426 18thSt.”. Looking at other Vogt entries in 1911 reveals she lived with Peter, aplumber, and Margaret, an operator. No where does it show a William or LenaMiller living at this address. In the 1914 volume, there listed a “William,tinsmith, h 835 Muskego Ave”. In 1915, a “William, saloon, 629 20th, hsame” is listed and later in 1916, “William, bartender, h 3877th” is indicated. While William J. Miller worked as both tinsmith ortinner and also as a bartender, none of the listing above or in the directoriescan actually be attributed to him.
On a postcard postmarked September 2, 1915, William wroteto his mother from Templeton (now Sussex), “Hello Ma. This the place I amgoing to take. Will be in WB (West Bend) in a week.” The address wassimply, “Mrs. Wm. Miller, West Bend, Wis.”. The picture on thepostcard’s front was that of the Mammoth Springs Hotel (presently Dilly’s) underthe proprietorship of one Thomas McCloskey. The Hotel was both a saloondownstairs and hotel above. It isn’t known what William meant by his message tohis mother; whether he intended to buy the establishment or to simply work there( Fred Keller, a Sussex area historian, wrote about the history of thehotel/saloon and nothing mentioned William’s ownership.) There further exists apicture ( in the possession of Shirley Ann Arnold, nee Miller) of Williamstanding behind a bar that could be this hotel. It’s not sure when or if Williambegan working here because his father, William Sr., suddenly died a few dayslater on September 5, 1915 while fishing.
The West Bend News indicated in his father’s obituary,dated September 8, 1915, that William resided in Milwaukee. It is thought thatthe family lived above the saloon while he worked there (in Templeton). Nothingyet has been found that tells of the couple’s life until Lena’s death in 1917.
Lena’s obituary reads that she had been sick for a coupleof years before her death but that she was improving. A week before she died,she caught a cold which developed into pneumonia, the cause of her death. Shedied on January 27, 1917 in her mother’s home at 426 Eighteenth Street,Milwaukee. She is buried in Holy Angel’s Cemetery in Row 37, next to herparents, Frank and Anna.
At some time Erwin’s father met Margaret M. Semrow, born on May 14,1883, the daughter of John Semrow and Albertina Hammer. Whether he knew herbefore Lena’s death or became acquainted immediately after isn’t known.
He married her on August 16, 1917 at St. James Church inLannon. Father Paul E. Schiedel officiated at the wedding and William’s brotherLouie was a witness. Their Waukesha County marriage certificate #12-417indicated that William’s occupation was saloon-keeper and that their residencewas Templeton.
When Prohibition finally shut down the saloon and newowners turned it into an ice cream shop, William and his family possibly movedon to other temporary quarters. A listing in the Rural Directory of WaukeshaCounty for 1919 – 1923 shows William Miller living with a child at a hotel as atenant at Templeton, Lisbon Township (was the child listed – Erwin or William?)
On September 3, 1919, William Miller purchased lot 72 in the town ofHadfield (now Lannon) from Hattie Hartkopf, a widow living in Milwaukee, for$600. The legal description is in Waukesha County real estate record Vol. 163page 133 that states it’s, in the South one half (S 1/2) of the Southeast quarter(SE 1/4) of Section number 18 in Township 8 North Range 20 East. The lot is 96feet long by 72 feet wide. Speculation is that there was a house on the lotalready.
The William Miller home had three bedrooms upstairs and downstairsin the kitchen stood a two-burner kerosene stove. On top of that stove Maggie,as she was fondly known, would cook wonderful meals. The bread and pies shealways made were baked in a tin box that sat on top of the burners ( they didn’thave an oven). They may not have had a lot to eat but they always had a fulltable. {Later on Shirley Ann Arnold, nee Miller, remembers how Grandma(Shirley’s step-grandmother) was such a great cook. “She made the best porkchops and the most delicious chili. Our family had many Holidays there. OneHoliday I was naughty and Dad (Erv) told me to be quiet, and of course I wasn’t,and I got a good spanking. Grandma took me into the little bedroom downstairs(in the basement?) and put powder on my face.”} Author’s note – a littletrouble understanding this one!
William had four more children with Margaret; William JohnMiller born on October 10, 1919; John on December 13, 1921; Margaret M. on April19. 1925, andlastly Marie Rose Miller was born on October 16, 1927. On the birth certificateof their first child in 1919, William’s occupation was “tinner”.
William worked as a volunteer fireman for the town. Thefirehouse was right across the street from the family home, and he became 1stassistant fire chief during the years of 1920, 21, and 23. In 1922 he served as2nd assistant fire chief.
Now, according to family information, Erwin or Erv, asmany called him, didn’t arrive in Hadfield until 1922. If this is true, wherewas he after his mother died in 1917? Living with Grandma Appollonia in WestBend? With another relative? Or did he stay with his father? He was only nineyears old when his mother died; was he left alone while his father worked andstarted a new life with Margaret? An interview with Waukesha Sports Writer TomGuyant in 1953 states that Erv came to Lannon 35 years ago where he finished hisschooling (probably in the old two-story wooden Lannon Grade School). If this istrue, Erv would have arrived with his father and lived in Lannon in the house hisfather purchased. The year would have been 1918 or 1919. Erv would have beenabout 12 years old when the 1919 school year started, placing him in 6th to 8thgrade depending on his progress in any other school(s) he attended. Question – In February 1922 the 9 year old SussexGraded School burned down; Erwin “Erv” “Greenie” Miller mayhave attended this school when he father Salty worked in Templeton circa 1915.Erv was born in 1908 in West Bend. The school records for the period 1911-18 werenot found at the Waukesha County Historical Society; could they have beenlost in the fire. If so, why are there 1919-1922 records available? Does anyonehave any classroom records for the missing time period?
Erv may have finished through the Sophomore year at LannonGrade School since they had it there for a number of years. Did he then go toMenomonee Falls High School to finish graduating? If he finished High School,then starting his clerking job at J. J. Flanagan’s store in 1925 would be aboutright.
One story about Erv working at J. J. Flanagan’s came outrecently; the store sold dynamite and other explosives. One day a fellow blewoff his hand while examining a blasting cap.
Erv told his son, Don, years later that he worked on the Sullivan brothers (Jack and Dave) farm (possibly boarded there) west of Lannonthat eventually became part (or all) of the Walterwood real estate development.(Don also thinks that Erv may have worked on a pig farm near Holy Hill.)
During the 20’s, his father worked as a tinsmith doing gutterwork and installing tin ceilings(one or more are to exist in the family home). Ray Semrow,a nephew of Margaret (Semrow), says that he worked for his Uncle in the tinsmith tradeduring the period of 1925-26, but he didn’t know where William had learned theskills. Ed Miller, a nephew in West Bend, remembered that his Uncle Bill built adrain (sink) for Bill’s brother, John, (“Feet”) when he ran a taverncalled “Mussle’s” (?) on north Main Street in West Bend (now the siteof 1st National Bank).
His father also built row boats 12 to 14 feet in length made ofwood and tin out in the back workshop/garage. The boats were soldered andriveted with soft rivets that were set in place with a ball peen hammer. It’ssaid that he made the boats during the winter, often stacking 15-20 boats onwooden 2×4’s, and then selling them in the spring ( would like to find someonewho still has one of his boats).
On January, 1930, when Erv was 21 years old, the formerTown of Hadfield was officially incorporated asthe Village of Lannon and Erv’s father’s name was on the incorporation document. His name is listed in theMenomonee Falls News dated February 14, 1930 as “Wm. Mueller” one ofthe new elected officers of the Village of Lannon.
It wasn’t until he began working at the grocery store thatErv took an interest in baseball. Lannon, at the time, wasn’t as hepped up overthe diamond sport as it residents are at the present time (1953). “We had asecond team, Called it the Cardinals, ” recalls Miller. “We playedindependent ball around here. The outfit was made up of fellows who weren’tquite good enough to make the Lakes club.”
Erv experienced his first year as a league manager in1928; a job he kept until 1939. His best year? Miller recalls his team of ’37which won the Eastern division championship, (there were only two divisionsthen) but lost the grand-championship to Pewaukee by a single run.
A 1929 baseball team photo shows Erv as their manager;what’s interesting about it is that Lannon wasn’t officially Lannon until 1930 -so either the date of the photo is a year off, or the residents were alreadypromoting themselves as Lannonites – you see the team’s jerseys say”Lannon” on them. As previously mentioned they had the Lannon PostOffice, and the “Lannon Volunteer Fire Company” was organized in 1916.
Erv was always the baseball teampromoter; to play on the Lannon team you had to at least work in the Lannonarea. So Erv would find the talent or when it came to him, he would be on thelookout to get them a job and temporary residence somewhere.
Play Ball! April 1930 – 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 Field) Source of news article was the Lannon History – Golden Jubilee 1930-1980 but original source is unknown.
In 1931, the Miller managed aggregation took theTri-Valley league crown and in ’33, won the Waukesha County championship.Baseball wasn’t the only sport where Erv shined. Basketball occupied the mindsof Lannon sports fans during the winter months and Erv managed a Lakes quintetduring 1932 and 1933.
On September 28, 1933 in St. James Chapel, Erv married Henrietta”Hattie” Mina Gastrow (who wasn’t Catholic), born March 8, 1908 in the city of Waukesha at206 Niagara St.. Though Hattie wasn’t Catholic, it’s believed they were marriedin the old St. James chapel. Erv probably met Hattie during one of the manybaseball games he either played on or managed, and a couple of Hattie’s brothersfrom Waukesha played ball. Hattie’s father was Fred Gastrow and mother’s namewas Henrietta Dusha.
Their first child, a son named Donald came on March 11,1934. Shirley Ann arrived October 10, 1935 and youngest daughter Joan “Joannie” Ruth showed up on May 1, 1939. According to their birthrecords, all three were born at home.
Daughter Shirley says that Dad worked for Jack .J. FlanaganJr. (grocery store) when she was very young. She didn’t know when he started but it wasprobably before 1933 (actually 1925) when he married Hattie. The store sold groceries, was thetown Post Office (Jack .J. Flanagan Jr. was Postmaster from 1912-1949) and sold a little bit of everything. Shirley recalls Mrs.Flanagan coming out of the store when she would pass by (being pushed in a buggyby one of her Aunts, Margaret or Marie, or walking by) and give her candy.
July 2, 2014 – Met with Joan at Depot Museum, one thing she mentioned was that her father sold insurance, Northwestern Mutual. I said that Martin C. Weber, Sr. also sold insurance while also farming, and she said that he sold her a Northwestern Mutual policy. Interesting! Perhaps Erv got to know Martin thru baseball and Martin got him into the insurance business as a side-line to the grocery? Note: After my mother, Erv’s half-sister Marie Rose Miller, graduated from high school, she worked for the American Appraisal company in downtown Milwaukee, later she switched jobs and went to Northwestern Mutual. She joined the Company choir late in 1945 (?) and sang with them until around 1952 [probably up until I was born in 1952]. Perhaps Erv encouraged Marie to work for Northwestern Mutual?
Picture circa late 1935 – Salty, son Erv Miller, grandson Don, granddaughter Shirley, Grandma Appolonia in her West Bend home(?).
Erv bought the grocery store business only (not thebuilding) from J. J.Flanagan Jr., but it may have been the early 1940’s (if this is true, didFlanagan continue to operate the Post Office out of the store until 1949? – Yeshe did, but the Post Office was separated from the store by a wall where Ervcould slid open a small door and talk to the Postmaster). The store was on the northwestcorner of Main St. (Hwy 74) and Lannon Rd. After Miller’s Food Store &Butcher Shop was closedin 1960 it became the F&M Bank, then later, the present home of Bette Anne’sAntiques. A note about the Lannon Post Office: although it was in the Town ofHadfield (though in the Jubilee history it states that it was part of the Townof Menomonee), it was known as the Lannon Post Office since August 2, 1890.
The Miller’s Food Store was a “Red Bell” brandstore and Erv got his dry goods from the Roundy’s distribution center inMilwaukee. Also from Dobratz (?) and the Hoffman Co. The store sold a generalline of merchandise. Son Don remembers working in the store when he was firstabout 11 years old (around 1945). He didn’t receive any regular wages (it wasjust expected that family members helped with family businesses back then), buthe did receive a little allowance money.
From 1940 -’45, the war years – Lannon dropped baseballdue, of course to the shortage of man-power. Following the war, Erv wasinstrumental in the rebirth of baseball in Lannon. Even son Donald playedbaseball, and ended up in an All-Star tournament in 1951 being played down atBorchert Field in Milwaukee. When Don wasn’t playing baseball he would sometimeshelp out, as his father did, at the Lannon games selling soda pop.
Also in 1941, Erv moves his family to a house at 7249Lake St. (a few blocks from the store) that he rents until 1949. They originally were renting ahouse (from Fred Gissal) on the southwest corner of Lannon and Good Hope Roads (across from thepresent day Post Office). From the Waukesha County records, 500-191; on June 6,1949 Erwin E. Miller and Hattie M. bought the house/property on Lake Street fromFred J. Wilson and Ella M. for $1.00. Lot 52, Plat of Hadfield, SE 1/4 of the SE1/4 of Section 18, Town 8 North Range 20E. This house and lot cost approx.$3,500.
Additional real estate records, 505-459, show him takingout a loan/got a lien/or purchased lot #53, for $1.00 on February 25,1947. This lot was adjacent to the one above. Erv bought it undeveloped becauseLot 52 with the house on it had swampy land, with many willows and mosquitoes.He removed many of the willows, and cleared other shrubbery, but wanted the nextdoor lot to increase his useable yard size.
Shirley remembers Mom and Dad spending many hours workingat the store; even when not open, they spent nights and weekends stocking andcleaning. After Shirley stopped helping Grandpa Miller with cleaning the school(he died in 1954), she started working in the grocery store.
In 1949, major remodeling went on and the grocery storewas converted to a self-serve operation with shelving and carts. Prior to this,the food items were behind counters and the grocer scooped out and weighed whatthe customer wanted.
Erv served as president of the Athletic Committee of theLannon Advancement Association from 1949 – 1952 when he gave way to Joe Turner.He was also president of Lannon Advancement Association, elected in 1949.
Erv’s attitude towards the Milwaukee Braves was that ithurt the Lakes baseball, even though ehe was an avid Braves fan. The sayingwas, “So long as “Miller’s Store” remains on the corner, they’regoing to have plenty of sports activity here – of that you can be sure!”
His involvement with baseball probably dates back to hisearly teens if not sooner. From being a player to team manager to businessleader promoter, Erv Miller was there. Every game he was there, lugging a bigbasket through the stand, peddling peanuts. Along with Ossie Monacilla, WalterBecker Both selling beer), Tony Schneider (ticket seller), and Matt Schneider,Al Strube, and Al Walter (all parking cars these gentlemen, all officers ordirectors of the Lannon Advancement Association supported Lannon baseball fromits’ earliest days, and got the ball park completed.
Because of Erv’s energetic involvement with Lannonbaseball, he (the one on the right) was inducted into the Land O’ Lakes Hall of Fame in 1953; the 3rd person to receive thathonor, though the first manager to be nominated. Erv was also vice-president of the Land O’ LakesOld Timers association.
Son Donald enters the Army in 1954 to serve his allottedtime of two years. Wasn’t in the Korean War.
Shirley Ann Miller marries Edward Arnold November 3, 1956
In the early Spring of 1957, Erv purchased a gasolineservice station that had to be moved because of road expansion (there’s twoideas where this came from – one from near Hwy 41and was a house, the other near CapitolDr., the gas station).Erv’s step-brother John Miller did the electrical work Erv had purchasedthe approx. three acres that the gas station was set on sometime before 1957from a Mr. Wagner.
When the new “Suburban Market” opened it had aback room, a bathroom, and a walk-in cooler upstairs where the extra liquor wasstored. His Uncle Louie from West Bend worked at the store when it first opened,keeping things tidy, and fixed, and the “help” working.
(Question – Was the new store being built and remodeled over a period ofthree years before opening, and the old store was still being used until 1960?.Or was the new store also used in addition to the original one? – Yes, to bothquestions. Erv’s son, Don, operated the store from approx 1957 to 1960, whileErv ran the Suburban Market from its’ new location.) (Also, was thePost Office still in the store or had it already moved up to Lannon and GoodHope Roads when an old automobile garage was purchased and remodeled into thepresent day Post Office? – I believe it was around 1957 that Keith Gissal movedthe Post Office to its’ present location.)
At first they sold liquor and beer, shrubbery (?) bushels of fruit andpotatoes, that Erv had to drive to Michigan for. When the store was finished, cannedfoods, pickles, chips, and and the more general merchandise was sold. On Sundays the store had a deli that soldMilitzer’s hard rolls, potato salad, baked beans, and cole slaw (What no ham?).Shirley says that they sold on Sundays back in 1957 when stores weren’t supposedto be open The deli was probably in the corner food store. During the Summer the store supplied the town with vegetable andflower plants in flats, and sold Christmas trees during the Holidays.
As an independent grocery, Erv traveled to Chicago toConsolidated Foods (operated Cardinal store chain) to stock his store with drygoods. He purchased produce in Milwaukee and the surrounding community.
Erv had the nickname “Greenie” and to this dayit’s unclear to its’ origin. Some say it was because of all the produce,shrubbery, plants, and Christmas trees he sold. Though this is the most plausibleexplanation, perhaps other theories could be some early smoking attempts, ormaybe he spend a lot of time sliding on the outfield grass going afterbaseballs.
In October or November 1960 a big addition went up, andthe Suburban Market openswith groceries and a self-serve meat department. Two more additions were addedto the “warehouse” (?), more walk-in coolers, a walk-in freezer, andanother door for deliveries. For the Meat Dept and room to park the store truck,the compressors were taken out of the meat dept and installed on the roof. Thisis the time period that the store actually functioned as a true grocery store.
Son Donald left Lannon in 1963 and moved to Antigo wherehe purchased a Dairy Queen franchise, but during the winter months when the DQwas closed, he would come back to Lannon and help run the store.
In late 1962 the store changed to a “Super Valu”(only the 2nd Super Valu in southeastern Wisconsin, the first being inCedarburg) and Erv picked up his store stock from the distribution center inGreen Bay. Shirley’s son Jeff would accompany his grandfather manytimes to Green Bay to pick up grocery stock, later to be joined bygrand-daughter Jeanne when she was about three. Shirley believes that her kidsnever heard the word “No!” from Grandpa (Sounds like he like to spoilthem!).
Also in 1962, he became the President of the LOL OldTimer’s Association. In 1963, tragedy struck Lannon baseball when long-timerscore/grounds-keeper Barney Joecks died in a car accident. In his honor, thebaseball field was renamed Joeck’s Park.
Erv was an avid Packer fan as well as a baseballenthusiast and promoter; he went to the 1967 Packer vs. Cowboys Ice Bowl (He toldShirley that it wasn’t cold!). Erv managed to obtain season tickets from aformer Packer player, Paul Kell (played one season with team). The ticketsremain in the family to this day.
Joan Ruth Miller marries Kenneth Zahnow (b. 3/14/1944) on September 21,1968. Ken played baseball for Lannon. Ken’s father, Walter, played for Brookfield.
Erv was honored at the Land ‘O Lakes Eastern DivisionAwards Banquet in November, 1971
Erv was always in the Lannon Advancement Association(sources say that he founded the Association) says Shirley, and picnics wereheld every Summer where a car would be raffled off. One year (1949 or 1950?) theAssociation had a contest to see who could sell the most tickets. Every memberwould sponsor a girl, and the winner would be Queen plus the two runners-upwould form the “Court”. Shirley won the honor of being named Queen,while Norma Olson Schneider and Florence Dapke Burg were rest of the”court”.
Lannon civic leader,
Erwin E. Miller dies
Lannon grocer, sports sponsor and civicleader, Erwin E. Miller, 65, died Thursday December 21, 1972 at CommunityMemorial Hospital where he had been hospitalized for the past three weeks withLeukemia, heart trouble, and a bleeding ulcer.
Owner of Lannon’s Super Valu store,Miller was a member of the Wisconsin Retail Grocers Association and had beentreasurer of the Lannon Lions club.
Services for Miller will be conducted atthe Schramka-Haack-Herrick Funeral Home, Water St., Menomonee Falls at 9:30a.m.; Wednesday, Dec., 27, and at 10 a.m. at St. James Catholic Church inLannon. Burial will follow the church service in the church cemetery. The bodywas in state at the funeral home Tuesday, Dec. 26, after 4 p.m.
Miller moved to Lannon in 1922. He had beena native of West Bend. He founded and was president of the Lannon AdvancementAssociation. Miller lived at 7249 Lake St. in Lannon.
An installee of the Land O’ Lakes baseballHall of Fame, Miller had managed and sponsored Lannon’s baseball entry in theEastern Division of the Land O’ Lakes. A Director of the the club for 20 years,Miller received the Eastern Division’s Meritorious Service Award in 1971.
Eastern Division Commissioner, Joe Long, along-time close friend of Miller’s, said of him, “He was sincere,dedicated, conscientious, respected and beloved. One of the real great men ofLOL baseball, Erv did much to keep things on an evenkeel.”
Survivors include his wife, Harriet ofLannon; a son, Donald, of Hartland; and two daughters, Mrs. Edward (Shirley)Arnold and Mrs. Kenneth (Joan) Zahnow, both of Milwaukee. (Author’s note: at thetime of Erv’s death, Shirley and Edward were living in an apartment in hisparents farmhouse in Germantown.)
In another obituary – “Duringhis tenure as president of the Lannon Advancement Association, Mr. Miller wasinstrumental …..”We’re really going to miss him, He couldn’t do enoughfor …!”
And current manager Rudy Dubnicka observed,”I’ve lost a close personal friend and counselor,, I’ll miss those manget-togethers we had during each baseball season.” Lenny …., longassociated with the LOL and News Staff as a writer, stated that, “Erv willalways be remembered as “Mr. Baseball” in Lannon. The LOL is indebtedto him dfor his unselfish efforts.”
After Erv’s death, store manager Dot Lind ran it forawhile, then son Don and the Olson brothers purchased the business from hismother, Hattie. After about 1 1/2 years, they sold the business to (in 1974-75)to Harry Langerman and leased the building to him (was operated as a Shop-Ritefood store). Several years after Hattie’s death, Don and his sisters sold thebusiness and building to “Shorty” Klink and Bob Groth who operated itfor a while as a Piggly Wiggly food store.
On Friday, August 3, 1973, the first annual Erv. MillerBaseball Tournament was held. It was Lannon upsetting Menomonee Falls Lakers,7-6. Unfortunately the tournament only continued for another 1-2 years. Why itended is open to speculation. The Miller children had left Lannon, perhaps Erv’swidow, Hattie, wasn’t open to its’ continuance, or maybe his memory wasforgotten too soon by Lannon. Originally the thought was to erect a memorial toErv in the baseball park, but for some reason it was changed to a tournamentthat never outlasted the time he devoted to the game in Lannon.
It’s sort of ironic that Lannon competed with Milwaukee inbaseball in so many ways and often was a jump ahead of them, especially buildingthe ball field. That today, when Miller Park is being built in Milwaukee, thatLannon could have had its’ own Miller Baseball Park, if Barney Joeck’s hadn’tdied prematurely, and that when Erv Miller, the “Father of Lannon Land O’Lakes baseball died in 1972, the baseball field could have been named after him!What would Milwaukee being doing now if Lannon had a Miller Baseball field yearsago? Would it be called the Pettit Stadium instead?
Around 1997, Shirley wrote that “Dad was the mosthonest, sincere, and generous person I ever met. He’s been gone for 25 years,and people still come up to us (Joan and I) and say what a wonderful person hewas.”
Additional Information:
Hattie died October 23, 1979, both she and Erv are buried in St. James Cemetery..
Donald Miller sells DQ in 1970 and purchases a Super Valu store in Hartland,sells it in 1979 to a Mr. Hilger, and moves back north and works five years inthe Eagle River Triegs grocery store, and another ten years at the Save Morestore in Minocqua.
Information Sources :
Washington County Register of Deeds; Washington County Pilot; West Bend News;Lannon History – Golden Jubilee 1930-1980; Waukesha County Register of Deeds;the recollections of Shirley Ann Arnold (nee Miller), Keith Gissal, Edwin G. Miller Jr. (West Bend), Ray Semrowand Robert E. Reilly; Extensive interview with Donald E. Miller, August 4 &6th, 2000.
From the Waukesha Freeman – Land O’ Lakes Begins Naming Hallof Famers…Miller Sparks Lannon’s Baseball Success byTom Guyant, Freeman Sports Writer (Editor’s Note: ErvMiller, Lannon businessman, was recently named to the Land O’ Lakes Hall ofFame. Because Erv has been active in directing and sponsoring teams in theleague for a number of years he was so honored. Actually Miller is not the firsthonoree, Walter Kiley of Plat, a catcher and an outfielder, was selected fiveyears ago. Martin Weber, who has undertaken the Hall of Fame selections, reportsthat nine players will be nominated at a meeting late in January. Miller was thefirst manager picked, however, and here is a brief account of his LOL career.)