Pages from the Past
Posted: Living Sussex Sun, April 7, 2009
By Fred Keller, Sussex Village Historian
100 years ago – 1909
John Harmon died of heart failure April 14. He had been suffering from “la grippe” for a few days, which damaged his already chronically weak heart. He was born Jan. 3, 1862, in Lannon and married Grace Van Skiver on Jan. 17, 1897. They had two sons, Glenn and John Perry. (A co-founder of the Sussex Old Engine Show, Glenn served for a while as Lannon village president.)
50 years ago – 1959
World War II veteran and four-year Village Trustee Frank Lucas, 41, ran for Lannon village president.
Lannon Civil Defense Director Keith Gissal attended a civil defense meeting in Waukesha.
Charles Delany ran again for re-election as Lannon village clerk, a position he had already held for 29 years.
25 years ago – 1984
A 16-hp mower cost $2,795 at Schroeder Implement.
Hard-working vandals built a seven-level pyramid of 28 park tables in Menomonee Park.
Suspected of legal chicanery, Bob O’Laughlin sold his home and resigned from the Sussex Village Board.
10 years ago – 1999
Outgoing Lisbon Police Chief Charles Dipiaza issued disciplinary charges against full-time Lisbon police officer Shawn Friedbacher.
After less than a year in the former Dr. Van Valin home on Sussex’s Main Street, Taste of Gourmet closed.
Bob Hyland returned to the Hamilton School Board after serving a few terms several years earlier.
5 years ago – 2004
Sussex Sentry might close, according to then-owner Ted Madjecki.
Sussex Main Srreet mail carrier Jim Green retired after 31 years with the post office.
Mark Spranger removed politically-charged signage from the front of his Lannon business on Main Street.
Nicole Wagner of Sussex was one of six finalists for the 2004 Wisconsin Alice in Dairyland title.
Pages from the Past
Posted: Living Sussex Sun, April 14, 2009
By Fred Keller, Sussex Village Historian
100 years ago – 1909
John Harmon of Lannon died April 14. He was at home when he complained of feeling ill, and chose to rest on a lounge. His wife went to another room; when she returned he had died of heart failure. He was buried at Sunnyside Cemetery.
John’s brother, Demerit Harmon, had once been Menomonee Town Chairman. The brothers were farmers and quarry owners together.
50 years ago – 1959
Sussex participated in a Cold War National Civil Defense Alert, stopping traffic and ordering citizens into shelters. Joe Mudlitz was the Sussex civil defense director.
Sussex and Lisbon were warned that Dutch elm disease would strike the community hard and soon.
25 years ago – 1984
Jim and Lucille Henry sold their Country Store, which housed the German Evangelical Church and parsonage and the North Western Railroad Depot.
Citing recent strokes, Richard Jung resigned as Lisbon town chairman.
The Sussex Lioness blood drive collected 150 pints.
10 years ago – 1999
Dan Martin defeated Bob Winter for Lannon village president by three votes, 115-112.
Big rains caved in a sidewalk retaining wall at the top of the hill on Main Street west of Maple Avenue. The village had to close the sidewalk until it was repaired.
5 years ago – 2004
Hamilton High School junior Sara Michalski won Menomonee Falls’ Junior Miss competition.
Sussex officials suspended Recreation Director Tammy Rocker, citing “performance” reasons.
Lisbon hosted the annual Sussex-Lisbon Easter Egg Hunt at its Community Park.
Pages from the Past
Posted: Living Sussex Sun, April 22, 2009
By Fred Keller, Sussex Village Historian
100 years ago – 1909
David Hartkopf, 52, of Lannon was killed by an explosion of dynamite at the Howard quarry. Also injured in the blast was Lawrence Ackerman, 53. Hartkopf was believed to be thawing the dynamite with hot water, as was the custom then.
50 years ago – 1959
Louis Gissal was the civil defense director in Lannon.
The oldest person in Sussex, 94-year-old Frank Grogan, celebrated his birthday April 12. He was Sussex’s first village president in 1924 and a charter member of the Sussex Fire Department.
25 years ago – 1984
Lannon postmaster Keith Gissal retired after 26 years.
Lisbon sought incorporation as a city.
Hamilton athletic director and longtime boys’ basketball coach Randy Koller died suddenly at age 46.
Former Sussex Trustee Bob O’ Laughlin was charged with theft for allegedly stealing $171,000.
10 years ago – 1999
Hamilton’s Seth Kroenke pitched for Carroll College.
Residents living near the Waukesha Avenue Phillips 66 Quick Corners gas station complained about the station’s bright lights.
The Lisbon Presbyterian Church turned 152 years old.
5 years ago – 2004
The new Sussex Kohl’s 170 employees staged a grand opening with village officials.
Sussex Recreation Director Tammy Rocker fought her forced resignation.
Lisbon’s annual town meeting voted 32-0 to build a new firehouse.
Lisbon Town Chairman Gerald Schmitz started his 29th year on the Hamilton School Board.
Pages from the Past
Posted: Living Sussex Sun, April 29, 2009
By Fred Keller, Sussex Village Historian
100 years ago – 1909
In an upset, veteran judge M.S. Griswold was defeated for re-election. Some speculated he lost because he had granted big judgments to a few litigants. That was not the case, however, so maybe it was the litigating attorney who defeated him.
50 years ago – 1959
The Lannon VFW named Ed Koeper its commander while the Auxiliary elected his wife president.
Lannon ordered a rescue vehicle from the Gettelman Agency.
A Red Cross first-aid course was completed by 25 Sussex firefighters.
The chief of the Sussex Fire Department was Roy Evert.
25 years ago – 1984
Police investigated an alleged stolen car “chop shop” on Town Line Road in Lisbon.
Hamilton senior Nancy Umhoefer became a top model.
Helen Abel and Rueben Meissner celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Lisbon farm girl Helen was a nurse by training. Rueben ran a trucking business.
10 years ago – 1999
Nathan Home, a member of General Patton’s Army in World War II, died at 77. One of four Lisbon brothers who served in that war, he crossed the Remagen Bridge a day before it collapsed into the Rhine River.
5 years ago – 2004
The village’s oldest business, the Sussex Lumber Do-it Center, closed.
Lannon voters recycled a former village president, Dan Martin, back into the post, turning out the incumbent, Robert Winter.
Denise Harris was recovering from an eye operation partially funded by the Sussex Lions Club.