This Week in Door County History: June 16 – 23

All items are from the Door County Library’s newspaper archives, and they appear in the same form as they were first published, including misspellings and grammatical errors.

The Expositor, June 12, 1874

FOUND DEAD.

An unknown man was found dead, in the bushes about eighty rods North-east of the village last Friday. He had evidently been dead, when found some two or three days.

Justice Schuyler summoned a coroner’s jury, whose investigations elicited the following facts. He came to town with Magner’s circus, was seen getting off the board and assisting, in hitching up the teams, and was evidently slightly intoxicated when he got off the boat. He was next seen in Wright’s saloon; about the that time he went into McKinney’s Drug Store and bought three ounces of Laudanum, paying for it, and apparently hunting up all the currency he possessed to make out enough; was seen by several of the inhabitants passing up St. John’s Street toward the bushes, staggering a little and apparently slightly intoxicated. This was the last seen of him until found dead. No marks of violence were found upon his person. He had evidently pulled off his coat, made a pillow of it, and lain down for a nap and died while asleep without a struggle. Decomposition was rapidly setting in when the body was found; the features being black and disfigured. The blood had rushed to his head, and pressing in, had ruptured the vessels of his eyes, nose and mouth, and was oozing out.

The Laudanum bottle was found near him, empty. The evidence appeared to be clear that he had committed suicide by taking the laudanum.

He was a large sized man, full faced, black hair and whiskers, and apparently twenty five to thirty years of age, and in the full enjoyment of health. He was put into a coffin and buried.

Weekly Expositor Independent, June 12, 1885

An eel was captured in this bay a few days ago by one of our fishermen, who presented it to C.S. Hamilton, but it managed somehow to die before “Cy” was ready to lunch and he was compelled to dispose of it in a different manner from what he had planned he would.

The Democrat, June 14, 1894

The work on the stone abutment for the draw to the railroad bridge was commenced on Tuesday, being completed this noon. It is a solid and substantial piece of work. Pile driving will be commenced immediately and the bridge will easily be completed within the required time.

Door County Democrat, June 12, 1909

Mayor Wolters’ residence has been connected with the city water main at the corner of Court and Liberty streets. This is the first residence in the city to use water from the new plant. T.H. Smith will be the next and Richard Birmingham has the contract to do the work. As soon as the water main is laid on St. John street several residences will be supplied with water. Most of the residents on Grant street have asked that the sewer and water pipe be extended along that street and the work may be done this year.

Door County News, June 16, 1921

WAR ON GRASSHOPPERS

Experts From State Department of Agriculture Here To Aid in Fight On Pests

The seriousness of the grasshopper plague in Door county this year is indicated by the presence of two expert entomologists who have come up here to assist the farmers in saving their crops.

Dr. S.B. Fracker of the state department of agriculture is making a hurried survey of the county, and Prof. C.L. Fluke of the College of Agriculture, will spend considerable time here, to aid in the fight on the pests.

While two pounds each of salt and white arsenic with 50 lbs. of bran will alone make an excellent bait, both the experts are convinced that banana oil, or amylacetate, makes the bait more efficient, strongly attracting the insects, and giving better results than any other fruit extract….Door county farmers are clearly on the job this year, and using poison freely to prevent any possible recurrence of last year’s almost total lost of crop in some places.

Door County News, June 17, 1937

ROBERT WAHL, 79, FORMER FISH CREEK MAN, DIES

The death of Dr. Robert Wahl, former resident of Fish Creek, occurred at a Chicago hospital late Friday. He was 79 years old on May 20, and had been ill for three months….He was an internationally known brewing engineer.

The Wahl-Henius Institute of Brewing Technology, a school of brewmasters in Chicago, was founded by him in 1886. He remained president of the institute until 1916, and he sold his interest in the firm in 1921. With the return of legalized beer in 1933 he left his home which he had established at Fish Creek and opened a new institute in Chicago, and was said to possess one of the world’s greatest collections of technical material on brewing.