His passion for history and efforts to preserve the stories of our early German settlers led him to lead a small group of citizens to form the Manitowoc County Historical Society in 1906.  Emil Baensch’s efforts have lived on beyond his years and demonstrate that one individual with vision and commitment can inspire a community for generations. 

In 1930, a young kindergarten teacher at the First Ward school (later Roosevelt School) was preparing her classroom. As she decorated her walls to make it cheery and educational for her incoming students, she took down an old, deteriorated portrait of a serious looking bearded gentleman. She stored the old portrait away in a closet until seasoned educators and older residents learned of her ‘rearranging.’ A educators and residents asked that she put the portrait back up on the wall quickly, as the portrait was of C.F. Viebahn.