The production of cheese in Wisconsin has changed dramatically along with our growing population, advances in transportation and the growth of our economy. It is estimated that there were once 3,600 cheese factories in Wisconsin with the number reaching 106 in Manitowoc County in 1927. 

On Tuesday evening, December 22, 1942 hundred of children and adults filled the Town Hall meeting room at WOMT Radio, located on Washington Street in Manitowoc. The party, created for children whose families resided in the Custerdale defense housing, was sponsored by the Custerdale Citizens' Club. The entertainment included the crowning of Florence Teegarden as "queen of the festivities" and a visit from Santa Claus who distributed a present to each child. Part of the Christmas party program was broadcast over WOMT.

A letter, written and addressed to the Manitowoc City Council on  March 11, 1888, states the following: “…I hereby tender this $1,000 dollars to the City of Manitowoc for the benefit of the poor in the following condition:

1.      That the Board of Poor Commissioners or their successors shall be the trustees of said fund to be known as the “Christmas Fund”.

2.      That they shall loan such amount on first lien security.

3.      That the income of said fund shall be expended and distributed by them in presents of any kind or nature each Christmas among the city poor; or if found more preferable the selection and distribution of presents may be left to any aid society…”

The man who signed this letter was John Schuette.

The Windiate House became a popular place for many prominent businessmen. Officials of the Goodrich Line made it their headquarters and Thomas Windiate also owned his own stagecoach line. The hotel featured a dining room, bar, and a pool room. The dining room was a popular site for high scale parties throughout the 1860s and 1870s. In 1899, rates were $2 per day for “first class accommodations for the traveling public”.  

The village of Grimms was named in honor of Jacob Grimm, one of the early settlers. The railroad was built through the village in the late 1800s. Soon after the coming of the railroad, the lime kilns were built with Geo. Gosz as the first foreman.

The Svacina’s Red Lamp building is one of the oldest landmarks in Grimms. Early recorded history on the site notes a wooden store building here, 28 feet long and 18 feet wide, 1 ½ stories high.  At the time of this notation in the 1850s, the property was owned by William and Cornelia McDonald.

Attorney E. G. Nash also addressed the crowd and said " We have met today to formally dedicate this monument, and it is peculiarly appropriate that these ceremonies are held on the fifth anniversary of the termination of the most terrible and disastrous war in the history of the world.”

He went on to say, “This memorial is presented in the belief that it will forever stand as a sentinel to remind us that our county never in vain called our countrymen to defend our flag.”

According to the book “Manitowoc County Historical Markers and Memorials”, during World War I, Manitowoc County had more than 2,300 men in the service.  By the end of the war, 32 men were killed in action, 55 died of other causes, and more than 100 were wounded. 

We owe our freedoms to the sacrifice made by our nation's veterans.  Thank you to all who served our country and to those who continue to defend our freedom today.

The Salomon brothers, Edward, Frederick, Charles, and Herman, hated slavery and sided with the Union cause at the start of the Civil War. Three Salomon brothers joined the Union army and in 1861 the Republican Party chose Edward as its candidate for lieutenant-governor. He was elected, and when Gov. Louis P. Harvey accidentally drowned in April 1862, he succeeded him as the eighth governor of Wisconsin. At thirty four-years-old, he was the youngest Wisconsin Governor and the first who was not born in the United States.

It was rumored that after her death, "a figure in white had nightly been seen hovering about her former abode, and that sweet strains of music had softly floated from there, borne of the midnight air. However that may be, certain it is that this spot ever held something for mystic for the passerby, especially in the sway of the moon when rising vapors from the river bottoms, assuming fantastic forms, lent flights to one’s imagination.”

“Hence the derivation of the name, that of Phantom Hallow.”

Traditionally, Halloween is not only a spooky time of year, it’s also a time to play harmless tricks on people. But for a suspected group of young boys in Manitowoc in 1898, they set out on the eve of Halloween to put an emphasis on the trick over the treat and tallied up quite the list of damages.