Kafka on the Wisconsin Farm-#2 Kafka, the Pioneer Dog Series

Kafka on the Wisconsin Farm

#2 Kafka, the Pioneer Dog Series

Kafka loves the many farm animals. Flossie and Belle are big horses that do work on the farm, give rides to church, and transport the family to town. Kafka and Georgie the cat enjoy the dairy cows and their rich milk. Soon they discover that a new family is moving next door. McKay, Lauren, and Emma are the children in the family and they love to play with Kafka and the other animals. Enjoy the adventures of building a barn, harvesting vegetables from the garden, and gathering in the grains.

Kafka on Lake Superior-#1 Kafka, the Pioneer Dog Series

Kafka on Lake Superior

#1 Kafka, the Pioneer Dog Series

Join in the adventures of Kafka, a young black labrador dog. Kafka and his owner Karl , a newspaper editor, enjoy the company of Sonja and her Grandfather. They visit Lake Superior where they go fishing. They go to Bayfield County where they enjoy the apples. Then they take a boat ride to the Apostle Island where they enjoy seeing a light house. Enjoy the colorful pictures of the area.

MATTHEW PATTON (PATON)

One of our great great great grandfathers was Matthew Patton. He was born about 1600 at Rosehall, Kilmarnock, Scotland. On 19 June 1639 he was married at Old Kirk Parish, Midlothian, Scotland. Matthew, a shoemaker in Newmilns, Scotland, was taken at Pentland, and executed at Glasgow, December 19, 1666.

Matthew Paton was tried along with three others who had been taken prisoner with him, and in site of every plea set up in their behalf all four were put to death. They were executed that day. "The men were most cheerful, and had much of a sense of the Divine love upon them, and a great deal of peace in their suffering." (Rambles Round Kilmarnock by Archibald R. Adamson, 1875).

Matthew was beheaded in the town square for his beliefs. The Stuart kings harboured the belief of the Divine Right of the Monarch. They believed that they were the spiritual heads of the Church of Scotland. The Covenanters believed that no man, not even a king, could be spiritual head of their church. Only Jesus Christ could be spritiual head of a Christian Church. There is a plaque and a monument erected in Matthew's honor.

The Kistler Family

George Washington Kistler was born 10 May 1833 in Cass County, Indiana and died 28 April 1900 in Soldier, Shawnee County, Kansas. He married Emily W. Martin 27 August 1856 in Carroll County, Indiana. Emily was born in 1834 in Pennsylvania and died in 1868 in Shawnee County, Kansas. George later married Mary Bond.

George and Emily had seven children: Frances (1857), Lewis C. (1859), Elnora (1861), Alvaretta (b and d. 1861}, Ida (1863), Charles (1864) and Emily (1867). The family lived in Soldier, Shawnee, Kansas.

George Kistler was the son of John and Frances Kistler. They came from Pennsylvania and settled in Cass County, Indiana. John Kistler was married four times. The last three times to women who already had families. Plus John also raised the children of two older daughters who passed away during childbirth. He frequently had a dozen children in his home: his own children, stepchildren, and grandchildren.

Bennecke Family of Germany

Top Row: Henry, Tillie, Minnie, Charles
Seated: Ida, Fredricka, Emma Taken in the Mid 1920's
The Charles C. Bennecke Family

Henry Bennecke was born in Germany in 1818. He met Johanna Aur and they married 15 May 1848 in Gross Readen, Germany. The Bennecke's came to America and settled first in Plymouth, Wisconsin and then Chicago, Cook, Illinois. Henry and Johanna had eight children: Minna (1849), Emma (1850), John (1853), Annie (1855), Charles (1857), Fred (1859), Louisa (1861), Sarah (1866), Mathilda (1868), and Ida (1870). Most of the children married in the Chicago area.

CLAM LAKE-THEN AND NOW

The town of Clam Lake, Gordon Township, Ashland County, Wisconsin was already being mentioned as a place by 1910, but was not officially a town. For a short while it was named West Fork and Howard Scotford built a store at this location. When the Post Office was established in 1928, Clam Lake was used as the official designation. In March of 1934 the county board met to decide whether a new town should be established along the westroad boundary of the coulnty in the Towns of Butternut, Shanagolden , Gordon and Marengo within the Federal Forest. Those living in the vicinity of Clam Lake felt that their interests would be better served if they had their own board and could therefore administer affairs to benefit that territory. The town became official at this time but Clam Lake was never really a town. It has always been unincorporated, a portion of the town of Gordon. What is usually referred to as the Clam Lake vicinity and mailing address is made up of portions of three counties: Ashland, Bayfield, and Sawyer County. The townships are: Gordon and Shanagolden in Ashland County; Namekagon in Bayfield County; and Spider Lake in Sawyer County.

Fleischers

The Fleischer family came from Culmintz, Germany in 1850. The father was Frederick Wilhelm Fleischer. He met his future wife Christiana Kahler on board the ship Queen. She was coming from Dresden, Germany. Frederick and Christiana were married in New Orleans six weeks after their arrival. Their first two children, William and Mary Ann, were born in Greenwood, Mason, Kentucky. The other seven children, that lived, were born in Shawnee County, Kansas. Three other children died young.

Frederick had forty acres of fruit. He had apples and peach trees and also a vineyard. He also had another farm outside of Topeka. This one was devoted to grain.

My Childhood Home

I was born in Clam Lake, Wisconsin - a lovely spot in the NorthWoods. We could spend days hiking in the woods and swimming in the rivers and lakes. One of my favorite memories is of building forts in the woods of enormous fern fronds. We would weave them together and make wonderful play houses. We also would climb trees and pick juicy red berries.

I have loved taking my children back to the Clam Lake area and letting them camp in the Day Lake campground dedicated to their grandfather.

Barns

Barns of Northern Wisconsin

This barn calendar contains thirteen images of historic barns in the Ashland, Glidden, and Phillips area. Some of these barns are already disappearing. They need to be remembered for the beautiful buildings that they were. Thirteen more will appear on this year's calendar.

Some of the barns are now being used as businesses, such as apple stores and variety gift shops. These are preserved in excellent condition. The silos, too, are unique and fading from the scene. Other storage methods negate the need for these unusual structures.

Flavor of Family Cookbook

This is a cookbook of family recipes that I've collected. It includes Irish soda bread and potato soup from the Donnelly's in Ireland. Also whole wheat bread and blackberry jam from Amanda Sanderson. Irma Donnelly Day contributed her wonderful homemade noodles as well as frozen fruit salad. Vickie Bennecke Stricklin added her dad's favorite spagetti and salsa. Other maindishes include reuben meat loaf, au gratin potatoes, and grilled chicken with melon in pasta shells. There are also marvelous desserts. We've added apple kuchen and peach pie from the Fleischer's from Germany. They had an orchard in Topeka, Kansas and raised their own fruit.