1961 Oktoberfest Button

Frankie Bjork

Catalog Number:1990.087.266

Copyright La Crosse County Historical Society

The original Oktoberfest in Germany started on Oct. 12, 1810, to celebrate the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen in Bavaria, Germany.

For the first few years, it was an event used to boost agriculture in Bavaria. These first Oktoberfests didn’t include any amusement, except horse races, until a carousel and two swings were added in 1818.

In 2010, the horse races were brought back to honor the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest in Germany. Festival organizers have also set up a museum tent that allows attendees to see how the festival would have been celebrated in the past.

Oktoberfest didn’t find its way to the United States until the 20th century.

It was first celebrated in La Crosse in September 1961. It is the longest-running Oktoberfest in the Midwest.

Oktoberfest was brought to La Crosse by G. Heileman Brewing Co., the La Crosse Chamber of Commerce and many others that wanted to bring Munich to La Crosse. The La Crosse Oktoberfest celebration was described as “one of the most authentic Oktoberfest celebrations in the U.S.” by USA Today in 2010.

When it was first celebrated here in 1961, people attending Oktoberfest purchased this button for admittance to the grounds. It could be used every day of the celebration. Those buttons were only $1 to purchase, which is the equivalent of $8.33 today. This year, however, festival has decided to use a printed pass for admittance to the South Side grounds.

The original Oktoberfest celebration in La Crosse in 1961 offered boat rides, helicopter rides, archery competitions, pig-dressing contests, a pie-eating contest, a Protestant service, a Catholic Mass and many more events. Many stores and businesses in La Crosse used to have special sales on Oktoberfest weekend. You could even buy houses cheaper during 1961 because of an “Oktoberfest Special.”

In keeping with tradition of maintaining international relationships, the city of La Crosse organized a soccer match at Memorial Field between the Milwaukee Bavarians and the St. Paul Soccer Club. To celebrate the first year of this celebration, Mayor Milo Knutson and Oktoberfestmaster Carl Mertens invited Burgomeister Bayerle, the mayor of Munich, Germany, to attend. He was not able to accept the invitation.

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on September 29, 2018.

This object can be viewed in our online collections database by clicking here.

Carl Rau’s Grandad Bluff painting

Emily Patwell

Copyright La Crosse County Historical Society

Every La Crosse native knows famous Grandad Bluff, which overlooks the eastern side of the city.

A popular tourist attraction, the bluff provides excellent hiking trails and a breathtaking view of the Mississippi River Valley. It has been the inspiration of many artists.

One local artist, Carl Rau, painted this landscape of Grandad Bluff. Specializing in biblical scenes, figure painting and landscapes, Rau presented this painting as a Christmas gift to a friend, Judge Edward Higbee, in 1920.

Carl Rau was born in Germany Nov. 3, 1858. His father, Gottfried Rau, died when Carl was a boy, and he was raised by his widowed mother. As a child, Carl had a strong love for art, and, along with manual work training, he studied art and mechanical drawing while in Germany.

At age 13, he and his mother migrated to the United States, settling in Dubuque, Iowa.

There he found work in a shop, where he continued to receive art and drawing lessons.

A diligent worker, Rau opened the shop every morning and close it every night. Unfortunately for Rau, the proprietor of the shop couldn’t keep allowing him the privilege of taking lessons instead of working, and so Rau halted his lessons.

Later, as a young man, Rau continued to pursue his education in art and eventually received formal training.

He took an interest in art literature, and in his free time befriended local artists and found opportunities to enjoy the art of others.

After he and his mother moved to La Crosse in the fall of 1878, Rau sought local art teachers for lessons. While he specialized in painting, he soon found another artistic passion: pictorial photography.

When he moved to La Crosse, Rau took up employment at R.G. Dun & Co. He continued to work for R. G. Dun & Co. after he found employment at John Gund’s Empire Brewery as a bookkeeper in May 1880.

He eventually left R.G. Dun & Co. and later Empire Brewery. He joined the John A. Salzer Seed Co. in 1886, becoming the company’s secretary and treasurer.

Rau and Salzer became quite close, likely bonding over their German heritage. While working for Salzer, Rau met and began courting his daughter, Anna Amalia. The two married in 1887, and had a son they named Wilbert Carl.

Rau also joined Salzer’s church, the Salzer Memorial Methodist Church, and taught Sunday school there for more than 30 years. Trusted by his father-in-law, Rau eventually took over the John A. Salzer Seed Co. as president, serving until his retirement on July 1, 1932.

Rau was not only a talented artist in the La Crosse area but a patron to the arts. He was known for his generosity toward young men who showed artistic talent but struggled to find work. Until his death Dec. 29, 1940, he continued to give his works to friends and support local artists in La Crosse.

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on September 22, 2018.

This object can be viewed in our online collections database by clicking here.

Charles Segelke's Trunk

Copyright La Crosse County Historical Society

Sandra Weiss and Emily Patwell

Catalog Number: 2018.033.01

Luggage, whether it indicates a minor change of pace with a vacation or a complete change of location, holds the things a traveler finds most important.

To those immigrating to the United States, their luggage was a precious piece of home in a foreign land. This week’s artifact is a large wicker trunk made circa 1850-1860, previously owned by Charles Segelke, an immigrant from Germany who settled in La Crosse.

The trunk is made of wicker, measuring 35 inches long, 22 inches wide and 20 inches tall, with a canvas label painted with “Chs. Segelke LA-Cross.” It is believed that this is the trunk Segelke used to move to Wisconsin from Germany.

Carl F. “Charles” Segelke was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1830 and came to the United States in 1851 at age 21. After living in Watertown, Wisconsin, for five years, he moved to La Crosse in September 1856.

He worked under S. Sack for a year before the two became business partners, and Segelke purchased a small shop on south King Street in 1857 in hopes of starting a carpentry business with Sack.

Unfortunately, Sack died in a drowning incident that same year. Segelke later partnered with Jacob Kohlhaus in 1863, and they formed the Segelke-Kohlhaus Manufacturing Co.

They manufactured doors, windows, cabinetry and other forms of millwork for homes and businesses. Surviving Segelke-Kohlhaus catalogs are filled with photos of beautiful East Lake-style woodwork. At one time, they were the largest supplier of architectural woodwork in the upper Midwest.

They found great success in the developing city, and after John Kutzborsky became a partner in 1869, the company moved to a larger facility on South 2nd and Cass streets in 1870. The company continued to grow, and in 1886, they built two- and three-story buildings on 3rd Street to house their new facilities. In 1892, the company incorporated and continued to thrive until 1897, when the facilities on 3rd Street were consumed in a fire.

The Segelke-Kohlhaus Manufacturing Co. proved resilient when the facilities were rebuilt in 1898 and the company returned to its former success.

The company suffered another great loss when on Oct. 26, 1902, Charles went fishing on a raft on the Mississippi with his grandson and was never heard from again. He and his grandson were presumed deceased, but what happened on that fateful day remains a mystery.

Despite the mysterious disappearance of Charles Segelke, the Segelke-Kohlhaus Manufacturing Co. would continue to be successful into the 1950s, when the demand for custom handmade woodwork declined dramatically.

The company closed in 1960, but many local historic homes feature woodwork done by the company. One example is the house of Adolph Kohlhaus, son of co-owner Jacob Kohlhaus, located at 1518 Madison St. This house was designed to showcase the high-quality millwork, and more than 120 years later the quality of the company’s craftsmanship still shows.

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on September 15, 2018.

This object can be viewed in our online collections database by clicking here.