An Early Cheese Factory located on County Trunk F
ejtettin .... .9n 67he Qjear 1912

The Town of Stettin in 1912 had four cheese
factories, according to an account in "The History
of Marathon County," published in 1913 by Judge
Marchetti. The four factories were "all well sup-
plied with milk," it was reported.
One little portable saw mill, purchased in 1882
by Carl Buttke, William Buttke, Ottmar Sauter
and John Loy, which did a large amount of custom
sawing for farmers for 20 years, had been sold and
moved into the southern part of the town, where it
was still in operation by August Seehafer. Another
mill, owned by Fritz Erdman, was making shingles
and laths, while a third mill was being operated by
Fitzke and Plautz on the Little Rib River.
The town in 1912 was divided into seven school
districts, even as it is today in this Centennial year
of the township. There were two churches, each
an Evangelical Lutheran Church. The first con-
gregation, Trinity, observed its 50th anniversary
on June 2, 1912, Judge Marchetti reports.
"Primitive Conditions"
His story continues:
"The anniversary services were held in the fore-
noon in the church, which had been renovated and

decorated with flowers, and the Reverend Ehnke and
President Ahl of Oshkosh and Reverend A. F. H.
Gebhard, the founder and for 28 years pastor of
the congregation, spoke of the primitive conditions
under which it was organized and of the hardships
with which the founder had to contend.
"Of the founders who had signed the roll of
membership, only two, the Reverend Gebhard and
A. Kippke, were present. Some had moved away,
but the majority rested in the cemetery around the
church and, in words which sank deep in the heart
of his hearers, Reverend Gebhard remembered the
dead.
"In the afternoon there was a festival in the grove
at the church, where greetings from the neighboring
congregations were read, addresses made and the
women of the congregation did the food honors for
the many guests that took part in the celebration.
Reverends P. Spiegel of Wausau and P. Ficken of
Edgar each made an address fitting the occasion
and the memory of this anniversary will not pale
in the hearts of those who had the good fortune to
be present. The present pastor is the Rev. Paul
Martin Pilz."
That is Marchetti's account of Stettin in 1912.

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