This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Brunkalla, Hinshick, Lepke, Klavitter, Hamilton, Robson, Mohelnitzky Classification: Biography Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/2EC.2ACE/2587 Message Board Post: >From the Wausau Daily Record Herald - Tuesday, 5/23/1939. WAUSAU COUPLE MARRIED 65 YEARS AGO Former Residents of Milwaukee and Athens; Members of St. Mary's Mr. and Mrs. Martin Brunkalla, 504 Wausau avenue, will observe their sixty-fifth wedding anniversary quietly at their home tomorrow. They were married at St. Stanislaus Catholic church in Milwaukee May 24, 1874. Mr. Brunkalla, who celebrated his eighty-sixth birthday anniversary yesterday, was born in Prussia, Germany. At the age of 17 years he emigrated to Milwaukee and crossed the Atlantic on the first steamer to leave the port of Bremen, Germany. WAGES $10 PER YEAR In Germany he had served as a shepherd at a salary of $10 a year, but he made considerably more money by buying up undernourished sheep and building up their weight. In Milwaukee, he worked at the Pfister & Vogel tannery. Dorothy Hinshick, now Mrs. Brunkalla, was born December 13, 1857, in Austria. At the age of seven years she accompanied her parents to Milwaukee. Her father had been a linen and silk weaver in Austria. Her maternal grandfather reached the age of 105 years. In June, 1889, they located on an 80-acre tract of land 1 1-2 miles west of Athens in the town of Johnson, and nine years later they moved to Athens, where Mr. Brunkalla worked as night watchman at the Chesak Brothers sawmill for 15 years. One night, while he was cleaning the carriage, the lever of the carriage was released and it was swept into motion, swinging back and forth, with Mr. Brunkalla hanging on close to the saw and screaming for help. After several minutes, the carriage was brought to rest and Mr. Brunkalla's clothes had to be cut away from his bruised and swollen body. Luckily, however, he escaped being cut by the saw. He retired from work while in Athens. CHARTER MEMBERS OF PARISH At. St. Anthony's Catholic church in Athens Mr. and Mrs. Brunkalla celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. They were charter members of that parish and Mrs. Brunkalla was an active member of the ladies' auxillary and of the Christian Mothers' society. Nine years ago last September they moved to 1001 S. Twelfth avenue in this city. Last September they moved to 504 Wausau avenue, where they make their home with their son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. John Mohelnitzky. They are now members of St. Mary's congregation. Mrs. Brunkalla is very alert for her age, and she read and writes Polish, Bohemian, German and English. She keeps abreast of the times and possesses a fine sense of humor. She tends to all her own business affairs, is interested in softball and other sports and has an excellent memory. Her pet diverstion is Chinese checkers. WALKS LONG DISTANCES Whiles she and her husband resided on the west side she frequently walked to the home of her daughter. She also recalls how she frequently walked in Austria when a child from her native village to the village where her paternal grandfather lived. The distance between the two villages was known as "an hour's walk." She has some remembrance of the appearance of the two villages. Mr. Brunkalla suffered a stroke of paralysis three years ago, which affected his left side and completely paralyzed his left hand. He nevertheless dresses himself and converses freely but his memory is not as keen as his mate's due to the effects of the paralytic stroke. Mr. and Mrs. Brunkalla had 16 children, of whom six are living. They are Mrs. Fred Lepke, Phillips, Mrs. Joseph Klavitter, Marshfield, Mrs. Jerry Hamilton, Pulaski, Mrs. William Robson, Terre Haute, Ind., George Brunkalla, Laona, and Mrs. Mohelnitzky. There are 36 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. Mr. Brunkalla has a brother, Anton Brunkalla, Milwaukee.