"Pioneer Belgian Women Had Amazing Endurance" from the March 22, 1962 Door County Advocate

Pioneer Belgian Women Had Amazing Endurance

By BEVERLY BOUCHE

About a dozen contiguous townships between Green Bay and Sturgeon Bay make up a large tract of beautiful farming country largely populated by people of Belgian origin. This area consists of the largest rural settlement of the Belgian nationality in America. There have been three generations of people who lived and worked here but there are still a few men and women who are approaching a hundred years in age who still remember how this new land appeared when they and their parents first entered into the immense primeval forest that covered this area 80 years ago.

Father Louise Hennepin who was born in Ath in the Hainault Province, came to America in 1675 and his part in exploring the West was quite prominent. In 1679 he was one of the chaplains to join Robert LaSalle in his expedition to explore the Mississippi river. Father Hennepin was the first man to describe Niagara Falls which was where LeSalle built his vessel the Griffin. LaSalle and the rest of his exploring party sailed on the Griffin to Washington Island. From this point the Griffin and its passengers began on its homeward journey and was never heard from again. When the Griffin disappeared, a fortune in furs was lost which had been obtained from the Indians to defray the expenses of the expedition.

Meanwhile Father Hennepin and about twenty other men traveled to the south end of Lake Michigan in canoes made of birch bark. It took them a whole month to travel the length of Door county because of the many fall storms.

The party eventually touched the lower reaches of the Illinois river. From here Hennepin and two other men were sent to explore the Mississippi river which had been discovered only seven years before. These three were the first white men known to have reached St. Anthony Falls, now in the heart of Minneapolis. When he was returning he traveled by way of the Wisconsin and Fox River. The site of a Jesuit Mission where Hennepin stopped for a brief rest is now the present city of DePere. The first favorable camping place at the end of his first day's journey brought Hennepin to the site of the present village of Dyckesville. While camping here he probably never dreamed that this would later be the center of the largest settlement in America by his countrymen.

But that was long ago and it was almost 200 years before any Belgians followed him. A few ventured to the new world but they wrote few letters home and few followed their example. It wasn't until 1853 that Belgians from the farming districts emigrated to America.

Earlier that year Francois Petiniot, a farmer from the commune of Grez Doiceau in Central Belgium, traveled to Antwerp. While in the city he found a pamphlet which described America and was written in the Dutch language presumably by a Dutch emigrant who was living in the Western states. This pamphlet influenced the lives and fortunes of thousands of his countrymen. Petiniot was able to read a little Dutch and his interest was held by the description of the fertile, vacant land and especially interesting was when he read that this land could be purchased for only $1.25 an acre. The price was high in crowded Belgium. The price he would receive for his four or five acres in Belgium would get a hundred times as much land in America. After much discussing nine other men who were small farmers like Petiniot decided to sell their possessions and gamble on fortune's gift in western America. The names of these ten men are Francois Petiniot, Jean Martin, Philip Hannon, Joseph Moreau, Etienne Detienne, Adrian Masy, Lambert Bodart, Joseph Jossart, Martin Paque, and Jean Baptiste Detienne.

Their plans for emigration consisted of selling their farms and personal property. They were to leave in the middle of May on a three-masted schooner, the Quennebec, which would sail from Antwerp to New York. The tickets would cost about $35.00 apiece for persons over 12 years of age and they were required to provide bedding and provisions for at least six weeks. After much baking, sewing and packing the ten families bid good-bye and left May 18, 1853.

Aboard ship they discovered that copies of the pamphlet which had persuaded them to go to America had convinced others, for there were more than a hundred emigrants like themselves. The voyage was a hard one, and especially for the Belgians from the interior unused to the sea. Once they thought their last hour had come when the main mast snapped off but the ship tossed and swayed onward for seven weeks. Food shortage and insufficient drinking water caused much hardship the last week.

When the ten families left Belgium they had no particular destination in mind but on the ocean voyage they decided to go with the Hollanders to Wisconsin—wherever that was. It seemed an endless journey on canal boats and lake steamers before they reached Milwaukee. To the travelers the world was unimaginably big. The Hollanders had friends near Sheboygan and the Belgians having no other place to go accompanied them: When the Begians arrived they met with two disadvantages: there was little good land left, and second, they were among people with whom they were unable to talk. They finally met a French-Canadian who told them that half of Green Bay's population was French and that the natural resources were almost as good as Sheboygan's. Encouraged by this they traveled to Green Bay via a lake steamer.

The men left their families in Green Bay and went out investigating for desirable land. They found what they wanted in the vicinity of what is now the city of Kaukauna, 20 miles southwest of Green Bay. They entered the lands they selected in the Menasha government land office.

When they returned to get their families and baggage they found that a sickly child of Phillip Hannon had died the day before. The burial preparations delayed them a few more days. On the day of the funeral the officiating priest was visited by his friend, Father Edward Deems, the pastor of the last frontier settlement in northeastern Wisconsin, known as Bay Settlement, ten miles northeast of Green Bay. Father Daems was also a Belgian and interested in meeting his countrymen. He persuaded the immigrants to go to Bay Settlement where his parish was. They reached Bay Settlement and the day after Father Deems, another guide, and the ten Belgian families started off to look for land. They settled in the vicinity of the present Robinsville, afterward known as AuxPremiers Beiges.

The courage and self-reliance of these Belgian settlers is to be praised They were settled in a deep, dark forest and there were more Indians than white people and they feared for the safety of their scalps. But the Indians turned out to be friendly and sign language served the purpose. After a mild winter and excellent hunting the Indians taught the pioneers how to tap maple trees. A number of acres had been cleared away by now. In good health and with sufficient funds the Belgians were fairly contented in their new homes.

They sent glowing letters home in which they said that neither money nor influence was needed to get ahead in the world but a kind nature and a liberal government was necessary. These letters convinced many to emigrate to America. When they came they brought with them enthusiasm and the germs of the deadly Asiatic cholera. One after another died because of the sudden and unconquerable disease. Strong men, apparently well at night, were found dead in the morning, their faces, almost black and their eyes sunk far back. Most of the victims were buried without a coffin or the sustaining presence of the priest.

The news of this terrible fate didn't reach Belgium for some time and meanwhile thousands were planning to emigrate. Many of them worked for their landlords, made their living by working in the harvest fields, and lived there so they couldn't leave when ever they wished. It was an appealing idea of theirs to become independent farm owners and it became their dominant desire.

To most of these laborers the task of saving money from their meager little incomes was almost impossible. Some gave up right away but some went ahead with a system of pinching and saving. Meanwhile, there were rumors of the cholera ravages in America, which discouraged many, but the more determined continued their preparations and were ready to leave for Wisconsin in the spring of 1856.

For the emigrants of 1856 this venture proved to be disastrous as many of them perished at sea. When they reached Wisconsin they settled in the remaining vacant lands of the northeastern part of Brown county, several townships in Kewaunee county and Union, Gardner and Brussels in Door county. Besides being penniless and discouraged from their journey they met much unexpected hardships and denial of the necessities of life. They Would gladly have left this new land to return to their humble but accustomed fatherland. They poured out their homesick longings in their letters home which discouraged so many. The Belgian mass emigration from the rural districts came to an end almost as soon as it had started. One of the earliest settlers in Door county was Constant Delveaux who at 93 years of age died in 1923. At the request of Father J. J. Gloudemans, his pastor, Mr. Delveaux at the age of 90 wrote a short account of his voyage and of his early years here. A general description of his letter follows:

They left Belgium March 18, 1856 and it was three days before they left the harbor at Antwerp. They were at sea a little while when they encountered such terrific winds that it broke three masts. The ship landed on its side and remained like that for many days until the sailors cut the ropes and the ship righted it self somewhat. They were towed to a government shipyard where it took them 23 days for repairs. They arrived in Quebec May 12 where they disembarked from which they transferred and sailed to Green Bay.

The Indians stared at them. They were the first people to set foot on land here.

Things were going along fairly well until a fire in 1871 destroyed everything. (End of letter).

Prospective settlers ordinarily make a careful inspection of the land, drainage, etc. but almost all the Belgians who came in 1856 reversed the procedure. They went to the land office and asked to be assigned some land in the Belgian settlement vicinity. The main reason for this unusual procedure was that the immigrants knew nothing about American land surveys and they came too fast to be taught. Each new group was guided the 70 miles to Menasha by an earlier immigrant and then got a proper description of their land. They returned to Bay Settlement to await the convenience of a Mexican half-breed named Ricard to locate their land. He was a famous land cruiser and usually they would have to wait some days before he returned from one of his expeditions. Ricard could speak much Spanish, a little English, and a little French: Armed with a compass, the various descriptions, and his keen sense of distance and direction he would lead the men to their land.

Some settlers made proper preemption claims at the land office but some followed their more fortunate friends and "squatted" on government land, taking a chance that their claims would not be "jumped" by new land seekers. Only Belgians ventured to take land in this region so no "claim jumping" was done so the squatters took their time about entering their land and becoming subject to taxation.

The first settlers didn't get the best lands because of the blind methods used. Some very careless surveyors must have been at work in the southwestern part of Door county for much of the best land was marked "swamp land." A reader of surveyors' plats would think that they settled on islands in a vast region of swamps but most of the land is high and dry. The Kolberg area had been marked as swamp land too although it is one of the best farming sections in Door county.

The 1857 immigrants came directly to their friends who had settled the year before and so they picked out the better lands where they squatted for awhile and then finally filed their entries.

Preemption lands are lands bought by settlers before the Homestead Law of 1862 came into effect, which were supposed to be sold for $1.25 an acre. So much good land had been marked swampland by careless surveyors and even the rest was marked inferior quality. Because of this error the settlers had to pay only fifty or seventy-five cents an acre, and had two years to pay for the land. The first to pay for their lands were Jean B. Noel, Louis Merchant, Guillaume Servotte, Jean J. Laluzerne, Francis Delveaux, all of Union. Charles J. Gilson, Jean J. Pitaus, Jean J. Waginnan and Cornelious Massart, of Brussels, and August Cantin of Gardner. These 13 men obtained their government deeds Feb. 22, 1858. Other groups made the same trip and on May 2, 1859 the largest group of men (32) traveled to Menasha which took about a week.

A trail to the pioneer's cabin came into use long before a wagon road was opened up because all their possessions were carried in on foot. First came their emigrant chests, then the women and children and a few brought stoves but most of them cooked over an open fireplace.

Felix Englebert came to Door county when he was 17 years old, with his parents and it was late in November, 1856, before they were able to get a scout to find their land. A foot of snow covered the ground and for 30 miles the father led the family through snow and slush. A shack was built of brush in the shape of an inverted V and served as the home for awhile. They cooked over open fire, they got their water from a hole dug in a nearby swamp, and they went 10 miles to get their bread baked.

The fall rains and the savage animals proved the brush shelters to be inadequate and he found is necessary to build log houses.

It was nearing the Christ­mas season before all the set­tlers had homes built. There were no nails or other hardware available for the con­struction. The floor (if there was one) consisted of split logs, the chairs were benches of split blocks, the beds, mostly two-storied; were made of balsam twigs and leaves and tree trunks provided tables. A log made into planks provided the door with hinges of leather strips or knots and crotches of limbs. The last addition to the house was the fireplace and huge chimney built of stones, laid with clay. The house didn't become a home until the first pan of pork had been fried in it.

The most important work of all came next—the clearing of the land. They were surrounded by a thick forest. There was no market for logs so they rolled them together and burned them. As many of the logs were three or four feet in diameter it was a ter­rible backbreaking job to pry those huge logs. They burned slowly because they were so green but the piles of brush and logs smoked and blazed all winter long.

Every Belgian settler had a little clearing by spring. By now their few dollars had gone and it was necessary to leave home and earn some extra money. They left their wooden shoes behind and departed for Green Bay, Oconto, Marinette, Milwaukee, and Chicago. Before they left they bought, borrowed, or begged some wheat seed from people in Bay Settlement. A harrow was made with wooden pins sloping backwards so they would slide over roots and snags. The women and children dragged the harrow back and forth to cover the seed.

For weeks and months the women and children were left alone in their log houses in the woods. The loneliness, the fear, strange noises and great scarcity of food made life al­most unbearable at times. There was great rejoicing when a father or husband visited the family. He came on foot bringing food supplies, perhaps kitchen utensils and a surprise for the children. Chyrsoston Herlache made headline news in the settle­ment when he carried a heal­thy calf, kicking and struggl­ing for freedom, on his back for 25 miles from Bay Settle­ment. This calf became the ancestor of the Herlache herd.

In due time the wheat was harvested and threshed. The problem of getting the wheat ground into flour fell on the women's shoulders as the men were still away. The nearest mills were Algoma and Bay Settlement and no wagon road led to either. Therefore a woman would take a bushel of wheat on her head and walk to the mill. To an American of today it would be quite impossible to carry even a half bushel on his head for any considerable distance but the Belgian women had strong necks. After the wheat was put in a bag it was tied at the opening, turned upside down and one corner was pushed back into the other corner to form a rough hood. The hood was placed over the head and the other end was tied secure­ly to the back by ropes under the arms thus leaving the arms free. These trips were laborious and also dangerous. Seraphine Lampereur, the great grandmother of Nestor Alexander who at the present time resides in Fairland, once took a bushel of wheat on her head and started off to Bay Settlement. The mill was 40 miles away so she took a sub­stantial lunch. Nothing hap­pened on the way to the mill.

It was late the morning before she left but she was happy at the prospect of hav­ing bread for her children. It was getting dark when she was still miles away from home, when she discovered she was pursued by a flock of timber wolves. It was impos­sible to run with her heavy burden so she threw down her precious flour and also her lunch and with a cry to the Holy Virgin took to her heels. She was able to reach a set­tler's hut while the wolves fought over the lunch and bag.

The endurance of these Bel­gian women was incredible. When Mrs. Cornelius Massart of Rosiere heard that a new mill driven by water had been built at Red River she took a bushel of wheat and began her ten-mile journey. Unfortunately the mill wasn't in operation so she decided to go to Con­stant Delveaux who was three or four miles from there, be­cause he had two mill stones from Belgium. She continued northward along the shore to Sugar Creek, about 13 miles. Her journey totaled 26 miles in one day, carrying her wheat besides. She stayed the night there and after having her wheat ground the next morn­ing she returned home. When her husband came home and heard of her trip, he decided that his wife should not have any more such trips. He tried to chisel some stones to make a mill but he was unskilled as a stone cutter. However, a neighbor, Louis Coisman was able to do a good job and soon a mill was in operation to the relief of the women.

When a severe financial crisis in the fall of 1857 paralyzed most industries, the Belgians were forced to con­sider possibilities around home. There was no market for any logs that could be made from the forest or trees around their homes. Pine logs were the most valuable, at $1.50 per thousand board feet but the Belgians didn't have horses or oxen to transport them. The pine logs could not be gotten out whole with a profit so they cut them into shingles. Shingles made of pine, eighteen inches long and a half inch thick were worth $1.50 per thousand in Green Bay. Because this was a chance to make a little money everyone became involved in this money-making occupation. A day's wages didn't amount to much but they kept it up and in 1868 four million hand­made shingles had been shipped out of Brussels.

Footwear for the Belgians was not as varied as it is now. They wore wooden shoes or sabots. The women's sabots were cut lower and were fast­ened with a strip above the instep. An exceptional few could even dance with them on. Very artistic and beautiful sabots were produced with so many shoemakers.

The Belgians had met and conquered many disadvantag­es when they first came to this new country, but worse was yet to come. Crowded liv­ing quarters, unsanitary conditions, lack of variety in diet, and hardly any medical attention caused a high death rate. At first the dead were buried back in the woods but when Father Daems, the first priest to visit them, heard of this he severely censured this prac­tice and insisted the dead be buried in consecrated ground. Afterwards the dead were car­ried on a stretcher to Bay Set­tlement, about twenty or thirty miles away, by four or six men.

The Belgians were a forgotten people for awhile as they were ignored by people of other parts of the county. They had no help in their pov­erty and distress, received no assistance in building schools or roads, they had not learned to use the right to vote and they were alone. Xavier Mar­tin, one of the early pioneers in Aux Premiers Belges (Rob­insonville), helped them to bring about the kind of life that we now sometimes take for granted. He was a member of the ten original families who came to America in 1853 but he stayed in Philadelphia where he learned the English language. Four years later he visited his friends in Aux Premiers Belges and was per­suaded to stay as a school teacher. He noticed the indifference to his countrymen by the others so he traveled around explaining the American system of local govern­ment, why they should vote and the advantages of exercising their right of suffrage. When he had convinced them that they could take control of local affairs they welcomed this suggestion. Mr. Martin was a modest man but not too modest to accept some of the offices. He knew that the chairmanship or supervisor was a thankless job full of criticism and treasurer or as­sessor meant being involved with taxes and were a sore subject. Therefore, he was con­tent with the offices of clerk, school superintendent, and justice of the peace. The first office was a necessity because he was the only Belgian who could write English, the sec­ond he was a teacher and in­terested in education, and third it was the most dignified and profitable of all. The Bel­gians lived ten miles away but on the appointed voting day they marked the 230 strong much to the dumbfoundment of the other office seekers. As you have probably guessed ev­ery Belgian on that ticket (and there were none but Belgians) were elected.

For several years they man­aged their own affairs. A few years afterward a few large saw mills were built in differ­ent localities of the settle­ment. These were the great destroyers in the twenty-year period after the Civil War. They weren't interested in the welfare of the district or whose timber they were using and they evaded paying taxes for schools and highways. The mills closed down on election day and every employee was instructed to vote for the mill candidate or look for another job. In addition free drinks, beer and strong liquor were given to all who accepted the ticket backed by the mill.

Development of the district soon followed. Because of the saw mills built in Little Sturgeon Bay a road was made from Bay Settlement to Stur­geon Bay which followed closely to the shore. A post office was opened up at Sugar Creek and Michael Schmidt, a German, was the first postmaster. The post office served the whole Belgian settlement and some people had to travel 10 or 12 miles for their mail. This was before the highway so the first mail carrier de­livered the mail on horseback.

The post office and store, both managed by Michael Schmidt, were the only pub­lic business interests for several years. At Five Corners (the village of Brussels was known by this name for some time) there was no business enterprise until in 1861 when Francois Pierre opened a small tavern a half mile west of Five Corners. A post of­fice was also established and Mr. Pierre became postmas­ter and was for 38 years. He was succeeded by Frank Quartemont, one year; Moses Gilson, nine months; and then Jules Pierre. In 1881 George and Matthew Bottkol built a saw mill and a grist mill a half mile south of Five Corners. They sold this property to Pierre-Virlee company made up of Alex and Francois Pierre, Antoine Virlee and Joseph DeKeyser. This company put in new machinery and general mercantile business. It was a busy place until it was destroyed by fire in 1917. A new company was formed by Eli Antoine and Joseph Chaudoir and they rebuilt the mill but it burned again six years later.

Most of the traveling was done via steamboats. The first of these was the side wheeler "Union" whose cap­tain was Tom Hawkey and his trick boat whistle used to frighten Indians and Bel­gians alike. Captain Hen­ry Hart was captain of the steamer, the Welcome. Belgi­ans here would buy tickets for friends or relatives in Belgium which would provide transportation from Antwerp to Red River or Little Sturgeon Bay. Captain Hart would throw this ticket away when presented with it and insist on further payment. No one usually dared make any fuss because of the Captain's mate who was as fierce as any ancient buccaneer. And in the dining room the cap­tain would cat friend chicken while the passengers tried to swallow a strong corned beef they had to eat.

After the Civil War a per­iod of great business revival occurred and high prices which have scarcely been equaled. Building operations throughout the west demand­ed vast quantities of lumber and as a result the woods be­came valuable. Mills and piers were built, and money could be made by the Bel­gians winter and summer.

The Scofield Company was one of the most Important. A 1100 foot long pier and a mammoth shingle mill on Lake Michigan was one of the only two mills capable of sawing a million shingles a day. Near the mill was a barn with stalls for a hund­red horses. Cows and calves were bought down state every fall and driven to Red River. The cows and calves were butchered and bulls used for skidding logs. Oxen were better than horses but usually they lasted only one winter. The Scofield Company had a smaller mill about a mile southwest of Dyckesville and around 1873 a big boiler suddenly exploded, divided itself in two, and flew through the mill, killing nine persons and cutting off tree tops like a huge cannonball. Freeland Gardner bought up thousands of acres of good timber land over the settle­ment and started one enter­prise after another, saw mill, grist mill, shipyard, lime kilns, ice houses and gave employment to hundreds of men. Ship building being the most important enterprise, Mr. Gardner promised his foreman a thousand dollar bonus if a vessel was built in 60 days. For two months everyone from boss to waterboy were in a whirlwind of turmoil. On the 59th day the new schooner slipped down the skids.

The women and children would go berry picking to trade them for groceries and other necessities.

It is almost impossible to describe the tragedy which spoiled their happy lives. Sunday or "Saddy" as it was afterward called) Oct. 8, 1871 it happened. The afternoon wind was quite fresh but it died down in the evening followed by many leaping tongues of fire. Birds flew in all directions, wild animals sought shelter among the cat­tle and people. The whirlwind of flame fell from above the three tops enveloping everything. People inhaled it and died immediately. Almost all thought "It's the end of the world!"

A great tornado of fire burned their farms, homes, woods, and took the lives of many people. The tornado covered the entire Belgian settlement and a narrow fringe of ten miles wide and 160 miles long. Here 200 persons were burned to death. 5,000 were made homeless and destitute and a tornado which passed west of Green Bay killed 700 people and left a larger number destitute. Almost all the buildings in Brown and Kewaunee county were burned and many lives were lost but the greatest destruction occurred in Brussels. At Williamsonville, now known as Tornado Park, ten miles southwest of Sturgeon Bay, 60 persons were burned to death in a field where they had been seeking safety. About 30 men were employed at a Sco­field Company saw mill but most of them were home be­cause it was Sunday. Thirteen men who lived in the board­ing house, were aroused by an avalanche of fire. They rushed outside trying to find safety in a potato field. Elev­en were struck down but two turned aside and ran toward the mill where they stayed in two feet of water while the mill was burned over their heads. The water became so hot they almost boiled to death. The 11 who perished were unknown and buried in a common grave in the Dyckesville church yard. This terrible fire happened in the autumn of 1871 when everything was dry. Swamps needed but a match to blaze up, corduroy roads and oc­casionally a homestead were destroyed. Days dragged by and the settlers fought the fire as best they could and though people prayed for rain there was no sign in the cloudless skies. This was probably the worst experience that the Belgians had to cope with in this new country.

The early French pioneers of Beau-Pre settled in the St. Lawrence Valley wilder­ness and when they heard of a report that the Holy Virgin had appeared among them in a vision, they took this as di­vine assistance that the Mother of God was interested in them although they were far from the homeland altars and churches.

As the vision appeared to the people of Beau Pre so it did to the Belgians of Wis­consin. It was on a Sunday morning, Aug. 15, 1858[see note at end] when an 18 year old girl, Adele Brice, was returning from holy mass in Bay Settlement. She had risen early to do her work and walked the 10 miles to mass. She was near home and about to pass between two white birches crowned with a glory of green leaves, when suddenly between the birches the Holy Virgin appeared. Dazzled by this heavenly apparition she sank to her knees and covered her eyes. When she looked the vision had disappeared so she remained praying and then the vision appeared again. Again she knelt in worshipful humility and for a third time the Holy Virgin appeared. Strengthen by prayer Adele remained standing but she couldn't find the words to speak. Then the Madonna spoke to her, commanding her to teach the children, de­vote all her time to it, and build a chapel on that spot.

After a long time she re­turned home and told her parents of her vision and they were amazed. They told their neighbors and it soon spread through the settle­ment. Some were greatly ex­cited at this mark of divine guidance while others sneer­ed at it as the invention of an excitable and imaginative seeker of sensations. This latter few believed because they had known the girl from childhood and she was mod­est and deeply religious, and she had no reason to deceive her people. Their children needed to be taught and no one was better qualified to teach them than this devout young woman.

From far and near people came to look on this holy ground and the same fall a chapel was built on the spot and a schoolhouse was also built close by. The bishop and local clergy were among those who didn't believe and they publicly declared the alleged vision a myth and im­position. Adele Brice contin­ued to claim the story as the truth and was denied the holy sacraments and was an outcast of the church.

This made no difference to the Belgians but instead con­tinued their faith and gathering in large numbers to worship at the "Chapel of the Holy Virgin." No priest came near but on certain days Adele would lead the congregation in hymns, certain parts of the mass, and in prayer. Five years later a new chapel was erected on the spot, besides a church, a larger school and a convent for boys and girls.

Thereafter on each August 15th thousands of worshipers came to offer their devotions. Pilgrims canto from distant cities and states and cripples came with a trium­phant faith and left their crutches behind. Finally the church authorities couldn't hold their blessings any longer.

The Belgians of Door coun­ty lived too far to come to the hallowed shrine often but Father Daems came frequently to visit them. He held the meetings in the house of Guil­laume Delwiche near Fairland where he had a table that served as an altar. He also had a crucifix and two can­dlesticks, his robes he had carried from Bay Settlement, and he would say a low mass and preach. The house of Del­wiche served the Belgians of Union, Brussels, and Gardner as their church for years. The congregation was called "Del­wiche."

St Hubert's church was built half a mile northeast of the present church at Rosiere and was destroyed by fire in 1871. The trustees supported by the majority of the con­gregation decided to build on the main road at Rosiere. The people of Misiere weren't pleased because they want­ed to build on or near the old spot. The priest had had trouble with some of the trustees and so he sided with the people of the north side. He denounced as blackhearted people in comparison to the Misiere people who were as white as snow. Having noth­ing more important to talk about, the "black" and "white" people kept the quar­rel going as long as possible and finally each built their own church which is explanation of why there are two Catholic churches only two miles apart.

About the beginning of St. Hubert's parish, St. Mary's parish was organized and their church was built in 1860 at Fairland. This parish included the north part of Union, the northwest part of Brussels, all Gardner. The people of Gardner had a long way to go so they created a mission church in the center of Gardner. A church built on the farm of Jean Joseph Robin In 1866 was dedicated to St. John the Baptist. The soil in the cemetery was only a few inches deep and be­cause the ground was conse­crated they wanted to use it. A strong wall was built about six feet high and soil sufficient to fill the enclosure was collected.

People who lived north of the church were annoyed because of the discomfort caus­ed by a road which had been cut through a swamp was made impassable when it was a rainy time because the logs floated around. A forest fire in 1871 destroyed the church and the parishioners insisted on building the new church a mile from the old one which became known as St. Joseph's church. The people south of the swamp didn't like the idea of going to church with wet feet any more than the people of the north did be­fore so they rebuilt the old church—St. John the Baptist. Committees and delegations from both churches brought their cases before the bish­op and at first he recognized only Baptist church but some years later recognized the other too because they re­fused to give up their plead­ings.

This was only the begin­ning of trouble in Gardner. When a Green Bay Belgian saloonkeeper's (John B. Ev­erts), wife became ill he con­sulted doctors with whom he had no success and was di­rected to a spiritualist medi­um who claimed the gift of healing. When his wife improved greatly during the Spiritualist's treatment and finally recovered her health, he paid the medium and was told that he had the power of healing if he would give up his tavern and preach to the people.

Soon after this Mr. Everts visited relatives in Gardner and held seances in private houses and many became in­terested. When the priest heard this he said that no medium could converse with the dead if he (the priest) interposed. A Belgian businessman of Green Bay of­fered to bet a thousand dol­lars that he couldn't make good and the challenge was accepted. The contest was to be held June 22, 1885 at 10 o'clock a.m. and practically everyone was there except the priest. When a messenger went for him he claimed he wasn't ready but he went only to refuse to have anything to do with this "infernal business" and soundly berated all present for listening to heretics, deviltries, and false prophets.

At the proper place and time this would have influ­enced many but this unfavorable occasion proved a victory for the Spiritualists. A­bout 40 families left the Cath­olic church and built a house of worship of their own.

After this people didn't know quite what to believe and this probably induced an­other clergyman "to fish in troubled waters." This new leader was Joseph Rene Villatte. Belgians by nature are opposed to Presbyterians and he saw no future in that field. There were reasons why he couldn't be ordained a Cath­olic priest. A sect known as Old Catholic maintain a separate organization with part of their doctrine almost the same as Episcopalians. Mr. Villatte obtained ordination from an Old Catholic bishop in Switzerland, returned to Wisconsin, and with authority of the Fond du Lac Episcopal bishop began to convert the Belgians of Door county. He told them the present Catho­lic church was just as filled with errors as the Spiritualists and gained many supporters. In 1888 a large church named "The Church of the Precious Blood," along with a guild hall and parsonage was built in Gardner. Fr. Villatte located the church halfway be­tween the two Catholic churches and this made four churches within one mile.

Ma. Villatte had the ambi­tion of creating an Episcopal college on the peninsula and solicited much money and good quantities of clothing. He begged Bishop Grafton to consecrate him a bishop but was refused because the bish­op thought his proposed dio­cese small. After traveling far and wide he was finally consecrated by a Jacobite bishop on the island of Ceylon in the Indian Ocean. After he returned his brethren in the ministry claimed his consecration had been obtained by fraud and he was excommunicated and he left for parts unknown.

Belgian are of a festive disposition and so weddings, christenings and family an­niversaries are greeted with much merriment and cele­brating. It was soon discovered that a saloon near a church was a good location because the Belgians loved to linger over a glass of beer, exchange gossip, and perhaps indulge in a game of conion.

To the Belgians these fes­tive Sunday gatherings were only a small spot in the passing week but to a casual visitor they would be festivals of good fellowship and hilarity.

The long years of prohibi­tion couldn't put a damper on the great annual festival—the kermiss—and the children in the new world have faithfully followed their example.

The kermiss is celebrated for six successive weeks, three days each week, with each parish taking its turn. Neighbors and friends from far away are invited so a great amount of baking has to be done. The numerous Dutch ovens probably became the most popular at the time of the kermisses because they could bake 40 loaves of bread or 15 pies at one time. A com­mittee of young men gayly decorated with ribbons to arrange the plans were only part of the decorated crowd. At first they sang songs and danced on the highways but when automobiles became more in use they had to crowd into halls. The Fox Trot and Charleston were popular then.

Other amusements at the kermisses included climbing greased poles, catching greas­ed pigs, foot races, and horse races.

The following is a brief story of the first Belgian ker­miss celebrated in the new world: It was in 1858. Amia Champaign was worried be­cause his wife seemed uninterested in any plans of his and had a bad temper. He decided to seek the counsel of his friend, Jean B. Mac­ceaux. He said although he had a wife and five daughters that he couldn't help him be­cause he didn't understand them either. Then he called his wife and once more the story was repeated and she solved his problem by telling them she missed the kermiss because it was a change from work, work, work. Together they arranged for a commit­tee to make the plans and throughout the community preparations were made.  When the great day arrived, Father Daems said mass and the celebration that followed couldn't be equaled in a long time.

Another Belgian social custom was the planting of the May Pole. After the elections, the voters would take a large pole ornamented with ribbons and streamers and plant it at the front gate of the successful candidate and he would then treat them to re­freshments, wet and dry.

There are several church processionals during the year with the most important be­ing the Rogation Procession on Ascension Day. Little way­side chapels are found throughout the Belgian settled areas. They are small places with an altar and other sacred adornments in remembrance of a departed relative.

It was about 1870 and crowded conditions in Europe when the Belgians left their native land to come to Amer­ica to look for new land. Be­fore their boat touched the shore the passengers saw the red sky which was reflected from the Chicago fire when all of northern Chicago burn­ed. Mr. and Mrs. Joachim Al­exander, his wife Caroline (Destree), and one son Frank were among the passengers. Their grandson, Nestor Alex­ander, still resides in Union.

They landed in Chicago and stayed there for seven years. For a living they would pick up junk and sell it again. They moved from Chicago to Union where their friends were. There was a road nam­ed the Stage Road which went from the Pines Tavern to the Arthur Pierre farm near Brussels. In 1931 they changed it to the new highway of today.

About the time the Joach­im Alexander family and their friends were moving to Chicago Jean (pronounced Joh) Baudhuin and his wife Pauline (Gilbert) and family came to Union to settle down. They had six children, Jule, Alphonse, Marcellan, John, Mary, and Leona.

Their first house was made of logs and was divided in two. Part of the horse was the living quartets and part of it was the stable for the oxen. Ten years after they were here they built a solid stone house which was a foot and a half thick and is still occupied today.

Mr. Baudhuin said he re­members driving the oxen. Oxen were used to help clear the land because there were no horses around.

Jule Baudhuin is 85 years old and still resides on the home farm of his parents with his daughter Martha, his daughter-in-law. Mrs. Hazel Baudhuin, and grandchild­ren, Jim Jean and Reginald.

The major source for this article is "Wisconsin's Bel­gian Community" by H. R. Holand of Ephraim.

Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive

[The date may or may not be correct. https://www.usgenwebsites.org/WIBrown/belgians.htm states that "Upon the 15th of August, 1858, an alleged miracle happened among the Roman Catholics of the First Settlement, which made quite a noise at that time, the effect of which has not yet died out." and on "August 15 of each year is the time set for the gathering of the faithful to this shrine, and thousands come from far and near, even other States, to here offer up their devotions to the virgin."

"When You Have No Fear" also has the August 15th date, relating how it was in 1937: https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y4uEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT4

A recent book with the August 15th date is "Peshtigo": https://books.google.com/books?id=lLlDEtpaZy8C&pg=PA117

Several other dates are used at http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/robinsonville/index.html and https://championshrine.org/our-story/.

One aspect to the discrepancy is that August 15th is a Marian feast day with a fixed date.]

https://archive.co.door.wi.us/jsp/RcWebImageViewer.jsp?doc_id=1e8fc801-90a4-4104-8e86-19a1ea0947dc/wsbd0000/20151119/00000232&pg_seq=35

Other posts about churches:

https://doorcounty.substack.com/t/churches

Other posts about history:

https://doorcounty.substack.com/t/history

Other election or districting related posts:

https://doorcounty.substack.com/t/election-or-districting-related