Chippewa County WI Genealogical Society

05/29/2026

05/27/2026

DB’s 2026 Bluelight Special #21
502 Bay Street

This location is perhaps the grocery store with the most owners in Chippewa Falls, numbering 9 in total

The 1874 aerial view of Chippewa Falls shows a vacant lot

1883: Memorial Baptist Church, Reverend M.J. Martin pastor. Organized in 1882. By the year 1889 they had moved to the corner of Coleman and Willow Streets

1886: D. MacDonell grocery

1887: A.C. Stevens grocery

February 1892: Joseph Sokup, a former employee of Eugene Gross in his grocery store at 611 Bay Street, opened the first Sokup’s grocery store here. In 1896 he sold out to Emanuel Baulne and moved to 624 North Bridge Street, the current location of Sokup’s Grocery.

1913: Frank J. McDonald opened his grocery store

September 1921: Frank Whelan purchased the grocery store and the residence adjoining it to the north.

June 1924: The Bay Street Grocery , William and Bessie O’Grady owners

January 1948: Theo. Spitzenberger purchased the store

March 1949: Walter and Florence Stamm opened Stamm’s Grocery

1969: Vacant

1974: Goettl Construction, Lyle Goettl owner

1978: FIA Ceramics. I couldn’t find what FIA stood for or who owned the business

May 1980: Tim and Robin Kurth established Kid’s Korner Fresh Pizza

May 1981: Kurt’s Kustom Pizza. Again, Kurt who. Couldn’t locate it

March 1983: Mothers Pizza, owned and operated by Bob & Delores Reiter and Bob & Brenda Martineau

October 1983: Julie Boos and Herb Hunt purchased Mother’s Pizza

1991: Mother’s Pizza, Dan Hunt

2000: Mother’s Pizza, Brian and Alisa Saric owners

March 2005: Mother’s Pizza, Audrey Schultze owner

April 2006: Father’s Pizza, Bob Jackson owner. I’m not sure when the business closed

Today the building is a residence, and has been for several years

Many thanks for viewing and know that I always welcome additions or corrections

Respectfully, Dennis Brain
Chippewa County WI Genealogical Society and Old Chippewa Falls Facebook site

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05/26/2026

Don't forget that every clue counts! One clue may lead to another and possibly the 'big one.' Clues also bring questions and lead to more mysteries.

05/24/2026

For our May 23rd meeting, we had Martin Treptow talk about the ongoing search for the missing stones at the Tilden Lutheran Cemetery out on County C. We went out late last month for a look around and found two of the lost markers. After some brushing, another four were found. This leaves one last known marker yet to be found. Martin talked about gathering information on what was there, and a map showing approximate locations. He was thrilled when we found those stones, and we took a trip out to the cemetery after the meeting to check it out with several members of the families that are buried there. As an added bonus, Rebecca cleaned several of the stones with the proper care and cleaning solution, making them much more readable.
We thank Martin for all his time and research he puts into his projects, and the new and updated book on the cemetery. This makes our job at CCGS easier when people come in for their own research.

05/22/2026

Have a good weekend!

05/20/2026

DB's 2026 Bluelight Special #20
412 North Bridge Street

The 1874 aerial view of Chippewa Falls shows a two story building on this lot which probably served as a boarding house and/or saloon. The lumbering and milling professions required a multitude of both.

1883: Saloon, likely owned by Phil Thornton

1886: Yep Wing Kee laundry. It’s interesting to note that Chippewa has had at least 3 different Chinese laundries over the years.

March 1893: The Linse Brothers ( I’ve found only one brother’s name in my research- Charles. The remaining brother(s) are unknown ) purchased the wood frame laundry building ( including lot) for $1,950 and began razing the structure in order to replace it with a brick building. As the work progressed, the air was filled with the stench of human waste- the laundry employees had been using a latrine instead of the city’s sewer system 🤢

August 24,1893: The Linse Brothers laundry officially opened as the Chippewa Steam Laundry. As you will notice in the picture I’ve included of the current building, “ Linse Bros.” remains inscribed on the upper front section of the structure, over 130 years later !

1924: A Mr. A. H. Horn from Antigo, WI purchased the Linse Bros. Chippewa Steam Laundry and in turn sold it to the Huebsch Laundry and Dry Cleaning Company of Eau Claire in November of 1925. I was surprised to learn that Huebsch was this old.

July 1933: It seems the history of a building in Chippewa Falls isn’t complete without including at least one saloon. Given that fact, Mr. C. Westlund opened Slim’s Tavern here just 3 months after
Prohibition ended

1937: John Hurt purchased the building and opened Johnnie’s Tavern.

March 1940: Harold W. Peterson opened the Naborhood Bakery, an icon in Chippewa’s history. It would be fun to compare the pastries of 1940 with those of say the 1990’s. Did they change much? How do you even improve the donut?

1955: Bertha Peterson took ownership of the Naborhood Bakery after her husband passed away, then sold it to Robert and Jean Halbleib in October of 1957. Yes, this is the same Bob Halbleib that later became mayor of our fair city

December 30, 1963: Liz and Dick Kleinvachter purchased the bakery and excelled the business. In 2002 they sold it to Albert Kleinvachter.

There appears to be a period of time here that the building sat empty, but I have no specific dates.

April 2013: The Hong Kong House moved here following a fire that destroyed their building at 15 West Spring Street. It remains in business as of the writing of this article. ( Just an FYI: my personal favorite is the sweet/sour chicken💚💛).

Thanks much for following and I hope you enjoy reading these building histories as much as I enjoy researching them.

Respectfully, Dennis Brain
Chippewa County WI Genealogical Society and Old Chippewa Falls Facebook site

05/19/2026

Don't forget to set goals such as organizing photos and information, identify photos, etc.

Do you have genealogy goals? What are your goals and how do you plan on accomplishing them?

05/13/2026

DB’s 2026 Bluelight Special #19
20 West Spring Street

As we’ve seen before, West Spring Street ( especially the first block) is one of the oldest business sections in Chippewa Falls history. This is yet another lot with a rich past and one which is older than the first advertisements and articles record. It is highly likely 20 West Spring Street was destroyed in the fire of 1869 and rebuilt shortly thereafter.

The first verifiable record I can find is from 1874 when Thomas Phillips was operating a general merchandise store. It would be fun to go back and compare the items in stock at that time to what we have today.

1885: Harry Roe saloon. I have yet to see an advertisement for the old saloons; I’ve often wondered how graphic they might have been

1889: Alexander Greiner saloon. I’m guessing a vast majority of buildings in this block were saloons/taverns at some point in their history. It’s almost a requirement!

December 1892: James A. Mitchell opened a restaurant and confectionary store. Confectionaries sold primarily home-made candy, but generally branched out to include newspapers, to***co products, flowers, ice cream, etc.

May 1920: Gustav and Fredericka Hering purchased the restaurant/confectionary

May 1926: Melvin Smith purchased the business and renamed it Smith’s Cafe

July 1932: Buchanan’s Men’s Wear moved here from 212 North Bridge Street, Carlos Buchanan owner

May 1937: Holtz Brothers Electric moved here from 17 North Bridge Street, owned by Ezra and Roy Holtz

October 1943: A. H. Bacon opened the City Bargain Store, dealing primarily in second hand furniture

June 1946: Harry Molin jeweler and Padrutt Photo Service, Jerome A. Padrutt owner

January 1955: Padrutt Photo and Russ Moyer jeweler

July 1959: Padrutt Photo and Eric’s Jewelry and Watch Repair, Eric Hopf owner. Many of us Boomers bought our first 45 records at Padrutt’s

June 1978: John Wiltrout purchased Padrutt Photo and also opened a Radio Shack franchise in the area formerly occupied by Eric’s Jewelry

1988: Padrutt Photo / Radio Shack owned by Randy Michaelis and The Byte Doctor owned by Lawrence Werle and Terry Giordano. Randy established Professional Electronic Services in 1989

1993: Glenn Seyforth opened Seyforth’s Quality Appliance and two years later added Seyforth’s Camera and Studio

2013: Seyforth’s Photography moved to 16 West Columbia Street and Clear Water Martial Arts, the current occupant, purchased the building shortly after

Thanks for viewing and be sure to share any additions or corrections - I try to present a complete and accurate history of the buildings in Chippewa Falls

Respectfully, Dennis Brain
Chippewa County WI Genealogical Society and Old Chippewa Falls Facebook site