of towns of Mountain and How
Please click on the photo for a larger view.
The
following photo is Mary Drake, on left and Clara A. Bartz (later
wife of Horace John Herald) on right. Mary Drake was her best
friend. This was taken about 1912 in Oconto, I don't know the Drake
family or if they were from Mountain or Oconto. But descendents may
like to see this picture. Kathleen
Barlament |
Wilhelm (William) H. O. Bartz was born in 1835 at Buntzen, Prussia (now Germany). At the age of 37 years, in 1872, he immigrated to the U.S. with his wife Johanna Howe and three children. They settled into a homestead in what would, in 1879, become town of How, Oconto County, Wisconsin (originally Shawano County, WI). Later that year their son Carl H. O. (Otto) died. The family added 5 more children, all of whom eventually settle nearby to raise their own families on farms.
Frederick (Fred) Bartz who was born 1845 in Pommerania, West Prussia (now Germany), brother of William, came to the U.S. in 1884 with his wife Augusta C Zuelke (Zuehlke) and three children. They arrived in Mountain (then Armstrong County), in Oconto County and set up house in an abandoned building that had at first been used as a log lumber camp building and then as the first schoolhouse in the area. The new schoolhouse had been built earlier that same year. Fred petitioned for US citizenship at the courthouse in Oconto on November 3, 1884.
Fred Bartz opened the first general store in the settlement of Mountain in 1886. The Bartz family added to their income by boarding woodsmen in their home, charging $4 a month. Men who came in from the camps on weekends swelled the number staying in the home and bedding on the floor in the store to as many as 40 at a time. The couple had 13 infants born to them with 8 reaching adulthood. Please scroll down for the Family Tree.
BURIED AT MOUNTAIN
The Rev. Martins officiated at funeral services July 6 at the Lutheran church at Mountain, burial was in the church cemetery.
The pallbearers were Marinus Larsen, Fred Gripentrog, Clifford Elkey, Ed. Saffran, Walter Saffran and James Jorgensen.
Fredrick Bartz was born Oct.19, 1845 in Germany. He married Augusta Zielke in Germany, who preceded him in death 18 years ago last February.
Mr. Bartz was engaged in farming until 18 years ago. He is a pioneer resident of Mountain being the second person to locate there.
Survivor's are four sons, Albert, William, Otto and Harry of Mountain; four daughters, Mrs. William Greene of Lakewood; Mrs. Oscar Strong, Mountain; Mrs. Charles Minor of California, and Mrs. Horace Herald of Oconto. Twenty-one grandchildren and eight great grandchildren also survive.
People from out-of-town attending the funeral were: Wm. Bartz, Mr. and Mrs. Radloff, Mr. and Mrs. Aug. Bartz and son and daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bartz, Mr. and Mrs. John Bartz, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Bartz, all of the town of How; Mr. and Mrs. Herman Bartz, Miss Clara Schliebe, Miss Carrie Dieck of Suring; Mr. and Mrs. H. Gudden, Sr., Mrs. Dorothy Herald, the Misses Kathryn and Lottie Herald, Mr. and Mrs. Jamus Herald, Mrs. Alfred Clausen and Mr. and Mrs. Leo Young, all of Oconto; Harry Greene of Lakewood; Tracy Greene of Milwaukee; Mr. and Mrs. Norval Ohswaldt of Oconto Falls and Mr. and Mrs. Harry Greene, Jr. of Lakewood.
The floral tributes were in the care of the Misses Arvilla and Gladys Bartz, Isabella Strong and Esther Larsen.
Mountain Memories
Fred Bartz owned much of the land our
present day townsite is situated upon. His home was built on the east side
of Highway 32/M. Mountain's first school stood near his home, a log cabin
structure which had been part of an old logging camp which occupied this
site long before Mountain was to become settled by our pioneering families.
Harry H. Bartz
(1891-1989) father of Allen Bartz and son of Fred Bartz all of Mountain, Oconto County, WI |
Harry Bartz in Mountain Wisconsin -- Above
right A very rarely seen photograph of what matches early descriptions for a small Pine bough winter lodge constructed in a method adapted in the late 1800's from the Menominee Indian homes. Harry Bartz may have constructed this dwelling to use while first homesteading his land, and would have used it until a permanent home was constructed. He is seen here cooking with the traditional frying pan over a small woodburning stove with chimney. Notice the snow behind and to the right of the lodge. He is in his "Sunday Best" clothing , including the sleeve garder, with no coat.. contributed by Dorothy Hagemann |
Al Bartz and Gary Knutson and Bruce McLaren. This picture was taken at the Champion spark plugs engine Dyno in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Tyler Alexander) |
Al Bartz's Chevy engine in the Canadian Firebird was an interesting combination in Trans-Am racing. (Photo from Hemmings Motor news) 1966. |
Allen Robert Bartz was born in Mountain, Oconto County, Wisconsin in 1938 to Harry H. Bartz and wife Carrie Dieck Bartz. His father, Harry was a machinist in a garage in Suring, just south of Mountain and Allen seemed to have "caught the bug" with engines. His first jobs included driving a milk delivery trucks from the farms to the dairy. "When the dairy industry took hold in the area, dairymen were paid by the amount of butterfat present in the milk. This raw milk (unpasteurized) separated quickly, with the butterfat cream going to the top. When the milk was tested, a long glass straw was used to take a sample from the BOTTOM of the cans. If the milk had separated, there was little butterfat in the sample and the dairy received less money for the milk. At first the dairymen brought in their own milk in large metal milk cans by team and wagon. In more recent years, the milk trucks went out to the dairies to pick up the milk.
Al Bartz and his brother drove milk trucks around Mountain and Suring. By the end of the day they drove the trucks up and down the sand dunes alongside the road to mix up the milk and cream, which would result in a higher milk fat content and make the checks bigger for the farmers!" Information provided by Kathy Barlament
Al Bartz also knew his way around truck and auto engines, spending hours working on and racing whatever presented itself to him in the rural communities. In his early 20's Al found his way to Hilborn Fuel Injection in California, a company that began designing racing engines in 1948. There he learned to art and skills of making engines go faster. He moved on to Traco Engineering in 1964, where the outstanding little shop specialized in horsepower in a very big way, building the very best engines in the racing business. Al worked on engines that powered Indy cars, Sprint cars, Can-Am cars, and SCCA sports cars, becoming an expert in Chevy racing engine reliability. Their motto was "You either had a Traco engine in your car or you were running for second place."
In 1966 Al Bartz Engines was born. Bartz continued to build engines for different racing series and street use and his engines were profoundly successful as well as sought after by professionals and other enthusiasts.
Al Bartz was a very quiet man, definitely not a self promoter, and remained one of racing's best kept secrets. A former sprint car racer and antique car collector, Bartz spent more time making other people famous than he did making his own product famous. A heavy smoker all of his adult life, he developed lung cancer and died in 1981 at forty-two years old. Allen Robert Bartz (1938 - 1981) returned to Oconto County, Wisconsin, where his brother brought his ashes for burial in Woodlawn Cemetery.