Monticello Area Historical Society-Wisconsin

Name: Monticello Area Historical Society-Wisconsin
Address: 204 N Main, Monticello, WI, 53570, US
Telephone: 1-608-938-4216

Home
United States
Monticello, WI
Monticello Area Historical Society-Wisconsin

Local Historical Society dedicated to preserving our past for the future.

The Monticello Area Historical Society strives to promote an interest in the uniqueness of the Monticello area by collecting and displaying artifacts that tell our community history. We further endeavor to enrich the community by connecting them to the past and saving the present to enhance the future.

05/29/2026

View Ruth M. Sybers's obituary, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

05/25/2026

Roy F. Dickson (1910 – 2001) was born on November 24, 1910, to William and Ida (Pinnow) Dickson in rural Spring Grove Township. On May 15, 1936, Roy married Anne Schild at the Immanuel Evangelical Church in Monroe.
Roy entered the United States Navy in January 1944. Dickson was 33 years old and married with three children when he was drafted into the service. Roy was assigned to United States Naval ship, the USS LST (Landing Ship, Tanks) 623 in the South Pacific. “Most of the other guys on the ship were in their early 20s,” he recalled.
On the ship Dickson served as a gunner and at various times was a cook, a baker, and ship’s painter. The naval craft participated in five invasions of the Philippines, including the first against the Philippine islands. The USS LST 623 carried tanks and equipment and hauled troops often numbering over 1,000 men to various South Pacific destinations. “Our ship was 328 feet long and 54 feet wide, with a regular crew of 123 men and 24 officers. We were like a family,” Dickson remembers. The ship was on its way to China with a troop of US Marines when the war ended. Dickson was discharged from the service on his birthday, Nov.24, 1945. Roy Dickson was awarded the American Area Ribbon, the Asiatic Pacific Ribbon with two Bronze Stars, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon also with two Bronze Stars.
Roy returned to Green County, settling in Monticello where he and Anne raised their 6 children. He was a member of the Monticello American Legion Post 256 and a former member of the Pearl City American Legion. He was a member of the Zwingli United Church of Christ. Roy enjoyed being part of the annual chicken barbecue sponsored by the Community Club. Roy owned and operated Dickson Painting for many years.
Photos and excerpts are from “To You Who Answered the Call, The Monticello Drizzle Photo Supplement” a publication by the Monticello Area Historical Society.

www.monticellohistoricalsociety.org

Photo 1: Seaman Roy Dickson
Photo 2: The arrow points to Roy Dickson standing at the rail of LST 623

04/28/2026

Photos: Keller Harness and Shoe Store circa 1920
Second photo: Otto Keller on the left with employee, David Zumkehr (1859-1943).
First photo: Otto Keller on the left with Bertha’s father, John Wittenwyler Sr. (1856-1941)
The Harness and Shoe Store owned by Otto and Bertha Keller was located where Gempeler’s Supermarket is now on Main Street, Monticello.
Per immigration records, Otto Keller was born 1890 in Endingen, Switzerland and immigrated to Green County in 1910 with “Money in Possession: $19.” Otto became a naturalized US citizen in 1916. From 1918-1919, Otto served in the infantry during WWI stationed in France.
Otto married widow Bertha Barbara (Wittenwyler) Zweifel, becoming stepfather to Bertha’s 2 young daughters.
Bertha was born 1888, in Washington Township, Green County, the daughter of John and Anna (Voegeli) Wittenwyler. In 1909, Bertha married Joseph Zweifel in Monticello. They had two daughters; Hazel was born in 1911 and Helen was born in 1915. When Joe passed away in 1917, Bertha later married Otto J. Keller in 1918.
Bertha’s oldest daughter, Mrs. Hazel V. (Zweifel) Kundert taught at Monticello Schools for 34 years, including seven years as Monticello's Elementary Teaching Principal. Mrs. Kundert retired from teaching in 1976.

04/27/2026

Time with Hidden Treasures. Antique appraiser, Mark Moran. A fund Raiser for Monticello Public Library last Saturday.

04/22/2026

We still have slots available; this is the last call for sign-ups. Stop by on Saturday to watch the event!

04/09/2026

🎩 ⚔️ 💰 History lovers! Join us on Thursday, April 16 at 6:30 to learn about this obscure gang in rural Wisconsin! In need of cash to finance the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln turned to the nation’s leading counterfeiters, including a band of enterprising criminals based in Monroe, Wisconsin.

Program is online and in person. Register at: https://oregonpl.librarycalendar.com/event/lincolns-counterfeiters-14645

03/31/2026

1972 Monticello Boy Scout Troop 106 Paper Drive

(Corrections welcome)
Left to right: Guy Loeffel, Jon Lehnherr (Scout Leader), Bruce Workman, T. Lehnherr, Ron Kubly, ___?__, Jay Mcmannes, Tim Mayer and Bill Gempeler.

Per Bill Gempler, Troop 106 did paper drives from 1967 to 1972. Two to three times a year, the Troop would go door to door picking up newspapers earning $5-7 per ton. A truckload was a couple of tons. It was a way to earn merit badges for community and environmental services.

Bill recalls, Jon Lehnherr was a great leader “running us through training like the military because he was a staff sergeant in Nam, teaching us drills, first aid, and survival tactics. We won a lot of awards at Scout Jamborees back in the day.” Bill went on to say because of the Monroe tornado, Jon Lehnherr “organized us (Troop 106) into an emergency team and we practiced loading litters (army stretchers) and first aid kits along with our yucca packs (BSA sanctioned backpacks for hiking and camping) into a utility truck to quickly respond to an emergency. That’s where Bruce Workman and I got interested in the EMS.”

Jon H. Lehnherr was born July 26, 1941, at Monroe, the son of Harold F. and Thelma R. (Reuber) Lehnherr and graduated from Monticello High School.
He entered the service Dec. 28, 1960, at Milwaukee and was discharged December 12, 1963, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. He was an airman first class in the U. S. Air Force and served with the 1607th Maintenance Squadron. He served overseas for one year and six months. He re-enlisted Dec. 13, 1963, at Dover Air Force Base and was discharged December 12, 1967, from Ent Air Force Base, Colorado. Jon was a sergeant in the U. S. Air Force and served in Vietnam and was awarded the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon, the National Defense Service Medal with one bronze star, the Republic of Vietnam Commendation Medal, the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, and the Air Force Commendation Medal. He was a member of the Vietnam Veterans Chapter Three and the American Legion Post in Monticello. He was also a staff sergeant E6 in the National Guard at the time of his death on October 6, 1990, due to an MVA.

03/18/2026

Meet Vera Lasse Stillmank, the inspiring woman who, along with her husband James, founded Vera’s House of Bridals. Two of the stunning gowns featured in Hemlines and Heroes—one a National Award-winning 4-H Style Review dress and the other her own wedding gown—are a testament to Vera’s incredible talent and dedication to the craft.
We’re thrilled that Vera is planning to visit us Saturday, March 21, at Hemlines and Heroes. Come see these remarkable gowns up close and in person. Thursday-Sunday, 11 AM-4 PM through March 29.
https://www.rchs.us

02/12/2026

Photo caption: C.M. and St. Paul Wreck Jan. 6, 1913, Photo by Frautschy, Monticello, Wis
Excerpts from photographer Frautschy’s obituary published in the Monticello Messenger, December 9, 1937.
Edward D. Frautschy (March 27, 1870 – December 3, 1937) was a native of Washington township, having been born in 1870, the son of John and Mary Isely Frautschy.
Mr. Frautschy first became interested in his profession by outdoor camera work while on the farm where he was born, having had particularly good luck taking shots of cattle and objects about the farm. For several years, he was in Monticello where he maintained studios in his home and later the second floor of Peoples Supply Company store. He also farmed just west of town on the farm now owned by Herman G. Karlen.
His fine work in Monticello brought people from all parts of the county and he eventually moved his studio to Monroe. He was a familiar figure at community gatherings in all parts of the county and took snap shots of countless community functions.
In recent years Mr. Frautschy gained professional recognition by election as president of the South-Central Photographers' association, having been elevated to that office in 1933 after
serving for a year as association treasurer.
Mr. Frautschy was widely known throughout this part of the state, people coming to his studio from miles around to pose for photographs. His passing from our midst occasioned
sincere regret among his considerable number of friends and acquaintances. Always of a jovial disposition, Mr. Frautschy had established himself as one of the best liked men in the
communities in which he lived. He was known for his unquestioned honesty and indelibly.
character.

01/15/2026

Tommy and Crystal Brusveen Decorating their Christmas tree circa 1945
Thomas Brusveen was born December 25, 1908, in York Township, Green County, Wisconsin, the son of Hans and Bertha (Erickson) Brusveen. Tom attended Barber School in Milwaukee and worked as a barber in Janesville for three years before moving to Monticello. He married Crystal Lien on June 18, 1938, at York Memorial Lutheran Church. Crystal was born Dec. 13, 1914, in Freeda, N.D., daughter of Selmer and Christine (Gilbertson) Lien. Crystal graduated from high school and Teachers College in North Dakota and taught elementary school in North Dakota, York Center and at Hillside View for several years before retiring in 1980 after 32 years as a bank teller at the Bank of Monticello. Crystal passed away in 1997.
Mr. Brusveen entered the U.S. Army on July 4, 1942, at Ft. Sheridan, IL. He served as a Private 1st Class with the 31st Chemical Weapons Service (Decon) in the European Theater. Tom received the Good Conduct Medal, and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with five Bronze Stars and one Bronze Arrowhead. He served in the battles of Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes and Central Europe. Tom was honorably discharged on Sept. 25,1945, at Camp Fannin, TX. He returned to Monticello and worked as a barber until his death in 2000. He loved fishing, gardening, photography and traveled extensively in Europe.
The Monticello Area Historical Society holds a diverse collection of photographs taken by Thomas Brusveen.

Address

204 N Main
Monticello, WI
53570

Opening Hours

10am - 2pm

Telephone

1-608-938-4216

Website

http://www.monticellohistoricalsociety.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Monticello Area Historical Society-Wisconsin posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Want your business to be the top-listed Hardware Service in Monticello?