Surnames: Kroplein, Matke

----Source: Unknown Newspaper Clipping / Burzynski Family Collection, 1960.

Taft Farm Home of  William Kroplein, which burned Oct., 1960

Taft Farm Home Burned Friday Morning

The Gilman fire department was summoned to the Wm. Kroplein home in the town of Taft about 11 o'clock Friday morning when fire broke out in the house.  It was the second large fire in the Gilman area in less than a week.

Mrs. Kroplein and the two preschool aged children were down at the barn, where they had been most of the forenoon, when one of the small boys noticed fire coming out of an upstairs window in the house.  Mrs. Kroplein sent the children down the road in search of help as they had no phone.  They stopped a car, the driver of which reported the fire.

She struggled to remove what belongings she could from the house, but the entire upstairs was ablaze by the time she got there.  The water pump was frozen, and she had been unable to thaw it, so there was no water available.

Mr. Kroplein was summoned from his work at the Stanley Corporation, and arrived some time after the fire truck. Neighbors and firemen carried out a few belongings from the downstairs but most of the clothing and furniture were burned when the stone structure was gutted by flames.

Water was drawn from a nearby pond, and chemical foam was also used in an effort to stem the blaze, but a strong wind fanned it quickly out of control.  However, the barn on the south of the house was not endangered as the wind was from that direction, and sparks and smoke rolled northward across the country and could be seen for a great distance.

The Kropleins moved to the farm known as the Harold Matke place, only last spring, having formerly lived on another farm nearer Stanley.

Assistance of any sort is badly needed by this family of nine, and will be greatly appreciated.

Shortly after the fire truck had left Gilman for the Kroplein fire, another call came from the Stanley Burzynski home 6 mi north of Thorp where the house was on fire.  Since the truck was already out, they could not respond.

*Mark Kroplein, son of Bill, lives in this house today (2013).  He died at the age of 85 in Taft, Taylor Co., Wisconsin.

Family Notes

William H. Kroeplin was a US Army Veteran of WWI.  He served as a private.

1940 Federal Census, Taft Town, Taylor, Wisconsin, United States, Enumeration District Number: 60-27, Family 72, line 67

William Kroeplin, white, single male
Estimated Birth Year: 1918
Residence in 1935: Same House

Family Number: 72
Sheet Number and Letter: 4B
Line Number: 67
NARA Publication Number: T627
NARA Roll Number: 4528
Digital Folder Number: 005461231
Image Number: 00541
Household Members
Head Henry Kroeplin M 66 Germany
Son William Kroeplin M 22 (1918) Wisconsin
Son Albert Kroeplin M 19 Wisconsin
Daughter Emma Kroeplin F 17 Wisconsin
Son Palmer Kroeplin M 15 Wisconsin
Daughter Cora Kroeplin F 12 Wisconsin

Social Security Death Records

William Kroeplin
Birth Date: 23 June 1917
Social Security Number: 398-20-2922
State: Wisconsin
Last Place of Residence: Taylor, Wisconsin
Previous Residence Postal Code: 54433
Event Date: 27 January 2003
Age: 86