Loyal, Clark Co., Wisconsin

Loyal, Wisconsin

Dear Friends,

I’m a charter member of the Loyal Woman’s Club, who is sponsoring this scrapbook.  I also belong to the Lutheran Ladies Aid and am Secretary-Treasurer of the Woman’s Auxiliary to the Canner’s Association.  I play contract bridge once a week so you see we have lots of enjoyment in this small city of ours, about 1200 population.  We have four churches, Methodist, Catholic, Free Methodist and Lutheran.

Both my parents are of German decent, my husband’s father was Bavarian and his mother German.

I was born in Schleisingerville (now called Slinger), on January 30, 1898.  I am the youngest of eight children.  My father was an undertaker, also ran a large saw mill, a concrete business, making cement blocks, vaults and sidewalks.

I met my husband at Lomira at my brother’s home.  After our marriage we lived at Lomira.  Our first enterprise was a garage, later entered in the canning industry.

We have three children, two daughters, Ethel and Janet and one son, Richard.  Both of my daughters are married.  Ethel the oldest has three daughters namely, Rebecca, Peggy and Josephine.  Janet has one daughter, Sally and one son Willard.  My son Richard attends Wayland Academy at Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. This is his second year.  He’s very much interested in playing football, basketball and track.  He also is president of his class and made proctor in the dorm, also secretary of the Spanish class.

The Loyal Canning Company

In the year 1924 my husband’s father, Albert Sterr, built a canning factory at Loyal.  It was then we decided to move to Loyal, which is 168 miles from Lomira.  The year previous we built a modern seven room bungalow and believe me it was hard to leave it.  The only house available at Loyal was without furnace and bath, let alone no water in the house or lot so we had to go to our neighbors and pump water outside.

Our factory started with a one line pea equipment in 1928, later we added another line, also bean equipment.  In 1946 we added corn machinery, making our plant a four line operation.  We employ between 300 and 400 people during the summer months.  Our production is sold largely under our company’s own label as "Loyalty", "Kitchen Grand", "Sun Rim" and "Anytime".  My husband is manager and our son-in-law, Jerry Will, is assistant manager.

The Home We Built

About four years ago we built a modern white frame home, has a large living room and dining room combined, three bedrooms, kitchen, bath and powder room.

We also have a summer cottage about 130 miles north of here on Lake Arbor Vitae.  There are six cottages on this island with beautiful birch and arbor vitae trees. Each owner takes care of his grounds, making it a beautiful place to relax on.

Dorothea Sterr (Mrs. E. W. Sterr)