That’s Christina Wahle in a photo probably taken in the mid-1880s. She moved to Oshkosh with her husband Franz Wahle in 1867. They bought land at the south end of Doty Street and launched what would later become the Glatz Brewery. Their son Frank was an early partner in the bar now known as Oblio's.
The Wahle's came to Oshkosh from Stevens Point where in 1857 where they had helped establish what is now Stevens Point Brewing. That connection between brewing in Oshkosh and Stevens Point runs fairly deep (see HERE and HERE, for example).
As I’ve been reading Harry’s book I haven’t been able to keep from thinking, what would Peoples Brewing or the Oshkosh Brewing Company be like today if they had managed to survive like Stevens Point Brewing has? It’s made for an interesting, unintended, subtext. This is a book well worth checking out.
Last night I attended a book signing featuring John Harry at the taproom of the Stevens Point Brewery. Harry walked the audience through the history of the brewery with a lively, fun presentation featuring "slides" of many of the photographs in the book. His knowledge and humor made for a fun event also highlighted by 1857 Stock Ale which Brewmaster Mike Schraufnagel created for the event. Hopefully this 8.5% brew finds it's way into Point's Whole Hog series of beers. Many copies of Harry's book were sold and signed. The book follows the Arcadia Publishing format featuring numerous high quality historic photographs complemented with Harry's well researched text. This book defines the hard work, love, and yes some luck that has created and kept relevant the beers that have made Stevens Point Special.
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