Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1921-10-06
REUNION OF FAMILY is
HELD AT HOME
WEDNESDAY


Prominent citizens of Wausau for
fifty years, all of their married life,
congratulations literally poured in on
Mr.. and Mrs. John Kiefer yesterday,
Wednesday, October 5th, when they
celebrated their golden wedding ami
versary. 1t was an occasion unmarried
by anything unpleasant with but a sim
gle disappointment and that the abb
sence of their granddaughter, Mrs.
Karl Klug, and their only two great
grandchildren, little Burr and Don
Klug, of Holly, Michigan.
Married Here
Mr.. and Mrs. John Kiefer were unit
ed in marriage in this city on October
9Th, 1871, the late Rev. Mr.. Hudtloff,
father of the late w. E. Hudtloff, hav-
ing performed the ceremony. They
first commenced housekeeping IN a
building across from the Winkley
. House, now the Commercial Hotel, on.
Jackson street, and in the same build
ing there resided the late M. A. llur-
ley, and his wife, and the late Mr. and
Mrs. j. G. Clarke
Both Mr.. and Mrs. Kiefer were inn
migrants to America, having come
HUH 0cImduy III lCOo. WiiuOut hloW
ing it, born had started toward the
land OF opportur' y in the same year
The only difference being that Mr.
Kie1er came on q steamboat and made
the voyage in Two weeks, while his
wife, whose maiden name was Miss
Bessie Tank, took a sailing vessel and
three months were required for the
trip.
Nv q fuO
of age when he landed at Staten Is
land, in New York harbar. He went
to Toledo, Ohio, from there and in
August, 1869, he came on to Wausau.
1t was not long before he met Miss
Tank, daughter of the late Mr.. and
Mrs. o. G. Tank, and the two were
married.
Enviable Position
Few men have had a longer or more
successful business career than Mr..
Kiefer, who has not only built up a
produce house of the first rank but
has achieved a unique and enviable
position as a public spirited man with
a long period of city and county SER
vice to his credit. Together Mr.. and
Mrs. Kiefer have lived lives of exem-
plary usefulness. AS ardent and
faithful members of st. Paui's Evan
gelical church, they have been fore
most among those who have assisted
in it's growth Mrs. Kiefer has for
many years been a valued member
ow the Sewing club of that congre-
cation.
Mr.. Kiefer when first commencing
business in Wausau opened shoe
shop and shoe store, being located
in the Jacob Paff building. This oc-
,upation he piled until 1876 when he
ventured into the tannery business.
In 1878 he opened a general merchan-
dizing house in which he was interest
ed for twenty years. 1t was in 1899
that Mr.. Kiefer erected his cold stor-
age plant and organized the Kiefer
Produce company. The capital of the
company was set at $4,000 and opera
tons were commenced with the manu-
facture of creamery butter, while the
produce company also acted as a job
Der of butter, eggs, -four, feed, grain
and salt
Progress Of Business
OF the remarkable progress of the
new business into which Mr.. Kiefer
had embarked, The Pilot said in part
last JdHudTy III lCS luuuSITldl anu Ills
torical Edition: "No business institu-
ton which has associated with it men
of a progressive character, will long
postpone enlargement, and almost at
the start, the Kiefer Produce compa-
ny was forced to branch out. 1t re-
tailed coal and coke and began to OPP
crate public and private cold stor-
age plant of $1,000 cubic feet capacity.
A large warehouse was constructed
for the distribution of merchandise.
Figures tell the story of the growth
of and expansion of the firm. In 1900,
the Kiefer Produce company had 49,
900 feet floor space available while to-
day $4,000 square feet floor space are
in use. Four structures, one of them
comparatively new building, have
been erected, ana the property of the
company is valued at approximately
$4,000.
I'm 1900 the first year, the Kiefer
Produce company transacted $4,000
worth of business. In 1920 six and a
fraction times that amount, or $780,
00o, was transacted. The cold storage