Congratulations to Stanley native and Class of 1960 member, Don Zais of Marshfield who was named a Jefferson Award honoree for November. Since his retirement, Don has devoted a great deal of time as a volunteer. He has been providing his time and talent to Habitat for Humanity, helping seniors with preparing their taxes through the AARP Tax Program, and has served as an elf delivering food during a local Rotary program. He says, “I just enjoy it and have dedicated my life to it.” Many other volunteers credit Don with their involvement because he serves as such a great role model. In a recent conversation with Don, he indicated that he is currently involved in constructing ramps for handicapped individuals to make their homes more accessible, grab bars in bathrooms, and high toilets for seniors. He says these type projects enable the serving of more individuals. As we were finishing our conversation, he revealed he was soon to be on his way to Menard’s to purchase a high toilet that he was going to be installing that day.

There was one early Stanley industry that has always intrigued me. It was the Stanley coal kilns, that according to an article by Art Samuelson (the first president of the Stanley Area Historical Society) in our city centennial history, “Stanley Our Town 1881-1981,” were located on what today is the site of Ike International. It is unknown if Stanley businessmen enticed the charcoal kilns with an incentive to build here, but it was not unusual for businessmen and farmers to donate land or funds, to entice a furnace or kiln to be built in their community. Samuelson described the eight kilns as resembling monstrous beehives with a thirty foot diameter, sixteen feet high and dome shaped. Each kiln reportedly could char about sixteen cords of wood at a burning. Hardwood was used in making the charcoal and it was readily available in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, as Stanley area pioneer farmers were clearing the land. Hardwood was considered a nuisance to the early settlers so it was turned into resource of financial return when sold it to the York Iron Company coal kilns in Stanley. Much charcoal for iron smelters came from kilns in Clark, Marathon, Chippewa and Wood counties. Every piece of timber that could be cut into a board six feet long and 3 inches wide found a market for lumber and the rest within a reasonable distance from the railroads, found a ready market for cord wood to make charcoal. The Samuelson article reported a kiln consumed as much as 14,000 cords of wood in a single season. Interestingly, The Thorp Courier, November 25,2020 edition, 125 years ago (1895) in its Memory Lane column, indicated that the Thorp coal kilns were paying $1.25 for cord wood. +++ An article in the O-W Enterprise, November 11,2020 edition, reignited my interest in the Stanley coal kilns. The article by Allan Hodnett indicated that the coal kilns were built in a number of area communities and their common locations were along the Wisconsin Central Railroad (today operated by Canadian National) thus making shipping the charcoal to iron smelters in Black River Falls, and later, Spring Valley possible. Hodnett reported in his article that there were 16 kilns in Thorp, eight in Stanley, and nine near Withee. In addition, kilns were located at Curtiss and in other communities between Abbotsford and Chippewa Falls. He also reported that it took two days to turn hardwood into charcoal. The charcoal was made as the wood smoldered, but not burning an open flame. Per Hodnett, the finished product was loaded on rail cars for shipment and one kiln would reportedly fill two rail cars. Charcoal from the Black River Coke Kilns near Withee was shipped to Ashland Smelting Company. Below is a snip from the Chippewa County Atlas -1888, which shows the location of the Stanley coal kilns. Note that the drawing indicates there were 10 kilns at the time. The picture in our local history book (p. 19) does not show the actual kilns in Stanley. If anyone has a picture showing the Stanley kilns, the local historical society would welcome it, or to borrow it to make a copy. The importance of the Stanley coal kilns was that they offered early settlers anther source of income as they struggled to clear the land for farming in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

Note York Iron Co. location on left. From the Chippewa County Atlas -1888