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    Oak Creek: Fifty Years of Progress
    Oak Creek: Fifty Years of Progress
    Oak Creek: Fifty Years of Progress
    Ebook205 pages1 hour

    Oak Creek: Fifty Years of Progress

    By Jim Cech

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    In the early 1830s, U.S. officials forced the Menomonee and Potawatomi Indians to give up their lands in present-day Milwaukee County. Men from England and the eastern United States purchased large tracts of land along Lake Michigan from the government. Settlers like John Fowle, George Cobb, and Luther Rawson brought families to southeastern Wisconsin and helped establish the town of Oak Creek. For more than 100 years, Oak Creek retained its township status and rural character. But in 1955, Milwaukee city leaders attempted to annex Oak Creek s land and collect income tax revenue from a recently completed power plant. The small town won a legendary incorporation battle with their powerful northern neighbor, setting a precedent that also saved Franklin and Greenfield from being absorbed by Milwaukee.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateJun 1, 2005
    ISBN9781439631584
    Oak Creek: Fifty Years of Progress
    Author

    Jim Cech

    Jim Cech, a lifelong Oak Creek resident, compiled photographs and authored stories representing some of the notable people, places, and events from Oak Creek�s first 50 years as a city. Oak Creek: Fifty Years of Progress tells the story of how a town of a few thousand farmers has grown to become the fastest growing city in Wisconsin.

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      Book preview

      Oak Creek - Jim Cech

      worthwhile.

      Introduction

      In April 2000, Oak Creek nearly elected a 25-year-old mayor. The 392-vote loss to Dale Richards hurt for a few days, but it turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me. During the ensuing months, I looked for ways to become more involved in city government and other organizations. I decided to join the Oak Creek Historical Society that summer. With its abundant supply of human resources and extensive archives, I took on the task of organizing this book to commemorate Oak Creek’s 50th anniversary as a city.

      Much of the information was gathered through a series of interviews that began in 2001. Politicians and citizens who played influential roles in the development of Oak Creek over the last 50 years were kind enough to answer numerous questions (some very personal) to ensure that I formulated an accurate story. Many days and nights were spent reading the bound volumes and microfilm rolls of the Oak Creek Pictorial newspapers at the city library.

      Former educator Bob Morrow provided some extremely valuable research, especially the cassette tapes filled with interviews of dignitaries who are now deceased. Morrow also authored the definitive work on Carrollville and its impact on Oak Creek.

      The biggest contribution came from a woman who dedicated her life to genealogy and archiving. Carolyn Haack, who died January 15, 2005, constantly provided useful information, and arranged interviews that proved invaluable to this work. May God bless and protect her soul.

      The book’s first chapter is an underdog story of how a rural farm town took on its neighbor and won an incorporation fight with the help of a major utility. The next three chapters focus on Oak Creek’s most notable citizens, places, and events of the past 50 years.

      The final chapter is filled with statistics, including population numbers, award winners, major Oak Creek High School sports facts, and team and individual record holders.

      Finally, to the new and old citizens of Oak Creek: My greatest hope with this book is that you will be able to feel proud of the city which you call home. Its pages will introduce you to some amazing men and women who fought for Oak Creek’s existence and helped to shape its identity. Turn the page and enjoy!

      COVER AND ABOVE: The 1874 town hall stood at the corner of Howell and Puetz until it was replaced by the current city hall. It now rests on the Oak Creek Historical Society grounds near the intersection of 15th and Forest Hill. You may tour the hall on Sundays in the summer months from 2-4 p.m.

      I.

      The Power Within

      WISCONSIN ELECTRIC AND THE INCORPORATION BATTLE

      In November 2003, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin accepted a plan for the expansion of the We Energies (formerly Wisconsin Electric) Power Plant in Oak Creek. It called for the installation of two additional 600-megawatt coal-powered units at an estimated cost of $2.15 billion. Upon completion of the project within the next decade, the Power the Future proposal will solidify the plant’s status as the premier power provider in the state and one of America’s 10 largest coal-fired power facilities.

      The joint electric–gas utility company entered into an agreement with Oak Creek to pay the city several million dollars over the next few years while the upgrade is completed. We Energies claimed that the new units would meet growing demands for power, efficiency, and emission reduction while creating union construction jobs and increased income tax revenue for the region.

      A severe debate raged between We Energies and the residents who lived near the power plant. Environmental groups and neighbors of the large utility company complained about harmful emissions produced by the coal-fired generators. They feared the expansion would lead to deadly respiratory diseases. Several combined lawsuits were filed, and in December 2004, a Dane County judge pulled the expansion project approval and ordered the PSC to re-examine the power plant’s proposal. The court ruled that the commission did not follow proper procedure in the approval process. The judge agreed with the need for an increase in power. However, he felt there was insufficient information about financial data, cleaner generating methods, and alternative site consideration in the utility’s application. As this book went to print in early 2005, PSC commissioners and We Energies officials appealed the Dane County ruling and hoped the matter would be taken up in the state’s Supreme Court.

      The power plant generated a great deal of income tax revenue for Oak Creek in the city’s early years. It also attracted the attention of Milwaukee and South Milwaukee officials eager to gain political favor by acquiring the utility through the annexation of Oak Creek’s land. The small farming town in the southeastern corner of Milwaukee County was able to stave off aggressive annexation attempts by the larger, established cities thanks to an economic boost provided by Wisconsin Electric in the mid-1950s. The revenue that was pumped into Oak Creek’s economy from the power plant allowed the town officials to establish a legal fund and a solid set of lawyers to draft legislation and counteract lawsuits brought on by one of the nation’s largest cities.

      Resting on the Lake Michigan shoreline, the Wisconsin Electric Power Plant, shown here in 1963, benefited Oak Creek residents greatly in the 1950s and 1960s. The utility tax money from the plant, which returned to the city, led to large tax breaks. (Courtesy of Wisconsin Electric Power Company.)

      Plans for the Oak Creek power plant began in the late 1940s. The company assessed its need for power and announced in September 1950 that it would require generation from a new facility. Wisconsin Electric selected a tract of land on the shores of Lake Michigan in Oak Creek and the town of Caledonia in Racine County. The first unit was put into operation on September 30, 1953. A second unit went into service in 1954 with plans for more coal-fired units by the end of that decade.

      Meanwhile, Milwaukee was in the midst of a major annexation campaign to expand their boundaries and consolidate the county from multiple governments to one central governing body. During the 1920s and 1930s, the city acquired nearly sixteen square miles of land from different parts of Milwaukee County. World War II put a halt to the annexation department, but the end of the war brought a demand for more residential and industrial property. Looking to bolster its tax base, the Milwaukee Common Council resurrected the department in 1946 with an increased budget and more workers.

      Unincorporated governments had a choice after World War II to join older communities or start new ones. For some, it was beneficial to join Milwaukee for improved services, especially water. But others were not sold on annexation. Areas with high-income residents or towns that housed power plants found annexation’s alternative, incorporation, irresistible. Glendale became its own city in 1950. When St. Francis organized around a lakeside power plant in 1951, the remaining residents of the neighboring town of Lake were saddled with the highest property taxes in the county. They were left with no other option but to consolidate with the city of Milwaukee in 1954, increasing the big city’s population by 13,000 people and 9.35 square miles. Residents of a small area in Greenfield incorporated as the village of Hales Corners, and Bayside also formed their own government in the early 1950s.

      By 1954, Milwaukee had acquired portions of Wauwatosa and Greenfield along with the entire towns of Granville and Lake. Granville was located on the north end of Milwaukee, and Lake was the town that housed Mitchell Airport. Their next target was Oak Creek, the southernmost town in Milwaukee County. Milwaukee was interested in Oak Creek for two reasons. They needed land for industrial and residential expansion, and the rural farm town had a large percentage of undeveloped acreage. Milwaukee also coveted the utility taxes from the Wisconsin Electric Power Plant. At the time, the state returned 65 percent of the taxes collected from utilities to the municipalities that housed them. Oak Creek and its school districts anticipated $343,000 in shared taxes in December 1954 compared with a combined budget of $489,000. Basically, Oak Creek residents had very minimal property taxes because the money the local government received back from the power plant covered nearly two-thirds of the town’s operating budget.

      On January 11, 1955, the Milwaukee Common Council passed an ordinance and annexed a small portion of land in the northwest corner of Oak Creek. The town officials did not counteract Milwaukee’s first acquisition. However, they were worried that Milwaukee would continue to annex pieces of Oak Creek’s land and eventually add the local power plant to its tax base. Three families became so concerned by the prospect of becoming part of Milwaukee that they approached the city of South Milwaukee and asked officials to acquire the northeast corner of Oak Creek where they lived.

      South Milwaukee announced its plan to annex two-and-a-half miles of Oak Creek land in late January. With concerns already high, lawyer Tony Basile authored a bill in an attempt to prevent the cities from acquiring the town’s land and its power plant. Basile’s association with Oak Creek began in 1950 when local farmer Art Abendschein took over as town chairman. Abendschein and Basile were childhood friends from Bay View. After voters elected Abendschein to his position, the chairman appointed Basile to serve as the Town Attorney. Basile studied American, English, and Canadian incorporation laws before introducing his counteraction (Bill 314-S) to the Wisconsin Senate Judiciary Committee February 7, 1955. Initially, he had

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