Bio: Dehn, William J. (1923)

Contact: Ken Wood.

----Surnames: Dehn, Zuehlke, Sanders, Moede, Johnson, Flessert

----Source: History of Wood County, Wis. (1923) pages 564-565

William J. Dehn, operating the Quality Creamery at Blenker, was born Nov. 22, 1889, in Shawano County, Wis., son of Albert and Wilhelmina Dehn. The parents, natives of Germany, were married there and were the parents of two children, Minnie and Emma, when the family moved to the United States. Minnie is now Mrs. Albert Zuehlke, of Shawano County; Emma is Mrs. Henry Sanders of Chicago. Eight other children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Albert Dehn after coming to this country: William J., subject of this sketch; Anna, living at Madison, Wis., unmarried; Elizabeth, deceased; Martha, now the wife of William Moede, a tinsmith of Shawano, Wis.; Henry, who is a cheese-maker at Spruce, Wis.; Robert, a cheese-maker in Marathon County, Wis.; Ida, now Mrs. Ernest Johnson, of Madison; and Marie, living at home. William J. Dehn attended the public schools. of Shawano County, and later completed the dairying course at the Wis. Agricultural School in Madison; finishing in 1911, he was made an instructor and remained with the school in that capacity for two terms. Starting out to make his own living at the age of 19, he traveled about the state a good deal for two years, and then took a position in the Rocky-Run Creamery at Pittsville, in this. county. After remaining there a short time he went to Lavalle, in Sauk County, Wis., and was there for four years, in the employ of the Farmers Co-operative- Creamery. His next position was at Fennimore, Wis., where he stayed but a short time. During this period of moving about he was looking for a desirable place to locate permanently, and in 1917 he bought his present business enterprise, the Quality Creamery at Blenker. Here he has a fine equipment, with everything, in the best of shape; his plant has a capacity of 1,000 pounds of butter per day and 14,000 pounds of milk for cheese per day. Most of his product is marketed with the Dairy Belt Cheese & Butter Co. of Spencer, Wis. August 15, 1915, Mr. Dehn married Elizabeth Flessert, of Shawano, Wis., who was born in that place Sept. 27, 1890. Mrs. Dehn's parents came to the United States from Germany and were married at Cecil, Wis., Aug. 25, 1888; their family consisted of eight children : Elizabeth, William, August (deceased), Charles, Helen, Marie, Mina, and Henry. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Dehn: Ethel M., born June 19, 1916; and William J., born Oct. 1, 1919. The family is of the German Lutheran faith and worships with St. Luke's Congregation at Sherry. Politically Mr. Dehn is Republican, though liberal in his views, voting for the candidate rather than for the party represented. Both socially and in a business way he has the highest respect of the community, and is conducting his plant on principles of honesty and fair dealing.