Green Bay Business College- Mr. Kenneth Bierke

From the "MODERN ART STUDIO, LUXEMBURG, WIS." A portrait of Mr. Kenneth Bierke of the Green Bay Business College. The last image from the collection. Click on Green Bay in the labels section to bring up the other 11 posts.

Green Bay Business College- Vacation Snapshots

Well, this is a close to a New Year's resolution as I'll ever get. It's time to finish off the Green Bay Business College collection. A few years ago I purchased a large envelope of prints, addressed to Kenneth Bierke, care of the Green Bay Business College. From pictures of school dances in the 50's, to family and vacation pictures, to color photos of Mrs. Bierke during World War 2, there is quite a lot of material. I'm the first to admit that this group isn't the most interesting of the lot, but click on Green Bay in the labels section, and they will not disappoint. The next post will be the last. And by the way, I was even able to locate the Prince Arthur Hotel. It was opened on March 14, 1911 by the Canadian National Railway in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Green Bay Business College- Portraits

Please, please click on Green Bay in the labels section so I don't have to retype all the stuff I've already put up about this collection. In short, I bought a pretty good sized collection of photos that were in some envelopes addressed to Kenneth Bierke of "The Green Bay Business College, 123 S. Washington, Green Bay, Wis." I'm fairly certain that the young guy is Kenneth Bierke himself. Only two more posts in the Green Bay collection, though it could be awhile before I finally finish it up.

Green Bay Business College- Family and Farm

I'm closing in on the end of the Green Bay Business College collection. To recap, all of these photos came in envelopes addressed to either "Mr. Kenneth Bierke 225 Quinton, Green Bay, Wisconsin," or "Green Bay Business College, 123-S Washington, Green Bay, Wis." There are some really interesting single images in the collection, but as a group, they follow one family from the early twentieth century farm/small town life, through World War 2, and the post war years, through what is probably the Bierke family retirement. I think these images may be from Mrs. Bierke's family. Click on Green Bay in the labels section and pull up the Home front post and you'll see the same lady who is standing on the back of the farm wagon, the first image in this group. Few of these photos are dated or labeled, but there are a few. They three flapper girls, standing on the sidewalk, "Anetta Maichle, Colgate, Wis." The lady with the collie in the paper frame, stamped on the folder, "To Add Beauty and Brilliance insert a piece of cellophane over the picture. GEPPERT STUDIOS, DES MOINES, IOWA." Written in pencil, "Helen A3217, Irene A3509, Marion A3389," then there are two names that have been erased, then "Joe A2617." I'm guessing that those have t0 be early phone numbers. The picture of the little boy standing on the bench is dated, "10-27-44" The family around the Christmas tree, (Note the same lady already noted, though older, sitting in the center of the image.) stamped on the back, "STILLER BLDG., GREEN BAY, WIS." The image of the family, standing beside the tar paper shack, "Mr. & Mrs. Schrader, Mr. and Mrs. Warner, Mr. & Mrs. E. Koepael, Robert Z., Earnest & Mother S., The Wooden Soldier and Ella." The people sitting in front of the log, "Reading from Right to left. My Sis, Feru, Wilfred E., Lee R., Pearl M., Mrs. Ahlgrine, Ora C., Lois C., and Myself. Scene Camp 24."

Green Bay Business College- Color Vacation

Put this one down to my sense of history and belief that it's better to post all of the images in a collection, rather than editing them down to the most interesting views. Stamped on the backs of all these photographs, THIS IS A KODACOLOR PRINT MADE BY EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY T.M. REGIS. U.S. PAT. OFF. Week of July 12, 1954 III 2" And again, images from the life of Mr. Kenneth Bierke of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Associated with the Green Bay Business College, probably, first, as a teacher and then as an administrator. Eventually, when I get the entire collection posted, there will be images of his farm background, the parties, dances, and dinners attended, the wars fought, the wife on the home front, and in 1954, post war comfort, a nice car, some level of prosperity not known during the great depression and World War 2, that allowed he and his family to take a vacation. In the grand scheme of things, a pretty ordinary life, but one that covers a lot of the twentieth century, good and bad. Once again, click on Green Bay in the labels section to see the collection, posted to date.

Green Bay Business College- Dinners

I don't know whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, but I have a tendency to not edit photo collections. If the image came with the group, it goes up on the blog. Two more photos from the Green Bay Business College collection. So far I've put up pictures from school dances, banquets, and some rather nice color portraits of a woman during the war years. (Click on Green Bay in the labels section.) These two are of dinners featuring the two people who show up more often than any others in the collection. On the left on the picture that's fading away, and way in the back, on the right, of the other. The man, I believe, must be Kenneth Bierke, to whom one of the envelops I have is addressed, and the woman must be his wife. The fading picture looks like it was taken in a restaurant, while the other, with the stained glass windows in the background could be either a church dinner or a school function.