Who was Julius Maurer?
Sometimes old mysteries are the best mysteries.
Built in 1858, the Brucker Building, located at the corner of State St. and Main Street has been a longtime landmark in the city. It features prominently in many historic pictures of downtown Medford.
While built as a bank and land office, for many years it was the site of a dry cleaner. It has been vacant since the 1980s and over the years had fallen into decay and disrepair.
That changed last summer, when owners Doug and John Gasek and contractors Huotari Construction began renovating and restoring the building with the goal of reopening it as a book and wine shop as well as apartments.
I pass by the building frequently on my way to the Taylor County Courthouse and it has been amazing to see the transformation that has taken place as crews worked to stabilize the structure and bring it to new life.
On Nov. 2 Doug Gasek reported that the tin ceiling on the building had been taken down to restore at the Brucker Building and they uncovered a signature. “1902 Julius Maurer Contractor” He shared a picture showing the signature above some stencil art on the wall.
“Just wondering if anybody may have some insight or possible story about John and this building in 1902,” Doug asked in a social media post.
It was noted that there are still a number of Maurers in the area today and that Julius may have been an ancestor of theirs.
If I was more ambitious, and had much more time on my hands, I would dive into the microfilm archives here at The Star News office and scroll through page after page of the 1902 editions of the paper. While we have the print editions of those papers in bound volumes in the basement of the office, the pages are brittle and we try to avoid handling them too much to avoid damaging them.
I know from experience that searching through the archives for one thing can lead me down the proverbial rabbit hole and next thing I know, I will look up and find the office lights off and everyone having gone home for the day.
In hopes of avoiding falling down that rabbit hole — and the chance that someone has already been there and mapped it out for me, I have instead started with other sources including the Wisconsin Historical Society as well as the area’s centennial book produced in 1974.
The Maurers were active in the redevelopment of Main Street in Medford following the 1885 fire which claimed a number of buildings. It also saw the shift from wood-framed buildings to using more brick construction.
What I could find out doing a short search is that Julius Maurer was the original treasurer of the Saengerfest held June 22, 23, 24, 1906 at Germania Hall.
When I first saw the word Saengerfest, my immediate reaction was to think it is either some kind of sausage or perhaps something you should see your doctor about getting a shot of penicillin to clear up and to rethink your life choices.
Going down another rabbit hole, I discovered that Saengerfests are competitions of Sängerbunds, or German singing groups.
This apparently was a pretty big deal at the time and the article on the event held in Medford talked about the large expansion to Germania Hall and how singers from across the country would be attending it and staying at people’s houses in the community. While popular, it only lasted a few years with the last being held June 24-26, 1910.
While interesting, this doesn’t get me any closer to who Julius Maurer was as a person. I imagine him as a craftsman proud of the project he just completed and like an artist felt compelled to sign his name in an inconspicuous spot.
If you have any information on who Julius Maurer was, or any old pictures of him I would be happy to solve this mystery.
Brian Wilson is News Editor at The Star News.
