Posted 2 years ago
Militarist
(288 items)
Once in a while as a collector I feel lucky when I find a named badge. A name makes it easy to date and potentially has some interesting history attached to it. Here is a badge that I have had for years and finally had the time to research it. Marinette, Wisconsin, Mayor, gold plated eagle top shield, clip back. Named to Edward A. Woleski. No maker id. but who ever made this badge did not require proof that the named person was actually the Marinette Mayor. The name on the badge never was the mayor. None of the city mayors names are even close so this is not a case of a simple spelling error. A fake mayor! Who would of ever thought?
Militarist, Cool. :-)
Initially, I thought it might be a gag gift from Woleski's drinking buddies, but when I went to look for him, I couldn't find him.
Who I could find was one Edward A. Woleske (born in 1916, and died in 1985):
https://www.archives.com/1940-census/edward-woleske-wi-112120114
https://www.marinette.wi.us/DocumentCenter/View/76/Forest-Home-Cemetery-PDF
Edward A. Woleske actually was mayor of Marinette, WI.
(On page 418 of "U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1963 - Water - 789 pages"):
*snip*
STATEMENT OF HONORABLE EDWARD A WOLESKE MAYOR CITY OF MARINETTE WISCONSIN
MAYOR WOLESKE: I am Mayor Edward Woleske, City of Marinette. We have a statement to present which the city Engineer has prepared. I have listened to the conference so far. It seems that the City of Marinette is the bad boy in the situation.
*snip*
https://books.google.com/books?id=dNpPAAAAYAAJ
It could still be a joke, as in the guy's name was misspelled so often that his friends had the badge made up with his name spelled incorrectly just to rib him. };-)
A picture of Woleske with JFK:
https://www.ehextra.com/feature_pages/from_the_past_byelines/jfk-paid-a-visit-to-marinette/article_11415920-b071-5a1d-8e9f-8fe73c0fddd0.html
Thanks keramikos, I stand corrected! Great researching on your part. Yesterday I stumbled across a site with pictures of all Marinette's mayors and dates. Today I can not find that site for love or money! I will chalk this one up as a spelling error.
Militarist, You're welcome. :-)
Your post intrigued me, because like you, I wondered about the circumstances behind this badge. Believe me, I know about spelling errors, and lost sources. >8-0
I haven't found a comprehensive list of Marinette mayors thus far, but I've been able to piece together some more of Woleske's history:
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1967-pt22/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1967-pt22-6-2.pdf
https://www.ehextra.com/feature_pages/from_the_past_byelines/bridging-the-gap-between-the-cities/article_15ce93c9-619e-5684-bf26-0f7ec6da094a.html
https://www.scribd.com/document/414668845/The-City-of-Menominee-Michigan-1883-1983
It looks like he became mayor around 1961, almost resigned in 1967 (to take a better paying federal job), but stuck around at least until mid-1982. The guy was popular.
P.S. You might want to contact the city of Marinette, or Woleske's family about this badge. It's an interesting little piece of history. :-)
Thanks again Keramikos! I will contact their local historical society. They are usually helpful.