The Traulsen Bakery

Title: Arthur H. Traulsen Bakery
Pictured: Left to Right: Arthur Traulsen, Baker, Henning Traulsen, Jr.
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Date: Unknown
Photographer: Unknown

The address on the awning states 488, but I do not know what street the bakery was located on. I know this photograph was taken after 1906, the year Henning Traulsen Sr. died. Since Arthur was the oldest, the bakery was named after him.

If you look closely in the window on the right, you will see a woman behind the counter. I am positive that this is my Grandma Lucy. Leaving the bakery to the children was far from a harmonious event. I remember stories how my grandmother resented that control of the bakery was left in the hands of her older brother. She relayed how she was treated no better than an employee, and even when this photograph was taken, she was left inside to take care of the customers. The hired baker took more prominence then Lucy.

Women during this era did not get a fair shake, and having a dictator of a brother running your life was no bed of roses. Lucy was not paid for her services at the bakery. She had to clean the bakery, run errands and work behind the counter. That was woman's work. Arthur would not pay her, stating her payment was a roof over head and food to eat. No wonder she referred to him as the Kaiser!

Lucy with her 8th grade education did a very brave and unheard of thing. She read in the newspaper the need for secretaries in Chicago. She secretly saved pennies from making change at the bakery counter until she had enough for train fare to Chicago. Once she had the money, she packed the very few articles of clothing she had and off to Chicago she went. I guess you can call it turn of the century contract labor, but she agreed to work as a secretary for a company, in exchange for a stipend to attend secretary school. Once she graduated, she would work for the company and pay back a small portion of her paycheck until the tuition and stipend was paid in full. Once paid, her obligation to the company was over.

I don't know how long the school was, or the name of the company she worked for. I do remember her telling me she lived in a boarding house. Please remember, that her future husband George Waswo had relatives in Chicago. I surmise that living in Chicago gave her the freedom from her family to allow her to court. I also surmise, that is why in the 1910's, I have so many photographs of George and Lucy in Chicago. Lucy never had a close relationship with her brother Arthur, and she did not speak kindly of him. She did enjoy and always spoke with the most kind regard for his children, Arthur Jr., Dorinne and Caroline. Lucy was closest to her brother Henning Jr., and took good care of him until his death.

Lucy was a lady way ahead of her time. She bucked the tradition of the era and paved her own way and made a life for herself. I remember her as a strong, loving person, and 'a caution' definitely described her. Lord forgive you, if you were on her bad list! I can also say, my mother Norma, Lucy's daughter exhibited some of these strong characteristics as well. In future posts we will explore how Norma handled whatever was thrown at her during her life.