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Finding Aid for John Alfred and Genevieve Reber Collection, circa 1897-2000 (bulk 1920-1956)
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University of Wisconsin-Stout Archives
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Abstract
Personal papers of John Alfred Reber and records of businesses owned by John and Genevieve Reber in Dunn County and Barron County, Wisconsin.
Description
John (“Hans”) Alfred Reber was born August 4, 1912, in Schangnau, Canton of Bern, Switzerland, to Christian Reber and Frieda Gerber. He immigrated to the United States in 1938 and settled in Rice Lake, Barron County, Wisconsin. He married Genevieve Kennedy of Rice Lake on October 24, 1942. They had five children. Reber was naturalized as a United States Citizen in 1943. In February 1943, he was drafted by the United States Army and served in Italy with the Medical Department as an Ambulance Driver, Company D 10th Mountain Medical Battalion of the Ski Troops. Reber served from 1943-1945 before receiving an honorable discharge in December 1945.
John Reber was a cheesemaker by trade. For 10 years he was employed by Tuscobia Cheese Factory, near Rice Lake, Wisconsin, which was owned and operated by the Hilfiker family. Reber worked the first five years in Switzerland and the next five years in the United States. Reber purchased the Long Lake Road Cheese Factory in 1945 and eventually sold the company to his half-brother Frederick Reber in 1948. In December 1948, John and his wife Genevieve purchased the Sheridan Cheese Factory from Blue Moon Foods, Incorporated, a State of Delaware Corporation. The Sheridan Cheese Factory was founded circa 1918 in the Sheridan Township of Dunn County, Wisconsin. In 1950, John applied for a license to operate as a contract motor carrier to haul milk from surrounding towns to the Sheridan Cheese factory. John was killed in a highway accident on August 12, 1954. After John’s death, Genevieve continued factory operations until the fall of 1955. Genevieve worked for Prairie Farm Public Schools and helped to found the Prairie Farm Public Library. In 1967, Genevieve began working at the McIntyre Library at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and retired in 1987. Genevieve Reber died on November 25, 2008.