by Rob Davis

*Warren Davis Sr. and Minnie Davis aboard the sailboat "Flit" c. 1941. 2017.127.0013*

As the grandson of a founder of EHF and your next EHF president I am tasked with announcing that on July 19th of this year the Ephraim Historical Foundation will celebrate its 75th anniversary.

In 1949, Helen Hoeppner Sohns and her husband, Bill, owned and operated the local grocery store. Helen had been a school teacher at the Ephraim schoolhouse. When the school board decided it did not need the old schoolhouse, the board was going to put it up for sale. Helen, realizing that one room schoolhouses were already scarce, became concerned about losing this one to history. Helen approached Warren Davis (my grandfather) about her concern and asked if there was anything Warren could do to save this building.

Warren secured pledges totaling $2800 to purchase the building and a non-profit corporation was formed on July 19, 1949. Three local men signed the incorporation papers, and the twelve men listed below comprised the first board of directors of the Ephraim Foundation.

+ Malcom D. Vail, Sr. (Chicago area)
+ Everett Valentine (local)
L. F. Thurwachter (Waukesha, WI)
Dr. Arthur Byfield (Chicago area)
Victor McCormick (Cleveland ?)
+ Adlai Hardin (New York City)
Chester D. Tripp (Chicago area)
+ Dr. Henry Anderson (Stevens Point, WI), grandson of Aaslag Anderson
William Pauly (Manitowoc, WI) + Ralph Horween (Chicago area)
Laurence Schwab (Chicago area)

(The “+” symbol indicates descendants still have a presence here.)

But there’s more. I am an Ephraim “legacy child” and there’s a backstory that explains why my grandfather, Warren, was so attached to Ephraim that he would organize the purchase of the schoolhouse and found this wonderful organization.

While no Davis lived as a full-time resident in Ephraim until 1995 when my parents retired, I can boast of three generations before me who made an impact. Around the turn of the twentieth century my great grandfather, Robert C. Davis, worked for the Goodrich Steamship Line that serviced the Great Lakes town from its Chicago base. The ships stopped at Ephraim delivering people and freight. One of his jobs was to arrange lodging for his passengers wishing to stay.

In the EHF archives there is a written record (1904) showing that R.C. Davis registered his wife and three children for the month of July at Stonewall Cottage, which shortly thereafter became the Anderson Hotel.

My family also possesses a photo (*left, c. 1902*) showing Robert’s son, Warren, aged 2, sitting on the lap of Everett Valentine in front of a small log structure with the Bethany Lutheran Church in the background.

*Right: Davis home on North Shore Rd, Warren Davis Jr. pictured bottom left, age 3-4, c. 1929. 2017.127.0003*

The family came every year (not sure how long). My grandfather, Warren, remembered those years fondly and with his new wife, Minie, honeymooned in Ephraim at the Anderson Hotel (1924). Then, four years later, when my grandfather was only 28 years old, and before they owned a house in Chicago, they built a cottage on North Shore Road using 70-year-old barn logs. My father was only four years old.

Another Ephraim summer resident, Ralph Horween, introduced sailing to my grandfather, which led to Warren and Malcom Vail reviving a struggling Ephraim Yacht Club in 1938. During the 1930s and 40s Warren was also very active in the Great Lakes Cruising Club.