Published Aug. 20, 2005, in the Waukesha Freeman

Story by Matthew Webber

WAUKESHA -- Six hundred bottles of beer on the wall. Six hundred bottles of beer.

In living rooms across Waukesha, John Schoenknecht takes one down and passes it around, but not for a drink or a song. Schoenknecht and the 20 or so other members of the 1834 Club pass around the empty bottles -- and signs, postcards and thousands of other Waukesha-related trinkets -- to discuss and study.

A typical meeting of the historical club inspires several rounds of "Wow, where's that from?" Schoenknecht said, as members ranging in age from 30 to 80 share their most recent discoveries.

"We'll try to figure out when it was made, when it was distributed, what it was used for, and we can tell by maybe the shape of the bottle," said Schoenknecht, who owns 600 bottles from Waukesha's springs and breweries. "We just try to learn about it."

By discussing the memorabilia and reading -- and, in Schoenknecht's case, writing -- the history of Waukesha, the 1834 Club is ensuring that history doesn't disappear.

In the meantime, however, all things Waukesha continue to disappear from downtown antique stores and reappear in club members' houses.

Rules of the 1834 Club

The 1834 Club began in 1986, two years after Waukesha's sesquicentennial celebration, with three goals:

* To share their discoveries and experiences.

* To educate themselves about the history of Waukesha.

* To explore ways of sharing their knowledge and collections with the public.

Another, unwritten requirement might be to amass roomfuls of stuff.

One couple, the Hagerstrands, estimates their collection of postcards has grown from two to 1,200 in 27 years.

Another, the Hagens, don't know how many postcards they own, but their 1887 Victorian house is their largest and most valuable antique.

Club member John Ward gives a conservative estimate of "several hundred Waukesha postcards, bottles, papers and signs" that take up at least two rooms in his house.

Can't stop

All the members say they couldn't stop collecting once they started.

"My husband's mother gave him two postcards from Waukesha, and we said, 'Hmm, I wonder if there are any more of these,'" Marilyn Hagerstrand said.

"At that time, Brookfield Square used to have antiques in the mall, so we'd go out there whenever they would have an antique show."

Schoenknecht also started collecting three decades ago, inspired by a magazine picture of bottles.

"I thought, 'Oh, it would be neat to have some bottles like that in my window,' and that's when I started buying ones that said 'Waukesha,'" Schoenknecht said. "Thirty years later, I'm still buying things."

On a tour of his two antique rooms, Ward tried to explain why he devotes so much time and money to his hobby, agreeing with the others he enjoys the pursuit. Hence, getting rich on the PBS program "Antiques Roadshow" is not a goal of the 1834 Club.

"You might go to 100 rummage sales and not find anything, and then you'll go to one and you'll find something you like or don't have," Ward said.

"It may not necessarily have a monetary value, but it's just kind of neat. You like it. That's the way I collect; I see something I like. ... It's fun to find stuff you haven't seen before."

Trade secrets

The members find their "stuff" at antique stores and shows, garage sales, estate sales, auctions, word of mouth - and especially eBay.

"Should we give our big trade secret away?" asks Sally Hagen before answering, "eBay. eBay is where a lot of things come from now.

"I've probably been online four years, and four years ago there were very few people buying Waukesha items," Hagen continued. "Now, you look on eBay, and almost anything that's got 'Waukesha' on it has more than one bid on it."

A keyword search of "Waukesha" on eBay Tuesday returned 90 items ranging in asking price from 99 cents for "Pet Dairy product containers" to $105,000 for "Waukesha natural gas generator."

Historical preservation society

As the members of the 1834 Club write books, clean historical sites, volunteer at museums and give walking tours, they reveal their most important goals: sharing their knowledge with the public -- and collecting the past to preserve it for the future.

"So much has been torn down in Waukesha. It's being torn down all the time," Hagerstrand said. "History is rapidly disappearing."

But, by collecting and educating, the 1834 Club can "make sure the people in the city, especially the newcomers, are aware of what we used to have and what we're losing and try to stop as much loss as we can," added Hagen.

At least in Hagen's family, the past remains alive.

"My kids are 11 and 14, and they love coming to these meetings and listening to the stories and seeing all the artifacts," said Hagen, passing around Schoenknecht's book so there is one less copy on the wall.