Author Biography

William “Bill” Brehm was born in Neenah, Wisconsin, just before the end of World War II. His mother and her parents descended from pioneer Neenah and Menasha families. His father grew up in a small town in Arizona.  His parents met at the University of Arizona and were married in 1944. He was born while his father was away at war, and his mother lived at home with her parents. After the war, his father graduated from the Harvard Business School and took a job with Kimberly-Clark where he was the corporate economist at the time of his retirement. Bill grew up in Neenah and attended Washington Elementary School, Kimberly Jr. High, and Neenah High School (which is now Shattuck Middle School). After graduation from high school he attended Lawrence University where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art and Architectural History. He is particularly proud of the three summers he spent working at the Gilbert Paper Company mill in Menasha, a mill built by his great-grandfather William M. Gilbert. After Lawrence, he attended Michigan State University where he received a Masters degree in Urban Planning.

Bill returned to Wisconsin in 1976 when he was hired as the City of Appleton’s director of planning and development.  He started his own planning consulting firm in Appleton in 1990 and provided advice and plans to all the communities which make up the Fox Cities, including the surrounding townships.  Bill served for 12 years on the Outagamie County Board of Supervisors, and on various local boards including serving as chairman of board of the Outagamie Historical Society. He has been a member of the Wisconsin State Historical Society for over 50 years, and is a member of the Neenah Historical Society. He is the author or co-author of three history books including The Kimberlys: A glimpse at one family’s years in North America (1989),  The Civil War Journal of Samuel Henry Brehm (2005),  and  Furs, Fir and Fourdrinier: A Story of Wisconsin Paper Families (2010) .  He is also the author of My Hard Copy (2010), a book of Canadian photos, and Brehm: The Works of William Brehm – Watercolors and Oils – 1960-2010 (2010) a review of his art career .

Bill’s home is now in Hamilton, Ontario, where he moved after retiring in 2001. However, he visits Neenah regularly since his mother Kate Brehm, and sister Jane Lang and her family live there.

NOTE: WILLIAM BREHM WILL NOT BE AT THE FESTIVAL, BUT HIS WORK WILL BE DISCUSSED AT THE PROGRAM BELOW.

Author's Events: 

Panel discussion – Neenah / Menasha Paper Families

Date and time: 

Tuesday, April 12, 2011 - 6:00pm

Genre: 

nonfiction

Venue: 

Paper Discovery Center

Bill Brehm’s book, Furs, Fir and Fourdrinier: A story of Wisconsin Paper Families, provides family trees, stories, and thematic insights regarding the early papermaking families, particularly those located in Neenah and Menasha.  The author himself is a descendant of the Gilbert and Kimberly families and feels a proud relationship to the paper companies which bore their names.  Bill’s sister and mother (health permitting) will be joined by other paper family descendants. 

The panel will share their families’ stories, many of which are noted in Bill Brehm’s book.  The panelists:  Wally Bergstrom, Margaret Schmerein and her daughter, Mame Heaney, Sue (Severson) Emerich, and Peter Adams are descendants of DW Bergstrom, William Gilbert, Havilah Babcock, and DK Brown – all of whom played instrumental roles in either starting up area paper companies or the Institute of Paper Chemistry.  These community founders also played roles in developing strong communities through their participation in fraternal organizations, church groups, and philanthropic donations of time, talent and money.   The willingness to work hard and overcome hardships played a key role in their success.  Over time, what started as distinct families that immigrated from Europe or the Northeast US to Wisconsin became woven into one through the tight social network as evidenced in neighborhoods of beautiful homes.   Come listen as the history of these papermaking families come alive! 

Add new comment  |    |  Tags: nonfiction, Wisconsin authors