MERLE W. BIXBY
Merle W. Bixby, who is acting as foreman of the Old
Colony Creamery, is one of the well known business men of
Humeston and in addition is entitled to a place among worthy
citizens because he is an honored veteran of the
Spanish-American war. He
was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, June 19, 1878, and is a
son of Edgar and Eliza (Glines) Bixby, the former a native of
Wisconsin and the latter of Vermont. Both have passed away, the father dying
in 1881 and the mother in 1885.
In the family were three children, Roy, Eugene and M.
W. of this review.
The last named grew to manhood in Wisconsin and
acquired his education in the public schools of Omro and
Oshkosh. In
1898, at the age of twenty years, he enlisted in Company D,
Second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and his company was
mobilized at Chickamauga Park.
He served five months and was with General Miles in
Porto Rico. He
returned to New York on the same boat which brought the
general and his family—Transport No. 30, known as the Obdam. He was mustered out
at Ripon, Wisconsin, on November 14, 1898, and immediately
afterward became identified with the creamery business in that
city. His
ability gained him rapid success and wide recognition in his
chosen line of work and he later came to Humeston as testman
in the Old Colony Creamery.
In June, 1911, he was promoted to the position of
foreman and this he still holds. He understands the business thoroughly,
is conscientious and able in the discharge of his duties and,
therefore, ideally fitted for his position. His labor has been
an important factor in the development of the concern and in
its establishment among the leading enterprises of the town.
On the 5th of May, 1903, Mr. Bixby was
united in marriage to Miss Sadie Bunker, who was born in Pine
River, Wisconsin, on the 25th of May, 1881. She is a daughter
of Julius H. and Keziah (Turville) Bunker, natives of
Wisconsin, where they are residing at the present time. In their family are
five children: Mrs.
Alma Rodgers, who lives in Poy Sippi, Wisconsin; Mrs. Bixby,
the wife of the subject of this review; John, who lives in
Washington; Mrs. Harriet Baxter, of Berlin, Wisconsin; and
Lucy, who is teaching school in Pine River and who makes her
home with her parents. To
Mr. and Mrs. Bixby have been born two children: Mildred, whose
birth occurred at Omro, Wisconsin, March 13, 1904; and Irwin,
born on the 13th of May, 1907. Both are attending
school in Humeston.
Mr. Bixby gives his allegiance to the republican party
and has served as chief of the volunteer fire department of
Humeston, being in all matters of citizenship eminently
public-spirited and progressive. He and his family are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church.
He is a member of the Homesteaders Association and,
while he has not yet purchased a home of his own, has made the
one which he rents attractive and comfortable and welcomes to
it the many friends which he possesses in this city. He is a wide and
discriminating reader, fond of good literature, and owns one
of the best selected libraries in this part of the state. He is in all
relations of his life upright, straightforward and honorable
and is a valuable addition to the ranks of Humeston’s
citizens.