LIFE OF R.D. PETERS, FORMER OWNER OF THE BRILLION IRON WORKS

“Butch” Peters was born July 20, 1900, in the Town of Brillion to William Peters and Sophia Gross Peters.  He was the fourth of five children, having one older sister, two older brothers, and one younger sister.  His father was a carpenter and tavern owner.  His mother was a dedicated housewife and mother.  He was an average student, loved sports and was a star basketball player in his high school years.  The Brillion News had many articles regarding the games and the high scoring of “Butch” Peters. He was also a member of the Literary Society.  He graduated from high school on June 15th, 1917.  That same week, The Brillion News ran an ad for the Brillion Iron Works. “Man wanted at once – wages $2.50 per day.”  He started working at the Iron Works shortly after that.  He also painted barns and at one point worked on highway construction.  [Taken from a letter written by his niece, Audrey- April 9, 1986]

He also helped form and played on the City Basketball Team and was one of Brillion’s all-time basketball greats.  Even as a member of Brillion High School’s basketball team of 1916-1917, he gave promise of developing into a great player.  The team, incidentally, was one of the school’s finest.  It was not, however, until after his graduation from high school that he really came into his own.  It was then that he joined up with the Brilliant Harvests (organized in 1911).  The team, after a year, became an unbeatable combination.  Today it is recognized as Brillion’s greatest basketball team, and was one of the outstanding squads in Wisconsin during the golden 20’s.  The team drew enormous crowds and the fans loved them as they rolled up one victory after another. As the team won one game after another, it began to look for new worlds to conquer, and soon it was meeting the best traveling teams of the day, such as the New York Nationals and the Denver Aces, at that time probably the outstanding teams in the nation.

Butch played an important role in all the team’s victories.  He was a tower of strength on defense and a constant threat because of his shooting ability on offense. Some of the members of the Brilliant Harvests were Frank Kleiber, Art Ott, Ed Schmelter, Dr. Schlei, Walter Schmidt, Charles Mintz, Tom Ryan, Leon Ariens, Karl Barnard and Arno Scharf; although, they didn’t all play on the team at the same time.   [parts taken from the August 1944 Iron Works Chatter]

He became more and more involved in the town of Brillion, a pattern which he followed all his life.  He had great faith and love for Brillion and believed Brillion could become a thriving community and a good place to live. 

On November 24, 1924, he eloped in Waukegan, IL, with Linda Bungert, daughter of Fredrick and Ella Bungert of Ellington, WI.  Linda worked for a time at the Iron Works and  for a time at the Lutheran Aid in Appleton.   Linda was born May 3,1898.   She had two brothers and one sister.  She was raised on a farm and lived there until she came to work in Brillion.  She attended Bushey Brothers Business College and graduated from there August 16, 1918. In her younger days, she loved to dance.   She was fun loving and was known to be a practical joker. She had a very dry wit, a fantastic memory for people, dates, and places,   which she retained  until she died.  She devoted her whole life to her husband by supporting him and loving and caring for him until he passed away.  In her later years, she developed serious eye problems, which resulted in partial blindness.  This tragedy in their lives precipitated all the contributions to the Eye Institute and Medical College. 

On June 23, 1933, The Brillion News published a note of bankruptcy of the Brillion Iron Works.  On September 15, the News ran the following, “Pending reorganization of the firm by the bond holders, purchasers at last week’s sale, R.D. Peters has been put in charge of the office by trustees of the bankruptcy”.  On September 1, 1933: “Bond holders of the bankrupt Brillion Iron Works on Tuesday purchased the plant at public auction for $2,700.00 and included besides the plant proper, personal property, real estate, patterns, and patent rights.  The majority of bond holders were residents of Brillion”.
One of those “residents” was Butch Peters. This period was very difficult for Butch and his wife Linda.  They mortgaged their home, and were deeply in debt.  He would be out on the road selling during the day and pouring Iron at night. Butch at that time, thought he was about to lose everything, but a friend encouraged him to hang in there and the rest is history.

To make matters worse, it was during that time that Butch and Linda found out they could have no children. They tried to adopt and were turned down because of their financial situation.  By the time they were financially stable, they felt they were too old to adopt a child.  They would have loved to have children, but since they could have none of their own, they went on to do many things for other children in Brillion and the area.
Butch was an avid hunter and fisherman. His many contributions to conservation stemmed from this great interest.  In 1946, they found a lovely property on Wheeler Lake.  This became their refuge and a place to relax from the stress of the business world.  They enjoyed their place until 1976, when he could no longer handle it due to his failing health.  
 
He had such a love of life, such a vitality and interest in everyone and everything around him.  It was probably why he was so successful in everything he did. He was determined to make things work – he was unassuming and unpretentious.  He was a concerned about the welfare of his workers as he was of his own family, and this concern showed in the growth of the business and the co-operation of all his employees.  He loved a good party, and he and Linda did a lot of entertaining.

Butch Peters was the owner and president of the Brillion Iron Works for 36 years – from 1933-1969.  In 1969 it was sold to Beatrice Foods.  He remained the president until 1973, at which time he became president of the Board of Directors.  The sale to Beatrice began a long line of new owners ending in 2016 with the closing of operations for good.
Mr. Peters started the Brillion Housing Corporation which built many homes in the city and later  he helped fund the Community Center.  Mr. and Mrs. Peters also funded the current Public Library.  He was instrumental in building Brillion’s first Medical Clinic on Wisconsin Avenue.  That building had facilities for a doctor and a dentist and was used for many years.  He was also a big supporter of the Brillion Boy Scouts.

He also established the Peters Foundation.  In the early years, all the churches in Brillion were gifted each year from his Foundation. The Foundation continues to provide scholarships to Brillion High School seniors every year.  Donations to other causes include:  The Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Rawhide Boys Ranch, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Medical College of Wisconsin, where the Foundation endowed a chair at the Eye Institute, Northland College in Ashland, and many other places, especially those related to conservation or schools.   In recent years the Foundation has provided free concerts by the McDowell Chorus and the Milwaukee Symphony and to many other causes in Brillion.

Mr. Peters developed Dementia or Alzheimers in his last years and died on August 3, 1981 at the age of 81.         
{ Info taken from letters from his niece, Audrey, The Brillion Chatter and thanks to Betty Wolf for sharing the information}
Article compiled by Pat Wallace.

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