Fremont loses another business
By Angie Landsverk
A longtime Fremont business is winding down.
Phil and Bonnie Lewin are in the process of closing Lewin Furniture and retiring.
“We felt to sell a furniture store in a small town was not feasible,” he said.
Phil said when he started working in the business, the village had three grocery stores, two hardware stores, two car dealerships, an implement dealer, a cheese factory, a cheese store, a pharmacy and a clothing store.
That was in 1960, when he was in high school.
“And we’re the only ones left,” Phil said. “All those things are gone.”
Lewin Furniture is located at 207 Wolf River Drive.
Their going out of business sale began last month.
“It’ll go over the course of a few months,” Bonnie said.
Phil said it will take place “until we sell all our merchandise.”
He has been working there for close to 60 years.
Growing up in the business
“The building was built as a furniture store and funeral home in 1918,” Phil said. “Irving Bauer started the store.”
Irving retired in 1956.
His nephew, Ross, took over the store.
Ross’ father, Fritz, had a furniture store and funeral home in Weyauwega, Phil explained.
When Irving retired, Ross managed the Weyauwega store, while Phil’s father managed the Fremont one.
Phil’s father, Alvin, started working there in 1937.
“I was brought up in it, I guess,” Phil said. “I decided to go into the business.”
During high school, he helped deliver and set up furniture.
After high school, Phil attended the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for two years.
Ross told him if he went to mortuary school, he would have a job at the Fremont business.
Phil did so in Milwaukee, completing the program in the summer of 1967.
He planned to finish an apprenticeship there and then return to Fremont.
In early 1968, Phil’s father had a heart attack.
“My mother (Pearl) called and asked if I could come home,” he said. I’ve been here ever since.”
Phil’s father survived the heart attack.
Couple work together
Phil and Bonnie married in 1972, and worked with Alvin and Pearl in the business.
“Alvin and I would go delivering together. It was a special time, because he would tell me the history of his earlier life,” Bonnie said. “Those were fun times.”
Bonnie grew up south of Readfield and has a degree in music education.
She has directed the choir at St. Paul Lutheran Church for more than 40 years.
Phil and Bonnie have owned the furniture store and funeral home since 1976.
The funeral home was built in 1960, with an addition in 1972.
They remember the many buying trips they took through the years and how trends changed.
Bonnie recalls the floral sofas and shag carpeting of the 1970s and remembers how earth tones became popular in the 1990s.
They also remember the first time they bought a leather sofa for their store.
In 1997, they transformed the space that was constructed in 1980 for storage into a gallery.
“People still walk in and say, ‘Wow,’” Bonnie said of the gallery.
There were other additions as well.
Their daughter, Jenny Ehrenberg, began working with them in the funeral home in 1996.
In 2000, their son-in-law, Doug Ehrenberg, joined them there.
Doug and Jenny have worked in both of the businesses.
Health issues
“Bonnie and I were very active in the business until I had my heart attack,” Phil said.
That happened in 2015, while he was trapshooting.
“There was someone there who knew CPR and another who had a defibrillator,” Bonnie said. “So apparently the good Lord had something for us to do yet.”
She said, “We’ve both been through life-threatening situations, and we’re still here.”
Bonnie was in a serious car accident in 1990.
She spent a year in a wheelchair and had numerous surgeries.
After his heart attack, Phil spent a month recuperating in a hospital.
The first time they talked to Doug and Jenny about whether they were interested in taking over the store was about three years ago.
Last year, the conversation became more serious.
“We gave them the option of taking over the store. We feel they wisely chose not to,” Bonnie said. “We decided because of our ages and because of our physical challenges, we should do a retirement sale.”
Bonnie said they were fortunate to have the store for many years.
They plan to take their time deciding what they want to do with the building.
“The building itself is very interesting with its hardwood floors that creak and are uneven,” she said.
It has a tin ceiling, and the upstairs was originally the living quarters for the Bauers.
Retirement will be an adjustment for them.
“We understand that we’re ready to take things a little eariser and look forward to enjoying some free time,” Bonnie said.
Phil said, “We never traveled much. The funeral home is 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.”
They were always on call.
“We’ve made many friends, and we’ll miss seeing them,” Bonnie said.