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During a 2018 trip to Norway, Alan and Marilyn Pape from the Friends of the Saxonia House, visited the Bale log house in Balestrand. There they discovered that a near twin of the Bale House coincidentally might still be standing back home in Wisconsin! When they returned hime, Alan and restoration architect, Greg Zahn located the twin building still standing in a grove of brush 8 miles north of Madison. The owners of the log house were happy to donate it for educational purposes to Friends of the Saxonia House. Back in Balestrand, the Bale house is locally known as "the most painted and photographed log house on its original site in Norway.

Follow Dr. Michael Besch's research discoveries of these two log houses and the efforts to save one of them as an important example of Old World pioneer past.

$15 includes shipping, taxes, and handling for one book. All profits go toward the Nelson/Bailey House fund.

The Saxonia House, Preserving the Past, Building the Future tells the story of a fascinating house built by German immigrant Ernst Klessig in 1855 in Fillmore, Wisconsin. Recognized as a Washington County Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, The Saxonia House is the largest use of half-timbering (fachwerk) construction for commercial use in Wisconsin, if not in America.

Author Michael Besch weaves his factual story based on extensive research in a casual and easy to read collection of topics such as how the site was used by five different families over 150 years, its beer production, and its evolution into agriculture. Anyone with a familiarity with Wisconsin’s German connections will especially enjoy Besch’s version of capturing the American Dream.

Michael Besch PhD, is a former history professor and administrator at Concordia University.

140 pages with twenty black and white photos, maps and sketches.

$21.00 includes shipping, taxes, and handling for one book. All profits go to the restoration and activation of the Saxonia House.