Kohler is a name which is central to Sheboygan County, but it means many different things to many different people.  An analysis of the Historical Research Center's files shows that variety and depth.  

The large and varied Kohler Collection is made up of more than 150 General Files, of which a partial list is shown below.  

• Kohler Airport
• Kohler Village
• Kohler Company
• Kohler American Club
• Kohler landmarked Buildings
• Kohler Centennial
• Kohler Foundation
• Kohler Company Strike-1934
• Kohler Company Strike - 1954
• Kohler Bethany Evangelical Church
• Kohler Grace United Church
• Kohler St. John's Church
• Kohler Riverbend
• Kohler, Terry and Mary Stewart
• Kohler Village
• Kohler Waelderhaus
• Kohler, Walter Governor
• Kohler, Walter J Sr
• Kohler, Walter Jr 
• Kohler General
• Kohler Hayssen and Stehn
• Kohler John Michael
• Kohler Library
• Kohler Memorial Library
• Kohler Family
• Kohler High School

 
Archival holdings includes items like People to People magazines, issues of the Kohlerian, Kohler Company News and magazines, Kohler Strike Bulletins, UAW employee information, Kohler of Kohler News, Kohler Airport- Thompson Collection and American Club information.  
The Kohlers: Charlotte and Walter J.  (From an article in Time Lines magazine)
They embraced, exemplified 'benevolent and honorable behavior'.

Walter J. Kohler Jr., one of Wisconsin's few three-term governors, and a president of Vollrath Company had a keen sense of obligation to society as a whole, according to John Wyngaard, one of the state's premier political columnists. Wyngaard wrote in 1958 that Kohler would probably resent the idea but there was "a strong strain of what is embraced in the French phrase noblesse oblige." The dictionary defines the phrase as "benevolent and honorable behavior considered the responsibility of persons of high birth or rank."

Walter J. Kohler Jr. and Charlotte Kohler stand next to their newest home addition, a television set. This image was taken at Windway, the Kohler's home, in the early 1950s

Kohler enlisted into the U.S. Navy the day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. He served as Wisconsin's governor from 1951-57. Over a 12-year period, from 1947-59, he led highly successful campaigns, state-wide and nationally, to fight cancer. He was also a member of the board of directors of the National Boy Scout Council.

Walter J. Kohler Jr. and Charlotte Kohler stand next to their newest home addition, a television set. This image was taken at Windway, the Kohler's home, in the early 1950s

Kohler's wife, Charlotte, meanwhile, directed her energies toward promoting the work of the American Red Cross. As the governor's wife, she established a Christmas gift-fund for patients at Mendota State Hospital in Madison.
 
The Kohlers, though deceased, continue to fulfill "their obligations to society" through the Charlotte and Walter Kohler Charitable Trust established by Mrs. Kohler after her husband's death. Walter Jr., died in 1976 at the age of 71; Charlotte in 1995 at the age of 82.
 
Throughout their lives, the Kohlers felt that their good fortune should be shared for worthy purposes. The Sheboygan County Historical Society was a grateful beneficiary of a Kohler Charitable Trust grant which funded a good portion of the new museum building.  (The Sheboygan County Historical Research Center was also a thankful beneficiary of the Trust when it received a grant to create a new website.)
 
Walter Jr. was born in Sheboygan, the son of Walter J. and Charlotte Kohler Sr. His grandfather, John Michael Kohler, founded the Kohler Company in 1873 and headed the firm for 27 years; his father, Walter J. Sr,. was company president for 35 years and was Wisconsin's governor from 1929-1931.
 
Walter Jr. was a Navy intelligence officer during World War II, seeing duty in the Pacific Theatr for four years and earning a number of meritorius awards. He ended his service as a lieutenant commander.
 
Following the war, in 1947, Kohler was named president of the Vollrath Company. A year later he married Charlotte McAleer of Philadelphia as his second wife. Kohler's first wife was Celeste McVoy. They were divorced in 1945.
 
It is generally acknowledged that his most noteworthy contributions as Wisconsin's 34th governor were streamlining higher education and promoting highway safety. Twice he defeated the popular William Proxmire to retain the governorship. An article in a 1951 issue of Collier's magazine described him as "...a man of quiet, gentle dignity, (whose) relaxed appearance often deludes opponents."

"Actually, he is a man of iron will and determination.," the magazine writer said.
 
Walter Jr. and his first wife were the parents of two children, Terry and Charlotte Nicolet (Niki).
 
Walter Kohler Jr,'s second wife, Charlotte, was a Quaker and native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a young woman, she was a theater student and lived in New York City. She performed in off-Broadway productions and also appeared in "Death Takes a Holiday" on Broadway.
 
Charlotte abandoned the stage to become president of E.J. McAleer Company, a steel cabinet manufacturing company started by her grandfather. She met Walter, Jr. at a housewares show in Chicago in 1947 and they married a year later.
 
After her husband's death, Charlotte continued to spend her summers at Windway, the family home in Kohler, and the winters in Florida. Prior to her death  -- and again tru to her "sense of social responsibility" she decreed that any memorial expressions on her behalf be directed to the Wisconsin Executive Residence Fund in Madison, for the on-going care and maintenance of the governor's mansion in Maple Bluff.
 
An American Cancer Society official once noted that Mrs. Kohler made significant contributions to the fund-raising campaigns in the mid-1950s as well as her husband.
 
"Great credit goes to her for the role she played as a true campaigner, accompanying him for a considerable part of the 12,000-mile, nation-wide tour. Her counsel, graciousness and patience established a high mark for volunteers everywhere," he said.
 
The Sheboygan County Historical Research Center, the Sheboygan County Historical Society, like other Kohler Charitable Trust beneficiaries, nearby Lakeland College and the International Crane Foundation at Baraboo, appreciate the Kohler's concern and support.
 
 
 
(Caption for attached photo)
Walter J. Kohler Jr. and Charlotte Kohler stand next to their newest home addition, a television set. This image was taken at Windway, the Kohler's home, in the early 1950s