" NICK ENGELBERT’S GRANDVIEW”
“If a man can’t be happy on a little farm in Wisconsin, he hasn’t the makings of happiness in his soul.” Nick Engelbert
Nick Engelbert was born in 1881 in Pravaljie, Austria and named Engelbert Koletnik. He was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian army as a young man and, after serving only two years, he fled Europe to escape further military involvement. Following extensive travel to several countries, he eventually settled in America. He reportedly then changed his name to Nick Engelbert in order to start a new life with a new identity.
In 1913 Nick married Katherine Thoni, a recent immigrant from Switzerland. They settled in Wisconsin to be near Katherine’s family. In 1922 they bought a small seven-acre farm just outside the little village of Hollandale where they raised four children.
In 1937, after his children were grown, Nick Engelbert began to build an elaborate arched porch of concrete around the front entrance of his farmhouse (Grandview), ultimately covering every inch of the outside surface of the house with concrete inlaid with shards of china, glass, beads, buttons, and sea shells. Over the next 15 years, Nick created more than 40 concrete sculptures in his yard, combining patriotic themes with imagery from history, fairy tales, mythology and his own imagination. At the age of 70, no longer able to make sculptures, he turned to painting, producing over 200 oils before his death in 1962.
The Grandview site is now owned and operated by the Pecatonica Educational Charitable (PEC) Foundation, Inc. Many of the statues have been restored or recreated. The house, now a museum, contains many Engelbert artifacts, family memorabilia, and copies of Nick's paintings.
You will find this cache at N44 32.ABC W90 02.DEA
A = True = 6 False = 8 Nick Englebert was from Prussia.
B and C = At the age of B0, no longer able to make sculptures, Nick turned to painting, producing over 200 oils before his death in 19 (C minus 1) 2.
D = Nick Engelbert was born in 188D
E = True = 0 False = 3 “If a man can’t be happy on a little farm in Wisconsin, he hasn’t the makings of happiness in his soul.” Nick Engelbert