FIVE GENERATIONS
Chris Brunner George Brunner Wayne & Bill Brunner Jesse Brunner Jake Brunner
Current Owners: Jesse & Candy Brunner
and children Lainey, Jake, and Gabby
CHRIS BRUNNER / 1st GEN
Christian Brunner was born on February 5, 1876, in Canton Bern, Switzerland. He was seven years old when he came to Stetsonville, WI, in 1883. As an adult, Chris was an owner in the threshing business. He married Susanna Federspiel in 1909. They had two sons, George and Jacob.
In 1920, Chris undertook an enterprise new to the area: well drilling. Prior to the coming of drilling machinery, wells had been dug by hand. Chris was one of a few of the first well drillers in the country. He had to pioneer this work and had many trials and difficulties before finally succeeding. In those days Chris had a wooden drilling machine.
GEORGE BRUNNER / 2nd GEN
George and Jake worked alongside their father under Chris Brunner & Sons for only a little while, when George took a job at the Civilian Conservation Corps because there was not enough work for all of them due to the depression. Jake died in 1943, so George came back to work at the well drilling business with his father. In 1950, when Chris was 74, he retired and his son, George, took over the business. Chris died in 1956 at the age of 80.
In 1936, George married Adelia Scharrschmidt. After coming home from working for the CCC camps in 1945, George invested in a steel drilling machine. Chris had operated the well drilling business from the farm in Stetsonville up until 1950. In 1950, George decided to build a shop and home on Ogden Street. He called the business George Brunner Well Drilling. George and Adelia had two sons, Wayne and William. They both worked at the family business.
WAYNE & BILL BRUNNER / 3rd GEN
Wayne and Bill took over the business in 1973 and formed a partnership called Brunner Brothers Well Drilling. George died in 1975 at the age of 64. Their mother, Adelia, remained a vital part of the family business getting water samples each Monday and running the office up until the time of her death in 1988. She was 79.
In 1969, Bill married Kathy Hauser. They had two sons, Jesse and Lucas. Kathy took over running the office after Adelia passed away. Wayne, Bill, Jess, and Luke started working together and changed the name to Brunner Well Drilling, LLP. In 1997, Luke decided to venture out on his own in the logging business.
JESSE BRUNNER / 4th GEN & JAKE BRUNNER / 5th GEN
Bill’s son, Jess, started working there full time in 1989. In 1996 Jess married Candy Anderson. They had three children: Lainey, Jake, and Gabriella. In 2009, Kathy retired and Candy took over running the office. In the spring of 1989, Galen Noland started working for the business and has been with the company for over 20 years. He is now the main pump installer.
Wayne, Bill, and Jess worked together for many years. In 2013, Wayne had to retire after a health issue. Bill decided to retire in 2014 and went on to enjoy his other hobbies of logging and gravel crushing. Jesse and Candy took over the business and changed the name to Brunner Well Drilling, LLC. Wayne died in 2020.
Jess and Candy's son, Jake, was able to start working in the spring of 2020 because Jake’s senior year of high school was cut short due to COVID-19. Jake is the fifth generation at Brunner Well Drilling. When things were slow in the logging and gravel crushing businesses, Bill would come back to Brunner Well Drilling and help out. In 2020, three generations were able to work together: Bill, Jess, and Jake.
The Brunners built their first shop at the corner of Ogden Street and Hwy 13 in 1950. The new shop and office was built in 1985, and the shop was re-sided with a new look in 2020 for the 100 year celebration.
1985
2020
