The Kohler Villager Community Newspaper

12/29/2025

January 2026 issue online:

12/29/2025

Just ignore the auto messages you get from this page until I figure out how to disable it.

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12/28/2025

“The Last Immigrant” bear moves to new Kohler location
Eight-foot cast iron sculpture is featured piece created by Arts/Industry resident Marilyn Lysohir

KOHLER, Wis. – December 19, 2025 – The beloved The Last Immigrant bear sculpture that stood proudly near the entrance of the Inn On Woodlake Hotel welcoming guests, has moved to a new post with the hotel’s expansion and renovation process underway. Construction crews carefully transported the coveted Arts/Industry sculpture from Inn On Woodlake in Kohler, WI, along Highland Drive to its new location adjacent to Kohler Co.’s main office and corporate headquarters.

The Last Immigrant bear, which stands nearly eight feet tall, was created by artist Marilyn Lysohir in 1989, when she was an artist-in-residence in Arts/Industry. The sculpture is dedicated to her grandparents who immigrated to the United States. To the artist, the bear symbolized strength.

Arts/Industry is a collaboration between the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, a nonprofit arts organization in Sheboygan, WI, and Kohler Co., the global kitchen and bath company headquartered in nearby Kohler, WI. The program provides 12 artists each year with studio space in Kohler’s Pottery and Foundry, along with materials, use of equipment, and opportunities to collaborate with factory associates—drawing on their technical expertise to explore new ways of thinking and working. For more than 50 years, the Arts/Industry program has also inspired innovation and design of signature pieces within Kohler’s kitchen and bath portfolio.

During her first residency, Lysohir worked in the Pottery learning how to construct molds. She cast pedestals, vases, flowers, hands, three-foot tall bears, and bear heads. Her work site became a popular stop on Kohler Co. tours as associates and the public readily identified with the imagery.

Toward the end of her first residency in 1988, Lysohir created the original for the largest piece in the series, a large bear which she hoped to cast in iron. After consultations with company engineers, it was determined that the scale and complexity of the process would require her to return for a second residency. During 12 weeks in 1989, The Last Immigrant bear was completed with the help of many Kohler Co. associates.

The gargantuan bear is composed of cast iron, brass, silver solder, and steel – materials used to make innovative and artistic KOHLER kitchen and bath products. The sculpture is mounted on a cement base with brass hand casts of the associates who assisted the artist.

12/26/2025

12/26/2025

These Christmas displays in Falls were something else! (I like the moose cutouts).

12/22/2025

Good food. Good people. A good cause.

The Kohler Fire Department Brat Fry is back, and it is the perfect excuse to enjoy a great event with family and friends.

Join us Saturday, January 17, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Sheboygan Moose Lodge. The event is open to the public.

On the menu:

• Brockman’s brats and burgers
• Made to order 1/2 lb super sirloin steak sandwiches
• Chicken tenders
• French fries
• Cheese curds

Plus, raffles throughout the day, including 50/50s and walk-around prizes.

Come hungry. Bring friends. Stay awhile. Every bite supports the Sheboygan Moose Lodge and the Kohler Fire Department.

We hope to see you there.

12/15/2025

Join us on Friday for our Elementary Music Concerts! ☃️🎶
⭐ 10:00am: JK-Grade 1
⭐ 12:45pm: Grades 2-3
⭐ 2:00pm Grades 4-5

All performances will take place at the Kohler Memorial Theater.

12/11/2025

Some talented skills in 🙂

12/10/2025

Are any of you getting private messages from the Kohler Villager asking you questions? I'm not sending any, but people are private messaging me as if I asked a question. Probably some glitch I'll have to look into.

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12/10/2025

Winter weather advisory until 6 a.m. We could get 3-5 inches of snow, with possible freezing rain around midnight before turning back to snow early Wednesday.

12/09/2025

Kohler has got spirit to spare. Christmas spirit that is — according to HGTV.