The Ruege / Sabrowsky Heritage
Pastor & Violette	Though Rev. Ruege served Crandon only four years, part of Crandon stuck with him. You see... during the first year of his ministry, Rev. Ruege confirmed a Violette Sabrowsky. Her father, Fred Sabrowsky, was the company store manager for the lumber companies that were logging the area at the time. When Pastor Ruege took a call to serve Divine Charity in Milwaukee, he had to come back and do one more thing in Crandon - ask Violette to marry him.
Crandon Home - New Year's Eve	They had two boys, John and Paul. Rev. Ruege served West Allis for the next 23 years. Meanwhile his son John went on into the ministry and continues to serve the Lord (2005) as a semi-retired pastor in Ladysmith, WI. Rev. John Ruege had two sons and three daughters. One of his sons, John Jr., also entered the ministry and is presently serving Moutain View Lutheran in Great Falls, MT. It seems that the ministry also caught on to the Sabrowsky side of the family. Violette's brother, Lee (the boy sitting front left), entered the ministry and served as a WELS minister in South Dakota during the "Dirty Thirties." His son, Dan, also entered the ministry and has served in both the WELS and the ELS. ...AND IT ALL STARTED IN CRANDON!
Rev. Justus & Violette	Rev. Justus & Violette	With Sons: John & Paul
In the New Year's Eve picture, Pastor Ruege is celebrating the Eve of 1918 with the Sabrowsky family. The girls in the back are Justus' sister, Esther, who kept house for Justus, and Violette. She was about 17 yrs. old in that picture. Of the adults, Pastor Ruege is the one sitting to the far right. The Sabrowskys came to Crandon from Split Rock (south of Wittenberg, WI). They must have eventually moved on to Rhinelander, for Violette's parents are buried in a Rhinelander cemetary. At one time Fred, Violette's father, must have also lived in Watertown, WI, because he served as a house parent at Bethesda Lutheran Home, WI.
	Rev. John Ruege, Sr.	Rev. John Ruege, Jr.
	Rev. Lee Sabrowsky	Rev. Daniel Sabrowsky
The four gentlemen pictured above are the pastors that have come from these two families. Most of these pictures are thanks to John Ruege, Sr.