Walter Schmidt (Wisconsin politician)

Walter R. Schmidt (December 22, 1898 –June 10, 1987) was an American farmer, cheesemaker, real estate broker, and Republican politician from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He served one term in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the city of Sheboygan during the 1957 session. He also served more than 22 years on the Sheboygan County board of supervisors, and was chairman from 1963 through 1968.

Biography
Walter Schmidt was born December 22, 1898, in the town of Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. From an early age, he worked on his family farm, and at age 20 he became the owner and operator of the Greenbaum Cheese Factory, which manufactured cheese from nearby dairy farms. Through the cheese industry, he also became active in the Wisconsin Cheesemakers Association.

He also became involved in local affairs as a member of the school board. In 1929, he became an officer in the Sheboygan Falls Rural Telephone Company. And after the outbreak of World War II, he served on the county rationing board. In 1946, he left the cheesemaking business and went into real estate dealing, which was his primary occupation for the rest of his career.

In 1949, he was elected to the Sheboygan County board of supervisors, and would serve continuously on the board for the next 22 years. In 1956, Sheboygan's incumbent state representative, Fred E. Nuernberg, announced he would not run for another term. The county's Republican Party establishment rallied around Schmidt, who at the time was gaining statewide notoriety as president of the Wisconsin county highway committee members association. With the support of the party, he faced no opposition in the primary, and went on to face Democrat Allan J. Graskamp. Graskamp was the president of the UAW Local at Kohler Co., and at the time of the 1956 primary, Graskamp was leading his union in a strike at that plant. Schmidt prevailed in the general election, receiving 54% of the vote.

Schmidt ran for re-election to the Assembly in 1958, but was defeated by Henry A. Hillemann, as the Democrats won their first Assembly majority in 26 years.

Schmidt continued as a member of the county board through his term in the Assembly. In 1962, he was elected vice-chairman of the county board, and the following year he was elected chairman. He served five years as chairman, relinquishing the office in 1968. He remained on the county board until his retirement in 1972.

Personal life and family
Walter Schmidt was the fourth of five sons born to Edward Schmidt and his wife Julia ( Meinnert). Both of Schmidt's parents were first generation Americans born to German American immigrants.

Walter Schmidt married Rubina Damrow at St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Sheboygan Falls, on January 3, 1920. The Damrow family were also prominent farmers and local officeholders in the Sheboygan Falls area. They were married for 67 years, but had no children.

Walter Schmidt died at Morningside Nursery Home in Sheboygan on June 10, 1987, at age 88. He was buried at Sheboygan's Wildwood Cemetery.