This nearly 150-year-old Adell bar has Schlitz beer collectibles, toy cars and more

VILLAGE OF ADELL — Golden lights and halogen beer signs cast a warm glow inside Sherman Station as owner Bill Such, 68, shares stories of the bar’s history.

It saw the early days of the railroad, a hotel room fire in 1905 and the discovery of bottles of alcohol from the Prohibition era, to mention a few.

"The Milk Specialties over here — they were producing alcohol during Prohibition," Such said. "They had a 100-some-(foot) story tower to look up over the hill to the west that (if) the Feds were coming ... they'd dump everything in the pond out there."

The Sherman Station building, 622 Maine Ave., including the bar, an attached hotel, hall, boarding house and living quarters, will turn 150 years old next year. It was built in 1875, originally named the American Hotel and owned by George Kilb. It has since taken on different uses and passed through different owners.

Such said the hall was a movie theater from 1900 until 1935, when its suspension flooring made the space perfect for roller skating.

Such was familiar with the area, although he grew up in Germantown, Wisconsin. Some family members lived in Adell, like his nephew's grandfather who was the postmaster. His brother would attend auctions in the hall, too.

Such came into ownership about 11 years ago after more than 30 jobs in the food service and hospitality industry. Such cooked for notable people like former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and owned a Dog N Suds in Coleman in the late 1970s.

He envisioned Sherman Station as an “old man’s bar.” He wanted people to be comfortable and for it to be quiet; no rowdiness allowed.

Such renamed the bar to the village’s original namesake, taken from the railroad station and the town of Sherman where Adell was settled.

“This is like my living room,” he said. “I like having friends over is what it amounts to.”

Aside from installing a new heating system and recoating the metal roof, added after the hotel fire, Such said the building upkeep is manageable.

The front bar is still the original from 1875, with restoration work done to the bottom.

The original back bar was removed in 2006 and sold for cheap, he said.

This week's Throwback Thursday: Sheboygan Falls at one time had a movie and vaudeville house. Today, the site is a parking lot.

Large collections fill the hall

Such still rents out several of the upstairs hotel rooms. He also used the hall for American Legion bingo, gathering 250 people, and fish fries before pandemic restrictions and a massive heart attack forced the space to close.

Now, about two-thirds of Such’s various collections — Green Bay Packers paraphernalia, Coca-Cola mementos and beer signs, to name a few — occupy the shelves, tables and glass display cases in the hall.

One item in particular, a red Texaco truck that sat high on a shelf, stuck out to Such among the countless toy cars. He said he got it for Christmas when he was 4 years old.

“I remember driving around the living room sitting on the back,” he said. Such, wearing a southwest Route 66 button-down shirt, added that cars are his "downfall." He has two cars and about 5,000 toy cars.

Save for Mustang, Corvette and Schlitz Brewing items, he holds a vintage sale in the hall on weekends. Having his collections near the bar can spur conversation among customers when they spot popular tokens from their childhoods.

For Such, who has short-term memory loss, reopening boxes of collected items is like a second Christmas because he can re-experience the joy of first seeing them. Moving his collection into the hall was like therapy after the heart attack, he said.

“Who else can be older and enjoy their collection of the years?" Such said. "So many people collect, and then it gets put in the garage or put away, and you never see it again. Then, the dumpster comes and takes it away. I feel I'm really fortunate to be able to do this.”

He’s done adding to most of his collections, except Schlitz Brewing items. Such hopes to only use Schlitz glassware in the bar, already ornamented with some Schlitz posters and historic advertising materials. There are also two treasured silver and gold Schlitz goddess statues in the hall.

Sign up for the Streetwise newsletter Click here to get all the business openings and closings news right in your inbox

He said wants to pay tribute to his father, Charles Such, who worked at the company for 38 years after serving in World War II. His grandmother worked at Schlitz, too, during wartime, and his brother held a job there during college.

His father passed away in 2005. Such said he “wouldn't have anything that I have if it wouldn't have been for him and what he taught me."

Bar opens early afternoon, vintage sale opens on weekends

Sherman Station is open from 3 p.m. to close on weekdays and noon to close on weekends.

The hall’s vintage sale is open at 10 a.m. on weekends.

Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or agarner@gannett.com. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @alexx_garner.

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Adell's Sherman Station bar nears 150 years of business