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ebook History of Watertown, Wisconsin
Ray's
Red Goose Shoes
212
E Main
Bertram
Beltz
c.1957
1975
1975
1984
10 23 City officials and store owner BERTRAM BELTZ will both be celebrating as Ray's Shoes cuts the
ribbon commemorating the opening of its expanded and revitalized store at 212
Main Street. The grand opening
ceremonies will be held at the store Thursday beginning at 9:30 a.m. A sale will also be held in accordance with
the event Thursday through Saturday. The
shoe store has undergone extensive interior and exterior renovations. Outside, the brick has been cleaned and
patched and new signing (red letters on a green background) now extends across
the length of the structure. A red and
green canopy has also been raised.
02 12 BERTRAM
BELTZ, owner of Ray's Shoes in Watertown, today was elected to the board of
directors of the Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce Promotive Corporation. Beltz succeeds Paul
Kehrer, vice chairman of the board of directors of
First State Savings and Loan Association, who resigned his position on the
promotive board. The promotive
corporation is the industrial development arm of the chamber.
1993
03 31 NEW STORE IN THE BEAVER DAM
Ray’s Shoes Inc. of Watertown will open a new retail
shoe store in the Beaver Dam Mall in Beaver Dam. The shoe store is the fourth one for the
retailer, according to Dan Beltz, president. The other three locations are the flagship
store in downtown Watertown, the second store in downtown Hartford and the
third store in the ShopKo Plaza Mall in Wisconsin Rapids. Ray’s Shoes has been in the shoe business
since 1945 when it was formed in Watertown by Bertram and Leila Beltz. At one point
in time, the Beltzes owned and operated 13 stores
throughout Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan.
1994
08 23 RAY’S SHOES ACQUIRES WISCONSIN ELECTRIC
BLDG
Ray’s Shoes is undertaking a major renovation and
expansion of its flagship retail store in downtown Watertown. Dan Beltz, president
of the firm, said the Wisconsin Electric Power Company building at Third and
Main streets has been acquired and is in the process of being renovated for
expansion of the shoe store which is located immediately to the west. Initial stages of the project have
started. The common wall between the two
buildings has been removed. When the new
section is opened, Beltz said the entire retail store
will be redecorated under the direction of his wife, Kristin Laramie Beltz.
2002
05 01 BROWN’S SHOE FIT COMPANY
Ray’s Shoes, 212 E. Main St., one of the anchor retail
stores in downtown Watertown for seven decades, has been sold to an Iowa firm.
The new owner is Brown’s Shoe Fit Company which is headquartered in Shenandoah,
Iowa. Announcement of the sale was made today by Ken Goetsch,
Bemie Niay and Dan Beltz, owners of the business. As part of the sale, Brown’s
will continue to operate out of the downtown Watertown location and has entered
into a long-term lease agreement for the property. WDT
04 14 DANIEL WALTER BELTZ (1958-2014)
Daniel Water Beltz, 55, died
on April 14, 2014 in Sanibel Island, Fla. Dan was born Dec. 20, 1958 in
Watertown, Wis., to Leila Jane Arneson Beltz and the late Bertram
Daniel Beltz.
Dan grew up in Watertown, attending Watertown public schools, and he
graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Wisconsin-Stout in 1981,
majoring in Marketing and Distributive Education.
Dan married Kristin Laramie, daughter of James and
Mary Laramie on June 28, 1986 in Whitewater, Wis. Dan and Kristin first lived
in Watertown where Dan worked for Farm and Fleet before joining his father at
Ray's Shoes. Dan and his father worked together at Ray's until 1989 when
his father retired and Dan purchased the business. Together with Kristin, Dan brought freshness
to the business and opened several new shoe stores in south-central
Wisconsin. As part of the downtown
Watertown business community, Dan was an active member of the Watertown Chamber
of Commerce.
Dan and
Kristin have had close ties with Sanibel since they were children. Dan first
visited the island with his parents as a 10-year-old and returned with them
many times. Kristin also came to Sanibel frequently with her family, as they
owned property on the island. For each
of them, this love affair with the island started early and has lasted their
entire lives. Dan and Kristin decided to
purchase a home on the island, which eventually became the permanent residence
for both of them when Dan sold the shoe store in Watertown to Brown's Shoes.
On
Sanibel, Dan continued to make use of his retailing expertise, focusing on
advertising and helping local Sanibel businesses to develop advertising and
marketing campaigns. He was a partner and
owner of Paradise Advertising and Design, located on Sanibel.
Dan loved
Sanibel, its people, environment, and lifestyle. His parents, Lee and Bert, also became Sanibel residents, and Dan was very
attentive to both of them, and especially his mother in recent years. Dan is widely known in Sanibel's business
community, and he has become a visible fixture in their neighborhood walking
his two dogs, Boxers SonKist and Nudgie.
2022
06 09 BERTRAM BELTZ COMMUNITY PLAZA
Named in honor
of Bertram Beltz
A significant donation to The Bentzin Family Town
Square.
Dr. John Beltz, a
veterinarian, donated $250,000 in honor of his father Bertram to name the plaza
by the river: the Bertram Beltz Community Plaza.
In 1947, after serving as a bomber pilot in World War
II, Bertram Beltz moved to Watertown to manage Ray’s
Shoe Store on Main Street, now Brown Shoe Fit Co.
A hard worker and entrepreneur, Bertram purchased and
grew the business, eventually owning and managing 13 stores throughout
Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan.
Beltz “served many different
organizations and worked on numerous civic projects. Even though he came from
very modest beginnings, he saw opportunity in Watertown and was able to enjoy
success and give back to his community.”
History of Watertown, Wisconsin