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In 1878, at twenty-one, John Mangold, Sr.
came from Germany and in 1892 settled
near Slades Corners on Highway 50. His son,
James Mangold, born in 1904, was the
youngest of thirteen children and moved
to Burlington in 1922. He and his wife,
Marna, built their new home in 1936. He
started at Burlington National Bank, now
First Banking Center, at age 18 and rose to
become president and chairman of the
board. His main thrust was developing
loans to help farmers recover from the
depression. He also took pride in a small
top quality flock of Suffolk sheep. The insur-
ance business he started was purchased
by his son Jim and Barb Mangold in 1959.
Serendipitously, Jim received a call on
Friday night from a friend suggesting he
invest in two bred cows, so Jim requested
information. Instead he received a BIG BILL
and was in the buffalo business in 1982 with
two bred cows and a bull. His herd, locat-
ed near Burlington and other sites, has
been built up to 100 bison with the Federal
Government selecting two bulls for their
herd in Batavia, Illinois. Presently Lake
Geneva Country Meats handles the mar-
keting of the buffalo meat, preferred by
consumers for its taste, low fat and low
cholesterol. Nationally, 250,000 buffalo
roam   with   approximately 10,000 in
Wisconsin, Buffalo and elk are the two ani-
mals appropriate for the rebuilding of
prairies and restoring our soil's fertility
because the animals break up the thatch,
force seeds in the soil, fertilize naturally and
can handle the climate. Jim co-founded
the Wisconsin Bison Association and has
served   on the    State  of Wisconsin,
Department of Agriculture Animal Health
Advisor Board.
MANGOLD
INSURANCE