Herbert Christian Schenk (June 26, 1880 – April 18, 1972) was an American businessman from

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

who served as a

Wisconsin Progressive Party The Wisconsin Progressive Party (1934–1946) was a political third party that briefly held a major role in Wisconsin politics under the two sons of the late Robert M. La Follette. It was on the political left wing, and it sometimes cooperated wit ...

member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

from

Dane County Dane County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin after Milwaukee County, Wiscon ...

, and held a number of positions in local government.

Background

Schenk was born on June 26, 1880, in

Leeds, Wisconsin Leeds is a town in Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 813 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated communities of Keyeser, Leeds, Leeds Center, and North Leeds are located in the town. The town took its name from the ci ...

, and came with his family to Madison in 1893. He attended

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

in Madison, and graduated from Northwestern Business College in 1898. He worked in

lumberyard A lumber yard is a location where lumber and wood-related products used in construction and/or home improvement projects are processed or stored. Some lumber yards offer retail sales to consumers, and some of these may also provide services su ...

s in Madison, Stoughton and Orfordville from 1901 until 1908, before joining his family's hardware business in Madison. He took it over in the 1920s, and would operate it until his 1951 retirement.

Political office

Schenk first joined the Madison Schools

board of education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

January 19, 1923. (He would remain on the board until 1950, including 11 years as its chairman.) He would also serve as a member of the city

board of health A local board of health (or simply a ''local board'') was a local authority in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulat ...

from 1924 to 1939, and the city park commission from 1924 to 1948.''Madison's tidal wave of children: annual report, 1949-50'' Madison: Board of Education, 1950; p. 40
/ref> He became the director of the Madison Association of Commerce in 1932, holding that position until 1934, when he won a modest plurality in the six-way

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

of the newly organized

for the 1st

district (the City of Madison) of the

, and in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

unseated the incumbent, Republican

Francis Lamb Francis Lamb (November 12, 1900 – July 26, 1975) was an American lawyer and politician. Born in Freeport, Illinois, Lamb moved with his family to Madison, Wisconsin in 1905. He received his bachelor's degree in 1923 from University of Wis ...

, with 9573 votes to 7932 for Lamb, 3966 for

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Fred T. Frusher, and 331 for

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Leo Bassett. He was appointed to the

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

s on

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

and

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

, and on

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

; and to a

special committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

on the Wisconsin

bicentennial __NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe * French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...

. In 1936, after easily winning his primary over a single challenger, he won re-election, with 16,077 votes to 8206 for Republican Virgil Roick and 3012 for Democrat Fred F. Frusher, Jr. He shifted to the committees on

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

and state affairs. In 1938, he managed a modest plurality over two challengers in the primary, and won re-election in the general with 11,093 votes to 7774 for Republican Carl Danhouser and 1812 for Democrat Arthur Metz. He returned to the insurance and banking committee, and was also assigned to the

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

committee. In 1940, he lost his party's primary to

Lyall T. Beggs Lyall T. Beggs (November 9, 1899 – May 14, 1973) was a past commander in chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Life and education Beggs was born in Plainfield, Wisconsin in 1899. He attended Cam ...

, who would go on to win the general election.Ohm, Howard F.; Bryhan, Leone G., ed. ''The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1942'' Madison: State of Wisconsin, 1942; p. 589
/ref> In 1944, he was the Progressive nominee for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in southern Wisconsin, covering Dane County, Iowa County, Lafayette County, Sauk County and Green County, as well as portions of ...

. He lost to

Robert Kirkland Henry Robert Kirkland Henry (February 9, 1890 – November 20, 1946) was a banker and politician from Wisconsin. As a Democrat, he served as Wisconsin State Treasurer. As a Republican, he served in the United States House of Representatives. B ...

, coming in third in a four-way

. His April 1950 resignation from the school board was so that he could serve the first of two terms on the Madison City Council, to which he'd just been elected.

Later years

His wife Clara died in 1961, and the next year he moved to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He died on April 18, 1972, in

Concord, California Concord ( ) is the most populous city in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, United States. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 124,016 in 2024, maki ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schenk, Herbert People from Leeds, Wisconsin Madison Business College alumni Businesspeople from Madison, Wisconsin Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Wisconsin Progressives (1924) 1880 births 1972 deaths Hardware merchants 20th-century American businesspeople School board members in Wisconsin Wisconsin city council members Politicians from Madison, Wisconsin 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature