Monroe County History: Market owners had connection to 'Dog Lady Island'

Tom Adamich
·3 min read
Plots & Ott’s Market is pictured in the 1910s. Pictured from left are Esther Kausler, Rudolph Plots, Douglas Meek, Elmer Schmidt and Ernie Ott. Casper Migliore later purchased the business and renamed it “Casper’s Market.” It was closed in the early 1970s and burned in 1974.
Plots & Ott’s Market is pictured in the 1910s. Pictured from left are Esther Kausler, Rudolph Plots, Douglas Meek, Elmer Schmidt and Ernie Ott. Casper Migliore later purchased the business and renamed it “Casper’s Market.” It was closed in the early 1970s and burned in 1974.

My recent genealogy work with the Greening Nursery Co. and Family Archives prompted some further research into the life of Amelia Reinhardt Rammler Plots.

She was born on Sept. 30, 1884, to Mary Anna Greening and Michael G. Reinhardt. Her first husband, George Rammler, died on June 2, 1915. Shortly thereafter, she took a job as bookkeeper at the Plot’s and Ott’s Market, owned by Rudolph Plots and his first wife, Louise Kausler Plots. Rudolph and Louise Plots were married on Nov. 9, 1898, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Monroe. Louise Kausler Plots died on July 24, 1943, and Amelia Reinhardt Rammler married Rudolph Plots on Oct. 10, 1944. Rudolph Plots died in 1957, and Amelia Reinhardt Rammler Plots died on June 13, 1968, at age 83.

Esther and George Kausler, relatives of Louise Kausler Plots, also worked at the store – the latter often making deliveries with Leon Quick by horse-drawn wagon or bicycle. It was George who purchased what he named Kausler Island in the 1880s and lived there with his family until moving back to Monroe in the 1930s. The island later became a Halloween legend beginning in the 1960s when the original home burned, and the “dog lady” was said to live in a nearby communal building and haunt unsuspecting people who called her phone number. Thus, the area also became known as “Dog Lady Island.”

In this aerial view, Kausler’s Island is shown in proximity to I-75 and other nearby Monroe-area islands (Foley’s Island in particular). George Kausler, a foreman at the Greening Nursery Co., purchased the island from the Greening family in the 1880s. He and his family lived there until the 1930s. Many legends were later associated with the island, which led to giving the area the nickname "Dog Lady Island."

According to Monroe County historian Dave Eby, “Kauslers Island was owned by George L. Kausler who lived on Washington Street not too far from Jones Avenue. George's father (I believe also named George) bought the island from the Greening Estate. He was a foreman for the Greening Nursery Co. and lived on the island in a house. When George L. died in 1994, his son sold it. The Kauslers were members of Trinity Lutheran as were the Greenings. George L.'s son was a Boy Scout in Trinity's troop in the 1950s. I believe his scoutmaster was a man named Homer Meder. The troop built a Scout cabin on the island in the early 1950s. Another member of the troop was Dale Shoemaker whose father was Edwin Shoemaker – the man who invented the La-Z-Boy chair. Mr. Shoemaker hauled truckloads of factory scrap wood to the island for the cabin. Homer was a master carpenter and guided the cabin construction.”

Eby continues, “I visited George L. to see the island and to inquire about having a campout on it. At that point, I was the scoutmaster at Trinity Lutheran. One thing I do recall is that there was a galvanized pipe sticking out of the ground on the island, and it had water trickling out of it – artesian water. I was amazed! The island had broken glass everywhere on it. Because of all the glass, we did not camp there. But I did learn a lot about the island.”

Eby continues, “Casper Migliore later owned the Plots market on Jerome. He sold it and built the Monroe Liquor Store on South Monroe Street in the early 1970s. I was in the Jerome store a few times. It was very small. Casper died in 1984 at age 59. “

Monroe Liquor is pictured at 811 S. Monroe St. in Monroe. Casper Migliore built the business in the early 1970s after closing Casper’s Market. Today, the business is officially known as the “Monroe Liquor Plaza”.
Monroe Liquor is pictured at 811 S. Monroe St. in Monroe. Casper Migliore built the business in the early 1970s after closing Casper’s Market. Today, the business is officially known as the “Monroe Liquor Plaza”.

Local Monroe building history expert Jim Ryland identified the location specifics of the Plots/Casper’s Market in these words: “According to the 1930 Monroe City Directory, there was a located market at 218 Jerome St. It was owned by Rudolph and Louise Plots. According to the latest Sanborn Map, it was on the alley between Second and Third streets (West side). Today, it is gone, and there is a one-story garage there now."

Tom Adamich is president of Visiting Librarian Service, a firm he has operated since 1993. He also is project archivist for the Greening Nursery Co. and Family Archives and the electric vehicle awareness coordinator at Monroe County Community College.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Monroe County History: Market owners connected to 'Dog Lady Island'