For Winfield’s L. Oscar Thieme, 1921 was a banner year. He campaigned to have the village incorporated; the residents confirmed his petition by a narrow margin of 11 votes on April 16. A month later, Thieme ran for village president on the People’s Party ticket and won. In September the state issued Thieme a permit to organize the Winfield State Bank, which opened in January 1922 with $15,000 in capital and L. Oscar Thieme in the president’s chair.
As village president, Thieme exercised considerable control. The board granted him the power to arrange a loan for operating funds, purchase a revolver for Marshal John Besch and issue licenses to fireworks dealers, according to Louise Spanke’s “Winfield’s Good Old Days: A History.”
A municipal code was adopted giving Thieme further control over such things as who was allowed to discharge a weapon or hunt on private property. But enough residents were dissatisfied with Thieme that he lost a bid for re-election in 1923. Thieme promptly closed the bank and paid off depositors.
He continued trying to be re-elected as village president; in 1932 he was voted in as a replacement for the resigning president. The following year Thieme was defeated once again, but he and his political cronies refused to leave. It took a court order to remove them from office.
L. Oscar Thieme sold his Winfield estate and left town. It remains a mystery exactly what happened to the man who first presided over Winfield.
