1. Backing the Pack: Being Green Bay fanatics a family tradition
Publication Date: January 12, 1996 Page: 01 Section: Waukesha Edition: Metro
By JOHN G. SCHUMACHER
Journal Sentinel staff
Say you're watching a Green Bay Packers game in the family room of Glenn
and Eugenia Wollenziehn's house.
Brett Favre messes up. Fumbles the snap. Throws an interception.
You yell and scream. You look heavenward for inspiration . . .
And there it is, painted on the ceiling ­­ The Sweep. A diagram of the famed
Green Bay Packers sweep. The holy of holies, the bread and butter play of the
Packers' glory years.
"When they're not doing well," says Eugenia, 54, "I'll look up and say, `The
Sweep, The Sweep!'"
"I was inspired by the Sistine Chapel," Glenn, 57, said with a chuckle.
The family room ­­ or Packermania Room, as Eugenia calls it ­­ is a shrine to
the Green Bay Packers. The room is jammed full of Packers memorabilia, from The
Sweep to the football­turf­green carpeting.
There is a display of rings from Super Bowls I and II, plus two NFL
championship rings and a championship watch. There are Packers helmets from the
1960s and older leather helmets from the 1920s and 1930s.
There are signed footballs from 1955, 1976, 1983 and other years. There are
shoulder pads and uniforms and coaches' jackets, plus Edgar Bennett's shoes and
John Jurkovic's helmet.
There's the football remote control next to the two Packers chairs, all parked
in front of the big TV.
Oh, and then there's stuff on the walls, too. That's assuming there are walls
behind all the Packers goodies.
There are buttons (Luv Ya Bart and Pack) and bumper stickers (Stick With
Starr; The Cardiac Pack).
There are programs and media guides going back to the 1920s. There is a
wall hanging that hung for 20­plus years in the Packers administration office.
There's one framed share of Green Bay Packers stock. "That way we can say it's our
team," Glenn said.
There are two 1960 paychecks signed by Vince Lombardi, made out to Willie
Wood and Gerald L. Kramer.
There is a plaque with a photo of fans tearing down a goal post after the Ice
Bowl, mounted next to a piece of the goal post. A separate display holds a ticket
stub from the game, although Glenn may be the only rabid Packer fan candid
enough to admit he was not at the game.

2. "I know a guy who has a corner of that goal post," Glenn said. "He wouldn't
give that up for nothing."
Of course, there's also the other Packers collection room. A former children's
bedroom, it's full of uniforms, Packers­painted fans and a vacuum cleaner, a
Packers flag that flew over Lambeau Field and other items.
And the garage door? Ray Nitschke is painted on that, bursting through the
door.
Glenn and Eugenia say they are not serious collectors. They don't buy things
in order to sell them later and make a profit. It all started with a few banners and
pennants that they bought for the kids in the 1950s.
"We just started hanging things on the walls and never stopped," Eugenia
said.
Over the years, they have befriended many of the Packers players and coaches.
Eugenia, in fact, knew Fuzzy Thurston when he was a kid growing up in Altoona.
Back then, Eugenia was a little girl and her cousin was dating Thurston. He used to
give her a quarter to "get out of his face."
Eugenia and Glenn grew up in families that were fans, but not fanatics. Their
interest grew after they were married.
Glenn, a retired New Berlin police officer who grew up in Milwaukee, went to
a few fantasy football camps and befriended a few players and coaches.
Every Sunday, the whole family would gather to watch the Packers. It became a
family tradition, and the Packers became part of the family lifestyle.
Years later, that remains true, even though the kids have grown and moved out of
the house.
The whole family ­­ which includes their four adult children, their spouses
and 10 grandchildren ­­ comes back home and piles into the 12­by­17­foot room.
A feast is prepared. Football talk begins, with referrals to reference material if
necessary.
During the game, Eugenia paces. Glenn stays planted in his chair. A son­in­law
tosses around a football.
High up on the wall, Vince Lombardi peers down upon it all.
"The Packers have become part of our family life," Eugenia said. "If nothing
else, we've got that in common."
"When they're not doing well, I'll look up and say, `The Sweep, The Sweep!'
"