Our name comes from Wausau's second mayor, Jacob Paff, serving one term in 1873. In summary, he was a good human that came here from a different country, built his own American Dream, and served Wausau & Marathon County (elected and non-elected seats) so well that after his passing he was referred to as "Honest Jake Paff," hence Honest J's. Emigrating from Prussia at roughly 25 years old, Jake set
tled in Wausau in 1849 where he started building his own American Dream. He was first working a handful of years, roughly 1849-1855, as a construction laborer. During that time, he met his future wife, Sophie Louise Doell, also from Prussia. They got married on January 20, 1856, and eventually had five children together. He opened a tailor shop and general merchandise store in downtown Wausau. Some fun facts about Jake Paff:
- born on November 5, 1824, in Prussia
- age 25: he's not from America and chose to start living his dream in Wausau, WI
- worked as a blue-collar laborer
- age 31: married and started creating a family here in Wausau, WI
- established his entrepreneurial service and retail spirit in downtown Wausau, WI, at 218 N 3rd St
- age 48: became Mayor of Wausau
- also served as county treasurer, county clerk, and was a member of the county board throughout his professional life
- age 70: lived the American Dream until the end
- nicknamed "Honest Jake Paff" after his passing because he was an awesome human
Jake lives on his Wausau-awesomeness in downtown Wausau, WI, over 120 years later. Wausau accepted an outsider (even an elected Mayor) back then, and Wausau continues to accept everyone of different backgrounds. ❤️
