A century-old scale once used inside a downtown New Glarus mercantile store has been donated to the Swiss Historical Village & Museum, reconnecting the community with a formative chapter of its commercial and civic history.

The Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin (CFSW) is donating the historic scale from the former Levitan & Stuessy Mercantile to the museum. Often referred to as the “Levitan Scale,” the artifact once sat inside the general store operated by Sol Levitan, a Jewish immigrant whose early business career in New Glarus laid the groundwork for his later prominence in Wisconsin public life.