Joseph Benjamin Krebs was born September 20, 1887, in Bay, Missouri, the son of the Reverend and Mrs. Adolph Krebs. He came to Beloit at the turn of the century when his father became minister of the West Side Presbyterian Church. On May 10, 1910, he was married to Camille Nemecak in Beloit. On February 2, 1906, Ben, as he was generally known, began working for Charles H. Besley & Company located on Third Street. In those early days he did whatever work was necessary in the cutting tools or tap department. At times Ben would take an order, go out to the stock room to fill the order, do the necessary packaging and deliver the parcel to the post office for shipment. In a few months he was transferred to the office and soon became Office manager, a position he held for fifty years. Ben handled most of the tap department correspondence. As the company name was changed to Besly-Welles Corporation, Ben continued as Office Manager. In February, 1956, he was honored by the Besly Booster Club as the first Besly employee to reach a tenure of fifty years.

Mr. Krebs served twice on the Beloit Board of Education, being first elected in 1931 and again in 1939. He was named a corporator of the Beloit Savings Bank in 1928 and was elected a trustee in 1941. He was a faithful member of Second Congregational Church. In 1920 he was named committee man for a new Boy Scout troop at the YMCA with Robert Merrill as Scoutmaster. He also served scouting at his church in Beloit Troop 1. In 1918 a handful of high school age boys met at Second Congregational Church to organize the Nakonis Club – its aim was to keep the adolescent boys in touch with their church. The Reverend Almon C. Stevens saw a need for a Sunday School class for the next age group – those just graduated from high school and a little older. J.B. Krebs was named leader – a position he held for over twenty years. This group was named Wakonda Club, the word meaning “People with Mysterious Power.” By 1932 the club had a membership of 60. At the time of the Beloit Centennial in 1936, the Wakonda Club had more than 200 named on the membership roll, but still the same leader, J.B. Krebs.

Ben Krebs was a charter member of the Beloit Lions Club and served as its third president. Later he became Lion Secretary, a position he held for 27 years until the time of his death. He took unusual pride in attendance at meetings and compiled a record of 35 years of perfect attendance. The Krebs family had one daughter, Jeanette and three sons, Paul A., Robert and Wayne. Joseph Benjamin Krebs truly believed in Beloit and gave richly of himself to his community. He died suddenly at the age of 70, after putting in a full day’s work at Besly-Welles Corporation.