This week’s discovery can be connected with a figure in our national history. The archives contain a letter from Booker T. Washington written on paper bearing the letter head of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute addressed to A.C. Haile thanking her for her support. Booker T. Washington was a prominent Civil Rights Activist during the late 19th and early 20th century and was the first African American to visit the White House. Mr. Washington founded the Tuskegee Institute in order to provide higher education to African Americans specifically in the field of agriculture. The Tuskegee University is still a highly respected institution of higher education today. To see a photo of the letter check out the Crandon Public Library Facebook page.
This week I wanted to find out how residents celebrated this lovers’ holiday many years ago. According to an article from the Forest Republican published in 1922 ” Valentine’s Day is the Beginning of a Week of Pleasures”. That year Mrs. H.H. Mohr threw a Valentine party with Princess pine and hearts decorating her home. Everyone spent the night playing the card game “Hearts” while eating food crafted into heart shapes. A “colorful messenger” showed up and delivered everyone’s place cards in the “form of half a valentine”. There was musically entertainment and prizes awarded to the winners of the card game including: Mrs. Roeber, Mrs. Keith, Mrs. Gebhart, and Mrs. Ison (Forest Republican 1922). That sounds like a wonderful way to spend the holiday to me!
I have also included photographs of loving couples below to get everyone in the mood for Valentine’s Day.
Sarah Boggs and Zigmond ChackBernice and August Linnemann
This week I discovered a charge plate among the collection in the Local History Room at the library. A charge plate also referred to as a “charga-plate” was popular during the 1930’s-40’s and was used to make purchases when the buyer did not have enough money. The plates were embossed with the person’s name and address. The charge plate functioned by putting the metal plate in a machine with inked ribbon stuck between the sales slip and that plate that would transfer the plate’s image onto the piece of paper when it was pressed together. The earliest known record of the plate’s use was by airplane and gasoline corporations in the 1920’s.
The charge plate in the collection was issued to James Wegter by the Chicago Credit Plate Service, Inc.
Today I will be working on a new display for the case located at the front of the Crandon Public Library. The February display reveals the identity of the mystery object from last month’s display so you really need to come check it out! The display also illuminates the amazing life of Ernest Wilson, who donated the mystery object to the library.
Ernest Wilson was born on January 1st, 1914 in New Auburn, Wisconsin to a divorced mother who was forced to place her children in an orphanage located in Sparta, Wisconsin. To help produce an income Ernest was sent to work at local farms. At the age of 10 people began to proclaim that Ernest was a prodigy due to his ability to sketch the likeness of any person, and his aptitude for musical instruments. In 1924, Ernest put on a musical show for the governor of Wisconsin and during the Depression he earned money and gained fame by traveling all around North America performing. In 1935, Ernest met Max Scharf, the champion trick fiddler, and they teamed up to play daily on the radio as well as weekends for the W.L.S. Barn Dance in Chicago as the Whoopee Cowboys. Ernest married his partner’s daughter Nina Scharf of Crandon in 1935. They had five children together: Bert, Glen, Linda, Karl, and Julie. Over his illustrious career Ernest won several awards including: National Champion Yodeling contest, National Championship for the one man band, and won Senior Citizen of the Year at the Wisconsin State Fair. Upon his retirement Ernest settled in Crandon to focus on his art and to operate a sign shop. He would still perform at local events and would entertain the residents at the nursing home. Ernest Wilson passed away in 1995 in Minnesota but he is buried at the Lakeside Cemetery. Ernest’s ancestors still reside in Crandon and his art can be seen decorating the walls of the Forest County Courthouse. The drum from his one man band is exhibited at the Forest County Historical and Genealogical Society. If you have a memory or photo of Ernest Wilson or Max Scharf feel free to share!
This week I came across a photo of the Range Line Forest Club in 1947 which prompted me to want to learn more about this organization’s purpose and origin. The club’s beginning can be traced to January 6, 1925 when Mrs. James Feight was thrown a surprise birthday party. Many of the ladies in attendance enjoyed the group dynamics and commented on the need for a club so they could gather together on a regular basis. The group decided to meet a few weeks later in the home of Mrs. Silas Smith and the organization continued to exist for 62 years until June 12, 1987 (Forest Republican 1987) . The purpose of the group was “to promote friendliness and neighborliness and to help anyone in need” (Forest Republican 1979). The club was responsible for purchasing war bonds during WWII, raising money for the Crandon Medical Center, sponsoring a child in the Philippines, and much more. The ladies were in charge of the Town of Lincoln booth at the County Fair every year, where they won several ribbons for their impressive vegetables. A member of the club, Mrs. Paul Statezny, was asked how the club endured for so long and she replied “We have never let politics or religion become an issue. And we don’t allow gossip discussed in our club” (Forest Republican 1979). Those are wise words that all of us could put into place when we are involved in community organizations.
If anyone knows when the club’s final year of existence was or has more photos and documents from the group please stop by the library and share your information.
The club members include: Mrs. Metcalf, Mrs. Steffens, Grace Haney, Ruth Metcalf, Nina Statezny, Marie Simandal, Amy Grandine, Clara Ritter, Lela Gretzinger, Elise Gretzinger, Mrs. Ernest, Mrs. Queen, Mrs. Feight, Mrs. Marvin, Florence Ottinger, and Vera Statezny.
This week a few new items were donated to the local history room which allowed me to learn more about the Peters Flower Shop that existed in Crandon from approximately 1920’s -1960’s. The shop was owned by Amalie (Erdman) Peters and run by her son Clarence Peters who worked at the shop his entire life. Amalie was married to Charles Peters but the donor did not remember a husband participating in the business. Charles may have died before the shop was open due to the fact that he was 24 years older than his wife. The Flower Shop sold flowers on one side of the shop and vegetables on the other side. The majority of the products were grown in their own garden and it was a very successful business in the area for several decades. The two boys in the photo below are Clarence and Linus Peters, the son of Amalie Peters. Clarence, the older brother, never married, lived with his mother until her passing, and worked in the flower shop his entire life. Clarence was stricken with a serious illness in infancy that caused him to lose his hearing. Linus graduated from Crandon High School and then attended college at UW- Madison in 1921. He married Eva M Yungfer of Tomahawk in 1933. Linus worked in the lumber industry as well as a surveyor. He eventually became an engineer for the Wisconsin Highway Department before he died of complications from surgery. If anyone has photos of the Peters Flower Shop please let me know I would love to see them!
Things are looking up in the coming days because the cold snap has finally ended! That was a difficult few days to get through for everyone, especially the brave individuals that had to work out doors. Although it was extremely cold it was not the coldest time ever recorded in the area. The most frigid days occurred in the recent past in 1996 between January 31-February 4 when high temperatures ranged from the teens to twenties below zero; lows dropped to the thirties to fifties below zero. The state’s record coldest temperature was set at -55 F set in Courderay WI on February 2nd and 4th (http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mkx/wiwx.php).
The Forest Republican Newspaper for February 7th displayed headlines like “Brutal Winter Causes Woes for County Highway Dept.” which explained that the county had already used its total yearly allotment of road salt which was 3200 tons. Another article was entitled ” Local Groups Join Forces to Save the Deer” which detailed the white tail deer population freezing to death in their tracks and the effort of the Northern Buck hunters and the Crandon International Off-road Racing Association to rescue the animals from starvation by leaving feed throughout the area.
Living in Northern Wisconsin in the winter can definitely be a challenge! Feel free to share your memories from this event in history.
I found a great article on the Wisconsin State Historical Society website about New Years Eve traditions in early Wisconsin. Check it out and see if this is something you would like to incorporate into your family’s celebration.
Wisconsin has celebrated New Year’s ever since Europeans and Yankees first settled here. French-Canadian residents brought a custom called “La Guignolée,” a sort of New Year’s trick-or-treat in which old men collected clothing and food for the poor. According to Elizabeth Therese Baird (1810-1890), daughter of a fur trader and a French-Ottawa mother who came to Green Bay as a teenage bride in 1824: “As soon as la fête de Nöel or Christmas-tide had passed, all the young people were set at work to prepare for New Year’s. … On the eve of that day, great preparations were made by a certain class of elderly men, usually fishermen, who went from house to house in grotesque dress singing and dancing. Following this they would receive gifts. Their song was often quite terrifying to little girls as the gift asked for in the song was la fille aînée — the eldest daughter. …”
“As they were always expected, everyone was prepared to receive them. This ended the last day of the year. After evening prayer in the family, the children would retire early. At the dawn of the new year, each child would go to the bedside of its parents to receive their benediction — a most beautiful custom; my sympathies always went out to children who had no parents near.” (Wisconsin Historical Collections)
This week I am inviting you to make a discovery of your own!
Give the Gift of Family History this Season
Every family has a story to tell.Whether the story is about your family’s migration from Kentucky or your Polish great-grandmother’s travels through Ellis Island, every story is important and needs to be told.This year, give the gift of Family History by purchasing a gift certificate for one, two, or three hours of family research services at the Crandon Public Library.Your gift will include a written report of the research conducted by the library staff using our online genealogical databases and materials from our local history archives.Please note that the research your request does not need to be Forest County research.The databases we offer are world-wide databases including Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org.
Individuals may also purchase a gift certificate for one, two or three hours of scanning and preserving old family photos to a computer disc to be shared with family members.The cost of either gift certificate is based on a $15 per hour donation to the Crandon Public Library Local History department.
To order a research services gift certificate, please call the library at 715-478-3784 or stop in at the library to see Amanda or Michelle.Gift certificates may be used anytime during the year.
I searched through the Park Hotel Register this week to find out who partook in the Thanksgiving feast at the hotel in the late 1800’s. From 1886-1888 everyone must have remained home with their families for the holidays or the hotel was not open because their are no guests registered for the fourth Thursday in November. In 1889, the Park Hotel served a Thanksgiving meal to Will Rogers, William S. New from Chicago, Matthew Ross, Egbert Wyman, and Frank Bishop from Escanaba. I wonder what they ate?
