Society News and Events

Happy Spring Forest County Residents!

I had briefly mentioned the Women’s Christian Temperance Union in an earlier blog post but I would like to revisit the subject because of a book that was found recently. There was a hand written inscription in the cover of the Louisa M. Alcott book “Eight Cousins” published in 1902 found in the library. The cover informs us that the book was given as first prize in the 1907 Forest County Fair to Helen Andrews in the category of essay on the effects of alcohol by a child over ten years. This book is historically significant for a few reasons. First, it is signed by Fannie VanZile, one of the first pioneers to live in Crandon. Her husband served in several prestigious positions in Crandon’s history. Fannie was also an important historical figure as President of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, member of the Eastern Star, Women’s Relief Corps, Royal Neighbors, and Workers of the Presbyterian Church (Forest Republican 1955).  Secondly, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union had a significant affect on our nation’s history. Currently,  the WCTU is the oldest voluntary, non-sectarian woman’s organization in continuous existence on the planet. Before women had the right to vote this group gave them a voice in the political sphere and allowed them to make positive social changes. The WCTU helped establish: shelters for abused women and children, eight hour work day, equal pay for equal work, founding of kindergartens, federal aid for education, women’s right to vote, penalties for sexual crimes, uniform marriage and divorce laws, pure drug and food act, and many more positive changes (http://www.wctu.org/earlyhistory.html). Locally, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union had a large impact on the regularization of alcohol consumption in the county as well as educational reforms. It just goes to show that you never know what you will find in your local library!

 

 

Hello Forest County Residents!

I am continuing to celebrate Women’s History Month by bring you a piece of local history that pertains to the ladies. For much of America’s history women were barred from voting which subsequently led to laws that discriminated against women. Women were not protected against rape and domestic abuse. Women could not own property, divorce their husbands, and were not allowed to work in many professions. Many women were also trying to create better conditions for children and the poor in this country but found it difficult to do without having any power over legislation.  The movement towards votes for women began in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York at the first women’s rights convention. It took  70 years of educating the public, staging peaceful protests, and lobbying with government officials by women like: Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton and thousands of others to finally pass a Constitutional amendment allowing woman to vote(https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/progressiveera/suffrage.html). These women were often thrown in jail, beaten up, threatened, and force fed through tubes but never gave up the fight. “With all the pressure from publicity generated by the White House pickets, the arrests and forced-feedings of women protesters, President Wilson finally lent his support to the suffrage amendment in January 1918. Congress approved it, and on August 18, 1920, with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, women achieved the right to vote” (http://www.americaslibrary.gov).

Local women were first given the chance to vote September 7, 1920, The Northern Advertiser, a local Wabeno newspaper, described the experience: “Bob Miller wins for Sheriff, Poppy nominated for treasurer, Woodbury Register of Deeds and Conway Clerk of Court. Tuesday’s election in Wabeno passed off quietly. The vote was light, only 382 votes being cast. Of this number 15 were Democratic, 2 Prohibition, 2 Socialist, and the rest Republican. Quite a few women cast their initial vote for state and county officers and all seemed to enjoy the experience. The required very little help to vote properly”. Imagine that! Forest County ladies please remember to vote because it is a right that should not be taken for granted. I hope this blog inspires more women to run in local elections!

Hello Forest County Residents!

March is National Women’s History Month so I will be exploring issues and stories tied to local women’s fight for equality. I chose to focus on girls’ high school sports  because of the local high schools finishing up their basketball seasons. I am very proud of all the lady athletes in the county, they are a wonderful representation of talent and hard work. Currently it is a matter of choice if a young woman would like to participate in a sport. But I am sure many community members can remember when girls were barred from high school athletics. Not until the passage of  Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 were girls included in organized sports. The law states: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance” (www.gilderlehrman.org).

In the early 20th century girls would play sports in gym class but there was no organized competition. Women were not encouraged to keep score because being competitive was thought to be too masculine. Girls were told that they would not be able to have children or no one would want to marry them if they engaged in sports. As time passed schools  did allow young women to play sports but they would make them raise money for their own uniforms and they were never featured in the yearbooks (http://www.gilderlehrman.org).  Girls sports were not represented in the Crandon High School yearbook until a year after the passage of Title IX in 1973. The girls’ teams were all placed on one page with no mention of their season or their place in the conference. The boys teams each received two or more pages for every sport. I applaud the local women that participated in the first year of organized sports. You must have dealt with discrimination and under representation. I encourage all former female athletes to share their stories, we are grateful for your perseverance!

Hello Forest County Residents!

I would like to congratulate Zach Higgins and Isaiah Doane from the Crandon High School wrestling team for qualifying for the WIAA State Tournament. To celebrate the occasion I will be detailing the start of wrestling at Crandon High School. There was not a recognized wrestling team at the Crandon High School until 1971-1972 when Mr. Herman and Mr. Benkstein became the coaches of seventeen young men. The pioneer wrestlers took fifth place in the conference tournament (Crandon Yearbook 1972). It is surprising a team was not formed until the 1970’s considering the WIAA Tournament dates back to 1940 when it was held in Appleton, Wisconsin (http://wiwrestling.com/HS/indexhighschool.htm).

 

Hello Forest County Residents!

I am so excited for the The Hotel Crandon’s 85th Anniversary celebration tomorrow! I cannot wait to take a step back in time to 1930 with amazing food, drinks, and music. For anyone that is a fan of this blog, the event will be filled with local history memorabilia and displays. In honor of the event I will detailing the story of the robbery that took place at The Hotel Crandon in December of 1936.

According to the Rhinelander Daily News, Kenneth Fannin, the night clerk of the hotel was in the basement at 4 am when he heard noises upstairs. First he went into the office but realized the noise was coming from the tavern, so he grabbed a revolver from the desk drawer and made his way into the bar. When he got there the room was empty but the back door was wide open. Fannin looked outside to investigate and spied an Oldsmobile sedan trying to make a getaway. The wheels were slipping and the driver was having a hard time moving so Fannin fired at the side window of the car. The wheels of the sedan finally gained traction and sped away. The sheriff, Jess Ramsdell, followed the car to Langlade County where Antigo policemen took over but were unsuccessful at stopping the thieves. The outlaws outpaced the officers going 80 miles per hour fleeing south. The Hotel Crandon lost $125 dollars cash and three slot machines from the tavern. The men were most likely never apprehended because there was not any license plate to identify the car (Rhinelander Daily News).

Hello Forest County Residents!

When browsing through the old Forest Republican newspaper I noticed the unusual obituary for Minne the deer. The residents of Forest County must have adored this deer because the story took up three columns of the front page, in comparison with the obituaries of human beings in the newspaper only receiving a paragraph.  Minnie the deer resided in the game refuge in Argonne her entire life. The beginning of her life was marked with tragedy. In the very first days of her life her mother was killed by a violating hunter who took her hind quarters. Baby Minnie was found huddled against the remains of her mother by Warden Bert Nixon. Nixon carried the fawn in his backpack over 10 miles and then drove another 20 before he reached the Warden Headquarters. Warden Charles Otto and Walter Sebastian fed Minnie milk every day and she grew into a normal adult deer. Walter became especially attached to Minnie and she eventually took up residence in his cabin and slept with him in his bed. The article goes on to describe several stories of Minnie’s cleverness and bravery. She would evade photographers through her stealth and she once beat up two wolf hounds with her hooves. The article describes in detail all the offspring she had over the years, 16 in total. Minnie met her end when she was nine years old on a foggy July night. A car was parked in the darkness, which she approached because she was used to human beings. The person in the car then shot her in the head and left her body to be found. The murderer was believed to have been charged with hunting out of season and killed Minnie out of retaliation (Forest Republican 2/27/41).

 

This story reveals several things. There was an active game refuge in Argonne that was run by very dedicated game wardens. There were many violations of hunting laws and it was difficult to catch the perpetrators. Forest County residents have always loved having pet deer as evidenced by the current deer park located next to the Forest County Courthouse.

Hello Forest County Residents!

For the next few weeks I will be featuring stories about The Hotel Crandon to prepare everyone for the big event on February 21st. I encourage everyone to purchase tickets at the library for:”Take a Step back in Time: The Hotel Crandon’s 85th Anniversary”. There will be authentic 1930’s food, drinks, music, costumes, and historical tours of the basement. All the proceeds from the event will be given to  the Crandon Public Library.

When The Hotel Crandon first opened its doors the selling alcohol was illegal in the United States of America. For over three years this business functioned as a coffee shop and restaurant rather than a bar. But when the 21st Amendment was enacted in December of 1933 two business owners in Crandon were ready for the tavern business. Art McMillion, owner of The Crandon Hotel, and Tom Fannin filed their applications for tavern licenses which were received by the City Council.

Tom Fannin was quoted by the Forest Republican saying “I will have real beer about tomorrow noon. I will have all the popular brands of bottle beer and it will sell for 10 cents a glass or 20 cents a bottle” (Forest Republican).

Art McMillion said “I expect to have real beer on sale at 8 o’clock tomorrow morning. Besides Miller, Blatz, Oshksoh and Manitowoc bottle beer, keg beer will also be on tap for patrons. We will have to get 20 cents a bottle” (Forest Republican). The business men expected a rush of business with the first legal beer in years but promised to have enough beer to satisfy everyone’s thirst (Forest Republican).

This is just another reason that The Crandon Hotel is a historic landmark and an iconic piece of Forest County history. The sale of legal alcohol was a big deal in Forest County because many residents had been making and selling illegal spirits for years. It was way for people to make a living during the depression. But it was dangerous business because a person could be arrested and the stills could be destroyed. Not to mention the dangers of selling to gangters in the larger cities like Milwaukee and Chicago.

 

 

Hello Forest County Residents!

Below I have attached a brief history of the Argonne School written by Nona Sears. The Argonne School holds the title of the first consolidated school in the state. The town officials closed the rural schools in the area and bussed in the children using horse drawn  buses. This allowed them to have a high school, to hire several teachers, and have competitive sports teams.

Hello Forest County Residents!

This Monday, January 26th from 1:00-3:00 pm, the Crandon Public Library will be hosting a public listening session featuring three Northern Wisconsin Legislators. Although we do not have many high ranking government officials make the trip to the North Woods it has happened in the past. During the 1907 Forest County Fair Lieut-Governor, W.D. Connor and Congressman, E.A. Morse made their way to Crandon. They spent their time getting to know the members of the community and viewing the exhibits of vegetable and agricultural products.

They were surprised that ” the backwoods county of Wisconsin should have an exhibition of products surpassing the old counties of the southern and central part of the state” (Forest Republican 1907).

Both of the men addressed the crowds at the fair so that Forest County residents could become acquainted their political views. Mr. Morse was an advocate for manual training schools and he was impressed by the Crandon High School. Connor’s goal was to try to eliminate some of the tensions between the warring factions of Crandon and Laona. The author of the newspaper article believed he was successful in his endeavors” (Forest Republican 1907).

The community members were not allowed to direct questions towards the government officials in 1907 but we have the opportunity to do so today.I urge everyone to share your concerns and opinions with the legislators at the Crandon Public Library.

Hello Forest County Residents!

In honor of National Pie Day on January 23rd the Crandon Public Library will be raffling off a homemade cherry pie. For every dollar you donate your name is entered into a raffle and at the end of the day you could go home with a delicious dessert!

When I think of homemade pies my great grandmother Mildred Wendy Champine Kurth comes to mind. She made fabulous apple pies and I will share her recipe with you. I imagine that she perfected her baking abilities serving large crowds for most of her life. Mildred’s first husband, Harry Champine,  managed lumber camps in Central Wisconsin as well as Alvin from at least 1910-1927. Mildred would travel with her husband and do the cooking for the entire logging camp.  When Mildred was married a second time to Wallace Kurth and living in Crandon she spent many years as the head cook at The Hotel Crandon (Champine 2012). I have been told that she was very serious about her job and often frightened the waitresses with her strict running of the kitchen. To learn more about the history of The Hotel Crandon attend the Crandon Public Library fundraiser February 21st. You will step back in time to the day that The Hotel Crandon opened its doors in 1930 with authentic food, drinks, music, and tours of the basement. Tickets will be available soon.

Grandma Millie Kurth’s Apple Pie

Pie Crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

7 tbsp lard

1/4 cup water

Mix lard with flour and salt with your hands than add water a little at a time. Press into pie pan. Makes a double crust.

Filling:

6 cups sliced, peeled apples (about 6 medium apples)

2 tbsp orange juice

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

3 tbsp flour

1tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp milk

Heat oven to 400 F. Toss apples and orange juice in large bowl. Combine brown sugar, sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Toss with apples until coated. Spoon into unbaked pie shell. Dot with butter. Brush top with milk. Sprinkle with sugar. Cover top with sheet of foil to present overbrowning. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 10-20 minutes longer or until apples are tender. Cool pie at room temperature.