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, […]
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First Consolidated School in the State
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 […]
Government Officials Visit Crandon
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 […]
Historical Ties to Upcoming Library Events
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 […]
Brutal Winters in Forest County
Hello Forest County Residents, It is true that the last two years have been the coldest on record in the area but Forest County residents have always had to deal with harsh winters. Here are some of the issues Wabeno community members had to contend with in January of 1920, according to the Northern Wisconsin […]
Too Much Squirrel Whiskey
Happy New Years Forest County Residents! This interesting nugget of history technically does not take place in Forest County but is very close by. Around this time of year in 1936 the residents of Florence almost lost their town Christmas tree because of squirrel whiskey. According to the Forest Republican two men living in Florence […]
Enjoy the Christmas Gift of Historical Knowledge
Merry Christmas Forest County Residents! Today I found a few advertisements from the December 1939 Forest Republican newspaper trying to get county residents to spend their Christmas dollars at the local establishments. Many of the gifts for women have not changed over the years such as: perfume or manicure sets. But the majority of the […]
How Argonne Got Its Name
Happy Holidays Forest County Residents! Many Forest County community members know that Argonne was once known as North Crandon, but few recall the reason for the switch and when the event occurred. According to the recollections of C.H. Marshall the town changed its name in 1921 due to the constant confusion at the post office […]
Wildcat-Bear Contest
Hello Forest County Residents! This week I discovered a past time that took place among the “Kentucks” in Forest County that I am very glad does not exist any more. Bear or wildcat fighting was popular in Kentucky and brought to Forest County in the early 1900s. The practice supposedly ended in January of 1922 […]
Twenty-Five Rural Schools in Forest County
Hello Forest County Residents! This week one of my volunteers, Sally Lyons, discovered a news article in the Forest Republican from May 26, 1938 that listed the eighth grade graduates from twenty-five rural schools in the area. Thanks to Sally’s great eye for historically significant information we now have a list of rural schools in […]