Wisconsin’s Culture --- A glimpse
Stories
Strolling through Abbotsford, packed with businesses. I take Hwy 29 west out of Wausau quite a bit and always pass by the exit for Abbotsford. One day, in late May, I decided to exit and take a look around to see what’s there. I left Abbotsford thinking, “Wow, they have packed a lot of business, industry and transportation in a fairly small space in this town!” Indeed the town’s motto is, “A small city doing business in a big way.” December 10, 2011.
Chase Barn, an old stone barn getting restored. Chase, Wisconsin is about 20 miles northwest of Green Bay in Oconto County. What has come to be known as the Chase Stone Barn was built in 1903 and is on the State and National Register of Historic Places. It is one of the last surviving all-fieldstone barns in the country. The town is currently in the process of raising funds to help restore the barn and develop the park. The stones were gathered from local farm fields over a century ago, however their origin was Canada. Massive glaciers pushed and tumbled the stone to the Wisconsin region during three known ice ages over the past 70,000 years. Some of the stones are over 2 billion years old! August 24, 2011
Wisconsin State Firefighters Memorial - in the line of duty. The Wisconsin State Firefighters Memorial is located on the Wisconsin River, on the south side of Wisconsin Rapids, between it and Port Edwards. It is located on the Wisconsin River, on the south side of Wisconsin Rapids, between it and Port Edwards. "The vision was to create a park with a natural and scenic setting to house a memorial to our firefighting heroes from across this great State of Wisconsin. The serenity of the setting allows park visitors to be alone with their thoughts and emotions and at the same time realize that their loves one will never be forgotten." Mission accomplished. July 24, 2011.
The old time saw mill on Briarwood Rd., Marathon County. In June 2010 I was driving around the backsides of what is known as the "Three hills forming a sweeping crescent that encircles Ninemile Swamp," to wit, Rib Mountain, Mosinee Hill (Upper and Lower) and Hardwood Hill, located just outside Wausau to its west. As I was roaming around the area, I came upon what looked to me like a very old and small saw mill on Briarwood Road between CH S and Maple Leaf Road, in the area of Burns Creek. I went inside, took a bunch of photos, and then came to try to figure out what this was all about. December 11, 2010.
Willow Springs Garden, a love to preserve our past and have fun. Ken Christian grew up in Wausau, left a long time ago, and has lived in London for some 19 years, but comes back to Wausau a couple times each year to visit his brother. He came across this web site and conveyed how he loves to roam the countryside here and take images as well. He alerted us to this round barn on 60th Ave., just off Hillcrest Drive in the town of Maine, outside Wausau in Marathon County. I went out to take a look, and it was fun, and educational. This round barn is fabulous, as you'll see, but Willow Springs Garden is much more, a tremendous reflection of our culture and heritage. By Ed Marek editor. October 25, 2010.
North Central Rodeo Days, a blast in Medford. I attended the 22nd Annual Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Pro Rodeo in Medford, Taylor County, held from June 4-6, 2010. The events were held at the Brecke Rodeo Arena in Medford, which also serves as the Taylor County Rodeo Arena. I cannot remember when, or if, I have ever been at a professional rodeo. For me, this was great fun. I saw things I do not recall ever seeing before, live. They had different events scheduled each day. On June 6, I got to watch bareback riding, saddle bronco riding, Tie Down Roping, and Team Roping. This is mostly a photo portfolio presentation. September 26, 2010
Jennifer Nery’s Antique Road Show. Earlier this year, in late May, when the Wisconsin spring was so spectacular, I went on a true "get lost ride" and ended up in Forest County east northeast of Rhinelander. While driving along Hwy 32, close to CH NN, I spotted something I had never seen before. As I'm singing along with my iPod, all windows open, sun shining, wind blowing in my face, what do I see but what at first looked like a junk yard. I passed it by, but as what I had seen started to lock in to my brain, I said to myself, "Self, that's no average junk yard. You'd better turn back and take another look." Boy am I glad I did. Wait ‘till you see this stuff. July 21, 2010
That snazzy little town, Cambridge, Wisconsin. I had spent some time in the Ft. Atkinson area in Jefferson County and was sort of heading back to Wausau on Hwy 12. I arrived at a super neat town, Cambridge. Even though I was running behind schedule, I simply had to park the car and walk around a little bit. It's a snazzy place and I commend the people of the town for what they have done to it. Main Street is classic Wisconsin --- historic and preserved. July 19, 2010.
Brokaw, once a "company town," now just a neat little village hosting Wausau Paper. The town of Brokaw, Marathon County, Wisconsin is just a few miles upstream the Wisconsin River from Wausau. In the 2000 census its population was listed at 107. Many people likely drive right through Brokaw without giving it much attention, though the Wausau Paper Mill is huge and cannot be missed. As happens so often, once we started digging into Brokaw we learned some neat history about the state. A man named Norman Brokaw was born in Michigan, and graduated from Kalamazoo college and Three Rivers Law School there. He practiced law for about a year and decided to get involved in one of his favorite industries, making paper. May 10, 2010.
The barn raising near Edgerton, "a celebration of wood on a massive scale." I don't know about the story-teller, but this is a great story. It is a story of love for the historic timber used in old Wisconsin barns and the marriage of one about to be destroyed with one being renovated. I met a fellow named Craig "The Rooster" Roost through Facebook. He introduced me to a barn-raising project he's leading near Edgerton on property owned by Dan and Connie Bussey. I would later learn that it was a timber-frame barn disassembly, relocation, reassembly, barn-joining and renovation project, a real handful to be sure. By Ed Marek, editor. December 1, 2009.
That Red Covered Bridge built by "The Rooster" and Friends near Ft. Atkinson.A fellow named Craig "The Rooster" Roost introduced me to several of his delightful projects, one of which was a red covered bridge he and his colleagues built on the Glacial River Trail extending along Hwy 26 in Jefferson County from Ft. Atkinson to the Rock County line. he built the bridge using timber from a barn built in 1906. This story is about that bridge, and we insert some interesting science to the mix to make it all fun and motivating for more research. By Ed Marek, editor. October 6, 2009.
Wausau Whitewater --- not the toughest or the longest, but great for training. It's not a long stretch of white water, only 0.35 miles, and it's not the roughest white water you can find, classified as Class II-III, the lower end of difficult, but it is in downtown Wausau in Marathon County, and it is a great place for training --- training essential to white water rafting, kayaking, or even canoeing at higher levels --- It's known as Wausau Whitewater Park. I watched a training session and have some great photography. July 1, 2009.
Portage County Ice Wars, snowmobile races at Mach speeds! Snowmobiles are sleds with engines under their front hoods to drive them. Snowmobiles for racers have very powerful engines tweaked by expert mechanics and teams much like at the Indy 500. It is a motorsport. In Portage County, they call the races "Ice Wars." Ice racing was the original form of snowmobile racing. Other forms have come and gone, but Ice Racing is still here. It was certainly alive and well in Amherst on January 2-4, 2009. I attended the races on January 4 and brought home some neat photography. These racers surely had "the need for speed," some clocked at over 100 mph. January 8, 2009.
Loading and landing logs in Fifield. Fifield, Wisconsin, in northern Price County, traces its culture and history to the logging industry. In 1877, a reporter from the Phillips Times, wrote: "I fail to discover anything nice about the place ...five frame buildings, one log ditto, and a good depot." The Times had to eat those words a half year later, noting that "settlers are pouring in almost everyday." The town remains small, but it also remains a logging hub, presently a loading and landing site for Stora Enso. I watched this effort. It was fun and informative. Logging remains in Fifield's blood. By Ed Marek, editor. January 29, 2008.
Prairie du Chien's St. Feriole Island, an abundance of history. "St. Feriole Island, where the city began, has the greatest concentration of historic landmark properties in the country." So wrote Mary Bergin in 2004. "The Prairie du Chien terrace derives new interest not only because of the antiquity of its occupance and the variety of its cultural successions, but also because the historical geography of this site, for the two centuries following 1685, epitomizes that of the Upper Mississippi Country." So wrote Glenn T. Trewartha in 1932. "It is the uniqueness of historic buildings that make each place individual. The history and heritage of a city gives it a sense of place. Preservation of historic buildings is changing the face of and actually saving many towns." So wrote Mary Jane Hettinga in 2005. Amen, say we. Our state's dominant strengths reside in towns and places like this. November 18, 2007.
The Peshtigo Fire Museum, unlike anything we've seen. On October 8, 1871, the town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, in Marinette County, burned to the ground, the result of a terrible forest fire.
Some 800 people died, and the town was destroyed. We want to highlight the fire museum in town.
This editor normally is not fond of museums. The Peshtigo Fire Museum is different. July 13, 2007.
Ashland's iron ore docks, a fascinating history. The iron ore trade became the dominant trade of the Great Lakes in 1888. Iron ore was discovered in the Upper Michigan Peninsula's Marquette Range in 1844. There were multiple transportation challenges to be faced if the iron ore industry here were to grow, prosper and be competitive. To make describing all this manageable, and to give it a Wisconsin flavor, we are going to concentrate on the Gogebic Iron Range, which reached into Wisconsin to Ashland, the introduction of railroads in the area, and the loading process for bulk freighters from ore docks built in Ashland. April 19, 2007.
A "building watcher's" lazy drive down a short stretch of Wausau's 5th Street: You do not need to confine your "home watching" to the wealthy neighborhoods of your town, though there is a lot to see in those wonderful homes. We branched out, actually a bit by accident, and found a group of middle-class homes in Wausau that we found very intriguing, though at the time we did not know why. After photographing them and learning a little about architectural styles, we found out why. These homes, all century classics, have history and weaves of style in them that are typically midwestern, very American, and fun to study and dissect. By Ed Marek, editor. April 28, 2006, updated June 25, 2007, historic addendum added April 2, 2008.
Northern Wisconsin's Bayfield Peninsula, what fun! We recently made our "rookie run" to Wisconsin's Lake Superior region, what's known as the southern shore. This was our first visit to this area of the state, and our first visual sighting of this gigantic lake. We traveled from Wausau and stayed overnight in Duluth, Minnesota. In between all we found was fascination. A lot of people have worked very hard to "bring new life to historical buildings." This is what made the visit fun. April 10, 2007
Soldiers Grove, an American's kind of town. This is a town of about 700, rolling landscapes of unglaciated hills, situated along the "mighty" Kickapoo River and Baker Creek. It is also the site of a magnificent Veterans Memorial and a park honoring Medal of Honor recipient Beauford T. "Andy" Anderson, who nearly single-handedly took down 25 enemy soldiers on Kakazu Ridge, Okinawa, and saved his company's flank through good old fashioned GI ingenuity and the help of a fellow comrade, Hans Kaufmann, who fed him their improvised "ammo." Celebrating Andy's achievements one year caused one local poet's wife to weep and him to swallow hard. America at it's very best in Soldiers Grove. March 8, 2006
Town of Dorchester honors the Four Chaplains of the USS Dorchester. While driving through Clark County, we drove into the town of Dorchester. Coming upon a small park, we could see an American flag flying, from atop what from a distance appeared to be a carefully arranged pile of stones.
After getting closer it became obvious that this was a memorial, one that looked like a naval memorial. Little did we know that we were about to learn a piece of history not widely known. November 16, 2005.
Where creativity begins. Make no mistake about it, creativity is a centerpiece of the American culture, more specifically, American capitalism. Capitalism by definition means destroy that which does not work or no longer works, and create something that does work. One of the easiest and most effective ways to teach children to be creative is to teach them art. They know that in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Visit the city's "Art in the Park" to see what we mean. September 20, 2005.
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