156 My Land, My Home, My Wisconsin by Robert Gard

My Land, My Home, My Wisconsin: The Epic Story of the Wisconsin Farm and Farm Family from Settlement Days to the Present by Robert and Marya Gard. This is a copy of the book that is on the shelves at the Community Library. We are concerned both by the potential loss of the book for any of a variety of reasons and by the fact that it has a substantial amount of data that is not easily of the digital archive, we protect the book and allow for Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Thank you to A. Kenjar for the efforts to photocopy for the project.

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156- My Land, My Home,
My Wisconsin
The Epic Story of the Wisconsin Farm and Farm
Family from Settlement Days to the Present

By
Robert and Marya Gard
Contents: This is a copy of the book that is on the shelves at the
Community Library. We are concerned both by the potential loss of
the book for any of a variety of reasons and by the fact that it has a
substantial amount of data that is not easily searched. By the process
of the digital archive, we protect the book and allow for Optical
Character Recognition (OCR). Thank you to A. Kenjar for the efforts
to photocopy for the project.

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reference the book itself, not this booklet

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Compiled 8/2009 by L S Valentine Copyright©Valentine2009

MY LAND, MY HOME,
MY WISCONSIN

The Milwaukee Journal
333 West State Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201

'~

MY LAND, MY HOME,
MY WISCONSIN
The Epic Story of the Wisconsin Farm
and Farm Family
from Settlement Days to the Present

by Robert and Maryo Gard

All of the photographs in this book are courtesy of the State Historical
Society of Wisconsin with the exception of the following: Hoar<£s Dairy'I'!Wn.
14 and 38 (middle picture) and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, 95.

Edited by Mark E. Lefebvre
Copy-edited by Diana Balio
Designed by Christine Keller

For the ja1-m families in Wisconsin
who have made it possible.

First Edition
Library of Congress Card Number 77-82213
Copyright 1978 by The Milwaukee Journal. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America for
The Milwaukee Journal

by Western Publishing Company.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE LAND, THE LAND,
AND THE
PEOPLE COMING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
OF WHEAT THE GOLDEN,
AND THE NEW MACHINES ..... , ............. 19
OF NEW WAYS,
AND OF NEW HARVESTS ..................... 37
OF MAN IN SEARCH OF
BETTER WAYS ....................•........... 63
WISCONSIN IS A
KALEIDOSCOPE OF
CHANGE -THE LAND
TRANSFORMED... . ........................... 83

FOREWORD

Those of us who grew up on farms in Wisconsin
during the early years of this century will relive an
exciting period in the development of our beloved
state as we turn the pages of this fascinating book.
I was one of those-in a family whose mother
and father were Swedish immigrants-who grew up
on farms in northwestern Wisconsin, farms that had
to be carved out of rocks and cleared of trees, farms
that eventually became the dairy farms that created
what is now America's Dairyland.
My two brothers, my sister, and I found out
early that we were truly needed to perform all kinds
of chores and that we were expected to be an important part of the labor force in the difficult, strenuous,
and time-consuming task of transforming virgin forest land-with a generous coating of rocks---into productive farmland. At that time we looked upon the
forests as enemies that had to be destroyed if we
ourselves were to survive and provide a satisfactory
future for ourselves on the land.
In those days, the answer to any problem we
might have was not available in printed circulars,
bulletins, or textbooks, and there was no county extension agent we could consult on farm and home
problems. Nor were there educational radio or television stations we could turn to for information. In
fact, as I recall it now, the answer, as practiced by
our parents, was to work harder and work longer,
bqt always to work, work, work Even after all these
years, I can still hear my father, who was a reasonably successful farmer in his time, extol the virtue
of " a strong back and a weak mind."
As we grew up, we learned the virtues and rewards of hard work; of being self-reliant; of taking
care of ourselves as a family; of providing our own
entertainment; of getting along with whatever we

had; of being frugal; of persevering under conditions
of severe hardship and stress; of working and living
together as a family; of the Christian ethic and the
importance of the church in our lives; of helping
each other, not only ourselves but also friends and
neighbors in time of need and crisis; of the importance of education; of honesty, dependability, trustworthiness, and integrity; and of being a citizen of
the greatest country in the world, the United States
of America.
In contrast to the situation today, we were large··
ly self-sufficient and quite independent in our daily
life and living. We did not need many outside services to carry on our farm and home operations. We
raised most of our own fruits and vegetables. We
had flour made from our own wheat at our local mill.
My mother saw to it that we had an adequate supply
of canned vegetables and fruits each fall to carry us
through the winter. We made our own butter from
the milk of our dairy herd and, of course, had our
own supply of milk. We butchered our own meat.
We provided our own horsepower with matched teams
of horses, and we fueled the kitchen stove and furnace with wood from our woodlot. Coffee, sugar, salt,
an occasional new shirt, a pair of overalls, and shoes
were about the only things on our shopping list when
we made our weekly trip to town in our horse-drawn
buggy. We often traded eggs from our flock of chickens for these commodities when money was scarce.
If we had a good year, there might be a store-bought
orange in each stocking at Christmas.
The hoe, the ax, the crosscut saw, and the plow
were our most important tools, and they received the
heaviest use on our farms as they were being developed. Each of us boys and my father were experts in
using them.

I am truly thankful and eternally grateful that
I had the good fortune of growing up at the time I
did and under the conditions that prevailed then.
After saying that, however, I must confess that I
didn't always feel that way at the time. I vividly
recall how I envied the youngsters in our small towns
who had much more freedom for extracurricular activities and who were not subject to the vigorous
routine that characterized our life on the farm. Actually, I now feel it was the best preparation any youngster could have in shaping a career, which in my case
would be firmly rooted in agriculture for my entire
adult life.
Now, as I look back along the road of my yesterdays, I know that more changes have occurred on our
farms and in our homes during my lifetime than in
all previous recorded history. The scientific method
and "book learnin' "-once looked upon with suspicion, hostility, and skepticism-are now readily accepted and widely used in modern farming and homemaking. Their widespread acceptance and use on our
farms and in our homes have had the net effect of
shortening the workday and lightening the workload
of the farm family, increasing their purchasing pow-

er, elevating farming to the level of a profession, and
giving young people on farms better educational,
social, and business opportunities. Science and technology have helped our farmers and homemakers attain a position in our society that cannot be matched
by their counterparts in any other part of the world.
And beyond our farms, they have helped to raise the
standard of living of all the people of our state.
The pioneers who conquered the wilderness
played a major role in helping to shape the tomorrow
of what is now rural Wisconsin. They "built yesterday for today and tomorrow," and they did it exceedingly well.
I am heartened by the number of young people
who are remaining on farms or who are moving to
them because they believe that farming provides the
base for the kind of life they want for themselves
and theil' children. I venture to predict that farm
life will provide them the same deep satisfactions
and opportunities for development that they did for
me in my growing-up years.
Henry L. Ahlgren
Chancellor Emeritus
University of Wisconsin-Extension

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many people helped us with this book. We would especially like to acknowledge the assistance of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin whose
archives and staff were invaluable. The Wisconsin Magazine of History
was of great help to us as was the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture.
Special thanks go to several individuals: L. G. Sorden, George Baumeister,
Don McDowell, as well as all of the people we interviewed.
We would also like to thank Diana Balio whose attention to detail contributed greatly to the completion of this book.

THE LAND, THE LAND,
AND THE
PEOPLE COMING

The lands of Wisconsin were ironed by ice. The tall,
blue glaciers distributed the soils, softened the aspects of earth, and sculptured a prophecy of a heartland that would remain over generations as fulfillment of search for peoples of many nations.
Visitors to pioneer Wisconsin described the beautiful and varied horizons; to them the land of Wisconsin seemed the homeland and the paradise they
sought. They knew little of the great glaciers that
left mixed soils, moraines, and huge marshes ·Where
wildfowl nested and fed.
The early settlers, drawn by the lure of the land
and the rumors and advertisements that appeared in
Europe and in many parts of America, could not interpret the surface of the earth. They did not know
that different geologic periOds had formed within the
state the northern highlands, the Lake Superior lowland, a great central plain, the eastern ridges and
lowlands, and in the west a wide, great upland. They
did not realize when they first arrived that there was
a "driftless area" with odd rock formations that covered western and southwestern Wisconsin, an area
the glaciers never touched.
The driftless or unglaciated areas were divided
into counties that took the names of Grant, Lafayette, Iowa, Crawford, Richland, La Crosse, Monroe,
Juneau, Jackson, Vernon, and Trempealeau. Dane,
Sauk, Portage, WoOd, Marathon, Buffalo, and Eau
Claire were the names of those partly glaciated.
There were no lakes in the driftless parts and
few marshes. The rivers flowed through slowly, almost dreamily, except in floOd. Along the Kickapoo,
life itself moved quietly.
In the glaciated parts the land was fertile, varied,
and beautiful, with great timberlands and hundreds
of lakes.

My g•·eat-grandfather had an itching foot, I suppose,
that and the fact that he -wasn't reaUy doing very well in
New York State. He had just been married, and there
;~~n't much future, he thought, on the hilly land of western New York that his grandfather had received in a
grant j?·om the govern•ment atte1· the revolutionary war.
Alsu, there were land agents in the neighborhood from
ti,;;~, to time trying to persuade people to move west.
According to the agents, the land in Wisconsin had deep
and fertile soil, and the climate was ex.ceUent for grow~
iit}i; the prairie lands could be easily broken, and a farmer
coiild raise a good crop of 1uheat the first year. Anyway,
m:y ancestor fell for the land agent talk. The thing that
persuaded him to move was that the Indians
a menace any longer. The agents said that the war
hief Black Hawk and his people had settled the
troubles. There was no danger to settlers. Best
the finest land could be had for $1.25 an acre. Great·ather had enough cash to purchase a farm so he
told his young bride one morning in April18.t,l
r~ady because they were moving to Wisconsin. He
didn't know a thing about Wisconsin or the way
•untry was. I guess he figured they'd find out soon
0.'\"':;~h, and they did. They had a rough time getting
starJ.ed on this Jefferson County land. We still own it;
i,E;s'been in the Thompson family 185 years and we'11e got
a.ll;tfte. original papers. And in all the time the Thomp. · we been on this land they've learned the Wisconsin
. . tory. This is the way it goes, or the way it's been
Jo me, or the way Pve seen it.

Departure from Waterloo Docks. Liverpool.

(~,c Wisconsin is a land carved of history and dreams.
~lle:remains as a country mystical to some, as though
\i.'l,Odestone drew ancestors to a fulfillment of mother1~1'\'il. Attach to Wisconsin a spirit as gentle as down'l,\9pe of an easy hill or as spread-across fields of
g:rasses or grains. Her spell is as old as time, for of
time and stone and water was Wisconsin created.

,,

~

1

When the immigrants landed they were often lost, friendless.
Breaking home ties.

French and English, the first white men who
occupied Wisconsin, contributed little to agriculture,
but much to exploration and description of the country and relationships with the Indians.
From the earliest times of human habitation in
Wisconsin, the Fox and \Visconsin rivers constituted
the main route between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. According to the lore of the Winnebago, Iroquois, Huron, J\ienon1inee, Potawatorni, Sauk,
Fox, Chippewa, and Sioux, all used the waterway and
crossed between the Fox and the Wisconsin at the
Portage. This highway of water became a great
meeting ground of the early whites-explorers such
as Nicolet, Marquette, and Joliet, fur traders, the
military, and settlers.
The prehistoric peoples and the later Indians,
before contact with whites, had their own kind of
agriculture. It was very primitive, but old Indian
corn fields have been identified. Stone implements
and arrowheads are still turned up in fields by plows
or after a rain; occasionally a knife or a spearhead
of copper is found.
Sorne of the o/do· scholars lilce- Henry Schoolcraft
knew a lot abo·nt the ro1!tes the aucient Indians traveled
and how the coppe-t ubjecttr gut scatteTed o·ver this W·U;consi'n count1·y.

On the KeweeJUW.! Peninsula of UppeT

Michigan the white people Tediscove-red those copper m-ine
pits d'liY by some mysterious people ages ago, Hou) nw'ttY
thousa-nd yea-TS before the white man were the Indians
Jnirl'fn.y copper? G'~>andja.thcr found a p-iece of coppe1·
shaped [.ike a spearhead in our south field, back in the
1880s. E'ven then there We?'e collectors around -who wae
sea'rching fuT the old Hlics. Grandfather sa-w an ad in. a

Mil-wa:ukee pape-r and sold the copper spearhead for seven
dollarso After that he kept looki-ng for other pieces b-ut
the one -was all he ever found. The State Historical So-

(rif'fy in Mad-ison had an crlul>it of anc·ient coppe1· pieces
not lo-no ago, m1d I w1c g-ra.mlfathe--r's spear/wad then:.
lt had sem·ral. indentations in t.lll~ flut base that they said
might nu:a·n the numUer 0j large animals, or Dw·nj the
speat' had kii/NL kny1cay, u11r fann has be(!'fi a part of all

ing from federal troops, is well known. The Indians
straggled north as far as Horicon Marsh, hid in that
area, and were corning out, trying to get west to the
Mississippi, when they were discovered. The pursuit
along the Wisconsin River and the final slaughter of
the Indians at Bad Axe are not among Wisconsin's
more glorious episodes. The so-called menace ended
there, and the Indians never again arose in any significant way. The war did influence settlement in certain
areas, because the troops who had pursued Black
Hawk liked the country and many carne back to hornestead.
Wisconsin's animals were also victims of the
white man's supremacy after the Black Hawk War.
The last buffalo was shot in Trempealeau County in
1832; the last caribou was seen in Ashland County in
1840; the last elk was killed in Buffalo County in
1868. Although the exodus of so many Indians gave
the deer an opportunity to thrive in southern Wisconsin for a time, the white man eventually decimated the herd. Wanton killing by means of dogs, hunting for market, impaling by placing sharp sticks
where deer jumped across small water courses, and

rope snaring almost wiped out the herd in southern
counties before the Civil War.
After the Black Hawk War, government surveyors entered Wisconsin. The southern part, to the
Wisconsin River, was surveyed first. In their reports,
the surveyors indicated the quality of the land: first,
second, or third class; level, rolling, rough, or broken. They located oak openings; prairies; high, rolling prairies; low, wet prairies; level, dry prairies.
The surveyors' reports were useful to settlers in
choosing their lands and to speculators in locating
town sites. Even well-known personalities in the
East indulged in speculation here. Daniel Webster,
for example, invested in land at several places, including Dane County and the Fox River Valley. So
did Caleb Cushing, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Edward Everett. Hercules Dousman and James Duane
Doty were buying and selling lands, Doty particularly favoring the Four Lakes region where a new town,
Madison, was soon to be built.
A surveying party consisted of two surveyors,
two axmen, and two chainmen. The surveyors were
usually men of good scientific training. A fine exam-

that loT e. H' t: lwve one Jndiwt1 iiiOicnd un a
beside the
Our folks
ri-uer, It was ,n,wle ht thG shape of a l!·ig
ham' a.lwa-ys wondered tcho tht people n·ere who ma.de il-

When the white settlers came in the 1830s and
1840s, they found no eomfort in close association
with their red brothers, and little by little the Indians in southern \Visconsin were crowded out or
dispersed in forced migrations \Vest and north to
Iowa or Minnesota or the Dakotas. Narcisse, the son
of the famous Milwaukee pioneer Solomon Juneau)
led an early migration of VVinne!Jago frmn the Horicon Man;h area to a reservation in Iowa, They did
not want to leave, and some drifted back, but the
Wisconsin country of plenty was never theirs again.
The Black Hawk War in 1832 was the politicalmilitary event that resolved the problem of red man
versus settler in southern Wisconsin. The conflict itself was hardly a war, though a few vvhites and more
Indians were killed. It was important because it hastened white settlement.
Treaties to gain cession of Indian lands were being constantly negotiated. Before 1832, white settlement in Wisconsin was mostly limited to some
patches along the Lake Michigan shore, along the
Mississippi at Prairie du Chien, and in the south
where some \Velsh and Cornish and native Americans \Vere mining lead. J\lliners and such farmers as
there were in the region joined Henry Dodge and
other military leaders to chase out the Indians.
The whole sad story of how Black Hawk led his
ragged band out of Illinois and into Wisconsin, flee-

BelOw decks it was everyone for himself, and hell in a rough sea-

3
2

When the immigrants landed they were often lost, friendless.

Breaking home 1ies.

French and English, the first white men who
occupied Wisconsin, contributed little to agriculture,
but much to exploration and description of the country and relationships with the Indians.
From the earliest times of human habitation in
Wisconsin the Fox and WiRconsin rivers constituted
the main route between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. According to the lore of the Winnebago1 Iroquois, Huron, Menominee, Potawatomi, Sauk,
Fox, Chippewa, and Sioux, all used the waterway and
crossed between the Fox and the Wisconsin at the
Portage. This highway of water became a great
meeting ground of the early whites-explorers such
as Nicolet, Marquette, and Joliet, fur traders, the
military, and settlers.
The prehistoric peoples and the later Indians,
before contact with whites, had their own kind of
agriculture. It was very primitive, but old Indian
corn fields have been identified. Stone implements
and arrowheads are still turned up in fields by plows
or after a rain; occasionally a knife or a spearhead
of copper is found.
1

Some of the oldeT scholars like Henry School.craft
lcne-u.' a lot about the rmtfes the ancifmt. Indians travel-ed
and how the copper objects got stuttered o·u(~1' this Wisconsin cuunt?'Y· On the Keuwena-tc Pe-ni:nsul.a of Uppm·
JV!ichigan the -white people Hdiscot)ered those copper -m.i-nc
pits d-ug b-y some mustetirms ]Jcople ages ago. How many
thmt,sand uea?·s before the rvhite ·man weTe the lnd·ia'lts
mini,ng coppe1·? G'j;a.n.dfathe·r _fuund n
of coppe-r
shaped like a spearhea.d in 0'11.7' south
back in the
1880s. Even then there wet"e collectors aTound -who -were
searchi-ng for the old t·el-ics. G1·andjatheT sa-w an. ad in n
Milwa-ukee papeT an.d sold the
spearhead for seven
dollaTs. Aftet· that he kept
for othe-r pieces but
the one t-VUS all he e-ver found. The State H'istorical So-

dety in Mad·iso/1 had a:n e;~;}l'ilxit of a1u·ient copper
not lo-ng ayo, aml I sau· gnutdfather's spearhead
it had sereral i·ndentat-iull!i i-n the jf.at ba::;e that. they said
m.-ight mean !.he -munber of large animals, or
Uw
spea-r had killed. Anyway, uwr fa·nn has been a pm·t
all
that lure, We hat"e unr hul-iau mo-und u11 n jf.at beside the
ri·ver. It was made in the shape of a b'ig bird. Our folks
ha've a/teays tcomltned n'lw the -people tcere 1cho made -it.

ing from federal troops, is well known. The Indians
straggled north as far as Horicon Marsh, hid in that
area, and were coming out, trying to get west to the
Mississippi, when they were discovered. The pursuit
along the Wisconsin River and the final slaughter of
the Indians at Bad Axe are not among Wisconsin's
more glorious episodes. The so-called menace ended
there, and the Indians never again arose in any significant way. The war did influence settlement in certain
areas, because the troops who had pursued Black
Hawk liked the country and many came back to homestead.
Wisconsin's animals were also victims of the
white man's supremacy after the Black Hawk War.
The last buffalo was shot in Trempealeau County in
1832; the last caribou was seen in Ashland County in
1840; the last elk was killed in Buffalo County in
Ul68. Although the exodus of so many Indians gave
the deer an opportunity to thrive in southern Wisconsin for a time, the white man eventually decimated the herd. Wanton killing by means of dogs, hunting for market, impaling by placing sharp sticks
":here deer jumped across small water courses, and

rope snaring almost wiped out the herd in southern
counties before the Civil War.
After the Black Hawk War, government surveyors entered Wisconsin, The southern part, to the
Wisconsin River, was surveyed first. In their reports,
the surveyors indicated the quality of the land: first,
second, or third class; level, rolling, rough, or broken. They located oak openings; prairies; high, rolling prairies; low, wet prairies; level, dry prairies.
The surveyors' reports were useful to settlers in
choosing their lands and to speculators in locating
town sites. Even well-known personalities in the
East indulged in speculation here. Daniel Webster,
for example, invested in land at several places, including Dane County and the Fox River Valley. So
did Caleb Cushing, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Edward Everett. Hercules Dousman and James Duane
Doty were buying and selling lands, Doty particularly favoring the Four Lakes region where a new town,
Madison, was soon to be built.
A surveying party consisted of two surveyors,
two axmen, and two chainmen. The surveyors were
usually men of good scientific training. A fine exam-

When the white settlers came in the 1830s and
1840s, they found no comfort in close association
with their red brothers, and little by little the Indians in southern \Vi:-)consin were cro\vded out or
dispersed in forced migrations west and north to
Iowa or 1\linnesota or the Dakotas. Narcisse, the son
of the famous TV1ilwa.ukee pioneer Solomon Juneau,
led an early migration of \Vinnebago from the Horicon :Marsh area to a reservation in lO\va, They did
not want to leave, ancl some drifted back, but the
VVisconsin country of plenty -.;,vas never theirs again.
The Black Hawk War in 1832 was the politicalmilitary event that resolved the problem of red man
versus settler in southern VVisconsin. The conflict itself was hardly a war, though a few whites and more
Indians were killed. It was important because it hastened white settlement.
Treaties to gain cession of Indian lands were being constantly negotiated. Before 1832, white settlement in Wisconsin was mostly limited to some
patches along the Lake 1\lichigan shore, along the
Mississippi at Prairie du Chien, and in the south
where son1e Welsh and Cornish nnd native Americans were mining lead. T\1iners and such farmers as
there were in the region joined Henry Dodge and
other military leaders to chase out the Indians.
The whole sad story of how Black Hawk led his
ragged band out of Illinois and into Wisconsin, flee-

3
2

Limestone silt soil covered a large area in southeastern and east central Wisconsin, reaching as far
north as Waushara County. Glaciated and gently
rolling, it became perhaps the most highly developed
dairy and crop area in the state.
In the prairie regions, forest growth was usually limited to the edges of the limestone hills and
ridges that rose above the glacial drift. Such timber
consisted of wild cherry, plum, oak, hickory, and
other hardwoods. Here in spring, on the fringes of
the woodlands, violets, adder's-tongue, Dutchman'sbreeches, jack··in-the-pulpit, anemone, trillium, and
wild columbine bloomed. Wild roses grew among the
tall grasses. There were hazelnuts, dogwood, blackberries, and raspberries. Wild grapes festooned the
trees.
The ideal farm for Americans consisted of timber, prairie, and marsh to supply fuel, shelter, crop
cultivation, and hay. These lands were usually expensive, forcing the poorer immigrants from Europe
to take cheaper lands. But sometimes settlers from
forested areas abroad preferred the timbered lands

association secured the land the settlers had chosen,
and association members could buy land for about
$1.25 an acre.
The arrival and the confusion.

ple was Increase A. Lapham, a botanist and horticulturist regarded as Wisconsin's first scientist who
mapped many of the ancient Indian mounds and sites
in the southern parts of the state.
My g'reat·-g1·andparents knew Increase A. Lapham

very welL Great-grandmother in her diary told how Lap~
ham carne to the jarn1- ·when he ·was mapping the Indian
mounds. He stayed at the {ann overnight that time and
came back lat-er. He teas curious about eve1·ything: birds,
wildflowers, t?·ees. He sent great-g1·and1nother a copy of
his book, Antiquities of Wisconsin.

After 1836, settlers were squatting on good
agricultural lands in southern Wisconsin, waiting for
the government to sell. The settlers feared claim
jumpers and speculators who might outbid them in a
land sale. In 1837, a "claim association" was organized. Every settler's claim was registered, and the
association promised to help purchase the land. The
settler had to show good faith by erecting a building
and cultivating land. The great land sale was finally
held in Milwaukee in February and March 1839. The
They were examined

LAND WARRANTS
Land Warrants, say for 160 acres, are worth from 140
to ~~50, can be entered c.n time, for actual settlers, who will
be __gi_~_d to pay $200 for 160, and 12 per centJor two years.
This'-Is' about the best and safest investment that can be
P"!~de. T)le settler generally has a house built upon the tract,
an'd)l: portion of it under cultivation. The tax upon wild land,
m ·remote districts, ranges from 1 to 3 cents per acre
, ,
LOANING OF MONEY
:>" ~~mey can be loaned on real estate at least three times
-.t~~-·-va1Ue of the sum lent, at from ten to twelve per cent. in~E>-1-~:s~,. from six months to six years, interest payable semi~TrU~lly, If the interest be not paid punctually, the principal
\p1d·_mter·est, at the option of the lender, fall due, and the
~-~_.roper~),._ can be sold within six months, at a cost not to ex~~:~d :~vJ:enty- dollars, which the property has to pay. Good
~~o.rtgages can be purchased, bearing interest, for 12 to 20
-R;e~. cerif: ·A couple of hours is sufficient to see that the title is
_g:~-?~; h~ :the party borrowing, and that the property is free
.-fl-tm1: all' encumbrances,

_,

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SHHBOY&AN FALLS AND &REENBESH.
"wl

"I Fnurl •fu L•~•· ,It 1; ,,.d.,,•j,. <'H·r• "'''Jiiu;:
.lf,.u-.\ Tltf-H 1:1-:kLl l.nt-: U·:.tV.t;;~

~~~~~-·£~
f'j)Jl

11\lrl\. r~\ 1111 nmft tli. nmllllll\ mWH~I\Ot

"The soil of the state," remarked an early bulle-

in HHl!W<'fiuu nl

ctt;;

t!~;;.,is
0ided into prairie, oak openings, timber and
~/irsh' lands; and most of it is well adapted to agri-

llwfi-..m willf thr loO!n::;•· l.iw·• f,r .Uin•·r,.j Podut.

l"l11ll•ilk ;!ud

(~nl••n:l. ~.'lf~<n-1!

Tri·ll'f''-'1. 1.• lilw_l!'"''''

FnNn DU LAC FOR M!Nmsm CALITl!ET m GREEN B\Y
.JOUV Fl{"k ,\_

suitural purposes. The climate is remarkably healthy.
The winters are cold but the air is bracing. The summ.er seasons are mild and of sufficient length to produce most of the staple crops."

.Jmu

l~<f.

l!<l4"'.

Early stage lines passed many farms.

tor trachoma.

5
4

arrilf·~

i

o.

l'r••pri,·t••r~-

for protection and wood products. Later they made
shingles and much potash. The forested lands might
eventually make better farms, for the cleared land
was always fresh. Furthermore, land cleared by tremendous effort came to be more highly cherished by
the family and succeeding generations.

But, in general, little farming was clone to the west
at first, partly because of the lack of markets. Steamboats could not carry enough produce to St. Louis
and the southern river towns. Later on, railroads
helped to open the western parts of Wisconsin to
farming.
In 1834, when Wisconsin was part of Michigan
Territory, the government established land offices at
Green Bay and Mineral Point. Speculators responded
quickly. They acquired sites for water power, river
frontage for steamboat docks, and town sites. Superior City a "paper town" in northern Dane County
was laid out on an area said to be as large as nineteenth-century Chicago.
Many settlers established farms when the U. S.
Army built the Military Road from Green Bay to
Prairie du Chien, by way of Portage, or Fort Winnebago, then to the Four Lakes (Madison), then west

EARLY SETTLEMENT
Early farm settlements were mostly east of a
line that followed the Rock River to Watertown and
thence to Fond du Lac. Settlers were drawn to Milwaukee, which, to rival Chicago then building at the
end of the lake, built early roads and eventually railroads to bring produce and to create markets. Potential markets also caused some early farmers to settle
in the lead-mining region of southwest Wisconsin
that had attracted so many people from Chicago.

1

to Prairie du Chien along the Military Ridge-a hogback of land that transverses Wisconsin south of the
Wisconsin River. A branch of this road split off at
Dodgeville and headed through Mineral Point to Galena. Another road ran from Racine through .Janesville to Dubuque, and still another from Milwaukee
to Madison.
Rivers were of immense importance. In 1836,
Milwaukee businessmen planned the Milwaukee and
Rock River Canal, which, though it failed, drew settlement along the proposed route and caused roads to
be built. Pioneers also ascended the Fox River of
Illinois, by which they could reach Rochester in Ra.
cine County. Farm locations were developed as near
as possible to roads, canals, rivers) and later to railroads.

1

Some early settlements were in the southwest,
where English, Welsh, and Cornish had come to labor
in the mines, and in the southeast: from the southeast parts of Kenosha County and Racine; along
the Rock River where Beloit and .Janesville were new
names on the land; and further west to Lake Geneva,
Troy Lake, Whitewater, Delavan, Spring Prairie, Elk-

MILWAUKEE

LAKE SHORE

~,\;WESTERN

RAILWAY LDMPAHY.

TL,· \!11 \I"~~ 1 1
·"h"rt'"'( ,,,,, 1 \~, '' 1 '))(' ll'

\'l•

\\•

1'•11"

Fo:-t Wa&hir.non, Sheboyga.r.,
!£&!lite~~~' '!'7<0 n:\"~r:,

Loiy:r.tli, !i:a'.ikil"tt'tta,

App:e:~::,

Borw~-r~n~,

!:ew

:.~nio~.•

Sh~wano, Haf.~n. T~ett?:!,
1:~rrle, W~nsau,

A::t:go,

!hl!tel!!.nder, Ea£le -s:..,.er,
G<~gei:o~c,

W'3b!l.s1d,

:s~sset':'ler,

lro::rwo~'i,

Hurle;, OdltL0\..1

Atblatld, and. a.l:

0";\bga.mic,

~na

point~

Wa~pac~,

in

Shawane;

Alb.l&ntl. Oa\l:nties,

H. F WHITCOMB,
Oen'\Mnnil.gc••

CHAS. V. McKINLAY,
lh•n'll"a>:~.

Age11l

J. 0. THAYER, 1-.l!ld Cum1m~~iuu.:),
J/., L. S'. 6-' IY. Ry. Cv-. ldilwauku, 11/i>.
Rail service spread.

6

7

The family of Edwin Bottomley fared somewhat
better. Seeking a better life as a Wisconsin farmer,
he set forth from England with family and neighbors for the New World and reported faithfully to
his father, Captain Thomas Bottomley of Lancaster,
what transpired.
LiveTpooi May 11th 1842

Dem· Father,

We have ari'ved Safe at Li.vBt·poot and Both WnL
Morton & George A1 m·itagc arc ·very n•ell Satisfied with
the Ship mtd Capta·i·n. I ha-ve asked the capt.ain when he
th-inks we shall Sa-il. and he Sa-ys it ·w-ill Be Sat·narday< if
M'IJ BrutlleT Heury cumes 1rn {l'iday he will find heT Dy·ing

in the Princes Dock~ I Shall Be Glad tv See hi-m- Yuu. must
E:rcuse Bad Z.nditeitl!l as tee an~ a1l hu·f'T'Y and Bustl.e the
Shipe ·is very Cl-ean and the Captai11 appewrs a Sober and
lnteligent man Give my Lut1e to -my Mother and B·rother
Henry a-nd his u:ife a'11d. all otH' f'rdnd[s] and Relations
and accept the same yonr::;clf
F1·om -your Affectionate Son

EDWIN BOTTOMLEY

Part log, part frame, as lumber became available.

horn Prairie. Following the Fox River line north to
Waukesha County and the Rock River into Jefferson
County and upward to Dodge County, hundreds of
German families were gathering.

Pleas to Let George Armitage Mother See this Lette?·
Satlwl·day May 14 gut to Black rock cast. anchor and
Lay wile 4 next morning George was not VM'lJ wel.l rather
stuff his B1·east B·ut aU the rest 1cheTe u•eU in heaLth But
a.ll Bustk euuld not find the things we want so u.Jell o·wing

IMMIGRATION

to the Box Being cmme.d
Sundau May 15th 5 0 Cluck this mo·rning we are
be-ing totved out into the Irish Chanel By a stea·mer
George ·is a Deal Better this mm·ning and aU the Test. are

In the great migration from 1820 to 1920, twenty-eight million people crossed the ocean to settle in
the United States. Those who settled in Wisconsin
were drawn by the beautiful farmlands. They came
from Germany, Sweden, Norway, England, Wales,
Scotland ... from nearly everywhere a letter or a
newspaper or an advertisement for land could reach,
the people came.
The decision to come was hard to make. Roots
sunk deeply in home places for generations were
hard to tear up. Farewells were heartbreaking. But
many families felt the urge to come. They had read
the advertisements eagerly or wished to join a family member who had already made the voyage.
Embarking at European ports, they found shipboard conditions to be miserable. The small sailing
vessels were crowded and unsanitary. August Kleinert, immigrant from Gerrnany, wrote: "We got sick
the first day. My wife could not hold up her head.
We were fourteen days getting across the English
Channel. I got Pneumonia. Our children took sick
and the youngest, little Amelie, died and was buried
at sea. We were over hvo hundred passengers. We
had no potatoes the entire trip. There was no doctor
on board. The Captain was the doctor. His one medicine was Epsom Salts. On the voyage two adults died
and twenty children."

·very ·u?Cll.• ...
Tuesday 31st 7 0 Clock 1ve Passed a D-readful [night]
last night soon after 1ce got to bed the Ship Beg[an} to

raul VC?'Y hard and the sea aml wind Began to roar as if
it was Bent upon the DcstTuction of cve?'Y thiug fioating
upon i-t Betw·ixt 12 & 1 0 Clotk it was the woTst it was
so lwd that tee could Scarcely keep in Bed by any mea,ns
I had to lay my legs acro:)s sarrah a.nd Annina.lan and
hold myself by the Hirth above ns to Kee11 my wife and
Thus on the other side the Lugaye Belonging to the Passengas 'rooled about and can:; and Pots tohere stTewed
about in al/. Places and the noise aU ·made was beyond
Discription. their tvhas screand-ng and Praying in every
conwr and the Sailur[s were] nnsing and the waves ?'ool'ing over the Deck aU at one time am.-idst an the tunrwU
the grim. munster Death enh·ed.
lVedensda-y June 15th 8 0 Clock we have had a fine
Day to Day a.nd 1re Jwve got our cloths Dr-y we got a
PUot on board abont 10 0 Clock /.ast ·night and we anchord
'in qua-rintine about 4 this ajternon and an a-re very buysy
prepa-rdng for la~nding the [NeH-' York} harbO:ur is one of
the m.ost Be.a.utyfuU in the uwrld a Discription of -which
I sent in rny last
We left the vessel about 4 U Clock mt Thw,sday the
16th in a small sloop 1chich took us to the custom wm·f
whe1·e ou·r goods where exa·ndt1.ed and the Officers behaved

"hunker down" or be scraped off. Often the mule
driver sang: "The E-ri-e," perhaps , ..

scarcely Distu1·bing a-nything in our boxes we
about 7 0 Clock but had got ve-ry little way
eze Died away and we whas compeled to go
the tide to the warfe aga·in and we lay theiTC
0 Clock at night when we started again and
new york at 2 0 Clock in the morni[n]g which
the Slough of Despond their are hundereds of
or Scamps o-r ·you may call them what you will
crowd around people when they land and offe-r
f!istance but -will in gene·raly make thern. Pay
for it But they where all of them, in Bed when
-we left N etD York on the friday Night at 7
" Albany and we a-rived at Albany at 5 0 Clock
'?_itS(j,tuarday Morning

We were "forty miles from Albany,
Forget it I never shall
What a terrible storm we had one night
On the E-ri-e Canal ....
Oh the E-ri-e was a-risin'
The gin was gettin' low,
I don't suppose I'll git a drink
Till I git to Buffalo--o-o
Til I git to Buffalo.

Or,
Low bridge,
Everybody down ..

They left Albany at two o'clock on Saturday,
June 18, and reached Buffalo on Saturday, June 25,
where they got passage on a lake boat that arrived
in Milwaukee on the Fourth of July. Like many
other immigrants, the Bottomleys found Milwaukee
a great dispersal place for land seekers. They too
went land seeking.
The Bottomley party found land near Rochester
in Racine County and called it The Settlement. Their
neighbors were English, Dutch, and native-born

','' The Bottomley family embarked on the Erie
C~.nal at Albany, as did many whose destination was
~,is,c?nsin, The canal packet boats were crowded and
tl),e;trip leisurely. The boats, pulled by mules, cover~·g about thirty-five miles per day, and the distance
fn>n, ,A-lbany to Buffalo was three hundred miles.
J)lere was time to sit on the tops of the boats and
':is.it or to watch the New York landscape flow gently
by. Where the bridges were low, the riders had to
9

8

Americans. With little money and minimal possessions, they began their lives as Wisconsin pioneers.
County by county the march of people showed
their origins: in Dane they were Norwegian and English; in Green they were Swiss and English; in Grant
and Racine, English and German; in Walworth, English and Irish; in Rock, Norwegian and Irish. Milwaukee, Dodge, and Washington were German and
Irish; Columbia was Irish and Welsh; Sauk was German, native American, and English; Richland had
many Americans, some Germans, some English;
Crawford had Americans, Canadians, and Norwegians.
In 1850 there were 192,178 native-born Americans living in Wisconsin. Of these, 68,595 came from
the state of New York. Vermont furnished 10,157,
Pennsylvania 9,570, and Ohio 11,402. Indiana, Virginia, Kentucky, and Illinois furnished substantial
numbers. Maine and Massachusetts were well represented. These settlers were distributed throughout
the counties in the eastern, southern, and southwest
parts of the state. The New Yorkers were very numerous in Rock, Walworth, Kenosha, and Racine counties, and they scattered their placenames across the
Wisconsin landscape: Rome, Brooklyn, Albany, Lodi,
Troy, Clinton, Empire, Seneca, Ithaca, and many
more.

tcere Germans, and 011 the 1cest Non.oegians; the'te was
a Su)edish family 01' two on the north. It -was an interest-ing neighborhood. In the early school that they finally
devel-oped, the childTen spoke different langv,ages. Some
of their parents ne-veT did leant English. Grandmothe1·
taught a term in the school. She sa£d it was a challenge,
and she talked about it the rest of heT life.

Norwegians, Poles, Swedes Danes, Germans, and
Swiss were to become particularly important to Wisconsin agriculture. The not-so-agricultural Irish early
became involved in the labor needed to build railroads and canals. The great potato famine had driven thousands of Irish from the Old Country. Sons of
Old Erin dug the famous canal between the Upper
Fox and Wisconsin rivers at the Portage.
German settlers, arriving in the 1840s and 1850s,
loved beer and good times. Many small breweries
were eventually built and operated by Germans and
by Bohemians, especially, and were producing excellent beer in the nineteenth century, even in many
smaller places. Some morally rigid settlers from
New England deplored the beer and gemuetlichkeit
of the Germans and the good times of the Bohemians.
Heavy German immigration occurred in 18471848. Many liberals, unhappy with oppression and
forced military service at home, turned to Wisconsin; American freedom had strong appeal. As the
Jure of Wisconsin land became more apparent in Germany, the political and religious motives for immi1

Grandfather sa·id that our farm was right in the centeJ· of a kind of uwrld. community. On the south there

Sonle' q'uarters were built to last a hundred years.
Now, the pioneer home is empty and decaying.

grat"ion gave way to economic. Many settlers came
to· better their condition, to have their own farms,
homes, and smaJJ personal empires. Many broadsides
and-come-ons were circulated in Germany, as in other
cOtifitries.
. Most made simple preparations: "I laid in supplies for my family in Hamburg. Five pounds of coffee/one sugar loaf of eighteen pounds, one case of
r~d \vine, two flasks of conyec, eight measures of
pr~nes, mattresses, woolen blankets and tin ware.
Passage cost 33$ per adult, half price for children.
Un_der a year old, no charge.''
German settlers came early from Pomerania,
_]3a:_VUria, Luxembourg, Baden, Saxony, and other
~i·e~s. Many settled in Milwaukee but a flood of settl~rne,nt swept over the prairie and forested lands in
ci\'iiu~esha, Jefferson, Washington, Dodge, and Ozauas well as in Dane, Sauk, Buffalo, Mani'to"'oe, and Sheboygan counties. Whole families
w,grk,ed hard in the fields and woods, grubbing out
r~~ts and stumps.
c';j;;,:The foreign settlers were often tine craftsmen,
~a_!'ticularly in iron and wood, and many examples
{roP,, earlier days when home crafts were widely
:~~·a:cticed can be found in Wisconsin farm homes

~~:~;~:?~nties,

to,~ay.

':£/";!J:'he Scotch spread into every county. Although
in number, they had strong community influ~/!£e. The Muir family, for example, settled in Mar.9.qette County. John Muir, the son, became interna.
,tio!Jaliy famous as a naturalist.
"; ' Hard work, thrift, and pride in land were the

'.!.•?Yer

~~;i:stones.

Afro-Americans had a definite part in the ethnic
settlement of the state. Moses Stanton founded the
Town of Chilton in 1845; an Afro-American named
Jackson helped to establish the Town of Freedom in
Outagamie County" Very little has been written
about the role of Afro-Americans in Wisconsin, but

~,;_:Jhe

Welsh arrived usually as separate families,
t~o.ugh they soon sought others of their nationality.
l'lettlements of Welsh appeared in the southwest, to
ll!ine lead at first, then to farm. In Waukesha, Ra-

10

cine, Winnebago, Columbia, Fond du Lac, Marquette,
La Crosse, and Monroe there were Welsh settlements.
Good farmers, they brought a spirit of culture to the
countryside in song and poetry. Sturdy Cornishmen
also came to mine lead and stayed to farm.
Early Green County had 364 Swiss. They became the beginning of the famed New Glarus colony
founded by immigrants from Canton Glarus. Like
the Norwegians, Swiss have kept alive many of their
native traditions, and the Swiss country is today one
of the showplaces of Wisconsin.
Wisconsin agriculture owes much to the thrifty
and hard-working Norwegians who transformed
rough lands into excellent farms. Early Norse settlers who demanded "woods and hills" were sometimes dismayed to find that the area to which they
came had only "hills and woods."
The first three Norwegians to emigrate crossed
the Atlantic in a small sloop loaded with fish. The
"sloop" folk, as they were called, settled in New York
State and wrote letters to the old country that
brought others. From a settlement in Illinois, they
percolated into Wisconsin. Norwegians pioneered
heavily in Rock County, one of the first being Ole
Nattstad in 1830. The Muskego settlement in Waukesha County was started the following year, and
the famous Koshkonong settlement in Dane County
in 1840. A Vernon County group settled between the
Kickapoo Valley and the Mississippi River. There
are now settlements of Norwegians in every Wisconsin county.

11

black pioneers in search of land, freedom, and education worked with their Euro-American neighbors to
establish communities. The Afro-American communities of Cheyenne Valley, located in the Town of
Forest in Vernon County, and Pleasant Ridge, located in the Town of Beetown, Grant County, were the
largest early settlements of black farmers in single
towns in the state.

BREAKING PRAIRIE
They spread slowly across the Wisconsin land,
on foot, in wagons, on horseback, or, later, on railroad trains.
Early settlers remarked on the beauty of the
prairies: "We struck the prairie which was to me a
beautiful sight. We could see a grass plot for four
or five miles, not a tree or bush on it. Then again as
we passed on we could see the orchards, the wild
fruits. The grass was up to our horses' mouths, and
they would nip it as we rode." In some places the
prairies appeared to be like cultivated fields. Travelers frequently looked for a human dwelling, not
realizing that there was none for fifteen or twenty
miles.
Settlers found that the prairie produced remarkable plants. The following description appeared in
a written history of Iowa County:

Many bachelors came to farm in Wisconsin. Sometimes there
was a woman, often not It was sourdough and beans.

except that the flowers and seeds are much smaller; the largest one I saw was about four inches in diameter, exclusive of
the surrounding yellow leaves. The stem of this plant rises
to the height of five or six feet, and, when broken in any part,
it exudes a white resinous fluid, which, on being exposed to
the atmosphere, acquires a gummy consistency, and tastes
and smells of resin. But the strange peculiarity of the plant
is that its leaves invariably point north and south. In the
writings of Dr. Atwater, who has visited some parts of this
country, I remember that he has noticed this flower, remarked
its peculiarities and has given its botanical name as belonging
to the heianthus tribe. The leaves are very large and firm
and stiff, those nearest the root are largest, some of them
about eighteen inches long and about one foot wide, pahnated
and deeply indented. From the root, the leaves start out from
the stem, on two sides only, at irregular distances, yet gener~
ally opposite each other, and these leaves invariably have a
north·-and-south direction. It is called the compass plant, for
the Indians, in absence of trees on the vast prairies, could at
all times find a guide in the leaves of the prairie sunflower;
and its resinous qualities might render it a good substitute
for pine knots in giving light. Horses and cattle eat this
plant with avidity, bite at it in traveling over the prairie and
seek it out from amidst the hay in the stable. It is remarkable that the wild ·indigo always accompanies this plant.
"A remarkable and beautiful feature in the decorations
of the prairies is that the summer flowers, after having for
a season displayed their gorgeous variety, and turned up
their faces to receive the glowing beams of the sun, as soon
as autumn puts on hel' sober brown, and the airs of heaven
breathe more mildly, droop, die, and instantly give place to
a new galaxy of fine and beautiful flowers; particularly all
the varieties of the chrysanthemum, and a splendid drooping
bush of flowers that looks as if it was covered with snow
flakes. The autumn flowers are more delicate and less flaring
than those of summer."

An early traveler, speaking of the verdure of the Wiscon~
sin prairies, describes the flowering plants that decorated the
surface: "The flowers of the prairies are various and beauti~
fuL The blue, yellow, white and purple chrysanthemum are
common; a yellow flower, waving and drooping like an ostrich
feather, is also generally found. Some varieties resembling
the prince's feather are common; delicate snow-drops, violets
and diamond sparks that 'love the ground,' form the carpet,
whence springs the plumed stem of many colors, intermingled
with the 'masonic' or mineral plant, and the compass or resin
plant, or the prairie sunflower. The mineral plant bears a
bluish~purple flower, and is remarkable for the qualities attributed to its growth by the miners" It is said to indicate
the presence of mineral. It sometimes spreads in spots over
a large surface of ground, obscuring all but the grass beneath
it; here the miners will dig with almost a certainty of strik~
ing on a lead mine. Sometimes the range of a flower's growth
is in the shape of a straight or curved or an irregular line,
indicating the range of the crevice mineral in the strata beneath; these indications are believed in, and relied upon by
many of the miners. If this be true, and the plant actually
points out the location of the mineral {galena), then, as I
have observed, no one can say where mineral cannot be found,
for this flowering plant is the most common in the country,
and yet, as its growth on different parts of the prairie is so
irregular in quantity and in direction, there may be something
in the peculiarity of soil covering mineral which produces this
plant; it is called by the miners 'masonic,' perhaps, in derision, for it discloses the secret of the mine.
"The rosin or turpentine weed, or compass plant, de~
serves some notice. I have ·called it the prairie sunflower,
from the mere resemblance to the flower, so called, with us,

Much of Kenosha and Racine counties were
prairie lands; Walworth had Elkhorn Prairie; Rock
Prairie in Rock County was one of the largest and
most beautiful of Wisconsin prairie lands, and in
Rock also were other smaller prairies ; west of Green
County was the "big prairie" which began near the
Mississippi, followed the "military ridge" eastward
toward Madison, and extended in central parts into
12

Grant County and into Lafayette. From Madison
there were prairie lands to the north and east, high
prairie in Columbia County and in northern Dane,
and prairies that eventually acquired distinctive
names; Sun Prairie, Spring Prairie, Bonnet Prairie 1
Welsh Prairie, Empire Prairie, Arlington Prairie.
The prairies of southern Wisconsin had both dry
land and marshes or swales with low ground and wetness and hardwood trees--maple, oak~ walnut, linden,
hickory. Fires burned the prairies over and killed
much small tree growth and left the tough oaks,
often in clumps or small woodlands. All around and
between, the land opened and farms could be made.
Sometimes there were hardly any trees upon the
prairies, and here the early farms were made easily
and quickly. Crops were grown in a first year, or
when a little land could be broken.
J. Milton May, Esq., of Janesville, wrote about
the hazards of breaking sod in 1851:

The work of breaking prairie is very justly considered
of the first importance by the settler in a prairie country.
Indeed it is not uncommon to find a quarter or a half section
of land, broken and sown with fall or winter wheat, which
has attained a thl'ifty growth before it is enclosed,

Necessity, and a prudent forecast on the pa-rt of the
pioneer, indicate the importance of growing a crop as early
as possible, for with his grounds broken and sown, the long
winter will afford ample time to procure his fencing materials, even through his timbered land is a half dozen of miles
distant from the farm he is making; and the following season
finds a field well enclosed, with the appearance of having been
under cultivation a half century.
In the early settlements of the prairie country the obstacles in the way of rapidly and easilY breaking prairie were
somewhat numerous and formidable. Some of the principal
ones may be mentioned. -First, the tenacity and strength of
the prairie sward, arising from the ten thousand wire~like
fibrous roots, interlaced and inter·woven in every conceivable
manner. -Second, the red root, so called. This js a large
bulbous mass of wood or root, gnarled and hard, very much
resembling cherry timbe1· in color and density. When in a
live state, it sends up annually a twig or shoot similar to the
willow, which is destroyed by the prairie fires, so that no
tree or shrub is formed, while the root continues to grow 1
and attains a diameter of six, eight, and sometimes twelve
inches. These roots are found usually in a given neighborhood, while other sections of country an entirely free from
them. -Third, in locations where recent improvements prescribe limits to the annual burning of the prairie and in the
neighborhood of the groves, hazel bushes spring up, forming
a thicket that are called ''hazel roughs" by those who break
prairie.

In the new land it was human strength and the cradle in the harvest. The cradler might cut three acres a day.

-Formerly, to overcome these obstacles and make any considerable progress in the work of "breaking," four or six
yoke>of oxen and two men were necessary, but ingenuity and
ent€.I-prise have wrought a great change in the important de~
partment of labor. Instead of the heavy, uncouth, and un~
~8.nageable wooden ploughs, with iron or steel points, forID:e~ly_ used, various kinds of improved breaking ploughs are
b;rOUght into requisition, reducing the cost of breaking by
_one~third or one~half the former price.
' The months of May and June are the best for breaking
i)r8.Jiie; and should the amount of work to be done be insuffide'nt to require these entire months, the time intervening
_ffO~ -the twentieth of May to the twentieth of June, without
d_~\ibt is the most appropriate, although many persons commence earlier, and continue later, than the time here indicated.
Frequently a crop of corn is raised on the sod by "chop~
plng')n" the seed corn with a sharp hoe or axe, or by drop-pi:p.'g'the seed along the edge of the third or fourth furrow,
~p~_--ti~€n covering it by the succeeding one, and often ten to
tw~n_ty bushels per acre is raised in this manner.
'The di-sparity in time and expense of "~making a farm,''
viJy timbered country, or on a well chosen prairie, is
~han would at first seem apparent. True it is, that
us, have listened with delight to the "loud sounding
with "redoubling strokes on strokes" the forest denire la1d low with a crash that was right musical, as
' '~verberated amongst the hills; -but consider then
g and clearing off the timber, at a cost of from five
dollars per acre, with the stumps remaining, as a
of hard labor, for a quarter of a century- con:~S:S_.t~d 'with two to three dollars per acre for breaking prairie,
, - ,· ~~ as free from obstructions as though cultivated an
e~l- years, and which suffers by the comparison?

which some hickory pegs had been driven. Some
farmers dragged treetops over plowed land to smooth
it for planting. Sowing was done by hand, broadcast,
and many early farmers were highly skilled at throwing the seed evenly. Hoe and spade were made at
home, or by nearby blacksmith. Hay was cut with a
scythe and grain with a cradle-a broad blade with a
series of curved wooden fingers above. This heavy
instrument took strong men to swing it. Rakes were
made of wood, and workers were skilled in tying bundles of grain with straw hands.
But the most essential tool of the Wisconsin
pioneers was the plow. A good plow was hard to find.
Thomas Jefferson, who wrote descriptions of
the ideal plow in 1788, made excellent experimental
plows with moldboards that would turn over the
soiL The first patent granted in America on a plow
was in 1797 to Charles Newbold of Burlington, N.J.
Farmers didn't take to his plow, claiming that the
cast iron poisoned the soil and encouraged the growth
of weeds. John Deere, a blacksmith, built a plow
moldboard of old saws. His plows were successful in
1837. The greatest invention in plows was the "soft
steel" method of making plow moldboards so that
the steel would not warp when curved to make the
earth-scouring surface. These were patented by John
Lane in 1868. Sulky or riding plows were first patented in 1844. Until 1877 patents were issued on improvements in the riding plow. During this period,
gang plows were introduced, which eventually led to
the steam plow, used on larger farms.

.. :~:O~~rrri implements used by Wisconsin pioneer
f.anpers were crude and clumsy. Harrows were likely ,fo be little more than poles fastened together into
15
14

logs were piled in the fireplace" To protect the crumbling
back wall against the heat, two backlogs, one on top of the
other, were placed against it.
For a chimney, any contrivance that would carry up the
smoke would do. They were usually constructed of clay and
sticks. Imagine a cold winter's night when the storm of wind
and snow was raging without, the huge fire blazing within,
and the family sitting around! It might be cozy enough if
the cold was not too intense; and, in reality, before those fireplaces there was often something of cheer, as the farmer sat
smoking-if he had any tobacco; and the wife knitting-if
she had any yarn and needles.
For a door to his log cabin the settler contrived the most
simple barrier that would serve the purpose. Before a door
could be made, a blanket often did duty in guarding the entrance. But, as soon as convenient, some boards were split
out and put together, hung upon wooden hinges, and held
shut by a wooden pin inserted in an auger-hole.
In regard to the furniture of the pioneer's cabin, it varied
in proportion to the ingenuity of the occupants. It was easy
enough to improvise tables and chairs; the former could be
made of split logs; the latter were designed after the threelegged stool pattern, or benches served their purpose. A bedstead was a very important item in the domestic comfort of
the family, and the fashion of improvising one was as follows:
A forked stake was driven into the ground diagonally
from the corner of the room) and at a proper distance, upon
which poles reaching from each side of the cabin were laid.
The wall ends of the poles were either driven into auger-holes
or rested in the openings between the logs. Bark or boards

Local blacksmiths in Wisconsin made many of
the plows used by early settlers. A smith who could
make a good plow made money and was busy all the
time. Sturdy plows were required to penetrate the
stubborn prairie sod.
Green County history relates that
the first important business of the pioneer settler, upon his
arrival, was to build a house. Until this was done, some had
to camp on the ground or live in their wagons--perhaps the
only shelter they had known for weeks. So the prospects for
a house, which was also to be a home, ..vas one that gave
courage to the rough toil and added a zest to the heavy labors.
The style of the home entered very little into their thoughtsit was shelter they wanted and protection from stress of
weather and wearing exposures. The poor settler had neither
the money nor the mechanical appliances for building himself
a house. He was content, in most instances, to have a mere
cabin or hut. This was made of round logs light enough for
two or three men to lay up. The house would generally be
about fourteen feet square-perhaps a little larger or smaller
-roofed with bark or clapboard, and floored with puncheons
(logs split once in two and the fiat side laid up). For a fireplace, a wall of stones and earth was made in the best practicable shape for the purpose, in an opening in one end of the
building, extending outward, and planked on the outside by
bolts of wood notched together to stay it. Sometimes a fireplace of this kind was made so large as to occupy nearly the
whole width of the house. In cold weather when a great deal
of wood was needed to keep the proper warmth inside, large

were used as a substitute for cords. Upon this, the wife
spread her straw tick, and if she had a homemade feather
bed, she piled it up into a luxurious mound and covered it
with her sheets and quilts. Sometimes sheets were hung
against the wall at the head and side of the bed, which added
much to the coziness of this pioneer bedroom. The sleeping
arrangement was generally called a "prairie bedstead."
If the settler arrived in· the early !Jart of the season and
had not time to plant, or had no fields prepared, he could, at
least, have a truck-patch, where a little corn) a few potatoes
and turnips, and some other vegetables were put in the
ground. Of course this was only to make his small supply,
which he had brought with him, reach as far as possible. His
meager stores consisted of flour, bacon, tea, and coffee. But
these supplies would frequently be exhausted before a regular crop of wheat or corn could be raised, and game being
plentiful helped to eke them out, But when the corn was
raiSed, it was not easily prepared fo1, the table. The mills for
grinding were at such distances away that every other device
was resorted to for making meal.
Some grated it on an implement made by punching small
holes through a piece of tin or sheet iron and fastening it
upon a board in concave shape, with the rough side out.
Upon this the ear was rubbed to produce the meal. But grating _could not be done when the corn became so dry as to shell
off when rubbed.

16

17

While most of the earliest settlers built houses
of logs, later and more affluent arrivals offered diversity. The settlers who had left behind good houses
usually built good houses in Wisconsin as soon as
possible. These dwellings might have sawn lumber,
glass, smoothed floorboards, and mortar neatly pointed. Lumber was outained from small nearby mills;
mill sites were in great demand, and establishing
sawmills had top priority, since the demand for sawn
lumber was so great. Oak, basswood, elm, maple, and
walnut were favored in southern Wisconsin. Soon,
however, pine lumber was available from Sheboygan
and Manitowoc counties.
Some of the Wisconsin farmhouses were even
pretentious, with brick shipped up the Mississippi to
Prairie du Chien and by wagon overland to the home
location. Other enterprising settlers built their
houses of stone, or at times of stove wood, laid up
and mortared. When "Cream City brick" became
popular, many farm homes were built of that distinctive brick made in Milwaukee.
Settlers often tried to make their Wisconsin

homes resemble their former ones. Because of the
great number of New England and New York farmers settling in VVisconsin, n1any hon1es had an eastern look, with Greek-revival design perhaps and
white columns, set back in the hills.
Dooryard trees were very important to the settlers. They planted trees, often obtained from the
woods, in front of houses for shade or for protection
from winds. Sometimes a tree would be planted to
commemorate the birth of a child or the death of a
beloved member of the family. Trees were sometimes planted to mark the graves of favorite horses
A tombstone with this inscription, found between
Oshkosh and Fond du Lac, suggests how important
horses were to the farm family:

OF WHEAT THE GOLDEN,
AND THE NEW MACHINES

Here lies Tom and Bill
They done their duty with a will
also
Doll and Kate
As true and faithful
As their mates.

So much has happened to our fa·rm through the years,
l guess they tried uwst every kind of crop that would

Old dooryard t-rees or at times ·ve'rY gna.'tled Wac

bashes, lJlooming sNll after a, luouh·ed yeaTs of -~veathe'f,
add
of 1nemm·y tn aged farmhouses in Wisco·nsin.
behind a. lcuge barN pe·rhaps theTe ·is a small
lo.Q cabi·n, now a, hen house or a. hog hmtse, or a. stora.ge
place; once people lived there, childre·n we·re bo·rrl the-re.
G1·eat-grlLndja.the1·'s cabi·n stiU sta-nds at O'U1' fann. Every
ax rnark symboUzes to us a. mark of hope, {o1· hope is
1chat nur ancestors brought with them.

Homes like those in New England or New York could be seen,
sometimes built by the more prosperous. The houses were big,
to accommodate big families.

where almost anybody could afford to own land made
labor-saving implements a necessity, even though
families were large. Nearly every small city, town,
even crossroads in Wisconsin had its inventor, hoping to make a machine to save farm labor. Fanning
mills, threshing machines, corn shellers, corn grinders, hay cutters, portable mills, and plows--all were
in high demand.
( John Muir was a farm boy and inventor, and
later a world-famous naturalist, from central Wisconsin. At the Wisconsin State Fair in Madison in
1860, Muir exhibited two unique clocks that had been
invented in the cellar of his father's farm home near
Portage. A whole spirit of inventiveness was rampant in Wisconsin. Muir's competed with many other
inventions: false teeth, special coffeepots, obstetrical
chair, combined rifle and shotgun, hundreds of new
farming devices. )
Wisconsin settlement coincided with the invention and development of harvesting machines. Until
the 1830s, harvesting methods were almost as primitive as in the time of biblical Ruth and Boaz.

{Jruw in our part of the state. Some years they did well,
OtheTS not. GTeat-grandjather 1oas always trying for
Something new, some gHat neu_J idea. I suppose he knew
tha·t he'd 11ever be rich, but I did hear my grandfather say,
i6h'en I was little, that gr·eat-grandfather dreamed of ma·Chiiif::s that would get the u;ork done faster. He wanted
n~ere )ime to read, he said, and see things he never had
s_e~n:- But he neveT got that much tinte -when he could go
tilb'a'y for ver'Y long. He was a fanne1'; he farmed our
!Unit. When he died the jann went on in the family. I
J{~pe, it will always be that ·way. He was the kind of
lC1r?n'er who just couldn't wait for- next yea1· to try it again.

The early Wisconsin pioneers were subsistence
farmers. They had to establish a self-sufficient agriculture to provide the staples of life: wheat, rye, and
potatoes for their own food; oats, barley, and hay for
their livestock. Cattle provided milk and meat; pigs
furnished meat and fat; sheep furnished meat and
wool; chickens, ducks, and geese gave them feathers
as .well as meat and eggs.
As land was cleared and roads developed, subsistence farming gave way to farming for profit.
On~ of the first things that a settler did was to break
a.Iittle ground and plant some wheat, and by 1835
wheat as a cash crop was becoming popular in Wisconsin. The year 1860 brought the golden harvest;
hv~nty-eight million bushels of wheat were produced.
The years 1858-1859 were dry, but 1860 had plenty of
rain. The harvest was the largest ever seen in the
8 ~fcly' days of Wisconsin farming.

18

In 1834 Cyrus McCormick, then of Virginia, had
patented his reaper. It was a mowing machine with
a platform behind the cutter. One man drove, another raked off the grain. McCormick started manufacture in 1846, and turned out fifteen hundred machines in a couple of years. About one-tenth of all
McCormick reapers were sold in Wisconsin.

LABOR-SAVING INVENTIONS

In the 1830s and 1840s grain was still cut with a
cradle or scythe. Men followed the cradler to bind
the grain. Twelve men might cut and bind twelve
acres a day.

Crops were lush in good years and had to be harvested rapidly. The shortage of labor in a country

F. W. Southworth of Edgerton described the
harvest:
19

tied on farms of their own. Every able-bodied person was pressed into service at harvest time.
Threshing was sometimes done by hand with a
flail, a long handle to which a beater was attached
with leather thong. The flail method was slow. Grain
must be placed on a threshing floor and beaten until
free of the chaff, then taken to the outside where a
breeze, if there was one, carried the chaff away from
the grain. Oxen and horses were more frequently
used to trample out the grain on a threshing floor,
driven mund and round on the sheaves. The advent
of the threshing machine, first powered by horses,
then by steam, was the greatest threshing boon grain
farmers ever had.

to it. The famous Appleby knotter is still used today
on grain binders to tie bundles of grain.
F. B. Swingle, in an article reprinted in the Wisconsin Magazine of Histm'Y, told about the invention
of the twine binder:
We are quite likely to forget the inventors of the common, useful things of life-just go along and make use of them
and little note nor long remember who brought such devices
out of nowhere into here. The men who invented door knobs
or buttons or hairpins or pins an~ o_ther things that do so
much to help hold things together are not known. Their
names are not taught in school. The only way to show their
real importance would be to try to get along without these
little devices for a few days. Even the men of brains to invent bigger things than pins and needles are soon forgotten.

Primitive artists drew neat and precise pictures of houses and fields to remind people from the East how much their new
homes resembled the ones they had left.

The leader gathers up a tuft of grain:
"Don't waste a spear; they're hungry in the camps.
And Lincoln says that when the fightin's done,
We'll have to feed the Rebs; their crops are gone.
Well, mebbe so. I don't agree; but then,
Lincoln is gen'ly right. That soldier now,
We'll have more like him, likely, any day.
The Sixth was in the fightin', so they say."

Under the searing sun of harvest time,
The crad_lers keep their ancient, measured pace,
And rhythmic swing against the golden wall
Of ripened wheat; behind them, women toil
Along the swath, binding the rounded sheaves,
With practiced roll and turn of twisted grain,
To form a band; their faces resolute,
Under the deep sunbonnets.

Up where the smoke cloud hangs above the bar,
I seemed to bear a voice: "That cradle, there;
I swung it all day long, in 'sixty-three,
In blazing sun, from dawn to dusk, to earn
That four~bit piece down there upon the bar;
The price of one small drink." The whisper died;
Unheard above the juke-box's torrid blare.

Far down the field, a lonely figure bends,
Above the sheaves, and clasps them to his breast,
With one good arm, and forms them into shocks.
Then, spreading out the cap~sheaf, like a fan,
To shed the rain; the left arm, leather-e~ffed,
Above the wrist, marking the missing hand
He lost one misty morn in Shiloh's woods;
A year and more agone.

A strong man could cradle two to three acres
day, and the mighty men, the champion
could sometimes do four or more. It took
age man twenty days to cradle off fifty
grain ripened and had to be harvested. Labor
became a problem, though the immigrants
Europe could sometimes be hired before they got

The cradlers reach the turn of swath, and pause,
While whetstones rasp and ring along the blades,
And water jug is passed from hand to hand,
And sweating brows, beneath the straw hats' band,
Are mopped with red bandanas. As they stand,
They speak with grave concern of word, new-came,
Of fighting at a place called Gettysburg;
Where many men have died.

20

the simple reaper had taken the place
cradle on many Wisconsin farms and
developments to come. Inventions
desperate need for wheatemerged from the major wheatof Beloit, Janesville, and Whitewater.
man from La Grange, Wisconsin, John
believed he could invent a device that
a knot in twine and bind grain. He first
sort of bird's beak out of app!ewood and
lined it out of metal. The final work was
1leloit, after some experimenting in Mazoand McCormick ultimately purchased rights

We use the inventions and lose the men.
The men who first built threshing machines, the pioneers
who first drew loads on wheels, the old genius who started the
plan of using belts to transmit power from pulley to pulley,
all are gone and are scarcely remembered for all the good
work they did. This is the reason for the following story:
"I'm going to Chicago to find John F. Appleby," I declared to a friend one day a few years ago.
"Who is he? Didn't know that he was lost."
"Your first question proves that the people have lost him.
He is the man who made the first device that would tie a knot
in a string and who built the first twine binder in the world."
"Why haven't folks known about this before?"
''Well, up here in Wisconsin they do know about it. They
point with pride to that same little old knotter now in their

21

Historieal Museum at Madison. They can show you that same
little attic room at Beloit where he built that first twine bind~
er. John F. Appleby, though, was not a talker, He did the
trick and left it to others to talk about it"
"I should like to see him!'
"'All right. We'll try to find him."
We went to Chicago and found John F. Appleby, a stoeklly built old gentleman who might have been taken for fiftyseven if we had not known that he was seventy-seven. He
had a face which might have looked like General Grant's if
he had worn whiskers. After the first introductions and
greetings were over we saw at once why the story of this
man's work had not been shouted abroad, for he was one of
the most modest and retiring men we had ever met. When
we had surrounded him and he had settled himself in the
chair resignedly, he asked quietly, "What is it that you would
like to know?"
We told him that we should like to hear the story of his
life, particularly up to the time when he built the first twine
binder.

of the South seventy-five years before; but the invention of
a binding machine was a. tremendous task compared with the
simple cottonseed separator.

"In the early seventies harvesters were invented which
bound grain into bundles with bands of wire. We thought at
first that this invention would revolutionize the work of harvesting, and in 1874 from our little shop at Beloit we put out
an excellent type of wire binder, the planning of which had
been in my hands. One afternoon we made a successful trial
of our wire binder in the field of John Dates out on the old-·
time stage route to Madison. It worked well and we were
highly pleased at the prospect of a growing business in wire
binding building. At noon after we had unhitched and were
about to start home, we told the farmer that we would be
baek after dinne1· to make a further trial, when to our ut
dismay we were informed by him that he did not wish us
continue. He said, 'Your binder works all right, but this
will kill my stock and I don't want it in the straw.' You
imagine how glum and despondent we were during the
hour; and afterward, when we met at the shop, no o
anything to say. Finally I broke the silence and asked,
what are we going to do?'
"Said Mr. Parker, 'I'll be dashed if I will make
the farmers won't use.'
"I stood up then and said, 'I can make a twine
but they replied, 'No! We have spent money enough.'
"You might call that the end of the first chapter, but
next year complaints from farmers in counties where
binders had been used told of thousands of dollars lo
those whose cattle had been killed by the wire swallowel}~

"Yes," he said, "we built the first twine binder. My partners, Charles H. Parker and Gustavus Stone, built and sold
the :first twine binder. This was sold from our shop in Beloit,
Wisconsin, and shipped to Travis County, Texas, in May,
1878. I used on that machine the knotting device which I had
made when a hoy in 1858 at a gunsmith's shop in Walworth
County, Wisconsin."
"Won't you begin at the very beginning, Mr. Appleby?"
we entreated, for we feared that he was going to cut the story
too short.
"Well," he said, "I was bo1·n in New York in 1840. Five
years later my father brought me to Wisconsin, where we settled on a farm. As J grew older, I remember taking a great
interest in the work done at a small machine shop where
grain headers and other fa1·m machines were made by George
Esterly, \vho afterwards became a manufactu1·er of self·
binders. It was at this place that I probably developed the
desire to invent 1abqr-savingo machinery.
"The reaper had come to us then but served only to cut
the grain and leave it loose upon the field, and farmeTS must
either stack it loose or bind it into sheaves by slow, backbreaking· labor. I liked neither the slow pace nor the backbreaking proC'ess and so I began to dream of a binding machine. I dreamed of it at night and I dreamed of it during
the day, and in 1858 I made a knotter, probably the first one
ever made that would tie a knot in a cord, This knotter was
almost identical with the ones used all over the world on a
million binders this season, and that first old knotter I have
kept for many years.
"Well, the Civil War broke out and I had not made a
binder, I simply had the little device in my possession which
might some day tie a knot if it were properly applied to the
reaper. I enlisted and served throughout the war, and it was
ten years later before harvesting machinery had made much
progress. Harvest hands were still at the backbreaking proc~
ess of binding by hand. About this time the American farm~
ers began to look toward the West and to wish that those
great rolling prairies could be made to produce harvests. But
help was scarce, for the boys who went down in battle could
not be replaced, and even though more grain could be sowed,
not hands enough could be secured to harvest the grain before
it crinkled down and was spoiled. The farmers of America
needed a machine which would take the place in the grain
fields that Whitney's cotton gin had taken in the cotton fields

.1.

trl· .,,
~
'
;
)
~.. GJ . ~~i:-Jl
.. .dl;,
-~

:.''...; .

~

o-t'

-~

1. Egyptian-1500 B.C.

THRESHING AND CLEANING GRAIN
5. Flail Threshing Machine
6. U.S. Patent, Horse Power, A.D. 1834
7. U.R Patent, Steam Power, AD. 1883

2. Roman Tribu/um-100 RC.
3. Hand Flail
4. Horse Threshing

22
23

J

I

is Appleby,' he would ask, 'and what is he doing?' One day
he went up to the attic to see for himself. My first model
lay on the floor covered with dust. He came downstairs and
declared, 'Appleby hasn't done a thing.' However, my new
machine had just been placed in the polishing room-the bind-

Shocking grain was an art.

er was done.
"This first machine was tried out at Beloit in Parker and
Stone's rye field, and, as eye witnesses declared, worked perfectly and cunningly, not missing a bundle. I promised my
partners to make three more that year, and the war was on
between wire and twine as a material for grain bands, The
next year we made one hundred and fifteen of the twine binders, and threshermen who threshed the grain harvested by
these first machines sent us voluntary statements recommending the work done by the Appleby binder.
"The larger harvester companies began to investigate.
Gammon and Deering sent experts into the grain fields
Texas and other states to watch and report to them of
success of this Appleby twine binder, with the result that
wire binders soon were driven from the field, and in 1879
firm began to manufacture twine binders under a
granted by our firm. Many of these early twine bin1
splendid records which prove their durability, and
manufacturers of wire binders declared that the cricl
eat off the bands, the twine users were triumphant
four years manufacturers all necessarily turned to
Wisconsin firm for the right to build twine binders
wanted thousands of harvesters, and it was now plain
they would want those that used twine, not wire. There
some difficulty in securing good mat~rial for the
the necessary small, smooth, strong grade of twine,
Ham Deering gave his personal attention to the task
company bad secured of us the right to manufacture

with the straw. Explosions in flour mills were also caused by
the pieces of wire in friction with machinery. These conditions opened our eyes; finally Mr. Parker and Mr. Stone
agreed to aid me financially in the building of a twine binder,
and I had the working parts in order within two months.
This was the first complete model of a twine binder that ever
tied a knot. The knotter was the same old bird-bill type that
I had made when a boy in the little shop back in Heart
Prairie. But still the task remained of mounting the binder
in such a manner as to take the cut grain and bind it by the
use of power applied from the wheels of the harvester. This
took more thinking and planning than the making of the
knotter itself. I hit upon the U frame, planned elevators to
carry the grain to the binder, packers to keep the bundle in
shape, and a butter to form the sQJ.lare base of the bundle.
The needle was so shaped as to compress the bundle before
tying. The tripping device gauged the size of the sheaf, and
all parts received power from one gear wheel. This took a
tremendous deal of planning, but after I had seen the needs
of the entire scheme I set myself to carrying them out, and
little real change has been made to this day except in the
way of small improvements.
"I took the model up into the garret above the shop and
worked alone for 1nonths. One of the members of the firm
grew impatient and naturally wanted to see results, 'Where

using machines.
"You boys may be interested to know that the first
right was granted to Hoover, Allen, and Gamble of the
sior Harvester Works at Miamisburg, Ohio, Mr. Deerii
ing previously recommended the Appleby binder to
Then we built one each for several other firms and
licenses to manufacture under a royalty of six dollars on
machine. The next year, 1882, the McConnicks paid us
five thousand dollars for the right to manufacture twir
ers. We finally sold out our entire plant to one of the
firms and laid the foundations of what later grew to
International Harvester Company. I worked for the D
for many years, but upon the consolidation of the
firms I concluded that my work was done and retired
the harvest field.
"You may be interested in our cotton picker which I
been working on, but that, of course, is another story."
We thanked John F. Appleby, left his office, and left
cago, my friend jubilant at having heard these facts
the lips of one of the most wonderful men in all that
busy city.
"Wasn't that a good story'?" I asked him.
"One of the best stories in America," he vowed,
out of the car window at the binders working in
along the way. "Are all these harvesters using
, knotter?"
"Every binder in the world,"
ever made a better one.''
On another visit I persuaded Mr. Appleby to give
first little old knotter to the Wisconsin State Historical
seum at Madison, and there it is today.
Mr. Appleby died at Chicago, November 8, 1917.

The most famous manufacturer of threshing
machines in Wisconsin was Jerome Increase Case.
Originally from New York State, he had inventive
genius and went from farm to farm in pioneer Wisconsin with a "groundhog thresher." This machine
was an open-spiked cylinder held in a frame and
turned by a crank. Grain bundles held against the
cylinder would be stripped from the stalks. It was
a faster device for threshing than the old flail, but
there was still the job of separating the wheat from
the chaff,
Case worked hard on this problem: a machine
that would both thresh and separate the wheat. He
had help from Richard Ela who had manufactured
;·;faiming mills" in Rochester, Wisconsin. Inventors
m. other parts of the country were also working toward a real "threshing machine," but in the spring
of 1844 Case was ready with his thresher, He demonstrated the machine in a field near Rochester (the
s'ame settlement where Edwin Bottomley had his
farm). The crowd gathered to scoff but stayed to
~·arvel at a machine threshing and separating the
chaff,. Horses on a treadmill furnished the power.
Case started the J, L Case Threshing Machine Works
at Racine. The early threshing machines sold for
about three hundred dollars. (The Case symbol, an
eagle digging its claws into a globe, came from Old
Abe, the famous Wisconsin Civil War eagle, which
Case once saw.)
, , Horses walking in a circle supplied power for
later threshers. The power was usually transmitted
by a whirling, long rod to the machine.
The steam engines that first furnished the mechanical power for threshing did not really get start_ed in the grain areas until 1849. Engines that moved
u~der their own power came later. At first they had
·-~?~pparatus to steer. Until about 1880 horses pulled
tll,§ engines to the right or left. When the steering
prQ\>lefll was finally solved and the great steam eni\qei moved under their own power and could pull
loafls, or agricultural implements, the day of the
·~t!)_reshing rig"-separator pulled by a steam engine
""0~.me into wide use. The romantic era of steam
thr,esl)ing dawned. Case made engines and later,
fiactors,
,_:.,.The combine, a great machine that cut and also
t(l5eshed the grain, was developed as early as 1836
~:IJ:.~. Michigan inventor. The machine was drawn by
tw,ellty or more horses and had its greatest reception
l_a~~~ in California. When gasoline-powered engines
\y,er:~ developed, Charles Hart and Charles Parr, engip.~ermg classmates at the University of Wisconsin,
m~de the Hart-Parr engine, thought to be the first
s~_ccessful traction engine powered by gas. Parr was
from Wyoming, Wisconsin, near Spring Green.

Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the reaper.

The Allis-Chalmers Company, started by W. P.
Allis of Milwaukee, came into the engine, tractor,
pump field in 1901. Many other tractor companies
entered the business and many varieties of gasolinepowered tractors were available; but the romantic
old "steam engine," which hove slowly into sight
pulling the threshing separator, followed by the crew
of threshers, will never be forgotten.
By 1860, many flour mills had been built in Wisconsin wherever there was water power. Some of the
creeks that then furnished water power are now
dried up. Even such small streams could be used by
millwrights building large water wheels. The slowmoving wheels could be geared so that the speed of
machinery inside the mill was very rapid. Nearly all
early grist mills were driven by water. Only one, at
Prairie du Chien, had a horsepower-driven milL
Flour mills and grist mills were a vital part of
the early days of farming. Millsites were largely
controlled by the government. If a settler did not
build a mill he had to sell the site to someone else.
The number of millsites increased from 117 in 1849
to more than 700 in 1879, largely because of wheat
growing. When the wheat growing declined, so did
the number of country mills.
25

24

Women really did help in the wheat fields.

and grass delays long in the spring. But after grass comes,
it is unbelievable how quickly the cattle recover and become

huddle, humped and shivering, all winter on
-.i.:·-;;;.<J,.amovd side of house or granary, or in clumps of

fat.

brush or trees. The German was willing
his log house longer, if necessary, so he
.could· afford to construct adequate barns and sheds.
As Christian Frogatt Ficker observed,

Today flour mills use rollers to grind grain, but
the early methods used millstones or buhrstones.
Cadwallader C. Washburn of La Crosse pioneered in
machinery for the refinement of flour.
The ravages of insects and depletion of the soil
were two main reasons that Wisconsin farmers eventually discontinued wheat growing. By 1856 chinch
bugs had ruined wheat crops in the Watertown district and in Walworth County. On July 29, 1864, the
Milwaukee Sentinel reported, "Yesterday evening
the lakeshore was covered with Chinch Bugs. They
swarmed upon the beach to depth of three or four
inches. The stench was intolerable." The bugs also
decimated crops throughout the state in 1879-1880.
Although Milwaukee was still producing two million barrels of flour in 1892, by 1918 it was producing
almost none. By then the milling centers had shifted
to Minneapolis and the west.
Great-grandjathe1· wa.s a wheat janneL That's aU
he knew. He 'Wasn't especially itJ.terested in cattle, didn't
thi11..k there were any cows -wod}~ anything, except a beast
that cO'llld give a littl.e rnilk when it ·zoas needed. He was
a grain faTmer. Wheat to hi1n was the golden crop. And
for sonte years his people had done wen with wheat in
New York Then the soil gave out and 'lVOuldn't grow
wheat any longeL I doubt that {}?<eat-grandfather ever
understood that they Jmd W01'tl· the soil out. It just wasn't

any good any longer, so he wanted to leave. The stuff he
brought with hirn to Wisconsin was wheat-fanneT stuff:

a heavy old plo-n.1 wit-h an iro-n point; a heavy gTain
a b,ucket. he strapped o·n u'hen he was sowing 'll.:heat.
have the c1·a.dle and the bHcket still. The-y a1'C 1Jart of
farm musewm collection. When the change carne in
cons·in, and. tattle became so much nw-re intpMtant,
g1·andjather didn't know quite tohat wax happening.

LIVESTOCK

Some former wheat farmers started growing
sheep, since, during and after the Civil War, cotton
from the South was not getting to northern markets.
When the land was overly cropped for wheat and
diminished in fertility, the settlers soon learned the
value of crop rotation and, as they had in Europe,
continued to use manure on the land. Animals helped
to restore the value of Wisconsin farms.
A settler said, "I must say that I like to plow
under unrotted straw manure in the spring for corn
or Hungarian grass on clayey soil. It seems to be all
saved and its mechanical effect in loosening the soil
as it rots is excellent. A German friend gave my
views pretty well: 'When I blows dat manures undter
dem furrows, I'fe got him dere efery dimes. He can't
get avay no more for efer. Und den dot corn schmells
dot manure all summer long and grows like vot you
nefer saw before, already.' "

If. there are plenty of beechnuts and acorns, the hogs
lll()St'y -run around in the woods and become pretty fat upon
th~'e~il_u1st. At night they come to the house, are given some
fOod, sleep in the open, and in the morning go again to their
n~cUstomed feeding ground. Cattle do the same; still it often
happens that they remain away and the farmer must seek
them sometimes for several hours in wild, uncultivated regions.
That·is of eourse a very bad business. In order that the cattle
ill_~Y 'be easier to find, some cows or oxen are generally provided With bells which ring strong and are heard at great dis""' fan·ce· When the cows come home in the evening, they are
u~_Uidly milked in front of the house i~ the road where they

:f

y k es wore the .larial*. .r.·.e. .·.'.-.f!-.•.·i·v· •. some food. Then they lie down m the road and expect
The York Staters and the an e
hlSi· a b1t.of bread or handful of salt.
out first. Discouraged with lean years a~d droug
,Ficker took a pessimistic view of livestock in
many of them left Wisconsin for the Cahforma go'!~i pi_oneer Wisconsin.
h or for other points west. The Germans an~~ ·.t ~>-/\lJ of this livestock up to the present has been very badrus
E
ans who took up the Yankee lands C0Pi: l~}:ared for in Wisconsin for which reason, for example, the
other urope chards and livestock. Most impQ~~ _c.o,_~·S~here are not nearly as productive as those in Germany.
centra ted on or
to the land.
~\. O,?!r·a, few, and this is particularly true in newly settled
tant, they restored manure
h " 8 of farnf'~ 1:~-~~o~1.~, have stables. Most have either none at all or only
The German not only u?ed the ea..p . ,
ri~: ;~~e_.,_~_i_,1siest, and cattle must accordingly take care of themard fertilizer existing on hls newly. ac.quned P ~ )~lyes. summer and winter in the open as well as they can
y
but he also conserved all that h1s livestock PI:.~i'f ~.~~h _:. st:raw, leaves, even wood. It is surprising to see how
erty,
tl 'f not too distant from town g~~ c.~~tle:~_·bite and chew severed limbs of the linden or sugar
duced. Frequen y, 1 •
d'ty of which liver~.~ ·:n.f~l.e_~as thick as one's thumb. If they hear anyone chopping
village, he purchased a comma. 1
rs of co~'<#:_ m_\the woods, they come running up the distance of an Engmen stockyard keepers, and prl~ate owne
fd~. li_s,P._}nile and await eagerly the moment that the tree falls,
or h~rses were anxious to be relieved. The manu ,:~·~-~~--~-;hey greedily attack it. One cannot be too careful about
f fertilizer was a prime reason that the Eu~~ ~a.V;l,~_g a tree fall on one or another of the animals, which
ture 0
l d his livestock. Another was li,f''~:-~!~.e.n,_enough happens. Also, even if they are kept in warm
pean settler stab e
. . l uch care Not .J!r_ ~ta)ls,. which· in this neighborhood is usually the case, they
fixed habit of affording anima s 8 h
. o~ity tri,J· t?;t:~ye-.very little hay but mostly eat straw since good, proGermans built barns at once, but t e rna~ nkee a~; ~;lf-~:tn:e meadows suitable for large herds are still wanting.
to rovide warm sheds at least, whereas a . ri:lr·;~~~)he cattle, therefore, become very poor during the winpth
t ner alike were prone to allow thmr a~ er anyone can understand, particularly if the winter is long
sou wes er

;I .....

26

ROADS AND RAILROADS
Although the transplanted wheat growers could
break land and grow crops, getting grain to any kind
of market was very difficult. Roads were a severe
problem. Travel in general was difficult in an undeveloped country, and the vague new roads and trails
became almost impassable in wet weather. It was
even hard for the farmers to visit neighbors.
Later, roads began to improve a little and some
plank roads were constructed. The planks kept the
wagons out of the deep mud, but the rough wooden
slabs wouldn't stay in place, and water oozed up to
make the surfaces slippery and dangerous. In winter, of course, travel was easier. The marshes were
frozen over, logs could be taken to the sawmills, and
27

supplies were often hauled on sleighs from Illinois.
( It was the railroads that revolutionized farming
in Wisconsin:'\ They gave a strong impulse to wheat
growing in so'utheastern counties. Towns were built
along the railroads; farm sites near railroads or
where rumor said railroads would be were desirable
for getting grain to market. Often farmers invested
in railroads, to their sorrow.
(
George Wallace Jones, Territorial Delegate to
1congress from Wisconsin in 1837, presented to Congress a petition from the tiny village of Sinipee in
Grant County, to build a railroad from Milwaukee
through Sinipee to San Francisco. (Congress thought\
it was the joke of the year. The next year, however,
Jones got an appropriation for two thousand dollars
to make a survey from Milwaukee to Dubuque. The
first railroad was actually built in 1847, the Milwau..
( kee and Mississippi. Train service began in 1851. I
The opening of the first railroad in eastern Wisconsin meant that the products of farms and sawmills had prospective outlets, and thus began the
real era of Wisconsin agricultural expansion. The
first railroad, from Milwaukee to Waukesha, was
about twenty miles long, as was the second one, from

Fond du Lac to East Waupun, then called Chester.
The Waukesha road was the first link in rail to the
Mississippi; the second was the beginning of rail
from the Fox Valley to Chicago. The first railroad
engine was hauled from Sheboygan to Fond du Lac
over a plank road, by ox teams. It was slow going.
The plank road was narrow and rough. The passage
of the locomotive ruined it for good.
The hundred million bushels of wheat that Wisconsin farmers contributed during the Civil War
were shipped by rail to Milwaukee and thence by Jake
boat. Much wheat was also shipped via the Mississippi River.
As the railroads expanded, charged higher
and controlled more and more of the business of
country, the rural population grew highly suspic
of the railroad men: "The people bow as slaves
railroad companies! We have the roads and
them; our money built them; nine-tenths of
ple are ready to ... mob them into decency.
settlers who had willingly invested in the
railroads mortgaged their farms to do so.
times came many Wisconsin farmers lost their
Wisconsin farmers in the 1860s and 1870s
the victims of railroad monopoly. The railroads
trolled steamboat traffic on the upper
and steamboat and railway men met to set rates
they pleased. Farmers along the Mississippi and
the interior of Wisconsin saw the railroads
their profits. They attended an antimonopc
vention in St. Paul in 1866. Some rate
were achieved.
William R. Taylor--Democrat, Dane
farmer, and member of the Grange-was
governor in 1873, on a platform of railroad
The Potter Law was passed to regulate the
but soon fell into litigation and was repealed in
The railroads remained in control.
The Greenback Movement, which sought an
panded currency, included many farmers who
lieved that a new currency would enhance the
of farm products. Source of the movement
Greenback used during the Civil War, the
which was about forty cents on the dollar.
Greenbackers wanted a currency based on the
nomic resources of the nation, rather than on
and gold.
The Granger movement that swept
expressed the hope of farmers that by we
one another they might be more effective
railroads and other large corporations. The
Grange was in Adams County in 1871. Later
ciety of Equity generated many new cooperaH):Ji
schemes for marketing farm products.
·

It was hot work for all.

It Was threshing by horse power in those days, The teams walked
Jn,_-8. circle, and a rotating shaft attached to the threshing rna~

chiile delivered the power.

The first definite attempt to develop cooperative
purchasing in Wisconsin started as early as 1844
with the establishment of the Wisconsin Phalanx in
Fond du Lac County. The experimental and almost
conimunistic group reflected the idealism of Robert
Owen, Charles Fourier, and Horace Greeley. Made
up largely of Kenosha farmers, the Phalanx worked
ori a profit-sharing basis. They constructed a "long
!iouse" at Ripon in which they all resided and controlled about 2,000 acres. There were 157 members
in 1847, but the group dissolved in 1850 as the farmers sought complete independence. Subsequently
hi;•n.Y clubs were organized to help farmers buy goods
and supplies.
"·;-: : Larger developments began with the Grange of
Patrons of Husbandry, the Farmers Alliance,
{he:Wisconsin Society of Equity, the American Farm
Bureau Federation, and the Farmers Educational
ilhd. Cooperative Union of America, followed later by
th'e:Wisconsin Farmers Union and the National Farmiza tion. The Farm Bureau, the Farmers
N.F.O., and the Grange "re the principal
organizations today.
Wisconsin became one of the first states
cooperatives. Today more than 929,000
ong to at least one of the 900 cooperaFederation of Wisconsin Cooperatives has
~;:.~-v~~, L-uan 350 member organizations.

tpe

the early subsistence farmers, who had little
grain to market, tried only to make their
the land. The hardships of life were imwants were simple: food, companionfamilies, appreciation and regard for
r 1\eighbors. They had religion, faith, and aware~ they were engaged in a hazardous occupawho could predict what a year would bring,
disasters upon crops from weather or insects,

28

29

or what sickness might befall. "Next year" was the
term they understood, for next year would be, must
be, better, with more land under the plow, with more
confidence, with more faith, and the optimistic expectation of a bumper crop. In the early days Wisconsin
was the greatest "next year" country on earth! Perhaps some of this optimism persists today.
Women had a hard time. Often they arrived
with hardly any personal possessions or household
articles. They had to make do, and they did, in a
remarkable way. As the hard work of breaking and
clearing land began, women were often expected to
do their share of heavy labor. They carried a baby
to the woods or the new field and laid it under a bush
or tree to sleep while they helped their menfolk grub
out the stumps, or helped hold the heavy breaking
plow in the furrow. Women were usually there to
help plant and harvest grain, and they often milked
the cows, for many old-country settlers did not believe that a man should do the milking. That was

woman's work.

Some women did not survive the bitterly hard
labor of the new farm; some died in childbirth. They
lie, these heroic persons, in many small cemeteries
throughout southern Wisconsin, largely unsung but
heroes nevertheless. At times, though, an appreciation was inscribed on a tombstone, such as the one in
the cemetery at Mayville:
Caroline Buchen Klieforth. Her history. If
she had had the benefit of education, such as
was available to her children, she would have
reached fame, however, she did not despair, she
transferred her own ambition to her nine children. Each of them had the same chance. She
gave them ambition and opportunity.
Mothers who had great wealth accomplished
no more than she accomplished. She not only
brought up her family of nine children, but
worked to provide them with food, clothes, and
health as well as education.
The nine children had nine mothers, each
one of the children was her favorite child. She
was endowed with a tremendous vitality and mental energy. She sacrificed her life for her children. She died as the resj.ilt of fifty years of
sacrifice and overwork.
·
Her last conscious thought was concerned
with the education of her youngest son, her lastborn. When the end approached she asked no favors for herself. She worried about her early
death only because her life's work-that is, the
education of her children-was not complete. She
is a living tribute to the benefits of education
acquired the American way, without benefit of

Wisconsin from Illinois. The prairie racers, as very
lean hogs were called, were said to be so thin that fat
had to be added to the meat when it was fried. It
was a great day when the settlers discovered that
the streams were full of suckers. They ate fish and
more fish.
Edwin Bottomley broke a little land and acquired
part ownership in a span of oxen. In this new wide
country he could take his rifle .and walk for miles,
never meeting another person, watching the way the
birds flew, and appreciating the forests and streams
with virgin timber and clear water. His immediate
concerns were his family, the land, and survival.

;.',•

Dear Father:
I stated in my last letter that I thought •oe could not
get any land Broke for spring crops which was the case
But I ant happy to inform you we got five acres broke.
the 80 acres of Land which we have Bought runs half
a mile from east to west a11d a qua•rter of a mile from
Nm·th to South about 10 =·es of the east end is wood
land and the other 70 acres is intercepted with trees in
various places in some parts of it we could plough 10 or
15 acres without a tree on it the Soil is of various qualities that on the flat land is about 2 feet thick of a Black
Loam and a Clay Bottom which is the Best /OT indian

no crucible for weaklings. The soil was the
held the family together. Cooperative
came later. First it was a test of
and will against nature.
hard for the early settlers, but noGame was plentiful. Passenger or
clouded the sky and were harvested by
Cattle and hogs were often driven into
Case was early with a horse~power thresher.

wealth. She died a martyr to the cause of Christian education.
Along with the breaking of the sod and the
planting of enough grain and vegetable seed to sustain them, there were the hazards of sickness and
childbirth. Faith saw them through, along with a
belief that they could, they must, do what was necessary. The woman accepted the fact that there might
not be another woman to aid her in travail. But she
herself, when she could, made herself available to
help suffering neighbors, and her man performed
tasks he had never expected to do.
August 19th, 1843
Dear Fathe•·:
[One] night p•·evious to goi11g to bed my wife Desired
·me -to b'ring in s01ne fir:e u.·ood fo't she Did not feel well
she s.til! keep geting worse ·>tntill about half past 10
0 Clock when she was safely De!ive•·ed of the Child theire
[was] no one in the house excepting our own family the
Chil!dren all, asleep in bed you •MY ask why I did not
fetch a Doctor the •·eason whas I could not leave her and
the night •vas very stormy thunder and lightning and
betwixt• the flashes was very Da•·k so that in al! probabil[ity] I should have lost m·y way had I atte?npted .it as
soon as the child was born I went [and] called James
Tinker and wife up and told them to ccnne as soon [as]
possible and I went Back to he•· I had !eft and with her

inst,..,tctions I performed the Duty of Midwife as well
I could Jas Tinker{'s] wife Bre>ught her a little tea
sugar and we got some flour of the1>1 and •oith Barra·
a little money of Mr Wilson we have got on Prety
since.

The settler women sometimes had a doctor-tc
no avail. A pioneer doctor wrote that "during a
zard a woman was taken sick about 6:00P.M.
was living in an isolated farmhouse with no
neighbors. Her husband left her alone and
the nearest house to get some women to come,
they did, and also to get some one to go eight
after a doctor. A crew of men with a team m1
quick a trip to town as they could. I left immediatecy
after asking them to get another doctor also,
found that the woman had been found lying
floor with convulsions. I reached the home at
10:00 A.M., and the other doctor arrived at
noon. [Twins were born, one dead.] The patie
tinned to have convulsions except when under
fluence of chloroform. The other doctor advised
ing.... The woman died an hour later."
Often the women longed for home. Where
family ties were very strong, with a father who
the strength and the drive and the will to carve
a farm from the new land, the settlers usually

30

31

tion of the wind when the sun crossed the line (or
the equinox) might forecast the wind and weather
for at least the next three months.
One settler said that her grandfather always
predicted "thaw weather" in January when the train
reverberated loudly down the railroad tracks. And
if the moon was on its back it meant dry weather
ahead, but if the moon was tipped over on its face
there was sure to be wet weather.
Northern lights suddenly showing at night predicted a change in the weather or might be interpreted to precede cold, stormy weather.
Some of nature's weather signs which were
noted were: a thick shell on hickory nut husks which
denoted a long winter ahead; or heavy silk on corn
ears or many layers of husks, which predicted a
hard, cold winter. Trappers foresaw a severe winter
when pelts on fur-bearing animals were unusually
thick.
When butchering it was well to plan to do it in
the "gain of the moon" as then the meat would not

1nelting of the sno1v in the spring the lightning split several trees in ouT neighbourhood. the 1oeathe1' since then
as been ve1·-y Lvartn and Drv u•hich has made the wheat
grow -vm·y fast the major pa-rt of 1vhich is now cut and
:;tackt the wheat that we had Prondssed very jai1· But
the hogs got in and trampled it and eat it so that it was
nu't ·worth cuting and ·rakeing and we have turned om·
ca.ttle into it which will help to fatten them I intend killing one of them this fall which is ·very fat al'ready the
other to.:o I shall keep as they are Both good milk cows
.1; 1,y stock at pressent consists of 3 cows 1 ephier 1 calf
[1] yoke of Oxen 1 Pig 4 hens and Cock and 20 Chickens
1 (;at and 4 kitten~:>. this last fortnight we have had [a]
je11· showeT[Y} Days which as been ve1·y beneficial to the
pr;,ttatoes Indian cO'rn &c and they are now looking ve-ry

well..

The exuberance of the new settlers was almost
boundless. Bottomley expressed for many the spiritual defense of the land, the climate. It was theirs.
Their cries were of freedom, and of space; hard labor
was the key to plenty.

corn pumpkins cowcumbe1·s melons &c that on on the elevated Parts consist(s} of about 3 inches of a Black Soil on
the top. and unde>·neath to the Depth of 2 or 3 feet of
Brown intermixed with Clay -which is first rate (as the
Yankes say) for ·wheat.
the House or Shanty that we are Liveing in is made
of Slabs which are cut oflf] the trees at the Saw mills
when they S[q]uare them and the Slate is composed of
'Shingles which are thin pieces of Pine about 15 inches
long and are made like large chips the method of Slateing a house with them is this they cover the Spars with
inch Boarding and then nail the Shingles on them ajte1·
the same maner as Blue Slate is laid on with you ow·
house was 8 -yards b-y 4 and -was Devided into two Tooms
one 14 feet by 12 and the other 10 feet by 1£ But we have
rnade a litle addittion to the smaller 1·oom which makes it
18 feet by 10 we Dug a sellar for another house which I
intende to build before another -winter setts in -we have
sunk a well and have got very good water at the Depth of
18 feet in Digin the well we found 2 petrefied Shells si-milar to Cockles But rather larger
. . . I got a breaking plow that is the iron for one and
wooded it rnyself -which cost me $10 beside tny labou1' we

broke about two acres for Indian corn with it
spring but I found it would not ans toer -when the
was dry. I was aware that the fault was in the
how to Do I could not tell for my -money
spent. But there came a blacksmith to ·woTk at
his nante is hutchison and he begun to make plows
-woTked easier and BetteT than any had done before.
made a ba1·gain to make a new plow and I shall have
pay $10 sometime in October.
I shall now give you a descr[i}ption of the
in the spTing we had a Deal of thunder acc01npanied
heavy showeTs of hail and -rain on the night of the
of may -we had one of the heav-yest- sto-rms that was
-witnessed it com:ntenced about 8 0 Clock and
till about two next morning with veTy little
we could Distinctly hem· the lightning iss
Peice of Iron heated to a t.vhealding heat when
of the ft:re b·y a s1nith and the flashes was so
the atnwsphet' ap-peaTd in one continual Blaze
of thundet~ follo-wed as quick as the 'report of [a] gun
the fl.ash with a noise that tnade the eadh to tremble
rain pouwrd Down in torrents which ca-used the rivers
cTeeks to s-well to a gTeate1· height than they was at

· Dear jre-inds and fellow "IVO'rkmen you may wish to
kri.Oio how I like this cunt'ry fm· myself I like [it] very
,w~U _and the mo're 1 Perse-ver I shall like [it] Better you
m"itS"t be aware that a new Settle1· in this cuntry as to
_S_t_?_:i~ggle with Difficulties but hope of future ·reward
[n'll-iqh can not be nalized in a cunb··y wher LabouT the
i:0u1'Ce of all Real wealth is t?·oden under foot By Monopo_l-y·Taxation and Opprssion}
. . . some people foJ·tn ea;pectations of this cuntry
hefore they come which would be impossible to realize in
ariy cuntTy in the world joT I have thought sometimes
that .. some people imagine that when they get to this cuntry they will find fish in eveT·y pool of water fruit on evm·y
tree and that wild fowl will come to them to be shot furnished houses on eveTy plot of land they want to puTchase
and that they will have nothing to do but sit down in ease
alzd. plenty. I must sa·y there is plenty of fish and fruit
a_rid fot-ol but they are the same in this cuntry as in any
other no catch no have.

Buckeye$ Jr.• on the Road. No.8.

WITH AN EYE ON THE SKY

Advertisements made it look like fun<

If the farmers were to survive they had to pay
heed to the old customs and traditions brought from
lilany lands. Some exist today in Wisconsin.
Will the spring be wet or dry? Will the winter
ne mild or severe? Many residents, especially the
older farmers, still observe the direction of the wind
on·the day the seasons change. The prevailing wind
that day has a good chance of being the wind of the
se"ason, and so a westerly wind will predict a wet
spring, or an easterly wind will bring a dry spring,
?;:.,many believed it was just the opposite-a west
Wlnd dried and an east wind brought rain. A south
\>reeze the first day of winter would forecast a mild
jl'inter while a blustery northern forecast a long, cold
winter. Thus the state of the weather and the direc-

John Appleby, who as a boy lived near LaGrange, Wisconsin, inventer the twine binder at Beloit. His patented "knotter," conceived when he was a lad, made it all possible.

33
32

Appleby's "knotter," which became the self-binder.

"As a little girl I helped my father plant potatoes. We lived in the village of West Salem in the
heart of the beautiful Coulee region of western Wisconsin. At that time each family raised its own supply of vegetables for the winter, especially potatoes.
To buy store 'spuds' was not only extravagant, but
also proof of poor gardening.
"Father raised good potatoes, but somehow
there were never quite so many large potatoes under
a hill as our neighbor, a little man of Norwegian
descent by the name of Martinus, found in his garden
plot, which was the identical size of ours. This particular spring Father cut his potato seed pieces a
little larger than usual. This year for sure his potatoes would be better than those Martinus raised!
"Father dug one hole. I carefully placed one
potato piece in the hole with the 'eyes' pointing up,
'So they can see to grow,' my Father would remind
me. Then he dug another hole and threw that spadeful of dirt into the first hole, so as he dug one, he
filled the one behind him. When we finished Martinus
came to voice his disapproval of our work.

shrink so much as it would when butchered during
the "wane of the moon." If a butchered animal's
spleen was seen to be long and thin, it was a sign of
a long winter. If short and thick, it meant a short
winter.
Superstitions pertaining to lightning and thunderstorms were many-if one didn't want to be
struck:
Never stand in the path of two windows, or have
them both open. Don't stand near an open door or
window or near a stove or a chimney. Do no sewing,
have no needles, pins, or thimbles in or on the hands.
Don't hold any metal objects; these were thought to
draw the lightning very fast. Don't sit or be near an
animal of any kind.
No tree that had been hit by lightning would
be used for fuel, as the house where it was used
would be struck also.
Anyone who worked in the fields on Good Friday
might be struck by lightning, and in fact it was very
bad to start any important work on a Friday.
One hundred years ago the Wisconsin farmer
glanced at his almanac, hung conveniently in the
kitchen, and noted this uncomfortable verse:
Now winter with his icy shroud
Wraps nature in one general gloom;
The piercing winds blow long and loud,
And make us fear a snowy tomb.
Estella Bryhn of Mindoro, Wisconsin has something to say about superstitions and farming in the
Coulee Region:

"AMERICA'S DAIRY CAPITOL"
Pioneers arriving after the 1830s grew
wheat as their cash crop.
Dairying came in the 1860s when depletion of the soil and disease of the wheat
forced them to change.
A few settlers-- Milo Jones, Charles
Rockwell, Rufus Dodge-- each brought a
cow for their personal use when they migrated. The first cheese made in Wisconsin
was manufactured by Charles Rockwell in
1837. In the early 40's Milo Jones imported
five additional cows and also began making butter and cheese.
William Dempster Hoard, through his
Jefferson County Union and, later, the
Hoard's Dairyman, taught the farmers how
to become dairymen. This 14-billion-dollar
indusb"y today serves all Americans with
healthful dairy foods. William D. Hoard is
known as the Father of American Dairying.
William Dempster Hoard, who hailed from New York state,

"'You won't get many potatoes this year,' he
gloomily informed us. 'You are planting in the wrong
time of the moon!'
"Father laughed. 'You plant yours in the moon
if you want to, but I'll bet on mine in the ground!'
"Almost before we knew it, the summer was
gone, and we were digging our potatoes. By a coincidence Martinus chose the same day to dig his. As
we dug we kept watching Martinus pile his potatoes
up, up, up. Finally Father reluctantly agreed that
Martin us had beat us again!
"The next spring Father carefully sorted out the
seed potatoes from the big bin in the cellar. Then,
instead of cutting and planting as he usually did, he
impatiently waited until Martinus finally decided the
moon was just right, and then they both planted
what turned out to be really bumper crops.
"The superstition in the Coulee region in regard to planting is that vegetables that grow in the
~~)!nd, such as potatoes, carrots, turnips, should be
planted in the dark of the moon, and crops that grow
:fuove the ground, such as corn, cabbage, lettuce,
f~ii!d be planted when the moon is light.
•~';;' · "Even today, the proper time to plant corn is
~e!\ the buds on the hickory trees are as big as
squirrel ears.
"We had butchered a hog and a beef, and the
'J!~at lay on long tables in the summer kitchen to
- Deep freezers were undreamed of and the year's
•ly of meat on many farms was preserved either
ning, smoking, or packing in a salt brine
enough to float an egg. We showed our meat,
we thought was very fine grade, to some guests
olemnly informed us that we should have waitbile until the moon was right.
According to this superstition, meat butchered
,)le light of the moon will not shrink or fry away
s,?,,much, and will also keep better. Chicken will also
~,leed better, will can nicer, and the feathers will
~~:orne .off much easier."
· ':Folklore played a big part in the lives of early
cousin farmers.
, ,The Wisconsin farmer who laughs loudly while
_P,lanting corn is likely to get ears with uneven rows
~f,,kernels on them, and the kernels may be too far
~!!art. It may be better, actually, to plant corn in the
'~,~rk of the moon; many farmers believe so. Plantj~g corn in the light of the moon will give you tall
~Si)l~s and a lot of fodder, but precious little ears.
PJ!lnting in the Coulee region apparently differs from
t)lis advice.
'",• Allied to agricultural lore is that fascinating
,!D:i'iltery of the water witch-that individual who has
the,apparent power of locating water beneath the

J'.:

William Dempster Hoard.

surface of the earth. In earlier days water witching
was much more important than it is now, but there
are still a few witchers in Wisconsin. Their favorite
method is similar to that practiced by witchers everywhere. Peach twigs are considered best, and the
witcher will cut a branch of peach which has a fork
and will trim it, leaving the fork and an extension at
the thick end somewhat like the fork and handle of
a lad's slingshot, except that the witcher's twig is
larger and longer. Willow may also be used and is
indeed preferred by some.
With the twig cut and ready, the witcher will
hold the twig by the forked end, one side of the fork
in each hand, and will walk slowly over an area where
he is anxious to locate water. The long extension of
the twig is held out in front of him parallel to the
earth.
When the witcher comes just over the water,
the twig will suddenly point downward, and here the
witcher will drive a stake to mark the spot. Men digging later will, in an amazing number of instances,
find good water.
Water witching is so widely known and widely
practiced that there is evidence supporting belief
that some persons have a natural affinity for water.
It certainly isn't just the twig alone, for the twigs will
not perform for just anybody. Anyway, many of the

In Jefferson County.

34

35

older wells in Wisconsin were located by witchers,
and they were considered indispensable.
But if Wisconsin farmers believed in witchers,
they believed in other things as well. Thomas D.
Wage, who moved to Wisconsin from Pennsylvania
in 1856, would never have his hair cut during the
month of March-to do so would cause him to have a
year-long headache. He also said that a good farmer

had to watch the direction of the wind on March 21
and 22. If in the south, southeast, or southwest, it
would be a good corn year. This appears to have been
a common belief among old settlers. Mr. Wage, and
many of his neighbors, always carried in an extra
load of wood on New Year's Day-that indicated that
there would be plenty to carry into the home during
the year,

OFNEWWAYS,
AND OF NEW HARVESTS

O-urs is the Jwmeplace. I think about that so often;

having enough hops roots shipped from New York to
start a small patch. For his first crop, which yielded
150 pounds of baled and dried hops, he received fortyfive dollars in gold. That started the hops craze that
ended in the hops crash of 1867. Farmers lost everything.
Mrs. Belle Cushman Bohn, in Wisconsin Magazine of HistoTy, commented on the more romantic
aspects of hop culture:

wJ~at _it means to have a ho-meplace, and how all the ties
t·q f~·mily and friends aTe there. The land is ouTs, it has
_o_Ju,-blood, and the blood of all our people, My children
the affinity of the land so deeply, They come ho·me,
horneplace. It is onr farm. I feel a deep, deep bind
n me and the land. I feel it e-very time I walk out
the fields, Like my ancestor I want to shout out:
-is mine! This is my land! My fann! I know I can
unde·rstand the whole story. I ·w-ish I cou.Zd, and the
of stntggle, the years of change . , . How can I
of them, really?

Cheese was a ''natural" in Wisconsin, with Swiss taking a

It took a lot of doing to develop a dairy industry in Wisconsin,
York Staters had the know-how, and Europeans brought per~
sistence and stability"

ing role.

In the period of the 1860's and 1870's hop-raising was
one of the foremost industries in Sauk County. Hopyards
were found not only on nearly every farm but on many village lots. I vividly recollect the work and the fun connected
with this industry of my girlhood.
In the spring the roots of the hop vine were planted in
hills eight feet apart in rows eight feet apart. At the earliest
appearance of the vines, three tall poles were set solidly at
each hill. These poles-twelve or fifteen feet in height--were
cut in the woods just as they grew, and piles of them were
seen in every hopyard through the winter.
When the vines were long enough to twine around the
poles, a girl or woman cut off the top of an old yarn sock,
drew it over her left arm, and raveled it as needed to tie the
vines to the poles. The workers were busy nearly every day
twining and tying the new growth, and many of them, I remember, complained of sore fingers as the vines were ro'lgh
and scratchy. When the hops began to form near the top of
the pole, branches reached out from one pole to another, forming a canopy of vines overhead, which, with the graceful clus~
ters of yellowish-green hops made a very pretty sight.
At this stage the pickers were hired. Men, women, and
children flocked to the yards; many an early day schoolteacher spent the summer vacation in this fashion. The local
force was not sufficient so that groups from distant places,
often acquaintances and friends of the farmer's family, would
come for an outing. There was something of adventure and
change in being with a crowd out-of-doors, having the best
meals served three times a day, and lodging provided for
those who lived many miles away. Fifty cents a box was paid
for the picking 1 and although some said they were out for
their health, I noticed they always took the pay too.

,, The period between the great days of wheat and
llie,advent of dairy farming was one of experimentati\>;n and development. Orchards were planted in
_pQor_ County; new kinds of crops were envisioned;
I,Jqgs and corn gradually replaced wheat.
Prairie racers had been herded up from Illinois
and Indiana. Lean, bristly, long-snouted, and semi,1';ild. these hogs could be fierce, and it was dangerous
f~i',encounter a drove of them in the woods. Indeed
't!ley were grown in the woods where they multiplied
at -random. Crossing the prairie type with animals
of better quality, such as Suffolk, Cheshire, or Berkllhlie, improved the general breed, and 1870 marked
a n~\v interest in hog raising in Wisconsin. Hogs
li~came known as mortgage lifters, for they saved
many farmers who had gone bankrupt in wheat. Now
~orn could be profitably marketed in the form of
B~Fk In post-Civil War Wisconsin, hogs, corn, and
~~irjring went hand in hand.

NEW CROPS
Hops became an important Wisconsin crop about
:1860. Jesse Cottingham of the town of Winfield, near
Reedsburg, introduced hops raising to Wisconsin by

36

37

Set at intervals in the yard were large boxes, eight by
four feet, with a support at either end for a ridgepole running lengthwise. The big box was divided into four small
compartments, each holding seven bushels of hops. Men
called "box-tenders" cut apart the vines at the top of the pole
with a tool resembling a long-handled corn-knife, slashed the
thick vines at the bottom, pulled the pole out of the ground,
and carried it to the four pickers waiting at every large box.
If the pickers were young girls, flirtations were apt to be carried on between them and the box-tender.
Sometimes when things became dull, some of the girls
who craved excitement would form a conspiracy. When the
box-tender came to empty the hops into a big canvas sack,
they would seize the unsuspecting fellow and dump him on
the hops. With much disgust he would pick himself out of
the box with hops clinging to his clothes and hair and look
wildly around for the guilty parties, who by that time were
at the other side of the yard. However, he watched his chance
to even the score by dumping one of the girls into the box.
But he could not run, as he had to stay and empty the box;
naturally, he heard just what they thought of him. The joke
to them was not nearly as funny as when he was the victim.
The pickers stripped the pungent, not ill-smelling hops
from the vines and leaves and though this work gummed up
the fingers, the average laborer filled two or three boxes
the pickers in the West, who are described as
daily; expert pickers filled four or five. If a box were left
transients obliged to provide their own shelter and
partially filled at night, by morning the hops were covered
Sauk County pickers were given the best the farm
with lice, worms, and insects of all kinds, and these were emp·
Men and boys slept wrapped in blankets on the hay
tied with the hops into the big gunny sacks to be carried to
the drying kiln. It was a standing joke that the more
but that was like camping. Women and girls
all the beds in the house, and big, plump ticks
there were, the better the flavor of the beer.
traw that made nice, soft beds when spread on
The hop houses where the curing was done were a
the sleeping quarters.
mon sight on the farms for many years after the hop
died out. They were always surmounted by a cupola, a
~reparations had to be made to house and feed
lator for the drying kiln which was on the upper floor
to forty or more people, the number depending
building. In lieu of flooring were laths set far
the yard. Bedding and dishes were loaned by
which was stretched coarse canvas, called "hop 1
to the housewife needing them at the time, then
huge stove in the room on the ground floor heated
crews moved from place to place. For many
room above. When the big sacks of hops were
I of the pickers, the women folk were
from the yard, they were emptied on the sacking to
of all kinds, for the best was none too
depth and drying began. Occasionally the clusters were
for if meals were poor, there might be
over, and at one point in the process sulphur was
n that particular farm the next year.
on the stove to bleach the hops. Following the d1
bell was rung; the yards were emptied
hops were pressed into oblong bales weighing 200
efore entering the farmhouse the workers washed
apiece.
in the yard or on the porch; this scrubbing up
Farmers having many acres of vines kept their ere
~s done thoroughly, sometimes not so well, but
helpers several weeks while the owners of smaller
as a preliminary to the meal. The hungry crowd
needed us only a few days. We usually went to five
than ample justice to the loaded tables three times
places a season. The hours of work were long, the Sl
·
over the threshers who are supposed to head
hot, but the singing in the yards helped to lighten the
of eatables and drinkables. The farmer
"Listen to the Mocking Bird, was a great favorite,
supplies from town: the cost of it
and sentimental songs such as "Lorena," "Belle
"Lura," "Billy Boy," and "Nellie Darling" were
were spent telling stories around blazing bon·
choruses, quartets, duets, and solos. "Bal'bara All
smudge mosciuitoes. Sometimes a :fiddler, acPoor Nellie Gray," ''The Old Elm Tree," and other emotion~
' a harmonica or a jew's-harp performer would
songs relating the untimely death of some beloved
the group and if sufficient space could be foundwere sung several times in the course of the day in
granary or shed-a jolly crowd, augmented by visiparts of the yard. One different in theme concerned a
other yards, would dance after supper till bedtime.
with "a jet black eye, a grand mustache, and a buckskin
today remember that their acquaintance beof gold."
. dance.
Many practical jokes were played on gullible
t each yard had been baled, the hop buywhich were taken good-naturedly, on the whole, but
plentiful as politicians before election. Finally,
while a grouchy individual would resent the foolery
sold and carried away, many going to England.
a /feud which in the process of being smoothed over,
ts made in hop-raising then are comparable to
all the diplomacy of the yard boss.
t~,~~ fortunes made in gold and oil booms today. The owner of

Little by little Wisconsin forged into the lead.

Hoard showed the way to do it.

Cows became creatures with but a single purpose: to produce
milk and more milk.

38

Draft horse team.

a hopyard was rich, he was given unlimited credit, and in
many cases he took full advantage of this. New homes were
built and furnished; silk dresses, furs, paisley shawls, and
pianos were bought for the wife and daughters; :fine horses
and carriages· were kept in the stable and coach house; farm
machinery was purchased.

Some early Wisconsin settlers from Virginia and
Ohio brought seeds for growing tobacco and, surprisingly, a small tobacco industry began. First experiments in tobacco growing were in Walworth County
in 1844, but the industry didn't really get started until 1853 when two farmers from Ohio, Ralph Pomery
and J. J. Heistand, sowed two acres of broadleaf near
Edgerton in Rock County and, it is thought, some
more on what is now the McCoy fann in Dane County. Near Viroqua in Vernon County, easterners and
Norwegians began to grow an excllent leaf.

39

unb

thing from all members of our family. Anyway, I
was out there on this morning piling tobacco. My
father was hauling the speared lath-tobacco. He
came back from a trip with the team and tobacco
rack and he had a very sad message. My father almost worshipped William McKinley. They had just
gotten word that William McKinley had been shot."
The pioneer's first crop was usually Indian corn.
he had chosen his land and built some kind of
he planted "sod corn." After making cuts
ax in the upturned sod for the corn hills, he
the seeds into the hills and stepped on them,
the earth down into the cut. Surprisingly,
year many farmers got a fair ·crop, which
roasting ears, meal, and grain for oxen or
On the new farmlands, corn was not as popuas wheat, which was the crop the settlers
get into the ground as soon as possible.
a long while the climate was not regarded
for corn, but experience and science
improve it as a Wisconsin crop. As
loped, so did corn growing; on the lands
Wisconsin, the dry prairies, and the allucorn was more reliable than wheat. Oats
also became vital crops as the dairy industry

~tsfun
GfitJtnlle~n.

l':lie !'IUimoultt, .Stfr SOtu llnb I.BtPtn GlltallaOa ifl bit tii:rarftt
Unb b~flt ~in{t Uillf1 !Plitt mafbingtort, 6beflO'qQI\1l 1
!lRanthroot, '.tmo !Ri-oen'i, i!tbUtttb, ,ftautaunB.,
'lll' lJ ret on,<\) or ton ll it 1 e, 91: t w 1! on b o u, Ebaroano,
!matlon, rtgnton, 91otdt, !lB.tufan, IJnttgo,
tR b t n e1anbtt unb (IUtn ~tcttilllttn In ben G.t~untieM ebtbol}Qiltt,
!i:Jtniloll.IO{, Outa{lamit,

IJ:Bau~o.ca, (!:.~amano,

!War a•

tbDn, 1!1lngtllbt unb !.!incofn.

o\l.

@). -!). \Ret&,

6\tnerilf•\Sul)erintenbent.

o\l. \J.

IB~Jittom&,

lim. !Paff.tgitr•lgent.

2dngl bet S!init btt S!th S'•n unb IDcfltn filft••a.lrt Mfinbul
iti\lnolt 1.~.~ IJ.tfet. O.U,I!IQtAd~ndcn IJ"tmlnnbtfl, bit l)OII. btt !B"~n o.n
,mitfU4t lln~tbtn jll biittge~ ,!Jhdftn unb unttt g;iinlligen !BeblnQunQcll
-o'nro.ufl:. llltt~t)l. 5tatttn unb n4btte ll(ul!ltunfl nt~titt gulil!l,

five outstanding corn-growing counties in
ere Rock, Lafayette, Green, Grant, and Dane,
Walworth, Iowa, Dodge, and Columbia not far

3!l. ® .. 'Gh..11.., &at•lt•••lffir,

!IRillmlrt, ilalt e•on & l!.I!Jtn 81'• ''··

Wisconsin was good country for growing
-kinds of crops. Cranberries, though never
on the scale of corn or even wheat, deserve

IJllbeaa!et, !Sit.
There were so many German settlers that they had to print everything in German. Sometimes the first generation of immigrants
never did learn English.

and marshes were left by the two great
that the retreating glaciers created:
Wisconsin throughout the central parts of the
and Lake Oshkosh, which included Columbia,
Green Lake, Waushara, Waupaca, WinneOutagamie counties. Early settlers in the
area found marshes red with tons of cranberand commercial production began there about
The first people to harvest cranberries, howIndians; they called the fruit puck-a-non-

Today Wisconsin is the national leader in "smokeless" tobacco, otherwise known as chewing tobacco.
Northern Wisconsin leaf and southern Wisconsin
leaf differ only in the two kinds of soil they come
from. Fifty years ago, 90 percent of the wrappers
for cigars were from Wisconsin tobacco farms. Some
families made cigars at home by pressing the leaves
into grooves cut in a table top, to shape the cigars,
and sticking the wrappers on with saliva.
Children had to work hard in the tobacco fields,
as Milo Swanton, retired Dane County farmer, recalls:
"Tobacco involves a lot of hand labor. I am taking you back, now, to September, mid-September,
1901. I can still see the field out there. What was I
doing? I and my brother? We were piling tobacco.
Maybe you could call it child labor. I was nine years
old; but even before that I had been getting up at
five in the morning and going out to the barn and
milking a number of cows. Labor was a required

1871 white people were controlling the cran. The largest crop was in 1872 when
were shipped over the St. Paul RailBerlin. The industry near Berlin dwindled
1900. Use of alkaline water from the Fox
said to be one reason. The land became
and only a few acres were left in proYoung couples came to the land with hope.

40

41

methods of fertilizing and weed control made the
cranberry industry a commercial success. It takes a
long while to develop a successful cranberry bog, and
nowadays the mechanical pickers slosh through the
bog water where once hand pickers, then pickers
with cranberry rakes, labored to harvest the crop.
Most of the crop is now marketed through cooperatives.

tinct breeds of horses are mentioned in the
tors' lists. One horse, a Hambletonian, was
be registered on the stallion's side, but not
dam's. Sheep were highest among improved
stock. A newspaper reported on the big event:
this morning. The beginning· is an auspicious one, and
it is remembered how young our State is, it reflects
credit upon the enterprize and intelligence of her Fl
An area of something over six acres, on the edge
plateau which looks down upon the rapid and silvery
and enclosed by a high board fence, constitutes the
ground. Along two sides of the enclosure are pens for
and Swine, and stands for Cattle. Near the centre is
and lofty Tent, for the display of Fruits, Flowers,
Articles, Paintings, Jewelry, &c. Hard by is a long shed
the exhibition of Agricultural and Mechanical Products.
the open space between these centre pieces and the C~
stands on the sides there is ample room for the exhibition
trial of all s'orts of Agricultural Implements, as well as
the display of Single and Matched Horses.

BETTER LIVESTOCK
Until farmers fenced their pastures and separated their herds, cattle mingled and interbred.
Livestock exhibits at state and county fairs helped
to stimulate interest in improving the breeds.
The first state fair in Wisconsin opened on October 1, 1851, in Janesville. Exhibits included 52 cattle, 68 horses, 120 sheep, and 20 hogs. It is possible
that not a single purebred Shorthorn or Devon animal was owned in Wisconsin at that time. No dis42

43

The old stove was central to family comfort.

raised in Washington county, N.Y. by Mr. Hill, a
breeder of high standing, and extensively known among
admirers of this noble animal. He is now nineteen years
He is a bright bay, bold and courageous in his aspect,
ingly mild in his disposition, very vivacious in his
ment, and weighs, when under "fit," 1,235 lbs. He
ably adapted to the draught, and trotted his mile
at the time Mr. Briggart sold him, in well less
minutes. His stock is universally fine, and are flet
Mr. Biggart has a colt from him, a stallion, now
old, that trotted last season on Long Island in the
[2 minutes, 40 seconds, rather fast in those days].

There was always work.

In the line of Horses there is a growing and enlightened
taste, I believe we have no "Thoroughbreds," using that term
in the technical sense, though most of our better class horses
have an intermixture of thorough breeding. The breed most
highly approved with us is the "Henry." This was an animal
brought into oUI: county in 1846, by J3:mes Biggart, of Vermont, and stood that season in Geneva. -He was then taken to
Chicago, and passed into the hands of Denis S. Cady, Esq.,
who stood him one season in Chicago, 8.nd then brought him
to Milwaukee, where he stood for mares until last winter,
when he was sold and taken to Peorla, Illinois. Henry was

Horses were very important in Wisconsin.
farmers slowly developed "big teams" duri1
1860s and 1870s for heavy farm work; breeds
imported from Europe: Clydesdales, Percherons,
Belgians. Before that, oxen had been used for
heavy sod-breaking work, ordinary farm horses
ing too light. The large breeds were often
with lighter horses.
44

t

~'

of the prize-winning horses in Wisconsin
time of the Civil War were Morgans or
The Henry was a Morgan breed, as was
A few thoroughbreds were develshown, their bloodlines going back to EngThe Morgan and Blackhawk bloods were so
through Wisconsin that, during the
cavalry regiments from Wisconsin used
spirited, and fleet mounts derived
.s Morgan stock. As a cavalry officer,
n Dempster Hoard, once governor of Wisconsin,
ng escape from rebel troopers to the fleetMorgan horse.
Morgan has a somewhat obscure history.
of the famous stallion, owned by Justin Marthat started the Morgan breed is
a great-spirited, short-coupled
swift and sturdy, resulted from a matperhaps a race horse and a common
"''--•-··~r the ancestry, the famous Morgan
doubled as a workhorse and stud was
his style and imprint on a breed that
best-loved in America. The King Ranch
of Texas were the prototypes for the raphorses of the cattle industry. Adaptthe saddle, the race track, and field work,

the Morgan was important in the development of the
West and Middle West.
Milo Swanton is often urged to present his eulogy on the ho.rse.
"Hats off to the youth of America for selecting
the horse as the Bicentennial animal. Down through
the ages in every sphere of service, the horse contributed ever-much to the progress of man. From
earliest records in ancient and medieval history up
through our pioneer period to modern days, the. horse
and its half-breed relative the mule played a major
role in service to man. In our earliest times when
breaking the virgin sod, credit must also go to the
strong but slow ox; however, most of the credit for
field work, and all the credit for road service, should
go to the horse.
"What about horse sense? How real is it? As
an old-time farmer who plowed more acres with
horse-power than with tractor-power, I was always
grateful for the cooperation of my horses. For example, when plowing toward a hidden glacial boulder,
the horses slowed from their usual pace. Either the
horse in the furrow, or the one on the land side, sensing the change of soil underfoot or just part of the
stone above ground,.slowed their pace, ready to stop,
and as a result the driver on the seat of the sulky, or
45

a man between the handles of a walking plow, would
be saved from painful accident.
"An old neighbor who often borrowed my black
driving mare and my top buggy returned from
one afternoon, in a state of utter emotion; as he
pointed to Black Bess he cried, 'You know, you know,
if it wasn't for her, I'd be at the undertaker's. Goin'
down Atwood Avenue she stopped dead still. To
her to go I slapped the lines acrost her rump, but
just cramped off to the left, and right then the
waukee Road passenger train whizzed past on
tracks.'
"I can think of a young swain returning
after a late dance, who wound the lines
whipstock and sat back for a peaceful snooze.
Dobbin, even without lights on the buggy, kept
to the right when meeting another horse-•
There weren't any locked wheels. A onerite saying was: A team may be better for
hayin', and all the rest but when it comes to :~ .. -+; ....J ;~.;g
a single horse is best.
"At our farm the driving horses were Morgan~tf•
and the draft horses were Percherons. Som<
bors preferred Clydes and Belgians; but their
and their saddlers were Morgan and Arabian.
1

\Visconsin's great circus tradition, horses almost ex~
~lusively provided the power for drawing the heavy
red wagons and the carriers for the big-top canvas
and poles. When Ringlings started their 1916 season,
their horse cars carried 307 draft horses. It can also
be said that these draft horses learned the professional circus profanity, while at the same time knew
the affection poured out to them by the horsemen in
charge.
" "No truer love and appreciation for horses can
be found anywhere else than among the 4-H youth of
America. For many of them it may be a first love
affair. They learn about horse psychology and anatomy. They learn how a horse responds to human
treatment. Horses help youth's emotional development, instilling compassion and fuller understanding.
In war and in peace the horse has played a signifirole. We know of the Roman legions and the
of horses throughout the medieval conIn the history of American wars we know that
more recent times, without jeeps or motorized
equipment, it was horses and mules that furnished
. For speedier action it was man and beast
the cavalry that carried on. The greatest
engagement in the Western Hemisphere took

place June 9, 1863, at Brandy Station, Virginia, when
nearly twenty thousand cavalry· men and an equal
number of horses were engaged in combat for more
than twelve hours. Losses were staggering on both
sides, and for horses as well as for men.
"When returning from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, on the White Pass Narrow Gauge Railroad,
heading toward Skagway, Alaska, our train passed
through Dead Horse Gulch. There we saw the historic monument placed there by the Ladies of the
Golden North in memory of the more than three
thousand packhorses 'who laid their lives on these
terrible gulches and mountains, carrying the frantic
gold-rush days of the '89s and '90s.'
"Just as our farm horses heard the sounds of
threshing machines, and responded to the commands
for field service, and as the circus steeds performed
their duties, listened to the lion's roar, or smelled the
odor of elephants, so also hundreds and thousands of
man's co-workers helped build our transcontinental
railroads and our magnificent military services, and
all I'm sure will agree with youth that the horse has
earned its place :is America's Bicentennial animaL"
Turn back the pages of history
Trace Man's progress to its source

47
46

f

.:. ......

The old and the young had their place in neighborhood life.

And you'll find that his pathways to glory
W~re paved with the bones of the horse ...
I doubt that g·reat-grandfather would ever ha11e
·mo·ved to Wisconsin if he'd known that his ja1·1n would
someda·y be a dai1·y fa·rin. I am. sure that he ne11er Bfl.visioned a tirne when he would be tied to a herd of cows.
But that's exactl-y ·what happened to him. He tried rais~
it~g hops when the wheat gTowing pete·red out. And then,
after that was a fail·ure, he had to go to c<>ws. All his
neighboTs we1·e doing it ..Maybe he held back longer than
some; but by that time his buys weTe about grown and
they we1'e inteTestecl in cattle. To hold the family together, g•·eat-g•·andfatlle•· had to get a few better cows. The
Wisconsin Dai1·y·men's Association was just getting established, and.lV. D. Hoa1·d uf Fm·t Atkinsmt was making
speeches about the cou•: "The cow is the foster mother of
the hiuman 1·ace. F'ro·m. the day of the ancient Hindu to
this ti·me, the thuu,ghts of men turned to this friendl-y and
beneficent creature who is one of the chief sustaining
forces of human life." The boys liked that kind of talk.
Ou1· fa·rm has been a dai1·y farm eve1· since.

Breeding Poor Cows-Think of it, my friends.
of the greatest dairy state in the Union, New York,
million~and-a-half of cows, average today only 3,000
of milk per cow, or its equivalent, 125 pounds of
enough to pay for the cost of the keep of those
are such men about? And I want to say to you that
of Wisconsin, taken as a whole, are nearly on the same
In the larger dairy districts where more thought has
had on this question and more intelligence exercised i
breeding of better cows, we have a larger average, and
result, the fanner is lifted out of the condition of "no
into that of "some."

On early Wisconsin farms, the all-purpose or
uscrub" cow was a great idea, and sound economy
too. She could provide milk, butter, and cheese (and
ultimately meat) and occasionally even do some field
work.
For a long time after breeds of cattle were introduced in Wisconsin, the scrub cow continued to be
the standard of the day. Nor were there any great
improvements in farm buildings; cows were often
milked out in the barnyard; and sanitation was hardly considered. It was tough to get farmers to improve their herds. They remained fond of "old Brindle." A commentary in 1870 states it well:

Breeds of cattle were introduced in Wisconsin
the latter half of the nineteenth century: Jerseys
1859; Ayrshires in 1860; Brown Swiss in 1886.
horns increased rapidly after 1860. Septer
mute of Whitewater brought the first Holstein
into Wisconsin in 1873. N. K. Fairbanks
first real Guernsey herd in 1881. George
Racine owned the famous Slausondale herd,
as one of the choicest herds in America.

Getting Rid of Poor Cows-That is the thing of all others the farmer won't do. When a man has a poor cow he will
not start in to determine it for himself, he won't get rid of
her. I can't blame him. The poor we have always tvith us.
You can easily see that half a dozen poor cows in a herd of
fifteen will knock out the entire profits of the year's work.

48
[I

l

precedents influenced farming in WisImprovements in cattle, swine, sheep, and
as noted in England, France, and Spain were
reflected in the showings of livestock at

Early cheese factories in Wisconsin were really
cooperatives. A number of farmers got together and
agreed to bring their milk to a central place. A building was constructed and a cheese maker employed.
By 1870 there were about fifty cheese factories in
Wisconsin. Butter making was also becoming commercial.
The dairy industry did not have much of an incentive until the collapse of the wheat boom. A cow,
in 1848, was worth about twelve dollars and not more
than twenty-four dollars ten years later. There were
a few farmers, of course, who made butter and
shipped it to Milwaukee, or when the weather was
too warm for shipping or keeping of butter, they
made cheese.
It was soon learned that in the hilly parts of the
state, where it was impossible to raise much corn,

EARLY DAIRYING
with their knowledge of livestock, the imbrought cheese-making skills. Soon after
formed the colony at New Glarus in 1845
making Swiss cheese.
Hazen erected the first building in the
sole production of cheese in Rising Sun
Section 3 of Waupun at Ladoga. The risthe trademark of Hazen's factory, and
on his tombstone in Wedge's Prairie

49

Hoard's Da·iryuwn in 1870, a four-page farm paper
that gained wide circulation in America. Hoard
stressed the value of dairying and urged farmers to
"substitute the cow for the plow!' He advocated the
development of dairy breeds solely for milk production. He also preached the use of the silo and urged
farmers to cooperate with the new Wisconsin College of Agriculture.
Hoard was widely sought after as a speaker and
humorist. One of his famous stories was about the
deacon and the calf. Farmers who had had experience feeding young calves bowled when Hoard told
this story:
"About Calves- Mr. Thorn has spoken about
calves. From my earliest infancy down to today (I
am not paying much attention to calves now) I was
brought up along with bovine babies. I have had a
deep interest in the little animal called the calf, and,
as a consequence, at an early age I made something
of a study of the animal. Calves are very much alike,
whether they come from one breed or another. As a
rule, those who have had experience in dealing with
them discover that a thoroughbred calf is the most
intelligent. There is a long line of heredity in its
behalf but the most provoking thing on this green
earth at times is a calf. He will stand and regard you
with a look of mild and innocent baby-like wonder,
and a stupidity that is unfathomabie.
"The Deacon and the Calf-I am reminded of an
incident in the history of good old deacon Coolidge,
a neighbor of mine, and I tell you this story now for
the purpose of explaining somewhat, it may be, certain derelictions or deviations from the strict orthodox pathway that men may be pardoned for indulging in who have the handling of calves. Deacon
Coolidge was one of the best men I ever knew, with
a heart overflowing with love to his fellow-man, to
his Maker, and to all things that bis Maker had
made. He was a thrifty farmer, and his wife was
like him. Aunty Coolidge was one of the best women
who ever lived. Sunday morning came. The old man
had just hitched up the old mare and started for
church, three miles distant. He had driven into the
road and turned back to shut the gate when the old
lady said, 'Pa, I declare for it, that calf hasn't been
fed, and the milk is in the brass kettle on the stove,
all warm for him.' 'Well,' the old man replied, 'well,
well; this is a pretty time to think of feeding the
calf, I declare, with my best clothes on. Maria,' he
said, 'what are you thinking of, not to speak of it
before?' 'Well, pa, you know that we claim to be
Christians, and if we should go off to churchall day
long and leave that poor calf without anything to
eat, we couldn't pray enough nor sing enough to

could be had from selling the whole prodthe factories for cheese; while in the mixed
country where hogs were kept in large numin fact exceeded cattle by 40 percent, it was
profitable to make butter and sell the skimmed
the farmers for the hogs. So the cheese facwere in the hilly Dane dairy towns of Blue
Vermont, Perry, and Primrose, and the butwere in the mixed farming towns of
Bristol, Fitchburg, and Rutland.
Organization of a state Dairymen's Association
accomplished in 1872:
compliance with the call issued a few weeks
a 'Dairymen's Convention,' a number of
prominent dairymen of the state met at the
House in Watertown, on Thursday, February
The attendance was good, and the importance
movement will be rightly estimated, when it is
that those present represented the manunearly 3,000,000 pounds of Cheese, the

to farm in New York State,
in Wisconsin by raising hops and lost
he had. It took him twenty years to pay
Then, at Fort Atkinson, he founded

51

Well, who wouldn't Tather have peace and quietude in the
family than to have a poor, scolding, ugly wife to live with,
but did any man ever hear of that being used as an argument
against a good woman7 On the contrary, it is one of the
arguments today for good wifehood and good motherhood.
Now poor butter always advertises itself; no man needs
to be deceived thereby; whereas a ~ounterfeit and an imitation is always a deception and always men are deceived
thereby.

farm, Owr farm hasn't cha·nged nearly as much as many
others, but guat-grandfather simply wouldn't understand
u:hat has happened in fanning, the great cost of it, the
mCz.chines toe need to fann profitabl-y at all. He loved new
machines, but l e;rpect he would say we've gone too far.
He wouldn't understand that the rwmbet' of cows in Wisc'o'!Lsin. is decreasing so d1·qmat:ically, m· why the nurnber
Oj farms in the state is decreas-ing every yea1·. I could
tell him why, of course; too many people are like he was,
t.hey don't want to be tied do1vn to seven-days~a-week
it!Ork on a dai1·y far·m. And I'm, SU-'re he wouldn't underStand when I told him how much better the cows have
·;-uecome. Fewer cotos, 1rw1·e mille.

FOLK WISDOM
The farming people brought to Wisconsin many
lessons in folk wisdom, such wisdom transcending
either butter or oleo.
Our ancestors recognized the truth of the saying, "Wrong possessions do not last," whether they
first heard it in German, "Um·echt gut gedeihet
nicht," or translated in Wisconsin or New York into
"What comes over the devil's back goes under his
belly." Also they thought it worthwhile to bring
with them from the East such custom-made warnings and advice as "Listeners never hear any good
of themselves," or "A dog that will fetch a bone will
carry a bone," or ~"What is spoken vanishes, what is
written remains," so uDon't write and fear no man."
Pioneer times demanded perseverance and patience, but so does life everywhere. "Leg over leg
the dog goes to Dover" may have originated in Eng-

Oleomargarine and butter have always fought a
deadly duel in Wisconsin. Special taxes on oleo were
started in 1886. The tax climbed and climbed but
still flourished. Eventually oleo won, but it was
Jlonged battle. A 1910 statement about oleo:

t.

'rice of oleo--The sworn statements before the New York
f,&'mmission proved that it costs no more than six cents, and
md it in the state of Wisconsin from $75,000 to
worth a week of the stuff pouring into this State
,·-_;_il:lid:,men paying the highest kind of prices for it and being
defrauded and cheated. The argument that it is for the poor
for nothing under the sun is a greater lie than
to oleo--·We hear a vast amount of silly talk
to this counterfeit. I hear men constantly talking
that they would rather have it than poor butter.

Maria's forgetfulness. Bossy, bossy, bossy.'
gave another snort and the good deacon could
it no longer, and straddling the calf's neck, he
both ears and plunging the little fellow's neck in
kettle he said, 'If it wa'nt for the love I bear
blessed Lord and Master I would punch your
head off.'"
The Wisconsin Dairymen's Association
news of Wisconsin dairy products to other
and created markets for Wisconsin butter and
In the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia
Wisconsin stood next to New York in the
of its dairy products, even though many of
sin's best cheese factories did not exhibit.
In 1867 there were 245,000 dairy cows in
cousin; in 1912 there were 1,460,000; and
there were 2,585,000. In 1976 there were

make God forgive us for such an act.' 'Well.' said
the deacon, 'I guess you are right.' So he started
back, took the brass kettle from the stove, and gathering up his Sunday-meeting coat as snugly as possible, he walked along with the milk to the calf, who
was impatient and eager and hungry, with expectancy standing right ont in his little eyes. The old deacon says, 'Bossy, bossyt con1e along, come up here,
come along.' And so he inserted his finger, no, two
fingers, for he was a shrewd old deacon and knew
better than to try to feed that calf with one finger.
He led that calf down into the pail, and it began to
taste good, and the calf began to get very much engaged in it, and his tail began to show just how he
felt. He plunged his nose down below the drinking
point, when suddenly (he must have breath) he gave
a snort that spurted the milk all over the deacon.
'I knew it would come to this, just on account of

There have been great changes on the

53
52

- - - - - - - - ·~a.""~~~il.)0_~-mJh\Mff~'>m'mt"1i>':'.m(">'<'i.z;,2£-;;;yim~-~;at-w'{rt~;;,~'?l3.~~1'frfi

Creameries and cheese cooperatives became a popular way to
market.

Hoard insisted that Wisconsin have an agricultural college sec·
ond to none, where farm youth would have educational oppor~
tunltles.

land, but it went by boat, Conestoga wagon, and oxcart to Wisconsin, where it must have been repeated
to buoy waning spirits with the hope that leg over
leg the dog would get to the frontier that was to be
Wisconsin. New York maidens, too, appear to be
equally convinced with their sisters in Milwaukee,
Madison, and Mineral Point that "a ring on the finger
is worth two on the phone."
Albertine Schuttler of Milwaukee had something
to say about Old World sayings brought to Wisconsin:
These sayings show that the Germans brought
more than food and band music to the New World.
"In der Not frisst de•· Teufel Fliegen." In great
need the Devil devours flies. In time of famine or
extreme hunger men will eat anything.
"Ein Fa•tlpelz kommt auf /ceinen grunen Zweig."

A lazy fellow doesn't ever reach the green
This comes from the folk custom of builders
green branches on gables of newly finished
for having completed them in record time; thus,
branches showed that they were industrious.
"Selbm· essen macht fett." What you eat
you fat, i.e., strong. Meaning: The do-it-yourself
is best.
"Milch und B·rot macht die Wangen •·ot."
and bread put rosy color in your cheeks.
ioned way of adding calories.
"En gut swin et all." Low German
meaning "A good pig eats everything."
did not mean eating in a piggish way,
what is served to you; eating the plate
the Low Germans were the original plate
people, serving the whole meal on one plate.
were the opposites of the Yankees, who used
arate dishes.
"Kotnm' ich nicht heute, /comm' ich
Procrastination: If I don't come today,
tomorrow."

54

ich ubm· den Hund, komm' ich ube1· den
If I jump over the dog, I'll get over the
to stretch a budget or a sum of money to
luxury or something extra.
imme1· in de1· Tasche." Has his hand alpocket; a spendthrift. "Hat die Faust in
" Has his fist in his pocket; a stingy

loving manner, for the boss will not hold him guiltless that
taketh her name in vain.
(2) Remember the Sabbath day, and do only such work
as seemeth necessary.
(3) Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy chores, but
the seventh day is Sunday, and the cleaning of the stables
and all unnecessary work should be dropped, so that thy son
and thy daughter, thy man-servant and thy maid~servant may
attend church.
(4) Honor and respect the kingly sire, that thy days may
be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
( 5) Thou shalt not swear.
( 6) Thou shalt not scold.
(7) Thou shalt not curry thy cattle with the milking stool.
(8) Thou shalt look well to the comforts of thy cattle.
(9) Thou shalt not bea1· false witness against thy neigh~
bor's herd, for verily it heapeth coals of fire on thine own
head.
(10) Covet not thy neighbor's herd, for verily thou hast
made thy selection and ve1·ily thou shalt prosper if thou stay
by thy choice.

dem Hut in dm· Hand kmnmt man durch
Land." With the hat in your hand, you'll
rnnahont the land. Polite manners get you
Hand wascht die ande1·e." One hand
other. Exchange of favors.
hui! unten pf11i!" A careless person
but wearing soiled underwear.
the emergence of the dairy industry brought
its own kind of wisdom:

Sadly enough, apparently, a lot of Wisconsin
farmers did "curry their cows with the milking
stool," as set forth in the Seventh Commandment,

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR
WISCONSIN DAIRYMEN
Thou shalt call each cow by name, in a gentle and

55

.:

and were apt to let fly at horses, hogs, and sheep
with any object handy. A Waupaca County woman
relates how occasionally retribution for violence toward animals struck home:
"My cousin said when she was a little girl her
grandfather lived out on a farm near Ogdensburg.
She says one day she came in and she says, 'Mama,
you know, I just saw a streak of lightning come out
of the sky.' Well, her mother went out and looked
and the sky was perfectly blue, not a cloud anywhere.
She says to the girl, 'Oh, you probably just blinked
your eye and thought you saw a streak of lightning.'
But when her dad came in from the blacksmith shop
he ran, he says, 'A bolt of lightning came down from
a clear sky and killed a man ... that's all there was,
a clear sky and a bolt of lightning.' The neighbors
said: 'Oh, that's a good thing, because Skaggs was so
mean to his animals.' "

half a barrel 60 quarts and I worked in the house prety
hard I Drunk the bee•· as I used to Do in England to my

flowing streams were more numerous, as shown by the

'~aps of early surveys, and the streams now extant exhibit a

iitarked diminution in volume, when comparatively treated.
Many springs, which formerly furnished an apparently inexsupply of water, are now dry. . . . The sight of
mills, in some districts of the county, is quite comng to a former abundance of water receding, or gocompelling the involuntary abandonment o:f an im!d mill privilege. In many instances, this circumhas led to the re-opening and profi.table working of
which were relinquished on account of the surrounding
insinuating itself into the crevices. This absorption is
attributable to the broader expanse of country now
cultivation, which conduces to more rapid evaporation.
action of settlers in denuding the land of wood and forhas contributed toward the depletion of the rivers and
branches.

Dinner and ocasionally through the Day I have never had

an attack Since I got another half Barrel about a month
Since and
using it the sarne way and I feel it does me
a great Deal of good I have not the thirst fo•· so much

am

water as what 1 have been in the habit of Drinking in
hot weathe'i· you will be su.1-prised 1.vhen I say that a man

will Drink from two to three gallo'f'S.of water in one Day
1vhich I think is not good I have [had} some conversations
with a Doctor and he recomends beer I have about 2

acres of Barley which looks 1vell if alls 1vell I shall make
my own malt and bre.v my own [beer} I must now close
my letter and may Gods blessing be 1vith you

The farming peoples created their religions, and
their churches occupied central position in social and
community life. Often the small, usually wooden,
churches looked much like those in New England or
New York or in some foreign land. Camp meetings
or revival meetings were a real part of rural community life. In some locations the meetings were lighted by great fires built on platforms. Preachers were
apt to be very dramatic and to speak of hell and the
torments of hell-fire and the wages of sin. The values

doubt the water problems had something to
the widespread "chills and ague" suffered
time to time by most early settlers. But appareven then there wasn't any shortage of beer,
Bottomley was happy to use beer as a

OF WATER AND REWARDS

just state how I treated myself in regard to

The Wisconsin farm family, in the transformation of the land, has never disassociated itself from
the community in which it lives. The lives of Wisconsin folks are mingled and intermingled in community projects-new roads, a church, the building of
barns, in the homes the creation of quilts by the
womenfolks; neighborhood picnics or just the sheer
getting along. with each other. For, as the settlements grew, there was competition for natural assets, springs of good water, for example, over which
disagreements sometimes took place. Strength, will,
the will to stay, to break land, to fight for one's own
place-these were very strong motivations.
Edwin Bottomley learned that it was not always
easy to keep the peace, when spring water for cattle
was necessary.

like M'i-. Dyson's opinion about it. Dur-

o{ the ague I always had a great Desire
last march after an attack of the ague I got a

Dear Father:
This Spring is of great sm"'Vice to us jot· wate1-ing our
cattle at. It never freezes over in winter and has never
been DTy since we came to this cuutry in the Dryest

weathear about 3 weeks ago I sent William to water the
horses first thing one morning which is my regular prac-

A great Wisconsin scientist Invented the first reliable test
butterfat: Dr. Stephen A. Babcock of the Wisconsin College
Agriculture.

tice While he was watering the horses Put·man came to
him and was veTy ct•oss ·tt,'ith kim f o1· 1nuding the wate1·

·which was very little to find fault with for the spring is
so strong that it will cleat· itself in one minute let it be
stired up ever so bad I sent him again at Diner time with
the horses and when he got theire Putman and one of
them at the other place had been and put two Logs of

ha·ve suffe'red on account of Pastu:teage for OU'i'
Dm·ing surnmer if they had blocked us out our
would have to t1·avel j'i·om 1 mile to two before they
have got to any open water.

It is well known, of course, that the
chose homes where springs were available.
not most, of these homestead sp1·ings have
ished. Indeed, by the 1880s many of the
water sites were gone. A writer in the history
Green County recounts how in the early days

timQer across the Spring so as the·y could not Drink 1.vhen

he came back I felt very greived about it and felt inclined
to go and Raise my neighbou,·s and pull the Logs off but
again I thought it would pe•·haps be best to let it alone
as I had then resolved to pu•·chase it if I could be any
means theire is another Disadvant[a}ge which •ve Should

56

57

of a Puritan morality were made very plain, and the
people, for the most part, heeded. The little church
at the crossroad was a cornerstone of security.
Dea•· Father:

we had a 'meeting last night to Deside upon a site for
the chaple and it lt'as unanim. ously ag·t'eed that it should
stand on Mr StonehmtS['s] land he haveing gene'rously

oferd to give the land for that purpouse it will be the
most cent?·al place in the settleme.nt and will be near the
school house on the contrary side the Burlington

Racien road the size of the chaple is not yet Desided
nm· the jo1··1tl· of It But we have an Idea of haveing

Cattle ImprOved tremendously.

feet by 30 and basement story under the Chaple 1
sabath School if we can 1·ai-se sufficient /'ltnds I
D·rawn a plan to1· one of that Dintens·ions the end o.
Building to form the f•·ont the inte•·io·r of the chaple
be in this form theire ·would be a loft on the end
forms the front which would take about 10 feet

58

~

il

bTeadth and 30 feet long in this furrn nnder the loft to
fonn a vesteTy at one end 10 feet by 8 and anothwr ro-m
at the othe't end the smne size joT sta.iTs into the loft and
admU of stairs comeing up o-ut of the school so that the
scholaTS can come o1tf of the school into the loft without
going out of DooTs or· into the body of the chaple a poTtiun of the loft to be occupied by the singe·rs the Pultit
to be at the oppisitc end of th chaple -which according to
the Plan wo·uld be fiat o1· as [you.] will perhaps better ·wnderstand the congTegation 1cill be all on a level the plan
whas highly aproved off by some ...

At the first service in the new "chaple," the settlers sang a hymn:
f?aHwellm·y fdends below,
t·ime passes fleetly
when moments a-re i't~tp-rovd
tinw passes sweetly
in Jesus we a1·e one
when a few years are gone
Befm·e the Shinny throne
wec'l 1neet in Glo·ry
the woes of life we feel
and its temptat·ions
then let us nobly fil-l
ouT proper Stat-ions
SolditTS of Christ old fast
the wa1·s will soon be Past
to !ten victory c1·owns at last
wee'l meet in glory

to it, when the world's wealth and honors and stations palled upon their cloyed senses."
According to the Wisconsin writers of the nineteenth century, the country girl had opportunities
and challenges galore, her whole existence offered so
very much more than the city girl's.
"In place of the city sights and sounds," remarked a female writer in 1870, "with its bustle and
endless change, the Wisconsin country girl has the
blue sky, the fleecy cloud, the glowing sunset, the majestic storm, the miracle of budding leaf and flower,
the mystery of the burning bush of autumn, the ice
and snow crystals of winter, the hum of insects and
the sweet carol of birds.
"She may not have the delightful companionship
of chosen friends of her own age, but the possibility
of hurtful companionship is made less, and tender
home ties may nowhere else be so closely bound. To
me at the old home, nothing could compensate as I
see it, for the constant companionship of my mother,
made possible by her freedom from the demands of
society.
"In a sound body, I plead that the farmer's
daughter be given a cultivated mind. So often, it is
said, 'Of what use is an education to a farmer's son,
much less to a farmer's daughter, who is to be nothing but a farmer's wife by-and-by 1' Of what use 1 To
whom is it of greater use? Of what use to be surrounded by the glories and beauties of nature, if the
eyes have never been opened to see, and the ears
have never been opened to hear the lessons which
they teach? Is it consistent to think that the noble
sciences of botany, zoology, chemistry, astronomy,
and geology are of more value to the embryo banker,
book-keeper, and lawyer and their future wives, than
to the men and women who have the conditions to
make them a life-long delight as well as a source of
practical value in their business? 'The learned eye
is still the loving one' and blank fields, weedy roadside, the hollows in the wood, the be-clouded sky will
be full of suggestions for thought and not lonely
when 'God is seen in the star, in the stone, in the
flesh, in the soul, in the clod.'
"Is it not true that many of our Wisconsin country girls are round-shouldered, narrow-chested, weaklunged, pale, and nerveless? Is it not true that many
whose services are needed at home are dissatisfied
with their conditions, anxious to go out to domestic
service, teach school, clerk, do anything simply to
get away from the farm? Is it true that many a
country girl prefers to marry a 'dude' who spends his
meager earning in buying gaudy neckties, and keeps
his boots blacked, to the honest young farmer, who
can offer her a home on broad, well-tilled acres of

then o what .Joys will crown
That happy mccti11[!
wec'l- Bow bcfon: th(' tlo·onc
each othe-r gn~cting
rcfn·sht ago-in we'll start
though fm· a wh-ile we pal'tyt:t alwa-ys joiud -h1 !waTt
1A-'cc'l ;neet in glm·y

John Y. Hoyt, editor of the Wisconsin Farmer,
founded 1855, was a champion of science and edU<
tion as benefits for the farmer. A popular attitude
1870, however, was: "Those who succeed best
farmers are for the most part rather illiterate,
spend little time in reading." Farmers were
need only elementary education, and their
none at all. Hoyt fought hard for a better
Wisconsin citizens. He was also the first
the venerable Wisconsin Academy of Sciences,
and Letters, founded in 1870.
Hoyt and others, conscious of the problems
the Wisconsin farm and concerned with the
of the farmer and his family, often wrote
to remind readers to appreciate the
all its joys. Writing in the Wisco
Society "Proceedings," a farm woman
situation for the farmer, and dwells on the
a life on the Wisconsin farm could bring:

"Health, strength, competence, and peace attend
the farmer's toils. The sun and the sky smile
upon his head. The fruits and the flowers of
1g beneath his feet, obedient to his calL
breezes fill his lungs and fan his manly
condition is one of practical independence.
beneath his own vine and fig tree.
eats the fruits of his own labor. His wealth
depend not upon the smiles of princes
of the populace, but upon his own right
the blessing of that God who has set his
the Heavens, as a witness that summer and
seed-time and harvest, shall not fail.
the ten thousand means which art has
for improving the condition of the human
the enlightened pursuits of Agriculture still
the most inviting, the most productive, the
ble. The cultivation of the soil still continues
emnlmrmPnt of the great mass of mankind; and
its burdens or elevates its votacommand the ready attention of all right-

. It is the occupation of primeval innoThe purest and greatest of men have turned
Farm youth came for the short courses, for agricultural science, and for instruction about animals.

60

61

his own? It is said that insanity is more prevalent
among farmers' wives than among individuals of any
other class. It is true that many a sad-faced farmer's
wife does say, 'My daughter shall never marry a
farmer if her mother can help it.'
"Another remedy for the dissatisfaction of the
farmer's daughter and his wife, too, would be fonnd
if each could herself be in some way a producer of
money and could have entire control of it. It is such
a comfort to have one's own pocket book. More than
one wife has said to me~ not always a farmer's wife,
either, 'I envy you in one respect and that is that you
earn money and can do what you please with it. I
have the best husband in the world, but I do hate to
ask him for every little thing I want.' May it not be
possible in the varied resources of the farm to find
some light, yet remunerative, work which may be

,.

chiefly done, wholly managed by the daughter, the
proceeds to be entirely at her disposal. Washing
dishes, baking bread, ironing, sweeping, the care of
children are very essential in the home, but they do
become monotonous, and the change of occupation
would in itself bring relief. Buttermaking on a small
scale, poultry-raising, bee culture, the raising and
canning of berries, might be profitably engaged in.
The sum total of the proceeds .of the farm would be
increased, and the father, when once he had become
accustomed to a division of money, as well
labor, would be spared much annoyance. The
ter would have a business faculty trained,
learn the value of money, as she can in no other way,
and a healthful, helpful occupation and diversion
would be furnished her."

OF MAN IN SEARCH OF
BETTER WAYS

FTom our fann the young folks have always gone to
educated. Our famil-Y lwd this idea veery deep: educa-

EDUCATION FOR FARMERS
The success of the Wisconsin College of Agriculture depended upon close association with actual
working farmers. It had to be a ''team" operation.
To get new kinds of scientific information out to the
farmers, a series of Farmers' Institutes was established in 1886 by the Wisconsin College of Agriculture. Sometimes an entire train would leave Madison loaded with exhibits and specialists to help farmers in their own territory. There were many new
scientific discoveries. The Wisconsin farm was on
the verge of an era of true self-realization.
Early in Wisconsin educational history, President Thomas Chamberlain of the university said: "A
new ideal is rising--namely, that it is also the function of a university to seek an all-pervasive influence
upon its patron con1munity. Our Farmers' Institutes
are a more striking and effective instance than even
the English movement.''
E. L. Luther told the story of the Farmers' Institutes in Wisconsin klaya-z·ine of History:

all. I know that many in our neighbo'rhood didn't
a _fa'!'1ner needed to have anu lea1·ning /Tom. books
he had eno-ugh /Tom the folkways, and what he learned
the land. But OUT folks insisted on all of us having
;;,r~"l'llf1rv.1 VVe 'loere lwre, ajter all, when they sta.rted the
of Wisconsin. Great-·uncle Tom was one of the
to graduate. G1·eat-grandmothe·r had the ji1·st
anywhe?·e a·round heTe in her cabin one winte'f.
heT daughteT-in-law, g1·a.ndpa's ·uJife, woTked ha1·d
the educa.tion of u.:omen and girls.

;':!!~

Under the Morrill Act of 1862, the state was
federal lands to establish agricultural and
mechanical colleges. For four years nothing was
with the Wisconsin lands. Ripon College earon a strong campaign to obtain them and to
the new agricultural college there, but in
state legislature awarded the lands to the
of Wisconsin. Dane County furnished
for an experimental farm.
Because it was still in its formative years, the
agricultural college did not graduate its first stuuntil 1878. William W. Daniells of Michigan
the first professor of agriculture after John
editor of the W-isconsin Fanner, turned
job. In 1880, William A. Henry was elected
chair of agriculture. He immediately began to
the relationships with farmers that made the
a vital institution. Henry became the agriculdean in 1888.
New York State men in Wisconsin were often
ynamic leaders who headed local movements for
the dairy industry. One of them was
of Sheboygan County, a chief supporter
for whom the first dairy building at the
was named.

62

The year 1848 was a notable one in Wisconsiu. [Beyond
statehood], it is a matter of record that the Wisconsin Legis~
lature that year established the Unive1·sity of Wisconsin.
[Instruction did not begin until 184D.]
In 1862, the Morrill Act >vas passed by Congress and
signed by Lincoln. Dane County gave the University a farm
in 1866. William W. Daniells, a chemist, was made director
of the farm in 1868. In 18'12 a group of dairymen, who were
cheesemakers, organized the Wisconsin Dairymen's Associa~
tion, which developed into one of the greatest boosts to agriculture. as we shall see. Then in 1878 Hiram Smith ... became the first farmer to be appointed to the University Board
of Regents, and was promptly made ehairman of the agricultural committee which looked afte1· the farm. Things then
began to pop.
In 1880 the regents brought William A. Henry, botanist,
to the faculty and made him direetor of the farm and three
years later, in 1883 Governor Jeny Rusk, Hiram Smith 1 and

63

William A. Henry prevailed upon the legislature to set up the
Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station, the first of its
kind in America, and agricultural education went from theory
to truth. Hiram Smith led the way, He organized an agriculD
tural group, among whom was a professor of agriculture, and
held meetings for farmers about the State. At a fair arranged by businessmen in Manitowoc, Smith was present and
was entertaining a considerable group of farm visitors. A
lawyer by the name of Charles E. Estabrook listened with
deep interest to Smith's discussion and wondered why it
would not be a good thing if such discussions could be carried
on regularly throughout the State. With collaboration from
Smith a bill was prepared. Estabrook ran for the Assembly,
was elected, and introduced and carried the bill through the
legislature, with the loyal assistance of Smith, who was a
former assemblyman and knew his way around in legislative
matters.
The following historic statute set up in the University
of Wisconsin the Department of Farmers' Institutes by which
adult farmers could become students of the University in
their own communities.
"An Act to provide for the holding of agricultural institutes. The people of the State of Wisconsin, 1·epresented in
senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
"Section L The board of regents of the state university
is hereby authorized to hold institutes for the instruction of
citizens of this state in the various branches of agriculture.
Such institutes shall be held at such times in the months of
November, December, January, February, March and April
in each year, and at such places as said board may direct.
The said board shaH make such rules and regulations as it
may deem proper for organizing and conducting such institutes, and may employ an agent or agents to perform such
work in connection therewith as they deem best. The courses
of instruction at such Institutes shall be so arranged as to
present to those in attendance the results of the most recent
investigations in theoretical and practical agriculture.
"Section 2. For the purposes mentioned in the preceding
section, the said board may use such sum as it may deem
proper, not exceeding the sum of five thousand dollars in any
one year, from the general fund, and such amount is hereby
annually appropriated for that purpose.
"Section 3. This act shall be in force from and after its
passage and publication."
Approved, February 19 1 18850

several years these specialists were loaned by the
Agricultural Extension Office, and at times they supplied half of the workers in the institntes.
The Depression killed the institutes. The state
administration and the legislature of 1933 discontinued the appropriation for the Department of
ers' Institutes, which had become a valuable adult
educational activity for the farm folk of Wisconsin.
Many farmers in the state in the early
doubted that the agricultural college would
train farmers. The Farmers' Institutes did
bring college and farm together. There was,
ever, great suspicion of the college until Dean l
established the agricultural Short Course in 1887.
was the first school of its kind in America.
In the 1880s, farm people of foreign birth
indeed, the general run of earlier farmers
tradition of hard work and with land to clear
vided few educational opportunities for their
dren. Many farm boys and girls, in fact, were
write and speak well only in a foreign langnag
man, perhapsJ or Norwegian, Bohemian, or
Often they were forced to leave school at age
or fourteen or even younger. Relatively few
high school. To help overcome this Jack of
schooling, the Short Course in agriculture was
lished.
"I got to the fifth grade," said a farmer in
son County, "and that was the end of school for
I had to help my dad in the fields. When we got
crops in I went back to school. I was the oldest
Dad wanted me to go to school but only after

The new College of Agriculture had a very limited faculty, and only now and then could it secure
professors ror the institute programs. Consequently,
it relied heavily on men in the Dairymen's Association. This gave dairy color to the institute programs,
and eventually resulted in making Wisconsin the
leading dairy state.
The first institute was held at Hudson on November 24-25, 1885. Thirty institutes were held that
year, and an average of seventy per year for nine
years. These were farmers' institutes indeed, conducted by farmers with almost all discussions based
upon the experience of successful farmers.
As a rule, new extension specialists started their
work by being brought into institute programs. For
64

work was done, so finally it JUSt got too much work
I had to stop school. But I made up my mind right
then if I ever had children of my own I'd put them at
least through high school. And I have. All eleven of
them."
The rural schools were the cultural centers of
the farming community. The teachers set the litera;·y tastes and often provided music and entertainthents.
"There were fourteen kids in our family/' said
j,<Portage County farmer, "and I was the oldest. We
worked. Hard. And we never got away much, and
get to any parties or such. But we were happy.
folks went to a dance once in a while in the neighbut we kids didn't get to go. I started to
milk cows when I was seven years old, milked right
in the cow yard. I was kicked plenty of times,
you had to watch out for the cow's tail, in bur
and in the fields I drove the team and picked up
Then when the day's work was done I had to
the house and work. I used to have to haul the
two miles to the creamery, and then drive the
back and put them in the barn and then walk
the two miles to school. I snre did want an eduthe Short Course at the agriculture college,
to boys like me, opened up my whole life

University of Wisconsin and classmate of Robert 111.
LaFollette, said, "I shall never rest content until the
beneficent influences of the university are made available to every home in the state." This credo was
an essential statement of the world-famous "Wisconsin Idea."
"For some years past," stated a university publication of the 1880s, "the University has offered an
extended course in agricultural science, embracing,
also, long courses in the closely related sciences. If the
opportunities thus afforded had been embraced and
industriously followed up, it would have proved a
most wise choice to a score or more of talented young
farmers' sons. There is just now, probably, a greater
demand for thoroughly educated talent in agricultural science than in any other branch of learning.
The rapid development of agricultural experiment
stations throughout the country creates an exceptional call for ability and skill in that line, and if a
few dozen Wisconsin boys who had the native talent
had embraced the opportunity, they might now be
putting shekels in their pockets and doing the world
good and their State honor, at the same time. This
course has been reconstructed during the past year,
and is now offered with increased and constantly increasing facilities. How long shall it wait for due
appreciation?"
To meet an entirely different educational need,

65

Disposing of the stumps was very hard, too. They were burned,
or sometimes "stump fences" were made. A rew still exist.

Dean Henry wrote "Feeds and Feeding," which
presented new information on the scientific care of
farm animals; his successor, Dean Harry Russell,
later introduced bacteriological tests for infectious
diseases, especially tuberculosis.
The tuberculin test, indicating infection of
animal by tuberculosis, was announced in 1890. This
eventually led to the testing of Wisconsin dairy cattle. About 2 percent of all Wisconsin cows were
found to be infected. Herds had to be destroyed, often
in the face of angry and sometimes violent farmers
who could not understand why their animals had to
be killed.
(Dr. Stephen A. Babcock, a scientist whose major
interest was in dairy husbandry, developed the milk
tester in 1890. A number of testers to determine the
amount of butterfat in whole milk had been invented, but none was completely satisfactory. At times
tests were apt to be inaccurate. Dr. Babcock was
the first to use sulphuric acid to separate fat.
would have been satisfied with an earlier test in
which he used ether as the separating agent, but for
a single cow named Sylvia. Her milk would not
spond to the ether test. Babcock then developed
test using sulphuric acid. It is still the
butterfat test.
Although Dr. Babcock's discovery could
made him wealthy, he refused income from it
1\ shared the butterfat test with the dairy industry
1 the farmers of the nationf.
Farmers in the 1890s found the butterfat
very much in their interests. A speaker addressing·
the Dairymen's Association made it plain:
"Mr. Everett-Mr. President, I am unable to
mate the value of the Babcock test on the farm.
value is certainly very great to us as farmers.
determines for us accurately in a short time
value of our cows. It finds the per cent. of
in the milk that they give and that is what we

a Short Course in agriculture was offered, designed
to give thorough training in agriculture, in the briefest time and at the smallest expense.
In the Short Course established by the College
of Agriculture in 1885, young farm men could come
for three months of agricultural education at very
low cost. More than any other program, the Short
Course established favorable relations between the
university and state farmers.
The objective of the Short Course was to ·train
young men who would go back to the farm and there
apply the results of scientific study to farm production.
It was feared that exposure to the university
would wean young men and women away from the
farm, but most of the students returned to their family farms.
The young farm students in the Short Course
had the top professors of the College of Agriculture.
They were often instructed by noted bacteriologists,
chemists, dairy professors, and agronomists. Later
the boys had exposure to the liberal arts and social
sciences. Girls, too, attended short courses at the
college, led by home economists.
"My father," stated a successful Rock County
farmer, "attended two winters of Short Course; in
1910, my father-in-law also attended the Short
Course. They both had instruction by the top researchers in the field of agriculture. The Short
Course in Wisconsin is the only one in the whole
country where they have kept the top echelon of
their staff directly related to these farm youth. It's
no wonder we have the best educated group of young
scientific farmers in the country."

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM SCIENCE
Under Dean Henry, the Wisconsin College of
Agriculture began to assume leadership in Wisconsin
agriculture and dairying.

66

anxious to know, what we must know if we would be
successful dairymen. We have been getting along a
great many years-altogether too long-ignorant on
this point of the butter value of milk, and there is no
better way to determine it than by the thorough use
of the Babcock test. Men often say to me, 'Why not
test the cow with the churn? Weigh the milk, churn
it, and weigh the butter?' That was once a very good
way and the only way that we had, although not reliable for the simple reason that we have never
-known what was in that milk. We can only find out
chemical analysis; for instance, to make it more
plain, I have got a cow and I want to know how good
she is. I weigh the milk and I churn it and weigh the
butter. I get from 100 pounds of milk four pounds
of butter. Well, I consider the cow is a fairly good
cow, a little better perhaps than the average. Someone comes along and sells me the Babcock test and I
go to work and test that cow and I find out that she
is giving milk that ought to yield five pounds of butto the 100 pounds of milk. When I tested it by
churn I was very well satisfied to get my four
of butter in that 100 pounds of milk, but the
analysis shows that I was losing about a
butter in that 100 pounds of milk in the
of making or something else. Now, apply the
little further, and I find out where this one
is gone. It is in the buttermilk, or in the skim
I was not getting the cream all out of the milk,
was losing a lot of it in the buttermilk, perhaps a
of it was going to the hogs. In this way you find
the leaks. You find out how much there is actuin the milk, and you must get it out if you would
a profit in your business."
"I remember Dr. Babcock very well," said youth
Wakelin McNeel. "What an interesting
he was, and what a wide range of inter·
had. Among other things he loved were hoiHe cultivated a whole yard full of the most
hollyhocks. That was in his yard on Lake
in Madison. I guess you know that after his
the 4-H Club kids distributed those hollyhock
Babcock hollyhocks are growing in many,
parts of Wisconsin. That sure would have
the old man."
farmers have benefited enormously
great research programs conducted by the
in the areas of agronomy, horticulture, soils,
·¢ngineering, animal husbandry, and insect control.
mgh college research, alfalfa became a chief hay
; Wisconsin became a leading corn state; potaand soy beans came into their own.
In addition to Stephen A. Babcock and Harry
the college has had Dr. Harry Steenbock, who

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Stones were piled like ceremonial heaps among old stumps.

"trapped the sun" by discovering vitamin D in 1924.
After sixteen years of tests with thousands of rats
in his laboratory in the biochemistry building, he
discovered that food could obtain growth-promoting
power from ultraviolet light. He exposed hot millet,
on which rats will not grow, to the rays of a sunlamp.
Rats eating the irradiated grain soon doubled or
tripled their weight. Steenbock was able to apply his
ultraviolet-ray process to basic foods. Hundreds of
licenses were granted to manufacturers who wished
to add the bone-building vitamin to milk, cereals,
flour, bread, health foods, and animal feeds. Steenbock's royalties have largely gone to further research. He helped to establish the Wisconsin Alumni
Research Foundation, and royalties from the vitamin
patents have established the University of Wisconsin
as one of the world's greatest research centers.
The College (now known as the'Wisconsin College of Agricultural and Life Sciences) produced two
more famous scientists, Karl Paul Link and Conrad
Elvehjem.
One Christmas morning in the early years of the
Depression, a dirt farmer from upstate came to the
university looking for help. Many of his best cows
had died. Of the mysterious disease he only knew
that it had some connection with sweet clover. The
cows ate clover hay, got sick, could not get up, and
died. Bringing with him a milk can containing blood
from one of the animals, he wanted the university to
do something about his dead cows.
By sheer luck he bumped into the one man who
might be able to do something. Karl Paul Link, a
young biochemist already becoming well known, was
around the biochem building that morning, and a
watchman, not knowing what else to do with the
visiting farmer, took him to Link. Link immediately
recognized the symptoms of the dead cows as the
sweet clover disease, caused by eating spoiled clover
hay. He explained to the farmer that sweet clover
apparently contained a substance that weakened the
animals. Stricken cattle, he continued, often bruised
themselves when they lay down, causing the rupture
of small blood vessels and the formation of a hema67

patient could become almost a raving maniac, with
red splotches on his neck and chest. After taking
nicotinic acid tablets, he would become normal, almost miraculously, in a short time.
The university and the College of Agriculture
were very interested in the development of the silo.
In Wisconsin Magazine of Histm·y, N. S. Fish related
the events that finally led to Wisconsin as a leading
silo state.

toma under the skin. Blood collected, and the animal
became so weak that it died.
The farmer wasn't greatly comforted by the explanation. He wanted action, and relief. This, Link
could not promise him, but the farmer's visit started
a line of inquiry that did lead to extremely important
discoveries. Cattle that had eaten spoiled sweet
clover hay over a period of time had blood that slowly lost its clotting power. The scientists found that
sweet clover hay, when it was "put up" or stacked,
developed, if it spoiled to any degree, some change
that caused cattle to become weak if they ate the
spoiled hay for from twenty to fifty days. At about
the same time, Dr. R. A. Brink in plant genetics suspected a connection between cumaron, the sweetsmelling substance that makes a clover field so appealing, and the sickness of cattle. Brink requested
that the biochemists assist in testing this theory.
Finding that there was a definite connection,
Link and his associates isolated the anticoagulant
blood factor dicumarol. Their achievement became
extremely important to the medical profession in preventing blood clots in humans. For about ten years
after the farmer visited Link's lab that Christmas
morning in 1933, the scientist and his associates
were busy perfecting compounds somewhat like dicumarol. One of these compounds became the basis for
the famous rat killer Warfarin. Developed in Link's
laboratory at the college, the Warfarin compound
also was found valuable as a new anticoagulant now
widely used in medicine, and superior to dicumarol.
Conrad Elvehjem, thirteenth president of the
university and on the faculty of the college, was one
of the really great research scientists in the country.
His name will be known wherever nutrition and the
problems of diet are discussed. Possibly Elvehjem's
greatest scientific work was in connection with the
vitamin B complex.
Among other achievements, he is credited with
contributing a major effort to the cure of pellagra.
Experimenting with nicotinic acid, he had in his laboratory at the biochemistry department a collie named
Whitey, a dog of which he was very fond. In the
course of experiments, certain kinds of nutritious
food were withheld and Whitey developed black
tongue (the tongue darkens and develops a red band),
a disease somewhat similar to pellagra in humans.
Elvehjem cured Whitey almost immediately with
doses of nicotinic acid.
As soon as Elvehjem reported his success (Collier's magazine published a picture of Whitey), experiments were conducted on persons in jails who
had pellagra. They called the pellagra disease the
three "d's"-dementia, diarrhea, and dermatitis. The

One~fifth

of the entire silo-using population of the United
States is in Wisconsin . . . .
At the time of the advent of the silo in this state, land
was increasing in value and feed was becoming high-priced.
Under these conditions many farmers were unwilling to carry
a herd of cows through the winter, finding it was not profitable to do so. Many would sell in the fall and buy again in
the spring, thus being able to pasture the herd and throwing
the wintering losses on others. The silo greatly reduced the
cost of wintering cows and thereby introduced a fundamental
improvement in the business of dairying.
The word Hsilo" comes from the Latin word sirus, or
silus, meaning cellar, The history of the silO as a storage
place dates back to the earliest times of which we have any
l'ecord. The practice of burying grain in underground pits to
save it for future use and to protect it from invading enemies
is mentioned by ancient writers. But the use of the silo as
we now understand it appears to have been commenced in
1861 by A. Reihlen, of Stuttgart, Germany, who probably
stored the first green maize in pits. He had lived in the
United States a number of years and on his return to Germany began the cultivation of large dent corn. A quantity of
his corn was injured by frost, which made it unfit for soiling
purposes. Wishing to preserve it, he dug trenches in which
he stored the maize; when he opened these a few months
later, he found the corn well preserved and discovered that
his cattle would eat it readily.
The chief credit for what may be termed the practical
modernizing of ensilage undoubtedly belongs to M. Goffart, of
France. Goff art began as early as 1852 to study the preservation of forage. In 1877 he published a book on ensilage which
laid the foundation of all modern practice. This book was
translated and published in the winter of 1878-79 in New
York, by J. B. Brown of the New York Plow Company.
. . , The first silo in Wisconsin was built in 1877 by Levi
P. Gilbert, of Fort Atkinson. Mr. Gilbert conceived the idea
from reading in 1876 a government report on the making of
ensilage in European countries. He decided to try the ven~
ture, and during the summer of 1877 he dug a trench six feet
wide, six feet deep, and thirty feet long. For a time it was
thought that this was the first silo in America ....
The first above-ground silo to be built in the state was
erected in the summer of 1880 by Dr. L. W. Weeks, of Oconomowoc. Weeks got from the French his idea relative to silos.
He was a man of means and could well afford to experiment
on this new venture. Only two of his silos were original constructions. These were built of stone and cement twelve by
thirty by twelve feet deep, and had a wooden superstructure
double-boarded on the inside, bringing the entire depth to
about twenty feet ....
The farm of Dr. ·weeks (which consisted of forty~eight
acres) was not considered by his neighbors to be much of a
farm. Previous to 1880 Weeks operated the farm at a loss,
keeping only a half-dozen cows. In an attempt to make the

68

pay he made fine butter, adopting the Danish system of
ing milk, of which he had learned something during
lerings in Europe. He increased his herd to twelve
purchasing hay and grain for winter feed. Finding this
not make the farm pay, he was about ready to quit farmwhen he obtained a copy of Goffart's treatise on ensilage.
decided as a last resort to try this new venture and built
silos, putting up one hundred tons of fodder corn the
year. He was able to increase his herd to nineteen head
year, and the year following to forty-two head. In a
to Dean W. A. Henry he stated that before he comusing ensilage his farm paid a yearly loss, but since
had given a liberal profit.
Weeks experimented to see how much of this ensilage
could eat. He took a cow and kept increasing her feed
he fed her ninety pounds per day, but she could not
that and lost her appetite. He then put her on marsh
in three days she began to bellow for regular food,
her back on it. It may be interesting to know that
supplied the Plankinton House at Milwaukee with
1 his ensilage-fed cows.
third silo to be erected in Wisconsin was built by
Steele, of Alderly, Dodge County. . . . Government regave Steele the idea of making ensilage. Weeks and
built their silos at practically the same time, neither
1g about the other's plan. While Steele was in Oconobuying some cement preparatory to fixing his silo, the
told him that Weeks was that day filling his silo.
drove over to the Weeks farm to see the process. This
about the middle of August. It was the latter part of

August, 1880, when Steele filled his experimental silo, which
was originally a root cellar holding about twenty-five tons.
Steele stated he then thought it was too late, but got help and
filled it in one day, working until eleven o'clock at night. Although in after years he had poor silage, due to cutting too
early, he stated to the writer that there was never better
ensilage made than that of his first year, although he did not
know it at that time.
In 1881 Steele extended the walls of the root cellar up
into the haymow, bringing the top of it even with the eaves.
This made the size of the silo fifteen by sixteen by twentythree feet deep, twelve feet above the ground and eleven feet
below. This silo was of stone construction, double-boarded
with building paper between, to serve as an insulation against
cold. . . . Steele states he has never had a bit of frozen silage
in this silo. He met with such success that other dairy farm~
ers built silos soon after. Steele probably did more to popularize the silo in the early days than any other man in this
state. He gave instructions to farmers in the vicinity as well
as to the institute men who came to see his silo.
Steele also built a round silo before this type of construe-·
tion became popular. His father at the time they were making maple sugar had a large tub to hold maple sap, and it
was from this he conceived the idea of making a round silo.
In 1888 he built the round silo which was eighteen feet in
diameter and thirty feet high. It was built of two-by-six
staves and lasted twenty~seven years. [It was not copied at
that time.]
In 1881 [Professor] Henry .. , built a silo twenty-seven
by twelve by fifteen feet deep. The walls were of rubble sand-

69

stone eighteen inches thick, the inside being smooth with
cement. This silo was not a complete success on account of
the porosity of the walls. When ready to fill this silo, .
Henry thought the event of such importance as to warrant
putting notices in the city papers and sending out postal
cards inviting prominent farmers from different parts of the
state to witness the work, which was to start on August 5,
1881. This silo was opened November 29, 1881. Upon being
offered the ensilage, three out of twelve farm cows refused
to eat it. Those that ate seemed puzzled over it, and showed
plainly by their cautious mincing manner that they could not
quite understand what it was. Those that refused it entirely
at first, soon fell to tasting it, and after four or five feeds
they all ate it as naturally as hay. The first experiment performed was a feeding trial between meadow hay and ensilage.
The result was in favor of the ensilage. . . .
With our present knowledge of construction, it is surprising that the square and rectangular silos continued to
be built as long as they did. The United States Department
of Agriculture, in a report published in 1882, made mention
of the merits of the round silos, but farmers did not build
them. One reason that might be advanced is that many of
the square and rectangular silos were built in barns because
farmers thought that was the proper place for a silo. The
early silos were of stone, and for this reason it seemed to
many that all silos had to be built of stone. In some localities
stone was not to be had except at considerable expense. From
1885 the building of silos from lumber, in the corner of the
barn, gradually took the place of the stone silos. This type of
construction continued until in 1891 Professor F. H. King, of

the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station,
the round silo.
Previous to 1891 Professor King had made a special study
of the different types of silos then in use. He journeyed
throughout Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois in quest
of information. It was from these investigations that he
brought forth a new type of silo which became known as the
King silo. King observed that many farmers were having
trouble with ensilage spoiling in the corners of the square and
rectangular silos, and decided in favor of the round silo as a
type which would be free from that objection. Round silos
had been advocated before [by John Steele], but farmers did
not build them. Professor King had more to do with developing and advocating the round silo and making it a success
than any other man.

REVIVING THE CUTOVER LANDS
The college also took a deep interest in the northern agricultural lands. When the great and 1·omantic
"lumberjack era" in Wisconsin ended in the early
nineteenth century, northern Wisconsin was left a
kind of wasteland of stumps and burned-over lands,
apparently good for little. But Dean Henry took a
personal interest in these lands.
Northern Wisconsin was not considered farming country, but as lumbering developed in the pineries, a market for farm produce developed also.
Flour, pork, beef, potatoes, hay, corn, and oats to

feed the livestock used in the lumber camps were
salable there. When oxen were required for work in
the woods, farmers owning oxen and farmhands could
work in the timber camps in the winter. Farming in
the areas of large lumber operations had advantages.
A writer commented in the Barron County history that:
With the coming of winter, the men-folk, even those who
eventually intended to make a living by farming, made for
the woods, with the oldest boys. Those who had horses, or
mules, or oxen, were fortunate, for these they could also take
into the woods as a source of profit.
Dreary indeed was the lot of the devoted mothel's left
with the children in the lonely cabins. Wild beasts ranged
the woods, Indians were sometimes in the neighborhood,
neighbors were far away, letters and readin.l.!.' matter were a
rare treat. There were chores to do, the animals to look after,
the household tasks to perform. Often provisions ran low,
sometimes illness and even death stalked across the humble
threshold.
In addition to the other duties, many of the women, espethose from the European countries, spent their extra
1 carding, spinning and knitting. The cherished possesof many such families is now a spinning wheel brought
far across the seas, and upon which some devoted mother
spun as she dreamed dreams of a future in which she and the
husband should have attained p1·osperity and comfort, and
n the children should have grown to adult years, an honor
comfort to their parents, and happy in the possession of
comforts and opportunities of which she and her husband
denying themselves. The yarn being spun, it was knit
mittens, socks and even jackets to supplement the
re supply of clothing.
In some of the neighborhoods there were schools which
children could attend part of the year. They were of the
kind, usua1ly with hand-hewed benches. But for a
of years the more isolated children received only such
as their mothers could give them.
indeed were the mothers, when some traveling
priest came along, held a meeting or mass at their
ed the children, and gave them Bible or catechism
Some of the pleasantest memories of many of the
_ _ now in the county is that the first meetings of
congregation in their neighborhood were held in thejr

True enough, sometimes the vegetables were larger than life.

brought premium prices. Logging camps mushroomed throughout the forest country. Wisconsin
became the leading lumber state in the nation. Into
the "cutover frontier" Wisconsin's farms gradually
crept northward.
It took thirty years for the counties in the middle north to convert to agriculture. It took much
longer for the counties in the far north. The great
stands of white pine had been largely exhausted by
1915. For more than seventy-five years Wisconsin
furnished white pine for the new dwellings and towns
of the new western country.
Dean Henry wrote and published a pamphlet
in 1896, "Northern Wisconsin, a Handbook for the
Homeseeker." He personally led a commission
through the north, and he had much influence in the
settlement and making of farms in northern Wisconsin.
By 1900 a land settlement for northern Wisconsin got into gear, with speculators and land agents
promoting cheap cutover land for farms. The agents
promised rose-garden dreams of cheap land and crops
of plenty.
Early lumbermen in northern Wisconsin were
actually often reluctant to sell their cutover lands.
"So long as we have outstanding pine in any considerable quantities in a county," said one lumber·;king,
"we want the settler to keep out, for as soon as the
farmer appears he wants schools, roads, and other
improvements for which we, the owners, must pay
increased taxes."
Timber companies that logged off the forest
lands of Wisconsin thought so little of the land itself
that they often did not retain title after taking the

a number of years but little was raised on the little
except the food needed by the family. This was
by wild game and such staple provisions as
purchased at the far away stores out of the slender
s. Wheat and corn were taken to distant mills
into flour. Meat was dried and cured in the back
hung up preserved by the intense cold.
acreage of the clearings was increased, a little surespecially of rutabagas, hay, oats and meat could be
to the lumber company.
There was but little cash in all the country. The lumber
)anies paid for the most part in script and orders good at
mpany store.
~

iUnnlPm~nted

Expansion of business and industry and just the
needs of housing all the newcomers to the MisBasin caused a lumber boom. After the Civil
the great white pines of northern Wisconsin

70

71

ing to visit some cousins we saw a house made of
small stones. Well, we thought we were going to be
rich selling rocks to folks to make those cobblestone
houses. Anyway, we never did, but we sure didn't
need any spring tonic. Rocks were our tonic all year
round.''
Speculation in cutover lands is best described by
Lucile Kane in W·isconsin Magazine of Histo1-y. From
the offices of the dealers, she writes, went agents
armed with optimism and the vision of a 5 percent
commission. The agents were supported by a tide of
literature booming the cutovers. Viewed as a body,
this advertising matter was gaudy, simple, and senAs in the south, farming in the cutover was a family operation.
timentaL Most of it, naturally, stressed the advantages of the area and played down the disadvantages.
timber. The land returned to the counties for unpaid
It was fairly explicit about transportation facilities,
taxes. Later the companies did pay the taxes, remarkets, crops, and plans for financing the purchase.
ceived tax titles to the lands, and gave such titles to
The prevailing theme, expressed in prose and verse,
settlers who bought the cutover.
was that every man should have a home of his own.
"If you mean a land," shouted the speculators,
In this respect the advertisements were no differ"where trout streams murmur and broad rivers
ent from those booming the Wisconsin lands in the
gleam through walls of cedar, and the gold of butter1840s in southern Wisconsin.
cups is mingled with the white bloom of clover, then
An avid promoter, the Soo Line Railroad issued
I have seen the fair land of which you dream, a couna pamphlet that carried this verse:
try gentle, undulating, like the billows of the sea,
He who owns a home of his own,
fruitful and rich in all the grasses that a shepherd
If only a cottage with vines o'ergrown,
loves."
Of the pleasures of life, gets a greater per cent
A company in Sawyer offered lands at one dollar
Than his haughtiest neighbor who has to pay
an acre and seven years to pay. The North American
rent.
Land Company, composed of American and German
The pamphlet explains that it is written for the
officials of the North German Lloyds Steamship Comman who is hungry-hungry for a home of his own.
pany, arranged with a Sheboygan land dealer to
It is for the man who has an unsatisfied appetite that
bring German settlers to northern Wisconsin.
gnaws away at his very being, making him crave his
The Wisconsin legislature through special incenown farm or a piece of land he can develop into
tives stimulated settlement of farms in northern
The speculating companies searched for potenWisconsin, which had been shunned by settlers who
tial settlers among tenant farmers and wage earners
thought the land-clearing problems too difficult. From
in the large cities. They flooded possible interested
1900 to 1920 agriculture in the north increased rapgroups with pamphlets, letters, and circulars that
idly. It was tough going, clearing stumps and rocks.
tolled the advantages of rural life and explained
Walter Rowlands of the Agricultural Experiment
terms on which a farm might be had. Poetry (of
Station showed northern farmers how to blast stumps
sort) was a chief method of approach:
with dynamite. They called Rowlands "Pyrotol
Come to Sunny, Southern Sawyer
Pete."
There's a future here for you .
.. Rocks, rocks, rocks, some round and some were
Mother Nature's always smiling
flat enough to sit on." Cried one settler, "Oh, what
And the skies are rarest blue.
a back-breaking job we had picking rocks off of the
Where the crops are always "bumper"
farm. The old hand plow was pretty good at digging
And the taxes always paid
them up. We had to pile them on the flat stoneboat
Where you've got a dollar waiting
and they were hauled to the edge of the' field. We
When you've got a dollar made.
piled them up for a stone fence. I always thought
But in cold fact, making a living on the
that grandpa had planted those rocks so that they
land was hard going for man, woman,
were forever coming to the surface. Our neighbors
Many settlers, responding to the publicity,
never seemed to have as many rocks on their farms.
wrest a living from the cutovers. Some
We sure wished that we could do something wonderexpended years in a futile effort to survive
ful with all those rocks. One day when we were go72

bitter. They accused land companies of breaking
promises of roads, schools, and tax reduction. The
American aphorism that "farms follow forests" had
a bitter test in the cutovers of northern Wisconsin.
Some ethnic groups, such as the Finns, were
successful in transforming some of the most undesirable land into farms. They seemed to find northern
Wisconsin cutover similar to the old country. Speculators made a particular effort to dispose of land to
the Finns.
A certain "Kapten Key l" of Helsinki was one of
the most extravagant promoters. He circulated flyers stating that "each buyer will get a big house
from the company immediately. Until the building
of the houses the buyer can stay in the big camp of
the company where everybody can get two rooms.
Everybody can buy land ready for the plow. Who
intends to buy land can get work right away, especially in ... the sugar factories which the company
establishes everywhere, or by the building of houses,
or roads, or railroads. .
New farmers are leaving
each week from Helsingfors for Wisconsin. Nobody
have any other expenses while on the road ....
have to be shown at the ports of entry to the
American ofi1cials. Anybody who has not this amount
get it from the company."
What a surprise the arriving Finn got when he
there was no building on the land and no ten
There were plenty of mosquitoes and work
end. But generally the Finns, who were exbuilt cabins and stayed. Many became

The families gathered in wild blueberry barrens. The blueberry
crop was salable in the cities. Sometimes trains loaded with
wild blueberries rolled out of the north.

took part, and despite problems galore northern Wisconsin was creative and forward-looking. In 1912
Oneida County established the first publicly supported county agricultural office in the United States. In
Oneida County, too, Agricultural Agent L. G. Sorden
and others established the first national experiments
with rural land zoning. As agriculture moved north,
the problems of rural living became acute. Schools
and roads often cost more than the new communities
could afford. Land was reclassified and arrangements
were made in the 1930s to resettle hundreds of northern Wisconsin farm families.
Nowadays the emphasis on northern Wisconsin
is as a vacationland. And perhaps the areas of the
north, unsuited for farming, have finally come into
their own.

story, however, isn't all bad. It was hard
gradually some settlers conquered the land.
Henry, who was untiring in efforts to adassist, recommended hardwood lands to
who were willing to combine farming with
work. Farmers who cut trees, sold the logs,
made cleared lands of the timber areas were
successful. Thousands of Scandinavians and
along with other ethnic groups, changed
dition from hired labor to fflrm owners
combination. The hardwood stumps disapin about twenty years. Pine stumps, which
about a hundred years to rot away, were dealt
by the stump puller and dynamite.
3urned-over lands were usually costly to clear;
, when a "double-burn" occurred-burned
again caught fire-the task became easier
profitable. Such land was next to prairie
in crop production.
And in many areas vegetable harvests were
Soils conducive to potato production led
a large potato industry. In all of this the college

WOMEN, YOUTH, AND THE ARTS
While initial efforts of the college focused on
scientific agriculture, agricultural economics, and actual working conditions of the farmer, later work
has shown concern for youth, cultural arts, and
homemakers. Agricultural agents, youth agents, resource agents, and home agents reside in each Wisconsin county under a system of "Cooperative Extension." Work with women has been a highlight of
this farm-related program.
With the passage of the Smith-Lever Act (1914),
the University of Wisconsin was able to help and
encourage farm women to help themselves. The act
marked the first time that the U.S. government had
recognized the heavy burdens of farm women and
shown a willingness to help ease the load.
A New York State economi-st, Martha Van Rensaelaer, had, some time before 1914, caused a pedometer to be affixed to the leg of a farm wife. She was
shown to have walked more than twenty miles
around the farm and the house in a single day just
73

and arts and crafts, Thousands of 4-H plays have
been produced, gardens made, sewing projects developed, canning and animal husbandry programs stimulated. The history of youth work in Wisconsin is
inspiring and has nearly always been a major aspect
of the college and its extension service. The first 4-H
meeting was held on a farm in Rock County in 1914.
Nowadays, of course, urban young people and rural
mix in total youth emphasis.

1930:

NOTEWORTHY DATES IN WISCONSIN
4-HHISTORY

1932:

First county~wide roundup corn show by R.
for boys and g-irls at Richland County fair, Richland
Center
1909: First boys' corn growing scholarships given for a
one-week course at the College of Agriculture during
Farmers' Course
1914: T. L. Bewick named first state leader of boys' and
girls' club work in Wisconsin
First local club organized under the Smith-Lever Act
at Zenda, near Lake Geneva, Walworth County
1916: First definite and recognized 4-H state fair department set up in tent camp. First Junior Livestock Exposition by Wisconsin Live Stock Breeders' Association in stock pavilion
1918: First 4-H camp held at College of Agriculture
1919: First 4-H leaders handbook issued; and U.S. Garden:
Army for Wisconsin organized for the production of
food for defense
1920: Club motto changed to "Make the Best Better"
1922: First National 4-H Club Congress held at Chicago
1924: First home economics judging team sent to National
Club Congress
1925: First county 4-H club camps established in
in Shawano and Rusk Counties

1904:

Mechanical pickers have helped the cranberry industry to grow
in Wisconsin.

carrying out her daily duties. The experiment attracted national attention. Much of the struggle to
maintain the farm and home since settlement days
had depended on the farm wife. Now, through university specialists, her plight was to become easier.
At the time of the passage of the Smith-Lever
Act, farm women were showing a desire to improve
their condition: to wear better and more attractive
clothing, to have more convenient and attractive
homes, to be able to express themselves through music and the other arts, and to feed their families more
nourishing foods.
The specialists of the Agricultural Extension
Service aided the farm women by meeting with
them on their home ground. No matter what the
weather, the specialists were there when needed. Nellie Kedzie Jones, Abby Marlett, and others of the
original group set the spirit and the tone that continue to this day. There are thousands of farm
women, as well as urban women, associated as Homemaker Clubs, and all their activity is devoted to a
more enriched family and community life. Over the
years, Wisconsin has developed more community
homemaker choruses and has produced more rurallife plays than any other state,
An average Wisconsin farm woman today is said
to be worth a wage of at least $20,000 per year, even
at minimum rates. Her hours of effort are practically endless. To help her every county in the state now
has its ~~home agent.
The 4-H Club movement in Wisconsin has shown
the state's concern for its rural youth. Adults have
provided leadership for young people in projects
concerning agriculture, the home, the environment,

1927:

First full-time county 4-H club leaders appointed: C.

J. McAleavy, Marathon; Bruce Cartter, Marinette,
1928:
1929:

and Ben Hauser, Milwaukee
First three school forests dedicated in Forest County
Wakelin McNeel and V. V. Varney inaugurated first
series of weekly radio sketches over University Sta-

tion WHA

First home talent tournamt>nt, with 40 plays in H counties,
won by Ma1·inette County
Club work now included in every county agent's program for the first time
Professor R A. Moo1·e made honomry member at a
ceremony dedicating the 4-H dub knoll
More than 4,000 members \vent to 16 4-H camps
"Afield with Ranger Mac" weekly feature for schools
began over Station WHA
First recreational laboratory was started at Phantom
Lake, Waukesha County
Upham Woods deeded to the University by the Upham
heirs
For wartime service and victory projects members collected 5,ti16,000 pounds of scrap metal and 559,000
pounds of paper and rag's for salvage uses
County club agents in 30 counties, or 11 more than in
1945
First state 4-H health camp at Green Lake

11

of ultimate importance,

74

75

1948:
1U50:
l!J51:
ltl52:
1953:

1955:
1957:

1959:

1%4:
1965:
1970:
l 971:
1975:
1975:
1975:

Achievement day at state fair observed in the Wis
consin State Centennial
Clover leaf pins and certificates awarded to Wisconsin
pioneer club leaders according to years of service
Wisconsin joined the IFYE program
Wisconsin State 4-H Leaders Council fOI'med
The Wisconsin 4-H Club Foundation was organized
and approved
State Junior Leader Couneil formed
The University of Wisconsin Wis host to 176 IFYE's
from 40 counties at their midpoint meeting
A Wisconsin room in the National 4·-H Club Center in
Washington, D.C., was furnished in memory of T, L.
Bewiek, Wakelin McNeel, and J. H. Craig
First Statewide 4-H Dog O"bedience Show
First Statewide 4~H Pleasure Horse Show
First Reach-out group formed to provide programs
for State 4--H Congress
Total 4-H members from non-farm exceeds 50'!~ for
first time (50.4 1k·)
4-H Enrollment exceeds 80,000 for first time
Adult leaders exceed 20,000 for first time
First Youth Livestock Days held in four locations in
state

Through the women's and youth movement the
state abounds in rural artists and poets who are

and arts and crafts. Thousands of 4-H plays have
been produced, gardens made, sewing projects developed, canning and animal husbandry programs stimulated. The history of youth work in Wisconsin is
inspiring and has nearly always been a major aspect
of the college and its extension service. The first 4-H
meeting was held on a farm in Rock County in 1914.
Nowadays, of course, urban young people and rural
mix in total youth emphasis.
NOTEWORTHY DATES IN WISCONSIN
4-·H HISTORY
1004:

First county-wide roundup corn show by R A. Moore
for boys and girls at Richland County fair, Richland
Center
190fl: First boys' corn growing scholarships given for a
one-week course at the College of Agriculture during
Farmers' Course
1914: T. L. Bewick named :first state leader of boys' and
girls' club work in Wisconsin
First local club organized under the Smith-Lever Act
at Zenda, near Lake Geneva, Walworth County
1916: First definite and recognized 4-H state fair department set up in tent camp. First Junior Livestock Ex~
position by Wisconsin Live Stock Breeders' Associa~
tion in stock pavilion
1918: First 4-H camp held at College of Agriculture
1919: First 4~H leaders handbook issued; and U.S.
Army for Wisconsin organized for the production
food for defense
1920: Club motto changed to "Make the Best Better"
1922: First National4-H Club Congress held at Chicago
1924: First home economics judging team sent to
Club Congress
1925: First county 4-H 'club camps established in
in Shawano and Rusk Counties

Mechanical pickers have helped the cranberry industry to grow
in Wisconsin.

carrying out her daily duties. The experiment attracted national attention. Much of the struggle to
maintain the farm and home since settlement days
had depended on the farm wife. Now, through university specialists, her plight was to become easier.
At the time of the passage of the Smith-Lever
Act, farm women were showing a desire to improve
their condition: to wear better and more attractive
clothing, to have more convenient and attractive
homes, to be able to express themselves through music and the other arts, and to feed their families more
nourishing foods.
The specialists of the Agricultural Extension
Service aided the farm women by meeting with
them on their home ground. No matter what the
weather, the specialists were there when needed. Nellie Kedzie Jones, Abby Marlett, and others of the
original group set the spirit and the tone that continue to this day. There are thousands of farm
women, as well as urban women, associated as Homemaker Clubs, and all their activity is devoted to a
more enriched family and community life. Over the
years, Wisconsin has developed more community
homemaker choruses and has produced more rurallife plays than any other state.
An average Wisconsin farm woman today is said
to be worth a wage of at least $20,000 per year, even
at minimum rates. Her hours of effort are practically endless. To help her every county in the state now
has its Hhome agent."
The 4-H Club movement in Wisconsin has shown
the state's concern for its rural youth. Adults have
provided leadership for young people in projects
concerning agriculture, the home, the environment,

1927;

First full-time county 4-H club leaders appointed: C.

J. McAleavy, Marathon; Bruce Cartter, Marinette,
1928:
1929:

and Ben Hauser, Milwaukee
First three school forests dedicated in Forest County
Wakelin McNeel and V, V. Varney inaugurated first
series of weekly radio sketches over University Sta-

tion WHA

First home talent tournament, with 40 plays in fJ counties,
won by Marinette County
Club work now included in every county agent's program for the first time
Professor R A. Moore made honorary member at a
ceremony dedicating the 4-H club knoll
1932: More than 4,000 members went to 16 4-H camps
"Afield with Ranger Mac" weekly feature for schools
began ove1· Station WHA
First recreational laboratory was started at Phantom
Lake, Waukesha County
Upham Woods deeded to the University by the Upham
heirs
1930:

For wartime service and victory projects members collected 5,616,000 pounds of scrap metal and 559,000
pounds of paper and l'ags for salvage uses
County club agents in 30 counties, or 11 more than in
1945

of ultimate importance.

74

75

1948:
ltl50:
1961:
1952:
1953:
1955:
1957:
1959:

Hl64;
1965:
1970:
]971:
1975:
1975:
1975:

Achievement day at state fair observed in the Wisconsin State Centennial
Clover leaf pins and certificates awarded to Wisconsin
pioneer club leaders according to years of service
Wisconsin joined the IFYE program
Wisconsin State 4-H Leaders Council formed
The Wisconsin 4-·H Club Foundation was organized
and approved
State Junior Leader Council formed
The University of Wisconsin "v.'<ls host to 176 IFYE's
from 40 counties at their midpoint meeting
A Wisconsin room in the National 4-H Club Center in
Washington, D.C., was furnished in memory of T. L.
Bewick, Wakelin McNeel, and J. H. Craig
First Statewide 4-H Dog Obedience Show
First Statewide 4-H Pleasure Horse Show
First Reach-out group formed to provide programs
for State 4-H Congress
Total 4-H members from non-farm exceeds 50'/'c· for
first time (50.4~·()
4-H Enrollment exceeds 80,000 for first time
Adult leaders exceed 20,000 for first time
First Youth Livestock Days held in four locations in
state

Through the women's and youth movement the
state abounds in rural artists and poets who are

ing to visit some cousins we saw a house made
small stones. Well, we thought we were going to
rich selling rocks to folks to make those enihhloot·nn.
houses. Anyway, we never did, but we sure
need any spring tonic. Rocks were our tonic all
round."
Speculation in cutover lands is best described
Lucile Kane in Wisconsin Magazine of HistoTy. From ,
the offices of the dealers, she writes, went
armed with optimism and the vision of a 5
commission. The agents were supported by a tide of
literature booming the cutovers. Viewed as a body,
this advertising matter was gaudy, simple, and sentimental. Most of it, naturally, stressed the advanc
tages of the area and played down the disadvantages.
It was fairly explicit about transportation facilities,
markets, crops, and plans for financing the
The prevailing theme, expressed in prose and verse;
was that every man should have a horne of his own.
In this respect the advertisements were no different from those booming the Wisconsin lands in the
1840s in southern Wisconsin.
An avid promoter, the Soo Line Railroad issued
a pamphlet that carried this verse:
He who owns a horne of his own,
If only a cottage with vines o'ergrown,
Of the pleasures of life, gets a greater per cent
Than his haughtiest neighbor who has to pay
rent.
The pamphlet explains that it is written for the
man who is hungry-hungry for a home of his own.
It is for the man who has an unsatisfied appetite that
gnaws away at his very being, making him crave his
own farm or a piece of land he can develop into one.
The speculating compani<Js searched for potential settlers among tenant farmers and wage earners
in the large cities. They flooded possible interested
groups with pamphlets, letters, and circulars that extolled the advantages of rural life and explained the
terms on which a farm might be had. Poetry (of a
sort) was a chief method of approach:
Come to Sunny, Southern Sawyer
There's a future here for you.
Mother Nature's always smiling
And the skies are rarest blue.
Where the crops are always "bumper"
And the taxes always paid
Where you've got a dollar waiting
When you've got a dollar made.
But in cold fact, making a living on the cutover
land was hard going for man, woman, and beast
Many settlers, responding to the publicity, failed to
wrest a living from the cutovers. Some who had
expended years in a futile effort to survive turned

As in the south, farming in the cutover was a family operation.

timber. The land returned to the counties for unpaid
taxes. Later the companies did pay the taxes, received tax titles to the lands, and gave such titles to
settlers who bought the cutover.
"If you mean a land," shouted the speculators,
"where trout streams murmur and broad rivers
gleam through walls of cedar, and the gold of buttercups is mingled with the white bloom of clover, then
I have seen the fair land of which you dream, a country gentle, undulating, like the billows of the sea,
fruitful and rich in all the grasses that a shepherd
loves."
A company in Sawyer offered lands at one dollar
an acre and seven years to pay. The North American
Land Company, composed of American and German
officials of theN orth German Lloyds Steamship Company, arranged with a Sheboygan land dealer to
bring German settlers to northern Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin legislature through special incentives stimulated settlement of farms in northern
Wisconsin, which had been shunned by settlers who
thought the land-clearing problems too difficult. From
1900 to 1920 agriculture in the north increased rapidly. It was tough going, clearing stumps and rocks.
Walter Rowlands of the Agricultural Experiment
Station showed northern farmers how to blast stumps
with dynamite. They called Rowlands "Pyrotol
Pete."
"Rocks, rocks, rocks, some round and some were
flat enough to sit on." Cried one settler, "Oh, what
a back-breaking job we had picking rocks off of the
farm. The old hand plow was pretty good at digging
them up. We had to pile them on the flat stoneboat
and they were h'auled to the edge of the. field. We
piled them up for a stone fence. I always thought
that grandpa had planted those rocks so that they
were forever corning to the surface. Our neighbors
never seemed to have as many rocks on their farms.
We sure wished that we could do something wonderful with all those rocks. One day when we were go72

They accused land companies of breaking
of roads, schools, and tax reduction. The
,=···~··~- .. aphorism that "farms follow forests" had
a bitter test in the cutovers of northern Wisconsin.
Some ethnic groups, such as the Finns, were
, ·"''""o"""u' in transforming some of the most undesirland into farms. They seemed to find northern
cutover similar to the old country. Speculators made a particular effort to dispose of land to
the Finns.
A certain "Kapten Key!" of Helsinki was one of
the most extravagant promoters. He circulated flystating that "each buyer will get a big house
the company immediately. Until the building
houses the buyer can stay in the big camp of
company where everybody can get two rooms.
can buy land ready for the plow. Who
to buy land can get work right away, especially in ... the sugar factories which the company
establishes everywhere, or by the building of houses,
or roads, or railroads . ... New farmers are leaving
each week from Helsingfors for Wisconsin. Nobody
will have any other expenses while on the road ....
$10.00 have to be shown at the ports of entry to the
American officials. Anybody who has not this amount
will get it from the company."
What a surprise the arriving Finn got when he
found there was no building on the land and no ten
dollars. There were plenty of mosquitoes and work
without end. But generally the Finns, who were expert axrnen, built cabins and stayed. Many became
prosperous.
The story, however, isn't all bad. It was hard
work, but gradually some settlers conquered the land.
Professor Henry, who was untiring in efforts to advise and assist, recommended hardwood lands to
settlers who were willing to combine farming with
woods work. Farmers who cut trees, sold the logs,
and then made cleared lands of the timber areas were
the most successful. Thousands of Scandinavians and
Germans, along with other ethnic groups, changed
their condition from hired labor to farm owners
by such combination. The hardwood stumps disappeared in about twenty years. Pine stumps, which
take about a hundred years to rot away, were dealt
with by the stump puller and dynamite.
Burned-over lands were usually costly to clear;
however, when a "double-burn" occurred-burned
lands that again caught fire-the task became easier
and more profitable. Such land was next to prairie
land in crop production.
And in many areas vegetable harvests were
bountiful. Soils conducive to potato production led
to a large potato industry. In all of this the college

The families gathered in wild blueberry barrens. The blueberry
crop was salable in the cities. Sometimes trains loaded with
wild blueberries rolled out of the north.

took part, and despite problems galore northern Wisconsin was creative and forward-looking. In 1912
Oneida County established the first publicly supported county agricultural office in the United States. In
Oneida County, too, Agricultural Agent L. G. Sorden
and others established the first national experiments
with rural land zoning. As agriculture moved north,
the problems of rural living became acute. Schools
and roads often cost more than the new communities
could afford. Land was reclassified and arrangements
were made in the 1930s to resettle hundreds of northern Wisconsin farm families.
Nowadays the emphasis on northern Wisconsin
is as a vacationland. And perhaps the areas of the
north, unsuited for farming, have finally come into
their own.

WOMEN, YOUTH, AND THE ARTS
While initial efforts of the college focused on
scientific agriculture, agricultural economics, and actual working conditions of the farmer, later work
has shown concern for youth, cultural arts, and
homemakers. Agricultural agents, youth agents, resource agents, and home agents reside in each Wisconsin county under a system of "Cooperative Extension." Work with women has been a highlight of
this farm-related program.
With the passage of the Smith-Lever Act (1914),
the University of Wisconsin was able to help and
encourage farm women to help themselves. The act
marked the first time that the U.S. government had
recognized the heavy burdens of farm women and
shown a willingness to help ease the load.
A New York State economist, Martha Van Rensaelaer, had, some time before 1914, caused a pedometer to be affixed to the leg of a farm wife. She was
shown to have walked more than twenty miles
around the farm and the house in a single day just

73

and arts and crafts. Thousands of 4-H plays have
been produced, gardens made, sewing projects developed, canning and animal husbandry programs stimulated. The history of youth work in Wisconsin is
inspiring and has nearly always been a major aspect
of the college and its extension service. The first 4-H
meeting was held on a farm in Rock County in 1914.
Nowadays, of course, urban young people and rural
mix in total youth emphasis.
NOTEWORTHY DATES IN WISCONSIN
4-H HISTORY
190-4:

1909:

Mechanical pickers have helped the cranberry industry to grow

1914:

in Wisconsin.

carrying out her daily duties. The experiment attracted national attention. Much of the struggle to
maintain the farm and home since settlement days
had depended on the farm wife. Now, through university specialists, her plight was to become easier.
At the time of the passage of the Smith-Lever
Act, farm women were showing a desire to improve
their condition: to wear better and more attractive
clothing, to have more convenient and attractive
homes, to be able to express themselves through music and the other arts, and to feed their families more
nourishing foods.
The specialists of the Agricultural Extension
Service aided the farm women by meeting with
them on their home ground. No matter what the
weather, the specialists were there when needed. Nellie Kedzie Jones, Abby Marlett, and others of the
original group set the spirit and the tone that continue to this day. There are thousands of farm
women, as well as urban women, associated as Homemaker Clubs, and all their activity is devoted to a
more enriched family and community life. Over the
years, Wisconsin has developed more community
homemaker choruses and has produced more rurallife plays than any other state.
An average Wisconsin farm woman today is said
to be worth a wage of at least $20,000 per year, even
at minimum rates. Her hours of effort are practically endless. To help her every county in the state now
has its "home agent."
The 4-H Club movement in Wisconsin has shown
the state's concern for its rural youth. Adults have
provided leadership for young people in projects
concerning agriculture, the home, the environment,

1916:

1918:
1919:

1920:
1922:
1924:
1925:

74

First county-wide roundup corn show by R A. Moore
for boys and girls at Richland County fair, Richland
Center
First boys' corn growing scholarships given for a
one-week course at the College of Agriculture during
Farmers' Course
T. L. Bewick named first state leader of boys' and
girls' club work in Wisconsin
First local club organized under the Smith-Lever Act
at Zenda, near Lake Geneva, Walworth County
First definite and recognized 4-H state fair department set up in tent. camp. First Junior Livestock Ex·
position by Wlsconsin Live Stock Breeders' Association in stock pavilion
First 4-H camp held at College of Agriculture
First 4-H leaders handbook issued; and U.S. Garden
Army for Wisconsin organized for the production of
food for defense
Club motto changed to "Make the Best Better"
First Nationa14-H Club Congress held at Chicago
First home economics judging team sent to National
Club Congress
First county 4-H club camps established in
in Shawano and Rusk Counties

1927:

First full-time county 4-H club leaders appointed: C.

1948:

J. McAleavy, Marathon; Bruce Cu·tter, Marinette,
1928;
1929:

and Ben Hauser, Milwaukee
First three school forests dedicated in Forest County
Wakelin McNeel and V. V. Varney inaugurated first
series of weekly radio sketches over University Station WHA

1D50:
19&1:
1952:
1953:

First home talent tournament, ·with ·10 plays in H counties,
won by Marinette County
1930: Club work nmv included in every county agent1s pro~
gram for the first time
Professor R. A. Moore made honorary member at a
ceremony dedicating the 4-H club knoll
1932: More than 4,000 members went to 16 4~H camps
1933: "Afield with Ranger Mac'' weekly feature for schools
began over Station WHA
First recreational laboratory was started at Phantom
Lake, Waukesha County
Upham Woods deeded to the University by the Upham
heirs
For wartime service and victory projeets members collected 5,G16,000 pounds of scrap metal and 55D,OOO
pounds of paper and rags for salvage uses
County club agents in 30 counties, or 11 more than in
1945

1955:
1957:
1959:

1964:
1965:
1970:
1971:
1975:
1975:
1975:

Achievement day n.t state fail· observed in the Wisconsin State Centennial
Clover leaf pins and certificates awarded to V/isconsin
pioneer dub leaders according to years of service
Wisconsin joined the IFYE program
Wisconsin State -1--H Leaders Council formed
The Wisconsin 4-H Club Foundation was organized
and approved
State Junior Leader Council formed
The University of Wisconsin was host to 176 IFYE's
from 40 counties at their midpoint. meeting
A Wisconsin room in the National 4-H Club Center in
Washin1:,>ton, D.C., \vas furnished in memory of T. L.
Bewick, Wakelin McNeel, and J. H. Craig
First Statewide 4-H Dog Obedience Show
First Statewide 4-H Pleasm·e Horse Show
First Reach-out group formed to provide programs
for State 4-H Congress
Total 4-H members from non .. farm exceeds sor,;:, for
first time (5Q.4r1 ~.)
4-H Enrollment exceeds 80,000 for first time
Adult leaders exceed 20,000 for fn·st time
First Youth Livestock Days held in four locations in
state

Through the women's and youth movement the
state abounds in rural artists and poets who are

75

striving to carry out the hope of a mighty dean of
the Wisconsin College of Agriculture, Chris Christensen, that someday "art and poetry might be as
important in Wisconsin as dairying."
Dean Christensen, trained in the Danish Folk
Schools, believed that rural life could not be complete without the arts. He brought the first artistin-residence to the university-John Steuart Curry,
who became a member of the college staff and
worked with rural artists. Corresponding work in
drama, music, and creative writing has made the
college unique in America.

See a pin and pick it up, all the day you'll have
good luck. See a pin and let it lie, all the day you'll
sit and cry. If you find a straight pin with the head
pointing toward you and pick it up, you will have
your luck blunted for the day. If point is toward you,
good luck will follow.
One must not rock an empty rocking chair or
cradle, or the owner will get sick.
Don't start any work on Friday, thirteenth
otherwise, or you'll have bad luck with it.
If a black cat crosses your path, turn back
you'll have bad luck.
If you forget something when going out, don't
go back to the house or bad luck will follow you.
One must not walk under a ladder, or one will
have bad luck.
One's first glimpse of the new moon must be over
one's right shoulder in order to have good luck.
Dropping a butter knife or spreader means that
the visitor will be a little boy. In addition, the direction in which these implements fall will determine
the direction from which the company will appear.
Perhaps the worst catastrophe that can befall a
busy family is to spill the toothpicks. That means
company coming, and the number of toothpicks spilled
means the number of visitors that may be expected.
If a rooster crowed on the doorstep to predict
company, the housewives in early-day Wisconsin immediately killed and cooked the rooster and made a
pie just to be on the safe side.
When sweeping in the evening it was necessary
to sweep the dirt back of the door. If the dirt was
swept outdoors, it was the same as sweeping out the
company that was coming.
Company on Monday, company all the week, goes
an old Wisconsin saying, and if you sneeze
breakfast that's a certain sign, but those of
scientific turn of mind had a better method of
ecy. The scientists would lay a tea leaf from
teacup on the upper high part of the thumb, and
the other thumb would pound the tea leaf.
same time they would count the days beginning
the present day. When the leaf stuck to the
ing thumb, that was the day company would
If you saw a cat washing herself in a
was a sign that the minister was coming to
German grandfather might say: "Preaster
Speaking of doorways, if a mop or broom falls
a doorway you better clean up and prepare!
Good luck omens, death omens, or just
in general seemed to play a big part in the
many Wisconsin folk. Mrs. Belle Miller out
Kickapoo Valley wrote about crowing hens:
"You questioned whether a hen ever

LESS SCIENTIFIC APPROACHES
But before the enlightenment brought about by
college courses and science, the rural Wisconsin
people were guided by folk wisdom:
If you rock an empty chair, it means bad luck.
If you sing before breakfast, you'll weep before
night.
If a bird taps on the window with his bill, it
means someone will die in that house within a year.
(This is also interpreted to mean merely that something unusual will happen.)
If you are weaning babies, calves, little pigs, the
signs of the zodiac must be in the feet. If weaned
while the signs are in the head, the young will never
forget the nursing habit. You must wait until the
signs have moved down to the feet or any future
weakness will settle in the breast, bowels, or arms.
If meat pops in the skillet when you are frying,
it means that the animal was killed in the wrong
time of the moon.
If cream is churned for a long while and doesn't
make butter, it should be stirred with a twig of
mountain ash and the cow should be beat with another twig of mountain ash. This will break the
spell.
If you kill a wren, you will break a bone before
the year is out.
If you kill a robin, there will be no spring.
If two friends, when walking along together,
come to a pole or other object and one goes on one
'lide and one on the other, they must say "bread and
butter" or they will soon quarrel.
If you happen to put some garment on wrong
side out, leave it that way or bad luck will be the result. Another says it may be turned right side out
if it is first spit upon.
Comb your hair after dark, comb sorrow to your
ht•art.
If your right ear burns, someone is talking good
about you. If your left ear burns, someone is talking
bad about you.

in a while you'll find one that makes a real atto. They stretch their necks way out the way
does, but the sound is awful-never musical
a rooster's crow. That didn't happen often in
small flock of chickens, but when it did, my
got that worried look on her face, sure that
desperate was going to happen.
or twice during my childhood, before 1900,
r finding a small, round egg when gatherthe eggs. As we had no pullets at that time it
very unusual. Mother always said that somewas going to die in the relations. It seems to
once when I found a small egg, my grandMother said, 'I told you so.'
white horses are good for an omen anyand Wisconsin isn't any exception. There are
Wisconsin rites concerning white horses. The
the number a girl sees must be kept in this
the two first fingers of your right hand;
t kiss on the inner palm part of your left
three good knocks of the right fist. When
white horses have been counted and resomething wonderful will happen to the
probably not in the distant future but in the
present."

76
77

The end of the Edwin Bottomley story follows.
In a sense it is the beginning of the end of this book
for, without the Edwin Bottomleys and prototypes
from many different nations, this book could have
neither begun nor ended.
Rochester Racine Coty Octr 6th 1850
Mr Thos Bottomley
Si'r: It is with feelings and emotions of a very painful character that l communicate to you, (at the request
of your son Edwin) the mournful intelligence, that Edwin
and family are at pr·esent "wading through the deep ·waters of affliction." The family is affi-icted with the desease
here termed "Typhoid fever." ... In a large family, when
both the heads are laid low by desease, and incapacitated

frmn attending to their duties, the result cannot be othe't'lt!ise than distressing in the ext'reme. Be assured Sir that
it is not my design to give additional & unnecessary pain

by TCp1'Csenting things ·worse than they 1·eally are.
Written by a Neighbor.

The following month he wrote:
I do assure you that it is with feelings of the Keenest anguish that I report the painful fact of the decease
of your son Edwino Ed1.vin 'Was red'uced by the first attack to a m.ere skeleton, & his nwrvous system was com~
pletely shaken; and hence the vital principal was too en~
feabled to sustain successfully a Second attack. After
this relapse he gradually sunk undm· the power of the
fe,ver. For the last week every day was expected to be

the last. I believe he Sufftred Wtlc or no pain, for when
a,sked how he felt his i-twadab/e -reply was "first rate."
During the latie1' pa-rt of hi::; sickness he wandered considera-ble, He often, i'!nmagined Uwt uou were present.

Although Edwin Bottomley died a young man,
his influence, like that of other courageous pioneers,
lingers on. The English Settlement still exists by
name in a beautiful part of the state in Racine
County, as do the church that he helped to build and
the brick house that he built for his family. Edwin
had many descendants; his father, Thomas Bottomley, came to America after his son's death, died at
the Settlement, and is buried in the old churchyard.
The Edwin Bottomley story exemplifies the many
health hazards of pioneer life. For the most part,
the settlers had to be their own doctors and find their
own "cures;''
Residents of earlier-day Wisconsin had a number of famous cure-ails, some of them mysterious.

Madstones: Madstones were used by pioneers in
the 1830s to cure dog and snake bites. They were
gray-brown, about the size of marbles. The stone
was applied to the wound to which it adhered tightly
until supposedly full of poison, when it would drop
off. Then it was soaked in warm fresh milk or Jukewarm water until poison came to the top in little bubbles. The madstone was applied repeatedly to the
wound until no poison was left. When the wound was
thoroughly cleansed, the stone dropped away. An
early settler, Wash Ellis, had a madstone, charged
twenty-five dollars a treatment, and did a thriving
business. People came from miles around; Ellis kept
more than busy. (A madstone is a ball taken from
the stomach of an animaL Deer madstones are best.)
"Old Yeller": This was a powerful physic, prepared and given in tbe 1860s by Dr. D. W. Carley of
BoscobeL It was justly celebrated.
"Cure-All": A doctor concocted a cure-all preparation, heavy on calomel and a very strong physic.

He advertised it and sold it with the phrase: "It'll
neither cure ye nor kill ye."
"That damn stuff": A local doctor concocted a
cure-all that had an unpronounceable medical name.
It remained for the customers to simplify the name.
Even today, in a local Platteville drugstore, one may
get the article simply by asking at the counter for a
bottle of "that damn stuff."
"A Sure Cure for Hoss Colic": Pound into powder three or four old tobacco pipes and put it into
three pints of water. Boil it down to about half, and
give it to the horse cool. For this use, then, lay up
old pipes,
Alice Baker of southern Wisconsin remarks that
lern-day doctors deprive themselves of many
remedies. I am sure they do not know the
of oat tea to bring out the pox of either chicken
measles. They also do not know that good
,,, blood-tilled sheep-ticks are good as a last resort for
, , sufferers."
Hops had to be picked and dried, a pillow made
and stuffed with them, to be used by a restless one
induce sleep, There must be enough hops dried
stored to use in treating future colds. A generof them would be steeped in vinegar and
or laid over an aching ear.
flowers and leaves were gathered and
made into a tea to relieve coughs resultcolds. The tea was used also to induce

may be seen when a new

strips of the inner bark were given to Johnnie to
chew.
Sores and bruises were thought to heal much
faster when bathed generously with an infusion made
of cheese-plant.
Cornsilks were gathered and dried, and a tea
made of them was drunk when the kidneys were
thought to be not active enough.
Mullein was very extensively used in bygone
days. If grandfather had asthma, he smoked nothing
but mullein and inhaled the smoke. These herbs were
also used by the settlers and many of them were used
by the Indians before the white man came. The Indians used to chew the ginseng root and also dried
some for winter use.

~rsp1ration.

, The inner bark of a wild cherry tree was used
to make a tea to allay a bad cough.
Spikenard tea was an old stand-by given to recoughs caused by colds.
'eppermint was gathered in September and careand packed in bags, to be later used as tea
colic and diarrhea.
A tea was made of red clover blossoms. This
drunk to purify the blood, and to also relieve
one had what they termed kidney trouble,
burning and scalding urine, one simply dug
roots, made a tea from them, and drank
relief. The roots of the wild blackberry bush
in the same way for a diarrhea prevalent
infants, termed Cholera Morbus. Another old
for the treatment of Cholera Morbus was
of peppermint leaves and rhubarb root
together, with a teaspoon of soda added when
was cold, This infusion was to be taken a teatwo at a time.
Johnnie was thought to have worms, granda remedy for that. A slippery elm tree was
the outer bark was peeled away, and generous

Name of Plant
Ginseng

Elderberry
Plantain
Wintergreen
Dogwood

Plantago
Gaultheria
Impatiens
Cornus circinata

Wild onion
Skunk cabbage
Violet

Allium cernuum
Symplocarpus
Viola oderata

Touch-Me~Not

79
78

LaUn 1'erm

Panax
Sambucus

Uses
Tonic and stimulant
Colds and fever,
kidneys
Kidneys, poultice
Tonic and stomach
Skin
General tonic and
liver
Sinus inflammation
Asthma
Earache, intestinal
parasites

May apple

Podophyllum

Liver and
constipation

Belladonna

Atropa

Burdock

Arctium lappa

High fever and
convulsions
Falling hair, skin

Yellow dock

Rumex crispus

Peppermint

Iris
Foxglove
Golden seal
Black-eyed Susan
Monk's hood
Chamomile

Juniper berry
Mullein
Slippery elm bark

trouble
Coughs, bronchial
trouble
Tonic, colds, stomach
Mentha piperita
Tonic
Iris florentina
Digitalis purpurea Heart stimulant
Tonic
Hydrastis
canadensis
Locally for pain
Rudbeckia
Fever, colds, and
Aconite
inflammatory pain
Sedative, tonic,
Anthemis
eyewash
Kidneys, diabetes
Juniperus
Earache
Verbascum
Tonic, colds, poultice

Ulmus fulva

HOME REMEDIES MORE COMMONLY USED
Bear fat
To massage sore muscles and
soften callouses on feet and
hands. Also to soften leather.
Blackberry juice
Wild grape juice
Squash and pumpkin seeds
Butter, sugar, and ginger
Lemon juice, honey, and
glycerin
Skunk oil
Goose grease and mustard

Flax seed

To drink for blood building and
tonic.
To drink for blood building and
tonic.
Dried and ground, were believed
to cure stomach worms.
Mixed together, for children's
coughs.
Mixed together, for cough syrup.
Believed to make hair grow on a
bald head.
Mixed to rub on chest for chest
colds, and also for aching back.
Cooked to take for laxative.

Very often the pioneer families in Wisconsin had

to be their own doctors. The women, especially, became very proficient in treating wounds and common
illnesses, and displayed a brand of heroism only conjectured about in our day. The pioneer mother was
always available for help when needed by a neighbor,
and the beautiful saying about the pioneer mother of
Wisconsin, that the trails from her cabin led in every
direction, is one of the most cherished of Wisconsin
pioneer traditions.
Nina 0. Peterson wrote a special tribute to her
mother, who was one of these early-day heroines:
"She was a gracious lady, my mother. She was
the symbol of hundreds like her who followed the
dim lantern over paths, across fields and through
woods on missions of mercy. She was not a nurse
but a pioneer woman who knew what to do and never
ceased doing what she could for others. Her old
satchel was ever in readiness, her first-aid kit fitted

and the child bathed to reduce his fever. I know
Mother did not fm·get to pray along with her work
that night. By the time the doctor arrived the child
was breathing easier, and his fever was down. He
told them that if Mother had not acted quickly as she
did the child would not have lived. What greater pay
could one receive for a night's work?
"Insanity, also, was one of her problems. She
knew how to handle a demented person. The daughter of a family living nearby was insane. Most people
were afraid of her whenever she had a bad spell. Her
parents could not handle her but ran after Mother to
calm her down. The daughter evidently liked the
way Mother talked to her, or it could have been the
tact my Mother used.
"The poor were her concern, too. I have trudged
beside her, helping carry a gunny sack full of outgrown clothes for miles along a pasture fence to aid
a needy family.
"There were many children in one of these homes.
The outside spelled poverty, but the inside of the
cabin was rich in love and cleanliness. The house was
immaculate. The wide rough boards of the floor were
scrubbed white. I recall how much happiness the old
clothes gave this family. The only remark I ever
heard my mother make regarding them was when
we were on our way home. 'I hope that we will never
be that poor,' she said, and sighed. 'Winter will soon
be here. I think I will make them a quilt.' "

three days. She had been up night and day helping
rturse a small boy who had been very ill from scarlet
fever. She was not afraid for herself, but from her
continual asking day after day, 'Is your throat sore?
Do you feel all right?' we knew that she was worry•., about us.
"When we were awakened by a knock on the door
the night and heard Mother hurrying about,
otsteps on the stairs, we knew that she was
out in the dark again to help someone. How
she was, and how much energy she must have

The family still works together.

with such articles that she thought might be
Her drugs were limited, a bottle of carbolic
can of epsom salts, camphorated oil, and clean
rags and the box of mustard.
"Nursing was not a job or a position to her.
never was any money involved, for her remun<
was greater than gold or silver. It was
handshake, the grateful voice of thanks, the
lief in eyes, and the knowledge that baby and
were doing as well as could be expected or that
fever had broken and all would be well.
"I recall on one cold rainy evening, we heard
ther say 'Whoa,' at our kitchen door. We ran
Mother said, 'Children, go back inside. Don't
wet.' We obeyed but did not understand why
did not come in.
" 'Bring me a full change of clothing,' she
"Father was getting kerosene, kindling,
lamp. He went out to the summer kitchen,
was in a shanty near the house. This
used during the warm summer months
the kitchen in the house. He carried in pails
and the tub. He gathered the carbolic acid
soap and towels, and going outside, he helped
from the buggy. Then he drove out to the barn
unhitched the horse. Mother went directly into
shanty.
"In about one hour she came into the house.
had washed her head, bathed, and changed
" 'Aggie, did you burn your clothes?'
asked her when he came into the house.
"'Oh, yes, of course. We can't have them
and take any more chances,' she informed him.
"This time she had been gone from home

"The only doctors in those days were many miles
and could only be contacted by driving with
those many miles. Those neighbors in trouble
someone for Mother while another of the
would harness their horses and drive quickly
doctor. By the time the doctor had his horses
and had reached the bedside of the patient,
had passed.
"On one of these occasions a child had pneumonia.
mother was called. She followed the lantern light
sa-country for about two and a half miles. When
arrived she knew at first glance at the child that
had work to do, and fast work. The room was hot
stuffy. She gave orders. When she opened the
the child's mother remonstrated. A towel
placed on the window to prevent direct draft.
old-fashioned bread and milk poultice was made

81
80

It is the human struggle that is important in Wis: the devotion of families to the welfare of the
land. The course of the struggle is not
: from the earliest settlers with their
problems, the stubborn sod, the lonelihard labor, often the advent of death from
overwork. It is easy to appreciate the man
simple farm instrument, toiling to make his
place, and a future for his children. Out of
gle came the Wisconsin spirit, and the
Idea
. a better life for everybody, a
at books and education, at a cultural side to
inspirational side, a religious side, certainly
ide. The struggle can be seen in earlier parts
story of the Wisconsin farm. But what did the
mean? What did it become? Were the set·~-~•ul? Did they achieve what they worked
to accomplish? What of the family?
of the land? Are the values of determination,
work, regard for land and for neighbors still
? What of the youth, the vital young who gave
its flavor and ultimate meaning?
answer, there is a kaleidoscope of achievedevelopment, of meaning. First the youth
farm. The cities were the benefactors. The
family life suffered. And there were the
that grew larger and more efficient,
the simple ones made by Wisconsin
in the days of the primitive reaper, the
man could ultimately do as much as twenthe machines. And the cattle improved to
herds on every side, and the farms grew

larger, with fewer farmers. Was all this what the
Edwin Bottomleys had in mind? What has happened
is fascinating and paradoxical. Wisconsin has become the leading dairy state and is known far and
wide as a home state, a neighbor state, a state of
beautiful farmlands; and the kaleidoscope, in order
to understand, is put together from the memories,
the statements, the hopes of many persons from all
parts of the state. The spirit seems to be there still,
though the pioneer cabins are all gone now. And
there is something else . . a sense of largeness, as
though the land has taken on a mysterious dimension
that is bigger than life. Wisconsin is the land where
the image of rural America grows~ waxes, and spreads
itself in the eyes of the world as the state where
achievement of the farm has grown almost beyond
belief. But now it is a different world and we search
for motifs from the past, cherishing them:
The p1·airies now are nearly all gone. Along old rail1'oads a1·e smne prairie plants, ·undisturbed; and the wild
growths are not trampled. In a. co-unf1·y cemetery on an
old p1·airie ac·re, there is still a bit of the tall, tall grass,
and at times the -winds weave it iuto patterns of strange
·memory.
The valley below wheTe I stand is one where settlers
an·ived on a J-une evening in. 1856. The Norwegian who
led them carTied a staff of locust wood. This he suddenly
thTust deeply into the sod and cried, "We have here our
home! It will be here, in this valley! Here I'll leave my
staff until it takes root in the good soil." Andy as they

say, the staff took root and became a shade for the old
man 1.vhen he 'teached ninety.
I do not know who lives dou:n there now; OT whose

83
82

grew out of experiences of the early families and
their descendants who found their strength in the
land. Generation after generation, leadership in the
community and the state has come straight from the
family, the home, the values of home.
Farm homes were gathering places. New methods developed at the university were synthesized and
exchanged there when, from time to time, the Ex.
tension people would drop in .. , Soy Bean Briggs,
Jim Lacy, Ranger Mac, Tom Bewick, Verne Varney,
Warren Clark, Henry Ahlgren, Rudolph Fraker,
Dave Williams, Bruce Cartter, Nellie Kedzie Jones,
Abby Marlatt, Almere Scott, Edith Bangham, L. G.
Sorden, Walter Bean, Ray Penn, . . . Many others
of the great ones who took a personal interest in the
farm people would just drop by the home place to
see how things were going. That was the way it was
done; the whole thing evolved in one crucible ... experts, farmers, all devoted to the same end: the betterment of a condition, of the land, of personal life,
Community problems, farm problems, and community culture were what concerned them.
When meetings were held in the schoolhouse
the town hall, folks came from all over the
side to discuss matters important to the
to the farmer's wife, or to his kids. Sometimes
concerns were expressed in the form of plays,
ly obtained from the university, that told ab
problems of the dairyman producing milk and
or about a farmer raising chickens or geese or
keting produce, or about the farm wife saving
her egg money to buy a piano or organ.
The plays were done with lots of humor
fast action. Sometimes "Old Brindley," the
pose cow, was portrayed onstage by boisterm
ers covered with a large cloth and holding
cow's head. The plays were entertainment
They furnished a good reason for the busy
and their families to get together. The
come in the evening to build a stage in the
in the hall or outside. To some it was a gr
just to pull the stage curtain, to make the
scenery, or to put up the lights-often just
tin cans, if there was nothing better. It was all
of the rural community spirit.
In the background of the entire rural
sin way of life was what had happened.
stand the Wisconsin of today, one must
the courage, determination, humor, and
of home and home place that accompanied the
formation of the land.
In working on this book, we talked to
farm people who helped shape this agricultural
ting, All of them found it necessary to speak of

There is still pride in accomplishments.

cattle an~ upon the hillside. 1 know that once a fwmily of
seven a·rrived on that fi.at by the creek, and built a cabin
and broke sod fo·r a crop of Indian corn. Noto the hillside
herd is la1·ge; g·reat black and white Holsteins with swelling udders. On that hillside there 1vas once only one
beast: a thin, brindle co1v newly dried of milk,

When you envision the people coming from Europe and from New York State and New England
and Virginia and Ohio, and you stop a minute to
remember what they went through, how they worried through the wheat-growing era, and got dairying started, and raised hops, and improved the cattle
and horses and sheep and hogs , , , all of that, struggling all that time. And they learned about better
seed and more economical ways to farm, then struggled through World War I and the Depression and
finally achieved the success story, where you can be
successful on the farm if you follow the right prescriptions and have the right machines and cattle .. , .
It isn't hard to identify the struggle, the clearing
and breaking of the land, but are the people still
there? The struggling people, the family people, the
ones who created our state and national strength
and traditions. Are they, or the spirit of them, still
there?
They do live on, for the spirit of Wisconsin

past before they could put the present into any perspective. All agreed that a world of work, suffering,
and idealism lies behind the way it is now in rural
Wisconsin. Henry Acten, of the Watertown area,
put it like this:
"When I was twelve years old dad hired me out.
He collected what I earned; I got a dime a month. I
got a quarter, or something like that, later on. That
was the goal them days. They came from the old
country. That was the way it was done. Dad raised
eleven kids. I never had any resentment. I pray to
day for him; he did the best he knew how, and
I am a healthy boy, eighty-seven years old, and
feelin' fine. He did good for me, huh? And he gave
plenty to eat, he saw to it. He didn't believe a
should milk a cow. A woman should do that.
mother was pregnant, sometimes he'd have a
woman come and milk. She set right out
the barnyard and done the milking.
"I started my milk business in 1920. In no time
had a big route, three hundred stops. Bottle milk
bottled it, washed those bottles every day. Five
milking time, hired man and me, and I was
it at first myself. My wife would see that
run over a cooler, cooled and bottled right
And that milk that was milked at five o'clock
delivered the next morning at four-thirty. They
it for breakfast. Then I came home and the
Youth puts the best on display remembering the struggle of their
milk was done, and it was bottle~ and I'd
forefathers.
again. I peddled milk in Oconomowoc
years. It was successful. I was going
ty cents, or lower. That's what caused them strikes
in 1927. I was going to sell my business out
by farmers, Calves about ten dollars. We hesitated
help and live high on the hog myself;
to spend twenty-five cents. The slogan was make it
Depression set in in '29 and the hired help
do, do it over, or do without. It took all year to earn
on the deal and milk went down to a nickel
enough to pay the interest on the mortgage. Many
Lost everything, So I got a job selling milkfarmers lost their farms. Nowadays we spend what' machines and hammermills and cattle spray and
ever we have, and sometimes it's a lot. They say,
Little over a year I was in that business
'Hey, there'll never be another depression.' I sure
over two thousand dollars on the books. And
hope they're right.
stopped paying. Like that. Stopped. No
"Recall how it was when the Great Depression
My wife was running the milk business and
was deepening. All the farmers in our neighborhood
ed, too. Nobody could pay, I had to bear
were complaining about the low, low prices of milk.
loss from the milking-machine company
Finally they got together, it was in 1934, and had
was taking the whole commission. Barthis 'Farmers' Holiday'-a big strike. They banned
the money and backed my own business. Lost
all the deliveries of milk and picketed the roads leadwhole thing. Hadn't been for the Depression I'd
ing into the cities. Governor Schmedeman called out
been sitting on top of the world.
the troops, four thousand sheriff's deputies. Took
"In the thirties we went into several years that
into the farmers with billy clubs. Guess the farmers
the slimmest and the hardest to get through,
dynamited milk plants and trucks, dumped milk out
armers had food to eat, but it wasn't always
all over the railroad tracks. Never forgot how the
they had planned. Gardens were planted but
farmers gathered along the roads there in the dark."
drought was bad. Gardens died. Eggs sold for
There is still this seed of discontent in rural
cents a dozen. Feed for cattle was high. Milk
Wisconsin when the prices are low and the level of
for a dollar ten per hundred, then went to sevendebt is high, A while ago young calves were shot in

84
85

protest against farm prices, When something like
that happens it is pertinent to recall the troubles of
the 1930s when the milk strikes reflected the desperation of farm families, Milk was lowest at sixty-five
cents per hundredweight, A two-hundred-pound hog
brought two dollars, A carload of sheep didn't net
enough to pay their freight to Chicago,
Low prices were not enough; drought and
swarms of grasshoppers added to farm misery, The
hoppers could devour a ten-acre field of corn in a
day, Railroad crews could not propel their handcars
over the greasy, hopper-covered rails, Farmers
couldn't meet their debts; banks and other mortgage
holders foreclosed on many,
The government was confused, The National
Recovery Act was launched to regulate prices, President Hoover, whose slogan was "Prosperity is just
around the corner," supported a $500 million loan to
help start farm cooperatives, Much of this money
was never spent. Under the clouds of the early depression, the country was on the brink of an agricultural revolution,
Practically all of Wisconsin was involved in the
strike, Roads were blocked with spiked planks, and
strikers guarded the roads and railroads to prevent
delivery and shipping of milk, They would not market milk at the low prices, Farmers who tried to get
their milk through the lines were stopped; strikers
dumped milk from the trucks, There was mass sabotage in milkhouses, Heads were cracked with clubs,
Sometimes truckers carrying guns ran the blockade,
There were stories about rural school children being
stopped for inspection of their lunch boxes and for
confiscation of their lunch milk. Near Madison a
man was shot,
Henry Acten said that he guessed he was a
damn fool in 1934 when the milk strike was on:
"I stuck my neck out, I stuck up for them farmers, My customers in town started to quit me because I was going with the farmers, There was this
guy name of Walter Singler, Boy, when Walter
stood up to talk you had to listen, He got the farmers all going on this Farmers' Holiday. Them trucks
stopped, milk dumped out all over, Farmers mad and
burnin' angry. Why not? Milk seventy cents per
hundred. I was a leader in that and just about lost
out."
The tendency to use the past to interpret the
present is a favorite pastime for many rural Wisconsin folks. The women can recall hard times, too, as
did Minna Breitsmann, retired homemaker. "I had
a little doll, one of these with a china head, you
know, and pink cheeks. Well, that was my Christmas present in 1900. And the next year mother'd go

and put a new dress on it and just keep on handing
it down to the next girl in line. There were fourteen
children in our farm family. We had wonderful
times--on just nothin'."
Or Elizabeth McCoy, of Dane County, who believes that the trees planted by the early settlers
symbolize much about the past:
"At one time the whole frontage of the farm
was a line of elms and maples, planted alternately.
The Dutch elm disease began in the area about four
years ago, and it took the elms along the road one
right after the other. At the same time they said
that the silver maples were about through, and were
about to fall across the highway. They took them all
out then. I have a few elms and maples in the yard,
but the great line of trees is all gone. In the beginning there were some Douglas firs that the early
settlers had planted. They were along the drive as
you came up to the house. There is a unique

86

on the place, white lilacs, and the white lilacs have a
very interesting history. Over near the fish hatchery, on the hill, the Lakeland family had their first
log cabin. They later built their house down on the
crossroads. But up on the hill there is one white lilac
bush. Still doing well. The white lilac I have was
transferred from that in 187 4. The Lacy family
came in territorial days, before 1848. The lilac is
still blooming. And other cuttings have been placed
around. At the front of the house there is a hedge
of lilacs. Probably the first bush was planted because
the pioneer wife wanted some flowers."
In the memories of their beloved elder relatives,
the women find the values of an earlier generation.
Bartlett told us about her husband's mother
devoted her whole life to hard work: "When
and grandpa got old they moved into town. But
wasn't ever very happy. There just wasn't
for her to do. It got to working on her
I guess, and she just had to get back out on
land, so she and grandpa came back to the farm
lived with us. Grandma worked hard till the day
died. She was happy that way."
The women hark back to personal landmark
that set the course of their future: "I was a
year-old farmgirl when I had my first date.
met this young man for the first time at a
at the crossroads dance hall, and he said, 'Can
to see you Saturday evening?' And I said
And when he came he drove up to the house
a beautiful open carriage and a snow-white and
,black pony. It was the most beautiful team!
just flabbergasted. I thought he'd come with
farmhorse. And here he come with that beau... and I'm married to that man now.
years!"
men remember the more boisterous social
that had a kind of splendid energy and good
Roger Green, retired farmer from Grant
said: "Usually the night of the wedding, if
couple stayed home, or if they didn't and
on a little wedding trip, they'd wait until the
and groom got home and then as many as wantgo they'd take washtubs, or plow discs, or anythey could pound on to make a noise, or shotThey'd just surround this house, and beat all
stuff and keep it up hollering and hooting until
couple came out. And when they came out it
meant a half-barrel of beer, or the money to
one; Sometimes if the poor guy couldn't supply
beer the gang would demand the bride! They
this nonsense a shivaree."
Bert Jones, Columbia County, recalled antypical prank: "We had a right splendid out-

87

To Hoard

house in our neighborhood. One of our farmers built
it for his wife. It was a real ornate affair, six-sided,
and it was plastered inside. One Halloween night
the local boys tipped that over and that was a cryin'
shame. It just collapsed. It would have been a showpiece and should have been sent to Washington or
someplace. We tipped over an outhouse one night
and there was a feller in there. Later on a few years
after, I was telling how we had pushed it over and
how the guy inside hollered and all, and a feller who
was listening says, 'So you're the guy that done that
to me, are you?' And he took out after me and we
run near a mile, but I outfooted him. I never saw
him again, and I never wanted to."
Carl Munz ofl'ered some humor from threshing
days: "Years ago, before every farmer got a threshing rig, there were certain people who owned the
rigs and they would go around threshing for everybody else. They'd leave home on a Monday and
they'd not get home again maybe for a week. The
person who owned this threshing rig was my brother-in-Jaw's dad. There was one certain place that
was in their round. This place wasn't known to be
too clean and one thing and another, and there was
a saying they used when the threshers went there:
'If you wanted to go out to the backhouse, go out
there during mealtime, because then the flies were
all in on the table.' "
Or, more seriously, Don McDowell, Future Farm-

been all right, but there are paradoxes in the preslong hours of hard work. This was how my father
ent that trouble them. When some old-timers were
operated. We used to come home from school in the
on the land, 35 percent of the population were farmwintertime and I ran all the way. I was a pretty
ers. Today only 4 percent of America's population is
good runner and my dad was all for it because I
engaged in farming, although the worldwide figure
could stay at home later in the morning, do more
is 80 percent. As the science of technology became
work, and then run home from school at night to get
a more important part of farming, and as the farms
the chores done. I've got some medals in a trunk
began to get larger, the nation's agriculture required
that I earned in track. That was how I trained.
less and less manpower.
"Dad would have seven or eight trees marked
Farm folks speak with regret of the passing of
for cutting, too, and as soon as we got home we had
the old values of rural life hut generally find comfort
to
go
to the woods and cut trees, all winter long.
of this sort: "There are so few of us left on the
Hard work. Long hours.
farms we just can't have the same kind of effect on
·
"My parents both came to this country from
human values we used to have. But then maybe
Sweden. I doubt that either one of them ever went
there is something good happening that will change
as far as the eighth grade, but one thing my parents
that, because a lot of urban folks are moving back
above all others was the chance to give their
out to the rural areas to raise their families. I guess
: an education. Not only that, but the chilthey will become conscious of the fact that the
in our family wanted an education. The parents
human values of people on the farms instill good
have to twist our arms and make us go to
character and good patterns of living."
We considered it a privilege to have an opUntil recently these same values were found in ''''l · • nortunity for education. I guess folks now may look
the urban areas because, to a large extent, the people
education not so much as a privilege but as a
living in cities came from the farms. Now, though,
many folks in urban areas have never even been on
a farm. A teacher in Milwaukee asked her little
pupils, "Now if a cow produces four gallons of milk
a day, how much milk will she produce in a week?"'
Every one of the pupils got the wrong answer because they were all figuring on a five-day week.
thought a cow was on the same schedule as
in the cities. On the old farms, of course,
work, work, work, seven days a week.
Henry Ahlgren, long important on the Amencau
farm scene, former U.S. Assistant Se<
culture, and Chancellor Emeritus of
versity Extension, commented to us, "If I were
to try to write America's Horatio Alger
greatest success story, it would be the
American agriculture. There is no greater
story in this nation.
"I would think, however, that we have
something of a price for it. I think of the
people that have come out of rural
grew up in this hard work philosophy, the
family-loving people who struggled and had
We don't see so much of this kind of person in
America any more, at least not to the extent
them in earlier parts of our history. I happen
one of those people who thinks that that's too
for our country. It's a part of the price we have
to pay for technology on the farm.
"The important measure of each one of us
grew up on the family farm was not how we
but how hard we worked. Success was a matter

A father instills the family spirit.

ers of America executive, found great nostalgia and
meaning in family get-togethers: "My grandparents
on both my mother's and father's side lived fairly
close together. Brothers married sisters, in the
neighborhood, and about every Sunday the entire
families would gather, at one of the grandfathers'
houses which happened to be right across the road
from a little rural church, eight miles out of the
little town of Montello. We had a family gathering
every Sunday, a potluck dinner. The women got together and gossiped and talked about their families
and what had happened during the week, and the
men would talk about farm matters and tell stories.
The kids ran wild all over, all around the farm, in the
woodlot, up in the hayloft. And the dinner was
spread out on the lawn when the weather was good,
and it was a great time. Until late afternoon, or
when it was milking time, the neighbors were there
in family groups."
Wisconsin farm people know where they have
88

89

right. Maybe this is some of the difference between
the culture of today and back then."
"Now as you look at things today the farmers
are college graduates. It's no longer a matter of how
hard you're willing to work. Now it is a matter of
how you do it. It means the application of all these
discoveries that have made agriculture scientific.
When I grew up on the farm we planted our corn
when the leaves on the oak trees were the size of a
squirrel's ear, and we planted our potatoes in the
dark of the moon; and my dad planted everything
he grew just like his dad had in Sweden, I think.
Well, that's no longer true. Today just about everything you do on a farm has a scientific base. You
wonder about some of the great, great developments
that have taken place in our agriculture. I think the
most dramatic one of all is hybrid corn.
"When we were growng up the kind of corn we
grew on our farm was the tallest corn we could get.
We had contests among the neighbors to see who
could bring in the tallest corn stalks. Well, this corn
seed always came from Iowa. It just didn't adapt

terest in the folklore of the earliest Wisconsin settlers. Engrossed in getting back to nature and in
Jiving close to it, today's youth seem to understand
the fascination that weather and signs had for their
forefathers. Feeling close to earth and sky, many
can understand how the early settler, living much of
the time out of doors and close to nature, came to
rely on weather signs to guide his activities, from
planting crops to preventing lightning from striking. The advent of rain, and particularly of a storm,
was always of interest Having no radio broadcasts
or reliable information, he made up his own; it was
passed along from neighbor to neighbor and from
grandparents to grandchildren.
A storm was surely on its way under the following conditions:
When the wood fire in the old iron stove roared
it burned,
When the water drawn from the well looked
the ground-up feed that was mixed in the
rose to the top of the liquid instead of
"mixed."
When there was a circle around the moon,
When the cat slept with her head "turned un·and her mouth turned up" instead of in the usual
position.
were other signs to show changes in the
and what to expect from the skies:

rain.

When the potatoes boiled dry, it was a sign of

When the leaves on the trees curled up or blew
wrong side out, it was a sign of rain.
When the chickens ran for shelter in a shower,
it wouldn't last long. If they stayed out in it, it
would rain for a long time.
When there was a ring around the moon with
stars inside the ring, the number of stars indicated
the number of days before a storm.
When the sky was flecked with small clouds,
called buttermilk clouds, it was a sign of rain very
soon.
When your feet burned, it was a sign of rain.
When there was a heavy dew in the evening, the
next day would be hot.
When the smoke from the chimney settled to
the ground, it was a sign of rain. When the smoke
went straight up, it would be colder,
When roosters crowed before midnight, it meant
a weather change,
When a dog ate grass, it was a sign of rain.
When six weeks had passed after crickets began
to sing, you looked for frost.
If streaks could be seen from the earth to the
sun, which looked as though the sun was "drawing
water/' it would rain.
Water beads on the outside of a water pail
meant rain,

·.-,
The old hay rake sits idle in the pasture.

very well to my part of the country, Polk County,
and almost never, maybe just a couple of years,
when the corn got ripe. But we always had this tall
corn from Iowa. It went in the silo and it made poor
silage even, because it was usually too green at the
time it froze.
"Then hybrid corn came along. My dad used to
laugh at me when I talked to him about planting
alfalfa, and maybe getting some hybrid corn, and
things to improve his crop production. Well, now we
have taken the major hazards out of farming. It's
kind of amazing, but during these golden years between the thirties to the fifties, we learned to write
prescriptions. We just told a farmer that if he'd do
this, and this, he'd get a hundred bushels of corn
next falL We just .learned to apply the kinds of
science and technology that got predicted results.
All of this came out of our land grant universities."
But if the old families and the older citizens re-

member the lessons of the past, the same
family and of love of land seems to be present in
youth of today. Our observation is that the
that guided the older ones are still important.
ing at the 80,000 Wisconsin 4-H Club kids and
27,000 Future Farmers of America members,
simply have to admit that it's the rural youth
have their feet on the ground. Part of it is
nature of the way they were brought up. It
family affair: Father, mother, the kids, all
and shared alike, cared about the land and the
mals, and kept up the traditions of the family.
a proud thing to think about- the people can
settle the land at such great sacrifice and with
hard work, and now their families, their young
ple, are carrying on in the same spirit, even
the way they do it on the farm today is
different.
The young folks do have definite pride and
90

91

Wind in the south-blows bait in fish's mouth.
Wind in the east-fish bite the least. Wind in the
west-fishing is best!
When the kitchen range was being used, and
sparks clung to the bottom of a frying pan or pot, it
was supposed to storm.
The weather on the last Friday of a month predicted closely what the weather would be like during the following month.
A good time to plant hotbed seeds was on Good
Friday.
If rain fell on Easter Sunday, six weeks of rainy
Sundays would follow.
If the sun set behind a bank of clouds, there
would be rain tomorrow; when the sun set "like a
ball of fire," it would be a hot day, or at least a bright
sunny one.
Evening red and morning gray,
Sends the traveler on his way.
Evening gray and morning red,
Brings down rain upon his head.
Rainbow in the morning
Sailors take warning
Rainbow at night
Sailors delight.

And here are some other weather jingles;
A snow storm in May
Is worth a load of hayo

A swarm of bees in May
Is worth a load of hay.
A cold April the farmers barn will filL

If Candlemas Day be mild and gay
Go saddle your horses and buy them hay;
But if Candlemas Day be stormy and black
It carries the winter away on its back.
If Candlemas Day be fair and clear

There'll be two winters in a year.
A year of snow
A year of plenty.
Much damp and warm
Does the farmer much harm.
When the morn is dry,
The rain is nigh.
When the morn is wet,
No rain you get.
When the grass is dry at morning's light
Look for rain before the night.
The bigger the ring
The nearer the wet.

When the cats played in the evening or the fire
popped in a wood stove, the wind was going to blow.
If the Wisconsin moon shines on you as you
sleep, there may be a death in the family, and if you
dream of something white it may be a sign of death.

Rain falling in an open grave means a death within
a year. Three knocks at the door and nobody there
means a death in the family. Dream of the dead,
hear of the living. If a death occurs at the end of a
week, so that the corpse is held over Sunday, some
relative is going to die within three months. To set
two lighted lamps on the same table means certain
death to someone close to you.
It is the custom in some parts to announce to
the bees a death in the family, especially the death of
the father or the head of the family. The bees will
then bring consolation to the family members. If a
swarm of bees settle on the dead branch of a live
tree in the yard, a death will occur in the family
within a year.
It is unlucky to plant a bed of lilies of the valley,
as the person who does so will surely die within the
next twelve months. Cows forecast the future. If
they moo after midnight, it is warning of an approaching death.
Granddaddy Longlegs will give the location of
the cows in the pasture when asked, and witch hazel
will cast spells on its encounterers. Moonstones are
good-luck charms, but an opal is an unlucky stone
portending injury and mental or physical trouble.
An agate insures its wearer health, long life, and
prosperity. A diamond may disperse storms, and a
topaz prevents bad dreams. Rubies are said to discover poison and correct evil, but the finding of
pie hyacinths can only denote sorrow. Broken
or sticks foretell a broken agreement, and in
mer, if you are not careful, snakes may milk
cows dry in the pasture. If your nose itches
hear some good news. If you drop your comb
combing your hair you are in for a scolding
day; also a scolding if you button your dress
wrong way. If the teakettle sings there is sure
be trouble, or an argument -the only remedy is
keep putting cold water in the kettle! If it rains
your wedding day you will shed many tears
your wedded life; but if you eat raw cabbage on
Year's Day you will have plenty of money in
pocket all year.
But, still, with all the appreciation of folk
there is something missing. As we approach
of this story of the Wisconsin farm, we
pect a crescendo to build toward a crashi
illustrate the beauty and dignity of man on
Although the potential of the big chords is
we have the bigger farms, larger machines,
cattle, and an understanding of how it all
be-we can't quite hear the great stirring
would represent the tremendous victory of
sin men and women on the farm. The struggle

92

past we can see-the man with an ox team breakprairie, building a new Jog house, or wresting a
living from the land. But the drama of
success-well, where is it?
Is it one lone man in a vast milking barn with
line of a hundred fine cows and a multitude of
and wires and pipes? That has some visual
but it isn't quite as emotionally satisfying
old lady sitting at a cow's flank on a threemilking stool, a kerosene lantern hanging
in the barn on a winter's night. The modis almost too big, too perfect, too tech-

additional five acres. That product seemed to take
about all the time the family had, beyond chores and
the work with land already cleared. Even in the first
decades of the twentieth century, agriculture was
often reminiscent of pioneer days. Most farmers
still had walking cultivators, some of the more aflluent farms had riding ones, and the boys contested to
see who could cultivate five acres of corn in a day,
or who could plow one acre of land with a walking
plow. The father depended upon his family much
more than is true today. It took all the boys to clear
those five acres. There just were no shortcuts.
The country itself- in this instance, northwestern Wisconsin- was heavily timbered. It was
virgin timber, basswood, maple, hickory, elm . . .
hardwoods. Father and sons blasted the stumps
with dynamite. The blasting was almost continuous
at times ... both stumps and rocks had to be cleared
away. The Scandinavians who came to settle in Polk
County were attracted by trees, rivers, and Jakes.
They got those, and rocks!
As the family grew, the farm expanded to about
a hundred acres. By the time the boys were grown,

The one thing that is not technical in itself is
Wisconsin family. As we recall the past again,
see that the family depended on horse power and
The machines on the farm were quite
and there weren't many of them. An average
looked upon forty acres of land as just about
could possibly handle. In one typical family
surviving members we talked with, there were
boys and a girL The father's game plan each
was to clear and to bring into production an
93

in football terms. Folks in Wisconsin used to know
that the Green Bay Packers talked a great deal about
pride. It was pride, they said, that made the Packers the kind of team it was in the Lombardi days.
Certainly the one thing that all the Swedish, Norwegian, German, the other ethnic groups and old
American families in that part of Wisconsin had was
pride. They wanted to prove to the world that they
could make their own way without help from outside
agencies.
And this attitude led to faith in themselves and
faith in the land. Faith in the rural areas is still
very strong. The urge to have an education, to
struggle for it, not just have it handed over free, is
still there. And there is pride, too, because the farms
in Wisconsin are still family ones, and the same
family values operate there. The farms are bigger,
there aren't nearly so many of them. The whole
may not he involved in the operation because
it simply takes a lot less manpower than it used to.
In 1830, to produce one bushel of wheat by hand took
than 255 minutes. Today, with a four-wheel
tractor and combine, it takes one-half minute.
Remember that it was the land that originally
people to Wisconsin. People left Europe
they had no opportunity to own land. They
to have their own place. They lived through

the pioneer struggle, they attained education for
their children, and finally they became better off and
were able to buy machinery and to put up silos and
have superior cattle. They created the farm state
we have today.
The farm family is what made Wisconsin a
friendly, neighborly, tradition-conscious state. The
family is the important thing about Wisconsin, far
more important than the cow, or nutrition, or animal husbandry or agronomy. The meaning of this
book lies in the kind of people who came to Wisconsin, and in their families. They played together and
worked together and evolved a whole social structure. They arranged social gatherings to help one
another in the harvest, to raise barns, and to support one another in times of illness, death, and disaster. Many a farm today is in the hands of its
Depression-day owners because the neighbors came
to the 1930s auction and "bid in" the farm for a
dollar ... and dared the local authorities to say otherwise. The folkish proverbs by which our forefathers sowed and reaped, the songs they sang, the religions they practiced-all are a part of the Wisconsin way of living, and of the spirit of this state. In
many families these traditions have been passed
down generation by generation.
Certainly one of the wonderful aspects of the

The old homesteads still stand in spots, and dooryard trees once planted for shade and protection persist

piece of bread. About seven o'clock there would
breakfast: always oatmeal and thick cream,
potatoes, fried meat, a slab of pie and sweet
There was always a coffee break at midmornii
cookies brought to the field by mother or
The big meal of the day was at noon: potatoes,
other vegetables, nothing very fancy but lots
There would always be afternoon cake,
cookies. They'd have supper around five,
fore the chores, and before bedtime there
likely be another snack. Seven or eight meals a
At least that's what this Swedish family did.
But that kind of struggle on the land is
over now. The land in Polk County has all
broken. The farms there are good. People have
more material wealth. When they look back and
to put it all into perspective, they sometimes do

there was a stone fence all the way around the farm,
and every stone came from the fields. The boys used
stone boats to move those rocks, and every field was
crisscrossed with the sledge tracks.
Although the family possessed very little material goods and by today's standards would even have
qualified for welfare programs, they didn't think of
themselves as poor. When the father and his sons
and daughter and wife struggled with the task of
clearing the land, their income was perhaps four
hundred dollars per year or less. When there was no
money at all, they simply took eggs to town to trade
for sugar and coffee. Everything else came from the
farm.
But no one suffered from lack of food. Before
the boys did morning chores and went to school,
they'd have a cup of coffee or milk and perhaps a
94

95

rural "Wisconsin Idea" is that young people really
are returning to the land. It's basic with Americans
to want land, to have it, to farm it, to love it. They
do actually say, in Wisconsin, This is my land, rny
homeJ rny Wisconsin, because the land is so essentially theirs. And the young folks are coming home
again. On many farms there is still an old dooryard
tree standing, where the families once gathered on
Sunday afternoons in summer. And when families
come home now the old tree, perhaps a hundred
years old, will mean a special thing: that the young
people and the old are coming back to the homeland
where their folks started it alL
This is the great meaning and the mighty crescendo, the Wisconsin theme repeated again and
again. Wisconsin is still a family state. The farms
large and small are mostly family farms. It isn't
just a woman and a man and a plow any more.
Things have gone way, way beyond that. Yet the
spirit is the same, and we sense that the spirit that
arose from struggle will become stronger, more pervading. Technology? Sure, we've got that in abundance, and far fewer farms, but faith is there. It is
faith in the land, faith in man and man's strength

and his will to survive. It is faith in the past, and
faith that the Wisconsin farm country still has a
potentially powerful future. It is also faith in God
and in the nation. That hasn't really changed.
A lot of the fann places aTe Hally beautiful. The
desperate human stTuggle isn't the-re any more, not like
it used to be. But then, maybe that's good. The thing
that does Temain is the "spirit of Wisconsin/' or as the
p1·eachwrs used to say: "Lord, we aTe neighbors. We have
a duty to one another." If tirnes are changed, so be it,
but the jm:th of 11eople has not changed very much. Not

reany. We are doing different kinds of things, no doubt,
but the spirit of the family on the farm, the home, the
-1ohole kno-wledge that Wisconsin is a home state, a neighbor state, and that people here a·re home folks, That's the
great thing, and a thing we'll neve'r lose. It is too deep in
our bone and muscle and our blood. There is the climax
of the story ... the swelling of the symphony ... us, a
people ... a farm state, a farm people, a Wisconsin people!

THEN, FOR CLOSING, IT IS A HOPE FOR THE
FUTURE, FOR A FULFILLMENT OF HUMAN
STRUGGLE, IN A NEW LAND,
IN A NEW DREAM ...

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Quaife, Milo M. An English Se.ttfer in Pioneer Wisconsin. Madi~
son: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1918.
_ _ _. Wisconsin, Its History and People. Chicago; S.J, Clark,
1924.
Stevens, J.V. "The Pioneer Wisconsin Family Physician." Wisconsin Magazine of History 17 (1934): 383-86.
Swing!e, F.B. "The Jnventfon of the Twine Binder.'' Wisconsin
Magazine of History 10 {1926): 35-41.
Thwaites, Ruben G. Wisconsin. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1908,

Ardrey, Robert, American Agricultural Implements. Chicago: by
the author, 1894.
Bohn, Belle Cushman "Hop Culture in Early Sauk County."
Wisconsin Magazine of History 18 (1935): 389-93.
Buck, Solon J. - The Granger Movement. Uncoln: University of
Nebraska Press, 1913.
Butterfield, C.W., ed, History of Columbia County. Chicago:
Western History Publishing Co., 1880.
____ , ed. History of Green County. Springfield, Illinois: Union
Publishing Co., 1884.
Crawford. History of Iowa County_ Chicago: Northwestern Historical Press, 1913.
Engle, Martha S., and Hopkins, Andrew W. The Prairie and Its
People. University of Wisconsin, Bulletin of the College of
Agricultural and Life Sciences, Madison, 1956_
Ficker, Christian Frogatt. "Friendly Adviser to All Who Would
Emigrate to America." Wisconsin Magazine of History 25

The author also consulted bulletins and statistical reports of the
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, the Wisconsin College of
Agriculture, and the Cooperative Extension Service; various volumes of the Wisconsin Blue Book, including J.O. Emery's ac~
count of agriculture and dairying in Wisconsin, in 1925, and
Harold Groves' account of consumer cooperatives, in 1937; publications of the Wisconsin Dairymen's Association, the Farmers'
Institutes, the Wisconsin Agricultural Society, the Wisconsin
Horticultural Society, and the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences,
Arts and Letters; and the files of The Wisconsin Farmer and The
Wisconsin Agriculturist and Farmer.

(1941): 345-46.
Fish, N.S. "The History of the Silo in Wisconsin." Wisconsin
Magazine of History 8 (1924): 160~68.
Gard, Robert E. This Is Wisconsin. Madison: Wisconsin House,

1969.

Persons Interviewed tor My Land, My Home, My Wisconsin

- - - - · University/Madison/U.S.A. Madison: Wisconsin
House, 1970.
_ _ _ , and Sorden, L.G. Wisconsin Lore. New York: Duell,
Sloan and Pearce, 1961.
Glover, William. Farm and College. Madison; University of Wisconsin Press, 1961.
Gordon, Newton S., ed. History of Barron County. Minneapolis:
H.C. Cooper, Jr. & Co., 1922.
Kane, Lucile. "Northern Wisconsin Settlement" Wisconsin Magazine of History 40 (1956-57): 91-98.
libby, Orin G. "A Study of the Greenback Movement, 18761884." Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences,
Art and Letters, vaL 12, 1898.
Luchsinger, John. "The Planting of the Swiss Colony at New
Glarus, Wisconsin." Collections of the State Historical Society
of Wisconsin, val. 12.
luther, E.L. "Farmers' Institutes in Wisconsin, 1885-1933." Wis~
cGnsin Magazine of History 30 (1946): 59-61.
McCormick, Cyrus. The Century of the Reaper. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931.
Merk, Frederick. Economic History of Wisconsin During the Civil
War. Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1916.

96

Arvid Ackerson, Henry Acten, Henry Ahlgren, Clara Allen, John
Allen, Esther Anderson, George Baumeister, Bess Bartlett, Olga
Best, Ben Blascha, Hilbert Bark, Minna Breitsmann, Margaret
Burman, Walter Bussiwitz, Leta Cairns, Pat Carlone, Max Carpenter, Mary Collins, Ina Curtis, Lenora Oohn, Mary Dott, Leo Henry
Finger, Elvina Floistad, Lizzie Ford, Gladys Foster, Ernest Frankhauser, Alfred Freeman, Anastasia Furman, Laura Goode, Roger
Greene, Elsa Guetzloff, Carl Gunderson, Ed Haberman, Henel
Haberman, Ted Hagen, Kitty Hepke, Hazel Herrick, Albert Hop~
kins, Mae lsbel, Verna Jessen, Bert Jones, Lloyd Kelly, George
Kendall, Percy Knoll, AI Kronke, Doris Krenke, Elling Lindstrom,
Orville Long, Louis Malt, Elizabeth McCoy, Don McDowell, Sybille
Mitchell, Carl Munz, Walter Nickel, Charles Orvis, Paul Paulson,
Theodore Peterson, Everett Phillips, Mary Phillips, P.C. Phillips,
Robert Ramsdell, Mary Grady Dee Rannetsberger, Ruby Ratzlaff,
Frances K. Reed, Carl Reifer, George Rueth, Fred Schroeder,
Evelyn Skinner, Dwight Smith, Marion Smith, Ole Schott, Anna
Solum, Henry Solum, Milo Swanton, Gertrude Thomas, A! Vesper,
Agnes Weigen, James Weigen, Myrtle T. Whipple, Jesse William~
son, Nick Zappa.

97

CENTURY FARMS
Home awards are presented by the state to farms which have remained in the same
family for 100 years or more. This Jist is courtesy of the State Fair.
ADAMS COUNTY
Banville, Robert
Crothers Archie R
Crothers: Rexford
Elliott Mr and Mrs Warren
Frisch' Er~est & Vy;la
Huber' Mr and Mrs Stanley
Jacob~ Albert F & ~on
Dean' A
·
Jones, Ra.lph

~· & Norah

}~l[kvkcl~~~L~~is
d 1 · L
R
s osr~d

·MVl& M G d

s~:l:er ,'M:;v Ros~lla

or on
Van Weigh, Arleigh and Alta

Ca~vin

Walrath,
J.
Werner, Em1l A. & Eve.

BARRON COUNTY
Anderson, Haakon
Ness, Henry K.
Rogers, Henry and James
Solum, EdwardS. Jr.

BROWN COUNTY
Baumgartener, Kermit and
Loree
Bougie, Francis
Brick, Eugene
Burns, James E.
Cady, Harry P.
Carpenter, Donald
Champeau, Edmund
Clementson, Annette (Miss)
Corrigan, Chester R.
Gerrits, Joseph B.
Griepentrog, Gordon L.
Heimerl, Eugene & Donna; Hugh
& Bonita
Just, Theodore
Leanna, Francis X.
Lebal, Edward
Lemke, Arthur, Econ & Leila
Martin, Frank
Moore, Thomas
Natzke, Amos
Norton, Donald
Novotny, John J. & Leone
Pamperin, Grover C.
Patterson, Wm. James
Petersen, Arthur & Dan
Prefontaine, Gary & Judith
Purst, Earl and Emmal
Rasmussen, Reginald
Romuald, Julian & Joan
Rothe, Ogden
Schaut, David & Rose
Schinke, Henry
Seifert, Robert F,
Setright, Patrick
Smith, Robe!t C.
Speerschneider, Harry
Treichel, Herbert
Ullmer, Albert L. & Bernice A.
Corsten
Verboomen, Andrew

BUFFALO COUNTY
Amidon, Lew E.
Anderson, Collin
Baertsch, Oscar
Braem, Arno
Buchmiller, Ethel Suhr

g~f:: zr::liH~

·

Duellman, Ervin
Engel, Werner

Fitzgerald, Harry J.
Gainer, BonnieR.
. .
George, Norman and L!lhan
Gle!ter, Alrin J.
Gle1ter, Myron & Ruth
Grass, Agnes M.
Grob, Fred F.
Haenssinger, Mrs. Minnie
Herbert, Ernest 0.

u~r::tL;I:M.c.

Hube;, Robert F.
Jahn, Allen
Johnston, John w. & Agnes
Ha~ey Johnston
.
Koentg, G~orge L. & MarJe C.
T

~ai~~~<fs~~~~~ H

Mosimann, Elias & Annie
Mueller, Andrew W.
Multhaup, Henry L.
Pace, Dale Wayne
Rockwell, Auren
Rotering, Mr. and Mrs. Alvin
Rothering, Donald

~~~:~h.e~~~i~l Wilferd

Otto, HobertJ. & Noreen
Pfeiffer, 1\;1-rs. Mildred M.
Pfister, H1lmer E.
Pingel, Armin
Rusch, Raymond & Evelyn
Schaefer, George J.
Schildhauer, Jacob Frederick
Schlorf, Glenn David
Schluchter, Elmer

~c~m!~~· ~~wrt ~

S~h~:id~r~
Br~~~ ~d Clara
Schulz W1lmer W.
Schwaibach, George A.
Schwalenberg, Armin H.
Sommerhalder, Arnold H.

~i:i;~!~·L~~rJ:

Stenelle, Mr. Bert
Stumpf, Andres (Mr. & Mrs.)
Thielman, Roger J.
Tollefson, Oscar
Wagner, Sylvester H.
Winkler, Merlyn
Wettstein, Ray 0.

~~:}i:{: n~~:n F.

~~~~f.t~~:ntr~thy

CHIPPEWA COUNTY

Sendelbach, Orvan
Sevforth, Dutee
Steak, William
Steiner, Elmer D.

Andredson, Leonard & Gertrude
Buetow, Arthur B.
Daggit, loneR.
Eder, Bertram W.

Yankee, Arthur R.
Yankee, Carl & Amos

COLUMBIA COUNTY
Barden, Clarence S.
Becker, Charles
Bennitt, Albert M.
Bittner, Agnes Walch
Boelte, Erwin F.
Bowman, Robert 0.
Bussian, Rodney Herbert
Christopherson, Otto
Clark, Robert T.
Cook, Lyell S.
Cornford, M. John & Allen
Cramer, Calvin 0. & PatriciaL.
Cuff, Clifford
Cuff, Mrs. Hazel
Currie, Joseph B.
Curtis, Emmons W.
Danielson, Earle C.
Davis, Laura C. (Extd Newton
Davis Est.
Deakin, Carl H.
Devine, Tom R
Dodge, Benjamin
Dodge, Willard (Mrs.)
Doherty, John K

g~~d!fi: ~~~~ks~Phine

Drake, M. Roy
Dreyer, Mrs. Eleanora
Duborg, Rudolph
Dunn, Charles E.
&
Dynes, Leo C.
Suhr Buchmiller
Jea~ette K.
Fadness, Edwin
Theurer, Herman F. & Emil J"
Frederick, Perry James &
Feeyater, Dr. Earl M.
Vollmer, Arnold
Mary Ann
Finger, Bernice I.
Wald, Nini
Frederick, Vernar
Glymann, Corwin Julius
Ward, Mamre H.
Gilbertson, David A.
Groves, Frank W.
Waste, George P.
Hartman, Roman & Marcelina
Guethlein, George
Halpin, Norman
Lloyd
M. & Carl E.
Hartman, Mrs. Mertis
Wild, Fred
Lynr.., Bernard J.
Haskin, Bernard
Yarrington, Irvin C.
Marquardt, Merv
Haskin, Harry W.
(Duncan Creek Farms Inc)
Hawkes, Mrs. Martha
BURNETT COUNTY
McCombs, Eugene Hemy
Haynes, Stanley H.
Heinze, Leon and Ruth
Branstad, Bevan and Audrey
Patten, ~rl M.
Thor Lester W
Polanski, Allen
Hepler, Harold
Polzin, GustavJ. & Wilhelmina
Hopkins, (John) Wesley
Steinmetz, Gerald & Margaret
Huges, William Ellis
CALUMET COUNTY
Tann1er, George
Hummel, Elizabeth M.
Aebischer, Gordon & Denton
Towne, Clarence & Harlow
Hutchinson, Helen
Boehnlein, Alfred & Loraine
Voecks, Stanley A.
Ingebretson, Emil (Estate of)
Woodruff, Truman B. &
Buhl, Fred
Jennings, William C.
Cannon, Charles B.
Isabelle L.
Jensen, Neil {Mr. & Mrs.)
Diekvoss, Ferris J.
Johnson, Ellen (Mrs.)
CLARK
COUNTY
Doern, Estate of Christian
Jones, Wm. J. & Abbie J.
(Mrs. Mathilda Doern)
Judd, Mrs. George
Kehl, Russell and Leonilla
bl:e~:,~g!rnold J,
Cook, Russell Elwin
Keith, Donald, Dr. Robert A~
Decker, Walter
Griem, Lola M.
Kershaw, Herbert A.
Dietrich, Rollie & Anna
Hartzheim, Peter
Kitzerow, Harold
(Mr.& Mrs.)
Heimann, Frank
Knudson, Arthur R.
Hasz, Albert
Hoffman, Henry
Larson, William H.
Howard,
Vern
G,
Horn, Marvin
Link, Eugene E.
Humke,
Paul
Kalwitz, Otto C.
Jacobson, Jeanette (Admx.) Geo. Luey, Rodney
Kennedy, Gregory
(aka Oliver Rodney Luey)
Castner Farm
Kleist, Gordon A.
Mauth, Clarence
Kleinschmidt- See Smith,
Koehler, Leroy
McElroy,
Lydia
Arleigh K.
Kossman, Oscar & Myrtle
McKay, Donald
Noah, Elmer E.
Kuchenbecker, Myra & Hilmer
McLeish, Roy
Oswald,
Orville
&
Lucille
Kuehl. Arein & Hilton
Meland, Glen J.
Short, Ralph
Kuepper, Gilbert J.
(Martin Meland Est.)
Smith, Arleigh K.
Labitzke, Bernard
Meland, Martin (Est.)
Sternitzky,
Edward
F.,
Elizabeth
Lindner, Albert
Meyer, Emilh & Marie F.
M.&Erwin
Mainz, Henry & Marie
Montross, V. & Helen M.
Syth, Reynold & Helen
Miller, Louis H.
Mahlke
Williams Sisters, Alfrieda,
Miller, Oscar J.
Morgan, Floyd A
Norma,
Eleanora
Nisler, Aloys

~~h~.~~li~.(~~:~. t3:.c~{hel

~:~ng~~k'a~!~~dR&

'

~:~:~t~~h~~tA.

t:"D~~B~~:ice

<

g~~td:i~~R~f!~~c·)

Morse, E. Glenn Estate
(Alzana Morse Trustee)
Noller, Anna
O'Brien, John & Joanna
Oen, Arnold
Palmer, Herbert P.
Pedersen, W. E.
Porter, Emery R. (Mr, & Mrs.)
Ray, Donald & Myrtle
Richmond, Gilbert
Robson, Clifford & Corring
Roche, John F.
Rowlands, Evan A.
Rowlands, Morris J. II
Ryan, Eustace & Blanche
Sanderson, Curtis B.
Sanderson, Wallace J.
Scharf, Earl
Shanks, Melvin
Siewert, William H,
Sowards, Jesse
Spear, Gordon W.
Steckelberg, Albert
Steele, Roy N.
Stevenson, David R.
Stomner, Milton
Sutton, Charles R.
Swarthout, Mary
Thornton, Jay B.
Tomlinson, Ella Teeter
Underdahl, Otis

~:~::r:~n~~W1~n~~ M. &

Lorraine
Wendt, Mr. & Mrs. Max
Wheeler, Clara (Mrs.)
Williams, David E.
Williams, Edward T.
Williams, Mrs. H.T,, Rodney &
Maurice
Wyman, Mrs. Walter E.
Young, John C.
Zarnzow, George E.

CRAWFORD COUNTY
Aspen,AifC.
Aspenson, Norman
Benson, Christens H.
Bowden, Thea
Brockway, Fred C.
Brown, George C.
Brudos, Thomas S.
& Alice T. Runice
Burlock, Charlotte
Caya, Mitchell & Rose
Crowley, Mrs. Regis E.

E~ff~t;ift~X~r J.
Ertel, Samuel
Fisher, James Jr.
Foley, Bartley & Hattie
g:~:;~ k~;nest
Halloran, Rt. Rev. Msgr.
ThomasJ.
Halverson, G. Opel
Helgerson, Carl & Corney, et al
Hill, Mary Jane & John
Hooverson, Eda
Hromadka, James J.
Humphrey, Mary W.

In~~i:;l'li.rtarT~!;as L
Krueger, Valentine

~8a~~sk~~(~;~ett Kast

Estate)
McCarthy, Raymond L
McGinley, Michael
McKittrick, Mr. & Mrs. Neely
Meagher, Dennis F.
Mezera, Clement C.
Mikkelson, Norvin & Lila

Monroe, Bernaditha (nee
Blahna)
Moran, Mr. & Mrs. Paul
Newton, Anna M.
Olson, Peter 0. & Verna
Olson, Ronald
Oswald, Irvin
Patten, W. H. (Estate)
Pomeroy, Addie Mitchell

~~:~:J~h~iM.

Schoville Family (Warren)
Severson, Gordon
SeversOn, John
Swiggum, Erbec H.
Teynor, Clarence A.
Toberman, Richard H.
Wachuta, George
Walker, LeRoy J.
Wallin, Oliver E. & Carol, wife
Walters, Edwin A.
Walton, Joseph E.
Welsh, William Patrick
Zweifel, Louisa, Marie, Herman

DANE COUNTY
Adams, Arnel B.
Ames, Worth
Anderson, J. Adolph
Anderson, Mary 8.
Anderson, Walter 0.
Argue, John J., Harold H. Cate,
John C. Legler,

A~:Ca7!~~g~elson,

Arthur, Thomas Jr.
Asleson Homestead,
Obert T. & John E.
Au by, Bennie A
Baer, Gertrude (Mrs.)
Baldwin, Robert H., Frank J.,
Fred B.

~=~:rJ;:!~~-~ ~e~~~X~ M.

Benson, George H.
Bergum, Andrew
Biglow, Ray C.
Bilse, Mrs. Arthur
Bilse, Cora Spaanem
Black, Theron Wedke
Boehnen, Robert W.
Bonner, Gladys, Celia Preston,
Grace Thompson
Booth, Glen Leach
Bostad, Bessie & Clarence
Bradley, James
Brereton, Sidney T.
Breunig, Eugene W.
Brigham, Mrs. Charles L
Bringa, Theodore G.
Brooner, Ambrose
Burnson, James G.
Byrne, Harold T.
Carpenter, J, Harlow
Cate, Harold H.
Christianson, Leonard W.
Cole, Lawrence C.
Coons, Agnes Madigan
Cripps, Charles R.
Danielson, John P.
Deneen, Donald & John
Dickinson, Thomas William Sr.
Dorn, Alphonse P.
Doyle, Mrs. Anna
Dunlap, Guy L.

~:ii~w~Abti~ & Joyce
Fox, Russell
Freitag, Mrs. Gladys Lackey
Friday, Mrs. Janet Thomson
Fritz, Clarence R.
Gehin, Charlotte Genin
Gordon, Thomas

Grove, Christian C.
Haight, Mrs. Joe (RachelS.)
Hale, HarrY Ogden
Hallock, Hiram Youngs
Hammond, Robert L.
Hartwig, Howard W. R & Olive
Mae(Goth)
Havey, Alfred
Hellenbrand, Mr. & Mrs. Henry
Henderson, Mrs. Lizzie
Henshue, Stanley
Himsel, Orville White & E.
Hoepker, John
Hollfelder, Arthur
Holscher, Frank, Herbert
& Marjorie Kamm
Holtan, Orlin W.
Holtan, Reuben G.
Hoppmann, Earl C. & Edith D.
Jerdee, Edwin J.
Johnson, P. N. Heirs
Johnson, Thomas K.
June, Sever A.
Juve, Knud A.
Kalscheur, Math. J.
Kehl, Russell
Kerl, Oswin
Kiley, Mary C. (Mrs.)
Kingsley(?)
Kinney, Edward J.
Klongland, Otis
Klinefelter, H. G.
Kohlman, Florence Poynor
(Mrs. Victor)
Kurt, Carl A., Jr.
Laler, Margaret
Larkin, AmyL. & Helen M.
Laufenberg, Ralph J.
Lee, Peter A. G,
Legler, John C.
Lencke, Alice C.
Lewke, Walter W
Lunde, Ralph
Mack, Herman J. & Blanche
Madigan, Elizabeth N.
& Agnes Madigan Coons
Marsden, Lyle Bernham
Marty, Russell & Marjorie
Mathewson, Clarence A.
McCaughey, Nellie (Mrs.)
McChesney, Oliver F.
McChesney, Mrs. Palma
McChesney, Rudolph J_
Meixner, Marie
Mell,John
Messerschmidt, Lowell &
Elizabeth
Morehead, Willard William
Morrison, Bruce
Morrison, Leonard & Otteson,
Marvel (Mrs.)
Munson, Mrs. Julia
Nace, Miss Myrtle

~!fs~~~M~CL:ler

Nieland, Florence M. & Hazel
Niglis, Henry J.

~~~~~~,' J:'l:!l~-

Olman, Ingman
Olson, Henry & Martin
Onsgard, Mrs. Ellen
Otteson, Marvel (Mrs.)
Page, Roy B.
Pelton, Glenn E.
Philip Fox et al
Pierstorff, Harry & Viola
Pirkl, Frank
Pohlman, Charles & Helen
Poynor, Raymond
Purcell, Mrs. Nora
Quale, Victor A.
Rademacker, Richard
Reible, La Verne

Reiner, Edmund B. & Lucille A.
Reynolds, H. G.
Richmond, Bradford R
Ripp, Martin J.
Rundhaug, Orville & Agnes
Saunders, Lenora Babcock

~~~~~:tE~nV3ii~ Robert

Severson, Severt
Siggelkow, Earl G.
Slatten, Grant C.
Sorenson, Arthur R.
Steinhauer, Henry C.
Stewart, Frank A.
Stewart, G. L.
Strommeh, Martin A.
Syverud, Dr. S. C.

~h~1~·~~~il~lt~'&n~s-)

Thompson, Joseph (Estate)
Thorsgaard, Edna Irene,
T~:!~:.
& Ernest Hosias
Thorson, Russell W. & VictorS.
Thorson, Victor Sanford
Turner, Paul Boynton

t:!1f.

Br!~:~~1r

Voges, Edwin C.
VrOman, Arthur & Hiram Elmer
Ward, Elizabeth Roberts
Weisensel, Russel R. & Mary D.
Wendt, Marvin
Wentworth, Howard R
Wild, Roy E.
Wilkins, Mrs. Henry or Otto
Wilkins
Williams, Cha.s. H. & Gertrude

D.

Witte, Lester & Bernice
Woodburn, Delma D.
Wosleysholts, Ralph

~'in'!~l!~is
DODGE COUNTY
Albert, Hulbert
~~~i;, ~be~ & Helen L.

~~!~r::.~~.~·~:l.~e!rt

Berndt, Hugo
Bliss, Henry Z.
Bodden, John Jacob
Borchardt, Mrs. Emma J.
or Hubert Borchardt
Bowe, William
Braasch, William
Braemer, Herman
Brown, Mrs. Addie J.
Brummond, Edwin
Budde, James L.
Burgess, Lee & Lester
Butterbrodt, George
Caldwell, Bessie B.
Canniff, Miss Blanch B.
Canniff, Blanche & Elizabeth
Casey, Delia
Christian, Herman F.
Christopherson, P. & Adolph G,
Coughlin, Ervin
Cullen, Juanita
Curphy, John Robert
Delfeld, Jerome & Paula
Dinkel, Arthur
Drake, Raymond L.

~h~h:Jt.'kS::S A.
Enderle, Lawrence
Erdmann, Raymond & Norma
Ertl, Robert H.
Etscheid, Clarence
Falkenstein, Fred H.

Falkenthal, Gilbert (Mr. & Mrs.)
Fehling, Irwin T.
Fehrmann, Leonard E.
Fletcher, Daniel B>
Frisbie, D. Bruce
Gahlman, Peter & Josephine
Garrett, Mrs. John
Gay, Earl
Gibson, Floyd
Giese, Clarence
Gnewuch, Edgar
Goodrich, Purmart Follansbee
Greuneberg, Walter A.
Grover, Lew 0.
Hamann, Melvin
Haurahan, Thomas
Reiling, Helen
Henkel, Franklin
Hoeppner, Pauline (Mrs.)
Hoff, Almond W. (Mr. & Mrs.)
Holt, Donald W
Hoppe, Herbert & Mary
Hunt, Mrs. Grace A.
Jaenicke, William
Jahn, Roland
Jarns, Erwin
Johnson, Elmer
Johnston, Mr. & Mrs. George
Jones, John D.
Jones, Seneca T.
Jones, William E.
Justman, Carl I.
Keil, Philip
Kling, John
Knowlton, Dr. C. P.
Kohn, Hilbert R.
Kohn, Oscar
Kohn, Mrs. Rosa
Kopplin, Earl & Elizabeth
Krueger, Bernhard E.
Krueger, Carl W.
Lange, Lelon R.
Lehmann, Wm. VanVechten
& Esther & Katherine
Lentz, Kenneth W. & Antoinette
Lettow, Gilbert H.
Levey, Eunice Taylor
Lichtenberg, Edgar
Liebing, Fred
Lindert, Arthur & Gertrude
Luck, Donald
Lueck, Martin & Alma
Machmueller, Arnold G.
Macksam, Gilbert
Madigan, Paul
Mann, John W.
Martin, J. Lovell
Mason, William Nelson
McAleaney, Henry
McDermott, Peter E
McFarland, Ray
Miller, Ben
Miller, Matt
Morris, Carl
Moylan, James
Mullin, Leo & Mildred
Neitzel, Lawrence
Nickels, Raymond W.
Owen, Leon
Owen, Ralph
Owens, Hugo
Pade, Albert
Pankow, Martin Gustav
Petsch, William
Pluedemann, Erich
Poetter, Harvey C.
Pribnow, Rueben R.
Pusch, Nora E.
Pusch, Wallace
Qualmann, James E.
Quinn, John & Lloyd
Radtke, Arthur F.
Randall, CoraM.
Ready, John

Reid, Earl
Reklau, Mr. & Mrs, Herbert
Rex, Orrin
Roche, Harold
Rollefson, Russell & Raymer
Ryder, Glenn H.
Schaefer, Norman

~~~~~;i,~s~i!id

Schoenike, Gerhard
Schwarze, Mr. & Mrs. Victor
Schwefel, Max
Schwefel, Richard C.
Schwefel, William
Scott, Edith B.
Seibel, Clarence
Smith, Augustus H.
Soldner, George H.
Salveson, Mrs. Chas.,
George, Harvey, Carl
Sullivan, Frank
Sullivan, Mary, Frank,
Estelle & Leone
Terry, Halstead C.
Thomas, David G.

(;~f1~~; ~~h~r& Harold
VandeLande, Tom

~=t~::;,1{!fvh c.

Weigand, Harvey R.
Weiss, Gerald & Shirley
Welles, William G.
Wells, Maurice R.
Wendt, Maurice
Werner, Theodore
Wilke, Ben
Witte, Emil E.
Wrucke, Rodger E.
Yankow, Elmer
Yoeckel, Edward
Young, Walter C.
Zimmerman, Erhard E.

Cramer, Joseph & Mary

g~htnf6:!'~\1!an & Evelyn

Dodge, Lillian E.
Grutt, Merlin & Mavis
Hall, Stanley
Hanson, Raymond & Ardis
House, Malvin G.
Jacobson, Russel & Margaret
Klingenberg, Ivan
Krause, Barle
Lee, AlfE. & Hazel
Link, Ernest J.
Lowry, Howard J. & Irene L.
Nelson, Kenneth L.
Norrish, Robert E. & Bessie M.
Norrish, Walter B.
Pechmiller, Louis (Mr. & Mrs.)
Ranney, Clifford A.
Sandvig, Howard & Mabel L.
Schlough, Warren K. & Mary A.
Snyder, Clarence
Stallman, Raymond John
& Kermit Joel
Teegarden, Levi Joy
Townsend, Donald & Linda

(;~~~~~~~L~is Sherburne
Weaver, Margaret E.
Wisemiller, Ralph Keith
Woods, Aaron & Harrison
Wilsey, Donald 0. & Edna

EAU CLAIRE COUNTY

Betz, Gustave A.
Brown, Gerald R. & Gladys K
Dahl, Herman A. & Gertrude A.
Erdman, Alvin R.
Flynn, Patrick G.
Hale, Mrs. C. W. & Mary,
Esther & Ruth Hale
Hartwich, Louis
Hass, Ralph
Herrick, William H. & Fern H.
DOOR COUNTY
Honadel, Elmer J.
Bosman, William
Klingbeil, Herman & Lucile
De Keyser, Gabriel W.
Kopp, Richard E.
Delveaux, George C.
Lewis, William A. Jr.
Ellison, Curtis & Hazel
Mathwig, Thomas & Arlene
Gebauer, Verna & Wilford
O'Driscoll, C. N.
Hafemann, Marvin J"
Paddock, Robert W.,
Hafeman, Milton
Dale M. & John E.
Hansen, Hester Laurie (Mrs.)
Peet,RoyH.
Helmholz, Mrs, Charles
Pride, W. G. & Pauline
Heimbecher, Bernard C.
Walker, Marshall L.
Johnson, Lawrence H. & Vera M,
(Mr.&Mrs.)
Krueger, Waldo F.
Wright, Lloyd Wilbur
Langoehr, Lawrence Alfred
Young, Robert L.
Le Docq, Henry J.
Yule, Frank & Lueann
La Mage, Gerald
Mann, Wallace H.
FOND
DULAC
Matzke, Herman H. & Ruth
Matzke, Marvin H. & Laura L.
COUNTY
Matzke, Palmer J.
Abel, George
Olson, Alan L.
Ablard, Ben & Francis
Pavlik, Anton & Beatrice
Abler, Gilbert
Pierre, Arthur
Atwood, Mr. & Mrs. P. W.
Rose, Wendelin
Averbeck, Oscar
Weldon, Raymond Jr.
Batterman, Mr.
& Mrs. Elwood A.
DUNN COUNTY
Baudry, Leroy F.
Birschbach, Simon
Allram, Gary E.
Birschbach, Sylvester
& Constance C<
Bleuel, Mrs. Anthony
Anderson, Esten J.
Bly, Howard W.
Anderson, Lloyd E.
Bock, Elmer C.
Ausman, George J. & Annie
Boegel, Raymond J.
Ausman, Leo
& Grace Ann
Baskin, Erwin
Brown, Lyle H. (Mr" & Mrs.)
Bjorl, Paul G.
Brown Oscar (Mr. & Mrs.)
Casper, William H.
Brown, Rublee Fayette
& FrancesP.
Burg, Chester
Christopher, Melvin & Linda
Burg, Garland Henry
Coleman, Lee V. & Gloria K

Christian, Richard Perry
Costello, Francis & Mildred
DeGroot, Mrs. Emma Rensink
See: Leindekugel,
Mrs. Amelia Rensink
Dins, Reuel E.
Dolan, Lloyd W.
Donovan, Leo
Engel, Lawrence
Estabrooks, E. G.
Fleischmann, Frank J.
Flynn, Edward &
Charlotte
Freund, Edward M.
& Lorraine A.
Giffey, John
Goebel, Edward
Goodlaxson, Harold J.
Goodrich, Glen P.
Gore, Miss Cleaphinea
See: Rothe, Mrs. Carl A.
Gralapp, Roy
Halbach, Math
Halle,RoyN.
Hammond, Samuel Oscar
Harris, Clyde
Hauer, Albert J.
Hazen, Calvin
Heberer, Walter J.
Hendricks, R. A.
Heus, John
Hicken, Patrick Bruce
Hinn,Will
Hobbs, Mrs. Orrie
Holterman, Mr. & Mrs. D. V.
Holzmann, Elmer H.
Hounsell, George Samuel
Hubbard, Roy W,
Immel, Milton L.
Johnson, Henry P.
Jones, Flint H.
Kaiser, Wilfred D.
(Mr. &Mrs.)
Klapperich, Ben
Klapperich, Paul
Kloosterbaer, John
Koenen, Robert H.
& Bernadette E.
Koenigs, Mr. & Mrs. Joseph
Korb, Marvin
Koshute, Mrs. Harriet Bruins
Kramer, Leo Mr. & Mrs.
Krohn, Earl H. & Mabel
Landaal, Josie Boom
Langenfeld, Paul W.
Larsen, Mrs. L. Neil
See: Rothe, Mrs. Carl A.
Leake, Mrs. W. W.
Leindekugel, Mrs, Amelia
Rensink & Mrs. Emma
Rensink DeGroot
Leith, Ray H.
Lemmenes, Grace
Lerch, Irvin E.
Lerch, Truman M.
Lloyd, Francis
Loehr, Raymond H.
Manderscheid, Raymond
Martin, Mrs. Stella W.
McCrory, G, Victor
McDowell, Edward B.
(Mr.&Mrs.)
Meenk, Albert W.
Meier, John & Carol
Menne, Joseph J.,
Albert A., John E.
Merrill, Olive A.
Morgan, Leo L.
Mueller, Leo & Sophia
Nest, Harlan J.
Nichols, Mr. & Mrs. Guy
& Lester Nichols
Nitschke, Alfred & Ethel
O'Brien, John T.

Odekirk, Ervin, Jr.
O'Laughlin, Leo T<
Pallister, Leon F.
Patchett, Dote
Patrick, Mrs. Edna
Pettit, Mrs. John
Pettit, Thomas
Pickart, Delmore M.
or Mrs. Mary
Pickart, Jacob Ben
Rather, Henry A.
Roehrig, Ray
Rohlfd, Norman & Elaine
Rothe, Mrs. Carl A.
& Mrs. L. Neil Larsen
& Miss Cleaphinea Gore
Russell, Seymour
Sabel, Ralph
Salter, Louis
Sc(!nnell, George F.
Schleif, Mrs. Linda,
Roger Schleif,

Sc~::id~;~R~;gdlf. & Naomi
Schultz, Mrs. Walter
Seibel, Roy
Seresse, Peter N.
Serwe, Alois J.
Sesing, Alex
Sharratt, Robert H.
Sherwin, Edgarton Hamlin
& Miss Lulu A. Sherwin
Sievers, Jennie L.
Smith, Clarence G.
Smith, Samuel A., Sr.,
or Samuel A., Jr.
Soles, EdwardS.
Steffes, Ben
Steffes, Leo J.
St. Mary, Floyd H.
Straub, Hugo
Treleven, Kent B. & John W.
Twohig, George R.
Veleke, Mrs. Dora
Wagner, Anton
~:fdsecrh~fJ'EWifl~ J.

Weddig, Mrs. Otto
See: Schlief, Mrs. Fred
Fond du Lac County
Wells,M.L.
Wilsie, Walter W. & Viola M.
Whooley, Raymond J.
Wanser, Sophie
Worthing, Mrs. I. A.
Zimdars, Florian D.
Zimmerman, Guy W.

GRANT COUNTY
Aide, Francis N.
Aiken, Leslie
Andrew, F. D.
Austin, Harold L.
Bailie Estate, Clyde E.
Baker, Roy W.
Bark, Alfred E.
Bark, Alfred & Hilda (Jeldy)
Bellmeyer, Melvin T.
Bevan, Donald & Mrs.
Bevan, Mr. & Mrs. Hurus
Bode, Joseph F.
& Kowalski, Ramona
Bonin, Frederick P.
Bourret, Clifford
Bowden, John Delos
Brandt, Virgil B.
Brogley, Harold
Budworth, George H.
& Elizabeth
Budworth, George Howard
Budworth, John W. & Marcella
Butson, Harry G. & Mrs,
Cox, John E.

Clemens, Andrew, Edna, Albert
Craven, Curtis & Mrs.
Croft, Roger A.

D&mb~:g~~r?ellrge w.

Dennis, Mrs. Agnes Bayley
Dennis, Mrs. Amy McLeod
Dennis, Lee & Mrs.
Edwards, John M. & Mrs.
Fenley, William & Mrs,
Foley, William M. & Trace
Franken hoff, Kenneth & Esther
Fry, Ora
Geiger, Vivian M.
Ginter, Mrs. Elizabeth Kieler
Glenn, Mrs. Edwin
&Miss Ellen
Coke, Arthur William
Goke, Frances Young
Goldman, Hubert
Graser, Leonard
Griffith, Claude
Griffith, Mrs. John
or Mr. Claude
Groth, Herman W.
Gunderson, Clarence G.
Gundlach, Norris R.
&Allice Yanna
Gundlach, Stanley
Hampton, Grant G.
Harper, Charles William
Harville, Keith
Hauk, Chester P.
Hausler, Herbert
Henkel, Oliver &
Louis & Esther
Hinderman, William F.
Hodgson, Mr. & Mrs. Marion
Humphrey, Mrs. Mary W.
Hutchcraft, William 0.
Johns, William
Johnson, Susan & Laura
Kaiser, Elmer F.
Kenny, Donald & Douglas
Kenny, Misses gva & Mary
Kenny, Mrs. Ruth
Ketterer, Adolph
Kieler, Arthur & Mrs,
King, Burdette W.
Kirschbaum, George
Kluckhorn, Clarence
Kopp, Clay H.
Kraus, Emma
Kreul, Dwight
Kreul, Ernest
Kuehl, Adolph
Kuehl, Merl:yn & Mrs.
Kuenster, Gus
Kuenste, Lawrence
Kuster, Carlyle J.
Lange, Robert & Mrs.

t:ftf:;. ~~ir::r~~s.

Leibfried, Clarence H.
Lenz Estate, Adolph (Mrs.)
Lory, Leslie
Loy, William A.
Ludwig, Rudolph & Mrs.
Maneman, Mrs, Elizabeth
Maring, George
Marvel, Mrs. Freda Ohlson
McGrouarg, Charles/
Alvin Lull
Mcintyre, Donald J.
McLeod, Jesse
McReynolds, Jesse,
Virgil & Clyde
Medley, Clarence & Mrs.
Munns, Mrs. Orva B.
Nauert, John H.
Nelson, Arthur R & Mrs.
Nelson, Enos
Nelson, Robert T.
Orchard, Mattie M.

Patterson, James E.
Ralph, Roy
Rauch, Mrs. Anna
Rauch, John
Ricks, Mrs. Fred
Rogers, Harry
Rountree, Laura (Miss)
Runde, Carl & Mrs.
Rundell, Richard 0"
Salis, Albert, Jr.
Sander, Miss Eveline E.
Sander, John & Mrs.
Schauf, Adeline
& Mathilda Kathryn
Schiffman, Will T.
Shilliam, Edward & Donald
Simmons, William
Simpson, Ethel Biddick
Smail, Arthur & Mrs.
Stanton, Donald, Wilbur, Grace
Stanton, Eldridge, Frank, Keith
Starrett, Floyd H.
Steers, Earl
Swallow, Hilda, Cora
& Leonard
Teasdale, Joseph David
Thomas, Gertrude T.
Tobin, John Leo
Tobin, Theo. & F.
Travis, Wilson John
Trewartha, Ernest
Uppena, Henry Bernard Jr
Van Natta, Eugene & M~s ..
VanNatta, Howard W.
Walker, Georx_e W.
Walker, Guy .
We:r;ner, Eugene, Dcris
W~Jtcher, George K, Jr.
W!est, Sylvester C. & Mary E.
Wilhelm, Urban H. & Mrs.
Williams, T. Hobart
Young, Sarah B. (Mrs. Frank B.)
Zenz, Frank

GREEN COUNTY
Albertson, Wayne F.
Albertson, Clifford
Albertson, Martin
Atkinson, Russell R
Babler, Milton W.
Baldwin, Mrs. Meta S.
Baird, Parker K.
&John William
See: Borchardt, Mrs. Emma
Baumgartner, Lyle H.
Bidlingmaier, William
Blum, Dr. & Mrs. Fred G.
Borchardt, Mrs. Emma
& Parker K. Baird
& John Wm. Baird
Bowen, Harry & Donna
Boynton, Gunhild
Brewer, Croy, Rodney
&Clayton&
Major, Ruby Brewer
Broughton, Caland Lynn
Broughton, Mrs. Wm. Albert
See: McCarter, Lois
Bump, Albert L.
Bump, Dwight L.

~~~: ~r~~~: L., Sr.
Cameron, William H.
Carpenter, ,Jessie
See: Dixon, Effie
Carter, F. Russell
Corson, Victor I.
Davis, George B.
Deininger, Lloyd A.
Dillon, Chester C., Sr.
Disrud, Milton & Emma
Dixon, Effie &
Carpenter, Jessie
Smith, Elsie

Dooley, James F.
Duerst, Gilbert
See: Zenter, Nic
Dunphy, Thomas K
Dye, Ray
Elmer, Nick H.
Engebretson, Miss Pearl
Fleek, Charles W.
Frautschy, Mrs. Bertha Jeffery
Freitag, Rufus et al
Green, Evert L.
Goecks, Inez
Hartwig, Arthur
Hawthorne, Roy & Nathaniel
Heitz, R. Leland
Hermanson, Thomas, Jr.
Hoesly, Gilbert P.
Hoisly, Elmer D.
Isely, Wilhelm
Keen, Maude & George D.
Estate
Kittleson, Ernest & Luther
Kittelsen, Maynard
Klassy, Larry
Klassy, Larry
Kubly, Aida S. (Mrs.)
Lake, Bessie Mary &
Lake, Mack Clayton
Lawver, Rowland C.,
Capt. U.S. Navy (ret.)
Lemon, Luther W.
Marchant, Aladene L.
McCarter, Lois
(Mrs. Wm. Albert Broughton)
Murphy, Jessie P,
Ott, Quinton J.
Pascoe, J. Alfred
Patterson, Leon 8.
Pinnow, Mrs. Cora
Lichtenwalner
(Mrs. Otto)
Preston, Robert
Probst, Mrs. Mabel Olson
Pryce, D. T.
Raney, Charles A.
Roderick, Benjamin Henry
Roderick, Estate and heirs
(Mrs. Roderick, Letha &
James)
Silver, Emory C.
Smiley, Robert F.
Smith, Elsie
See: Dixon, Effie
Striler, Edward
TenEyck, Albert Andrew
Thorp, Roland Evans
Thorp, Thomas E.
Tyler, Catharine Kelly
tna, John D.
Waelti, Kenneth & Gertrude
Wallace, Ne11ie P.
Wartenweiler, David C,
&Jan A.
Williams, Norman A.
Zentner, Delmar N.
Zentner, Ernst W. & Hilda
Zentner, Nic & Gilbert Duerst
Zimmerman, Ralph A.
Zum Brunne, Gottlieb, et al
Zwicky, Willis

GREEN LAKE COUNTY
Burdick, Shadrack G.
Curtis, Mabel & Edward
Hanneman, Mr. & Mrs. Herbert
Janes, Clifford M.
Krause, Ellis L.
Kutchin, Victor Sherwood
Leahy, Maurice
Marwitz, Fred Herman
McConnell, Clark
McFadden, Marjorie M.
Murray, Willard

Owen, Fred B.
Page, Ardin A & Melta K
Page, Claude S.
Rosenheimer, Mae M.
Steinkraus, Frieda E.
Stroinski, Arnold
Tinkham, Clayton H.
Yerk, Marvin
Zick, Lavern & Doris

IOWA COUNTY
Arneson Agricultural Credit
Corporation c/o Theodore I.
Arneson, President
Avenell, Ruford
Bawden, George Thomas
Benson, James A.
Blotz, Paul T.
Blynn, LeRoy & Harry H.
Brattlie, Morris
Brunker, Jerome
Brunker, Joseph A<
Bunbury, Grant
Burris, James Smith
Christianson, Charles G.
Cox, George Vernon
Crook, Ada
Cross, Henrietta Reese
Cushman, Fawn
Demby,
See: Ryan & Demby
Drinkw3ter, Roy & Martha
Eidsmee, Herbert A.
Ellis, Lillian May (Paull)
Ferrell, Clarence H.
Fillbach, Pearl A, (Mrs.)
Fritsch, Laverne
Fritsch, Paul A.
Fruin, Mrs. Mabel E S.
Gilbertson, Arnold C.
Grunow, Alvin
Grunow, Fred
Harford, Alice M. & Willard C.
Harris, Thomas R.
Heuer, Mrs. Elza
Hodgson, Mrs. Walter, Allen &
Gertrude Hodgson
Hubbard, Kenneth Roy
James, Claire E,
James, Ithyl A. & Kenneth &
Frank Van Matre
Jewell, Daniel Frederick
Jinkins, Wilbur David
Johnson, Chester L.
& Darlene I.
Joiner, Franklin Gaige
Jones, Harvey
Kritz, Esther B.
Kurth, William
Larson, Stanley
Laughnan Estate

~}X~~I_iP.:: ~i~~i:~~pplicant)

Lewis, John
Limmex, John & Lawrence

tf~~d,·j!~8Thomas
Massey, Dwayne
McCutchin, Curtis Robert
McCutchin, Thomas 0.
McDermott, Donald F,

tlii?a~J:CXit~euben
Miller, Arthur
Munz, Felix S.
Nankey, Mr. & Mrs. John
Narveso, Melvin & Gladys
& Christopher
Oimoen, Otto
Olson, Elloyd Carl
Paul, Ernest
Paulson, Mr. & Mrs. Peter
Persons, John J.

Peterson, Delbert L.
Reilly, Jerome
Richardson, Harry R.
Riffiths, Elwood R.
Robinson, William F.
Rowe, Harold
Ryan, Frank E.
Ryan, James T.
Ryan & Demby (John N, Ryan
(Margaret A. Ryan
(Mary E. Demby- Arena)
Short, Roy & Ethel & James
Smith, Frank & Josephine
Stephenson, Leslie
Terrill, Henry
Thomas, Willie
Torgeson, Mr. & Mrs. Monzan
VanMatre, Frank
See: James, lthyl A.
Wallenkamp, George A.
Watkins, Harry A.
Watters, Richard J.
Webster, Banjamin Thomas
Wepking, Ira D.
Williams, Eleanor M.
Willis, Preston M.

JACKSON COUNTY
Affeldt, Arthur (M<. & Mrs.)
Backstrom, Frederick C.
& Esther
Baird, Arthur & Annetta

~~~~·~~ifie C.

Bolger, Mike & William
Bowler, Mike H, & Marjorie
Burnett, Roger
Christopherson, Rolf E.
Clark, Mrs. Florence T.
& Eck, Christine B.
Dorrance, Charles
Downer, George
Dunn, Mrs. Gena
Dunn, Lucile V.
Dunnigan, Leo G. & Arlene
Duxbury, Frank
Eck, Christine B.
See: Clark, Mrs. Florence T.
& Christine B.
Gilbertson, Harvey
Gower, Ivan 0.
Harmer, Francis V.
Hoagenson, Hubert R.
Humphrey, Brice
~~~n~: ~;~~~ Charlotte
Lyon, Edward K & Donald R
Milbright, Glen Royce
& Lorraine Edna
Murray, William
Newell, Walter B. & Emma
Odun, Mrs. Gladys
Olson, Clarence
Olson, Gaylord C.
Patterson, Charles & Grace
Porath, Julia
Prindle, Howard E. & Merle C.
Relyea, Alvin & Rosemary
Relyea, Amy J.
Roberts, Mrs. Alma (Alvin)
Simonson, Stanley
Stone, Mrs. Tillman
Stubrud, Glen & Belva
Tibbitts, John W. & Vivian
Tibbitts, William

JEFFERSON COUNTY
Abendroth, Herbert C.
Altpeter, Edw. A.
Beane, Craig & Laura
Behling, Harvey
& Marion (Ebersohl)
Borchardt, Leroy

Bornheimer, Henry
Bottler, Philip
Boyd, lone Betsy
(Mrs. John H. Boyd)
Brandel, John, Jr.
Brewin, Edward
Calkins, Edward H.
Congdon, Edith M.
& Douglas N.
Cushman, Cyrus L.

~bt~~~: Jo~~W.

Ferry, Robert P.
Findlay, Jane
Fredrich, Wilbur J.
Friesch, Cyril
Gleiter, Edward
Goecke, Percy
Gritzner, Alton
Groth, Hilmer H.
Gunderson, Nicholas
Haight, John T.
Hansen, Connor T.
& Annette Ferry
Hintermeyer, Mr
& Mrs. Conrad
Hintz, George F.
Hoffman, Leo
Hubbard, Omar J.
Humphrey, Daniel R
Ingersoll, Chester
Jaeger, Omas
Jahn, Henry J.
& Sommerer, Esther Jahn
Jaquith, George E.
Johnson, Victor R.
Koch, Clarence (Mr. & Mrs.)
Kunz, Elmer G.
Kyle, Nancy
Larkin, Phil~ Larkin, Bert
Lean, Mrs. Minnie
Leonard, William, George
& Charles
Lewis, Eleanor & Kathryn
Lewis, Richard Price
Lounsbury, Edna
Mansfield, Ada A.
Mansfield, John W<
Marsden, Leland & Sterling
Martin, John E.
McCourt, E. Bernice
McGowan, James A.
Mcintyre, Ivan &
Helen Ranney Mcintyre
Melcher, Mrs. Eva
McMillin, Ida
Perry, Charles J.
Perry, John Henry
Petig, Edward R.
Piper Brothers
Potter, Cassius & Gusta
Probst, Oscar
Pruefer, Mrs. Charles
Radke, Ray H.
Reese, W.J.
Regelein, Albert C.
Reichardt, Hilary G.
Reul, George
Richart, Ray W.
Robbins, Earl C.
Rockwell, Charles Cushman
Scheppert, Glen F.
Scherwitz, Walter & Maxine
(Mr. & Mrs. Walter)
Schiferl, Harry
Schilling, Olga & Stuart
Schmidt, Ervin
Schneider, Mrs. R J.
Setz, Edward John
Smith, Maurice
Sommerer, Esther Jahn
See: Jahn, Henry R.
&Sommerer
Stiles, Dwight H.

Tasker, William H.
Tellefson, Willard
Thayer, Charles
Thoma, Adolph
Timmel, August
Topel, Walter C.
Turner, Howard A.
Tyler, Royal C.
Van Lone, Orlo W.
Vogel, Ernest
Vosburg, Milo Carlin
Waldmann, Erlyn F.
Walther, Clarence
Ward, William
Wegner, Edward M.
Wesley, Wenham
White, Mrs. Alice Faville
Willson, Neil & Marjorie
Ziebell, Harvey

JUNEAU COUNTY
Abbas, Mr. & Mrs. George
Bell, Micajah
Bergitta (Peterson) Christensen
Blackburn, Charles F.
Bolton, John J.
Burns, Thomas E.
Cleaver, Raymond
Conway, Brenard T.
Costigan, Leo
Crowley, Daniel J.
Henry, Mary M.
Hepp, Hugh G. & Edith E.
Katuin, Evelyn L.
McCafferty, Joseph E.
Mead Brothers
Northcott, Rachel
Patrick, Charles
Preston, Arthur
Remington, Albert F.
Robinson, Arthur F.
Robinson, Dean D.
Rogers, James E. & Selma F.
Rogers, Thomas C. & Ramona
Scully, Ambroise & Gertrude
Walden, Jefferson E.
Walsh, Patrick R.
Walsh, Robert
Waterman, Floyd
Whereatt, Stella E. & Young,
Mrs. Beulah Whereatt
White, John C.
Wright, Thomas W.
Young, Mrs. Beulah Whereatt
See: Whereatt & Young

KENOSHA COUNTY
Barber, Robert & Norma
Benedict, Elmer D. & Roxy J.
Benedict, Roland D. &
Emily Stonebreaker Benedict
Benson, Mary Bacon
Biehn, Walter W.
Bullamore, Etta
Bullamore, Oren
Bullamore, William L.
& Isabel F.
Burroughs, Mrs. Bessie
Dexter, Walter S.
Dixon, Claude L.
Dowse, Mrs. John Cole
Dvson. Otis F.
Edwards, Guy Durell
Fay, Ulysses S.
Fowler, Horace Blackman
Frahm, Wallace & Gertrude
Frederick, Marie C.
Frisbie, Miss MaeBelle
Gehring, Edward
Gillmore, Charles & Margaret
Hansen, Marie E.
Harrington, Arthur (Mr. & Mrs.)
Henn, Mr. & Mrs. Edward J.

Higgins, Freeman Packard
Huse, Mrs. Alice
& Slade, Mr. Matt
Jackson, Clarence H.
Jackson, Mrs. David

~i~{:Ariliar:lli~~~;r~ailey

Leach, Emmett G.
Leet, Fred W. & George
McCormick, Mrs. Martha
McNamara, Edward & Dolores
Meyer, Florence C, (Mrs.)
Meyers, John
Mueller, Henry P.
& Elizabeth A.
Meyers, Everett
Nelson, Oline M. Curtiss
Ozanne, Mrs. Minnie
Poisl, Della E.

k~kin<;:~.rtfi~hael

& Catherine
Reiter, Mrs. Rose
Scheckler, Donald R.
Sherman, Mrs. Lynn
Shuart, Eugene M.
Slade, Matt
See: Huse, Mrs. Alice
Staehle, Jack C.
Stockwell, Mildred Virginia
Stockwell, Phillip Kull
Thomey, Webster & Natalie
Thompson, Harry C.
Thompson, William E.
Toelle, Edward C.

~J~~;,FWiJ! &

Joel
Ward, Michael
Welker, Mrs. Mary & Leo
Williams, John G.
Weigel

KEWAUNEE COUNTY
~:J~~fi~fJrude & Sarah
Aurie, Gerald & Mary (Jadin)
Bargmann, Herbert J,
Barrand, Robert
Baumann, Lynn H.
Baumgartner, Allen & Esther
Beaurain, Melvin & Arlene
Beranek, Joseph A.
Besserdich, Alvin
(Mr. &Mrs.)
Blahnik, Victor J.
Bothe, Donald (Mr. & Mrs.)
Bruechert, Earl 0. & Elsie

g~j~·s~~~~&-~r~rs.)

De Baker, Clarence

t.

~:~~~~=;dn

Angela
Deprez, Carlton & Berna

D~y~~J:::ance

Doebler, Erwin A.
DuBois, Henry
Ebert, Fred
Erichsen, Alvin C.
Fenendael, Goldie
& Catherine
Fenske, Edward
Frawley, L. J. & Mary
Frisque, Oliver & Jane
Gallenberger, Harold
Glandt, Gerhard
Gruetzmacher, Marvin
Haack, Louis H.
Haen, Donald Henry
Hanrahan, Ralph Pat
Harmann, Glenn E.
Hermann, Herbert & Ella
Hlinak, Wenzel C.

Hunsader, Joseph & Lillian
Hunsader, Leon
Ihlenfeldt, Harlan
Jahnke, Erma B.
Jansky, William E.
(Mr. &Mrs.)
Jerovetz, John & Mary
Johnson, Norbert T.
Junlon, Lawrence X.
Karman, Joseph F.
Klimesh, Ernest
Knadle, Arthur G.
Krause, Reinhart
Kuehl, Mr. & Mrs. Clifton

t:~~~:~R~~idA.

Mach, Melvin & Donna
Mack, Henry P.

~::::~: ~i:; ~-~'Z.

Martin, Peter
Massart, Charles J,
Mastalir, Edward
Mleziva, Edward J.
Mlezvia, Joseph M.
Monfils, William D.
Neuzil, Orville (Mr. & Mrs.)
Noel, Jule J. & Josephine
Nowak, Miss Ajnes K.
Ob~, Raymon R. & Helen
Pap ham, Harvey & Evelyn
Paul, Mr. & Mrs. Norman L.
Peot, Michael H.
Prohl, Elmer (Mr. & Mrs.)
Raisleger, Joseph C.
Rebitz, Charles
Reckelberg, Adolph
Roidt, Matt J.
Schiesser, Elmer
Schley, Herman
Selner, Esther R. (Trottman)
Sinkule, Gerald D.
Stade, Agnes
Stepanek, Edward
Stuebs, Renatus
Swoboda, Eugene
Swoboda, Catherine (Daul)
Wachal, Charles
Waterstreet, Mr. & Mrs. Roy
Wautlet, Ferdinand
~:~tc~~jf.d J. & Ruby
Wierer, Jerry Frank
Wiese, Earl A. (Mr. & Mrs.)
Woehos, Richard
Zastrow, Elmer
Zeman, Edward J.

LA CROSSE COUNTY
Anderson, Renatha G. &
Margaret M. Winder
Ruth A. Sullivan
Berge, Kenneth & Alta
Black, Fred
Brown, Henry T.
Davis, Mary (Mrs,)
Dorset, Helen
Farnam, Ernest & Ruth
Freehoff, Edwin & Sarah
French, Robert F. & Nellie
Griffith, Mr.
& Mrs. Clarence
Harper, Ida, et al
Hauser,Emil
Hendrickson, Oscar
(Mr.&Mrs.)
Herold, Kenneth
Herold, Ralph
Hoff, Everett C. & Ruth K
Jaekel, Mrs. Earl
John, Arvel & Vernetta
Jolivette, Cornelius J., Sr.
Justin, Mrs. Frieda

Knutson, Sidney
Korn, Raymond & Audrey
Koula, Wenzel & Marie
Leibl, Louisa K
Lusk, Albert
Lusk, Edward M.
Niemeier, Laverne F.
Olson, Mabel Ambrosen (Mrs.)
Ofstedahl, Walton L.
&JohnT.
Paulson, Archie T.
&Eleanor R.
Ranney, Franklin
Ruedy, John E.
Sacia, Donald A.
Schiller, Marvin J.
Schilling, Oscar M.
Schleifer, Alfred B.
Schmidt, Frank

~=~.r~ 0~:-dSA~~iA~~~son

Stenslien, Mrs. Anna M.
Storandt, Lester
Sullivan, Ruth A.
Urbanek, Albin
Ustby, Raymond
Wehrs, Maynard W.
Winder, Margaret M.
Wolf, Cecil

LAFAYETTE COUNTY
Ballestad, Lois, Mollie
& Sehnar
Barnes, Vivian B. (Mr.)
Beaumont, Albert
Beckwith, Mrs. Julia
Beebe, Mrs. Mary
Belken, Mrs. Fl'ancis
Boatman, Daniel H.
& Bernadine E.
Bondele, Walter
Bowden, John Delos
Bratton, Charles
Carpenter, Charles Arthur
Carstens, Leonard
Clayton, James H.
Clem, Ruth Gille
Collins, Miss Barbara
Conway, James F.

g~~~~;ri~:her

K
Coulthard, Robert, La Verne &
Mary Genevieve Coulthard
Deppe, Sarah, et al
Dhein, Joseph F.
Donahoe, Michael C.
Flood, Mrs. Clara L.
Frank, Earl J.
Frank, Milton I. & Lillian
Ganshirt, Leo J.
Gille, Mrs. Nellie
Gille, Paul Leroy
g:;~g::!:~n L. & Lois M.
Haese, Harold
Heindel, Edward
Hessel, Robert
Jachnig, Mrs. Lillie
Jachnig, Robert
Kamps, Ella M.
Keyes, Daniel
Kisting, Mr. & Mrs. Wilbert J.
Komprood Estate, Harry

~~~~tdK~~~:l)ood)

Lancaster, Phillip & Keith
Levitt, John E.

t~~:,YR~}:;:!}h

Madson, Walter
Martin, Mrs. Clara R
Martin, Leo V.
Matley, Hilda-<,:

McDermott, John B.
McDonald, James J.
McWilliams, Joseph
Meyer, Robert W.
Moe, Willard F.
Moran, Dennis & Leo
Morgan, Ruth & Leonard J.
Murray, Irvin J.
Nall, Clinton
Nelson, Albert L.
Nelson, Nels T.
Ochemichen, Louis, Jr.
Olson, RaYmiond
Ommodt,Ann
Parkinson, Milford
Parkinson, Mrs. Roy W.
Paulson, Albee

~:r:y~A.

Wmr:m
Phillips, Daniel
Rielly, Clara &
WiJliam Paul Rielly
Rielly, John L.
Robson, W. K.

R1::sf:k1~~J~ f·

Russell, Mr. & Mrs. Roland
Schlafli, August & Hazel
Scott, Frank & Vernon
Seffrood, Mrs. Frances U. & Earl
Siegenthaler, Jack Keith
Shockley, J. J.
& Mrs. Harry F. Rogers
Stevenson, Charles Eugene, Sr.
Tollakson, Chester & Maxine
Truettner, Omar
Van Matre, Mr. & Mrs, Leland
Vickers, L. A.
Vinson, Florence Webb
& Zeta G. Webb
& Douglas J. Webb
Webb, Zeta G. Webb,
DouglasJ. &
Florence Webb Vinson
Whitford, Mr. & Mrs. Lewis

MANITOWOC COUNTY
Ahlswede, Herbert & William
Assman, Ben
Barthels, Oscar
Berge, Earl 0.
Berge, Irene A
Berge, Orrin I.
Berge, Selma R.
Bierman, Lynn
Blaha, Victor
Bohne, Henry F<
Brey, Quirin
Bruckschen, Max
Bruhn, John F.
Bubolz, Gerhard H.
Cahill, James F.
Carstens, Leonard
Cavanaugh, Victor
Charney, Victor
Christianson, Leroy
Chvala, Weneel F.
Conway, James F.

~~:Ch,~e~~~ael

Dohnal, Edwin
Dreger, Gerhard
Drumm, Edward C.
Drumm, Elmer W.
Dvorachek, Joseph R
Faust, Benjamin
Fenlon, Elmer J.
Fenlon, Norbert F.
Fiedler, Lester
Field, Alice Wigen
Fischer, Reuben
Fredrick, Selma
Free, Mr. & Mrs. Clarence E.

8:~~~~.~0~~~~

Geraldson, Mrs. Morton
Gill, George & Larelda
Glaeser, Walter
Goehring, Sherman & Marilyn

8~re~:n~eY:i~5~ n

Grimm, Walter & Caroline
Grosshuesch, Paul
Habeck, Henry W. & Edna
Hacker, Elmer H.
Hackmann, Arno
Halverson, Herman (Mr, & Mrs.)
Hansen, Julia (Mrs.)
Hansmann, Walter & Edna
Hardrath, George M.
Hartman, Leo
Heinz, Victor
Herr, Cornelius
Hlavochek, John
Hlinak, Frank A.
Jacobi, Albert A. (Mr. & Mrs.)
Jacobi, Edgar
Johnson, Dale R
Johnson, Kermit W.
Kennedy, William J.
Klessig, Edwin 0., Sr.
Klessig, Walter
Knier, Wenzel & Josephine
Knuth, Norman
Kocourek, Lester
Kolb, Carl & Carol
Krish, Edward J.
Krumdick, Henry
Laux, Clarence
Madson, Palmer
Maney,John
Markeri, Albert
Meunch, George J., Jr.
Meyer, Erwin
Meyer, Willard
Miller, Clement
Miller, James,P.
Miller, Philip & LaVerne
Mohr, Thomas E.
Mrotek, Alvin
Mueller, Albert
Mueller, Paul
Nagel, Meinhold (Mr. & Mrs.}
Neuser, Elmer J.
O'Hearn, Emma
O'Hearn, James A.
Orth Farms, Inc.
(Francis & Norbert Orth)
Otto, Russell
Pautz, Leonard W.
Pautz, Richard
Pfefferkorn, Richard
Pieper, Louise & August
Pietroske, Stella
Popelars, Emil
Pritzl, Edward
Pritzl, Elmer
Proell, Walter
Raatz, John L. & Mary Jane
Rabitz, Clarence
Raquet, Athniel
Raedy, John J.
Rahbein, Donald
Robenhorst, Lenhard
Rogue, Elmer
Rusch, Helmuth R
Samz, Oscar
Schill, Arnold
Schillinfi Clarence & Martha
Schier, uben
Schmidt, Florence & Lester
Schnell, Louis A.
Schnell, Rosalinda Endries
Schoenwald, Louis & Olga
Schroeder, Edward
Schuler, Theodore J.
Schultz, Lester C.

Schwoerer, William
Seidl, John H.
Seidel, Clarence

~:fi:~~i~h~l~eF~ Linda

Shambeau, Allan & Audrey
Shimek, Mrs. Anna R. W.
Siehr, Vincent E.
Sieracki, Elizabeth
Siggelkow, Roland R.
Skubal, Glendyn & Lorna
Sieger, Louis J.
Springstube, Norman
Stafaniak, John
Stangel, Ben J.
Stechmesser, Alfred
Stern, Gustav (Estate)
c/o Henry Stern
Stockmeier, Carl

~~!~~~.1!dv;:~~r C,

Streckert, Gottfried
Stuckman, Norman
Suchomel, Marie (Mrs.)
Sukowaty, Ambrose
Sukowaty, Edward
Swensen, Emma B.
Tesarik, Kenneth
Theel, Harvey W.
Thomaschefsky, Ruth Juliane
Tomcheck, Zeno Walter
Trost, Leonard D.
& Trost, Evelyn
Tuschl, Anthony E.
~=\i,n:ID!~ice Wigen
Voss, Alvin
Waack, John & Hertha
Wadzinslti, Edwin
Wegner, Herman F. & Mildred
Wernecke, Fred H., Jr.
Westermeyer, Frederick

W~Fi'e~Jl~e\r%~~r K.

McMillan, Hannah L.
Nischke, Kenneth H.
Prestin, Herman M.

MARQUETTE COUNTY
Bandt, Elhs E.
Becker, Emma & Robert
Bennett, Mr. & ~rs. Kenneth R
Camp~ll, DatWJ.n J ·
Cart~1ght, F. K
Chapm, George
Chapman, Horace & Vale

E~~·t;s,~~

Duffy, John
Duncan, Miss Annie
Gibson, Daniel John
Gray, Donald & Cornelia
Green, Mrs. Mildred Ormsby
Hamilton Farms, Inc.
Henslin, Emil
Kruger, Donald
Maynard, Stephen
McDowell, D.P. & J. E.
McLane, Francis L.
McNutt, Harvey H. & Gladys A.
McReath, Byron & Wyona
McWilliams, Robert J.
Mountford, Mr. & Mra.
GeorgeR.
Nickolai, Elmer
Nott, Frank & Esther
Powers, James & Dominic
Robinson, Robert
Schwanke, Harold
Skinner, Sam
Smith, Dwight E.
Soda, Kenneth J.
Stelter, Victor W.
Sweney, John E. & Elaine
Wade, MaxR.

~Mi~~~L:'fieE.

W~~~~~!d!~~ce Wigen

Zellmer, Arnold A.
Zodrow, Frank & Martha

~~~~~~iclc,;Mr. & Mrs.)

MILWAUKEE COUNTY

Zahorik, Joseph, Harry &
Edward
Zaruba, Ruben (Mr. & Mrs.)
Zielinski, Harry
Zimmermann, Walter & Lydia

MARATHON COUNTY
Ahrens, Henry
Artus, Wallace

Beifae~~~:~~ Dorothea
Brunow, Erwin
Dehnel, Ewald & Belinda
Fitzgerald, Gerald P.
Giese, Alvin 0.
Janke, Emil (Mr. & Mrs.)

~~a~?~~~~d·

Krenz, Gilbert
Lang, Jacob & Mathilda
Langbecker, Edward & Ruth
Langhoff, Edwin
Maguire, James P.
Meuret, Charles J.
Rakow, Lewis J.
Schuett, Robert J.

~~~.n~i~t!:ma

Vetter, Jacob & Esther
Weber, Edward A.
Zamrow, Herbert A
Zastrow, John

MARINETTE COUNTY
Bartels, Ernest & Shirley
Hartwig, Wallace, Jr.

Bartel, William F.
& Henrietta A. (Moeller)
Bauernfeind, Elmer,
Roy&Norman
Behrens, Mrs. George
Burghart, Mrs. Laurence H<
Buttles, Anson M.
Cooper, Mr. & Mrs. Alvin Ray,
Bert Martin Cooper,
Mabel Rena Cooper
Cooper, George Elmer
Cooper, Inez Anna
Coover, Peter C.
Diderrich, Raymond J.
Dittmar, Alfred & Ern a

~l.':'&!~land
Foley, James L,, Jr.
Fowle, Mrs. Caroline
Franke, Clarence W.
Frey, Henry & Rose
Giese, Arthur A.
Goyk, Clara & Agnes
Honadel Bros.
Kopp,Elmer
Kotvis, Isaac P. & Nora
(Mr.&Mrs.)
Lange, Milton
Lautenbach, Mrs. Leslie Schafer
Leister, Walter
McCoy, Mrs. Louis A.
Meyer, Alfred J.
Pergande, Bessie Knoll
Petzold, Ralph W.
Pfeil, Frank G.
Reinhold, Mrs. Max F.

Rust, Fred
Salchow, Herbert 0. & Paul
Schattner, Walter & Eveline
Schmit, Peter N.
~~~::::~:: ro~n& Mrs. Casper
Seymour, Harry F.
Shauahnessy, Mr. & Mrs. George
Shiel s, George w.
Skarie, Antoinette Kommers
Whipperfield, Katherine
Wilke Mrs. Emma A.
'

MONROECOUNTY
Algra, Roy
Atteln, Leonard J.
Blaskey, Joseph & Irene
Brooks, Grayson G.
Brown, Charles Glenn

~~kti~;.tv~~ i.

Finucan, Verne M,
Flock, Paul J.
Gilliland, Alexander & Hazel
Gnewikow, Elma
Goetz, Anton & Lucy
Graf,Edwin
Hancock, Raymond
Hankee, Holden W.
Hansen, William J.
Hedding, Mrs. Luella Mee
Hedrick, Ronald & Jerome

~=~~~~: ~~~ & Martin
Hill, Caddie C.
Hoard, Lowell R.

~~gt:~: ~e:~~r:k~~~~)

Jacob, Russel R.
& Geraldine V.
Janes, Edwin E.
Johnson, Herman
Jones, David H.
Judevine, Vernon
Klinkner Leonard
Leland, Orvis & Sona
Laverich, Mr. & Mrs. Jamee Earl
& Mr. & Mrs. Robert C.
Lueck, Miss Constance G.
Mack, Mrs. Gladya B.
Malphy, Jamea P.
Martalock, Alan
Marten, Arnold
McGarry, Joseph D.
Menn, Harvey C.
Miller, Levi A.
Mlsna, Arnold
Noth, Clarence
Olson, Mary
O'Neill, Rufus
Oswald, George &
Florence Dinger
Peterson, Hilmer J.
Peterson, Lloyd A. & Agnea L.
Pingel, Edward J.
Pitel, Larry A.
Printz, Mrs. Amelia
Rapp, Bernard

R~~~y~r~£'el
Schlaver, Louis W.
Schroeder, Miles 8.
&DarleneJ.
Schumacher, Wilfred H.
Silha, Edmund & Leona Voelz
Slayton, Howard C.
Swartzlow, Mrs. Walter
Tiber, Theodore M.
Trapp, Blanche B. (Mrs.)

~:~7t!'if.J.
Westpfahl, Raymond & Gertrude
Zellmer, Henry F.

OCONTO COUNTY
Blaser, Dean F.
Bowman, Joseph E.
Carriveau, Earl & Eleanor
DeLano, Ed (Mr. & Mrs.)
Foster, Fred Edward
Garbrecht, Henrietta
& Minnie Meyer
Koehne, Henry & Frances
Lawler, John R.
McMahon, Arnold
Quirt, Charles D.
Rost, Robert James

OUTAGAMIE COUNTY
Appleton, John J.
Barthal, Edwin A.
Becher, Gordon A. & Virginia A.
Beger, Richard F.
Blue, Harvey B.
Burmesch, Mike J,
Coenen, Urban J.
Cornelius, Leonard W"
Culbertson, Merle
Dalke, Martin J.
Fuerst, Glenn Earl
Gerend, L. A.
Gerrits, Joseph R
Gonwa,Emil
Haferbecker, Melvin C.
Heenan, James 8.
Hegner, Anna
Hilgendorf, Waldemar
Hoh, Wilbert H. (Mr. & Mrs.)
Hopfensperger, Earl
Hopfenspe!l!er, John (Estate)
Jamison, Alice, Clarence,
Harvey & Stanley
Julius, Kenneth & June
Klug, Herbert
Koerner, Stanley E.

~~h~h_i~t~~~nee

Laird, Minnie R
Lanser, Ervin G.
Law, Mrs. Davis
Lecker, Carlton & Margaret
Maechtle, Walter
Mullen, Perry C.
Neuman, Joseph & Rosella
Palmbach, Houward & Phyllis
Poetter, Edward F. (Mr. & M...)
Pingel, Esrl L. (Mr. & Mra.)
Prunty, Kimm P.
Raba, Elmer W.
Rickert, Richard J.
Rintelman, Fred

tor:;r.·J:;;:t~;.

& Mrs,)
Schaefer, Harvey
Schladweiler, John
Schoessow, Bernard
Simpson, Mrs. Robert

~Ji~.~~~~ c.

Tubha, William R.
Van As ten, LeroY J.
Ver Voort, Raymond J.
Weiland, Lucius
Weiss Estate, John
Weyenberg, Orville
Wiedenhaupt, Harold
Wilde, TheOdore
Woods, Mr. & Mrs. Leo
·woodworth, Harold

OZAUKEE COUNTY
Ahlers, Walter
Barthel, Edwin A.
Behrens, Edward A.
Bell, Robert W.
Bentz, George

Blank, Ray F.
Bloecher, Walter & Donald
Bocher, Edward
Boitlen, Joseph J.
& CarolineL.
Bruss, Edgar M.
Buchholz, Katherine {Mrs.)

Quinn, Donald
Rudesill, Harley E.
Wygant, Mary
Levings Rosenberg

POLK COUNTY

g~~b!,~,ili~i~~lf Roland

~~:~~rH~f~~T~neth

Dobberpuhl, Frederick W.
Dobberfuhl, Oscar

Clark, Charles
Engelbarett, Allen
Frank, Robert H.
Johnaon, Clifford T.
Seed, Alex & John
Tanner, Hugh Verne

~;rt;~~: I::er
Gonwa, Emil R.
Grotelueschen, John B.
Hartmann, Harold & Dorothy
Jacoby, Frank, Jr.
Jacoby, John A.
Kasten, John
Klas, Alex J.
Klug, Elmer & Glenrose
Klug, Harold E.
Knuth, Elsa
Krier, Henry & Minnie E.
Kuhefuss, Marie G.
Lanser, Ambrose
Laubenstein, Theophil
Lemke, Mr. & Mrs. Louis
Lied, Oliver & Evangeline
Ludowissi, John
Lueders, Edward A.
Luft, Waldemar Wo
Malone, William

tj~~Ue;~lii~:~s&&J~~e

Nero, Herbert Erwin
Nieman, Arnold F. & Roland J.
O'Connell, Mrs. Anna
Petesch, Mike
~~n~~i~r. & Mrs, Arthur

t~~kie:,·~~ond

Sachae, Carl (Estate)
Paul Sachse, Exec.
Schinker, Nicholas John, Sr.
Schommer, Richard J.
Spuhl, Esther
Staus, Irwin H.
Stern, Ella
Stern, Emanuel J.
Voigt, Edward F.
Voland, Emdory
Robert Frederick
Watry, RaymondJ.
Wetzel, Martin H.
Wiepking, Martin

PEPIN COUNTY
Anderson, Glen & Willa
Barber, Paul B.
Dunbar, Gerald H.
Hoffman, Gordon
Jahnke, Lawrence E.
Jahnke, Lawis
Mcintosh, Forrest Roy
Thompson, Fred

PIERCE COUNTY
Baker, Curtis Andrew
~~IJ~~~~?red Rudolph
Grape, Glen C.
Hanson, Ra.ndoJph & Florence
Helmueller, Jacob B.
Holt, Bruce W. & Leah

ra:~~.~lh~w.

Johnson, Edwin A.
Kay, Howard L.
Lamon, Arthur & Esther
Peterson, Walter N.

PORTAGE COUNTY
Bidwell, Mrs. Stella Anderson
Borgen, Leslie
Dorscheid, Raymond C.
Eberhardt, John A.
Eckels, Wm. Clair
Frater, Mrs. M. V.
Grillikson, Harry M.
Grimland, Elmer H.
Kurszewski, Elias & Clara
Olson, Pierce T.
Owens, Mrs. Adelaide
& Tate, Mrs. D.
Petersen, Alfred & Lillian
Potts, Albert James
Precourt, Harry & Esther
Schilling, Edward C.
Turner, Mr. & Mrs. Merle

RACINE COUNTY
Anderson, John H.
Anderson, Walter E.
Bayley, Ralph H.
Beaty, Mary J.

::.~e~~trt

J. & Grace E.
Bower, Mrs. Agnes
Brice, Frank
Britton, Harvey
Brown, E. L.
Clausen, Eric
Colwilll, William
Crane, Ralph
Cunningham, George
Dale Estate, James H.
Dawson, Robart G. &
Mrs. Virgil J. Dawson
Dietz, Eldon & Dolores
Drought, Sadie

:J!~b~~.nWmiam

Ellis, John Clinton, Sr.
Erbe, Harry C.
Erickson, Erick A.
Fackler, Robert
Fancher, Mrs. Nellie

~!:a~~~~'¥~Family

Frank, Mrs. Irene B.
Fritchen, Fred
Frost, Dwight E.
Gehrand, Mrs. Alvin
(Esther Thompson Gehrand)
Gifford, Mrs. Wm. Henry
Gunderson, Mrs. Oscar
Hahecost, Harold F.
Hall, Eva Mary
Halter, Edgar Charles
Hardie Brothers
Hegeman, Ralph John
Hynek, Clarence & Lydia
Johnson, Alfred
Johncox, Oline Marie & Bernard
Johnson Brothers

~!~h:~: ~~rt A. & Nettie E.

K~~;ifJfh: J!~en
Lapham, Frank W.
Lavin, James W.
Lewis, George Austin
Lincoln, Harry M.
Loppnow, Harry & Charlotte
Makovsky, Edward
Malchine, Albert & Hilda
Martin, Donald
Martin, James
Matheaon, Roaella Tidgwell
Maurice, Alvin M.
McDonald, Wm. H. & Mabel
McKee, Sylvester
Munroe, N. Maude
Mutchie, Raymond E.
Narum, Nels
Nelson, Raymond H. & Evelyn
Nelson, Afred & Raymond
Noble, Leslie C.
North, Eugene R.
Novak, Libbie Peterka
Nugent, Irene E.
Overson, Thomas
Prober, Albert
Rahbarg, Mrs. Nellie Stenhouse
Skewes, Arthur, Jr.

~:~~~Cc~n.

Squire, Frank
Stalbaum, Merrill
Uhlenhake, Louis
Uhlenbape, Henry G.
Van Valin, Julius
Zimmerman, Roy J.

RICHLAND COUNTY

tt~~~~~~~~~t:r:ec!

Anderson, Edwin T.
Anderson, Mr. & Mrs. Fred C.
Anderson, Samu~l
(Mr. &Mrs.)
Bee, Tom

~i:,"Pr~~=E.

Carswell, Mulia Roae (Mra.)
Carswell, Van Goodrich
Coumbe, William Garwood
Davis, Loren W. (Mr. & Mn.)
Deckert, Scott E.
Dederich, Rudolph Peter

Jf.~t.:"M~a1h,

Nee, Merle
Emerson, Carrie & Glenn
Escher, Joseph P.

~~,i~ 7:!":'rfe,~~~l

& ~omas Morey, Dorothy
& Oosterhous, Virginia
Goodrich, C. Victor
Gorman, James L. & Kyrie J.
Grell, J. A. (Mr. & Mrs.)
Groh, Rupert
Haney, Orville A.
JacoDsOn, Norris & Leona
Janney. Theron M.
Jasper, Raymond
Jewell, Frank
Jindrick, Willard P.
Ketcham, Harry T.
Koch, Mrs. Winnie E.
Lawton, Harold R.
Machovec, Wesley L.
Martin, James H.

t:~~~~r!:lie

J. & lone
McNurlen, Max
Miller, Robart L.
Miller,ZoeM.
& Alonzo H. Miller
Monson, Martin

Mullendore,
Clarence H. & Helen
Nee, Mer1e
Nicks, 'rheron
Pauls, Grover J.
Rinehart, Mollie
Rockweiler, Alois J.
Ryan, Walter
Schmitz, Kenneth P. & Wynema
Schroeder, Carl E.
Scott, J. ·w. Pershing
Sheafor, Virgil M.
Shelton, John & Clarice
. Simpson, Frank Ralph
Smart, George (Mr. & Mrs.)
Smart, Joseph (Mr. & Mrs.)
Smith, George C. & V. Vanetia
Sobek, Joseph
Swenink, Rosina

~~~!~~Vs~~ Mills

Werner, Jay (Mr. & Mrs.)
Williams, Justin R

ROCK COUNTY
Addie, Arthur
Antes, Olive & R J.
Arnold, Mrs. Emmett R.
Arnold, John G.
& Jeanette C.
Attlesey, Frank
Barlass, Andrew J.
Bartlett, Lillie
Beley, Eugene
Bell, Mrs. Dorothy H.
See: Hull, Harold H., et al
Bestul, Mrs. Neuman G.
See: Kohls, Mrs. Harold W.
Bingham, Charles Elton
Bleasd~e. Brig. Gen.
Victor F., Retd.
Borkenhagen, Luella & Carl
Bowles, W. L,
Brace, Orville Delos
Brown, Edson W.
Brunswold, Carl Nels
Bullard, Laurence
Burtness, Mrs. Julia Liston
Buss, Marjorie McGlauchlin
Caldwell, James Laruien
Campion, Robert
Carlson, Helen I.
Carroll, Richard W.
Carver, Earl G.
Chort, Bessie
Chrispensen, Arthur
Clarkson, Mrs. Mildred Murray
Cleophas, Mrs. Agnes M.
Cleophas, Herbert R.

3~~S~n~R~~J1·

Conry, Edward A.
Conry, Thomas L.
Craig, Mrs. Walter S.
Craven, Leslie E.
Croad, Walter
Crocker, Mr. & Mrs. Wallace
Cushman, Milo
Douglas, Ellis & Gladys
Egery, Mrs. Harry
Ellis, Edward J.
Emerson, Elizabeth
Febry, Naomi
Gasper, Walter & Morton
John & Harris, Margaret
Gates, Lois
Gesley, Saber
Gilbertson, Inman
Gleason, Jay W.
Glidden, Ezra & Effie
Godfrey, Eugene W.
Godfrey, John F.
Godfrey, JosephS.

Gravdale, Elmer & Guy
Gray, Mrs. Dexter Gray
Robert, Leila & Doris Gray
Grenawalt, David ·
Rain, George et al
(James D. Hain Estate)
Harper, Malcolm J. & Thomas
Heffel, Ben
Hemmingway, Hugh C.
Hesgard, Carl J.
Hill, Mrs. Edith M.
Hodge, Robert, David,
James & Mrs. E. W.
Honeysett, Lloyd M.
Howell, D. Robert & Lois E.
Hubbard, L. F.
Hubbell, John I.
Hughes, Whilden B., Sr.
Hugunin, Harry C.

~~fJ~~~~d1f~hn

Mrs. Dorothy H. Bell
Miss Florence J. Hull
Hurd, Silas Hurd (Estate)-John Hurd- Operator
and future owner on
settlement of estate
Inman, Foster & Viola
Inman, William Henry
Jackson, Mrs. Esther
Johnson, Charlotte Cleophas
Johnson, Howard
Jones, Frank L.
Jones, Wallace & Leslie
Kaun, Alvin L. & Jessica
Keesey, Edward
Kidder, Elma V.
Klusmeyer, Glen L.

l

KI~:_y{~~~:h Hilda
Knutson, Clarence J.
Kohls, Mrs. Harold W., Bestul,
Mrs. Neuman G. &
Snyder, Marjorie S.
Larson, Hilda J.,
Marion Larson Higgins
& Constance Larson Cole
Lein, CarlL.
Lilburn, Mrs. James
Longman, Beulah Larson
Lush, Cecile W.
Marquart, Ernest C.
Maryott, Lula
Maxworthy, Charles G.
McBride, Mary A.
McCartney, Mr. &
Mrs. David & Francine
McGrane, James Daniel
McLay, John M. Estate
(Mrs. John McLay, Exec<)
McMillan, Mrs. Belle Kimble
Mead, Gwendol~ E. &
Baker {Mead) Coyla
Menzies. Mrs. Helen
Menzies Sutherland
Jessie A. Menzies
David Menzies
Isabel Menzies Whitely
Mills, James Stewart
Milner, Mr. Lyle W.
Morger, Bessie Everson
Morse, Mrs. Minnie
Mullen, John M.
Nelson, Oscar E.
Newhouse, Erling
Newman, Chaucey & Mildred B.
Newton, Clarence I.
Nicholson, Mrs. Richard &
Dorothy Thomas
Nigh, Mrs. M. Madeline
North, Mrs. Anna M. Cox
Noss, Floyd & LaVerne
Olsen, Mr. & Mrs. Edward H.
Onsgard, Mrs. Belle

Palmiter, F. L.
Pann, Mrs. Delbert
Peck, Etta Belle & Maude
Peich, La Verne & Vera E.
Perkins, Roger W.
Peterson, Clayton & Roy
Porter, Wallace R,
Lyle P., J. K P
Pratt, Leon A. &
Irene 0. Jones Pratt
Quigley, Patrick Michael
Quinn, Hattie Grims
Raney, Walter
Raymond, HoHister S .
Reilly, Joseph R.
Rice, Edwin L.
Richardson, Fred,
Chester & LeRoy
Risum, Herbert C.
Roberts, Ray
Russell, Harold
Sahy, Mrs. Ella Bodycoat
Sannes, Helen Conry
Saxe, Glen 0.
Sayre, Kenneth J.
Schaffner, George J.
Schenck Bros.
(Edward & Roland)
Serl, Stephen
Severson, Palmer,
Selma & Cora
Shurtleff, Mr. &
Mrs. Harold J.
Slocum, Marion A.
Smith, Miss Nettie
Smyth, Ralph E.,
Mabel A. & Harry R
Snyder, Marjorie 8.
Southworth, Florence Hurd
Stark, Lila S.
Stewart, Ruby (Estate)
Stuart, Leonard
Sutherland, Mrs. Helen Menzies
Tarrant, Russell & Margaret
Taylor, Earl
Thomas, Dorothy
Thomas, Mrs. Emma
Thronson, Ronald L.
Tillefson, Jessie
Tracey, Ambrose
Van Wart, Earl G.
Wagner, Mrs. Albert J<
Waterman, W. H.
Wells, Clifford & Pauline
Wentworth, Archie I.
Wheeler, Ernest L.
Whitely, Isabel Menzies
Whittet, Mr. &
Mrs. James Lowell
Wileman, Howard & Raymond
Winkley, Cyrus Arthur
Wisehart, Mrs. Charlene
Yost, John C.
Zelka, E. Merlene

SAUKCOUNTY
Anderson, Wilbert
Babb, Claude L.
Bender, Floyd & Laureen
Bossard, Pearl Hill
Buckley, Bessie E.

~~!!i{~~~b~r~t!e A.

Cridelich, Raymond P.
Croal, Andrew J. &
Fredonia Kinnee Croal
Dickie, Mrs. Anna Adams
Dyke, Norman W.
Edwards, Ralph
Enge, Robert J.
Eschenbach, Philip & Ethel
Faivre, Albert & Hannah
Fuhlhohm, Ewald

Gavin, Rolla J.
Giese, Kenyon E. & Marilyn
Gilse, Bernhard R.
Hall, Robert W.
Harrison, Vernon M.
Hasheider, William C.
Hatz, Jacob
Hawkins, David & Marilyn
Hill & Bossard
(James H. Hill, Sr.)
(Pearl Hill Bossard)
Hirschinger, Corwin
Honer, Catherine
Horkan, Duane
Horkan, Robert P,
Howley, James P.
Jacoby, Arlan
Jeffries, Lee H.
Karstetter, Joseph Ernest
Klett, Frederick G., Jr.
Kraemer, Allan R. & Lou Ann
Liegel, Leroy & Etta (Giese)
Lipka, Mrs. Irene Accola
Lucht, August & Elsie
Lucht, Leo L. & Sarah J.
Luck, Ivan C. & Andrew R
Luebke, Harvey
Luetscher, Irvin
Markert, Waldo
Martin, Louis T.
Meyer, Ervin Benjamin
Mihlbauer, Edward Paul
Meyer, Donald W.
Mittlesteadt, Irvin

N!!:~.<{ti}~!~ W.

O'Brien, Agnes
Ochsner, Arthur C,
Peck, Harold
(Peck's Feed & Grain, Inc.)
Pelton, James Wo
Pickar, Clarence
Prouty, Archie & Gladys
Ramsden, Delbert & Ce.therine
Retzlaff, Obee
Schanke, Albe't C.
Scharbach, Mrs. Harriet Stein
& Stein, Clara
Schroeder, Philip John
Sorg, Howard
Sprecher, J. Calvin
Sprecher, Christian L.
Sprecher, Mrs, Cora Schweppe
Sprecher, Wilbert F.
Steuber, Harry C.
Sussner, Paul A.
Tuttle, Charles R.

~:l~~~ti~·. ~tlr~ WNli::L.

Weidner, Charles & Marita
Weitzel, Lawrence J.
Wheeler, Evan L.
Whitty, Robert P.
Wilhelm, Roger
w~~~-viM~~ Margaret
Winn, Delbert L. & Mary L.

SHAWANO COUNTY
Brodhagen, Raymond
Degner, Alfred & Meta
Falk, Paul F.
Fischer, Marvin
Hacker, John Carl
Ninman, Arthur
Otto, Harry

¥o::h~. ~~~sM.

Wagner, Melvin & Shirley
Westphal, Alfred & Carl
Wolf, William F.
Zahn, Orville & Alvina

SHEBOYGAN COUNTY
Alhnann, Lina, Marline

Al~~;~~~!~~hE~dt

Althorp, William G.
Alves, Mrs. Henry or Walter
Arndt, Mr. & Mrs. T. J. Arndt
Mrs. Daisy Arndt
Athorp, Arthur
Bemis, Clarence F. & Edward
Beuchel, Edwin
& Mrs. George Denninger
& Mrs. Edwin Strauss
Bitter, Milton &
LaVerne "Rasche"
Bliss, Mr. & Mrs. Chester
Boedecker, Calvin
Boedeker, Arthur C.
Broetzmann, Otto
Bruggink, Jacob

~~~~L:~t.MM;. ~ward

Mrs. Jacob, Jr.
Carpenter, Eli R.
Chaplin, Erle W.
Chaplin, Harvey W.
Curtiss, Elizabeth G.
DeGroff, James
Dehn, Mrs. Katherine
Dell, Philip
DeMaster, Ralph (Mr. & Mrs.)
Denninger, George Mrs.
Deppiesse, Leon
Deugel, Carl
Draayers, Harry J.
Elmer, Viola.
Ford, Dale & Sons
Gates, Mrs. Herbert
Genzmer, Ella (P!opper)
Glass, Art E.
Glenzer, Mr. &
Mrs. Herbert H.
Goedeke, Robert E.

g=~~d.~~:~·c.,Jr.

Grunwald, Erwin
Haag, Roger
Haas, Mrs. Walter
Harms, Walter
Harvey, Edward I...
Helmer, Raymond P.
Henkel, Mr. & Mrs. Richard
Henschel, Theodore
Hesselink, Irwin

HiM~~'fM~. John D.

Illian, EUis
Isserstedt, Freda

1:r:.iH~~~nd
Johnson, George
Junge, Oscar
Kalies, Robert H.
Kalk, Mr. & Mrs. Gilbert R.
Kapellen, Norbert F.
Kissinger, Elroy R.
Knoener, Arno W.
Knowles, Frank A.
Laarman, George L.
Laux:, Harold
Lawrenz, Sanuel
Lohuis, D. W.
McCabe, Mary
Meeuson, Mrs. Angeline
Vruwink
Miley, Miles
Miller, Elnora S.
Miller, William H.

~:bee~~:~ ~nton

Nohl, Mrs. William H.
Nordholz, Norbert
Ochs, Walter

Oeder, Merlin C. A.
O'Reilly, Phillip
Parrish, Clyde
Patterson, Earl
Pieper, Miss Louise & August
Pierce, La Maret al
Pratt, Mrs. Lela K.
Preder, Harold & Verna
Prinsen, Harvey J.
Reineking, Fred G.
Reineking, Paul
Risseeuw, Herbert L.
Roehr born, Edwin
Rosenthal, Louis & Lucille
Rowe, Milton W. C.
Scheele, Burton M. Z., Bus. Rep.
Scheele IV, Henry,
Robert C.Z. Scheele
Schmidt, Reinhold
Schockmel, Nina Mrs.
Scholton, Gordon
&Lillian Back
Scholz, Martin
Schuessler, Joseph F.
Schulz, Albert P.
Schulz, Edmund A.
Schreurs, J. Albert
Schumacher, Oscar
Selle, Henrietta
Siemers, Henry W.
Sinner, Mr. & Mrs. Rudolph F.
Strassburger, Arthur
Strassburger, Norbert A.
Strauss, Mrs. Edwin
Syron, Floyd
TeRonde, Lewis
Titel, Alex H.
Titel, Henry
Tracy, Alford
Truttschel, Ervin
Tupper, Ansel John
VanDriest, William
Vater, George
Voskuil, Arthur

J.

~:r:;;d';~~rld 0.
Walvoord, John B.
Wehrmann, Arno
Weitzel, Oscar & Florence

~=~h,~~:~·l,uff~ey A.,
& LesheR.

ST. CROIX COUNTY
Colbeth, Floyd Everett
Frawley, Jas. E.
Fuller, Jessie Amy
Grant, Selmer Minerva
Hunter, Gertrude Bonnes
Kreuziger, Mr. & Mrso Otto
Kriesel, Walter L.
Kriesel, Walter
Lamb, Walter
Larson, Theo. A. & Manda
Madsen, Edwin P. &
Eileen McLaughlin Madsen
Martell, Lester H.
Martin, Mrs. Henry (Mary)
Nelson, Oswald G.
Olson, Ralph W.
Radke, Mr. & Mrs. Walter
~=~j~tnH;.rlen & Eldon
Roberts, Emma
Simon, Maurice W.
Swenby, Victor H.
Traiser, Charles F.
Wernland, John
Willink, Wayne

TREMPEALEAU
COUNTY
Adams, Wilfred L.
Amundson, Dennis B.
& Amundson,.Barbara
Becker, John H.
Bell, Florence E.
& Scherr, Bertha M.
Bender, Frank G.

tbgy?Rr~~axd

A.
& Edith R (Mr. & Mrs.)
Callahan, Arnold J.
&Mae Quinn
Crogan, Henry, Jr.
Dahl, Amelia (Estate)
Dahl, William
(Amelia Dahl Estate)

~~!~~t!~dl~ ~iller

Everson, Elmer A. (Mr. & Mrs.}
GaJewski, Richard
Gibbs, Mrs. Nina D.
Giemza, Clifford
Gilbertson, Nels
Hansen, Genevieve & Harold
Hansen, Harold (Mr. & Mrs.)
Hanson, Susan Beswick
Hartman, Fred & Henry
Herreid, Stanley & Marva
Jaszewski, Joseph
Kiekhaefer, Floyd J.
Klink, Jerome P. &
Delores B. (Sobotta K)
Kokott, Hubert
Komperud, Linda
Larson, 0. M.
Mack, Willard
Markham, Frederick C.
& Marianne E.
Miller, Clark & Rub by
& Adelia Miller Dutton
Nelson, Carl & Marian
Nicholls, William
Nilsestuen, Gerhard J.
Odegard, Chester & Glen
Olson, Bennie C. (Mr. & Mrs.)
The Pientok Brothers
Pietrek, Mrs. Joseph (Emily)
Quammen, Lloyd Rogne
Quarne, David A.
Reck, Egnatz L.
Rhodes, Oliver C.
Rindahl, Joseph
Rogness, Elvin
Salzwedel, Willard B.
Scarseth, Harold & Karen
Seffens, Albert B., Sr.
Severson, Lloyd J.
Solberg, Arnold S.
~f!~~~i):vi!thur & Gunda
Stuhr, Wilbur & Laura
Suttie, Cedric
Suttie, Vilas

~[e;,til~'j,~ji~te)

Waller, Douglas & Eileen
Walsky, WilliamS.
Whalen, Harold

VERNON COUNTY
Adams, Roy & Leo
& Sheakley, Sadie
Ames, Minnie
Bakke, Lawrence
Barilani, Gerald Roger
Bean, Fred & Walter
Benrud, Paul (Mr. & Mrs.)
Berge, Marcus To
Bergh, Loren
Bradley, Georgiana

Brenden, Dr. V. A.; Riese,
Mrs. Alverda &
Weissenberger,
Mrs. Clarice
Bringe, Ernest R.
Brye, Adolph C.
Buras, Mrs. Julia
Byers, Bazell &
Norman McVay Byers
Cade, Norman & Ina
8f::~:Olfke;:on, Andrew
Cowden,· ~rs. Jessie
Currier, James
Pach, Edwin & William A.

£::n~:~~8rl:d~ c.

Engler, Lois
Erickson, Otto
Everson, Edward Raymond
Fish, Cleo S.
Fortney, Elvin & Mary
Fortney, Kelman

8f!~~~iC~~:~!u£eE~hel

Mo
Groves, Ross
Groves, Mr. & Mrs. Thomas
Halvorson, Julius H.
Hanson, David La Vern
Hanson, Virgil C.
Henderson, Glen
Hoilien, Stanley
Holte, Wm. K & Arlene
Hotek, Paul J.
Husker, John & Florence
Jerman, Peter & Robert
Johnson, Albert & Janice
Johnson, Kenneth & Kathryn
Kilmer, Mr. & Mrs. E. En.
Kolstad, Olgar
Kvale, Earl
Larson, Mrs. Elsie

t!i~s~.~a~T~~ild!:d Est.)
Leum, Otis L. & Lillian M.
Lindahl, Anton
Linrud, Joseph & Henry
Liska, Raymond M.
Lombard, Orivill D. & Emma
Mathison, Peder J.
Mitchell, Clarence
Nash, Mrs. Nira Jordan
Nilsestuen, Erling
Oberson, Selmer (Mr. & Mrs.)
Oliver, Carroll
Olson, Charles W.
Olson, Hans
Olson, Otto S.
Olstad, Glen W. & Mildred R

8~J;~~K.t::.C~~tian

John
Overson, Paul
Paulson, KendaJl A.
Proksch, Wilbert
Ramsett, Clayton
Rundahl, Obert
Sandwick, Thomas N.
Schultz, Paul, Jr.
Skaar, Otto & Avis
Smith, Charles R
& Smith, Gena Lake
Smith, James D. & Wilma
Solberg, Edwin & Selmer
Stanek, Richard & Ethel
Stevens, Elvin S.
Thorsgaard, Ernest & Edna
Throne, Lloyd E. & Agnes
Tollacson, Austin
Tollacson, Lars (Estate)
Mrs. Julia Buros
ToHacson, Nettie
Tollacson, Tillie
Unseth, Edward D.

v&~~i:;K~~~~~i!~~~

Wangen, Alton
Wolfe, Otto (Estate)
by Kenneth Wolfe
Zitzner, Bernard A.

WALWORTH COUNTY
Aldrich, Minnie
Ames, Lloyd
Andrus, Miss Alice M
Andrus, Sidney F.
Ark, Abby & Lloyd
Atkinson, Mrs. Perry W~
Barden, Mrs. Dorothy
Beers, Raymond Chester
Benson, Mrs. Melvin A.
Bollinger, George W.
Brady, Mrs. Andrew
Branford, Robert
Brierly, Mrs. John
Bromley, Frederick George
Brooks, Florence B.
Buell & Hess
(Clara, Thomas Buell,
Virginia Buell Hess)
Bushman, John, Jr.
Byrnes, Edward T.
Chapman, Wallis
Chatfield, Seneca R
Clark, Edna Vaughn
Comstock, Ora
Converse, A. Do & L. B.
Cook, Joe C.
Coxe, Mrs. Clara
Cronin, Marie M.
Crosswaite,
Mrs. James M. & Lippert,
Mrs. Catherine
Cummings, Grace
Cummings, James J.
Davis, William G
Deist, Mrs. Lena
Dennis, Albert
Dickerman, Mancel
Dickinson, Albert Boyd
Dow, Angus P.

~~~~Lil~~~~in R. & Helen M,

Fairchild, Gordon & Alice
Farrell, Justin
Featherstone, Fred G.
Fish, Raymond J.
Fountaine, Charles S.
Fryer, William & Martha
Funk, Roy Lester
Gaskell, Mary
Green, Evereti
Harkness, James
Hartwell, W, A,
Harvey, Henry Woodman
Hatch, Seymour Norman
Heimbach, Andrew
Helgert, Leonard
Hess, Virginia Buell
Holcamp, William
Holden, Ethel
Holden, James Owen
Howe, Mary Meyer
Ingalls, Mrs. Bernice
Ingersoll, Mr. & Mrs, John
Jacobson, Oscar
Jahn, Mabel Fiske
Johnson, Allan
Johnson, George Andrew
Kestol, Jos. B. (Estate)
JoeL. Kestol, Trustee
Kittleson, Elmer
Klein, Rev. Phillip
Kling, Estate of Frank W.
Kniep, Harry
Knuteson, Glen Melvin
Kull, Mrs. Andrew
(In Trust for David Kull)

LaBar, Daniel R.
Leahy, Francis
Lee, Mrs. Julia Maud Ellis
Lippert, Mrs. Catherine
Lowell, Lloyd Seeber

~~::~~g~S~~~:t&

Mildred
McNaughton, Charles Dwight
Meacham, Herford Church
Meyerhofer, Harold
MacFarlane, William D.
Mereness, Luella F.
Mereness, Paul F.
Mikkelsen, Forrest & Agnes
Miles, Theodore Stearns
Mitten, Walter
Murphy, Rose & Elizabeth
NieridOrf, Elizabeth Ellsworth
O'Leary, William
Peck, Mr. & Mrs. Howard
Peterson, Norman L.
Phelps, Charley C., Sr.
& Florence
Ranney, Perry & Mabel
Reek, James Bennett
Robers, Norman
Robinson, Hugh
Rose, Ogden B. & Wilfred 0.
RossmiJcer, Harold C.
Sawyer, Wilfred
Sawyer, Wilfred A.
Schmaling, Mr. William
& Kathryn
Schwartz, Raymond R
Stoneall, Rex Milferd
Stury, Rev. Anton
Sweno, Louise
Tauderdale, Roy
Thacher, Harris L
Turner, Henry M.
VanHorn, F. M., Sr.

~:fbr~~[~lifrord

Walbrandt, Virgil
Warner, H. Ray
Water, Palmer J.
Weeks, Willard
Weter, Luella
Whitmore, Fred
Williams, Leola
Elizabeth (Miss)
Williams, Mrs. Martha
Williams, Raymond J.
Wilson, Mrs. Henrietta Mickle

WASHINGTON
COUNTY
Abel, Herbert L. & Frieda
Barwind, Jacob
Bast, Paul J.
Bauer, William A.
Becker, Oscar H.
Bonlender, Andrew J.
Brasure, Charles John
Burke, William & Miss Clara
Cameron, Chester
Casper, Elmer
Claffey, John J,
Connell, Clarence J.
Degnitz, Richard
Dornacker, George B.
Ebling, Mary (Estate)
Esser, Mr. & Mrs. Wilfred
Fehring, James M.
Fleming, Charles E.
Frigge, Clarence P,
Fromm, Paul
Gehl, Joseph H.
Goldammer, Carl Gustave
Graef, Mrs. William
Groth, Gerhard
Grother, Henry F.
Gruhle, William H.

Gundrum, Cornelius
Hafemann, Ervin
Hafemeister, Herbert G.
Hames, Joseph
Happel, Elmer J.
Hawig, Mrs. Jacob
Hayes, John & Daniel
Hayes, Thomas
Heckendorf, Albert
Heckendorf, Reinhold W.
Heidtke, Emil
Heidtke, Harold
Henn, Mr. & Mrs. Erwin
Holl, Jacob
Huber, Ulrich V.
Joeckel, Allen
Jones, Miss Clara G.
Jung, Lloyd P. & LaVerne Jung
Jung, Henry
Kannenberg, Ed A.
Katzfey, Bernard (Barney)
Kauty, Joseph A.
Kessel, Jacob M.
Kissinger, Harry C.
Kissinger, Philip & Edwin
Kleinhaus, Norman
Kletti, Walter F.
Klumb, Harvey
Knetzger, Leo
Koester, Roland H.
Kohl, OttoK
Kopp, Elias
Kraemer, Edward P.
Kressin, Harold
Kressin, Hugo & Emil
Kressin, Miss Lillian
Kressin, Reinhold
Krueger, Verlyn C.
Kurtz, John
Lang, Frederick C.
Lehn, John J.
Lehner, John P,
Leicht, Homer
Lenz, Harry & Charlotte
Leonhardt, Harry
Lepien, Herbert
Liesener, Paul
Lilly, Alexander
Long, Frederick C.

~~~~~~,0~~;{;Ht

Marth, Edwin
Martin, Jacob J,
Martin, Philip
Martin, Reuben
McConville, Joseph A
McConville, William J.
Melius, Henry & Jacob
Michels, Mr. & Mrs. Charles
Miske, Martin & Mildred
Mountin, Edward M.
Muckerheide, Henry C.
Muehl, William
Mueller, Milton R
Murray, Merton W.
Nehm, Henry C.
Nehrbass, George W.
Ostrander, Robert F.
Peil, Allen Charles
Pickhard, Harry R
Prost, Willard & Dolores
Quade, Art & Ed
Rathke, Walter
Rauh, Erwin A
Redig, Mathias
Reynolds, Mary Trackett
Riley, Mrs. Thomas E.

~~=~·. ~:.h&r~rs. Andrew
Romes, Miss Oleta
Roos, Philip
Rosenthal, Harvey A.
Ruffing, Michael
Schaefer, Raymond

Schaub, Calvin G,, Sr.
Schellinger, Jerome F.
Schilling, Earl
Schmidt, Emil
Schmidt, Marvin A
Schmitt, Casper
Schoenbeck, Otto C.
Schowalter, Alvin A. C.
Schowalter, Elmer J.
Schowalter, Philip
Schroeder, Guido
Schubert, Everett
Schulteis, Albert W.
Schuster, Mr. & Mrs. Andrew
Schuster, ,Joseph P,
Schuster, Mrs. Minnie
Seefeldt, Fredric,
Aldwin & Mariel
Seefeldt, Herman
Seideman, Raymund F.
Seidensticker, Carl H.
Steffen, Walter A.
Stephan, Mrs. Anna
Stephan, Henry
Streese, Louis, Lillian
Stuesser, Edward R.
Vagelsang, Marcus
Wagner, John P.
Walsh, John E.
Walter, Joseph J.
Weinreich, Charles F.
Werner, John P.
Werner, William P.
Wetterau, Rurie William
Wilkens, Elmer
Willkornm, George
Wolf, Albert T,
Ziegler, Arnold

WAUKESHA COUNTY
Aplin, Harvey W.
Baas, Alfred
Baird, James W.
Barten, Edward W.
Beggs, James S.,
Nettie E. & Sara G.

~r!d.~'El&·P:.~·y

Burdon, Thompson E. &
Betts, Mrs. Luella May
Butler, Clarence E.
Calhoun, Norbert George
Carpenter, Ethel
Champeny, Miss Bernice J.
Counsell, Albert E.
Craig, Mrs. Bertha
Crosswaite, Miss Addie
Dechant, Frank H.
Dobbertin, David
Dobbertin, Mr. & Mrs. Grover
Dougherty, Wm.· & Nellie (Miss)
Edwards, John R.,
Catherine A., Margaret E.
Eisen, Dorothea Swallow
Ellarson, Arthur
Ellarson, Ferdinand L.
Emslie, William P.
Fardy, Leo M. & Richard D.
Flynn, Thomas K
Fox, Frank E., Sr.
Gates, Augustus Weld
Gauthier, F. A.
Graser Bros. (Lloyd & William)
Griswold, Mrs. Willard M.
Halverson, Mrs. Merandy
Harland, WillardS.
Haylett, Henry 0.
Henneberry, Mrs. John, Sr
Hext, Chester R
& Marion Tempera
Harland, Wm. A.
Heintz, John Leonard
Hood, Walter M.

Horne, Melvin
Howard, Alfred R.
Howard, George Guy
Jensen, LeRoy K.
Johnson, John G.
Kipp, Hubert P.
Kloth, Carl
Koepke, Harry, Hilbert & Mabel
Laney, Dugald M.
Lemke, Mrs. Florence L
Lingelback, Mr. & Mrs. Ralph
Lurvey, Wendell E.,
Clayton P. & Royal C.
Maile, Frank
Martin, George
Martin, Sidney S.
McGill,C,A,
McKerrow, Gavin W.
Meidenbauer, Arthur P.
Melville, Harvey A.
Miles, Mrs. John J.,
Isabel & Mary
Milham, James C.
Mitchell Bros.
Mohrbacher, Mrs, Marie A.

~~:f~~: ~i~:~s~her &

Rupnow, Mrs. Irma Mueller
Needham, Miss Anna 0.
& Mohrbacher, Mrs. Marie A
Nicoson, LeRoy S.
·
Nieman, Celia El1arson
Olson, Amandus T.
Owens, Wm. H. & Ethel
Parry, Willard
Pennow, Mrs. Bessie McDonald
Peterson, Henry & Donald
Pierce, Charles Chapin
Porter, Geo. Willard
Posbring, Wilfred
Price, Parler L. & Berdina
Price, W. Howard
Rankin, Walter David
Redford, S, Co
Richards, Arthur
Rogers, Lewis C.
Rowlands, Owen W.
Ruby, Rolland J,
Rupnow (See Mueller)
Schilling, George H., Jr.
Schlenk, Anna & Hilda
Shultis, A1lan A.
Small, James P.
Smith, Charles W.
Smith, Mrs. Fred C.
Stacey, John H.
Steele, Doris & Kenneth C.
Stewart, Iva Swan
Stigler, Anthony C. & Marie C.
Sugden, Miss Ellen D.
Svehlek, George (Mr. & Mrs.)
Swartz, Mrs. Peter C.,
Mr. & Mrs. Jayson &
Mr. Mrs. Peter L,
Taylor, Annabel
Tempero, Ernest
Thomas, James A.
Tremain, Earl
Turner, William Carlin
Uglow, Merton G.
Waite, Mrs. Helen M.
& Laurence A.
Wallace, Boyd & Ruth
Wallace, Miss Margaret
Mr. & Mrs. Donald
Weaver, Mrs. Elmer W.
Weber, Albert J.
West, Harvey C.
Wichman, John T., Jr.
Williams, Rev. D. Jenkins
Williams, John H. & Mary
Williams, Joseph D.
Williams, Miss Mary
& Charles Loyal

&

&

Williams, Mrs. Trevor G.
Williams, W. D. Owen

~~i~~t~Wffs~~-L.

Yerke, Minnie & Harold
Yonells, Misses
Bertha & Shirley
Youngbauer, Harry A.
& Marjorie C.
Yug, Mrs. Sibyll & Frank
Zimmer, Charles

WAUPACA COUNTY
Anderson, Hanford A
Bemis, Lloyd A.
Bestul, Justin S.
Beyers, Lulu & De Vaud, L. M.
Boyer, Kenneth H. L & Irene A.
Caldwell, Roy L. (Mr. & Mrs,)
Conroy, Patrick & Robert
Cooney, George
Crain, Robert E.
De Vaud (See Beyers)
Dybdall, Lester & Hazel
Edminster, Reuben
Erickson, Myron
Flanagan, Thomas E.
Grunwald, Fred E.
Hirte, Mrs. William
Hobson, Walter .James
Huebner, Benno
James, Howard J.
Johnson, Clarence N<
Johnson, Harry L.
Knutson, Martha
Peterson & Arlie M.
Krenke, Alfred C.
Leppen, Leonard E.
Lindsay, Mr. &
Mrs. Stuart & David
Listul, John
Loss Brothers (George &
Gordon)
Mulroy, Estella
Murphy, Frances J.
Nysse, Wallace A.
Olson, Charles
Otterson, Milo & Marcella
Paulson, Leonard E.
Potts, Truman R.
Ritchie, Donovan
Russ, Melvin
Sawyer, Dale B. & Olive A.
Schoepke, Arnold
Schulz, Howard J.
Smith, Mrs. Alfred M.
Stillman, Edgar Albert
Thompson, Mrs. Marie Pauline
Wallen, Harold & Thelma

WAUSHARA COUNTY
Anderson, Mr. & Mrs, Oliver
Angle, James & Edrie
Bacon, Merle G. & Eleanor E.
Blader, James & Chester C.
Bridgman, C. G.
Buchanan, Rilla Davenport
Cassidy Bros.
Christianson, Mr. & Mrs. Fred
Davies, Dan W.
Davis, Harry Ross & Esther
Dittmann, Donald & Virginia

~hf~1~i,~~i!·

Erickson, Robert & Ruby L
Etheridge, Dewey
Gaylord, George A.
Hoeft, Robert M. & Doris E.
Howard, Edward F.
Jeffers, Floyd G.
Jones, James 0.
Leach, Mrs. John
Lind, Ralph

Muscavitch, Norval
O'Connor, George M. & Elaine I.
Olson, Elwyn
Otto, Theodore & Matilda
Piechowski, Peter & Ella Dalev
Pierce, Glenn & Marjorie
·
Pufahl, Charles
Reetz, Herbert J.
Roemer, Anthony, Jr.
Rohan, Kenneth J.
Runnels, Charles
Sattlet, Leonard L.
Smith, E. Jay & Phyllis
Stearns, William
Trexell, Leonard E.
Waid, Glen D. & Beatrice
Walker, Glenn P.
Warwick, John
Williams, John 0.
Wilson, Maud E.

WINNEBAGO COUNTY
Abrams, Sarah
Anderson, Lois Sperbeck
Anderson, Loren
Babcock, Carlton
Barthels, Herbert .J.
Beduhn, Carl
Bentle, Flarie
Binning, George
Boss, John F.
Bradley, Harold R
Brennand, George
Brown, Mr. & Mrs.
Harold Hasley
Butt, Mrs. Grace
Calkins, W. Earl
Carpenter, Maxwell
Challoner, Ira ,J.
Clark, Cyril G.
Cowling, Mrs. Emma B.
Cowling, Joseph H.
Cross, A J.
Cross, John Thomas
Daggett, Dennison D.

g~bb~;k:~~!d~~a

Dohner, Miss Marian
(See Kasberg)
Drews, Victor & Fred
Eagon, Joe & Belle
Engel, Edwin H.
Evans, Guy Joel
Evans, Mary Holt
Fernan, Chas.
Foote, Arthur Clair
Fredrickson, Harry G
Freer, George Grant
Grimes, John W.
Grimes, Leonard
Grundy, Guy
Halkney, Frank
Hanson, Myrtle Thompson
Hart, Ray
Jacobs, David P. &
Irene D. Knack
Johnson, Birdell
Johnson, Julius M.
Jones, Clifford'!'~
Jones, Ewart & David
Jones, Levi (Estate,
Mildred Jones, Adminis,)
Kasberg, Mrs. k H.
(See Dohner)
King, Miss Bessie
King, Ralph C,
Kitzman, Clarence
Kolo, Edwin S. Frances
LaBelle, Leonard & Edith
Lloyd, Myrle E.
Mielke, George 0.
Miracle, Warren
Mongan, Mrs. Frances

Neumann, Carlton E.
Olson, Oscar
Opechuck, Martin J.
Palfrey, Grant E. {Wife)
Parker, James V.
Peake, Robert F.
Pfiffer
Pickett, Jasper G
Plummel, George W.
Pommerening, Gl~n E.
Pride, Wallace & Charles
Roberts, Hubert H.
Roblee, Frank K & Clara L.
Schuerer, Mrs. Oscar (Viola)
Shepherd, Anna M.
Schmdler, David Gregory
Schnell, Herman & AnnB.
Schnetzer, Helen Cook
Shove, Andree
Simm, Mrs. Walter
Smith, ,John 8.
Sperbeck, Gladys' Son
Sperbeck, Irma C.
Springer, Arthur & Hilda
Stein, George M.
(Mathias Stein Est.)
Stone, George E.
Strey, Walter A.
Stuart, Mrs. W. Z.
Sullivan, Arthur J. & Dorothea
Tipler, Sadie & Mary
Treise, Edward G.
Tritt, Harry A.
Trotter, Earl E.
Vedder, Robert E.

ir~1~e~~~~W~tt!:&

Wife
Weinman, Peter J.
\yhitemarsh, Ray & Carrie
Williams, Arthur (Mr. & MrsJ
Wilson, Harland
Wismer, Ernest &
Jeannette (Mr. & Mrs.)
Wright, Daniel J.
Zeller, Frances, Jr.
Zellmer. Alfred H.
Zentner, Edgar

WOOD COUNTY
Bennett, Irving R
Hanifin, Leo & Francis
.Jasperson, Newell D.

Robert E. Gard
Robert E. Gard is widely recognized tor
his interest in preserving the history of
American regions, an interest which
began when he was a boy growing up
on a farm in Kansas. Since 1945 he
has been a professor at the University
of Wisconsin-Madison where he has
directed various programs in cultural
arts and native literature. He is the
founder of the Wisconsin Idea Theater,
an internationally known movement to
spread the idea of a native American
Drama. He is the author of some forty
books.