WISCONSIN MAGAZINE 0/HISTORY &ti& \- • • •4 •' Published Quarterly by the STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN December 1947 WISCONSIN MAGAZINE of HISTORY CLIFFORD L. LORD, Editor LILLIAN KRUEGER, Associate Editor CONTENTS Chats with the Editor Clifford Lord 129 The Functions of the State Historical Society Robert K. Richardson 135 A Nonvegian Calendar Stick in Wisconsin Einar Haugen 145 The Wisconsin Natural History Association A. W. Schorger 168 The Milwaukee County Historical Society Frederic Heath 178 Olaf Erickson, Scandinavian Frontiersman (II) Oluf Erickson 186 BOOK NOTES 208 THE SOCIETY AND THE STATE 231 The WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY is published quarterly by the STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN, 816 State Street, Madison, 6. Distributed to members as part of their dues (Annual Membership, $3.00; Life, $50). Yearly subscription, $3.00; single number, 75 cents. Communications should be addressed to the editor. The Society does not assume responsibility for statements made by contributors. Entered as second-class matter at the post office at Madison, Wis- consin, under the act of August 24, 1912. Copyright 1947 by the STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN. Paid for by the Maria L. and Simeon Mills Editorial Fund and by the George B. Burrows Fund. THE COVER This handsome house situated among others of its kind on North Terrace Avenue, Milwaukee, was until recently the property of the late General Otto Falk. The Milwaukee County park system was enriched by it through the generosity of Mrs. Elizabeth Falk. And now it has become an auxiliary museum of the Milwaukee County Historical Society, ending the display-space worries of that organization. Its spacious interior accom- modates the many museum pieces which were not on display heretofore, since the society's courthouse rooms were inadequate. That Frederic Heath's descripton of the FALK HOUSE, in his story of " The Milwaukee County Historical Society," will bring many new visitors to this fine museum, there is no doubt. WISCONSIN MAGAZINE of HISTORY jf^> Volume 31 December 1947 Number 2 Chats with the Editor HORTLY AFTER THE NEW YEAR is ushered in, the observance of the centennial of the establishment of our State will get S underway. On January 5 at 11:30 A.M. in the rotunda of the Capitol, the official " kick-off" ceremonies will begin. With Senator Robert P. Robinson of Beloit, chairman of the Planning Committee of the Centennial, presiding, Dr. Ora R. Rice of Dela- van, chairman of the Centennial Committee, the Governor, and Chief Justice of the State will launch * the year's observance. In the afternoon a major event at the University Field House will offer a speaker of inter- national renown in ceremonies presided over by Chief Justice Rosenberry. This will be followed by " Open House " in all State offices. In the evening a grand ball at the Capitol will end the day's festivities on a gala note. Thus will be inaugurated what for many will be a hectic year, yet one which for all of us promises to be most worth-while. It is impossible to compare life a century ago with that of today without being deeply impressed with the great increase in the productivity of each man's labor, with the enormous rise of the general standard of living, with the almost fantastic expansion of the horizons of knowledge, with the overall success of the American experiment. Reflection of the sort provoked by the cen- tennial on the road we have traveled so far so fast, from pioneering on the frontier to citizenship in the prosperous commonwealth 129 130 CHATS WITH THE EDITOR [December of today, must surely produce a rededication to our basic faith of equality of opportunity, personal liberty, and the importance of the individual, and a reinspiration which will serve us well in the difficult days which lie ahead. SOME 150 OF OUR members gathered at Manitowoc for the 101st annual meeting of the Society, August 22-24. Those souls who braved the searing heat of the rest of the State were Manitowoc T , . 1 c i i i IT rewarded with a line program and the knowledge, derived daily with obvious satisfaction from Cura- tor Murphy's newspapers, that things were appreciably warmer back home. Even the local foghorn cooperated well with the Committee on Arrangements, assailing through a sleepless night only the early birds who arrived Thursday. This was a joint meeting with our recently formed affiliate, the Badger State Folklore Society, and the proceedings throughout benefited greatly from our colleague's participation. The program featured an excellent moving picture by Charles L. Chermak on " Manitowoc's World War Effort," folk dancing by the Sheboygan Square Dancing Club, and folk plays by the Spotlight Players of Milwaukee, the Oconomowoc Players, and the Stoughton Little Theater. Two luncheon panel discussions produced a number of interesting ideas on the junior program and the problems and policies of the local societies despite an abbreviated luncheon hour. Papers covered a wide range of topics from Dr. Wilcox' spicy summary of "Contemporary Research Projects" in Wis- consin history to Ted Mueller's lively "Great Lakes Lore" and Dr. Einar Haugen's unusual diagnosis of a " Norwegian Calendar Stick in Wisconsin." Curator Plumb made everyone feel at home in Manitowoc at the outset with his delightful introduction to the "Highlights of Manitowoc History." President Richardson celebrated the reinstitution of the presidential address with the scholarly and illuminating discourse reproduced in this issue. Certificates were presented, with citations, to the staff members, active and retired, who had served the Society for twenty-five years or more. 1947] CHATS WITH THE EDITOR 131 The meeting wound up on the third full day with a pleasant pilgrimage through Manitowoc and Two Rivers and a picnic luncheon at beautiful Point Beach State Park where centennial plans were discussed by Colonel Julius Laack of the Centennial Committee, aided by three chairmen of centennial sub-committees who pinch-hit for Chairman Rice and Mr. Palmer of the Centennial Committee. The latter were delayed by motor trouble and despite heroic efforts did not reach Point Beach until five minutes after the session broke up. The local arrangements were expertly handled by a committee headed by President John G. Johnson of the Manitowoc County Historical Society, Judge Albert H. Schmidt of Manitowoc, and Curator Plumb, who with their colleagues did everything possible to insure the success and comfort of the meeting. The officers and program committee of the Folklore Society, the men who devoted their time and energy to preparing and giving the papers, the little theater players, and the Sheboygan Square Dancing Club under Victor Graef, all contributed handsomely to the program. Our members departed, some still a bit fagged from swinging their partners, with the feeling that they had been "to an in- tellectual feast" and had had a " wonderful time," to quote just two of the many letters which later came to the Society office. Certainly all of us who were there will readily add Manitowoc to the growing list of places in Badgerland which have played host to us with success and distinction. AT THE MANITOWOC MEETING, both Dr. Wilcox and I noted the developments taking shape at the University which gave promise of much research in Wisconsin history in , the years just ahead. Another long step in this direc- Research . , . , , A . r . tion has just been taken. At the suggestion of the Society, the Committee on the Study of American Civilization has broadened its activities to serve as an advisory and coordinating body on all research in Wisconsin materials at the University. It has also increased its membership to include practically all of the 132 CHATS WITH THE EDITOR [December faculty particularly interested in State and local historical mate- rials. With the enlarged membership, it will undertake an overall survey of what most needs to be done in Wisconsin history. Be- ginning January 1, Miss Alice E. Smith, the head of the Manu- script and Map Division of our Library, becomes chief of research for the Society and executive secretary for the Committee on the Study of American Civilization. She will thus be able to devote a large portion of her time to coordinating the research work done under the auspices of the committee with that inaugurated or sponsored by the Society, and to stimulating as a sort of academic agent provocateur additional projects in both programs. Miss Smith's qualifications for this post are well known to many of our members who have been served by her in the past. The field to be covered is enormous—in economic, political, social, cultural, institutional history. But the machinery now set up is the best the Society has had to offer in many years. It is the first which boasts the organized support of the University. The pros- pects for the future are correspondingly encouraging. THE SOCIETY'S somewhat recumbent publication program is about to regain its feet. The resuscitating efforts of the postwar years . are about to bear fruit. Now ready for dis- . tribution is the long-delayed Subject Bibliography Attractions , ,vr. TT. , , n i i- i T of Wisconsin History by Leroy Schlinkert. Its extensive listings of printed materials on Wisconsin history will be a vital aid to the many people all over the State who are looking for just such a guide in their centennial research. The manuscript for Dr. Still's new History of Milwaukee has been in the editorial department for two months. Dr. Dick's The Wis- consin Frontier: A Social History of Frontier Life in Wisconsin before the Civil War has recently been received. The manuscripts for our two school textbooks, It Happened Here, prepared for the fourth and fifth grades by Mrs.