Sp Ir It Am E R Ic
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Cover 1/19/11 12:59 PM Page 1 SPIRIT SPIRIT of AMERICA On Spirit of La Crosse: On Spirit of America: History buffs will like these SPIRIT This is the America that glimpses into the past. Spirit of speaks in many voices: La Crosse is made up of short colloquial and profes- chapters written by the of sional, religious and secu- Writing for Publication and lar, fictional and reminis- Photography classes at cent, verse and prose, all Western Wisconsin Technical of them heartfelt, direct. It of College. Its sixty-five of is the America that counts chapters offer what the writers its blessings and shoulders AMERICA call “a grassroots history” [of] AMERICA its burdens, struggling and everything from the city’s dying in far places, stretch- romance with lumber to the ing out a hand at home to court system, nineteenth- needy neighbours or century farming to banking eccentric visitors. It is the institutions. America that its countless —MARY ANN GROSSMANN friends abroad remember BOOK CRITIC and love. ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS — JOHN H. WHALE, AUTHOR OF THE HALF-SHUT EYE AND PUT IT IN WRITING FORMER TEACHER AND From religion to bordellos, it JOURNALIST (FORMER CORRE- is a fascinating book for any- SPONDENT OF THE LONDON one who wants a concise look SUNDAY TIMES, HEAD OF BBC RELIGIOUS TV, EDITOR OF at this interesting town. THE CHURCH TIMES) Important, too, is the fact that it is edited ...and written by The images in Spirit of all local people ...your ‰ America communicate on friends and neighbors. ‰ —BETTY HYDE, REVIEWER two significant levels. As he WWTC Writing for Publication individual images, they LA CROSSE TRIBUNE, IN “NIE WEEK: A GOOD READ” emerge from wonderfully and Photography classes taught by MARCOU & GERBER MARCOU diverse circumstances. David J. Marcou comprise people of Some are lovingly made diverse backgrounds and ages. Spirit of by a parent or child, documenting a family America is their sixth book project, the last one being milestone; many are cap- Spirit of La Crosse, the most complete history of that city tured by student photog- produced since 1881. In addition to brick-and-mortar raphers equipped to observe their world with residents and students of the Coulee Region, there have new techniques and been several other contributors to both Spirit books. enthusiasm. Other images But while the names of famous people appear, from provide a profound glimpse of American his- time to time, in key places, there is also much attention tory and America’s paid here to “ordinary” people, the “common cloth” involvement in the world that makes up the American fabric. order. As a collection, in the context of the accom- And all kinds of people— from Native American to Heartland panying essays, they paint immigrant, from Christian to agnostic, and from Black an image of America that and White to Red and Yellow, of both genders and all is introspective and reveal- Voices, ing of its character. ages—are proper subjects for Spirit of America. It is —ROGER GRANT, PH.D. hoped that these people, and their environments, sug- ART DEPARTMENT CHAIRMAN World Views AND PROFESSOR OF gest the breadth and depth of the American spirit—a PHOTOGRAPHY SPERANZA UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN- spirit that is indomitable, yet compassionate, more often EDITED BY DAVID J. MARCOU LA CROSSE. than not—one that springs from the Heartland. W & LUANN GERBER Rose Lake, on the route of the voyageurs, on the U.S.-Canadian border, 1999. Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (By Robert J. Hurt). Editor’s Note: Because this book went to press around September 11, 2001, the only place in the text that we’ve directly addressed the tragic events that occurred on that day in America, albeit briefly, is in this book’s conclusion. W To the American people and our families and friends everywhere— especially John Hansen, Charles Gelatt, and Ron Wanek . As a famous movie director has said, “Make a noise!” W “While the [Twin] Towers may be gone, the Spirit of America is not gone.” —RICHARD IN PENNSYLVANIA W “To observe the character of a particular people we must examine the objects of its love.” —ST. AUGUSTINE W “God shed His grace on thee ...from sea to shining sea.” —FROM “AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL” W SPIRIT of AMERICA Ω Heartland Voices, World Views Ω Edited by David J. Marcou and LuAnn Gerber Produced by the WWTC Writing for Publication and Photography Classes Taught by David J. Marcou, With the Help of Family and Friends Copyright 2001 by David J. Marcou and Sean Niestrath Production Staff: Publisher Speranza Publishing, of La Crosse, Wisconsin, directed by Sean Niestrath Editors David J. Marcou and LuAnn Gerber Designer and Copyeditor Sue Knopf Typist Matthew A. Marcou Publicist Steve Kiedrowski Consultants Rebecca Niestrath, David A. and Rose C. Marcou, and Tim Gerber WWTC Financial Officers Les Rognstad and Janet Itnyre WWTC Administrative Staff Lee Rasch, Linda Schwandt, Diane Rud, and Anne Zeisler Principal Financial Backers John Hansen, President of Nesnah Ventures Charles D. Gelatt, President of the Gelatt Corporation Ron Wanek, CEO of Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc. Printer RC Printing Inc., of La Crosse, Wisconsin ISBN 0-9674740-3-5 Softcover Price $34.95 Front cover: Clockwise from color photo: Newly arrived immigrant family (L to R): Antons,Veronika, Anna and Emilija Muktepavels, September 1949. Boston Harbor, MA (Courtesy Terraced farm fields along the Mississippi River, 1997. of Anna Muktepavels-Motivans). Northeastern Iowa (By Robert J. Hurt). Back cover: U.S. Navy Blue Angels flying team, all six of them, at Deke Slayton Airfest, Father’s Day, June 2000. La Crosse,WI (By David Larsen). Floral fireworks at Riverfest, July 4, 1999. La Crosse,WI (By Gerald A. Bonsack). Ho-Chunk Chief Ray Lowe, 1999.Trempealeau,WI (Courtesy of Steve Kiedrowski). The American flag and RC Printing sign, September 15, 2001. La Crosse,WI (By David J. Marcou). Robert Welch Jr., 165th New York Volunteers, the “Duryea Zouaves,” 1865. (Courtesy of Joyce Crothers, his great-granddaughter). COLOPHON This book was typeset and laid out on a Macintosh G3 with QuarkXPress software. Text was set in fonts from the Giovanni family. The book is printed on Phoeno Grand paper. Page dimensions are nine by twelve inches, with a sixteen-page color section and 260 pages of text and black-and-white photos. The book is perfect-bound. Contents Preface . ix The Librarian . 33 Mary Claire Fehring Introduction . x My Grandparents’ Homestead. 34 Nelda Johnson Liebig Section 1 Living with Nature From Pencil to Computer . 34 Marjorie Davison Our National Emblem . 1 Viewing a Quilt. 35 Anene Ristow Alicia Burgmeier Feathered King . 2 True Memories . 36 Doris Kirkeeng Marjorie Davison Prairie Perspective. 2 Interlude . 38 Orval Lund Betty Holey Kayaking the Wilderness Inside the City. 3 Writing Pioneer. 39 Steven Fisher Doris Kirkeeng Marcou’s Market . 40 In the Spring . 4 Matt Marcou Robert A. Floyd Entries from My Great-Grandfather’s Civil War Diary . 41 River Stories . 5 Joyce Crothers Bridget Flood Racing the Wind: An Ozark Memory . 43 A Cricket’s Call . 6 Betty Holey Marjorie Walters Elkhart Lake: A Sailor’s Sailing . 44 Mark Twain’s Western Wisconsin Impressions . 7 Gordon H. Hampel Father Bernard McGarty Theatres and Popcorn . 45 Helen Bolterman The Fit Survive . 8 Robert A. Floyd Yesterday’s Treasures. 46 Helen Bolterman Trempealeau River, Rich in Beauty and History . 10 Memories of Copeland Park . 47 Father Bernard McGarty Evelyn Wilhelm A Blufflands Design Story. 11 The Jail Break . 48 Robert J. Hurt Daniel J. Marcou, LCPD The Healing Ointment. 49 Section 2 The American Mosaic Nelda Johnson Liebig Ray Lowe is High on His Indian Heritage. 16 Reminiscences of Visits to Family Farms. 50 Steve Kiedrowski Mary Lou Ryan An Incident from the Simpler Times of the Fifties . 52 The Old Indian . 16 Samuel McKay Yvonne Klinkenberg Two Great Men . 54 The Responsibility of Understanding . 17 Doris Kirkeeng Daniel Green The Old Indian Woman. 17 Section 4 The American Dream Yvonne Klinkenberg The Time I Saw JFK. 55 Citizenship . 18 Dona Popovic Helen Bolterman Living in America—An African American Perspective . 56 Remembering Jack Soo . 19 Roberta H. Stevens Daniel Green Iowa: The Birthplace of 4-H. 57 Nelda Johnson Liebig Memoir Excerpt from Anna’s Story, . 20 “New Continent—New Life” Heart of a Wildcat: Centerville’s Dream Team . 58 Anna Muktepavels-Motivans Steve Kiedrowski Curly and David . 59 American Immigrants: The Asian Indians . 24 Dinah Nord Pamela Shipstone Early Signs of Promise . 60 The Tablecloth . 26 Ross A. Phelps Courtesy of Charles and Christine Freiberg, Martin Luther King Jr. 60 from Pastor Rob Reid Doris Kirkeeng The Simple Life: Amish Style . 61 Section 3 Taking Another Look at the Past Helen Bolterman Sacajawea and the Corps of Discovery . 28 Believing in Myself and the American Dream . 62 Nancy L. Kaminski The Mayor of La Crosse, Wisconsin, The Kiedrowski Corner. 31 the Honorable John Medinger Steve Kiedrowski The Red Clay of “My Hill” . 33 Anna Muktepavels-Motivans v SPIRIT OF AMERICA Section 5 New American Short Stories Three Big Game Hunters and Three Tribesmen . 88 Armageddon . 65 Deborah L. Ringdahl Betty Holey What I Was Doing New Year’s Eve. 88 The Geode. 67 Orval Lund Michael R. Vande Zande The Parents of Poets . 89 The Greatest Generation: A Vignette . 68 Orval Lund Ann Morrison For Mary O.. 89 Art Imitates Fiction. 69 Barbara Tatzel Mel Loftus Recent Visit to the Johnson Farm . 89 The Last Run . 70 Barbara Tatzel Don Dean Bennett Poetry Paints a Picture . 90 Simply Ketchup . 72 Yvonne Klinkenberg Rose Marie Schaper Just Before Fall . 90 Mrs. Bissett and the Insistent Present .