Historical Research Project Youth Community Conservation
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Historical Research Project Youth Community Conservation Improvement Program This Pro.iect and Book has been funded in v/hole by Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) funds, granted by the l"'iscDnsin Balance of State prime sponsor. M~ / MEMORIES OF FOREST COUNTY HISTORICAL RESEARCH PROJECT YOUTH COMMUNITY CONSERVATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM \ \ ., Funded by a grant through ' -^ . • NEWCAP, Inc. June - September 1980 ocii.tsviy-SiioO v.?i.iL-!}jaa'- .UfjoY ' ^ ^ Contents Page History of Wisconsin 5 Forest County 21 Points of Interest 28 Laona ^^ Crandon . 139 Alvin and Nelma 179 Argonne 183 Hiles '' 188 Newald 196 Potowatami Indians 205 Cavour 218 Blackwell 230 C. C. C. 239 Blackwell Job Corps 240 Padus 242 Chippewa Indians 246 Wabeno 253 People Interviewed 266 Nation's ChristmasTree 286 Veterans of Forest County 289 Glossary 303 Bibliography 308 EASTERN WHITE PINE The MacArthur Pine Eastern white pine- "white pine" to most of us- was once the monarch of our northern forests. Great forests of white pine with many trees 200 years old or over covered much of our state when the first white men arrived. Practically all the white pine cut today comes from second growth. Eastern white pine reproduces readily. If only a few trees are left in harvest cuttings and fire is kept away, young trees gradually take place of those removed. The wood is light, soft, very easily worked and durable. The heartwood is light brown, often tinged with red. The sap- wood , which may be narrow or medium wide, is yellowish white. The bark on young white pine stems is smooth and greenish. On older trees it grows thick, deeply furrowed and grayish brown in color. You can tell the Eastern white pine by the needles which •occur in bundles of five. They are 3 to 5 inches long, bluish green on the upper surface, whitish beneath. The 3- to 5-inch cones mature in August. The straight grained lumber can be used for practically every part of a house or building. New England houses built of white pine 200 years ago still stand in excellent shape. The lumber takes paint well. Practically all white pine taken from the forest goes into lumber for a great variety of uses. The largest quantity is made into boxes, White pine does best in deep sandy loams. But it will grow on a variety of soils. It thrives in nearly pure stands or in mixtures with hardwoods, hemlock and red pine and is the most rapid growing northern forest tree. The famous MacArthur white pine stands in a grove two miles south of the Popple River not far from Newald in Forest County. It is the largest white pine on record. The giant tree stands 140 feet high, measures nearly 17 feet in circumference 4^ feet above the ground, contains an estimated 8,000 board feet. Foresters say the tree is over 400 years old. Picture on front cover LOOK FOR ME And in the green wet blade Of the peppergrass. When the warm winds pass Over the waking rills. And the wild arbutus spills Its fragrance on the air,- Look for me then- Asleep in a ferny glen ^ Highinthehills, Deep in the dew-drenched maiden-hair; I shall be waiting, waiting there. Lew Sarett We would like to thank everyone who helped us in any way to make this historical research project a success. A special thank you is extended to the Laona Board of Edu cation, Howard Seeraan, Administrator; Glenn Detro, Principal; Ena Clark, Kathy Alderton, and Laurel Geske, Secretaries; Elaine Doughty and Del Phillips and the Custodial Staff for their cooperation and use of the facilities. A very special thanks is extended to the Nicolet College Staff; Roger Sebota offered his expertise with the help of Nancy Merz, Pete Nordgran, Roger Davis, and Nancy Skebba to develop and put on a special two week training period that was superb . Lloyd Listle is also to be thanked for his help in verify ing pictures. Also, thanks to Francis Sturzl for the loan of some of the beautiful early pictures of Laona. A special tribute to the NEWCAP Agency from Oconto that wrote this historical project which provided the means for the many young people to become researchers this summer. It was a real pleasure to interview the senior citizens and all the other people that gave of their time and shared their thoughts and memories with us. The young people that did the researching are to be commended for their professional-like attitudes and resource fulness . We would like to dedicate this book to Dr. Ernest Ovitz ILaona), pioneer doctor, who passed away in September, 1980. INTRODUCTION Let us dedicate this book to the memories of the past, to the endeavors of the present, and to the future generations that will know where their "roots" were firmly planted. In the short time that this project had to be completed, it was impossible to get to all parts of Forest County. Our assignment was to do a historical research project on Laona and the surrounding area. The students doing the project came from all over the county; hence, it was decided to do all the areas we had students from. We want to apologize to the people of Popple River, Arm strong Creek and Pickeral for the lack of pictures from your area. We hope that all the material on the early days applies to your areas, too. This is not a real history book, nor is it intended to be, although there will be historical information in the text and the pictures. Some research has gone on before in Forest County and we are using some of this material. This book contains information gained by literature. We tried to portray a picture of the early days of the county so that we can all learn how our an cestors lived. If we left out an important event, please don't feel offended. It was not our intent to do so. Read our book with a "good sense of humor." We tried to make it authentic as well as humerous. Working with teenagers is a challenge in itself. The teenagers were from sixteen to nineteen years of age. Some were juniors in high school and several were college students. The greatest challenge was for these teenagers to compile historical information on the county we live in and create an informative book that will be read and enjoyed by all the citizens of the county. We were surprised to find that some students did not know the people who lived on their block. Many did not know how their town started or of any of the struggles each community and the county went through to survive and grow. We have those to thank that lived before us, for they built the foundation of Forest County. But we have ourselves to thank, also, because we are the "builders" of today, expanding on what those before us built up. In this book we attempted to "reflect" back on the early history of the county. It is not complete. As you read the book, we hope the many readings and pictures that follow will enable you to bring back beautiful memories of your town and family, and Forest County. For those of you that had no pre vious ties we hope that the readings and pictures paint a pic ture of the "Memories of Forest County." Irene La Du Evelyn Melnecke Project Supervisors EARLY HISTORY OF WISCONSIN In the past, some material has been written about Laona and the various towns in Forest County. The numerous authors of this book will endeavor to write the early history of each of the towns and to document the history with pictures that have been loaned to us for that purpose. The time is limited for the research and if the readers find that items have been left out, it is because of the time element and not the intent to do so. To begin a history of beautiful Forest County, one needs to be reminded that Forest County received its name from the gigantic forests that covered 'the area. It was a hundred and forty years after the discovery of America before a white man set foot upon Wisconsin soil. Through • the forests roamed the Indians, with no knowledge that some day a great state, governed by white men, would emerge. In 1604 a French man, Jean Nicolet, skirted the coast of Green Bay, visited the Indian villages, explored the Fox River, and returned to his home. Then began a long procession of explorers, traders, priests, and soldiers who laid the foundations of our Badger state. Most of these men were French; therefore, it is to France that we owe the discovery and exploration of Wisconsin, The French made their first permanent settlement at Port Royal in 1604. Four years later Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec, which soon became the starting point for French explor ations. All the French possessions in America were named New France, and Champlain was made governor. He was the most bril liant and successful of French explorers and colonizers. In 1509 he joined a party of Algonquin Indians and reached the lake that bears his name. Here he met a band of hostile Iroquois that forever were enemies of France. For 150 years the Iroquois allied themselves with the English and Dutch colonists. They also con trolled Lake Erie. This forced the French to travel through the region to the west which was controlled by the friendly Algon- quins. This mistake of Champlain was largely responsible for the discovery and exploration of the upper Mississippi Valley.