Volume 1 June 2012

The Boat Club Gazette

NEWSLETTER OF THE BE RLIN BOAT CLUB AND THE EUREKA LOCKS

Welcome to the New Season of the Eureka Lock

After months and months of work the S P E C I A L Eureka Lock is again open for traffic P O I N T S O F thanks to the hard work of the Berlin INTEREST: Boat Club members, support from other  New Season for area boat clubs, Friends of the Fox and newly renovat- other organizations. A donation from an ed Locks anonymous benefactor, an interest free loan and monetary support from across  2012 Brat & the boating community has allowed the Corn Roast BBC to have the Lock gates completely rebuilt, new concrete work done and the August 10 & 11 turnstiles refurbished. New parking area  Visit our web- and lighting have been added to the grounds and the gates electrified for eas- site and make ier operation. a donation to- Call (920)361-BOAT (2628) for lockages. day Lockages free but DONATIONS AC- AN EARLY VIEW OF THE 1876 BUILT CEPTED EUREKA LOCK

In 2010 the DNR again entered into Historic Corn Roast to Be Held a lease agreement with the Berlin Boat Club for Join the Berlin Boat Club for their annual the Eureka Lock and property and plans went Brat & Corn Roast on Friday and Satur- into high gear to determine work required to day August 10th & 11th at Riverside make the gates operable again. With help from Park in Berlin, WI. Fun, food and games equipment from Magnum Products, Berlin INSIDE THIS fill the 2-day event. Proceeds will go to ISSUE: 700,000 gallons of was removed to allow inspection of the lock. the Eureka Lock project. Chronology of Events Fundraising began in earnest when it was Berlin Car Cruzers are holding their determined that about $300,000 would be re- Car Show on Sunday of same weekend. Fox River, Eureka Locks, quired to do the job. A large gift and an interest 2 Camping available at the park on a first Berlin Boat Club free loan got the project started. come-first serve basis. C.R. Meyer Const. of Oshkosh was chosen as general contractor assisted by an army of mem- Historic Valley of the Fox 3 ber volunteers and others. Weather and high River water caused multiple delays but by Christmas of 2011 the lock was ready to receive the Fox River once again. Officers & The Berlin Boat Club has operated and main- 4 Coming Events tained the lock for almost 50 years with no state or federal funding. The major funding source has Membership 4 been the annual corn roast. The club has also funded a number of im- provement projects in Riverside Park over the years. P a g e 2 The Berlin Boat Club

Fox River, Eureka Locks, Berlin B o a t C l u b Chronicle of Events 1962—State finally took over owner- 1673—Voyagers Marquette and 1930—Steamboat era pretty much ended. ship. Berlin Boat Club leased the locks Jolliet traversed the Fox River from 1950—Fox River Boat Club formed by on a year to year basis from the Conser- Lake Michigan to Portage and down Robert Carter and other interested fami- vation Dept. the Wisconsin River. lies to promote safe river cruises. 1964—Louis Maik becomes next lock- 1822—First known shipment of 1951—Federal government ended opera- tender. produced at Helena Shot Tower tion of all locks. Lock tenders eliminated. 1970—Boat slip at Riverside Park (now Tower Hill State Park) shipped Lack of funds and low usage reasons dredged and launch ramp installed. to Detroit, Mich. By way of the Fox given. 1973—Reenactment of Father Mar- River. 1956—First corn roast held at Carter’s quette and Jolliet’s voyage makes stop 1822—Erie Canal completed cottage. Becomes annual event to raise in Berlin. 1837—Portage Canal Co. commis- money to repair and maintain locks. 1975—Club started special Lock fund sioned to construct a canal between 1958—Public Law 500 of 85th Congress for repair of locks as a Bi-Centennial the Wisconsin and Fox rivers. Work granted to Wisconsin the Upper Fox Riv- project. Application is submitted to abandoned after $10,000 expended. er consisting of the following: 443.2 acres State Historical Society to have site 1846—Federal government granted of land; navigation locks located at Eure- added to the National Register of Histor- land to be sold at $1.25 per acre to ka, Berlin, White River, Princeton, Grand ic Places. finance construction of Fox water- River, Montello, Governor Bend, Fort 1976—Renovation began in the fall. way. Hercules Dousman was one of Winnebago and Portage. Included were Crew of 26 people volunteered 3,000 a five-member board to administer five houses plus other buildings. Total lift hours for the task. program. of 35.3. feet. 1977—Dedication ceremonies held at 1848—Work restarted on canal and the newly restored lock over July 4th waterway 1958—Fox River Boat Club incorporated weekend. 1850—DePere Lock and dam com- as Berlin Boat Club, Inc. to save Eureka 1992—Rocky and Sandy Gaetzke be- pleted Locks. Club leased Locks from the Corp come last locktenders of Engineers. 1996—The idea of a Fox-Wisconsin 1850 or 51– Spring high water al- Heritage Parkway is introduced. lowed steamship Aquila to be sailed 1958—With the help of Melvin Laird, 2003—Club is looking at a $75,000 bill down River to Mississippi, up then Congressman, and then Governor to repair the locks. Ten year lease is river to the Wisconsin, up river to Vernon Thompson, additional funds were coming to a close. the Fox and down Fox river to Green added to Public Law 500 to repair locks 2003—DNR does not renew BBC’s Bay. and rebuild Eureka Dam. lease and Locks are closed. 1858—River steamers regularly 2004—Area hit with a major flood, sets using upper Fox and Wolf rivers. 1958—First buoys for navigation were new 100 year flood limits. 1870—After state failed to fully put in the Fox River by the Berlin Boat 2006—Citizens rally in protest to the complete waterway, federal govern- Club Inc. between Berlin and Lake Butte DNR’s plans to close the Eureka Lock ment took over operations and com- des Morts. permanently. Group begins looking into pleted all locks and rebuilt the canal having the lock reopened. at Portage. 1958—Wilburt (Bud) Johnson was the 2008—Area hit with another major 1876—Eureka Lock completed first locktender hired by the club. Lives in flood. 1877—Eureka dam completed house on grounds. Club pays all bills. 2009—DNR orders Lock house at Eure- 1890—Freight and passenger service ka torn down cites flooding weakened on the Fox River flourished. structure and extensive mold in interior. They also fill in the septic and plugged two wells. 2010— Campaign underway to find funds to repair and reopen the Eureka Lock. 2011—Major donor comes forward and work begins to dewater and then repair, refurbish and build lock gates, mecha- nisms, etc. 2012—Work done and club plans grand reopening of Eureka Lock in June. Plans including reinstating historic Corn Roast in August.

V o l u m e 1 P a g e 3

Historic Valley of the Fox River

these explorers proceeded on their jour- two miles and suddenly broadens out into ney to the ‘Great West.’ They came as Bluffton Lake. far as the Mascouten village and fol- Montello is located at the foot of this lowed the same route that Nicolet trav- Montello is built up on a knoll and has a eled a quarter of a century before. beautiful view of the surrounding coun- In about 1665, Father Claude tryside. The river winds along again like Allouez, the first Jesuit missionary a canal, and again broadens out into a came within the boundaries of this lake—Lake Puckaway. The village of Northwest territory, landing at the site Marquette is situated here on the lake of what is now Ashland, Wis. He later shore, and is the site of a thriving old In- went on to Green Bay and on arriving dian village. there celebrated the first mass on Dec. Once more the winding river channel 3, 1669. continues on its way and we come to Father Allouez continued his labors Princeton, where the river banks are very 1973 Reenactors of the Marquette/ among the Indian tribes along the Fox steep. river and established among them great The river winds for fifteen miles, steep Joliet voyage with some local veneration for the sign of the cross. banks in some places—low, sandy plains “Indians.” The French nation was now intensely in others —then marshy stretches. We interested in the western world, and pass through two locks and come to Ber- Handwritten article, date (thought to Frontenac, then the governor of Cana- lin—which had been the settlement of the be about 1870’s) and author unknown, da, sent out an exploring expedition, Mascouten Indian tribe and on to Sacra- from the files of the Berlin Area His- lead by Louis Joliet and Pere Mar- mento. (Editor’s note—Sacramento no torical Society. quette, in the year 1673—this for the longer exists, was on northeast edge of purpose of discovering the “sea” of the Berlin). To one who is fond of history, as west—the Mississippi river. Their Following the winding river, we come well as delightful scenery, the Fox journey carried them over the same to Eureka, Omro, former Indian settle- river here in Wisconsin proves most course as that of the former explorers, ments. The river broadens again into Lake interesting. up the Fox, until they came to the Mas- Butte des Morts—the old fur trading vil- The first white man to set foot in couten village. They found here the lage at the head of the lake—was once the this Fox River valley (then called large white cross erected by Father burial grounds of an Indian tribe. Neenah river) was Jean Nicolet. He Allouez and found around it thank- Oshkosh, Neenah and Menasha are was sent west by Champlain, the gov- offerings, the result of the Indian hunt. built on the broad level plain between the ernor of ‘New ’ in our country, These explorers, however, went further. Wolf river and Lake Butte des Morts. for the purpose of opening trade rela- They made the portage and descended Oshkosh derived its name from ‘Old tions with the Indians of the Great the Wisconsin river on to the Mississip- Chief Oshkosh’ who was head of all the Northwest. pi. Indian tribes in the surrounding territo- In the year 1634, accompanied by A long procession of missionaries, ry—a past century ago. several Hurons, members of an eastern explorers, adventurers, and traders now Below Oshkosh, the Fox river passes in tribe, Nicolet entered the valley at the began the great tide of travel along the- 2 channels around Doty’s Island, which mouth of the Fox river, where the se rivers and the entire northwest. Set- from earliest times was a settlement for Winnebago tribe had settled. Here he tlements began to thrive along the en- Indian tribes. Just below Doty’s Island the remained for sometime having friend- tire length of the Fox river. Fox river flows between steep terraced ly relations with the Indian tribes. Let us follow the course of the Fox banks on which is located the city of Ap- Then he passed on through Lake Win- river from Portage to the outlet at pleton. nebago, down the Fox, where he found Green Bay. Then at DePere we find the first rapids the Mascouten Indian village. Portage is built on a narrow strip of on the Fox, a fall of about 12 feet. Locat- This was the extent of his journey land which separates the of the ed here was the St. Francis Xavier mis- and on his return he went southward Wisconsin and the Fox rivers. The ca- sion in early settlement years. through Illinois. So Nicolet was the nal, built joining these two rivers was Then we come to Green Bay, said to be first white man to paddle his canoe on once a most important part of early the greatest historical site in Wisconsin the Fox river. travel on these rivers. Fort Winnebago history. Here it was that white men first The next white men to traverse this was built on a hill about two miles from set foot on the soil of the Fox river valley. region were Radisson and Grosslier, Portage. Here, for 100 years was the great center two adventurous French fur traders. It From Portage the Fox river winds of fur trade. Here, many an Indian Coun- was about the year 1658 or 1659 when this way and that, and in its wanderings cil was held between the Indian tribes of the channel covers a breadth of about the Northwest.

WE’RE ON THE WEB BERLINBOATCLUB.COM

NEWSLETTER OF THE Berlin Boat Club Officers BERLIN BOAT CLUB AND THE EUREKA Commodore—Ed Kirchhoff LOCKS V. Commodore—Dave Peck Secretary—Greg Bins Berlin Boat Club Treasurer—Dick Schramer P. O. Box 148 Director—Mike McMonigal Berlin, WI 54923 Director—Dennis Kratzer Director—Phillis Kratzer Phone: 920-361-1957 Director—Ron Harke E-mail: [email protected] Membership…$25.00 per family Berlin Boat Club Brat & Corn Roast

The Berlin Boat Club is the only known private August 10th and 11th, 2012 organization in the that operates and maintains a public Lock. Riverside Park, North Shelter House Off Water or Capron Sts.

Join the Berlin Boat Club

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Make Checks payable to: Berlin Boat Club and mail to P. O. Box148, Berlin WI 54923