Author: Amanda

Hello Forest County Residents!

This Monday, January 26th from 1:00-3:00 pm, the Crandon Public Library will be hosting a public listening session featuring three Northern Wisconsin Legislators. Although we do not have many high ranking government officials make the trip to the North Woods it has happened in the past. During the 1907 Forest County Fair Lieut-Governor, W.D. Connor and Congressman, E.A. Morse made their way to Crandon. They spent their time getting to know the members of the community and viewing the exhibits of vegetable and agricultural products.

They were surprised that ” the backwoods county of Wisconsin should have an exhibition of products surpassing the old counties of the southern and central part of the state” (Forest Republican 1907).

Both of the men addressed the crowds at the fair so that Forest County residents could become acquainted their political views. Mr. Morse was an advocate for manual training schools and he was impressed by the Crandon High School. Connor’s goal was to try to eliminate some of the tensions between the warring factions of Crandon and Laona. The author of the newspaper article believed he was successful in his endeavors” (Forest Republican 1907).

The community members were not allowed to direct questions towards the government officials in 1907 but we have the opportunity to do so today.I urge everyone to share your concerns and opinions with the legislators at the Crandon Public Library.

Hello Forest County Residents!

In honor of National Pie Day on January 23rd the Crandon Public Library will be raffling off a homemade cherry pie. For every dollar you donate your name is entered into a raffle and at the end of the day you could go home with a delicious dessert!

When I think of homemade pies my great grandmother Mildred Wendy Champine Kurth comes to mind. She made fabulous apple pies and I will share her recipe with you. I imagine that she perfected her baking abilities serving large crowds for most of her life. Mildred’s first husband, Harry Champine,  managed lumber camps in Central Wisconsin as well as Alvin from at least 1910-1927. Mildred would travel with her husband and do the cooking for the entire logging camp.  When Mildred was married a second time to Wallace Kurth and living in Crandon she spent many years as the head cook at The Hotel Crandon (Champine 2012). I have been told that she was very serious about her job and often frightened the waitresses with her strict running of the kitchen. To learn more about the history of The Hotel Crandon attend the Crandon Public Library fundraiser February 21st. You will step back in time to the day that The Hotel Crandon opened its doors in 1930 with authentic food, drinks, music, and tours of the basement. Tickets will be available soon.

Grandma Millie Kurth’s Apple Pie

Pie Crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

7 tbsp lard

1/4 cup water

Mix lard with flour and salt with your hands than add water a little at a time. Press into pie pan. Makes a double crust.

Filling:

6 cups sliced, peeled apples (about 6 medium apples)

2 tbsp orange juice

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

3 tbsp flour

1tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp milk

Heat oven to 400 F. Toss apples and orange juice in large bowl. Combine brown sugar, sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Toss with apples until coated. Spoon into unbaked pie shell. Dot with butter. Brush top with milk. Sprinkle with sugar. Cover top with sheet of foil to present overbrowning. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 10-20 minutes longer or until apples are tender. Cool pie at room temperature.

 

Hello Forest County Residents,

It is true that the last two years have been the coldest on record in the area but Forest County residents have always had to deal with harsh winters. Here are some of the issues Wabeno community members had to contend with in January of 1920, according to the Northern Wisconsin Advertiser:

• The passenger train had to be pulled by two engines on account of the cold weather and snow
• There was a lack of news to write about in the paper due to the cold weather keeping everyone in their houses
• This winter was known as the “open” winter because it was open at both ends and the cold rushed right through (ha ha).
• The weather caused the woodpiles to “melt away like ice in a July sun” (Northern Wisconsin Advertiser).
• On account of the extreme cold, the school being held in the building formerly used by M.J. Dickinson and Company cancelled classes for a day or two.

It appears that no matter the decade, the epic winters of the north cause problems with travel, school closings, and running out of fuel to heat the homes. At least we have snow plows!

Happy New Years Forest County Residents!

This interesting nugget of history technically does not take place in Forest County but is very close by. Around this time of year in 1936 the residents of Florence almost lost their town Christmas tree because of squirrel whiskey. According to the Forest Republican two men living in Florence attempted to cut down the Christmas tree in the center of town with a cross cut saw. They were spotted just in time before the cut the tree all the way through. The men were convicted and made to pay a fine. The tree was propped up again and lit nightly with over 150 colored lights which spread the joy of the holidays around the town. The men supposedly committed the crime because they were hopped up on “squirrel whiskey” which is a type of moonshine that got its name because it makes men crazy and want to climb up trees. Please everyone have fun on New Year’s Eve but drink responsibly and stay away from whiskey of the “squirrel” variety.

 

Merry Christmas Forest County Residents!

Today I found a few advertisements from the December 1939 Forest Republican newspaper trying to get county residents to spend their Christmas dollars at the local establishments. Many of the gifts for women have not changed over the years such as: perfume or manicure sets. But the majority of the gifts for males features some kind of tobacco product like cigars, pipes, cigarettes, or just plain tobacco. One thing that hasn’t changed is the bombardment of advertisements from stores around the holiday season!

Happy Holidays Forest County Residents!

Many Forest County community members know that Argonne was once known as North Crandon, but few recall the reason for the switch and when the event occurred. According to the recollections of C.H. Marshall the town changed its name in 1921 due to the constant confusion at the post office with the names being so similar. Another factor around 1914 was the petition of a powerful figure in the town, Mr. Mausbaum, who promised to invest a great deal of money into the North Crandon if the town was renamed after his famiy. The board at the time did agree to change the name to Mausbaum, although the votes were very close. The town board agreed to announce the change in two local newspapers for three weeks but that was never done so the new name was not adopted. A few years later the Commerical Men’s Club decided to initiate a naming contest including all the school children. The name Argonne was finally chosen in honor of one of the club member’s sons dying in the Argonne Forest in France during WWI. Although some claim the name was chosen because the Military Road runs through this area. On July 4th of 1921, the townspeople of Argonne made a grand spectacle out of the name changing ceremony. They took the old town sign down and put it in a coffin and had six early settlers act as pall-bearers to carry the sign to its final resting place. It was escorted by a marching band to the area across from what is now Kathy’s bar where they burned and buried the sign. A great speech was given by Ward Wescott, a Crandon lawyer, to mark the momentous occasion. From hence forth the town was known as Argonne.

Hello Forest County Residents!

This week I discovered a past time that took place among the “Kentucks” in Forest County that I am very glad  does not exist any more.  Bear or wildcat fighting was popular in Kentucky and brought to Forest County in the early 1900s. The practice supposedly ended in January of 1922 when State Humane Officer, A.E. Frederick, arrested Henry McMillion and John Conn of Crandon for animal cruelty. According to the Lexington Herald, ” McMillion’s bear knocked out the first canine to accept the challenge with the first blow. The next dog, an airedale owned by Conn was said to have put up a hard fight to the privilege of engaging in a battle with a wildcat which the victor was to meet”. The contest was broken up before the bear and wildcat were forced to face off in a battle to the death. I wonder how McMillion captured a bear without harming it?  Has anyone ever heard of this sport?

Hello Forest County Residents,

Good luck to all of the hunters hoping to bag that big buck tomorrow! Looking back in the paper, The Forest Republican, I found out that hunting conditions were less than ideal in 1942. The first five days of the season there wasn’t any snow and  increased fire danger so people had a difficult time spotting the deer. Then the second half of the rifle season was met with a blizzard with a foot and a half of snow falling in a day. Many of the hunting parties had to dig their way out to the main highways with several people stranded until days after the season ended. There were farmers with tractors hired to tow cars out of hunting areas. In 1942 people were only allowed to hunt bucks; spikes and does were illegal to shoot. Here are some of the men that were successful in killing a deer that year: Bob Baker, Charles Walker, Frank Sturzl, Armond Bartz, Elmer Pfeiffer, Ed Korbas, George Palmer, Sam Plummer, Jim Wilson, and Alfred Kalkofen. There were two women that killed a buck: Mrs. William Ratliff and Mrs. C.K. Warbritten. If you have a great deer hunting story please feel free to share!