Claim OwnershipWXPR A Northwoods Moment In History
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We turn back the clock with local historians to find out what life in the Northwoods used to be like. This is part of an initiative by WXPR to tell the history and culture of northern Wisconsin.
72 Episodes
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“Massive Human Bones and Indian Relics Unearthed near Pelican Lake” read a Rhinelander New North newspaper headline on July 28th , 1908. The sensationalist commentary that followed was all the “proof” the unidentified writer needed to confirm that giant people once lived and were buried in the vicinity of Pelican Lake, Wisconsin.
In the fall of 1895, a team from the University of Wisconsin school of agriculture, including Dean William A. Henry, Madison photographer Harvey J. Perkins, and others, traveled to every county north of a line drawn from Green Bay to Hudson. They compiled information and photographs from cutover lands, and already existing farms, in an attempt to showcase the potential of the area.All this work was put into a 200 page booklet titled “Northern Wisconsin: A Handbook for the Home Seeker”.
Fifty-one years ago, the United States left Vietnam on March 29th, 1973, after 8 years of fighting. The conflict left a lasting impact on our country, including the Northwoods, where it forever changed the lives of the service members involved and their families. This is one of those stories.
Kids corner Pizza in Rhinelander is located in one of the oldest frame buildings in downtown Rhinelander. Kerry Bloedorn – Northwoods Historian, shares the history of that building, The Martin Flat, on this installment of A Northwoods Moment in History on WXPR
In 1926, Three Lakes Wisconsin held a winter sports carnival on a big hill at what is now Camp Luther, and on the ice of Range Line Lake below. A number of winter sporting events were organized, including toboggan races, hockey games, and Wisconsin’s first ever snowmobile race.
Prohibition began in 1920, banning all sales of alcoholic beverages, as defined by the Volstead Act. The quiet Northwood’s of Wisconsin became a haven for big city black market liquor production and smuggling.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas 1944, Americans were tuned into newspaper headlines about a German offensive in the Ardenne forest of Belgium between Germany and France. One young soldier from Pelican Lake, would earn a bronze star in what became known as the Battle of the Bulge.
One of the many construction projects in Rhinelander that was completed this year was a water main repair, causing the closure of the Phillip Street Bridge, located behind the Rhinelander Paper Mill. This bridge has collapsed not once, but twice in its history.
At the end of the famous book, Tarzan of the apes swoops in to rescue his beloved Jane Porter in the Northern Forests of Wisconsin. This part in the closing chapters of the book never made it into the dozen film adaptations produced over the decades, which is why most Northwoods folk aren’t quite familiar with that part of the adventure.
With the return of school comes the return of Friday Night Football.One of the biggest rivalries in the Northwoods is between Rhinelander and Antigo.Local historian and director of the Pioneer Park Historical Complex Kerry Bloedorn shares the story of the Bell Game in this episode of A Northwoods Moment in History.
Today, Rhinelander seems like an unlikely place for a presidential hopeful to campaign, but at one time, it was a must stop on the road to the Whitehouse. So it was during a campaign tour in 1959 for a young Senator from Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy. Learn about his visit on A Northwoods Moment in History
As the famous dairy state of the U.S., cheese is no doubt a staple in Wisconsin. As such it seems only fit that we have an official state cheese. Efforts by law makers in recent years have pushed to make Colby cheese the official state cheese.
The Northwoods has seen its fair share of extreme weather, from blizzards to tornados, but one storm on Independence Day in 1977 swept across the region with such ferocity, it is still remembered vividly today.
The Rhinelander-Oneida County Airport has been fielding planes at its current location just west of Rhinelander since the early 40s. But Rhinelander’s aeronautical history goes all the way back to a flight that occurred in 1912.
One day in 1986, dubbed Black Tuesday, went down in History as the most wildland fires fought in a single day in Northern Wisconsin. By the end of that Tuesday, 64 fires would burn hundreds of acres.
Rivers and Lakes are beginning to open up in the Northwoods. During the logging boom in Northern Wisconsin, that meant it was time to start the river drive. Moving tens of thousands of logs by water to sawmill towns was a deadly business. And so it was on the first log drive north of Grandfather Falls on the Wisconsin River, 165 years ago.
Contentious elections have been going on since the time of Ancient Greece. One election in the Northwoods in 1912 saw lumberjack votes tossed out, but too late. Hear the story on A Northwoods Moment in History.
What started out as a small race on Eagle River’s Dollar Lake in 1964, quickly turned into the world Championship of Snowmobile racing. Much has been written about the history of the famous derby, but several visits from notable Green Bay Packers helped give it even more traction in the early days.
During the first cross-country endurance race in Wisconsin, the Hodag International Cross-Country Marathon, racers came from all over, including Canada. However, there were few women among the entrants. MaryAnn Montgomery was one.
Downtown Rhinelander was decked for the holiday season in December of 1968 when the Christmas celebrating was put to a sudden stop. A historic fire swept through the city, destroying dozens of storefronts.
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