Donate Your Antiques to Our New-Format Ongoing Auction

The FRIENDS of the Wisconsin Historical Society is currently collecting tax-deductible donations of antiques and vintage items for its ongoing “30th Star Benefit Auction”. While the live/gallery style biennial auctions at Old World Wisconsin’s historic Clausing Barn have served us well, we have had new success with an on-line format. Staying with this, at least for the foreseeable future, will enable us to be your non-profit of choice and to become your year-round clearing house for resalable antiques and vintage items.

Whether a traditional antique, a single collectible coin, a vintage rock or travel poster, or even a 1970’s home video game console like Atari or Pong, just one donated item will make a difference! We are seeking these types of personal treasures and jewelry, advertising pieces, rustic farm house items, doorstops, and more. Interesting antique and vintage items made before 1980 are being gathered from across middle-America, with tax-deductible receipts provided.

The inaugural auction, held in April 2010, was followed by five successful encores in April 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018, and May 2020. Thus far our proceeds from the six biennial auctions have provided important funding for historic sites in Wisconsin as well as for National History Day.  A grant from the Wisconsin Antiques Dealers Association continues their commitment as the benefit auction’s founding sponsors.

The auction’s now-legendary Preview Party included dinner, prizes, a speaker, silent auction, and good old fashioned fun on a night preceding the live auction. While we had to forgo this function in 2020, we have plans to reinvent the Party in 2022 and hopefully welcome you back to Old World Wisconsin for a meal and entertainment.

Carol Miller of Bailey’s Honor Auction Service in Oconomowoc (www.baileyshonor.com) will again be guiding our endeavors as will Rich Ranft of Beloit Auction Service (www.beloitauction.com). You can follow their many auctions throughout the year.

For questions about the new-format “30th Star Benefit Auction” or to make a donation of an antique or vintage item, please contact Phil Schauer at 608-295-7240, pipsqkme@gmail.com or Pat Raap 262-893-1479, paraap@att.net. Thank you in advance for your generosity.

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Books for the Ravenous Reader of History

Books

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African American History Maker: Vel Phillips

Vel Phillips

Vel Phillips’ life was a series of firsts. She was the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin–Madison law school, the first to win a seat on Milwaukee’s City Council, the first to become Secretary of State of Wisconsin, and the first to become a judge in Wisconsin. More impressive, Vel did it all at a time when many African Americans were not allowed to exercise their civil rights.

Check out this video by the Wisconsin Historical Society to hear more about the fascinating life of Vel Phillips.

Click here to explore items from the Society’s historical collections related to her story.

 

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1,200-Year-Old Canoe Recovered from Lake Mendota in Wisconsin

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On November 2, Wisconsin Historical Society maritime archaeologists recovered a historic dugout wood canoe from the bottom of Lake Mendota, just a few months after learning of its existence in June 2021. Carbon dating indicates that the vessel is approximately 1,200 years old and was in use around A.D. 800, centuries before European arrival.

“The dugout canoe found in Lake Mendota is a significant artifact of the continuum of canoe culture in the Western Great Lakes region,” said Christian Overland, the Ruth and Hartley Barker Director & CEO for the Wisconsin Historical Society. “By taking action to preserve this canoe we are protecting a piece of history for future generations. The canoe is a remarkable artifact, made from a single tree, that connects us to the people living in this region 1,200 years ago. As the Society prepares to open a new history museum in 2026, we are excited about the new possibilities it offers to share Native American stories and culture through the present day.”

Excavation of the area around the canoe began in late October 2021, and maritime archaeologists recovered artifacts from the site early on in their process. Net sinkers, rocks that were flattened by hand tooling, were recovered from within the canoe, indicating the vessel may have been used for fishing. The canoe was raised from a depth of about 30 feet with the assistance of the Dane County Sherriff’s dive team.

“Recovering the canoe from Lake Mendota required a carefully coordinated team effort,” said Jim Skibo, state archaeologist for the Wisconsin Historical Society. “After many hours in and out of the field preparing for a successful recovery, I could not be prouder of the work accomplished by the divers, archaeologists, and supporting staff involved with this project.”

The recovery team used floatation bags to raise the canoe to the lake’s surface, and by 1:30 in the afternoon, the artifact was removed from the water via a nearby beach. The canoe was transported to Wisconsin’s State Archive Preservation Facility and placed into a custom-built storage vat containing water and a bio-deterrent to protect the canoe from physical deterioration. Over time, a chemical solution will be added to the vat which will eventually replace the water in the cellular structure of the wood. The preservation process is estimated to take approximately 3 years.

 

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Recap from the Rooftop: Annual Meeting 2021

Annual Meeting 2021

Frank Lloyd Wright designed a curvilinear gathering place that would link the shore of Lake Monona to the State Capitol. It is known today as the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center. The rooftop is home to the William T. Evjue Rooftop Gardens.

It was on this rooftop, with its stunning views, that FWHS held their Annual Meeting this year. That view from the rooftop was both amazing and calming – a perfect place for discussions to be held. The rooftop is also the home to Lake Vista Café. This café offered us delightful lunch choices.

Members of FWHS and a quorum of Board Members were able to attend the meeting. Activities of the committees were discussed with committee representatives that were in attendance. Future committee activities were also suggested and discussed.

There was also review of the information concerning the new WHS museum in Madison, and what FWHS might contribute to the museum. The Society has obtained funding for the museum in excess of 100 million dollars from the state and private sources. We will be in contact with the Society to plan our contribution.

Our 2020 Virtual Auction was a success with $7,000 profit. We thank everyone that worked so hard on this new venue.

The Friends have provided funding for local State-winning National History Day students to continue their competition at the National level in Washington, D.C., and we will continue to support the National History Day in Wisconsin competitions.

We look forward to another successful year despite the roadblocks the Covid pandemic has put in our path.

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More Books for the Hunkered Down History Lover

Quell your quarantine blues with these books about fascinating figures, places, and tales from Wisconsin’s history!

Books

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Support FWHS by Shopping with AmazonSmile

AmazonSmile

FWHS has joined AmazonSmile!

When you shop online using AmazonSmile, you pay the same amount but Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to a charity of your choosing—in this case, to FWHS.

Type in https://smile.amazon.com/ch/39-6058030 and log in to your Amazon account from there to directly support our organization while you shop, instead of having to select it from a big list later on.

Be sure to share this with your family and friends!

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Books for the Hunkered Down History Lover

Books

 

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WHS Adds to State Register of Historic Places

The Wisconsin Historical Society recently announced a number of new additions to the State Register of Historic Places, Wisconsin’s official list of state properties determined to be significant to Wisconsin’s heritage, including the following:

George W. Borg Corporation Building (Delavan, WI)

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Constructed in 1943 as a manufacturing facility, the George W. Borg Corporation fulfilled government contracts for war materiel during World War II. Products included mechanical time fuzes for anti-aircraft shells for which the company developed a machine to manufacture adjusting nuts that increased the rate of fuze production. Following the war, the newly created Borg Fabric Division occupied the building and its success led to the construction of a three-story addition in 1956. Investing in research and development, the Borg Fabric Division made advancements in the production of knitted pile fabrics using synthetic fibers, and received numerous patents throughout the 1950s and 1960s when the industry rapidly grew. The Borg Fabric Division operated both day and night shifts in the subject building at a time when the George W. Borg Corporation was the largest employer in Delavan. Shifting market conditions resulted in the end of pile fabrics manufacturing at this location in 1980.

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Horlick Malted Milk Company (Racine, WI)

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The Horlick Malted Milk Company, composed of 12 buildings located on a 16-acre site near Racine’s historic downtown, is the headquarters and manufacturing plant of the company, one of Racine’s most significant industrial enterprises. Brothers William and James Horlick established a milk products company and moved to the subject property in 1877. In 1883, William Horlick patented a powdered milk food product consisting of malted barley, wheat extract, and evaporated whole milk that was nutritious, easily digestible, non-perishable, and soluble in water. This invention was the world’s first “malted milk.” The company established milk purity standards that were adopted statewide by Wisconsin’s dairy industry and its invention of malted milk quickly spread nationally, becoming a household name developed through nationwide advertising campaigns and worldwide distribution.

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King Street Arcade (Madison, WI)

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The King Street Arcade, built in 1927 and located a half-block off of the Capitol Square, was designed with 24 smaller-sized rental spaces for stores and offices. These spaces are accessed from two streets bordering the building and also by an interior two-story arcade, lit by a very large glass skylight. Today, shopping malls using this concept are commonplace, but in 1927, only the nation’s largest cities could boast of such buildings. The King Street Arcade was developed and owned by a member of Madison’s prominent Hobbins family. The building is also notable as the work of Madison architect and engineer Henry Charles Huart, who practiced in Madison during most of the 1920s. The King Street arcade is rare in Madison, unique as being the only example of its type in the city from the era prior to the end of World War II, and one of the very few to be built in Wisconsin during the same period.

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Shaw Point Historic District (Bayfield, WI)

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The Shaw Point Historic District is significant for its varied history, telling the developmental story of commerce, maritime history, agriculture and recreation, and architecture. The first settlements relied on extractive industries and agriculture to support their economies. Commercial fishermen, miners, loggers, and farmers shipped their commodities to eastern markets first by steamships and then by railroad. These transportation networks also opened northern Wisconsin to leisure passengers, who began vacationing at resorts along the Lake Superior shore in the late nineteenth century. Eventually, seasonal visitors acquired property along the lakeshore to construct private vacation homes. The three properties in the Shaw Point Historic District reflect this arc: the Shaw-Hill Farm was an early commercial fishing camp and farm; Camp Stella was a recreational resort; and the Campbell-Jensch Property was developed for private seasonal use. Eventually, all of the properties became second homes as extractive industries, agriculture, and recreational resorts dwindled in importance in the twentieth century.

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Simonds 10-Sided Barn (Stevens Point, WI)

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The Simonds 10-Sided Barn is a small dairy barn, built in 1916 and having a stone and concrete foundation, and wood board-and-batten walls. One of only 112 known centric barns in Wisconsin, the Simonds barn is unusual for its 10 sides and off-set silo. Constructed by Orville and Otto Kramer, two brother carpenters from nearby Baraboo, this barn was built for Benjamin Simonds who not only had a small dairy farm but was a schoolteacher. The construction of the Simonds barn parallels a period of intensive dairy farming and concern for progressive improvement in rural life in the history of Sauk County. The property exchanged hands a number of times before being purchased by the Eschenbach family, who operated the dairy farm from the 1940s to the 1970s.

 

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West Bend Theater (West Bend, WI)

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Opening on November 29, 1929, the West Bend Theater was purpose-built as a movie theater and live theater venue with a full stage for live theater and the most current technology of the time for projection and screening of movies. The West Bend Theater was designed in the Art Deco style by the prominent architectural firm Graven & Mayger from Chicago which was a master firm known primarily for large-scale theater design from 1926 to 1929. At 872 seats, the West Bend Theater is small in comparison to most Graven & Mayger theaters, but having such a prominent firm design a theater in this smaller city was an achievement residents could boast about. Currently undergoing restoration, including the original marquee and blade sign, storefronts, ticket booth, lobby and audience chamber, and interior finishes including the historic paint scheme, the theater will re-open for live performance, movies, and community events.

 

 

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Van Brunt Memorial School (Horicon, WI)

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The Van Brunt Memorial School, built in 1922 and expanded with later additions, was designed by the notable Wisconsin firm of Parkinson and Dockendorff as a “combination school” housing primary (kindergarten through junior high) students and secondary (high school) students in separate wings. The Van Brunt Memorial School is significant as the most important educational building in Horicon and represents this rural community’s commitment to secondary-level education. In 1993, the school district proposed to demolish the Van Brunt Memorial School. Instead, local voters chose to fund a remodeling of the building that included interior alterations to the gymnasium and auditorium, the construction of an elevator and stair tower at the rear of the 1922 school to meet accessibility requirements, and the construction of a new gymnasium.

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War Eagle Shipwreck (La Crosse, WI)

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The sidewheel steamboat War Eagle is the only known river sidewheel steamboat shipwreck in Wisconsin waters, providing historians and archaeologists the rare chance to study the construction of vessels commonly used on the upper Mississippi River. The War Eagle shipwreck site has yielded information about vessel construction, the life of people at that time, and the commodities that were being shipped. Before rail lines were constructed west of the Mississippi River, steamboats like the War Eagle were an important link in connecting peoples and goods between the economically and culturally developed eastern markets with the virgin territory west of the Mississippi, defining its place in the larger context of maritime history. This vessel also played an important role the movement of military troops and supplies during the American Civil War. Although the vessel is located in an area of black water (low to no visibility) with strong and potentially dangerous current and cross current conditions, there is potential for future discoveries as technological advancements in remote sensing and robotics continue to flourish.

 

 

 

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Friends of WHS Annual Meeting Held at Delafield

The Friends of the Wisconsin Historical Society (FWHS) held the 2019 annual meeting on June 26th in Delafield, Wisconsin. Part of the FWHS group boarded a bus in Madison for the one-hour trip to Delafield, where other members and friends joined them. Over thirty people enjoyed the day led by FWHS president, Phillip Schauer.

While in Delafield, the group toured the historically amazing exhibit of Abraham Lincoln & The Civil War. The exhibit featured a life-sized portrait of President Lincoln that once hung in the White House and many more paintings of Civil War figures and events. A collection of sculptures of Civil War leaders featured a bust of Lincoln taken from an actual life mask of the President.

Annual Meeting 2019 Lincoln and Old Glory

Other relevant artifacts in the collection include one of the tables used at Appomattox when the CSA surrendered to General Grant, a fragment of the Surrender Flag, and a snippet of President Lincoln’s blood-soaked lapel that he wore when he was assassinated.

Annual Meeting 2019 curator gives details at lincoln exhibit

A key part of the exhibit is the Medal of Honor (on loan from the Gettysburg Museum) awarded to Alonzo Cushing, who was born in Delafield. Cushing was killed during Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg and a painting, Death of Alonzo Cushing, is also on display.

Next door to the Delafield History Center, the FWHS members toured historic Hawks Inn, a marvelously restored stagecoach inn from the Civil War era. Members of the Delafield History Society, dressed in period costumes, led tours of the three floors of the old inn. One of the most interesting parts of the tour was a stop in the kitchen where a lunch was being prepared over an open fireplace hearth.

Annual Meeting 2019 Hawks Inn tour

After the historic tours, the group walked to nearby Revere’s for a delicious lunch. President Schauer then led a short business meeting that featured the election of Riene Wells, Carol Lee Saffioti-Hughes, Linda Noer, Anne Gurnack, Frances Kavenik, Pat Raap, Brad Steinmetz, and Phillip Schauer as the voting roster for the FWHS Board of Directors.

Annual Meeting 2019 Waterville home

After the meeting concluded, those on the bus toured a unique farm homestead near Delafield that featured an 18th-century New England house that had been disassembled and moved to the site in rural Wisconsin.

Many thanks to President Schauer for arranging a truly memorable annual meeting trip for FWHS members!

– Brad Steinmetz

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