Lest We Forget: Kewaunee County Remembers Its Veterans

 

 

Events all over the U.S. marked Memorial Day, honoring the service of veterans. And so it was in Kewaunee County.

The year 1898 was different. There was a movement to mark the Golden Anniversary of Wisconsin’s admission to the Union. With that, Kewaunee’s common council appointed a committee to collect funds for the erection of a memorial to be built at Court House Square in honor of those who had served in the “late war.” That war was the Civil War, but by the time the monument was built, the U.S. had been involved in the wars lumped into what we now call the Spanish-American War. Kewaunee asked Algoma to join, and the city did without hesitation. School superintendent Jeremiah Donovan got the county’s children involved in the history and fund raising in what became a county project.

The picture of the old Kewaunee Courthouse dates to about 1900, before its rebuilding but after the monument was in place.The mounument stands at the southeast corner of the building.

Of the funds raised, a portion was directed to a history of Kewaunee County to be written by Milwaukee Journal and The Sentinel staff, one of whom – Mr. Hemming – was doing a history of the Catholic church in Wisconsin.

Former Kewaunee resident the Honorable John Karel served as consul general to St. Petersburg. In a letter to his son Albert, Mr. Karel asked Albert to subscribe to the monument, praising it in the highest terms.

Throughout Wisconsin monuments were being erected and dedicated to the memories and heroes who served. The monument would also teach children patriotism. County residents were urged to patriotically contribute what they could to “preform our duty to the boys in blue.”

A 2019 Harris Survey found that only 55% of Americans could describe Memorial Day, observed on May 27 in 2024, as a day “to honor the fallen in all the nation’s wars.” By 2021, Gallup reported that as few as  28% of Americans knew what the day meant, although in 2019, 45% said they either always or often attended a commemorative event marking the day. Memorial Day is a federal holiday and a “day off” for most Americans, and it is the day off that means more than what the veterans gave.

Since Kewaunee County was created in 1852, its men and women have fought and died serving in the U.S. military. That’s 172 years. There is one buried in the county who served in the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War, and the War with Mexico. There are veterans who served in those wars that were awarded 160 acres through the Bounty Land Act of March 1855. If the veteran served 14 days or fought in one battle, they – or their wives or minor children - were eligible. Some who were awarded such land sold it, never having set foot in Kewaunee County.

The acquisition of the land is in an early veteran’s story. Sometimes there is more to it. In Kewaunee County’s early days, the stories are attached to Major Joseph McCormick. DeWayne Stebbins, Henry Harkins and Ferdinand Haevers stand out during the Civil War. Several men of Kewaunee County served with Milwaukee’s Lt. General Arthur MacArthur during the Civil War and with his son General Douglas MacArthur in the Pacific during World War ll.

When Algoma’s north pier was being built, it was Douglas, the young West Pointer, who  was instrumental in its design. It was the same Douglas MacArthur who would have a connection with Algoma just over 40 years later when the hull of the PT boat evacuating him from Luzon to Mindanao in March 1942 was manufactured with Algoma-made plywood.

But Major Joseph McCormick: He was serving in Wisconsin’s Assembly when he was in his 80s. Buried in the Evergreen Cemetery is the man who counted Daniel Boone and George Rogers Clark as friends. McCormick was credited with heroism in the War of 1812 and is thought to be the only veteran buried in Kewaunee County who served in 1812. It fits that McCormick was born in 1878, the year the Constitution was ratified.

McCormick served with distinction as a Private in Capt. Beggs’ company of the Indiana militia at Tippecanoe, Queenstown, and participated in the blowing up of Fort Erie before resigning from the military in 1816 to go west. He was at Fort Dearborn (now the City of Chicago) when it was threatened by Chief Black Hawk and a band of hostile Sacs and Fox. McCormick served as leader when he and others used their own money, horses, guns, and provisions to go forward. By the end of the War with Mexico, he had risen from the rank of Captain to Major. McCormick served in the Indiana legislature, served on the Texas Constitutional Committee, and more. McCormick arrived in Manitowoc in 1848, and a few years later, made his permanent home in Forestville. He was awarded 160 acres on the Peninsula under the Scrip Warrant Act and purchased another 80.

In McCormick’s eulogy, one D.W. McLeod said McCormick helped form Indiana into the “pillar of Democratic Republicanism it is today.” (1875). McCormick’s grave was unmarked in Algoma’s Evergreen Cemetery until his great-grandson Ray Birdsall found it and, with his sister, placed the marker.

DeWayne Stebbins was educated at Annapolis, and as a Navy man, offered his services at the outbreak of the Civil War. Getting tired of waiting for his commission, Steb, as he was known, enlisted as a Private in Company K, 21^st Wisconsin, a company of Manitowoc and Kewaunee County men.

With his regiment’s arrival at Louisville, Kentucky, he was transferred to the Navy and was commissioned as an officer in Admiral David D. Porter’s Fleet.

Steb was Executive Officer on the Mound City when Porter’s fleet was marooned on the Red River* and escaped capture by the building of a dam which allowed the fleet to float down river to a safer place. Mound City was to be the first to go over the dam, but would it survive? Admiral Porter was on the deck with Executive Officer Stebbins as the vessel negotiated the dam, coming up perfectly. It was said Porter asked Steb what made him so white?

General U.S. Grant came close to death while Porter’s fleet was patrolling the Mississippi River near Vicksburg. It was there where Stebbins changed the course of history, and Ulysses Grant became the 18^th president of the United States years later.

Grant had drawn lines to disrupt rebel communications. Patrol was paramount as canoes and drifting logs were used to disguise floating messages from Confederate Lt. General John C. Pemberton to the armies attempting to assist him. As Stebbins was serving as Officer of the Deck one evening, through the darkness and fog, a lookout saw a small skiff that appeared to be carrying two men. Stebbins hailed them. Without a reply, Steb ordered the deck watch to fire. The gunner stood at the lanyard (rigging), aimed the gun and waited for the signal to blow the skiff out of the water. Just as he was giving the order, a voice in the boat called, “General Grant desires to see Admiral Porter.”

Admiral David D. Porter was a Commander until 1862. For his efforts at Vicksburg, he was promoted to Rear Admiral. He held the Mississippi after Brigadier General John C. Pemberton’s** surrender in July 1863. Ahnapee’s Big Steb was there.

Then there was Captain Henry Harkins, another Ahnapee officer in Porter’s Fleet. The thing about Captain Hank was that he was the romantic of Wolf River. But that’s another story. Captain Hank was another national hero, but not for his ability to “pitch woo.”

Hank was aboard the USS Cumberland when it fell to the Merrimac at Hampton Roads. Harkins entered the Navy as an ensign in 1862. Known to be venturesome and seeming to never fear, he soon distinguished himself and became acting ship’s master. His leadership nearly got him killed in a battle that led to changes in naval architecture the world over.

The 10-gun Confederate screw frigate SS Virginia was impressive as it was taking a toll on Union ships. Protected by three-inch iron sides and guns fore and aft, the Virginia had been the 40-gun U.S. frigate Merrimac which was raised by the rebels after it had been scuttled.

The USS Cumberland was another impressive vessel for the day, even with its wooden hull. When the Cumberland and Merrimac met, the Merrimac prevailed. Henry Harkins was in charge of the Cumberland’s gun crew. The Cumberland never flew a white flag, nor did anyone leave his post. As the ship went down, Harkins swam ashore and escaped capture. He continued to serve as an officer and was master of a ship on the Mississippi.

Another Ahnapee man who changed the course of history was William Henry who entered service in October 1861. At 41, he was “old.” Promoted to sergeant within two months of enlistment, he became a second lieutenant and then captain. By July 1865, he achieved the rank of Major. Bill Henry and his Kewaunee County men served with distinction at Shiloh, Vicksburg, Corinth, and Chattanooga. The entire company – hailed as heros - reenlisted in January 1864 and when they went home on furlough, Henry worked to fill the ranks of the company. In June 1890, Major Henry was posthumously honored when the Sons of Veterans organized Maj. W. I. Henry Camp #85 at Ahnapee.

Henry’s company was green as grass as it was going into its first battle at Shiloh. It was said he was giving strict attention to the battle, loading, aiming, and shooting, retreating and advancing. The Fourteenth Wisconsin made a gallant stand and captured a canon. When several of the regimental and company officers were killed, wounded, or just disappeared not long after the fighting began, the men of Company E and a good part of the regiment began lining up on Bill Henry, the old fisherman from Ahnapee. Without orders, Henry was silently leading the battlefront. Much of the impressive work of the Fourteenth that day is due to the leadership of the grizzled 41-year-old fisherman from Ahnapee.

Ferdinand Haevers was a Belgian immigrant to Kewaunee County. Haevers, an orphan, was said to have been a stowaway on an immigrant ship that landed in New Orleans. Somehow he found his way north to Wisconsin, however went south again with an employer. Haevers was in New Orleans at the outbreak of the Civil War. Whether it was the hoopla and excitement in the city at the outbreak of hostilities, or whether he was coerced, Haevers enlisted in the Louisiana Fourteenth in 1861.

Captured early in the war, Haevers was put in a Yankee prison camp from which he managed to escape. Finding a Kentucky unit, he joined it ,and while he was out foraging, he saw a Union officer ride into a clearing. Shooting entered his mind before he remembered learning that an officer without his horse was as good as dead. So, he shot the horse instead of the man. The gunshot brought soldiers to the officer's assistance. Haevers was captured once again and this time was sent to an Ohio prison camp. The officer was William McKinley, the same William McKinley who became the 25^th president of the United States. Although at that point, Haevers was serving the Confederacy, it was once again that the course of history was changed because of a Kewaunee County soldier.

Haevers' Confederate service did not appear to matter when he returned to the Tonet are of Kewaunee County. He was an office holder, a large landowner and one whose leadership was admired in Red River, Kewaunee County, Brown County, and beyond.

Kewaunee County is small, and is the quiet county along the lakeshore. As the late Algoma newspaper editor Harold Heidmann pointed out, without major news outlets, the small county is often forgotten about in Wisconsin's politics even though its citizens have played on a world stage. Sometimes that gets forgotten too.

Since the days of Joseph McCormick, hundreds and hundreds of men and women from Kewaunee County have served with distinction that is not chronicled in the annals of war. Those who served in the Civil War and the Spanish-American War were remembered by family and friends at the dedication of the monument.

For all vets – whose names are there or not – Memorial Day is a day to honor the known and the unknown. As George Washington said over 200 years ago, “Every post is honorable in which a man can serve his country.” About 100 years later, Minot Judson Savage, a Unitarian minister, researcher, and author said, “The brave never die, though they sleep in dust: Their courage nerves a thousand living men.”

Lest we forget…

Notes: *The Red River rises in the high plains of New Mexico and ends in Louisiana where it empties into the Mississippi. The dam was built because of the rapids in the river.

 ** John C. Pemberton was born in Pennsylvania and was a U.S. Army officer who resigned to join Confederate service in 1861.

Sources: Ahnapee Record, Algoma Record, Algoma Record Herald, An-An-api-sebe: Where is the River? c. 2001 Johnson, Find a Grave, Kewaunee Enterprise; State Patent Volume;  Tell Me Again Stories, undated Heidmann; The Tin Can Sailor, Spring 2004; Wikipedia.

Phased Out of Existence: One-Room Schools

 

Lincoln Graded School, East Rosiere, Kewaunee Co.

B. Chisholm photo

Wisconsin has been a leader in public education since entering the Union in 1848. Provisions for education in the Northwest Ordinance found their way into the laws of  Wisconsin when land in each township was set aside for public schools. 

 As Wisconsin’s counties were created, county school superintendents were among the first officials. County supervising teachers came later. Superintendents oversaw the curriculum as set by the state, and county book committees chose textbooks to be used in all schools. Teachers kept registers listing the names of the children and attendance history. At year’s end, the registers were used to determine aggregate days of attendance, generating reports used to determine state aid. Kewaunee County Historical Society’s school registers predate 1900. Registers also contained teachers' comments about their charges. One Kewaunee County teacher noted that the boy was passed because he couldn't learn anything anyway. Another was passed because he was too big for the desks. There were other such comments over 100 years ago.

Kewaunee County’s schools began opening in the 1850s, just a few years following the county’s creation. There were village schools and the rural schools which had an enormous impact on the county before they passed out of existence nearly 125 years later.

One-room schools operating as late as the 1960s looked much the same as they did 100 years earlier. Schools were generally small with a main room. A hallway or coat/cloak room ran across the front of the room and was serviced by two doors, one at each end of the hallway and originally either the boys' entrance or the girls'. An exterior door opened into the hall, or in some buildings into a small entry hall, with perhaps three or four steps leading to the main coatroom hall. Larger one-room schools often had a small stage or raised platform, originally for the teacher’s desk, and used for programs and meetings. Children either sweltered or froze in the early buildings where the center of the buildings had a wood stove serving as the heat source of heat. Oil burners came later, and eventually furnaces were installed in schools with basements.

State graded schools were two-room buildings arranged much like the one-room schools with the halls and coat room. The state graded schools usually had a third room located behind the main classrooms. It was used for a variety of purposes, and sometimes as a teacher’s winter living quarters. 

Outhouses were a part of the early rural schools although by the 1930s and ‘40s, some buildings had indoor chemical toilets in the basement. Water for drinking, washing hands, and cleaning was carried in from a pump. Running water was long in coming and, often, flush toilets followed. Early teachers were responsible for the heat and cleaning. In later years, teachers were often helped by students as they did the day-to-day upkeep. By World War ll, most schools had a cleaning woman who came once a month to wash floors and take care of other cleaning needs. 

It was the county college, or normal school, system that was a part of the same land grant policies that gave us the University of Wisconsin, UW-Oshkosh, UW-River Falls, Stevens Point and the others once known as normal schools. Door-Kewaunee County Normal School in Algoma never made it to university status, but it did become Door-Kewaunee County Teachers’ College. Though the school closed during the 1970s, it was there that most – to that point - Door and Kewaunee County elementary teachers were trained. In its early years, teacher training was a one-year program. Later, it became a two-year program. Before about 1920, it was possible for students to take a teacher training program during their final year of high school, thus  female teachers often began their career at age 18, frequently having intimidating 16-year-old boys in their schools. Most normal school graduates continued their education working toward a four-year degree by attending summer courses at various colleges, and then continuing to earn Masters of Education and PhDs.

About 20 years ago, this blogger interviewed Clare, a teacher who graduated from D-K Normal School having just turned 18. She felt having gone to a rural school for grades 5 – 8, following her family’s move to Door County, taught her how schools “ran” and thus helped her adjust to teaching. Most one-room schools had over thirty students in the 8 grades with “beginners” coming for 6 weeks in the spring before they started first grade. Teaching all 8 grades was not easy, and there were new teachers who threw up their hands and quit after a brief time.

Teachers needed to keep an eye on the clock. With eight grades, classes were limited to 10-15 minutes at most. If classes ran over, the following class was shortchanged. Efficiency was the name of the game, and teachers had to keep on schedule to get everything in, something those with rural experience felt the graduates of the early 2000s had trouble with while teaching a single grade. 

Grades 3 and 4, grades 5 and 6, and grades 7 and 8 were combined for classes such as social studies. A 3rd grader in a 4th grade social studies class year found it difficult, but the following year the same student, then in 4^th grade, would have an easy time with 3rd grade social studies. Some children were lucky in their rotation and were always on their own grade level. Others never were. There were poems, stories, and picture studies for every month in the school year. They were part of a state curriculum and taught as part of language arts.

Clare’s first teaching job in the 1930s was at Tornado School, which she thought was a nice building. Entry halls for boys and girls were like other schools, but the classroom was huge. Though the school had outhouses, it also had a furnace. It was Clare’s responsibility to bank the furnace with ashes at night and fire up with wood during the day. Water was carried to a 10–15-gallon earthen jug attached to a bubbler. The school had adequate blackboards and was equipped as well as any school for the time, having a jelly roll duplicator* and then a jelly roll duplicator with a crank. Schools often had upright pianos, but Tornado had a baby grand which was all but unheard of.

Schools were not equal. Another one room school in which Clare taught was a beautiful building with a furnace and indoor chemical toilets. The large basement area provided a spacious play area during inclement weather, and the classroom had a stage plus an adjoining room which served as a library. The school, however, lacked what others had. A dipper and pail served drinking water needs. Chalk would not work on black painted walls serving as blackboards. There were no bulletin boards and while there was the room used as a library, the library books were stored in orange crates.

That school had desks with drawers that opened to the right under the seats. Drawers were so small that students found it necessary to stand books on end, thus leaving the drawer partially open. Since the writing surface of the desk was also on the right side, students had to exercise caution while reaching for a book and had to get up carefully. It wasn’t unusual for a desk to tip over, sometimes with a student in it! Frequent tipping brought uproarious laughter and embarrassment to the pupil stuck in the desk on its side on the floor. Getting and keeping a teacher finally prompted that school board to improve and modernize the learning environment.

When Clare taught in a two-room state graded school, she had 25-30 students in grades 1-4. About the same number of students were in grades 5 – 8 in the “upper” room. She felt the school was genuinely nice with its third room in addition to the chemical toilets and a furnace in the basement. The male teacher who taught the upper grades served as principal and was responsible for the care of the furnace. 

Teachers and expectations were as different as the buildings themselves. There were teachers who wanted to be well liked and gave all As and Bs. If there was a new teacher the following year, there were problems with parents who felt their children were not learning with the new teacher who was less generous with high grades.

It was not unusual for teachers to work preparing “seatwork” until 11 or 12 nightly, typing stencils on a standard typewriter to be copied on the jelly roll. Other “seatwork” was made using carbon paper. Workbooks were nearly non-existent and teachers used coloring books to develop seatwork activities for the younger children. It was not unusual for a teacher to spend $10.00 a month on supplies. That came from the $75.00 late 1930's paycheck. 

Eighth graders took exams before they could graduate, requiring Kewaunee County teachers to exchange buildings during exam days so they did not test their own students. In some counties, 8^th graders went to county centers for the tests. 

Traditional school days were divided into four blocks separated by recess and lunch. Reading was taught early in the day, followed by math after recess. Language arts followed lunch and social studies or natural  science came at the end of the day. Little science was taught and there were no science books before World War ll. Students put together butterfly and bird nest collections or made leaf or tree bark booklets. They recorded interpretations from such experiments as the action of a milk bottle cap when a glass milk bottle was filled with water and allowed to freeze overnight. Fuzzy caterpillars were always interesting and cocoons brought in during the fall provided excitement when they hatched into moths in spring. 

By the 1940s, most schools had radios, and Wisconsin Public Radio offered a host of programs. Curriculum was enriched when students listened to Science School of the Air, Wisconsin School of the Arts, Professor Gorden and the music programs, Mrs. Fanny Steves and more. Weekly Reader, a children’s newspaper, was an important part of all schools for years, however there were schools that were not able to afford the subscriptions.

Television in rural schools was almost unheard of even as rural schools were being phased out, but, on occasion, television was used for educational purposes. In one instance, a farm family near school in the Town of Ahnapee owned a television and the family invited the children to watch Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration, the first presidential inauguration ever to be carried. The children brought their lunch buckets and watched the festivities until 3:30. As a follow-up at school, each child drew a part of the inaugural parade on 12" x 18" paper which was attached to the other drawings to form a roller movie that took first place at the county fair. 

Kewaunee County fair offered children exhibit space for their finest artwork, poetry, booklets, and collections. A collection of 35 bird nests, including the nest of a chimney swift that was found when the oil furnace was blocked, was one of the more notable collections in the 1950s. By then, it was not unusual for a one room school to win $30 or $35 in fair prize money. The prize money enabled teachers to purchase supplies for the school.

Children in state graded schools had opportunities those in one room schools did not. On Friday afternoons during the 1930s, the first four grades were dismissed early to give upper grade students additional classes. Clare was one who taught home ec to  the older girls. Using the kerosene stove in the third room, she taught such things as pickle making and baking. One lesson was taught each week. When the home ec cooking period ended, the girls made a dinner for the older boys. Skills learned in cooking and baking, setting a table, serving food, folding and placing napkins, and more were put to use preparing for the dinner. While the girls had home ec, the male teacher - who served as principal - taught the boys manual training in the basement. Looking back, home ec and manual training classes in the rural schools seems strange as rural kids had family chores and responsibilities as soon as they could manage them.

Religion in public schools was not an issue 70 or 80 years ago. One school in which Clare taught was in a Catholic community. All students were Catholic and on November 1, a Catholic holy day, the entire school population walked to a nearby church to attend mass. In other schools, it was customary to offer a meal prayer before the noon lunch.

Teachers taught music in addition to academics. Until at least 1940, the state required each county to enter a state music festival. In one Belgian community school, the children researched Belgian clothing, music, and dance to plan their program. Wearing traditional Belgian clothing and carrying Belgian flags, the students performed the songs and dances for the county. Winning first place, they went to Wisconsin Teachers’ Convention where they performed and stayed overnight. The trip was long as the roads were still gravel. The male teacher and a parent both provided transportation. In the late 1930s. female drivers were still not thought to be capable of driving.

7th & 8th Graders, Roosevelt School, Misiere, Door Co., WI

who demonstrated Belgian folk dances at the 1939 Wisconsin State Fair 

Prior to the end of World War ll, rural children walked or were often transported to school by horse and sleigh during the winter. School was rarely closed for harsh weather even though town roads were not often plowed. Until the 1940s, many  teachers boarded at homes near school during the winter and sometimes for the entire year. At a time when teachers were paid $75.00 per month, board was $20 per month from Monday night to Friday’s noon lunch. If the school had an additional room, teachers would often board themselves there. Those who boarded with families lived as far as a mile from school. Clare got her first snowsuit when she boarded with a family who lived ¾ mile from school. The $15, all-wool, two-piece snowsuit had a cap that extended over the shoulders to enclose all but the face. It kept her warm during the long, cold walk.

The dedication of teachers is apparent in one of Clare’s experiences. As she left school for her family’s home in her Model A Ford on Friday afternoon, snow was just beginning. Everyone spent the weekend snowed in and by Monday morning, town roads were still not plowed. As she drove to school, Clare's lightweight Model A rode the crust of the snow and she had no problem getting through. Hearing the put-put of the engine, those who looked out their windows were amazed to see the teacher driving to school. 

Although rural school children lacked the experiences of today’s children, they were usually polite and most were accustomed to demanding work. While students did not have a gym, they did have a great deal of physical exercise working at their chores and walking to school. Baseball was the most popular playground game during most of the year though they also played dodge ball, Red Rover, and tag.

Christmas programs were anticipated community events and each school was filled as the children offered recitations, readings, singing, dances, plays and even baton twirling by the 1950s. To the delight of one audience, an Algoma barbershop quartet was part of the show. Santa Claus was there to pass out bags filled with peanuts, a popcorn ball, and candy. In  most schools the children had a gift exchange although it was difficult to keep secret the name drawn when some families had 5 or 6 children in school.

The school picnic was another eagerly awaited event for children and parents alike. Although the meal was potluck, the teachers usually supplied ice cream and lemonade out of their small salary. They also provided the prizes for games which included all kinds of races, including the 3-legged race and burlap bag races. Of course, there were always baseball games. There were school boards that even expected the teachers to buy them a case of beer when he or she was hired.

Not all students spoke English and some were bi-lingual. Families often included grandparents who spoke little or no English so other family members accommodated them by speaking in their native language, usually Belgian. Clare told the story of a little boy learning to read and speak English. When he read sentences such as “See Spot. See Spot run. Run, run, Spot,” he would say Spot but use the Belgian words for “see” and “run.” The boy did not learn enough English to pass the grade, however he was fortunate in having a bi-lingual teacher who could teach him English the following year.

The normal school day was usually from 9:00 to 4:00 with an hour for noon. In later years, when schools had 30-minute lunch periods, school was dismissed at 3:30. To have started the day before 9 would have been too early in a rural community, especially in winter. There were chores to be done. 

Married women did not teach before World War ll, however the newly wed Clare took a position so a school could open. A state graded school had a teacher for the upper grades, but not the lower. On Labor Day, when it looked as if the school would stay closed, the board was happy to award the job to a married woman.

Teachers continued to be in short supply during the 1940s and early 1950s. Clare taught for the next 30 years after going back to “help out” a second time. Eleven years after receiving $85.00 per month, she was paid $175.00. Three years later, she was making $225.00. While her 1937 salary was $75.00, she took a $5.00 cut in taking a job at a state graded school following that. Her salary was raised $10 for the second year. Clare felt fortunate to receive $85.00 a month in another school, but it was only that it was Labor Day and the school was in a demanding situation without a teacher. 

Education, and schools themselves, have certainly changed. Although one-room schools have disappeared from Wisconsin’s landscape, they were an important part of rural life and even identity. Students educated in one-room schools have gone on to make their mark in all walks of life. Hearing older adults desiring a return to an emphasis on the Three R’s, we think nostalgically of the one room schools in a day that was.

Sources: The interviewof along-time teacher.

Photos: Gelatin duplicator was fround on Heyer Co. website; photos were in the collection of the interviewed teacher.

 

Algoma, Wisconsin: Built on a River Delta

 

As early records tell us, Algoma’s present-day history begins in the mid-1830s when Major Joseph McCormick and several men from Manitowoc ventured north to today’s Algoma to observe lands they heard about from the Pottawatomie who populated the area along the western shore of Lake Michigan. Upon reaching the (now) Ahnapee River, the McCormick party turned into it and sailed upriver to what is now Forestville.

Impressed with the area, McCormick envisioned a city built on the hill on the north bank of the river. The Pottawatomie living near the mouth of the river maintained their small village on that while two of their burying grounds were in the area of today’s St. Agnes-By-the-Lake church and in hill at the south

entry to the City of Algoma. The area once known as the Campsite, now Crescent Beach, (left) was a stopping off place, a place of celebration, and a place of rest for the Pottawatomie paddling back and forth to their major planting grounds at Black Earth, near Mishicot.

Algoma’s first permanent settlers – those of European extraction – came in 1851. John Hughes settled on the northside hill near the mouth of the river. Orin Warner built his home near today’s China Moon on North Water Street. Edward Tweedale was the only one of the three to live near the south side of the river, living for a short time in the approximate area of 4^th and Navario. Within a couple of years, he relocated to just above what is now the Lake Street hill. George Schatleben, Jackson VanVranken, and Mathias Simon were among the 1850s newcomers who settled on the north side.

The Catholic Mr. Simon donated a piece of his northside land for a Catholic church and cemetery, also donating land for a church and cemetery to his Lutheran countryman. The Lutheran Church was relocated to 4^th and State, however the cemetery remains in the original location on Wolf River Road.

Why was the present downtown Algoma not an early favorite?

The Abandoned Shore Lines of Eastern Wisconsin, c. 1907, indicates most of the city of Algoma is built on a broad terrace-like deposit of gravel and stratified sands, about 20’ above the lake. It resembles an old delta of the Ahnapee River in a re-entrant of the lake during the 17-foot stage. The steep bluffs that enclose this sand flat north and south of the town are suggestive of both higher and lower terraces.

During the research period in the early 1900s, the railroad depot was at the foot of Steele Street and from there, one could look north along the clay bluff to a low headland less than a mile away to see a small 18’ terrance that formed a “clean cut notch” in the profile. That notch was another valuable scrap of extinct lake records that were almost destroyed by the receding shore line.  The area totaled less than 400 yards, however it did offer a view of the closely packed gravels (left) and especially of an old headland of the 17’ stage which the terrace encircles. The researchers felt the piece of old shore topography would be completely destroyed by the waves within a few years of their work. The photo below shows the view north along the old clay bluffs of the Nipissing shore line.

As the book points out that an ancient creek flowed south from the main branch of the Ahnapee at approximately 6^th Street to the approximate area that is now Division Street, then meandering east at the base of the Lake Street hill. David Price was known to be in Wolf River as early as January 1854 and possibly before. He lived on the south side of the river on what was then called Price’s Creek, a small stream south from the river and a little further west than the ancient stream bed, or so it seems.

Price’s Creek became Chapek’s Creek and has been a drainage challenge for much of the city’s history. As early as June 1887, Fremont Street was being graded at Chapek’s Creek, an area of on-going issue. The creek bed was cleaned out, there were storm sewers, and in 1960, its width was increased from 4 to 8’. Residents claimed a downpour, especially in the Fremont area, quickly turned the creek into a lake. It was thought the storm sewers draining into the creek caused the problems whereas in the “old” days, rain seeped into the ground and found its way to the creek. Mill and Buchanan Streets were on higher ground than downtown Algoma, and in the days of the ancient river in the Division Street area, lands to the west drained into that area. In a 2003 interview, the late Frances Serovy Goetz, whose family home was near the intersection of (today’s) Jefferson and Division, said as late as 1940 the lower Division Street was sometimes mucky and sported cat tails, which survive in wetlands and marshes. A gravel pit in the same area served as a dump even into the 1920s.

The 1880 Birdseye map of the City of Ahnapee (above) illustrates the hills on the north side of the Ahnapee River, the hills to the west and to the south of the city. The swamp from 5^th to Mill and from a bit north of Fremont to South Water, now Navarino, is evident. Division Street did not exist farther north than Fremont in 1880. Hundreds of years ago, drainage from the hills on the west of Division Street likely found its way to the lake via the river that faded into history.

In the first 65 or so years of the city’s history, there were multiple brickyards from today’s St. Paul School playground (Storm’s brickyard) and into the hill. It was the treacherous hill and other topography issues further south that brought the road from Kewaunee into Algoma via what is now Longfellow Road to County K, to Evergreen Road, and finally to Fremont Street. 

The painting at left comes from a postcard illustrating a different old creek bed within today's south city limits. By the time of the photo, the lakeshore road was being improved to a point where a bridge was built. The hill between the the bridge and Lake Michigan is evident. There were other such creek beds north and south of Algoma. Roads have been improved to an extent where only small culverts are visible today.

Much of today’s downtown Algoma - east of 4^th and south of Steele - was full of knolls, stumps, clumps of cedars, fallen logs and briars in the early days of the settlement. Historian George Wing who lived at approximately the northwest corner of 4^th and Clark said it took “a lot of nerve” to venture across that area to the lake shore.

The swampy area from 5^th to Division, between Steele and Clark, (now Perry Field) was once known as Eveland swamp, Blocks 11 and 12 of the Eveland Plat of the City of Algoma. Filled in as it is, one can still see the downward slope from 4^th and then the incline west from Division toward Mill Street. Crossing the swamp was never easy and was tragic for early resident Dave Youngs’ whose yoke of stags was dragging a load of timber through the mud and mire of the swamp when the animals were killed by a falling tree. As early as September 1876, the Record called attention to the fire raging for days in Eveland swamp and advised residents to keep an eye on it.

May 1879 found citizens petitioning for a sidewalk along Steele from 5^th to Division because of the difficulty in crossing the swamp. A year later, the paper called attention to the sloping sidewalk crossing the swamp. It was slanting to such an extent that slipping into the mud was possible, and walking through it in the dark was something to be feared.*

During spring 1887, the Record came up with a way to make money while helping the community at the same time. Editor DeWayne Stebbins felt Eveland swamp consisted of acreage that could be reclaimed for little money and made to be a valuable property. Twelve years before that, Editor William Seymour said the timber had been cut off, but nothing was done since. He thought if the land could be drained to be bone dry, it would be in demand for building. Until then, planting in hay would bring in enough money to ditch the swamp. The paper saw the plan as an opportunity for investment and income.

Clam shells were capturing huge interest in May 1890 when Ahnapee Record reported that creeks in the area were running so dry that one could cross in mid-stream and not get wet feet, at least in the trickle called the Ahnapee River. The paper also said a week previous a resident was picking up clam shells in the riverbed and came upon a rich find. Breaking open the shells, the fellow found bright objects about the size of green peas which he supposed to be pearls. Plans were to have the objects analyzed. If anything came of it, it does not appear to have made the Record. A late May 1891 Enterprise commented on the young folks looking for pearls in the clam shells. At the time of the article, Editor A.C. Voshardt said that about 5,000 clams “lost their lives” while only about 5 real pearls were found. Voshardt didn't see pearl harvest as a money making endeavor, however, in 1902, the Enterprise carried a reprint from the Fond du Lac Commonwealth which told readership that Wisconsin fisherman made at least $81,000 from clam shells in 1901. 

Eveland swamp was being cleaned up in May 1892 while residents were using it to pasture cows. In a 2003 interview, the late Millie Kirchman Rabas remembered taking her grandparents’ cow from its stable at the Kirchman Hotel (on the northeast corner of 4^th and Clark) to the swamp for daytime pasturing. Finally, in October 1924, the city outlawed garbage from being thrown into the swampy area and began to clean, till, and fill in the swamp, by then Perry Field. Today - 100 years later – Perry Field is a playground and a sports field donated by Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Perry in honor of their son who was killed in action in World War 1. For the first half of its life, it served as Algoma High School’s athletic field.

When the U.S. government constructed the south pier in 1911, the utility decided to drill a new well, which was the first artesian well on the peninsula. The well was 1334’ deep and drilled into St. Peter sandstone. Something new. Wikipedia says St. Peter sandstone is found chiefly in parts of Minnesota, Iowa, and in most of Wisconsin. It further says it “originated as a sheet of sand in clear, shallow water near the shore of a Paleozoic sea and consisted of fine-to-medium, well-rounded quartz.”

The city had more than a swamp to deal with in 1912. There was a cave-in when Algoma’s city well was being drilled in late May. The Record said a depth of 1,030’ had been reached and it was thought that another 400-500’ needed to be drilled to reach a good flow of water. Water struck at 465’ was enough for ordinary purposes but inadequate for meeting the needs of the industries at the same time. The first 465’ was drilled through Niagara limestone. At 485’ and for the next 500’ there was Cincinnati shale. Then came Trenton limestone which was drilled for about 40’ before the Cincinnati shale caved in. About 300’ of casing was put into the hole before the drilling could go forward.

What the city learned during the cave-in is what was somewhat outlined years earlier in an April 1878 paper which pointed out the bedrock under Kewaunee County, saying it was Niagara limestone except for a narrow strip of Cincinnati shale in Red River along the bay of Green Bay. However, that was not the only shale in the county.

The paper also said the county averaged from 60’ to 209’ above Oceanic Michigan with the highest elevation in Section 36 of the Town of Red River, which appears to be incorrect. https://www.anyplaceamerica.com/ reports that it is Cherneyville hill, 1014’, in the Town of Montpelier, which is followed by Dhuey hill, 912’, in the Town of Lincoln. The article explained that during the glacial period, immense bodies of ice came from the north to modify and re-arrange the face of nature. The article mentions the chalybeate* springs characterized by iron compounds, derived from iron pyrite decomposition. It went on to say that such springs are moderate in flow, have a little sulphur and a lot of iron although the water’s taste is pleasant.

Algoma Record Herald in July 1966 told readers that Kewaunee County’s major rivers were the Ahnapee, the Kewaunee and the East Twin, all draining the county and flowing toward Lake Michigan although the flows were not entirely within the confines of the county. Rising in Door County near Brussels, the Ahnapee drains the northeast part of Kewaunee County, while the Kewaunee drains the central area, and the East Twin drains the southern part of the county. Red River is part of the drainage system though is a tributary of the bay of Green Bay. Red River flows intermittently.

The 1966 paper continued saying the “most recent Valders ice invasion” partly determines the course of the Kewaunee River while the Ahnapee River Valley once provided an outlet for Glacial Lake Oshkosh which was a large body of water to the south of the retreating ice in the Green Bay-Fox River lowland. South of Dyckesville, Glacial Lake Oshkosh drained east into the Kewaunee River. As it melted, it opened a new channel northwest of Maplewood thus leading to the Ahnapee River Valley.

Most of the Ahnapee River valley in Kewaunee County and the lower stretches of the Kewaunee River are considered drowned valleys, estuaries formed when rising sea levels flood existing river valleys. As the lake level rose to a more recent stage, the estuaries formed are now the marshy alluvial floodplains of the streams.

As did the rest of today’s Kewaunee County, the topography of downtown Algoma has changed drastically since Joseph McCormick’s party observed the area 190 years ago. Technology is ever-changing, enabling NOAA, the US Geological Service, Wisconsin DNR, and others to look back at hundreds of thousands of years of geology. George Wing’s research in the late 1800s, years of articles in the Ahnapee Record and Algoma Record Herald and the observations of citizens beginning with McCormick and those who came later such as E. Storm, M. Dier, F. Stoller, H. Nell, Mrs. Rabas and Mrs. Goetz offer a fascinating story. A host of websites offer current information that can only be called riveting for those living in the area.

Note: *Ahnepee changed its name to Ahnapee in 1873 when it became a village. Ahnapee became a city in 1879. In 1897, the place was renamed to the City of Algoma.

*Chalybeate springs are natural mineral springs containing iron salts.

*Division was not a street in 1880. Mill St., where there were commercial establishments and residences, is the first street shown beyond the swamp.

Sources: Ahnapee Record, Algoma Record, Algoma Record Herald, Kewaunee Enterprise; The Abandoned Shore Lines of Eastern Wisconsin, Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, Bulletin No. XVII, Scientific Series No, 5, James W. Goldthwaite; Wikipedia; 

https://www.anyplaceamerica.com/directory/wi/kewaunee-county-55061/summits/

https://www.co.door.wi.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1073/Analysis-and-Management-Plan-for-the-Upper-Ahnapee-River-Watershed

https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Watersheds/basins/lakeshore

https://ngmdb.usgs,gov (National Geologic Map Database).

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov.education.est04_geolog

Graphics: Postcards and the painting are from the blogger's collection.

Kewaunee County: Buried Forests & Shell Marl

Kewaunee county’s present-day history begins in the mid-1830s when Major Joseph McCormick and several men from Manitowoc ventured north to today’s Algoma to observe the lands they heard about from the Pottawatomie who populated the area along the western shore of Lake Michigan. Upon reaching the now Ahnapee River, the McCormick party turned into it and sailed upriver to what is now Forestville. At roughly the same time,  Montgomery and Patterson of Chicago were struggling to maintain their new sawmill on the Kewaunee River while Government Surveyor Sylvester Sibley, Guerdon S. Hubbard and James Armstrong were trying to establish a sawmill at Red River. It was 1851 before there was a permanent settlement in the county.

Millions of years preceded the county’s printed history. The much earlier history is written in the rocks and soil, and below those same rocks and soils. With ever-increasing advances in technology, it is a story that continues to be written.

Early county historian George Wing – the 16-year-old co-founder of Ahnapee Record – was interested in all things bygone. Wing was learned. He wrote his memoirs and, for a time, wrote/edited The Owl, the Wing family chronicles/genealogy going back to their roots in England. Many of those volumes can be found in the Menominee, Michigan, history center. Further information can be obtained through Menominee Public Library.

On January 12, 1912, Algoma Record reported that The Bureau of American Ethnology at the Smithsonian asked Mr. Wing to do a paper on aboriginal remains. Wing did, and his paper was published. Within Wing’s writings, there was much on geology.

The Record tells us Wing wrote that the peninsula was “almost a new land that emerged from Lake Michigan,” however not more than 2,000 years earlier. He said that when Christ walked the earth, the peninsula was still under the water of a great lake, “basing this hypothesis upon the gradually receding water of Lake Michigan and upon the beach sand and water-torn pebbles found at points now miles distant from the shores of the lake.“ He continued: “By computing the annual withdrawal of the lake in inches and the height of the terrain of adjacent lands, calculations indicate the peninsula is a new land.” It was said among the most convincing evidence of this came from deep within the earth. Found in a depth of 30’ to 80’ ridges on both side of the Kewaunee River for 5-12 miles above the mouth was a buried forest indicating that in the glacial period a mountain of ice, snow, rocks, and muds, came from the north to bury the first terrain of forests.

In the summer of 1874, one Professor Chamberlain of Beloit College was surveying in Kewaunee County. The Enterprise told readers he was a professor of geology, chemisty and zoology and described him as informed and courteous.

Chamberlain said his examinations revealed something not known earlier, saying the “Potash Kettle” region which went north and south through southern and central Wisconsin extended as far as Kewaunee County and ran through the hills of the Town of Casco* He said he geological formation of Kewaunee County was not much different than other lake shore counties and that the lake counties had the ability to make the finest lime in the world.

Chamberlain found two outcroppings of such lime, one at Footbridge and the other at Wilmott’s. He talked about the shell marl island in Little Lake in Pierce and said it was the largest and purest deposit that he’d found. He didn’t see it as being great for plaster but did see it as fertilizer.

1876 Kewaunee County Plat Map: Towns of Kewaunee showing the location of Cory hill, the Wilmott property, and the Town of Casco showing the location of J. Wilmott’s property. The top quarter of the map is Pierce. A map showing Little Lake is below.

Chamberlain said the geological nature of the area precluded hopes of finding enough valuable ores for a payback. He divided the county into classes of red clay, heavy marly clay and a little sandy soil, claiming soil wears out in other areas but with the rich, fertile, heavy marly clay subsoil, Kewaunee County soils had high agriculture capabilities.

The Enterprise told readers that Wisconsin law demanded the results of the geological surveys were to be presented to the governor by January 1 each year.

There was research again in 1878 that indicated the county was at one time submerged by Lake Michigan. The article made an exception to “two small islands, the outlines of which could (then) be traced by beds of pebbles in the towns of Montpelier and Casco.” That validates Wing's comments about the pebbles found miles inland.

In 1878, it was said Lake Michigan was “steadily advancing at the snail’s pace of one foot a year.”  The article went on to say that the county’s most distinguishing feature was that the northern terminus of “the famous potash-kettle range” was in the town of Casco.

Explaining the range, the paper described it as mounds of drift going through Kewaunee, Manitowoc, and Sheboygan counties to near the state line, then going west and north to the head waters of the Wisconsin River, thus governing the drainage of Wisconsin.

Wing said a well-defined beach extended across the peninsula near the valley of the Kewaunee River indicating that at one time all the land north of that valley was either submerged or formed islands, the center of the Town of Red River being the most prominent.

Wing described a buried forest, 30’ below ground, at Casco Junction from which he had a piece of tamarack found in the clay above the primeval forest. When the railroad company was digging a well about 50’ west of the depot, they struck some substance with such a nauseating smell that workmen were forced to suspend their work and move their sleeping car. An investigation revealed the smell came from the decayed tree trunks buried in sold clay. Railroad superintendent Frank Seymour had the excavation filled in.

Kewaunee County Plat Map, Town of Luxemburg, 1912: Casco Junction is in Section 24. Scarboro is in Section 25 is at left..

Two feet beneath the surface at the Nast Lime kilns (now Bruemmer Park) in West Kewaunee were the complete remains of a snake in solid lime, although Wing felt the snake was not evidence of antiquity because animal and vegetable matter petrify fairly fast.

Wing discussed Carlton where there was lowland covered with vegetable matter from which a farmer cut blocks with a spade. Then the squares became as hard as stone when they were exposed to the air. The squares became a barn foundation. A piece of a block showing beech nuts, acorns, and other forest refuse was in Wing’s possession.

A May 1878 Ahnapee Record published an article describing Professor Chamberlain’s geological report of the fine shell marl deposit in Sections 17-20 in the Town of Pierce.* The marl was found around the edges of a small lake with a shoal. Drainage that Chamberlain called ”recent” caused the shoal to become an island. Record editor Capt. DeWayne Stebbins* said there was extensive marl of the same kind at Ahnapee. Stebbins described it as mixed with peat and alluvium in places while other places saw pure shell debris. Chamberlain noted there were places in Door and Shawano Counties with such deposits, usually associated with peat, although in lesser quantities.

Kewaunee County Plat Map, Sections 16-20, Town of Pierce, 1876: Little Lake/Detloff Lake.

Stebbins said the debris was soft, light, porous and pulverulent (powdery or crumbly) on the surface although underwater it was soft, somewhat granular and a clay like mass made up of carbonate of lime with lesser carbonate of magnesia, silica and organic matter, making it valuable for fertilizer in areas lacking lime. The same information was part of an article a month earlier that called the “small lake” referenced by Stebbins as Detloff Lake.

In late December 1959, more of Wing’s work was reprinted though significantly edited for length. That article again said northern Wisconsin was practically a new land. It and other articles described the buried forests.

Joseph Pavlat was the first county resident to find evidence of a buried forests. Pavlat was a Bohemian settler who lived just above the Cory hill in the Town of West Kewaunee. He bought his forested land, cleared it, built a house, and began to dig a well. At 60’ down, he found a bed of hard blue clay and came to a tree trunk about 10” in diameter. He sawed through it and took a piece to Kewaunee. A few years later, Charles Kinstetter was also digging a well when he found buried tree trunks in solid clay at a depth of 70-80’. Kinstetter lived across the river less than a mile of Mr. Pavlat. It was within a dozen years that the well-digging issue at Casco Junction occurred.

Location of Pavlat and Kinstetter properties where buried trees were found.

Wing felt that since similar wood deposits found at depths varied from 30’ to 120’ at Columbus, Ohio, and Bloomington, Illinois, archeologists placed the drift period at 30,000 years earlier, thus indicating the trees unearthed by Pavlat, Kinstetter, and Seymour were the same age.  

There were other geological finds in the county.

The Enterprise of July 7, 1891, informed the public about the important and valuable  bed of shell marl at Detloff Lake near Alaska. It said the real practicality of the discovery was only learned a few days earlier when Albert E. Cline arrived from NY where he represented two Syracuse cement companies. Cline initially let it be known he was in the county for the fishing, however he engaged Civil Engineer Rooney of Kewaunee. Cline was  busy examining the substance, specimens of which were sent to the companies. The specimens were said to be the finest marl in existence, and Cline was authorized to buy the Detloff Lake property. He took options from John Buettner, Albert Teske, August Detloff and J. Kopetsky. The paper went on to say the price for all was about $6,000. A day later other speculators showed up. But it was too late. One of the companies represented by Cline employed about 1,700 men and the word was that its plant was going to be relocated to either Alaska or Kewaunee. It was felt a pure quality of clay could be found in Kewaunee, and, if so, the factory would be moved there. Marl would come from the Detloff Lake area via a railroad the company would build.

                                    

Kewaunee County Plat Map, Town of Pierce, 1895: The map shows Sections 17-20, property owners 4 years after the options were taken, and Little Lake/Detloff Lake. The options list Kopetsky while the map shows Kopecky.  

The Enterprise discussed the analysis and described an article in Geology of Wisconsin saying the marl deposit was in Sections 17, 18, 19, and 20 in the Town of Pierce and around a small lake, and upon a shoal within it. The shoal had been recently drained to become an island. In some places the shell marl was mixed with peat and with alluvium in others, but the shell debris was said to be almost perfect on the island. It was described as soft, light, porous, and pulverulent on the surface. Material brought up from below the water level was soft, a bit granular and clay-like mass. A pole sunk 9’ down indicated the material did not change. The analysis was published in the paper. What happened with the project?

Again in early 1903, a Mr. Lunack from a Chicago cement company was in Alaska investigating the extensive marl bed that was in one of the lakes. Lunack was trying to secure purchase options. The Record reported that if  the marl was “right” and if Lunack could purchase the property, Alaska could incorporate as a village. That investigation appeared to fizzle as the earlier one did.

On November 14, 1946, Kewaunee Enterprise told readership about the state officials investigating the Lake Michigan shore from Point Beach State Forest north toward Two Creeks. The Manitowoc County Town of Two Creeks borders the Town of Carlton in Kewaunee County.

The investigators ran into an interglacial forest bed that was once a flourishing spruce forest,* a significant find in the U.S. Twenty-five thousand years earlier an exposed bank was washed by lake waves during a period of high water. Geologists explained that the ice sheet came from the northeast and that logs showed violent twisting and the bend of live trees before they fell. The ice carried millions of smooth, round boulders, hills of logs, dirt, gravel, and glacial debris. Thousands of years later, the ice receded leaving behind what it carried. Then came another ice avalanche with a red tinge. It was thought that ice ran over iron ore areas thus picking up the red color. The red till provided an excellent protective covering for the Two Creeks forest bed. The ancient spruce trees found by the geologists were much like those found in Wisconsin in the 1940s. Geologists L.R. Wilson’s report was published by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters.

While Professor Chamberlain expected to find ores, one May 2, 1878, the Ahnapee Record reported the copper found by Frederik Busch on his Town of Ahnapee farm. Busch had found small lumps of copper over the years. That was not unusual in the area of Wisconsin, and it was felt it was dropped during the glacial period centuries ago. When Busch found a lump weighing 75 pounds, the paper said it was pure metal for which he was paid $21.25. The CPI Inflation Calculator indicates the 75 pound find would be worth a little over $602 in 2024 dollars.

Current geological research and papers can be found by Googling. Reading about the Two Creeks buried forest on the National Parks’ site and Wisconsin DNR is certain to prompt a trip.

---------------------------------------------

Notes: Record editor DeWayne Stebbins was referred to as Captain denoting his rank while serving in the Navy during the Civil War.

*Black spruce according to WPR, January 31, 2924

Larry Meilor’s WPR program on January 31, 2024, dealt with the relationship between the late ice age and wetlands. Meilor’s guests discussed the Two Creeks’ buried forest and noted the trees were black spruce. His guests brought up a three-day wetland conference to be held in Green Bay beginning on February 20, 2024.

More info - Event website: https://conference.wisconsinwetlands.org/

Contact: Ginny Carlton, Conference & Workshop Coordinator

Email: conference@wisconsinwetlands.org

Sources: An-An-api-sebe: Where is the River?: Ahnapee Record, Algoma Record, Algoma Record Herald; Door County Advocate; Kewaunee Enterprise; Kewaunee County Plat Maps. CPI Inflation Calculator https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1875?amount=21

Ahnapee Record, 6/26/1973