Door County is rich in history, from its most prominent founding citizens to the business leaders who embraced tourism to make it the destination it is today. It’s a history of orchards, farming, and fishermen, but also of potters, artists, and writers. But more than anything, it’s a history told in the lives of the remarkable people who’ve called it home for a spell or a lifetime. Door County Pulse tells them all.
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Maritime Week in Sturgeon Bay Begins Aug. 3
The City of Sturgeon Bay will again honor its rich maritime heritage and the area’s past and present Coast Guard personnel through Sturgeon Bay Maritime Week events. Sturgeon Bay is one of only 20 communities nationwide – and the first and only in the state – to be designated a Coast Guard City. Sturgeon Bay Maritime […]
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Celebrate Schooners July 23 at Kress Pavilion
To join what could be declared Tall Ships Month on the bay of Green Bay, the Egg Harbor Library will host Celebrate Schooners, an evening of schooner history, on July 23, 5 pm, at the Kress Pavilion (kresspavilion.org), 7845 Church St. in Egg Harbor. The Door County Maritime Museum (DCMM) will curate a one-of-a-kind, standalone […]
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News from This Week’s Past: Jail Break, Kewaunee Farmers, Railroad Bridge
All items are from the Door County Library’s newspaper archives, and they appear in the same form as they were first published, including misspellings and grammatical errors. The Expositor July 10, 1874 Jail Delivery. The occupants of the County jail not relishing the idea of waiting until next February for their trial made an unusual […]
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Model A Club in Fish Creek July 16
When the Cherryland A’s Model A Club arrives in Fish Creek’s Noble Square July 16, 2-4 pm, visitors can catch a glimpse of the late 1920s and early 1930s. The 1928 model was available in only four colors, and the cost for a roadster was $385. Stroll the square, view members’ cars and ask questions […]
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‘Shoreline Settlement’ Program
The Egg Harbor Historical Society (EHHS) will present a “Shoreline Settlement” program exploring the 36 shoreline settlements that existed in Door County before the 1900s on July 15, 3 pm, at the Kress Pavilion. This program is a prelude to a special look at Door County that will take place July 29. There will be […]
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The Door County Historical Museum will host a guided tour through its Pioneer Fire Station on July 13, 10 am, when David Siegel will explain the workings of the fire engines in the collection. These include the original hand-pumper fire engine used in Sturgeon Bay, an experimental chemical engine and the earliest motorized apparatus. Siegel […]
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The Door County Historical Society will host its monthly dinner program, “Bizarre History of Wisconsin: Strange Stories from Our Past,” presented by Chad Lewis, on July 22, 6 pm, at the Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor. Filled with tales of odd deaths, ghosts and spirits, sea serpents, peculiar people, medical anomalies, psychic phenomena and UFOs, […]
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Here comes Joe Mardin To mend your wares that are wore. He’ll fix one hole in nothing flat And put in a couple more. Door County newspaper editors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries loved sharing stories of a man by the name of Joe Mardin. He was also known as “Wildcat” Joe […]
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DCHM Celebrates ‘Greatest Generation’ Potiers
The Door County Historical Museum (DCHM) will celebrate Leonard and Ruth Schmelzer Potier on July 6. Leonard was in the Navy, stationed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; Ruth was the first from Door County to volunteer for the WAVES. The Potier family recently donated its military memorabilia to the museum, and many of […]
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Tim Graul: Keeping the World Afloat
Retired boat designer keeps his hand in as a consultant Growing up on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River in the industrial town of Alton, Illinois, Tim Graul had boats on his brain from a young age. “I always liked boats,” he said. “In the margins of my notebooks and school papers, I got […]
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Kress Presents Video Interview with Marion Utter Volkmann
The Egg Harbor Historical Society will present a video interview with Marion Utter Volkmann on July 8, 3 pm, at the Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor. She spent her life in Egg Harbor and grew up on a farm that her father managed for Dr. Schroeder of Marinette, who purchased it from Joseph Sterling, who […]
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News from This Week’s Past: Circus, Cigars, Bicycles and Death
All items are from the Door County Library’s newspaper archives, and they appear in the same form as they were first published, including misspellings and grammatical errors. The Expositor July 3, 1874 That Circus at Green Bay last Monday was attended by about 60 persons from Sturgeon Bay, who carried off and spent out of […]
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All are welcome to the second 2019 installment of the Gibraltar Historical Association’s (GHA, historicnoble.org) free Gibraltar Talks – “The Schreibers” – on July 11, 7 pm, at the Old Gibraltar Town Hall, 4167 Maple St. in Fish Creek. Light refreshments will be served. From the time the Schreiber family arrived in Door County in the […]
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How Liberty Grove Got Its Name
According to the National League of Cities, there are 31 municipalities with the word “liberty” in their names. Among them is the Town of Liberty Grove, which was so named by Zacharias T. Morbeck when it became Door County’s sixth organized town in 1859. Morbeck was instrumental in forming the town after he was defeated […]
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News from This Week’s Past: Fourth of July Celebration, Buggy Wreck, Fatal Death
All items are from the Door County Library’s newspaper archives, and they appear in the same form as they were first published, including misspellings and grammatical errors. The Expositor June 25, 1875 TORNADO MILL BURNED. – The Tornado mill, belonging to Scofield, Leathem & Co., was entirely destroyed by fire last Wednesday. Fire was first […]
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Door County Historical Society Hosts Restoration Roundtable
The Door County Historical Society will host its yesteryear program Restoration Roundtable on June 29, 1 pm, in the Vignes School at the Heritage Village, 2041 Michigan St., at Crossroads at Big Creek, Sturgeon Bay. Dennis Statz and Henry Isaksen will lead an open discussion and Q&A session about the essential aspects of restoring old […]
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Egg Harbor Historical Society Hosts Third Summer Program
The Egg Harbor Historical Society’s third summer program – to be held July 1, 3 pm, at the Kress Pavilion – will focus on the development of the Egg Harbor Township. Although the Town of Egg Harbor was established in 1861, the Village of Egg Harbor didn’t come about until 1964. The program will discuss the development […]
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The Door County Historical Museum sidewalk-stones app has been updated at map.co.door.wi.us/museum. Originally, 18 stations were located. Additional stones were found late last year and this spring, and more details will be added to the tour as they become known. A Civil War veteran and member of the Union veterans’ organization, the Grand Army of […]
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VIDEO: Granary Moves Back to Sturgeon Bay’s West Side
“It’s moving faster than I expected,” a woman said as she angled for a look at the Teweles and Brandeis grain elevator through the windows of Glas Coffeehouse on Monday, June 24. The granary was cruising – as much as a 70-foot-tall structure on wheels can cruise – through the second half of its journey across […]
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The Egg Harbor Historical Society will present its second program of its summer series at 3 pm on Monday, June 24, at the Kress Pavilion. The program will feature 17 of Door County’s earliest “inland settlements.” After seeing where and why 36 shoreline settlements came to be in last Monday’s program, we’ll see where and […]