Category: History
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.
-
Once Upon Our Peninsula: News from this week’s past, Feb. 1-6
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 Independent, Feb. 1, 1878 Last Monday was a day of considerable stir in this village. Teams from different logging camps were hurrying about town and […]
-
Remembering James Cameron of America’s Black Holocaust Museum
“Southern trees bear a strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.” “Strange Fruit,” written by Abel Meeropol and sung by Billie Holiday It was 16 years ago last month when I met James Cameron, the only known […]
-
Celebrating the Red Arrow: Wisconsin National Guard begins campaign to honor World War I soldiers
“Amid the tears and cheers and farewells of mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers, sweethearts and friends Company F left home this morning bound for Camp Douglas, the state mobilization camp….” So read the front-page story in the Aug. 17, 1917, edition of the Door County Democrat, announcing the departure of the Door and Kewaunee county […]
-
Once Upon Our Peninsula: News from this week’s past, Jan. 25-30
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, Jan. 29, 1875 Dr. E.M. Thorp, the tooth carpenter is hovering over our village with anxiety to get his arms around the neck and his […]
-
Once Upon Our Peninsula: News from this week’s past, Jan. 16-20
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, Jan. 16, 1874 Why don’t some of the enterprising farmers in this county go into the dairy business? It is not the thing to be […]
-
Emma Toft Film, NFL Championship Games, & More Weekend Plans
Fill your winter weekend with a dose of Door County poetry, art, music and environmentalists with our selection of events for the coming weekend. Friday, January 20 Peace of Poetry Celebrate the legacy of Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. with Write On, Door County’s Poetry of Peace/Peace of Poetry reading. Guests are invited […]
-
Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr. – A Moral Beacon of the Civil Rights Movement
Perhaps the most telling personal moment between Martin Luther King, Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King, in the 2014 film Selma comes in a scene where she says she is feeling oppressed by “The constant closeness of death.” During the brief 13 years he served as the moral beacon of the civil rights movement […]
-
Once Upon Our Peninsula: News from this week’s past, Jan. 9-12
Here’s a collection of news items from defunct Door County newspapers from this week in our county’s history. 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, Jan. 9, 1874 Mr. Cochem’s team broke […]
-
“The second biennial session of the Wisconsin legislature opens next Wednesday. The State Journal says that the senate and assembly chambers are rapidly being placed in readiness for occupancy, and they will be in better condition for the comfort of the solons than ever before. Both chambers will be splendidly illuminated during night sessions by […]
-
Obituary: Kristofor ‘Kris’ M. Stichman
Kristofor “Kris” M. Stichman, age 38, of Leopolis, passed away Wednesday evening, November 9, 2016 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident in the Town of Clay Banks, Door County, WI. Kris was born on January 10, 1978 in Clintonville as the son of Chris (Carter) Thoma and the late Mark Stichman. Kris attended Clintonville […]
-
How Baileys Harbor Got Its Name
If pioneer entrepreneur Alanson Sweet had been an egomaniac, Baileys Harbor might be known today as Sweets Harbor. Instead, the place was named for the captain of one of the Milwaukee businessman’s Great Lakes schooners, Capt. Justice Bailey. Fearing for the safety of the two-masted schooner Gazelle during a violent storm in October of 1848, […]
-
A Man Named Robert Noble And His Death-Defying Journey Across Death’s Door
On a cold winter morning at the very end of December in the year 1863, a man named Robert Noble pushed a small wooden boat he had borrowed from an 11-year-old boy into the waters off the shore of Washington Island. Little did he or the boy know that that trip — what was expected […]
-
A Soldier’s Story: Richard Haney Describes His Father’s WWII Service
Had it not been for a series of unfortunate circumstances, his father would never have been drafted during WWII, Dr. Richard Haney told a rapt audience at a recent dinner meeting of the Door County Historical Society. Richard, a retired professor of 20th-century U.S. history, American military history and Wisconsin history at UW-Whitewater, earned his […]
-
Saints, Scientists & Witches: First Annual Mauthe Center Fine Art Show
The Mauthe Center is pleased to present an exhibition of fine art. The fine art show and silent auction will open at the Mauthe Center, Nov. 17, 5 – 8 pm. Wine and cheese will be available. Cost is $25 for adults and $5 for students and children. The museum quality pieces will include a […]
-
Northern Door Once Had 26 Rural Schools
Nyla Wickman Small, a product of a rural school in northern Door County and now a docent at the Door County Historical Museum, presented a program on the history of rural schools in Northern Door at a recent meeting of the Baileys Harbor Historical Society. Small and the other museum docents have also compiled histories […]
-
Jacksonport Conservationist Featured at Historical Society Meeting
Join the Jacksonport Historical Society on Oct. 26 at 7 pm at the Jacksonport Town Hall, Cty. V, for a wonderful presentation, “Frank Butts – A Remembered Jacksonport Resident.” An only child, Butts was born June 25, 1914, to a wealthy Chicago plumbing contractor and his wife Anna. He was a cherished and protected child. […]
-
Fall Fest, Haunted Mansion & More Weekend Plans
Fall Fest weekend is almost upon us! Take in the festival’s fun offerings by staying put in Sister Bay, or branch out and enjoy a variety of autumn activities through the peninsula with hikes, animal programs, a haunted house and artist receptions. Friday, October 14 Fall Fest in Sister Bay It’s the granddaddy of all […]
-
Belgian Heritage Center Unveils New Historic Exhibits
They call it “The Night America Burned.” On Oct. 8, 1871, it seemed few places in the Midwest were left untouched by one of the great infernos of that evening. There was the Great Chicago Fire that burned until Oct. 10, 1871, claiming nearly 300 lives, 17,500 buildings and 2,000 acres of land. There was […]
-
Vintage Market Day at Century Farm is Oct. 8
On Oct. 8, 10 am – 3 pm, Liberty Grove Historical Society will host its final 2016 Vintage Market Day at Century Farm just south of Ellison Bay off Hwy 42. Featured will be Bill Marshall’s antique 1929 Ford pickup truck (known for anchoring Ellison Bay’s annual Spring Parade) all dressed up in fall colors […]
-
Egg Harbor Historical Society Holds Historic Book Sale
The Egg Harbor Historical Society will offer hundreds of books and magazines from the collection of local historian and journalist John Enigl over Pumpkin Patch Festival weekend, Oct. 7 and 8. The items will be offered in a name-your-price sale, with proceeds going to the historical society’s project to restore the Door County Bookmobile as […]