April 6, 2017, will mark the 100th anniversary of the United States of America officially entering World War I. The US was hardly prepared to fight a war in 1917. When war was declared, there were only 208,000 men in its standing army--80,000 of them were part of the national guard. Additionally, weapons and munitions were in short… Continue reading Winnebago County’s Gold Stars of WWI
Tag: Winnebago County
Winnebago County Courthouses-Part 2
In a previous post I wrote about the establishment of Winnebago County, Wisconsin, and the construction of the county's first courthouse. That first courthouse was a simple, two-story structure constructed in 1849. That building was outgrown shortly after completion, and county officials began discussing a plan to build a new facility. According to one account, court was no longer… Continue reading Winnebago County Courthouses-Part 2
Winnebago County Courthouse Preservation: Part I
I've been keeping myself busy these past few months with all sorts of historical projects and am finally getting a chance to blog again. I would say a lot of people out there go to work, put in their time, and punch out at the end of the day. Lately, my line of work has… Continue reading Winnebago County Courthouse Preservation: Part I
Winnebago County’s Struggle to Save a Courthouse
At the end of my previous post about the construction of the first Winnebago County courthouse, I briefly mentioned the attempt to save the structure. This venture never worked out, and the original building that stood for 100 years was dismantled. I thought it was important to tell a bit of the story of how… Continue reading Winnebago County’s Struggle to Save a Courthouse
Winnebago County Courthouses- Part 1
As part of my job, I have been assigned to sort and organize our collection of blueprints for all of the county buildings. My first collection of prints is of the county courthouse constructed in 1937-38. It had me wondering about previous courthouses built in Oshkosh. I did some research at the Oshkosh Public Library and Oshkosh… Continue reading Winnebago County Courthouses- Part 1
My New Position with the Winnebago County Historical & Archaeological Society
This past week I was voted on the board of the Winnebago County Historical and Archaeological Society, and I am really excited to get involved with our local historical organization. The society is headquartered in the old Morgan house in Oshkosh, WI. The organization prides itself on restoring and maintaining the Morgan residence for tours, but… Continue reading My New Position with the Winnebago County Historical & Archaeological Society
History at Work-Part II
I used to work for Winnebago County at the Parks Department. Most of my time was spent at the park or the fairgrounds doing maintenance and ground work. Towards the end of my employment there, due to my position as a seasonal worker, I was told that the grounds were formerly the site of the… Continue reading History at Work-Part II
History at Work
Who ever said work could not be fun?! I work for Winnebago County as a seasonal laborer, and one of the areas our crew has to maintain are the recreational trails in the county (Wiouwash and Mascoutin). Both trails had previously been corridors of the Milwaukee Road and Chicago & North Western railroads. They now serve… Continue reading History at Work
Inside the Fallout Shelter
In 2010 some homeowners in Neenah opened a backyard fallout shelter that was built by the previous property owners in 1960. Inside were ammo boxes filled with supplies (from food and games to medicine and radiation meters) to last a family of four for about 2 weeks. Some artifacts from the shelter were donated to the Neenah… Continue reading Inside the Fallout Shelter
The Weekend Historian 