Summary of programs sponsored by the Evansville Grove Society, 2016,
at four locations in the community: Eager Free Public Library, Creekside Place, The Heights (an assisted living facility with programs open to the public) and Leonard-Leota Park
at four locations in the community: Eager Free Public Library, Creekside Place, The Heights (an assisted living facility with programs open to the public) and Leonard-Leota Park
JANUARY: * January 7th, Genealogy Group, Creekside Place: Jennifer Ehle & Barb Pierce led a discussion on “Documenting your sources correctly… the first time.”
FEBRUARY: * February 4th, Genealogy Group, Creekside Place: program on “Templates/ forms that genealogists can use.” * February 12th: Dr. Evans returned to Evansville on Friday, February 12th for his birthday party, which was celebrated at the Eager Free Public Library (EFPL). Civil War re-enactor, Dr. Steven Oreck, talked about the life of a surgeon in the field and demonstrated a surgeon’s instruments and techniques. He was prepared to perform surgery, if anybody needed emergency medical attention. President Lincoln’s favorite honey almond cake was served with corn bread and maple syrup. Guests were encouraged to bring a dish-to-pass from the Civil War era and wear outfits in the style of the Civil War era. The Museum offered a special exhibit on Dr. Evans and additional articles were printed in the Evansville Review about Dr. Evans.
MARCH: * March 3rd, Genealogy Group, Creekside Place: Jeanne Hamilton of Evansville, a member of the Genealogy Group and a volunteer for the website Find a Grave, was the speaker. The title for the program was: “The benefits of the free online website Find a Grave.” She explained what the website can offer and how individuals can add information to the website, if they desire. * March 17th: The Old House Social Group [OHSG] met at Rock’n Rollz Sandwich Co., 1 West Main Street, Evansville, to visit, view, and discuss the significance of this historic building. Guests had an opportunity to review the scrapbooks in the dining area with historical data about the building and previous owners. Additional articles were placed in the Evansville Review about Charles H. Wilder and his son-in-law Will J. Clark, who previously owned 1 West Main Street, and several other businesses in the area. Standard menu items were available for dinner.
APRIL: * April 7th, Genealogy Group, Creekside Place. Attendees were invited to present a summary of their research and recent discoveries, or dead ends and brick walls. * April 11Th: Joyal Holder of Holder Printworks, Madison, was the speaker for a special event at the Eager Free Public Library (EFPL) on various techniques that are available to help people store, preserve and share family memories. Joyal offered a brief history of some popular audio, video and film formats and what can be done with them. He discussed how to convert different media formats, identified those that could be “do it yourself” projects and where to go for professional assistance from others. He shared ideas on conversion to DVDs and Blu-ray and how to deal with photo content on portable devices. MAY: * May 5th, Genealogy Group, EFPL: Lori Bessler from the Wisconsin Historical Society presented a program on Civil War research: “Researching Your Civil War Ancestor at the Wisconsin Historical Society Library Archives and Beyond.” * From May to June 2016, an exhibit on Evansville’s veterans, “Evansville Area Men & Women Respond to their Country’s Call to Arms,” was offered at the Museum, utilizing the Society’s rich collection on Civil War history and donations or loans from local residents. * May 12th: Ed Larson was the guest speaker for another “History at the Heights” event at the Heights. Thirty-two people attended the event, during which Ed presented and identified twenty artifacts from his museum, Grandpa’s Farm, located in Magnolia Township. There were many surprises. Each presentation began with: “What do you think this is?” Several guesses were voiced, but rarely a correct answer. Some of the antiques originated from the 1700s, but the majority were from the 1800s. The exhibit consisted of many dairy-related artifacts: glass milk bottles from nearby dairies (Scott, Croft, and Higgins Dairies), a hand cow milker, butter churn, cottage cheese strainer, cream top milk bottle, milk bottle filler and capper, ice cream scoop to make ice cream sandwiches, and a cloverleaf roll former.
JUNE: * June 8th, Genealogy Group: Lori Bessler of the WHS gave members of the a tour of the Wisconsin Historical Society Library. * June 11th: John Decker led a guided walking tour of Evansville, which the Wisconsin Historical Society has stated contains "the finest collection of 1840s to 1915 architecture of any small town in Wisconsin." Participants received a "Historic Evansville: A Walker's Guide," that details Evansville's historic resources.
JULY: * July 1-July 30th: A one-time exhibit was presented at the Museum about a unique entrepreneurial era in Evansville’s history. Former Pruden employees were present to personally greet guests and share stories about the businesses success. Featured was Pruden Products Company, from its establishment in Fort Atkinson in 1950, the move to Evansville in 1954, and to the company’s role in facilitating Wisconsin’s presence at the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair. The Wisconsin Pavilion, which was the states sole display, was donated by Pruden Products. A late entry to the Fair, the project was allowed to proceed when shown how quickly the steel framing could come together. Construction was completed 90 days after the materials were delivered to the site. It was the only prefabricated steel building at the fair.
AUGUST: * August 11th, Genealogy Group Workshop, EFPL: Civil War research. * August 28th: Everyone was invited to the historic Leonard-Lake Leota Park to enjoy a day in the Park! The Evansville Grove Society had been planning the America Loves to Travel event for almost a year. There were several opportunities to enjoy and learn about Evansville’s history during the event: at the Grove Society Museum and the only surviving tourist cabin (named the Antes Cabin), the Park Store, and the Horse Barn. At the Horse Barn, there was a display of vintage vehicles from the 1920s-1950s, which had visited the Paid Tourist Camp in its heyday, 1921-1950s. * An exhibit titled “Summertime at Leonard-Lake Leota Park” and “America Loves To Travel” were on display at the Museum since late July. The exhibit featured historic photographs from the Society’s collections of Evansville’s Leonard-Leota Park and the Tourist Camp. The sole surviving cabin from the tourist camp, now on the Museum grounds, was open during the summer for tourists to browse. The exhibit was complemented by a oneday event at the park with a presentation by Dan Stephans on the development of Highway 14 as a national parks highway, and the formation of car clubs and AAA. The event included an antique car show that was also well received.
SEPTEMBER: * September 1st, Genealogy Group, Eager Free Public Library: program to learn about the various genealogical and local historical resources available at the Library. The topic was selected in honor of Evansville’s 150th celebration, which was being celebrated that year. Ruth Ann Montgomery, Evansville’s author, historian, and former director of the EFPL and Arrowhead Library System, was the presenter. Ruth Ann gave an overview of the resources at the Library and the Leonard P. Eager History Room, which is a valuable resource for anyone doing research on Evansville’s residents, historic houses, businesses and organizations. * Earlier this year, the Library compiled a list of books available through the Rock County library system and the state of Wisconsin about Evansville. The Friends of the EFPL recently purchased of a number of the WHS’s children's books, published by Wisconsin History Press, about the state of Wisconsin.
OCTOBER: * October 6, Genealogy Group, Creekside Place to discuss their genealogical research projects and “brick walls.” * October 20th: Scott O’Donnell, former owner and operator of his own circus and current Executive Director of Circus World Museum in Baraboo, was the presenter at the Grove Society’s Annual Meeting at Creekside Place. He gave an overview of Wisconsin’s circus heritage, current trends and a look towards the future. He shared stories from his twenty-plus year career in the circus industry. Scott’s presentation included photographs of some of Evansville’s performers like the Hall family (George “Popcorn” Hall and Mabel Hall). On display were items from the Grove Society’s collections about Evansville’s circus history.
NOVEMBER: * November 3rd, Genealogy Group, Creekside Place: Joel Waldinger, reporter and producer for Wisconsin Public Television, was the speaker. The one-hour documentary, “Wisconsin’s Nazi Resistance: The Mildred-Fish Harnack Story,” was shown followed by comments on how the documentary was researched and produced. Mildred-Fish Harnack was the only American woman executed under the direct order of Adolf Hitler.
DECEMBER: * December 1st, Genealogy Group, Creekside Place: The presenters were Lori Bessler, Reference Archivist for the Wisconsin Historical Society, and Russ Horton from the Wisconsin Veterans Museum. The two organizations possess a wealth of information about military history and can be a valuable resource on researching Civil War veterans.