October 11, 2025, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.
Listen as Janine Yorimoto Boldt, Ph.D., of the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, discusses Theodore Robinson’s life, influences, and place in the history of American art.
The Grove Society’s annual History in the Park celebration took place at the Upper Pavilion in Leonard-Leota Park on Sunday, August 24.
The weather was fine and a substantial crowd of local residents and out-of-town visitors gathered for lunch and a lecture.
Lunch fare featured the traditional bratwurst and hotdogs, grilled by Grove Society volunteers on the old fireplace near the pavilion. Ardy Bros. BBQ Catering of Evansville provided food and served.
Dan Stephans, former State Architect, local historian, and long-time Grove Society board member, was the featured speaker.
His topic was the history
of the Pruden Products company (later Varco-Pruden Products), a leading manufacturer of steel buildings that celebrated its 75th anniversary as a mainstay of Evansville’s economy this year.
Exhibits were on display, courtesy of the Grove Society and Gene Prudhon. Noteworthy among these was an architect’s model of the Wisconsin Pavilion from the 1964 World’s Fair.
Visitors were especially interested in the Grove Society’s collection of yearbooks and other memorabilia from the Pruden Companies.
Related: Grove Society Celebrates History in the Park August 24, 2025
The Evansville Grove Society will hold its annual History in the Park gathering on Sunday, August 24, from Noon until 3PM. The gathering will feature a presentation on the history of the Pruden Products Company, a leading manufacturer of steel buildings that came to Evansville in 1954. The event will take place in the Upper Shelter Pavilion at Leonard-Leota Park in Evansville. The event is open to the public; admission is free and lunch will be provided.
In 1968 Pruden Products merged with the Varco Steel Company of Arkansas to become Varco-Pruden, as it was known for many years. Now part of BlueScope Buildings of North America, the company maintains a factory on Water Street in Evansville.
Among other noteworthy contributions, Pruden Products built the Wisconsin Pavilion at the 1964 World’s Fair; it also built the pavilion that houses the History in the Park gatherings each year. The company is now celebrating its 75th year as a mainstay of the local economy; the celebration includes a top-to-bottom renovation of the pavilion.
The Grove Society was founded in 1978 as Evansville’s local historical society. It takes its name from the informal title that the town’s first settlers gave to the community.
The Society owns and maintains the historic Baker Office Building, located at Madison Street and Antes Drive, which houses a museum containing photographs, artifacts, and records of local historical significance. The Society also offers programs of local cultural and historical interest from time to time.
History in the Park is the Grove Society’s signature event. Past topics have included the history of Leonard-Leota Park, the Wisconsin Ice Age Trail, and the 150th anniversary of the Baker Manufacturing Company. The Upper Pavilion can accommodate up to 75 people; picnic tables are available but many guests bring their own lawn chairs or seat cushions for the picnic tables. Lunch — provided this year by BlueScope — traditionally features bratwurst and hotdogs cooked on the park’s old stone fireplace.
The featured speaker at this year’s presentation will be Dan Stephans, long-time member of the Grove Society’s Board of Directors and former Chief Architect for the State of Wisconsin. An Evansville resident, Stephans is a widely-recognized authority on Wisconsin History and Architecture.
The Evansville Grove Society is pleased to announce that its headquarters and museum in the historic Baker Building, at the lower entrance to Leonard-Leota Park, will open to the public on Saturday, June 7. Visitors will be welcome from 1 pm to 4 pm, every Saturday until September 30 or by appointment. The one exception will be on the fourth weekend in August, when the Grove Society will host its annual History in the Park observance at the Leonard-Leota Park Upper Pavilion. This year’s History in the Park will feature a presentation on the history of the Varco – Pruden Manufacturing Company of Evansville (now Bluescope Buildings North America).
This year the museum will highlight photographs and artifacts from many of Evansville’s noteworthy businesses over the decades. Grove Society members will be on hand to welcome visitors, explain the exhibits, and talk about the Society’s plans for the upcoming season. The Baker Building formerly served as the administrative headquarters for the Baker Manufacturing Company; the Grove Society led the effort to preserve it at its current location. Also on the site, at the corner of Madison Street and Antes Drive, is the Antes Tourist Cabin, which originally served as overnight lodging for motorists in the 1930s.
Building on its improvements to the site over the past few years, the Grove Society recently reorganized and catalogued its collection of documents and artifacts to make them more accessible to the public. A generous grant from the Evansville Chamber of Commerce paid for museum-quality storage tools to aid in the effort. The Society recently refreshed its website with information about its collections, its work in preserving Evansville history, and its activities past and present. The website can be found at https://grovesociety.org.
The History in the Park program for 2024 featured a presentation by Dan Stephans on the history of Evansville’s Baker Manufacturing Company, which celebrated its 150th year in business over the past year. Stephans, formerly the Chief State Architect of Wisconsin and a long-time member of the Grove Society’s Board of Directors, brought artifacts and a slide show to complement his discussion of the Baker Company’s development and its contributions to Evansville history.
The Baker Company, located on Water Street in Evansville, is the oldest and one of the most successful businesses in town.
Since it was organized in 1873 by six local businesspeople, the company has produced a wide variety of products, from windmills and water pumps to steam and gasoline engines, mechanical toys, and scientific instruments. During the Second World War it produced hydrofoil boats, a machine tool for manufacturing aircraft propellers, and targeting equipment for anti-aircraft weapons. Baker was the first company to deliver electric power to Evansville homes and businesses.
The company has provided continuous employment for local workers in the century and a half since its founding. In 2024 it was the 60th largest
wholesaler in the United States. It is a leading supplier of equipment for
water wells, operates a widely-recognized quality iron foundry, and
produces gear pumps for heavy viscous fluids in the fast-food industry.
Stephans’ talk highlighted the company’s ability to adapt to economic
change and its responsiveness to the needs of the surrounding community.
August 27, 2023, the presentation in Leonard Park (the Upper Park), provided the answer to this question.
George Christiansen III, noted Lecturer with the Department of Anthropology, Madison Area Technical College, provided a brief introduction to the Archaeology of Rock County, Wisconsin. The first people to live in the area that we call Rock County today found their way into the fertile river valleys and rolling hills almost 13,000 years ago. Since then, their story has been one of adaptation and survival in the face of changing natural and social environments. Understanding the basic history of the region leads us to realize that while there is a framework for their story, there are important pieces missing. Discovering that lost history will be a future challenge and must involve revisiting 150 years of previous archaeological research, reaching out to First Nations people and avocational citizen scientists and most important, long-term dedication by a community of stakeholders.
Dennis James, Chapter Coordinator – Rock County Ice Age Trail Alliance, continued the conversation and spoke about the Ice Age and the geology it created in Wisconsin and Rock County. He then featured the Ice Age Trail and its development here in Evansville. Rock County Chapter of the Ice Age Trail contributions to the Trail and the communities it passes through. Mr. James had with him some displays and Monty, the Rock County Ice Age Trail Alliance mammoth mascot.
The Grove Society’s 2022 History in the Park event drew a lively and appreciative crowd as it turned its focus to Leonard Park—one of Evansville’s most cherished historic spaces. Attendees enjoyed a rich afternoon of storytelling and reflection on the city’s early development and the evolution of its parklands.
Local historian Dan Stephans opened the program with a presentation on Evansville’s formative years. He highlighted the city’s earliest settlers and the original platting and land additions that shaped the municipality.
His talk traced the significance of Allen’s Creek and the early dams and mills that harnessed its flow, emphasizing the vital role of the mill ponds—one of which is Lake Leota.
Stephans then explored the origins of Leonard Park, describing its use before formal designation as a municipal park. In 1883, the Village purchased the land overlooking the mill pond from pioneer settlers Levi Leonard and Lansing Mygatt, establishing Evansville’s first municipal
park—Leonard Park. He went on to recount the 1923 restoration of Lake Leota and the creation of Leonard-Leota Park, made possible through a generous donation from Burr Jones, Levi Leonard’s stepson.
The presentation also covered the park’s transformation during the 1930s, when Robert Antes secured federal funding through the Federal Work Relief Programs and oversaw extensive improvements to the park’s infrastructure. While some of this material echoed themes from the 2017 History in the Park, Stephans offered fresh insights and context.
He concluded by noting that Evansville is home to four Historic Districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places—including Leonard-Leota Park itself.
The program continued with Bill Lathrop, who offered thoughtful recognition of the recent rehabilitation work on the Allen’s Creek retaining walls.
His remarks celebrated the craftsmanship and dedication that went into preserving this historic feature, underscoring the community’s ongoing commitment to honoring its past.
Honoring the Legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps in Rock
County
The 2021 History in the Park celebration spotlighted a remarkable chapter in American history: the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Rock County, Wisconsin. The featured presentation was delivered by Roger J. Moore, author and historian, whose research into the CCC has enriched both local and national understanding of the program’s impact.
Moore’s talk drew from his recently completed book, The Civilian Conservation Corps in Rock County, Wisconsin, developed in collaboration with Ruth Ann Montgomery. Copies of the book were available at the event, and Moore graciously signed copies for attendees.
Before settling in Verona, Wisconsin, Moore served as an American History teacher in the Scottsdale, Arizona school district and spent many seasons as an interpretive ranger in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. His hands-on experiences with the U.S. Forest Service sparked a deep interest in the CCC, leading to his first book, The Civilian Conservation Corps in Arizona’s Rim Country.
Prior to retirement, Moore was honored as American History Teacher of the Year by the Arizona chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)—a testament to his passion and dedication to historical education.
After completing the Rock County book, Moore reached out to Ruth Ann Montgomery to make a donation in support of local preservation efforts. At her recommendation, he generously donated 39 copies of the book to the Evansville Grove Society, where each copy was sold as a fundraiser. The proceeds went directly to support the Grove Society’s mission of historical stewardship.
“We Gotta Get Out of This Place: The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War” placed popular music at the heart of the American experience in Vietnam. The presentation explored how and why U.S. troops turned to music as a way of connecting to each other and the World back home and of coping with the complexities of the war they had been sent to fight. The presentation demonstrated how music was important for every group of Vietnam veterans—black and white, Latino and Native American; men and women; officers and “grunts.”
Doug Bradley was a veteran of the Vietnam War and the author of two books, DEROS Vietnam: Dispatches from the Air-Conditioned Jungle, and We Gotta Get Out of This Place: The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War (co-authored with Professor Craig Werne). Rolling Stone magazine named the latter “Best Music Book of 2015.” Bradley and Werner co-taught a very popular class at UW–Madison on the music of the Vietnam War. UW Badger Talks made Bradley available for the event.
Bradley spoke at the Grove Society’s fourth annual History In The Park event on August 25. The well-attended event began with lunch from BBQ Bob’s Brat Bunker. The Society welcomed a number of local Vietnam veterans, with thanks for their service and regrets for the harsh treatment that many of our retuning Vietnam veterans received after returning from the war.
Bradley’s presentation included a moving explanation of the music of the era and what it meant to the soldiers in Vietnam, as well to as their families back home. Listening to the music was all the more special because Matt Koser’s volunteered sound system made the music reach us all. Several people and the Grove Society picked up copies of Bradley’s book, “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place: The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War,” on which the presentation was based. Bradley told many touching stories of interviews with Vietnam veterans that he collected with Professor Werner.
Held March 24, 2019 at Emma’s Table, 104 West Main Street, Evansville, WI
The third annual History in the Park was originally scheduled for August 2018 in Leonard-Leota Park. However, due to a scheduling conflict with a major end-of-season baseball game, the event was rescheduled and relocated to Emma’s Table in downtown Evansville.
Despite the shift in date and venue, the event delivered a vibrant celebration of Evansville’s baseball legacy. The presentation, titled Stan Sperry: A Career in Baseball, was led by John Graf, who brought to life the story of one of Evansville’s most notable professional ballplayers.
A warm and enthusiastic crowd filled the room—including Pop’s son Peck and several other members of the Sperry family—and the evening was rich with reminiscence, laughter, and shared pride. Guests swapped stories, reflected on the local teams of yesteryear, and honored Stan “Pop” Sperry’s contributions to Evansville’s sporting heritage and those of his family.
This season opener for the Grove Society was, as usual, free, and included hotdogs and Crackerjacks with a little local history thrown in. The gathering was a heartfelt reminder of how Evansville’s history lives not only in its landmarks, but in its people, its pastimes, and its enduring community spirit.
