Forest History Association Of Wisconsin

"Timber!" A Northwoods Story of Lumberjacks, Logging, and the Land
2025-12-17 18:30 - 19:30 (America/Chicago) | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
A presentation about the book “Timber!” by Susan Apps-Bodilly and co-written with Jerry Apps. This book, suitable for young readers and people of all ages, recounts the history of logging in the Midwest through the era of reforestation. The book also includes ways to appreciate and care for our forest lands today. Susan will also discuss connections to Jerry Apps’ book, “When the White Pine Was King.”
Presented by Susan Apps-Bodilly: Susan Apps-Bodilly is a retired educator and writer. She taught elementary and middle school students for 34 years. She holds a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education and a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction. When she is not reading or writing, Susan enjoys spending time with her family, hiking at the family cabin, kayaking, and experimenting with new recipes using produce from her garden.
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_AKO41A1ERMGayEzyvKPTtw#/registration
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

Wolves in Wisconsin
2025-11-19 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Join wildlife biologist Richard P. Thiel for an engaging exploration of Wisconsin’s wolves—past and present. This presentation will trace the natural history of the species, examine the ecological principles of predation specific to wolves, and offer a thoughtful overview of wolf management in Wisconsin. Beginning with the bounty era of the 1920s–1950s, Thiel will illuminate the evolving relationship between humans and wolves across decades of policy, perception, and conservation.
Presented by Dick Thiel: Dick Thiel led Wisconsin’s timber wolf recovery project (1980–1989), helped draft the state’s Wolf Recovery and Management Plans, and remains active in wolf education. He’s authored key books on wolves and conducts annual ecology workshops through Timber Wolf Information Network, advocating for fair understanding of this often-misunderstood predator..
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_A0FyKP-gTR-IZa-XurEQpQ#/registration
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

The Chainsaw: The Most Versatile Power Tool in the World
2025-10-15 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
This presentation explores how the chainsaw revolutionized the logging industry and found its way out of the forests. Loggers were the first to acquire chainsaws for personal use around their farms and homesteads. As the tool was refined over the years, it was adopted for other uses in art, war, sport, conservation, entertainment, and numerous other industries.
Presented by James Card: James Card has written for The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Foreign Policy, and other national publications. He is the only journalist in history to have stories about ice fishing and deer hunting featured on the front page of The New York Times. Between stints as a magazine editor and journalist, Card worked as a line-clearance tree faller. He is the author of Chainsaw Love: Field Notes on the World’s Most Dynamic Power Tool and The Dawn Patrol Diaries, recounting his experiences as South Korea’s only fly-fishing guide. He lives in central Wisconsin and cuts firewood with a chainsaw throughout the year.
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Us9EZj-6TxmJsx5-twjXGg#/registration
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

The Weekend To Remember, April 20-22, 1934
2025-09-17 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Dillinger at Little Bohemia
John Dillinger accompanied by nine others checked in at Little Bohemia for rest and escape from the ever vigilant eyes of law enforcement. They were told that this was a place where no one would ever find them. As the weekend unfolds one of the most historic moments in gangster and FBI history occurs in a small Northwoods community that suddenly hears the sound of gunshots in the night.

Presented by Kay Krans: Kay Krans is a board member of the Manitowish Waters Historical Society. She is a Retired high school history teacher and lecturer in the Department of Education at Mississippi State University. Much of her local history research involves uncovering crime and criminals in the Northwoods.
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_g-dV-xO4S9SORrtSOuYzTQ#/registration
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

Time and Timber: A History of Gingerbread Clocks, 1850–1950
2025-08-20 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Time and Timber: A History of Gingerbread Clocks, 1850–1950 explores a century of American innovation in clockmaking through the lens of forest resources and design evolution. This presentation traces the development of the iconic gingerbread clock—from elaborately carved Victorian showpieces to widely accessible household timekeepers—highlighting how native hardwoods and emerging manufacturing techniques shaped their production. Blending elements of design history, industrial progress, and cultural significance, the program offers a compelling look at how timber and timekeeping became intertwined in American homes between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries.

Presented by Don Schnitzler a member of the Forest History Association of Wisconsin, its Board of Directors, and “collector” of antique clocks.
Register in advance for this webinar:
hhttps://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_S_RsM0ooS1aPcSwyXwBoyQ#/registration
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

Researching and Sharing Forest History with Recollection Wisconsin
2025-04-16 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Join us to learn more about Recollection Wisconsin, a centralized search and access portal for sharing the digital collections of over 260 partner organizations around the state of Wisconsin. With over 750,000 items from over 450 collections, there’s something for everyone in Recollection Wisconsin! We’ll also discuss how to add collections and organizations to the portal for greater access and discoverability.

Presented by Kristen Whitson — Kristen Whitson is the Digital Specialist and Consortia Manager for WiLS (Wisconsin Library Services) where she focuses on project management for Recollection Wisconsin. Kristen is particularly interested in communities of practice and peer-to-peer learning in the archives, and she enjoys making digitization and reformatting achievable for organizations of all shapes and sizes.

Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_bjDHby4uRAyXslfQQ1DEYg#/registration
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

Fuel for Wisconsin’s Charcoal Iron Industry
2025-03-19 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Charcoal is a traditional forest product and once was a crucial part of Wisconsin’s economy, providing fuel for many of the state’s iron furnaces. Production occurred in pits and kilns, using interesting methods and wood technology. There were hundreds of charcoal kilns of various types scattered across Wisconsin, mostly along railroads, and they became local landmarks. Farmers clearing land for crop production appreciated the market created for their wood, but local forestry impacts followed the charcoal burners.

Presented by Thomas J. Straka, Ph.D. — Thomas J. Straka is a professor emeritus of forestry at Clemson University in South Carolina. He is a Wisconsin native and University of Wisconsin-Madison forestry graduate. His background is forest economics and policy, including forest history.

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Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

James Plunkett, Forestry, and the 10th Engineers in World War I
2025-02-19 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
From a set of postcards from 1917-1918 found in an attic in Manitowish, Wisconsin comes the story of a young lumberjack who was recruited to serve in the 10th Engineers in France during World War I. The presentation follows his experience and helps reveal the significant contribution of American lumberjacks sent to France to supply the vital natural resource of wood products needed to win World War I.
Presented by: Kay Krans, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point and Mississippi State University. She spent her career as a high school history teacher and adjunct lecturer teaching social studies in the College of Education at Mississippi State University. She presently is a board member of the Manitowish Waters Historical Society and researches, writes, and gives tours about the history of the Manitowish Waters region of northern Wisconsin.
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__x32i3F6QCyt0m7LFMj5hA
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

Opening the Door: The Ghost Ports of Door County
2024-12-18 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Door County is renowned for its scenic and stunning coastlines. In the 19th century, what would become Wisconsin’s tourist playground was the scene of a bustling timber industry, with nearly 70 ports exporting timber, stone, and other goods. Most of these small ports have vanished into history, but some have left surprising echoes behind. Come hear the story of how Door County became Door County, and how you can visit these Ghost Ports.
Presented by: Dr. Amy Rosebrough is the Wisconsin State Archaeologist, with the Office of the State Archaeologist at the Wisconsin Historical Society. A native of the Missouri Ozarks, she has long had an interest in archaeology. She is an alumni of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and she received her doctorate for region-wide re-analysis of Wisconsin’s effigy mounds and mound builders. She has worked as an archaeologist in the academic, private, and public sectors. In her current position at the Wisconsin Historical Society, she directs Wisconsin’s Lost Coastal Community Project, manages archaeological and burial sites data, and assists Wisconsin’s citizens with archaeological questions and concerns.
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https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dAHY8mNPQametTeTVHYG7A
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

Taking the Long View: Fire, Climate Change & Forest Resilience in the Lake States
2024-11-20 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Historically fire was central in creating and maintaining an array of native communities in the Lake States and fire remains a critical management tool. Much of what we know of fire-maintained systems stem from European settlement General Land Office survey records and other historical accounts. While incredibly valuable these accounts are often sparse and limited temporally (static in time) and spatially (course resolution). To sharpen fire as a management tool we need a greater depth of understanding in historical fire as well as what that means for its current application for particular management objectives.
Presented by: Jed Meunier, an ecologist and research scientist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. One of his main interests and expertise is in fire ecology and using natural disturbances for guiding management and restoration through integrated approaches aimed at understanding mechanisms for ecosystem changes across scales through applied research.
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https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dQZJjEcJS3WSNViYxAwl_A
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

The Wisconsin Pineries Mission 1841-1845
2024-10-16 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Mary Jurgaitis, a researcher and spokesperson of Honoring the Mormon Loggers of the Wisconsin Pineries Mission 1841-1845, will share the story of how a group of people built the foundation of their “Beautiful City,” Nauvoo, Illinois with White Pine taken from the banks of the Black River in Jackson and Clark counties.
Presented by: Mary Jurgaitis, a researcher and spokesperson of Honoring the Mormon Loggers of the Wisconsin Pineries Mission 1841-1845.
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4XHbicDySTGI8xVvrvaYxw
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

Menominee Tribal Treaties
2024-09-18 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
David Grignon, Menominee Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, will review Menominee treaty discussions with the New York Tribes and the Federal Government
Presenter: David Grignon, is a member of the Menominee Nation who also serves as the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer — a role which he has held for more than 30 years and Menominee Museum Director.
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LdecPdv_Svqck1bWCKzHfQ
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

Removal of New York Indians onto Menominee Lands
2024-09-11 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Treaties made in the 1800s between the United States and the Indigenous nations of what is now Wisconsin had profound influence on the regions cultural and political landscape. Yet few people realize that in the early part of the century, the Menominee and Ho-Chunk Nations of Wisconsin signed land treaties with several Indigenous nations from New York State. In this groundbreaking book, Carol Cornelius has compiled a careful account of these nation-to-nation treaties, in large part in the words of the Indigenous leaders who served as the voices and representatives of their nations.
Presenter: Dr. Carol Cornelius — Oneida/Stockbridge Munsee and Montauk, Turtle Clan, earned her PhD in cross-cultural curriculum and American Indian history from Cornell University. She has taught at the University of Wisconsin- Green Bay, where she helped build the First Nations Studies undergraduate program, and the
College of the Menominee Nation.
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fCzaCCtPRACVS0sQHNMZXQ
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

The Paper Industry’s Impact on the Historical Geography of Wood County and Central Wisconsin
2024-08-21 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Both the lumber and paper industry have both economically and physically transformed the Wisconsin River Valley and played a central role in the urban and community landscape of central Wisconsin. This presentation will describe the key role of the paper industry in creating and renewing communities in the region with a focus on the paper mill towns of Wood County.
Presented by: Katie Weichelt is an independent Geographer who received her PhD. from the University of Kansas in 2016.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_nL1REgqXRtyMcTVI4j3BsQ
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

Cornell University and Northern Wisconsin’s Pinelands: A Cost/Benefit Analysis
2024-05-15 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Cornell University Founder Ezra Cornell leveraged New York State’s allocation of public lands under the Morrill Act of 1862 to select over 512,000 acres of pine timberland in northern Wisconsin which he, and later the University, managed as a long-term real-estate investment for over seventy years. This talk will discuss the ongoing financial benefits accruing to Cornell University from its former Wisconsin landholdings and assess its impacts over time on Wisconsin’s environment and human populations.
Presenter: Jon Parmenter is an associate professor of History at Cornell University who teaches courses on early American and Indigenous North American history. He is currently completing a book entitled “Dispossessed: Cornell University’s Origins in Indian Country.”
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PjXS6-o5R6a6LLobDrU5FA
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

In Terms of Logging
2024-04-17 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
The logging and lumbering industry has been an important part of Wisconsin’s history. That history is rich and fascinating, and the language used by lumberjacks during that time adds a unique flavor to the lore.
In this presentation, besides defining historical logging lingo with words and images, we’ll share information about the Association’s educational resources available for public use to help share Wisconsin’s interesting logging history.
Presenter: Don Schnitzler is a member of the Forest History Association of Wisconsin, its Board of Directors, and serves as the Association’s newsletter editor.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_eqWIzP0DQ0Ov5EVUFUd6Dw
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

Aldo Leopold, the Land Ethic, and A Sand County Almanac: The makings of a movement
2024-03-20 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
While Aldo Leopold’s impact on the conservation movement is broad and deep, he is mostly known as the author of the now classic A Sand County Almanac. Celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2024, A Sand County Almanac has been translated into sixteen languages and serves as one of the foundational texts for anyone that cares about people and places. But becoming a classic doesn’t happen overnight, it requires great writing, and often a few twists of fate. Buddy will provide a quick biographical sketch of Aldo Leopold and then focus on the people and events that have kept A Sand County Almanac and the call for a Land Ethic as relevant as ever.
Presented by: Buddy Huffaker Buddy Huffaker joined the Aldo Leopold Foundation in 1996 as a seasonal intern and has served as Executive Director since 1999. Buddy’s leadership in the conservation movement includes service on state and federal advisory committees and participation in three White House Conferences on conservation and environmental education.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TeiuDP5BTYupqHH2t9qZvA
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

Strike! The Pinkerton Papers
2024-02-21 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
When workers arrived at the Merrill Woodenware mill on February 1, 1920, they discovered that the mill’s main drive belt had been slashed during the night. Fearing additional actions against their companies, local mill owners secretly sought help from the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Reports written by Pinkerton agents who came to Merrill were just the starting point for the Strike! book. This presentation will take listeners from the initial Union action through the aftermath of the strike.
Presented by: Presented by Bea Lebal Bea Lebal is a retired educator and public library director. An active member of the Merrill Historical Society for thirty years, she is a collections curator for the Society’s museum. Bea has written three books, Strike! The Pinkerton Papers, Industrial Espionage in 1920 Merrill, Wisconsin is the focus of this presentation.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_UlNnL92VRrefn2nBjZ-RyA
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

Searching Census Records for Logging Era Relatives
2024-01-17 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Have you heard stories about relatives who worked during the hay-day of logging in Northern Wisconsin? In this program we’ll demonstrate how to search free on-line census information about logging camps and mills. We’ll also look closely at a couple of logging operations to see the inner workings and what it took to run a mill and associated logging operation. Finally, we’ll link historic pictures to the logging operation.
Presented by: Tom Jerow, the vice-president of the Forest History Association of Wisconsin’s Board of Directors. Retired from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, he keeps busy by working at a food pantry garden, on genealogy of his extensive family, and volunteering as the city forester for Rhinelander.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_brRFkbLURhGyCWJYPJCguQ
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

Land Restoration at Woodland Dunes Nature Center and Preserve
2023-11-08 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
This presentation will cover the grass roots history of the Woodland Dunes Nature Center and their current efforts to restore and maintain quality habitats for all the creatures in or passing through the land. Yes, that includes humans and how we relate to the land. There are several great projects to highlight.
Presented by: Susan Crowley. Sue’s background is in forestry and her education was at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has worked with Menominee Tribal Enterprises, Canal Forest Resources/American Forest Management consulting firms, and WI DNR. She has been at Woodland Dunes since spring 2022.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_64ZEI5jURaGbM42m_t62Xg
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Wisconsin
2023-09-20 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
The presentation will discuss the work that Army Engineers have done over the past two centuries in developing the infrastructure of Wisconsin. The focus will be on the Civil Works history rather than military history.
Presenter: Since 2002 Eric Reinert has been the Corps of Engineers Curator, in the Office of History, Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Prior to that he has worked for the National Park Service, first as the Museum Technician at Manhattan Sites and then as Curator at Andersonville National Historic Site and the National Prisoner of War Museum. He has a Bachelors Degree from Trinity University and a Masters Degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio, both in History.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_k69F_z1DQAyUTcBfr4M2BQ
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

Adventures of a Young Entrepreneur: George Banzhaf 1921 to 1928
2023-08-16 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
This is the story of George Banzhaf, a young forester in the wilderness of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as told in the book “Adventures of a Young Entrepreneur: George Banzhaf 1921 to 1928.” It was written by Bill Banzhaf, his son. Bill wrote it in the voice of his father which adds true life to the remarkable events of his early career. George Banzhaf (1899-1987) was inducted into the Wisconsin Forestry Hall of Fame in September 1986. In recognition of establishing the first consulting firm in the Lake States and solving problems for forest industries and landowners involving timberland appraisal, mill location, wood supply availability, wood procurement procedures, department organization and timber taxation analyses. He had served the forestry profession as a guest lecturer at many universities and was active in the Society of American Foresters which elected him Fellow and awarded him its Distinguished Service Award for his high level of professionalism.
Presenter: Bill Banzhaf. After close to 20 years in Washington DC, Bill retired to Indian Lake in the upper peninsula of Michigan in 2007. He is currently working in a mentorship program for graduate students at the School for the Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) at the University of Michigan.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GPqcEf8IRaCAiKYEI_K3qA
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

Hickory, Dickory, Dock: The Ghost Lumber Ports of Lake Michigan
2023-05-17 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
In the last half of the 1800s entrepreneurs and businessmen constructed dozens of privately-funded “bridge piers” along the western shores of Lake Michigan. At these piers, Wisconsin’s forests were exchanged for manufac-tured goods and new settlers. The piers and their associated general stores and lumber mills became seeds around which busy shipping hubs, villages, and towns grew and briefly thrived, and helped to decide the future of east-ern Wisconsin’s economy. Though creations of the 19th century lumber boom, they and their owners helped to save the lakeshore counties when na-ture and waste turned against local residents, and provided the means for life to continue when the trees were gone. Ongoing research by archaeologists and divers with the Wisconsin Historical Society is bringing back the stories of lost communities such as Ronksville, Carlton, and Langworthy, telling for-gotten tales of life in Wisconsin’s Ghost Ports.
Presenter: Dr. Amy Rosebrough is a Staff Archaeologist with the Office of the State Archaeologist at the Wisconsin Historical Society, where she manages archaeological and burial sites data, assists Wisconsin’s citizens with archaeological questions, and serves as a subject matter expert.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_g9na5E-QQYa-XSUH–Ue6A
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

Photos From Central Wisconsin’s Past, Logging Images of Southwestern Marathon and Northeastern Clark Counties
2023-04-19 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Along with much of the State of Wisconsin at the turn of the 19th Century, Southwestern Marathon and Northeastern Clark Counties relied on the lumber industry to support the local economy. Cutting the standing timber, loading and hauling the fallen logs, and sawing them into lumber at mills were all common scenes. In this presentation our speaker will share images of that activity from his personal collection of four Central Wisconsin communities —Romeo, Osborn, Unity and Cherokee.
Presenter: Alan Gurtner. Al Gurtner is a member of the Forest History Association of Wisconsin, a Central Wisconsin local historian, and the author of the book, Visions of the Past, A Village Called Unity.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_mNDWMKimTFWlOLVXjZ4hfg
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

The Mendota Dugout Canoes: Discovery, Recovery, and Ongoing Research
2023-03-15 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
In 2021, a 1,200 year old canoe was discovered in Madison’s Lake Mendota. Selected as one of the top ten archaeological discoveries in the world for 2021, its recovery made worldwide news. In the fall of 2022, a 3,000 year old canoe was found in the same location. It is the oldest canoe in the Great Lakes and the second oldest in North America. This presentation recounts the discovery and recovery of the canoes and describes the ongoing research in collaboration with the Ho-Chunk Nation.
Presenter: James M. Skibo PhD. James Skibo is the Wisconsin State Archaeologist with the Wisconsin Historical Society. He received his MA and PhD at the University of Arizona and has worked in the Philippines, the American Southwest and the Great Lake
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_IfR1NUbSRK6j9JpNEP1gHg
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

The Pioneer Blacksmith: Essential Tradesman of the Exploration and Industrial Frontier Eras
2023-02-15 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
The ancient skill of working wrought iron by hand was essential to the development and survival of the Europeans who transformed the American landscape from first explorations through the closing of the frontier in 1893 and well into the mid-twentieth century. The ubiquitous blacksmith shop had vast variations depending upon the needs of the places it served, be they rural or urban. Using both historic and contemporary photographs of blacksmiths and their shops in this presentation, you will gain insight of their impact on the people and the land.
Presenter:John Berg. A native of the Wisconsin Rapids area, received his Master of Science degree in history from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Majoring in United States and Canadian history with an emphasis on the colonial fur trade frontier. John’s interests include Wisconsin lumber and railroad industries, and labor history. John is a member of the Forest History Association of Wisconsin and a member of the Board of Directors of the Price County Historical Society.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-gMLJ7PZQ9m4K2-lgYGHpQ
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

Past in the Pines: The Archaeology of Historic Era Logging in Wisconsin
2023-01-25 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
The history of Wisconsin logging is not only told in historic photos, documents and oral histories, but also in archaeology, the study of the past through the artifacts and sites left by logging efforts that started in Wisconsin as early as the 1810’s. From early military logging efforts at Prairie du Chien (Fort Crawford), Portage (Fort Winnebago) and Green Bay (Fort Howard), through the more commonly known commercial logging of the 1840’s-1900’s, the 19th century loggers of Wisconsin produced thousands of archaeological sites ranging from lumber camps, to drag roads, dam’s and spillways and even whole “Company” logging towns.
This talk will discuss how archaeologists currently address the periods and varieties of historical logging sites in Wisconsin, and discuss specific “logging artifacts” that are common finds on logging sites in the region tell us more about how these historic loggers lived and worked. Finally, historic logging sites of the early 20th century associated with interesting historic events such as WWII (German POW logging) and the Great Depression (Civilian Conservation Corp-CCC logging) that are only now becoming old enough to study with archaeological digs will be discussed.
Presenter: Ryan J. Howell, M.A., RPA, WAS, Garrison Archaeologist- U.S. Army, Fort McCoy. Ryan has conducted archaeological research in Wisconsin, and particularly northern Wisconsin for more than 25 years, He is currently the Garrison Archaeologist at Fort McCoy for the U.S Army. He received his B.A in Archaeology/Anthropology from the University of Wyoming and his Master’s at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998. He has worked doing archaeology for many private, tribal and government sectors throughout the Upper Midwest, with former employers as diverse as the Center for Environmental Management on Military Lands (CEMML), the Mississippi Valley Archaeology Research Center (MVAC), private engineering firms and the Prairie Island M’dewankanton Dakota tribe. His research interests include both the pre-contact and historic contact eras of Wisconsin history, with specific published articles focused on the ancient Native American sites, sites of the Fur Trade/Colonial era, logging archaeology and 20th century military archaeology.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_E8GFk-9TQMuckYIK_78aoA
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

Vallier Collection: A Pictorial History of Great Lakes Logging At UWSP
2022-11-16 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
In 1992, the late Jacques Vallier, a retired high school biology teacher, longtime collector of logging memorabilia, and member of the Forest History Association of Wisconsin donated his collection of logging photographs to the UWSP archives.
The collection contains scenes of the interiors and exteriors of camp buildings and sawmills, locomotives, lumberjacks at work and showing off their intricately-piled loads of logs, and animals such as horses and oxen used to haul the logs from forest to sawmill. There also are shots of log drives and log jams in rivers of this region. Nearly all of the images are of people and places in Wisconsin, Upper Michigan and Minnesota. Most of them were taken prior to 1910.
In this presentation we’ll share some of these images along with related stories, and explain how you can access the images for your own research.
Presenter: Don Schnitzler is a member of the Forest History Association of Wisconsin Board of Directors, and serves as the Association’s newsletter editor
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6djQggNpQLyY0C3LpJMENw
Please note: The webinar is Free, but pre-registration is required.

The Last Log Drive on the Wisconsin River
2022-10-19 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Sometime around 1912, a group of men engaged in a log drive posed for some photographs. One of the resulting pictures has been identified ever since as the “last log drive” on the Wisconsin River. In this program, Ben Clark dives into the history of these photographs, to consider whether it is indeed the “last log drive.
Presented by Ben Clark, the archivist and historian at the Marathon County Historical Society.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_s13N3JdCSJ28tubTJa5LNA

FHAW 47th Annual Fall Conference
2022-10-06 13:00 - 2022-10-08 21:00 | Lighthouse Inn, 1515 Memorial Drive, Two Rivers, WI, 54241, United States
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