Forest History Association Of Wisconsin

The Last Log Drive on the Wisconsin River
2022-10-19 18:30 - 19:30 (America/Chicago) | 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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Wisconsin’s Five Mile Tower Fire of 1977
2022-09-21 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Ignited by a single match on April 30, 1977, the Five Mile Tower Fire raged out of control for seventeen hours. It would be one of the largest wildland fires in Wisconsin history, ultimately destroying more than 13,000 acres of land and sixty-three buildings.
Based on his own experiences during the long battle, plus dozens of interviews and other eyewitness accounts, Bill Matthias presents an in-depth look at the Five Mile Tower Fire, the brave citizens who helped fight it, and the important changes made to firefighting laws and procedures in its aftermath.
Presented by Bill Matthias, author of Monster Fire at Minong, studied forestry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and be-came the superintendent of Northwood School District in Minong in 1975. He is a charter member of the Wascott Volunteer Fire Department.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2Yb_HQX8RiCbM0X8Y8uqoA

Northwoods Forest History Museum
2022-08-17 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Discover how forestry advocates are collaborating to create the Northwoods Forest History Museum. DNR, Manitowish Waters Historical Society, North Lakeland Discovery Center, Youth Conservation Corps Alumni, and folks who prize our amazing forests are leading the museum project. In this presentation learn about the museum’s design and exhibit spaces including the digital display extensions for each exhibit that will connect visitors with other forestry destinations across the Northwoods.
Presented by Jim Bokern : Jim Bokern began teaching History at Oconto High School in 1981 and in 1986 took the initiative to pursue his Master’s Degree in History at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. His thesis, History and the Primary Canoe Routes of the Six Bands of Chippewa from the Lac Du Flambeau District expanded Bokern’s interests in Native American culture. Bokern moved to a large high school in Marshfield, Wisconsin 1988, teaching AP US History, AP US Government, AP Comparative Government, team teaching with AP English Language and leading the AP program at Marshfield High School until his retirement in 2015. Bokern also has led two archeological surveys on the Manitowish Waters Chain of Lakes, co-developed the Digital Time Traveler Program at the North Lakeland Discovery Center, worked as project historian on two grants with the Lac Du Flambeau Historic Preservation Office, documented the historically significant 6 Pause Portage in Iron County, and continues active cultural research in the Lakeland area while serving as the President of the Manitowish Waters Historical Society.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hT_2ADPNTKewcUAYrDVsDg

William H. Upham, More Than Just a Prominent Central Wisconsin Lumberman
2022-05-18 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
William Henry Upham arrived in Marshfield in 1878, to establish a sawmill and general merchandise store. In the years that followed, Upham became known to many as Marshfield’s most illustrious citizen. His activities as a lumberman are only a small part of his remarkable life story. This presentation will share stories that demonstrate why Upham is remembered as more than just a Wisconsin lumberman.
Presented by Don Schnitzler : Don Schnitzler is a member of the Forest History Association of Wisconsin Board of Directors, and serves as the Association’s newsletter editor. In 1998, he received a Local History Award of Merit from the Wisconsin State Historical Society and in 2010 the Historic Preservation Medal of Honor from the Wisconsin and National Societies of Daughters of American Revolution.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_E83R9OviRoKdYDFozCkYHA

When the White Pine was King
2022-04-20 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
A History of Lumberjacks, Log Drives, and Sawdust Cities
in WisconsinFor more than half a century, logging in Wisconsin’s Northwoods provided jobs for tens of thousands of Wisconsinites and impacted the lives of nearly every Wisconsin citizen. When the White Pine Was King transports readers back to the lumber boom era and reveals how the lessons learned in the vast northern forestlands cotinue to shape the region today. Jerry will be sharing the colorful stories of the heyday of logging, stories of lumberjacks and camp cooks, sawmills and boomtowns, river drives and deadly log jams.
Presented by Jerry Apps : Award-winning Wisconsin author Jerry Apps has written more than 50 books, many of them on rural history and country life. Born and raised on a central Wisconsin farm, Jerry is a former county extension agent and professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in Madison, where he taught for thirty years. Today he works as a rural historian and full-time writer.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_eUgfXhlNRIOPHReHk9Dzeg

The Story Behind the Prentice Hydraulic Loader
2022-03-16 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Prentice Hydraulics had its beginning in 1945 in the Heikkinen Machine Shop near the village of Prentice. Leo Heikkinen repaired and welded heavy equipment, fabricated steel, and manufactured mechanical jammers there. To meet the needs of customers, Leo designed special innovations on their jammers. These improvements attracted attention and soon requests for custom built jammers were received. Continued improvement and modification of the mechanical jammer resulted in the Prentice Hydraulic Loader.
Presented by: Dale Heikkinen
Dale, the son of Leo Heikkinen, has an extensive collection of Heikkinen Machine Company and Prentice Hydraulics Loaders historical documents. The collection also documents his father’s second company of hydraulic fuelwood processing machinery. In his spare time, Dale enjoys refurbishing logging machinery and equipment that his father had built. Dale is a member of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Price County Historical Society, Knox Creek Heritage Center, Jump River Valley Historical Society and the Forest History Association of Wisconsin.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-19kugcBTJa287ajJxHzbQ

The Bonifas Story: An immigrant's rags to riches logging era story
2022-02-16 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Eight siblings of the Bonifas family immigrated from Luxembourg to the Garden Peninsula in upper Michigan. They began working in lumber camps and slowly worked their way up to
owning and operating one of the largest lumber operations in the upper peninsula. We will spend some time looking at their foray into Wisconsin where they owned and operated the Vilas County Lumber Company Mill in Presque Isle, Wisconsin.
Presented by: Tom Jerow
Tom Jerow is a member of the Forest History Association of Wisconsin and currently sits on the Board of Directors. He’s retired from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. He keeps busy in retirement by working at food pantry garden, working 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_vkm31_oJS5GbZabimXlmMA

Hoisting Pulpwood, a Century of Hoisting Operations on Chequamegon Bay, 1872-1972
2022-01-19 18:30 - 19:30, 2021-11-17 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Part History and part memoir, in this presentation, Tom Stanley shares the story of Ashland’s pulp hoists in the context of Wisconsin’s long and colorful forest history. Why was pulpwood rafted, hoisted and sent elsewhere? Why Ashland? How did the hoist operate? Who were the workers? What were the dangers? Why did hoisting end in 1972?
Presented by: Tom Stanley
A Graduate of Ashland High School (1956) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, BS (1960), MS (1963). Tom was employed at the Consolidated Pulp Hoist in Ashland in the summers of 1959 and 1960. A US Army veteran, Tom was a High School History and Social Studies Teacher for 30 plus years, mostly in Defense Department Schools in several overseas countries. In retirement, he volunteers with a non-motorized trail advocacy group in Michigan, a historical society in Palmyra, WI and has played in two community bands.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KBGNYTsBT4ijwRcuVBn6Eg

Aldo Leopold’s Land Ethic: A Product of Perspective
2021-12-15 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Steve Swenson, Program Director at the Aldo Leopold Foundation will share Aldo Leopold’s life story through historic photographs and Leopold’s writings to demonstrate how Leopold’s thinking changed over time. Throughout this historical narrative, Steve will weave the foundation’s current work to advance a land ethic. What is Aldo Leopold’s real first name? Why was A Sand County Almanac almost not published? What was Leopold’s title for his collection of essays? Join us and find out!
Presented by:
Steve Swenson
Steve is the Program Director for the Aldo Leopold Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Over the past 20 years, Steve’s career has advanced the ethical relationship between people and land through tangible conservation initiatives. He oversees the Education and Stewardship Programs of the foundation, which includes Aldo Leopold’s historic Shack, a National Historic Landmark. Regionally, Steve helps lead a public-private partnership called My Wisconsin Woods.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KBGNYTsBT4ijwRcuVBn6Eg

FHAW and Related Collections at the UWSP Archives
2021-10-20 18:30 - 19:30
The presentation will primarily focus on the Forest History Association of Wisconsin collection held at the UWSP Archives, explaining what topics can be found, how to access the collection and ongoing digitization efforts. I will also briefly touch on various forestry related collections in our holdings, their research value and how they supplement the FHAW collection.
Presented by Brad Casselberry. Brad received a BA in History from UW-Stevens Point and a Master’s in Library and Information Science with an archives concentration from UW-Milwaukee. I have worked at the UWSP Archives since 2010, originally as a volunteer, and worked up to become the University Archivist. I currently live in Amherst with my wife Diane, son Alex, and two cats.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_oYipaPBfQM6dUODRSUXPpw

Peshtigo Paradigm
2021-09-29 19:00 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
For 50 years the kind of fire that swept over Peshtigo plagued the Great Lakes region, in both the U.S. and Canada. The fires furnished an important background for state-sponsored conservation and especially a program of fire protection.
Presented by Steve Pyne, an emeritus professor at Arizona State University, and the author of many fire histories, including Fire in America (1982), Awful Splendor: A Fire History of Canada (2007), and Between Two Fires: A Fire History of Contemporary America (2015).
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_prEQXdqJSf608CPzV12_FA

The Buildup and the Blowup
2021-09-15 19:00 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Conflagrations like the 1871 Peshtigo Fire have reemerged as important threats across North America and around the world. Understanding the factors and the phenomena that produced the fire environment of that day is possible because of weather observations collected and recorded at the time and studies of extreme fire behavior that continue to this day. Recounting it should be a cautionary tale for our lives as we continue to live them.
Presented by Robert Ziel, is a Wildland Fire Analyst, living in Marquette, Michigan, who works for the Alaska Fire Science Consortium, at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EcsrJoeSQ6mq_fDkxx6eZQ

Fire Weather/Fire Danger Conditions Which Led to the Historic Peshtigo Wildfire of 1871
2021-09-01 19:00 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
An extended drought of more than a year, including a winter of minimal snowfall set up a pattern of fire danger that lasted through the summer of 1871 and caused concern throughout the Midwest. A problem exacerbated by high temperatures and strong winds in the Great Lakes area in the US and neighboring Canadian Provinces in late September and early October of that fatal year.
Presented by Steve Marien, the Eastern Area Fire Weather Program Man-ager at the Eastern Area Coordination Center’s (EACC). He provides fire weather/potential and all-hazard products and guidance to the Eastern Area Interagency Wildland Fire Community. The Eastern Area is comprised of 20 states making up approximately the northwestern quarter of the lower 48 states.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1schMiWdRy2JIFw3Gg3s_w

The Value of Historical Newspapers: Researching our State's Logging History Online
2021-06-16 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Every day the internet offers more and more resources for reading old news. These sources are easier to locate and search than ever before. While they aren’t all online, many are, and many of those you can access from the comfort of your home, and many of them are free. This presentation will show you how to find free online historical newspapers and provide tips for effectively searching for news of the people, places and events related to the Great Lakes Logging history.
Presented by:
Don Schnitzler, Central Wisconsin local historian, genealogist and member of the Forest History Association of Wisconsin
Zoom Webinar Registration
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MPpMF1xyRpqPtm9uM65X4g

Planning for our future: Wisconsin's 2020 Forest Action Plan
2021-05-19 18:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
The 2020 Forest Action Plan offers us an opportunity for reflection and to chart our path forward. During this webinar, we will discuss the value of the Forest Action Plan, the collaborative process for developing the 2020 Plan, and key findings and goals as we look to the future.
Presented by:
Amanda Koch, the Wisconsin DNR, Division of Forestry Planner
Colleen Matula, the Wisconsin DNR, Division of Forestry Forest Ecologist/Silviculturist
Zoom Webinar Registration
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_v_L5AmNlSDOeOCiPYLNZmA

Frontier Diplomats or Agents of Empire: U.S. Indian Agents in Wisconsin, 1812-1845
2021-04-21 18:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Life in Wisconsin during much of the first half of the 19th century was defined by the interactions between Native Americans and white settlers moving into the region. Indian Agents were a critical but often overlooked part of this relationship. They were the main conduit by which tribes could communicate with the federal government. They were also the eyes and ears of leaders in Washington. Indian agents also performed critical local roles such as Justice of the Peace and postmaster. Join historian Pete Shrake as he explores this unique federal official and the men who made up its ranks.
Presented by:
Peter Shrake
Current archivist at Circus World Museum; Past director of the Sauk County Historical Museum and past reference archivist at the Wisconsin Historical Society. Author of The Silver Man; The life and Times of Indian Agent John Kinzie
Zoom Webinar Registration
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4hdMcM3VSyexWFGw77qrvQ

Attracting Wildlife to Your Woodlands
2021-03-17 18:30 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Actions you can take to enhance the wildlife abundance and diversity in your woodlands.
Presented by:
Jamie Nack
Extension Senior Wildlife Outreach Specialist in the Department of Forest & Wildlife Ecology
Zoom Webinar Registration
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_b3Tg2opDROqxkz2q88sQhg

Heritage & Success of Wisconsin’s School Forest Program
2020-10-21 19:00 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Presenters: Stephen Schmidt & Gretchen Marshall
As the Wisconsin School Forest Program approaches its Centennial (2028), join us for look back at how early visionaries established the first school forests and how these forests have multiplied and evolved to become model outdoor classrooms for sustainable management and much more.

Hemlock Bark and Wisconsin’s Tanning Industry:The World Walked on Milwaukee Leather
2020-10-20 19:00 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Presenter: John Bates
Milwaukee led the world in tanning leather in the early 1900s, though tanneries were in operation throughout all of Wisconsin from the mid-1800s to the early 1920s. Most used hemlock bark for tanning the leather, thus hemlock trees were cut down by the tens of millions to supply the tanneries. The tanbark industry was an important part of early Wisconsin’s economy and thousands of people were employed around the state in the art of bark tanning.

Wisconsin’s Fire Towers – 1911 to the Present Day
2020-10-07 19:00 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Presenter: Ricky Kubicek
Transcending their original purpose as monumental-scale tools, Wisconsin’s fire towers inhabit a special sense of place for the state’s residents. While the function of towers has shifted over the past 20-30 years from that of key component of the fire protection system to a charismatic landscape anachronism, they remain fixed in memory.

Elk in Wisconsin: A History
2020-10-06 19:00 | Virtual, Zoom Webinar
Presenters: Anna Brose & Ron Eckstein
Trace the story of Elk before European Settlement, to an attempt at restoration in 1913-1917 in Vilas County, to current successes in Northern and Western Wisconsin.
