Learning our own History

It is said that to understand the present it is important to learn about our past.

Here in Sheboygan County we have a rich history that is continually being recorded and updated by the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center, 518 Water St., Sheboygan Falls, telephone 467-4667.

Besides collecting an extensive history of the people who came before us, they have encouraged the writing and publishing of a wide range of books. They cover much of our rich ethnic heritage, our churches, schools, cheese factories, businesses, farms, communities and so much more. All this is being recorded so we can go back and follow the route each has taken.

You can also find books and writings by and about people who served in the great Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I, World War II and other military conflicts. There are stories of a number of families, of baseball teams, as well as early politics and political parties. The center has rich history that we can all enjoy and from which we can learn.

The next couple of these columns will provide a listing of many of those books and writings. You may find some of them of interest and want to purchase one or more for your own reading or as a gift to someone else. Or, you can visit the Research Center for a few hours to read the material on-site. They are open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m, Tuesdays through Saturdays.

This writer has read a number of the books available at the Research Center and will review those first.

The first one, read long ago, “The History of Sheboygan County,” by Gustave W. Buchen, was published in 1944 and has now been reprinted. It takes the reader back to the days when Indians made this area home, to the days of the first explorers and trappers, early settlers, and it progresses through to the early 1940s.

“Great Surveys and Great Surveyors of Sheboygan County” by Edgar Harvey was published in 2007. It is a short book of only 35 pages, but it is packed full of information about the first surveyors, how and when they surveyed, and explains the high quality of the work done and the difficulty of that work. The author is presently the official surveyor for Sheboygan County.

“Battle of the Ballot” was written by Elmer Koppelmann. In his book, Koppelmann takes readers through a fascinating look at Sheboygan County’s presidential races from the beginning of the county’s involvement in national government (1848) through the 1988 presidential race between George Bush and Michael Dukakis. You will be surprised by how many candidates came to visit.

“Branded Hand” was also written by Elmer Koppelmann. It is the story of Captain Jonathan Walker and his abolitionist adventures. Walker was connected with the rural community of Winooski in Sheboygan County, but his travels took him throughout the United States. He got his hand branded and the book got its title because of his views and abolitionist activities.

The book “Plymouth’s Past and Positive Steps Reflections” by Duane Nigh grew out of articles written by Nigh and published bi-weekly in the Sheboygan Press from September 2006 through April 2007 (when he died). Nigh wrote on a wide variety of subjects including Pearl Harbor, schools, old-time base ball, interesting personalities, and always with a local connection and often with a bit of humor.

Elmer Koppelmann was a retired Sheboygan Falls teacher who loved history and worked nearly to his last days trying to complete a number of local historical book projects; including a few that need to be completed by others. Duane Nigh, on the other hand, was a colorful radio reporter who worked for WHBL and other local stations and stayed socially active long after his retirement. He was never without a project to do or people to help. Both men were outstanding public servants.

Next week, more historical books from the Sheboygan County Research Center of Sheboygan Falls.