Historic Sites

If you haven’t made the rounds of the Wisconsin Historical Society sites, you may want to plan such a tour. For the past three weekends, I’ve been speaking and or selling books at three of them. On Sunday, October 2, I was at Old World Wisconsin, near Eagle; on Saturday, October 8, Ruth and I were at Stonefield Village, near Cassville; and on Saturday, October 15 we visited Old Wade House at Green Bush (a few miles from Sheboygan).

All of Wisconsin historic sites are treasures, but these three are especially appealing to those interested in small town and rural history. Old World is a creation of ethnic farmsteads, with the actual buildings gathered from around the state (and much more). Stonefield boasts a re-created pioneer village, and has the largest exhibit of horse-drawn machinery in Wisconsin. Old Wade House, the site of an early stagecoach inn, has a wonderful collection of horse drawn wagons, from old milk delivery wagons to several horse-drawn fire wagons, and much more.

We met lots of interesting people and heard many stories about early farm life—I was talking about farming with horses and the history of farm machinery.

Go to http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/sitesmuseum.asp for more information, and put visiting these sites on your “must do” list.

CHECK THIS OUT: I’m talking about and reading from my book, CAMPFIRES AND LOON CALLS (Fulcrum Press) at The Wisconsin Book Festival on Sunday, October 23 at 4:00 p.m. Here are details:

Voices of the Water, Voices of the Trees: Apps & Andrews
Sunday, October 23 | 4:00PM - 5:30PM
Rotunda Studio/Overture, State Street, Madison.
Sponsor: Wisconsin Historical Society Press
Presenter(s): Candice Gaukel Andrews, Jerry Apps
Whether you are preparing to travel or just want to be temporarily transported to some of the upper Midwest’s unique and precious environments, Andrews and Apps will offer you their deep, personal, and informed appreciations of Wisconsin’s forests (Andrews) and the Boundary Waters (Apps).

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Quoting from Bruce Springsteen, “We’d better start savin’ up for the things that money can’t buy.”

UPCOMING EVENTS:

October 18, New Holstein Library, 1:00 p.m. Book talk featuring Cranberry Red (free). 6:30-8:30 Writer’s workshop. Workshop fee $10.00. Call 920-898-5165 for signup information.

October 22, Toll/Londowski Family Farm, one mile west of Hwy 49/Co. Rd. J. Intersection, Green Lake, WI; “From the Land,” (A gathering of traditional crafts and skills with demonstrations) 11:00 a.m. Horse Drawn Days. 1:00 p.m. Lighter Side of Country Living.

October 23, Madison, WI. Wisconsin Book Festival. 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Campfires and Loon Calls.

October 26, Sheraton Hotel, Madison. Foster Grandparents conference. “Writing From Your Life” workshop, 4:15 to 5:15; Keynote address, 6:30 (Remembering an Earlier Day)

October 27, Richfield Town Hall, Richfield, WI. 7:00 p.m. Horses and barns.

October 29, The Clearing. Writing From Your Life Workshop, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

November 2, Cobb Library, 7:00 p.m. Old Farm

November 4-6, Dyersville, Iowa, National Farm Toy Show; Friday (5-8 p.m.), Saturday, (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Sunday, (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) (Signing various book titles).

November 12, Barnes and Noble, Racine, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

November 14, Elmbrook Historical Society annual meeting and dinner. 5:45. Horses and Barns (For Elmbrook Historical Society members and guests.)