1	00:00:01:08	00:00:02:08	>> This program
2	00:00:02:08	00:00:03:07	is brought to you
3	00:00:03:07	00:00:04:12	by the combined resources of
4	00:00:04:12	00:00:06:06	the Wisconsin Historical Society
5	00:00:06:06	00:00:09:09	and Wisconsin Public Television.
6	00:00:13:01	00:00:14:06	>> On Wisconsin Hometown
7	00:00:14:06	00:00:16:18	Stories, a county founded
8	00:00:16:18	00:00:19:22	in the heart of the state,
9	00:00:19:22	00:00:22:01	built up by rail power,
10	00:00:22:01	00:00:24:19	and the bounty of the land.
11	00:00:24:19	00:00:26:12	A county transformed
12	00:00:26:12	00:00:28:17	by civil war,
13	00:00:28:17	00:00:30:14	strong political winds,
14	00:00:30:14	00:00:33:04	and powerful glacial waters,
15	00:00:33:04	00:00:35:10	that left a patchwork landscape
16	00:00:35:10	00:00:36:22	woven into the fabric
17	00:00:36:22	00:00:38:18	of history.
18	00:00:38:18	00:00:40:05	On Wisconsin Hometown Stories:
19	00:00:40:05	00:00:43:05	Juneau County.
20	00:00:47:23	00:00:49:17	>> Funding provided in part
21	00:00:49:17	00:00:51:11	by Philip J. and Elizabeth B.
22	00:00:51:11	00:00:54:04	Hendrickson;
23	00:00:54:04	00:00:55:22	Phyllis I. Moore,
24	00:00:55:22	00:00:57:05	in memory of the
25	00:00:57:05	00:00:59:04	Henry and Laura Grefe Family
26	00:00:59:04	00:01:02:09	and John F. Moore;
27	00:01:02:09	00:01:04:05	the Kari L. Schmidt family
28	00:01:04:05	00:01:06:08	and Bank of Mauston,
29	00:01:06:08	00:01:10:06	in memory of Thomas E. Schmidt;
30	00:01:10:06	00:01:11:26	the Jean A. Traeder
31	00:01:11:26	00:01:14:06	and Joan M. Randolph families,
32	00:01:14:06	00:01:15:12	in memory
33	00:01:15:12	00:01:18:04	of Beatrice P. Burgdorff;
34	00:01:18:04	00:01:20:07	the John and Catherine Orton
35	00:01:20:07	00:01:21:27	family, in memory
36	00:01:21:27	00:01:23:24	of the Honorable Thomas J.
37	00:01:23:24	00:01:26:26	and Colette S. Currran;
38	00:01:26:26	00:01:29:29	Mildred Freymiller;
39	00:01:29:29	00:01:30:29	the Friends of
40	00:01:30:29	00:01:33:00	Wisconsin Public Television;
41	00:01:33:00	00:01:35:11	and the Wisconsin History Fund,
42	00:01:35:11	00:01:36:17	supported in part
43	00:01:36:17	00:01:37:26	by the National Endowment
44	00:01:37:26	00:01:39:28	for the Humanities.
45	00:01:48:02	00:01:49:11	>> When glaciers moved into
46	00:01:49:11	00:01:51:01	Wisconsin during the last
47	00:01:51:01	00:01:53:07	ice age, ice blocked the flow
48	00:01:53:07	00:01:55:29	of the Wisconsin River,
49	00:01:55:29	00:01:57:15	forming what is known
50	00:01:57:15	00:02:00:21	as Glacial Lake Wisconsin.
51	00:02:00:21	00:02:02:15	For thousands of years,
52	00:02:02:15	00:02:04:10	most of Juneau County
53	00:02:04:10	00:02:07:25	lay deep underwater.
54	00:02:07:25	00:02:09:20	As the climate warmed,
55	00:02:09:20	00:02:12:07	the wall of ice gave way,
56	00:02:12:07	00:02:13:29	and the lake drained
57	00:02:13:29	00:02:17:13	in a catastrophic rush of water.
58	00:02:17:13	00:02:19:15	The surging cascade
59	00:02:19:15	00:02:21:19	carved out the formations
60	00:02:21:19	00:02:23:11	of the Wisconsin Dells
61	00:02:23:11	00:02:26:12	in a matter of days.
62	00:02:28:02	00:02:29:23	>> The cliff that we see ahead
63	00:02:29:23	00:02:31:15	and to the left marks the
64	00:02:31:15	00:02:34:15	beginning of Juneau County.
65	00:02:34:15	00:02:36:25	It was just a cataclysmic flow
66	00:02:36:25	00:02:38:02	and just drained the lake
67	00:02:38:02	00:02:39:26	in a matter of a few days.
68	00:02:39:26	00:02:41:11	So, it was that outflow
69	00:02:41:11	00:02:44:06	that carved through these rocks,
70	00:02:44:06	00:02:45:20	shaping and forming, and
71	00:02:45:20	00:02:47:05	sculpturing the rock formations
72	00:02:47:05	00:02:49:18	that we see today.
73	00:02:53:25	00:02:55:02	>> Jutting up from the lake
74	00:02:55:02	00:02:57:11	bottom, rock formations,
75	00:02:57:11	00:02:58:25	once islands
76	00:02:58:25	00:03:01:05	in the glacial lake,
77	00:03:01:05	00:03:03:14	carved by the waves and currents
78	00:03:03:14	00:03:06:26	of a thousand feet of water.
79	00:03:10:13	00:03:12:18	As the glaciers retreated,
80	00:03:12:18	00:03:14:26	the land opened up once again
81	00:03:14:26	00:03:16:04	to Native Americans,
82	00:03:16:04	00:03:17:15	who left a legacy
83	00:03:17:15	00:03:18:27	of effigy mounds
84	00:03:18:27	00:03:21:03	around the county.
85	00:03:24:09	00:03:26:15	In the 1830s and '40s,
86	00:03:26:15	00:03:27:27	the federal government took
87	00:03:27:27	00:03:29:23	possession of Menominee lands
88	00:03:29:23	00:03:32:07	in Juneau County, and
89	00:03:32:07	00:03:34:11	the US Army removed the Ho Chunk
90	00:03:34:11	00:03:38:02	from their Wisconsin lands.
91	00:03:38:02	00:03:40:15	>> We were forcibly removed
92	00:03:40:15	00:03:43:03	five different times.
93	00:03:43:03	00:03:44:19	Reservations were established
94	00:03:44:19	00:03:46:19	for our people in Iowa.
95	00:03:46:19	00:03:48:03	There were two reservations
96	00:03:48:03	00:03:49:17	in Minnesota,
97	00:03:49:17	00:03:50:25	a reservation established
98	00:03:50:25	00:03:52:08	out in South Dakota.
99	00:03:52:08	00:03:53:16	And then finally,
100	00:03:53:16	00:03:55:05	our people moved down the river
101	00:03:55:05	00:03:56:12	to part of the Omaha
102	00:03:56:12	00:03:58:18	Indian Reservation.
103	00:03:58:18	00:04:00:17	But with each removal,
104	00:04:00:17	00:04:02:14	there was a group,
105	00:04:02:14	00:04:04:12	our Ho Chunk people,
106	00:04:04:12	00:04:05:27	that would always come back
107	00:04:05:27	00:04:07:04	to Wisconsin, always
108	00:04:07:04	00:04:09:14	come back to our homeland.
109	00:04:09:14	00:04:10:24	We believe that
110	00:04:10:24	00:04:13:08	the Creator placed us here.
111	00:04:13:08	00:04:14:20	This is the area that
112	00:04:14:20	00:04:17:15	he intended for us to inhabit.
113	00:04:17:15	00:04:18:23	So, they came back
114	00:04:18:23	00:04:20:10	to the homelands
115	00:04:20:10	00:04:21:18	to be where the Creator
116	00:04:21:18	00:04:23:09	intended for us to be.
117	00:04:23:09	00:04:25:23	This is home.
118	00:04:27:24	00:04:29:14	Yellow Thunder
119	00:04:29:14	00:04:32:19	was one of our great leaders.
120	00:04:32:19	00:04:33:28	Yellow Thunder
121	00:04:33:28	00:04:37:04	encouraged non-Native people
122	00:04:37:04	00:04:38:18	to pressure Congress
123	00:04:38:18	00:04:40:29	to include the Winnebago people,
124	00:04:40:29	00:04:42:21	or Ho Chunk people
125	00:04:42:21	00:04:45:07	in the Homestead Act.
126	00:04:45:07	00:04:46:29	So, 1874, they were included
127	00:04:46:29	00:04:48:19	in the Homestead Act.
128	00:04:48:19	00:04:50:13	And many of our tribal people
129	00:04:50:13	00:04:52:03	took 40-acre properties
130	00:04:52:03	00:04:53:11	in areas where some of
131	00:04:53:11	00:04:54:29	our old villages used to be.
132	00:04:54:29	00:04:56:09	That's why today we have large
133	00:04:56:09	00:04:57:25	communities here in Baraboo,
134	00:04:57:25	00:04:59:25	Wisconsin Dells, La Crosse,
135	00:04:59:25	00:05:02:20	Tomah, Mauston, Reedsburg,
136	00:05:02:20	00:05:05:04	Wittenberg.
137	00:05:05:04	00:05:06:13	Black River Falls, of course,
138	00:05:06:13	00:05:08:22	is our larger community.
139	00:05:08:22	00:05:10:05	But those were some
140	00:05:10:05	00:05:13:03	of the old homestead sites.
141	00:05:13:03	00:05:14:29	>> European homesteaders began
142	00:05:14:29	00:05:18:04	settling the area in the 1840s,
143	00:05:18:04	00:05:20:06	which, until 1858, was part
144	00:05:20:06	00:05:23:11	of a larger Adams County.
145	00:05:23:11	00:05:25:08	>> It offered government land,
146	00:05:25:08	00:05:27:06	low-priced land.
147	00:05:27:06	00:05:29:09	It was the place to come.
148	00:05:29:09	00:05:30:12	>> A lot of free land
149	00:05:30:12	00:05:31:19	was being sold,
150	00:05:31:19	00:05:32:23	a lot of immigrants
151	00:05:32:23	00:05:34:01	were moving in.
152	00:05:34:01	00:05:35:06	There was a lot of land
153	00:05:35:06	00:05:36:21	speculation going on
154	00:05:36:21	00:05:37:27	in Juneau County at the time.
155	00:05:37:27	00:05:39:00	We began to just see
156	00:05:39:00	00:05:40:07	that flux of Irish and Germans
157	00:05:40:07	00:05:41:12	coming into Wisconsin.
158	00:05:41:12	00:05:42:16	That's what's interesting,
159	00:05:42:16	00:05:43:20	because you have
160	00:05:43:20	00:05:45:21	this social war underway.
161	00:05:45:21	00:05:47:17	>> My great grandfather Thomas
162	00:05:47:17	00:05:49:05	came over from Ireland,
163	00:05:49:05	00:05:50:18	and got a job on the Erie Canal.
164	00:05:50:18	00:05:52:21	When his job finished up,
165	00:05:52:21	00:05:54:18	he was in the Chicago area
166	00:05:54:18	00:05:57:03	and came north to Wisconsin.
167	00:05:57:03	00:05:59:11	He got up in this area,
168	00:05:59:11	00:06:00:21	and he said this looks
169	00:06:00:21	00:06:02:15	just like home, like Ireland.
170	00:06:02:15	00:06:05:07	He got that warrant from the
171	00:06:05:07	00:06:06:27	government to have 60 acres
172	00:06:06:27	00:06:09:20	of land, and he started farming.
173	00:06:09:20	00:06:11:07	>> The town of Necedah
174	00:06:11:07	00:06:12:27	formed around a mill pond
175	00:06:12:27	00:06:14:13	and a sawmill,
176	00:06:14:13	00:06:15:25	with the Yellow River
177	00:06:15:25	00:06:17:09	supplying both the water power
178	00:06:17:09	00:06:18:18	for the mill,
179	00:06:18:18	00:06:20:28	and the white pine logs.
180	00:06:20:28	00:06:22:24	>> It was a mini pinery.
181	00:06:22:24	00:06:25:06	Yellow had enough pine upstream
182	00:06:25:06	00:06:27:00	to really foster
183	00:06:27:00	00:06:29:27	a pioneer lumber industry.
184	00:06:29:27	00:06:31:27	>> In the south,
185	00:06:31:27	00:06:34:17	wheat became the crop of choice
186	00:06:34:17	00:06:37:08	for pioneer farmers.
187	00:06:37:08	00:06:38:19	And harnessing the power
188	00:06:38:19	00:06:39:28	of falling water
189	00:06:39:28	00:06:41:12	on the Baraboo, Yellow,
190	00:06:41:12	00:06:43:05	and Lemonweir Rivers,
191	00:06:43:05	00:06:44:28	towns began to grow up
192	00:06:44:28	00:06:46:14	around gristmills, that
193	00:06:46:14	00:06:49:10	ground wheat and other grains.
194	00:06:52:09	00:06:53:11	>> This is a picture
195	00:06:53:11	00:06:54:25	of Ben Boorman.
196	00:06:54:25	00:06:56:07	He purchased the rights
197	00:06:56:07	00:06:58:09	to the power on the dam
198	00:06:58:09	00:07:00:05	on the Lemonweir River
199	00:07:00:05	00:07:01:26	from the founder of Mauston,
200	00:07:01:26	00:07:03:08	Milton Maughs.
201	00:07:03:08	00:07:04:17	Then Boorman had a huge
202	00:07:04:17	00:07:06:06	flour mill, sold flour
203	00:07:06:06	00:07:08:05	all over the Midwest.
204	00:07:08:05	00:07:10:25	He had a lumber mill
205	00:07:10:25	00:07:14:18	and a wool carding mill.
206	00:07:14:18	00:07:16:11	Ben Boorman built
207	00:07:16:11	00:07:20:05	this 13-room home in 1876.
208	00:07:20:05	00:07:21:23	It is now owned by the Juneau
209	00:07:21:23	00:07:24:08	County Historical Society.
210	00:07:24:08	00:07:28:08	It's our museum and archives.
211	00:07:30:13	00:07:32:03	>> In 1858, the arrival of the
212	00:07:32:03	00:07:34:01	La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad
213	00:07:34:01	00:07:36:11	fueled the growing settlement
214	00:07:36:11	00:07:39:21	of Juneau County.
215	00:07:39:21	00:07:41:03	>> One of the first railroads
216	00:07:41:03	00:07:42:25	to cross Wisconsin came west
217	00:07:42:25	00:07:44:20	from Milwaukee to Portage,
218	00:07:44:20	00:07:46:13	crossed the Wisconsin River
219	00:07:46:13	00:07:47:23	at what was then known
220	00:07:47:23	00:07:49:16	as Kilborn Wisconsin Dells,
221	00:07:49:16	00:07:51:04	and that stimulated
222	00:07:51:04	00:07:52:10	the population all the way
223	00:07:52:10	00:07:54:12	up and down its length.
224	00:07:54:12	00:07:55:26	>> Tracks were laid from
225	00:07:55:26	00:07:58:00	Lyndon Station to Mauston,
226	00:07:58:00	00:08:00:02	and then on to New Lisbon
227	00:08:00:02	00:08:02:03	and Camp Douglas.
228	00:08:02:03	00:08:04:15	Soon, a railroad called
229	00:08:04:15	00:08:06:13	the "Baraboo Air Line"
230	00:08:06:13	00:08:08:00	ran tracks from Baraboo
231	00:08:08:00	00:08:09:14	to Wonewoc,
232	00:08:09:14	00:08:12:25	and then on to Elroy.
233	00:08:12:25	00:08:15:12	>> The day it got to Elroy,
234	00:08:15:12	00:08:18:05	there was a stampede of animals,
235	00:08:18:05	00:08:19:15	because they weren't used to
236	00:08:19:15	00:08:22:25	that type of noise.
237	00:08:22:25	00:08:24:29	>> Next, the Western Wisconsin,
238	00:08:24:29	00:08:26:12	decided to run tracks
239	00:08:26:12	00:08:28:17	from Camp Douglas south,
240	00:08:28:17	00:08:29:28	tunneling through the hills
241	00:08:29:28	00:08:31:27	to Hustler,
242	00:08:31:27	00:08:34:02	and then on to Elroy,
243	00:08:34:02	00:08:35:13	where eventually
244	00:08:35:13	00:08:36:29	two roundhouses,
245	00:08:36:29	00:08:38:12	and other operations,
246	00:08:38:12	00:08:41:07	provided many railroad jobs.
247	00:08:41:07	00:08:42:25	The railroads opened up
248	00:08:42:25	00:08:45:00	the world to the rural county,
249	00:08:45:00	00:08:47:22	and settlers began to pour in.
250	00:08:47:22	00:08:49:27	Towns like Union Center built up
251	00:08:49:27	00:08:52:02	around the railroad depot,
252	00:08:52:02	00:08:53:28	and the rhythm of the trains
253	00:08:53:28	00:08:55:13	became the heartbeat
254	00:08:55:13	00:08:58:10	of the area.
255	00:08:58:10	00:09:00:15	For farmers, the rails
256	00:09:00:15	00:09:02:12	opened up new markets
257	00:09:02:12	00:09:04:21	in Milwaukee and Chicago.
258	00:09:04:21	00:09:06:09	Staples like wheat, flour,
259	00:09:06:09	00:09:07:21	and potatoes
260	00:09:07:21	00:09:09:14	were shipped alongside fruit
261	00:09:09:14	00:09:11:00	and other specialty crops
262	00:09:11:00	00:09:12:16	from Juneau County's
263	00:09:12:16	00:09:15:19	varied terrain.
264	00:09:15:19	00:09:17:00	>> When you come to this county,
265	00:09:17:00	00:09:18:06	there's a little bit
266	00:09:18:06	00:09:19:08	of everything.
267	00:09:19:08	00:09:20:21	When we look at Juneau County,
268	00:09:20:21	00:09:22:07	it represents a lot of things
269	00:09:22:07	00:09:23:16	that you can find in this state.
270	00:09:23:16	00:09:25:19	When we get to the southwestern
271	00:09:25:19	00:09:26:28	corner of the county,
272	00:09:26:28	00:09:28:20	it's the unglaciated area,
273	00:09:28:20	00:09:29:27	much like you see
274	00:09:29:27	00:09:31:08	the western edge of Wisconsin,
275	00:09:31:08	00:09:32:13	lots of hills,
276	00:09:32:13	00:09:33:18	beautiful valleys.
277	00:09:33:18	00:09:35:05	Then when you get to
278	00:09:35:05	00:09:36:26	the southern area,
279	00:09:36:26	00:09:38:16	where we are right now,
280	00:09:38:16	00:09:39:18	we're standing in what probably
281	00:09:39:18	00:09:41:05	would've been the tail end
282	00:09:41:05	00:09:42:21	of Glacial Lake Wisconsin.
283	00:09:42:21	00:09:44:02	We've got more of the prairies.
284	00:09:44:02	00:09:45:07	Maybe not as heavy a prairie
285	00:09:45:07	00:09:46:17	as you might see in Dane County,
286	00:09:46:17	00:09:48:12	but still beautiful prairies.
287	00:09:48:12	00:09:50:05	If you go farther north
288	00:09:50:05	00:09:51:24	into Juneau County,
289	00:09:51:24	00:09:53:05	then you get into what was
290	00:09:53:05	00:09:54:25	once known as the Great Swamp.
291	00:09:54:25	00:09:56:14	We get into some beautiful
292	00:09:56:14	00:09:58:01	sand country that you would see
293	00:09:58:01	00:09:59:25	in central Wisconsin,
294	00:09:59:25	00:10:00:26	and also wetlands that you
295	00:10:00:26	00:10:02:17	might see in central Wisconsin.
296	00:10:02:17	00:10:05:03	So, it's very diverse.
297	00:10:05:03	00:10:06:17	>> Juneau County's expanse of
298	00:10:06:17	00:10:09:14	wetlands provided the resources
299	00:10:09:14	00:10:11:20	for a number of specialty crops,
300	00:10:11:20	00:10:13:27	like wiregrass.
301	00:10:13:27	00:10:15:23	>> It was a particular variety
302	00:10:15:23	00:10:17:20	of grass that is wound
303	00:10:17:20	00:10:19:20	and fairly seamless,
304	00:10:19:20	00:10:22:00	and extensive acreage
305	00:10:22:00	00:10:24:05	up in northern Juneau County.
306	00:10:24:05	00:10:26:14	It was harvested and baled up.
307	00:10:26:14	00:10:27:26	Oshkosh was the center of
308	00:10:27:26	00:10:29:09	industry in Wisconsin,
309	00:10:29:09	00:10:31:17	and mats and rugs,
310	00:10:31:17	00:10:34:04	and wrappings and other things
311	00:10:34:04	00:10:35:12	were made out of this.
312	00:10:35:12	00:10:37:13	That industry lasted
313	00:10:37:13	00:10:39:11	until the 1950s,
314	00:10:39:11	00:10:42:00	when they switched to plastic.
315	00:10:42:00	00:10:44:09	Another one is cranberries.
316	00:10:44:09	00:10:45:21	The cranberry industry
317	00:10:45:21	00:10:46:28	grew out of the fact
318	00:10:46:28	00:10:48:03	that wild cranberries
319	00:10:48:03	00:10:50:01	grow in wetlands,
320	00:10:50:01	00:10:51:18	and did grow in those wetlands
321	00:10:51:18	00:10:54:00	up there.
322	00:10:54:00	00:10:56:01	>> In the 1860s,
323	00:10:56:01	00:10:58:14	an insect called the hop louse
324	00:10:58:14	00:11:00:05	wiped out hop production
325	00:11:00:05	00:11:02:14	in New York State.
326	00:11:02:14	00:11:04:25	The price of hops skyrocketed,
327	00:11:04:25	00:11:06:20	opening up a new opportunity
328	00:11:06:20	00:11:09:16	for another specialty crop.
329	00:11:09:16	00:11:11:06	>> It was discovered that the
330	00:11:11:06	00:11:13:03	land in Juneau and Sauk,
331	00:11:13:03	00:11:15:04	and some of Adams County
332	00:11:15:04	00:11:16:11	was just perfect
333	00:11:16:11	00:11:19:17	for growing hops.
334	00:11:19:17	00:11:20:25	>> It went from five cents
335	00:11:20:25	00:11:22:25	a pound to 50 cents a pound.
336	00:11:22:25	00:11:24:14	So you can imagine the craze
337	00:11:24:14	00:11:25:18	that they created
338	00:11:25:18	00:11:26:21	for people putting in hops,
339	00:11:26:21	00:11:28:07	or people growing hops.
340	00:11:28:07	00:11:30:11	Hops is a perennial vine.
341	00:11:30:11	00:11:31:27	It'll grow up a stake
342	00:11:31:27	00:11:34:17	that you put in, about 25' tall.
343	00:11:34:17	00:11:35:27	It produces
344	00:11:35:27	00:11:37:11	a walnut sized fruit,
345	00:11:37:11	00:11:38:20	and that's what's harvested.
346	00:11:38:20	00:11:40:02	That is dried down, and that
347	00:11:40:02	00:11:42:14	produces the flavor in beer.
348	00:11:42:14	00:11:43:23	So the hops harvest
349	00:11:43:23	00:11:45:14	was very labor intensive.
350	00:11:45:14	00:11:46:21	So, to harvest that crop, they
351	00:11:46:21	00:11:48:11	would bring in as many workers
352	00:11:48:11	00:11:50:21	as they could by rail.
353	00:11:50:21	00:11:52:09	>> Isaac Alsbacher
354	00:11:52:09	00:11:54:16	delved into hops in Mauston.
355	00:11:54:16	00:11:56:06	He bought the hops
356	00:11:56:06	00:11:58:14	from the smaller farmers
357	00:11:58:14	00:12:02:02	and he also had a hop yard.
358	00:12:02:02	00:12:04:16	Mr. Alsbacher hired ladies
359	00:12:04:16	00:12:06:23	and children from the cities
360	00:12:06:23	00:12:08:04	that would come on the trains
361	00:12:08:04	00:12:09:28	to pick the hops.
362	00:12:09:28	00:12:12:06	He would have a wagon or two
363	00:12:12:06	00:12:14:23	that he would pick these workers
364	00:12:14:23	00:12:16:03	up at the tracks.
365	00:12:16:03	00:12:18:10	They would be singing
366	00:12:18:10	00:12:21:08	all the way through town.
367	00:12:21:08	00:12:22:25	Mr. Alsbacher built
368	00:12:22:25	00:12:25:09	a very, very large mansion,
369	00:12:25:09	00:12:27:26	and he would have rooms
370	00:12:27:26	00:12:30:12	for the workers to stay in.
371	00:12:30:12	00:12:32:02	>> The early settlers here
372	00:12:32:02	00:12:33:24	were subsistence farmers.
373	00:12:33:24	00:12:35:01	First of all, they were
374	00:12:35:01	00:12:36:09	just making enough money
375	00:12:36:09	00:12:37:13	to feed the family,
376	00:12:37:13	00:12:38:16	or they were raising enough food
377	00:12:38:16	00:12:39:16	to feed the family.
378	00:12:39:16	00:12:40:17	When the hops craze came in,
379	00:12:40:17	00:12:42:00	that changed.
380	00:12:42:00	00:12:43:17	So, barns were built,
381	00:12:43:17	00:12:44:28	houses were put up,
382	00:12:44:28	00:12:46:05	pianos were bought.
383	00:12:46:05	00:12:47:10	But when it got to that
384	00:12:47:10	00:12:48:20	50-cent market, guess what,
385	00:12:48:20	00:12:49:20	New York figured out how
386	00:12:49:20	00:12:50:26	to get rid of the hop louse.
387	00:12:50:26	00:12:52:08	So now, we have
388	00:12:52:08	00:12:53:09	double the production
389	00:12:53:09	00:12:54:10	and the price dropped
390	00:12:54:10	00:12:55:11	well below five cents,
391	00:12:55:11	00:12:56:22	down to three cents a pound.
392	00:12:56:22	00:12:58:07	And the people that probably
393	00:12:58:07	00:12:59:15	borrowed the farm
394	00:12:59:15	00:13:00:22	went to the banker
395	00:13:00:22	00:13:01:27	and bought a fancy piano
396	00:13:01:27	00:13:03:02	because they were
397	00:13:03:02	00:13:04:02	going to make money at 50 cents,
398	00:13:04:02	00:13:05:21	went bankrupt.
399	00:13:05:21	00:13:07:01	Now, of course, if you put up
400	00:13:07:01	00:13:08:24	a barn, that didn't go away.
401	00:13:08:24	00:13:10:25	That added to the long term
402	00:13:10:25	00:13:12:05	infrastructure of this area.
403	00:13:12:05	00:13:13:24	So some of that investment
404	00:13:13:24	00:13:15:23	in infrastructure stayed.
405	00:13:15:23	00:13:17:24	>> As fortunes in hops rose
406	00:13:17:24	00:13:20:29	and fell, Juneau County
407	00:13:20:29	00:13:22:26	would soon be touched
408	00:13:22:26	00:13:24:20	by a bitter conflict brewing
409	00:13:24:20	00:13:27:26	a thousand miles away.
410	00:13:37:09	00:13:38:16	>> With the attack on
411	00:13:38:16	00:13:40:11	Fort Sumpter, South Carolina,
412	00:13:40:11	00:13:41:17	the frontier settlers
413	00:13:41:17	00:13:43:10	of Juneau County were drawn
414	00:13:43:10	00:13:46:06	into the impending Civil War.
415	00:13:46:06	00:13:48:01	President Lincoln issued a call
416	00:13:48:01	00:13:50:07	to each state to raise companies
417	00:13:50:07	00:13:52:07	of volunteers.
418	00:13:52:07	00:13:54:01	Rufus Dawes
419	00:13:54:01	00:13:55:16	and his father Henry,
420	00:13:55:16	00:13:57:08	heeded the call,
421	00:13:57:08	00:13:59:02	inspired by the patriotism
422	00:13:59:02	00:14:00:18	of his great-grandfather,
423	00:14:00:18	00:14:02:13	William Dawes.
424	00:14:02:13	00:14:04:02	Along with Paul Revere,
425	00:14:04:02	00:14:06:04	Dawes rode at midnight, warning
426	00:14:06:04	00:14:07:20	colonists of the outbreak
427	00:14:07:20	00:14:10:20	of the Revolutionary War.
428	00:14:10:20	00:14:11:28	>> So they were well aware
429	00:14:11:28	00:14:13:18	of the forming of this country.
430	00:14:13:18	00:14:15:20	They felt that they were saving
431	00:14:15:20	00:14:17:05	their grandfathers' work, or
432	00:14:17:05	00:14:18:29	their great-grandfathers' work.
433	00:14:18:29	00:14:20:14	Rufus was very active
434	00:14:20:14	00:14:22:24	in recruiting for the company.
435	00:14:22:24	00:14:24:21	They met three or four times,
436	00:14:24:21	00:14:26:10	and they quickly got the hundred
437	00:14:26:10	00:14:27:28	volunteers they needed.
438	00:14:27:28	00:14:29:11	Then they have to elect these
439	00:14:29:11	00:14:31:12	officers within the group.
440	00:14:31:12	00:14:33:22	Rufus Dawes was elected.
441	00:14:33:22	00:14:35:03	They came to the decision
442	00:14:35:03	00:14:36:08	that they would call themselves
443	00:14:36:08	00:14:37:10	the Minute Men.
444	00:14:37:10	00:14:38:12	Again, that's a connection
445	00:14:38:12	00:14:40:06	to Rufus Dawes and his dad,
446	00:14:40:06	00:14:41:14	that they would call themselves
447	00:14:41:14	00:14:42:12	the Minute Men,
448	00:14:42:12	00:14:44:16	like the patriots of old.
449	00:14:44:16	00:14:45:22	So, they had this big meeting,
450	00:14:45:22	00:14:47:00	and that was pretty much
451	00:14:47:00	00:14:48:00	the name they were going to use.
452	00:14:48:00	00:14:49:01	They said, well, are we going to
453	00:14:49:01	00:14:50:00	be the Juneau County Minute Men,
454	00:14:50:00	00:14:51:02	and one guy said, no, let's be
455	00:14:51:02	00:14:52:22	the Lemonweir Minute Men,
456	00:14:52:22	00:14:54:08	to remind us of the valley
457	00:14:54:08	00:14:56:24	that we all came from.
458	00:14:59:04	00:15:00:23	It's very local.
459	00:15:00:23	00:15:01:28	You went to war with your
460	00:15:01:28	00:15:03:03	cousins and your school mates,
461	00:15:03:03	00:15:04:13	and your brothers,
462	00:15:04:13	00:15:05:19	your fathers, sometimes,
463	00:15:05:19	00:15:07:17	and sons.
464	00:15:07:17	00:15:09:01	You've got Irish immigrants,
465	00:15:09:01	00:15:10:08	James Patrick Sutherland
466	00:15:10:08	00:15:11:15	from Company K
467	00:15:11:15	00:15:13:06	of the Lemonweir Minute Men.
468	00:15:13:06	00:15:14:22	He's actually 17 years old
469	00:15:14:22	00:15:15:27	and lies about his age
470	00:15:15:27	00:15:17:09	to get in.
471	00:15:17:09	00:15:18:26	Some Norwegians, some Germans,
472	00:15:18:26	00:15:20:14	a lot of Yankees.
473	00:15:20:14	00:15:22:20	Then they went to Madison,
474	00:15:22:20	00:15:24:05	where they were formed
475	00:15:24:05	00:15:26:17	into the 6th Wisconsin.
476	00:15:26:17	00:15:27:26	The guys went in homemade shirts
477	00:15:27:26	00:15:30:03	and straw hats.
478	00:15:30:03	00:15:31:29	They had their stuff wrapped up
479	00:15:31:29	00:15:33:21	in a kerchief on a stick.
480	00:15:33:21	00:15:37:04	They were pretty rustic boys.
481	00:15:37:04	00:15:38:24	The 6th Wisconsin became known
482	00:15:38:24	00:15:40:19	as the calico boys,
483	00:15:40:19	00:15:42:15	because of all of the colorful
484	00:15:42:15	00:15:43:21	homemade shirts
485	00:15:43:21	00:15:45:07	that their mothers and sisters
486	00:15:45:07	00:15:47:07	sent them with.
487	00:15:47:07	00:15:48:24	So, you had a frontier company
488	00:15:48:24	00:15:50:05	in many ways.
489	00:15:50:05	00:15:51:09	Very proud
490	00:15:51:09	00:15:52:12	of what they were doing.
491	00:15:52:12	00:15:53:17	Very proud of Wisconsin.
492	00:15:53:17	00:15:54:21	Wisconsin is a state for
493	00:15:54:21	00:15:56:04	12 years when the war started.
494	00:15:56:04	00:15:57:08	Did it earn its star
495	00:15:57:08	00:15:58:18	on the flag?
496	00:15:58:18	00:15:59:26	Well, they're gonna
497	00:15:59:26	00:16:02:09	show everybody that they were,
498	00:16:02:09	00:16:03:13	you know, worthy
499	00:16:03:13	00:16:05:20	of being part of the Union.
500	00:16:05:20	00:16:06:29	The 6th Wisconsin is shipped
501	00:16:06:29	00:16:08:17	to Washington,
502	00:16:08:17	00:16:09:29	and ultimately becomes
503	00:16:09:29	00:16:11:04	part of the Iron Brigade,
504	00:16:11:04	00:16:12:24	which is the 2nd, 6th,
505	00:16:12:24	00:16:13:26	and 7th Wisconsin,
506	00:16:13:26	00:16:15:01	the 19th Indiana,
507	00:16:15:01	00:16:16:06	and later the 24th Michigan.
508	00:16:16:06	00:16:17:24	All western boys.
509	00:16:17:24	00:16:19:05	So you had a western brigade
510	00:16:19:05	00:16:21:06	and those eastern armies.
511	00:16:21:06	00:16:23:29	They wore these big black hats.
512	00:16:23:29	00:16:25:17	They looked like pilgrim hats,
513	00:16:25:17	00:16:26:24	but they were actually
514	00:16:26:24	00:16:28:04	a military hat.
515	00:16:28:04	00:16:29:09	They liked the big hats,
516	00:16:29:09	00:16:30:26	because they made 'em look big.
517	00:16:30:26	00:16:32:12	It also made 'em recognized
518	00:16:32:12	00:16:33:18	as western men, and they
519	00:16:33:18	00:16:35:03	were going to prove something.
520	00:16:35:03	00:16:37:16	And they did.
521	00:16:37:16	00:16:38:23	They fight four battles in the
522	00:16:38:23	00:16:40:05	space of three weeks.
523	00:16:40:05	00:16:41:08	They fight Gainesville,
524	00:16:41:08	00:16:42:14	Bull Run, South Mountain,
525	00:16:42:14	00:16:43:18	and Antietam.
526	00:16:43:18	00:16:44:28	In Antietam, a very, very hard
527	00:16:44:28	00:16:46:24	fight in a place called
528	00:16:46:24	00:16:48:01	the corn field, where they
529	00:16:48:01	00:16:49:07	just got shot to pieces.
530	00:16:49:07	00:16:50:18	The 6th Wisconsin lost
531	00:16:50:18	00:16:52:13	almost 50% in the space
532	00:16:52:13	00:16:54:00	of an hour and a half.
533	00:16:54:00	00:16:56:01	But they make their reputation
534	00:16:56:01	00:16:59:22	at Gettysburg.
535	00:17:02:24	00:17:04:23	Rufus Dawes ends up being
536	00:17:04:23	00:17:06:03	a Lt. Colonel, which is a
537	00:17:06:03	00:17:08:07	second slot on the Army Brigade.
538	00:17:08:07	00:17:10:01	But his commander had been
539	00:17:10:01	00:17:11:25	kicked by a horse, so at
540	00:17:11:25	00:17:14:07	Gettysburg, Dawes is in command.
541	00:17:14:07	00:17:15:21	He writes his best girl,
542	00:17:15:21	00:17:17:00	Mary Beman Gates,
543	00:17:17:00	00:17:18:05	before the battle.
544	00:17:18:05	00:17:19:09	He said,
545	00:17:19:09	00:17:21:25	"I hope to do something brave."
546	00:17:23:14	00:17:24:23	The Iron Brigade is
547	00:17:24:23	00:17:26:25	thrown in north of town,
548	00:17:26:25	00:17:28:05	'cause the Confederates
549	00:17:28:05	00:17:30:10	are coming down that road.
550	00:17:30:10	00:17:31:22	And so, for a period
551	00:17:31:22	00:17:33:03	from 10:00 in the morning
552	00:17:33:03	00:17:35:01	until 4:00 in the afternoon,
553	00:17:35:01	00:17:36:09	the Iron Brigade,
554	00:17:36:09	00:17:37:13	and some other units,
555	00:17:37:13	00:17:39:09	but the Iron Brigade primarily,
556	00:17:39:09	00:17:40:15	blocks the road so the
557	00:17:40:15	00:17:42:14	Confederates can't come through.
558	00:17:42:14	00:17:43:18	Outnumbered two and three
559	00:17:43:18	00:17:44:28	to one, if you can imagine
560	00:17:44:28	00:17:47:07	those kind of odds.
561	00:17:47:07	00:17:49:17	Driven back,
562	00:17:49:17	00:17:52:13	literally step by step.
563	00:17:52:13	00:17:54:13	Finally, they're blown away
564	00:17:54:13	00:17:55:17	and they have to run through
565	00:17:55:17	00:17:56:20	the town.
566	00:17:56:20	00:17:57:22	But what happens is,
567	00:17:57:22	00:17:59:10	they save the high ground that's
568	00:17:59:10	00:18:01:06	so critical in Gettysburg.
569	00:18:01:06	00:18:02:22	The Confederates
570	00:18:02:22	00:18:03:28	can't get through the town.
571	00:18:03:28	00:18:05:26	They can't capture the town, and
572	00:18:05:26	00:18:08:00	below the town are these ridges
573	00:18:08:00	00:18:09:25	that the Union Army fortifies.
574	00:18:09:25	00:18:12:05	And those ridges become the key
575	00:18:12:05	00:18:13:28	to the victory at Gettysburg.
576	00:18:13:28	00:18:15:19	So, in many ways, they win
577	00:18:15:19	00:18:17:02	the battle at Gettysburg,
578	00:18:17:02	00:18:19:13	or are a key factor in it.
579	00:18:19:13	00:18:20:17	But does anybody know that?
580	00:18:20:17	00:18:21:20	No.
581	00:18:21:20	00:18:22:25	They went into the battle with
582	00:18:22:25	00:18:24:27	1883 soldiers, the Brigade did,
583	00:18:24:27	00:18:28:18	five regiments, 1883 men.
584	00:18:28:18	00:18:29:27	That night, when they took
585	00:18:29:27	00:18:33:00	the roll, there were 491 left.
586	00:18:36:09	00:18:37:15	Then they go on.
587	00:18:37:15	00:18:38:16	They regrouped
588	00:18:38:16	00:18:39:18	and they fight at the Wilderness
589	00:18:39:18	00:18:40:20	and they go on through
590	00:18:40:20	00:18:41:22	the rest of the war.
591	00:18:41:22	00:18:43:12	The 6th and the 7th end up
592	00:18:43:12	00:18:44:20	at that strange place called
593	00:18:44:20	00:18:47:01	Appomattox Court House.
594	00:18:47:01	00:18:51:11	And then they come home.
595	00:18:51:11	00:18:54:03	In the end, after all the war
596	00:18:54:03	00:18:56:04	was over and they began to count
597	00:18:56:04	00:18:58:06	up, the Iron Brigade had the
598	00:18:58:06	00:19:00:22	highest percentage of loss of
599	00:19:00:22	00:19:04:21	any brigade in the Union Army.
600	00:19:04:21	00:19:06:29	It's a war record that, we
601	00:19:06:29	00:19:08:18	should be proud of 'em, because
602	00:19:08:18	00:19:11:15	they stepped up, frontier boys,
603	00:19:11:15	00:19:12:28	and opened the attack
604	00:19:12:28	00:19:14:07	at Antietam,
605	00:19:14:07	00:19:15:13	opened the fighting
606	00:19:15:13	00:19:16:17	at Gettysburg,
607	00:19:16:17	00:19:17:21	the infantry fighting.
608	00:19:17:21	00:19:18:27	You know, it's just
609	00:19:18:27	00:19:20:25	a remarkable record.
610	00:19:20:25	00:19:22:01	They went to the war, one guy
611	00:19:22:01	00:19:23:05	said, because "I wanted to do
612	00:19:23:05	00:19:24:19	something for my new country,"
613	00:19:24:19	00:19:26:11	an Irish immigrant.
614	00:19:26:11	00:19:27:19	Another soldier said he wanted
615	00:19:27:19	00:19:28:23	to be considered brave,
616	00:19:28:23	00:19:29:28	and he wanted to see
617	00:19:29:28	00:19:31:11	the sunny south.
618	00:19:31:11	00:19:32:21	But they stepped up and fought
619	00:19:32:21	00:19:34:10	a very, very bloody war
620	00:19:34:10	00:19:35:14	for four years.
621	00:19:35:14	00:19:36:17	Some of them never got home
622	00:19:36:17	00:19:37:28	for the whole four years
623	00:19:37:28	00:19:39:16	until the day they
624	00:19:39:16	00:19:41:01	got off the train in Madison
625	00:19:41:01	00:19:43:18	and made their way to Cassville,
626	00:19:43:18	00:19:46:16	or Lancaster, or Mauston,
627	00:19:46:16	00:19:48:03	or all those places
628	00:19:48:03	00:19:50:18	they called home.
629	00:19:50:18	00:19:51:19	And yet, they blend
630	00:19:51:19	00:19:53:18	right back in.
631	00:19:53:18	00:19:55:01	Rufus Dawes wrote a letter
632	00:19:55:01	00:19:56:26	to his old Lemonweir Minute Men
633	00:19:56:26	00:19:58:23	reunion.
634	00:19:58:23	00:20:00:01	He said the younger generation
635	00:20:00:01	00:20:01:17	can hardly know that their
636	00:20:01:17	00:20:02:28	modest neighbors fought
637	00:20:02:28	00:20:04:02	on more battle fields
638	00:20:04:02	00:20:05:22	than the old guard of Napoleon,
639	00:20:05:22	00:20:07:16	and are now the nation's
640	00:20:07:16	00:20:10:10	best citizens.
641	00:20:24:05	00:20:25:26	>> When Glacial Lake Wisconsin
642	00:20:25:26	00:20:28:11	drained during the last ice age,
643	00:20:28:11	00:20:29:26	it left a landscape
644	00:20:29:26	00:20:31:09	that would defeat
645	00:20:31:09	00:20:32:17	many of the best efforts
646	00:20:32:17	00:20:35:01	to tame it.
647	00:20:35:01	00:20:36:10	>> When the glacial lake
648	00:20:36:10	00:20:38:13	drained, it evolved into
649	00:20:38:13	00:20:40:09	the largest stretch of wetland
650	00:20:40:09	00:20:42:09	in the state, the Great Swamp
651	00:20:42:09	00:20:44:00	of Central Wisconsin,
652	00:20:44:00	00:20:45:22	as it was called.
653	00:20:45:22	00:20:47:01	Other parts of it, the parts
654	00:20:47:01	00:20:48:14	that were slightly higher
655	00:20:48:14	00:20:49:23	and drier developed
656	00:20:49:23	00:20:51:12	into the Pine Barrens,
657	00:20:51:12	00:20:53:02	as we call it, oak savannah,
658	00:20:53:02	00:20:55:03	areas that resembled,
659	00:20:55:03	00:20:58:02	really in many ways, a park.
660	00:20:58:02	00:21:00:11	Groves of trees, and in between
661	00:21:00:11	00:21:02:08	was native grasses and sedges
662	00:21:02:08	00:21:04:04	and the wetlands.
663	00:21:04:04	00:21:05:14	It was a natural landscape
664	00:21:05:14	00:21:08:06	and a managed landscape in that
665	00:21:08:06	00:21:09:14	the Native Americans also
666	00:21:09:14	00:21:11:02	burned it on a regular basis
667	00:21:11:02	00:21:12:23	and that maintained
668	00:21:12:23	00:21:15:07	those grasslands.
669	00:21:15:07	00:21:16:16	None of this land
670	00:21:16:16	00:21:18:20	is really good for agriculture.
671	00:21:18:20	00:21:20:04	And that of course, has affected
672	00:21:20:04	00:21:22:25	the history here.
673	00:21:24:13	00:21:26:01	Marsh farming in general
674	00:21:26:01	00:21:27:08	was a particular feature
675	00:21:27:08	00:21:29:02	of Juneau County.
676	00:21:29:02	00:21:30:07	The state kept
677	00:21:30:07	00:21:31:16	agriculture statistics.
678	00:21:31:16	00:21:32:28	You go down the list of corn,
679	00:21:32:28	00:21:34:06	oats, and da-da-da-da-da,
680	00:21:34:06	00:21:35:27	there would be hay.
681	00:21:35:27	00:21:37:03	There are always two categories
682	00:21:37:03	00:21:38:14	for hay.
683	00:21:38:14	00:21:39:22	There was tame hay.
684	00:21:39:22	00:21:41:07	and there was wild hay.
685	00:21:41:07	00:21:43:04	Wild hay was marsh hay.
686	00:21:43:04	00:21:44:15	It was a crop that was free
687	00:21:44:15	00:21:45:24	for the labor.
688	00:21:45:24	00:21:46:29	You did not have to sow it.
689	00:21:46:29	00:21:48:12	It came back.
690	00:21:48:12	00:21:49:22	Occasionally, they would attempt
691	00:21:49:22	00:21:51:20	to improve it by burning it.
692	00:21:51:20	00:21:53:15	>> They'd come out, horseback,
693	00:21:53:15	00:21:56:12	with cartons
694	00:21:56:12	00:21:57:27	of the old farmers' matches
695	00:21:57:27	00:22:00:08	and they'd spread out,
696	00:22:00:08	00:22:03:08	oh, a half mile apart,
697	00:22:03:08	00:22:05:24	and ride back north,
698	00:22:05:24	00:22:08:22	setting fires all the way.
699	00:22:08:22	00:22:10:27	All the marshes
700	00:22:10:27	00:22:12:19	and that was burnt off.
701	00:22:12:19	00:22:15:07	That's why them marshes
702	00:22:15:07	00:22:17:00	were so clean
703	00:22:17:00	00:22:19:22	and abundant with hay.
704	00:22:19:22	00:22:20:27	>> One farmer told me it was
705	00:22:20:27	00:22:22:06	the best hay you could
706	00:22:22:06	00:22:24:02	possibly feed to horses,
707	00:22:24:02	00:22:25:11	and the other one said that
708	00:22:25:11	00:22:26:15	we worked the horses so hard,
709	00:22:26:15	00:22:27:20	they were so hungry
710	00:22:27:20	00:22:28:29	they ate anything,
711	00:22:28:29	00:22:31:29	even marsh hay.
712	00:22:31:29	00:22:33:26	>> By the end of the 1800s,
713	00:22:33:26	00:22:35:20	the American frontier
714	00:22:35:20	00:22:37:15	was coming to an end,
715	00:22:37:15	00:22:38:21	and settlers
716	00:22:38:21	00:22:40:10	had to look for opportunities
717	00:22:40:10	00:22:43:14	on less fertile lands.
718	00:22:43:14	00:22:46:06	>> There is a surplus of people
719	00:22:46:06	00:22:49:03	in rural areas
720	00:22:49:03	00:22:51:06	who were looking for land.
721	00:22:51:06	00:22:52:22	In addition,
722	00:22:52:22	00:22:54:10	there was also a great wave
723	00:22:54:10	00:22:55:27	of European immigrants:
724	00:22:55:27	00:22:58:19	Poles and Bohemians, Czechs,
725	00:22:58:19	00:23:01:13	still plenty of Germans.
726	00:23:01:13	00:23:02:24	A majority of these people
727	00:23:02:24	00:23:05:15	found jobs in American industry,
728	00:23:05:15	00:23:07:19	and built Chicago and Milwaukee,
729	00:23:07:19	00:23:09:23	and those big, big cities.
730	00:23:09:23	00:23:11:07	But there were many of them
731	00:23:11:07	00:23:13:04	who also were interested
732	00:23:13:04	00:23:14:18	in land.
733	00:23:14:18	00:23:16:15	You have this submarginal land,
734	00:23:16:15	00:23:18:04	of which there is a lot
735	00:23:18:04	00:23:20:06	in central Wisconsin.
736	00:23:20:06	00:23:21:15	And of course northern Juneau
737	00:23:21:15	00:23:23:25	was part of that.
738	00:23:23:25	00:23:25:22	Joe Babcock, who was the
739	00:23:25:22	00:23:27:28	congressman from Juneau County,
740	00:23:27:28	00:23:29:13	he had made his fortune
741	00:23:29:13	00:23:30:24	at the Necedah Lumber Company,
742	00:23:30:24	00:23:32:08	and owned a lot of land.
743	00:23:32:08	00:23:33:29	He and others, he certainly
744	00:23:33:29	00:23:35:15	wasn't alone in this,
745	00:23:35:15	00:23:37:06	they discovered
746	00:23:37:06	00:23:39:06	the new technology of the day,
747	00:23:39:06	00:23:41:26	which was the steam dragline,
748	00:23:41:26	00:23:43:23	the steam excavator.
749	00:23:43:23	00:23:45:12	This device was really
750	00:23:45:12	00:23:48:07	the death star for wetlands,
751	00:23:48:07	00:23:49:26	certainly in Wisconsin, really
752	00:23:49:26	00:23:51:19	all over the United States.
753	00:23:51:19	00:23:53:14	This machine was powerful enough
754	00:23:53:14	00:23:54:25	to dig ditches and drain
755	00:23:54:25	00:23:56:05	the Great Swamp
756	00:23:56:05	00:23:58:27	of Central Wisconsin.
757	00:24:03:29	00:24:06:01	>> My folks came from Iowa
758	00:24:06:01	00:24:07:09	back at the turn
759	00:24:07:09	00:24:09:08	of the other century.
760	00:24:09:08	00:24:10:21	They really pioneered
761	00:24:10:21	00:24:12:05	that country.
762	00:24:12:05	00:24:15:18	They came just as the ditches,
763	00:24:15:18	00:24:17:16	the drainage ditches, some
764	00:24:17:16	00:24:20:06	of 'em were being completed,
765	00:24:20:06	00:24:22:14	and others to do.
766	00:24:22:14	00:24:23:26	>> Developers organized
767	00:24:23:26	00:24:26:00	several drainage districts,
768	00:24:26:00	00:24:28:02	which would tax farmers to pay
769	00:24:28:02	00:24:30:16	for digging miles of ditches.
770	00:24:30:16	00:24:32:21	Despite the extra tax,
771	00:24:32:21	00:24:34:20	the offer of cheap land
772	00:24:34:20	00:24:35:29	attracted many farmers
773	00:24:35:29	00:24:39:06	from Illinois and Iowa.
774	00:24:39:06	00:24:41:18	>> Land had got so high priced
775	00:24:41:18	00:24:44:02	down in them states,
776	00:24:44:02	00:24:45:12	that they couldn't afford
777	00:24:45:12	00:24:47:01	to start farming.
778	00:24:47:01	00:24:50:18	This land was advertised
779	00:24:50:18	00:24:52:26	by land companies.
780	00:24:52:26	00:24:56:02	It enticed young couples
781	00:24:56:02	00:24:58:01	to come up and buy
782	00:24:58:01	00:25:00:09	some of that cheaper land.
783	00:25:00:09	00:25:02:17	This is a picture of my folks
784	00:25:02:17	00:25:04:23	and the Williams,
785	00:25:04:23	00:25:07:21	which were other settlers.
786	00:25:07:21	00:25:11:02	That's a picture of my dad
787	00:25:11:02	00:25:14:09	and me as a baby,
788	00:25:14:09	00:25:16:26	and my sisters.
789	00:25:19:16	00:25:21:07	This was the first place
790	00:25:21:07	00:25:23:15	that my folks built
791	00:25:23:15	00:25:25:12	when they came to Wisconsin.
792	00:25:25:12	00:25:26:26	This was the second one
793	00:25:26:26	00:25:31:15	that they built and started.
794	00:25:31:15	00:25:34:14	>> When you drain these marshes,
795	00:25:34:14	00:25:37:18	well, they look really good.
796	00:25:37:18	00:25:38:27	There's a couple of feet
797	00:25:38:27	00:25:40:09	in places, and sometimes
798	00:25:40:09	00:25:41:25	more than a couple of feet
799	00:25:41:25	00:25:43:10	of black peat.
800	00:25:43:10	00:25:45:01	It looks like fertile soil.
801	00:25:45:01	00:25:46:27	But of course, it's not.
802	00:25:46:27	00:25:50:01	It supported a crop, a good crop
803	00:25:50:01	00:25:51:22	for maybe a couple of years, and
804	00:25:51:22	00:25:54:03	then its fertility was worn out.
805	00:25:54:03	00:25:57:06	Then, it was just dry stuff.
806	00:25:57:06	00:25:58:12	>> Well, when they drained
807	00:25:58:12	00:25:59:26	all this water off,
808	00:25:59:26	00:26:01:04	what Leopold called
809	00:26:01:04	00:26:02:16	the Drainage Dream,
810	00:26:02:16	00:26:03:29	became the Drainage Nightmare,
811	00:26:03:29	00:26:05:04	because now you've got this
812	00:26:05:04	00:26:06:15	dry stuff on the top,
813	00:26:06:15	00:26:07:29	and it was very common
814	00:26:07:29	00:26:09:22	for the early settlers
815	00:26:09:22	00:26:11:10	in the spring of the year
816	00:26:11:10	00:26:12:14	to light the grass afire.
817	00:26:12:14	00:26:13:23	Well, can you imagine lighting
818	00:26:13:23	00:26:14:24	the grass afire
819	00:26:14:24	00:26:16:00	when there's this dry kindling,
820	00:26:16:00	00:26:17:06	this peat moss,
821	00:26:17:06	00:26:18:12	and that gets a hold.
822	00:26:18:12	00:26:19:16	That would smolder all summer
823	00:26:19:16	00:26:20:19	long and may not even go out
824	00:26:20:19	00:26:21:26	until mid-winter when the snow
825	00:26:21:26	00:26:23:01	actually puts it out when
826	00:26:23:01	00:26:24:10	you get enough snow out there.
827	00:26:24:10	00:26:25:26	So, all that peat burned off
828	00:26:25:26	00:26:27:02	and all that was left
829	00:26:27:02	00:26:28:09	was this sand that really
830	00:26:28:09	00:26:30:26	wasn't productive at all.
831	00:26:30:26	00:26:32:02	>> There's the great quote
832	00:26:32:02	00:26:33:19	from Aldo Leopold that
833	00:26:33:19	00:26:35:07	the Drainage Dream sucked dry
834	00:26:35:07	00:26:36:18	the marshes of central Wisconsin
835	00:26:36:18	00:26:38:12	to create farms
836	00:26:38:12	00:26:41:12	and created ash heaps instead.
837	00:26:43:21	00:26:45:11	>> The farmers had agreed to buy
838	00:26:45:11	00:26:46:22	the land and be taxed like
839	00:26:46:22	00:26:48:00	everybody else normally, but
840	00:26:48:00	00:26:49:10	then also to tax themselves in
841	00:26:49:10	00:26:50:28	addition for this ditch.
842	00:26:50:28	00:26:53:20	Many of them could not survive
843	00:26:53:20	00:26:55:05	the tax consequences of this,
844	00:26:55:05	00:26:56:14	so they walked away from it.
845	00:26:56:14	00:26:57:27	There was lots of land there
846	00:26:57:27	00:26:59:07	that was left vacant,
847	00:26:59:07	00:27:01:07	was gone back to back taxes.
848	00:27:01:07	00:27:03:08	>> By the 1930s, half the land
849	00:27:03:08	00:27:05:25	is in delinquent taxes.
850	00:27:05:25	00:27:07:29	The drainage districts
851	00:27:07:29	00:27:10:05	went broke.
852	00:27:10:05	00:27:12:11	>> During the Great Depression,
853	00:27:12:11	00:27:14:17	years of record breaking drought
854	00:27:14:17	00:27:17:25	made a bad problem even worse.
855	00:27:17:25	00:27:19:13	Eventually, the federal
856	00:27:19:13	00:27:20:26	government stepped in with
857	00:27:20:26	00:27:22:27	a New Deal program called
858	00:27:22:27	00:27:26:07	the Resettlement Administration.
859	00:27:26:07	00:27:28:04	The RA began buying up land
860	00:27:28:04	00:27:30:17	in a wide area of Juneau County,
861	00:27:30:17	00:27:32:03	as part of a larger program
862	00:27:32:03	00:27:33:08	throughout
863	00:27:33:08	00:27:34:26	the great marshland area,
864	00:27:34:26	00:27:36:09	conserving wetlands
865	00:27:36:09	00:27:38:14	for game birds and animals.
866	00:27:38:14	00:27:40:12	>> They would actually
867	00:27:40:12	00:27:42:18	find another farm for someone,
868	00:27:42:18	00:27:43:29	and say, we'll buy your farm,
869	00:27:43:29	00:27:45:01	and this farm
870	00:27:45:01	00:27:46:05	is practically worthless,
871	00:27:46:05	00:27:47:20	and then we'll also get you,
872	00:27:47:20	00:27:50:01	help you in this other place.
873	00:27:50:01	00:27:52:16	>> In 1934, the agency
874	00:27:52:16	00:27:54:09	bought out the farm
875	00:27:54:09	00:27:56:07	of the Walter Brundage family,
876	00:27:56:07	00:27:58:05	who lost several crops to frost
877	00:27:58:05	00:28:00:23	in the low-lying area.
878	00:28:00:23	00:28:02:08	It purchased a new farm
879	00:28:02:08	00:28:04:05	in southern Juneau County,
880	00:28:04:05	00:28:06:15	and resettled the family there.
881	00:28:06:15	00:28:08:17	While many were
882	00:28:08:17	00:28:10:18	more than happy to get out,
883	00:28:10:18	00:28:12:08	about a third had managed
884	00:28:12:08	00:28:14:09	to succeed, and saw no reason
885	00:28:14:09	00:28:17:02	to leave their homes.
886	00:28:17:02	00:28:18:22	>> My folks were very reluctant
887	00:28:18:22	00:28:21:20	of selling out.
888	00:28:21:20	00:28:23:22	They liked it here.
889	00:28:23:22	00:28:25:29	They did very well.
890	00:28:25:29	00:28:27:20	They had quite a name
891	00:28:27:20	00:28:30:00	for Jersey cattle.
892	00:28:30:00	00:28:31:10	And it got down to where
893	00:28:31:10	00:28:35:10	they were the last ones there.
894	00:28:35:10	00:28:36:14	>> Eventually,
895	00:28:36:14	00:28:39:12	all the farm families sold out,
896	00:28:39:12	00:28:40:19	and the Civilian
897	00:28:40:19	00:28:42:22	Conservation Corps, or CCC,
898	00:28:42:22	00:28:44:21	set up camps in Necedah
899	00:28:44:21	00:28:46:12	and Finley, and began work
900	00:28:46:12	00:28:47:25	building dams
901	00:28:47:25	00:28:50:29	on drainage ditches.
902	00:28:50:29	00:28:52:21	As the water backed up,
903	00:28:52:21	00:28:54:14	it re-flooded the wetlands,
904	00:28:54:14	00:28:56:05	and the ecosystem
905	00:28:56:05	00:28:59:26	began to come back to life.
906	00:28:59:26	00:29:01:20	With a stroke of a pen,
907	00:29:01:20	00:29:03:08	President Franklin Roosevelt
908	00:29:03:08	00:29:04:21	created the Necedah
909	00:29:04:21	00:29:07:21	Wildlife Refuge in 1939,
910	00:29:07:21	00:29:08:28	setting aside
911	00:29:08:28	00:29:11:29	over 46,000 acres of land.
912	00:29:11:29	00:29:13:14	The State of Wisconsin leased
913	00:29:13:14	00:29:14:24	a similar acreage
914	00:29:14:24	00:29:16:07	for the Meadow Valley
915	00:29:16:07	00:29:17:19	Wildlife Area,
916	00:29:17:19	00:29:19:05	and from that point on,
917	00:29:19:05	00:29:21:03	a large portion of Juneau County
918	00:29:21:03	00:29:22:17	would be preserved
919	00:29:22:17	00:29:27:14	for conservation and recreation.
920	00:29:27:14	00:29:29:09	As the wetlands returned,
921	00:29:29:09	00:29:30:23	the numbers of waterfowl
922	00:29:30:23	00:29:32:21	rose dramatically.
923	00:29:32:21	00:29:34:01	And over time,
924	00:29:34:01	00:29:35:28	the Necedah Wildlife Refuge
925	00:29:35:28	00:29:37:15	would play a key role
926	00:29:37:15	00:29:39:15	in helping to save several rare
927	00:29:39:15	00:29:42:15	and endangered species.
928	00:29:51:18	00:29:53:12	>> Just north of Wonewoc,
929	00:29:53:12	00:29:54:29	a stone memorial marks
930	00:29:54:29	00:29:56:07	the birthplace
931	00:29:56:07	00:29:59:01	of Belle Case La Follette.
932	00:29:59:01	00:30:01:28	>> She was born there in 1859,
933	00:30:01:28	00:30:03:11	lived there until she was
934	00:30:03:11	00:30:04:25	going on three years old.
935	00:30:04:25	00:30:06:04	Then the family moved
936	00:30:06:04	00:30:09:17	to the Baraboo/Sauk County area.
937	00:30:09:17	00:30:11:24	>> At 16, Belle Case entered
938	00:30:11:24	00:30:13:24	the University of Wisconsin,
939	00:30:13:24	00:30:15:05	where she met her future
940	00:30:15:05	00:30:17:14	husband, Bob La Follette,
941	00:30:17:14	00:30:18:21	who would be come to be known
942	00:30:18:21	00:30:20:05	as "Fighting Bob,"
943	00:30:20:05	00:30:21:10	the insurgent
944	00:30:21:10	00:30:22:16	progressive governor
945	00:30:22:16	00:30:24:18	and Wisconsin senator.
946	00:30:24:18	00:30:26:01	Belle La Follette became
947	00:30:26:01	00:30:27:15	the first woman to graduate
948	00:30:27:15	00:30:29:26	from the UW Law School,
949	00:30:29:26	00:30:31:11	and served as Fighting Bob's
950	00:30:31:11	00:30:32:19	chief advisor,
951	00:30:32:19	00:30:35:09	while raising four children.
952	00:30:35:09	00:30:37:05	>> She was the mother
953	00:30:37:05	00:30:39:10	of a governor of Wisconsin,
954	00:30:39:10	00:30:41:18	their son Phillip,
955	00:30:41:18	00:30:42:23	and their son
956	00:30:42:23	00:30:44:10	Robert La Follette, Jr.,
957	00:30:44:10	00:30:47:01	was a senator.
958	00:30:47:01	00:30:48:20	>> During the Great Depression,
959	00:30:48:20	00:30:50:05	Governor Philip La Follette
960	00:30:50:05	00:30:51:26	opened an office
961	00:30:51:26	00:30:53:10	of rural electrification,
962	00:30:53:10	00:30:55:03	and appointed Orland Loomis,
963	00:30:55:03	00:30:56:21	an attorney from Mauston,
964	00:30:56:21	00:30:58:10	to help farmers in northern
965	00:30:58:10	00:30:59:21	and western Wisconsin
966	00:30:59:21	00:31:02:17	get electricity.
967	00:31:02:17	00:31:04:00	>> It turned out he was
968	00:31:04:00	00:31:06:11	the right man in the right job.
969	00:31:06:11	00:31:08:14	>> Loomis, nicknamed "Spike,"
970	00:31:08:14	00:31:10:13	grew up in a politically-active
971	00:31:10:13	00:31:11:27	family.
972	00:31:11:27	00:31:13:05	He recalled hearing
973	00:31:13:05	00:31:14:15	loud arguments
974	00:31:14:15	00:31:16:00	between his grandfather,
975	00:31:16:00	00:31:17:23	a conservative county sheriff,
976	00:31:17:23	00:31:18:27	and his grandmother,
977	00:31:18:27	00:31:20:02	a staunch backer
978	00:31:20:02	00:31:21:17	of the progressive reforms
979	00:31:21:17	00:31:24:09	of Fighting Bob La Follette.
980	00:31:24:09	00:31:25:22	Loomis sided with
981	00:31:25:22	00:31:26:27	his grandmother,
982	00:31:26:27	00:31:28:05	and after law school,
983	00:31:28:05	00:31:29:27	and service in World War I,
984	00:31:29:27	00:31:31:03	he began to build
985	00:31:31:03	00:31:32:23	a political career.
986	00:31:32:23	00:31:34:24	Elected to the State Assembly
987	00:31:34:24	00:31:36:19	as a progressive republican,
988	00:31:36:19	00:31:38:02	and two years later
989	00:31:38:02	00:31:39:16	to the State Senate,
990	00:31:39:16	00:31:41:03	Loomis believed that expanding
991	00:31:41:03	00:31:42:27	the use of electricity
992	00:31:42:27	00:31:45:17	was key to Wisconsin's progress.
993	00:31:45:17	00:31:47:20	>> He also believed,
994	00:31:47:20	00:31:49:01	as many other progressives did
995	00:31:49:01	00:31:50:15	at the time,
996	00:31:50:15	00:31:51:26	that local government
997	00:31:51:26	00:31:53:15	should own the power plant
998	00:31:53:15	00:31:54:23	in town.
999	00:31:54:23	00:31:56:06	Therefore, you extend service
1000	00:31:56:06	00:31:58:09	to everyone.
1001	00:31:58:09	00:32:01:15	That's that democratic ideal.
1002	00:32:01:15	00:32:03:22	One of the results of his work
1003	00:32:03:22	00:32:05:07	is that to this day
1004	00:32:05:07	00:32:06:29	in Wisconsin, we have a number
1005	00:32:06:29	00:32:08:13	of municipally-owned
1006	00:32:08:13	00:32:11:04	electrical power utilities.
1007	00:32:11:04	00:32:12:10	They tend to be
1008	00:32:12:10	00:32:13:16	in smaller cities.
1009	00:32:13:16	00:32:14:22	There's about 80 of them
1010	00:32:14:22	00:32:16:09	altogether.
1011	00:32:16:09	00:32:17:17	And they really owe their
1012	00:32:17:17	00:32:18:26	existence, in many ways, to
1013	00:32:18:26	00:32:20:25	the legal work that Loomis did
1014	00:32:20:25	00:32:23:04	in the legislature.
1015	00:32:23:04	00:32:24:11	>> When Governor La Follette
1016	00:32:24:11	00:32:25:20	tapped Loomis
1017	00:32:25:20	00:32:26:26	to organize electric co-ops
1018	00:32:26:26	00:32:28:04	in Wisconsin,
1019	00:32:28:04	00:32:29:17	there was a huge gap
1020	00:32:29:17	00:32:30:29	in the standard of living
1021	00:32:30:29	00:32:32:18	between people in the city,
1022	00:32:32:18	00:32:35:06	and those living on a farm.
1023	00:32:35:06	00:32:38:05	>> One of the chief dividers,
1024	00:32:38:05	00:32:39:18	in terms of living standards
1025	00:32:39:18	00:32:40:22	was of course, whether
1026	00:32:40:22	00:32:42:14	you had electricity or not.
1027	00:32:42:14	00:32:43:29	Electricity on the farm
1028	00:32:43:29	00:32:45:10	means that you have a well,
1029	00:32:45:10	00:32:46:18	which means you don't have to
1030	00:32:46:18	00:32:48:19	pump water to water your cattle.
1031	00:32:48:19	00:32:50:15	You can then take care
1032	00:32:50:15	00:32:51:27	of your animals better, and
1033	00:32:51:27	00:32:53:22	you can maybe add more of them.
1034	00:32:53:22	00:32:55:24	You also can invest in a number
1035	00:32:55:24	00:32:57:20	of labor saving devices
1036	00:32:57:20	00:32:58:29	that were available
1037	00:32:58:29	00:33:00:07	yet in those days.
1038	00:33:00:07	00:33:01:21	Electric powered milkers
1039	00:33:01:21	00:33:02:29	were available then,
1040	00:33:02:29	00:33:04:11	if you had electricity
1041	00:33:04:11	00:33:06:22	to use them.
1042	00:33:06:22	00:33:08:26	>> Loomis organized cooperatives
1043	00:33:08:26	00:33:10:23	around the state that could
1044	00:33:10:23	00:33:13:09	take advantage of federal loans,
1045	00:33:13:09	00:33:14:20	to sink the poles,
1046	00:33:14:20	00:33:16:09	string the wires, and install
1047	00:33:16:09	00:33:18:02	the transformers needed
1048	00:33:18:02	00:33:21:02	to electrify the countryside.
1049	00:33:21:02	00:33:22:11	>> In essence, the cooperatives
1050	00:33:22:11	00:33:24:11	did the work that the power
1051	00:33:24:11	00:33:26:27	companies didn't want to do.
1052	00:33:26:27	00:33:28:02	All they had to do then, was
1053	00:33:28:02	00:33:29:27	just plug in their power plants
1054	00:33:29:27	00:33:31:18	to this distribution system.
1055	00:33:31:18	00:33:32:21	And, of course,
1056	00:33:32:21	00:33:34:03	collect the money.
1057	00:33:34:03	00:33:35:20	So, in many ways,
1058	00:33:35:20	00:33:36:26	the development of this rural
1059	00:33:36:26	00:33:38:22	electrification was positive for
1060	00:33:38:22	00:33:41:13	just about everybody involved.
1061	00:33:41:13	00:33:43:22	As a result of Spike's work
1062	00:33:43:22	00:33:45:25	here, by 1940,
1063	00:33:45:25	00:33:47:10	thousands of farmers
1064	00:33:47:10	00:33:48:21	who did not have electricity
1065	00:33:48:21	00:33:51:08	now had it.
1066	00:33:51:08	00:33:53:03	>> Still politically ambitious,
1067	00:33:53:03	00:33:54:11	Loomis joined the
1068	00:33:54:11	00:33:55:23	recently-formed Wisconsin
1069	00:33:55:23	00:33:57:14	Progressive Party,
1070	00:33:57:14	00:33:58:18	and won election
1071	00:33:58:18	00:34:01:00	as attorney general.
1072	00:34:01:00	00:34:02:09	>> He always seems to be
1073	00:34:02:09	00:34:03:19	a politician
1074	00:34:03:19	00:34:05:22	who acts on principle.
1075	00:34:05:22	00:34:07:07	He seems to be that kind of man,
1076	00:34:07:07	00:34:08:12	that he worked
1077	00:34:08:12	00:34:10:01	for what he believed in.
1078	00:34:10:01	00:34:12:02	In 1940, La Follette chooses
1079	00:34:12:02	00:34:14:12	not to run for governor.
1080	00:34:14:12	00:34:18:00	And Spike is his logical heir.
1081	00:34:18:00	00:34:19:19	Then in 1942, of course,
1082	00:34:19:19	00:34:22:15	that's when Spike wins.
1083	00:34:22:15	00:34:24:14	>> This does not mean, however,
1084	00:34:24:14	00:34:26:04	that I intend to sever
1085	00:34:26:04	00:34:28:18	my relationships with my home
1086	00:34:28:18	00:34:29:28	and with my friends
1087	00:34:29:28	00:34:31:25	in this vicinity.
1088	00:34:31:25	00:34:34:12	I shall always consider Mauston
1089	00:34:34:12	00:34:36:18	as my home.
1090	00:34:36:18	00:34:38:06	>> Well, I'm afraid the ending,
1091	00:34:38:06	00:34:39:29	of course, is not happy,
1092	00:34:39:29	00:34:42:02	as we know that in between the
1093	00:34:42:02	00:34:44:11	election and the inauguration,
1094	00:34:44:11	00:34:47:03	Loomis dies.
1095	00:34:47:03	00:34:49:08	His story then becomes
1096	00:34:49:08	00:34:51:04	one of the great what-ifs
1097	00:34:51:04	00:34:54:26	of Wisconsin history.
1098	00:34:54:26	00:34:56:20	Here's a man you could say,
1099	00:34:56:20	00:34:59:02	he did something good
1100	00:34:59:02	00:35:01:20	for the people of Wisconsin.
1101	00:35:01:20	00:35:04:06	At the time Spike dies,
1102	00:35:04:06	00:35:06:15	there is a young man growing up
1103	00:35:06:15	00:35:09:08	in Elroy, Wisconsin.
1104	00:35:09:08	00:35:12:22	He becomes the other governor
1105	00:35:12:22	00:35:14:15	from Juneau County,
1106	00:35:14:15	00:35:17:10	Tommy Thompson.
1107	00:35:17:10	00:35:19:02	>> This is downtown,
1108	00:35:19:02	00:35:21:21	Main Street of Elroy.
1109	00:35:21:21	00:35:23:14	You know, some people always
1110	00:35:23:14	00:35:25:01	downplay where they come from.
1111	00:35:25:01	00:35:27:00	I'm proud of the education,
1112	00:35:27:00	00:35:28:22	the start and the beauty
1113	00:35:28:22	00:35:30:22	of this land.
1114	00:35:30:22	00:35:32:22	Isn't it gorgeous up here?
1115	00:35:32:22	00:35:34:08	This is all our farm
1116	00:35:34:08	00:35:35:21	on both sides, clear up
1117	00:35:35:21	00:35:37:29	on the hills over there.
1118	00:35:37:29	00:35:40:01	My mother was raised
1119	00:35:40:01	00:35:43:01	in the house right next to here.
1120	00:35:43:01	00:35:44:26	My father and her met
1121	00:35:44:26	00:35:46:14	in a two-room school,
1122	00:35:46:14	00:35:47:28	where my mother taught
1123	00:35:47:28	00:35:49:04	the first four grades,
1124	00:35:49:04	00:35:50:07	and my father taught
1125	00:35:50:07	00:35:51:13	the upper classes.
1126	00:35:51:13	00:35:52:18	The school board said that
1127	00:35:52:18	00:35:54:07	they could not have two teachers
1128	00:35:54:07	00:35:56:15	dating in the same school,
1129	00:35:56:15	00:35:58:09	so he left and built
1130	00:35:58:09	00:36:00:26	a gasoline station downtown,
1131	00:36:00:26	00:36:02:27	and he married my mother.
1132	00:36:02:27	00:36:04:08	Then they started
1133	00:36:04:08	00:36:07:04	a family grocery store.
1134	00:36:07:04	00:36:08:25	My mother was Irish.
1135	00:36:08:25	00:36:10:19	Her beliefs were it's easier
1136	00:36:10:19	00:36:13:21	to smile than it is to frown.
1137	00:36:13:21	00:36:16:10	She was a very outgoing person.
1138	00:36:16:10	00:36:18:14	My father was a big German guy,
1139	00:36:18:14	00:36:20:10	who believed that if you wanted
1140	00:36:20:10	00:36:22:26	something, you go to work.
1141	00:36:22:26	00:36:24:20	I told you my father was German.
1142	00:36:24:20	00:36:26:16	He made me, at the age of 13,
1143	00:36:26:16	00:36:29:02	paint that barn down there.
1144	00:36:29:02	00:36:30:22	A German culture and
1145	00:36:30:22	00:36:32:13	an Irish culture come together
1146	00:36:32:13	00:36:33:22	and made me, I think,
1147	00:36:33:22	00:36:35:13	a much better person.
1148	00:36:35:13	00:36:36:20	My father built this house
1149	00:36:36:20	00:36:37:27	himself.
1150	00:36:37:27	00:36:39:00	That's where I was born,
1151	00:36:39:00	00:36:40:13	in that house right there.
1152	00:36:40:13	00:36:41:24	That's pretty nice now.
1153	00:36:41:24	00:36:43:28	I walked to school from that
1154	00:36:43:28	00:36:47:28	house up to the two-room school
1155	00:36:47:28	00:36:50:07	on the edge of town.
1156	00:36:50:07	00:36:51:15	You grew up here with
1157	00:36:51:15	00:36:53:07	a tradition of hard work
1158	00:36:53:07	00:36:56:04	and you have to be a doer,
1159	00:36:56:04	00:36:58:17	you know, it's tough growing up
1160	00:36:58:17	00:37:01:19	poor in a small town.
1161	00:37:01:19	00:37:03:07	But if you've got the courage
1162	00:37:03:07	00:37:05:18	and the basic intellect
1163	00:37:05:18	00:37:07:15	to make things happen, you know,
1164	00:37:07:15	00:37:08:29	that's what you learn
1165	00:37:08:29	00:37:10:09	in a small town.
1166	00:37:10:09	00:37:11:18	You learn that you can do,
1167	00:37:11:18	00:37:12:25	and you learn
1168	00:37:12:25	00:37:14:16	that you have to do it.
1169	00:37:14:16	00:37:15:20	Play all the sports
1170	00:37:15:20	00:37:16:24	you wanted to.
1171	00:37:16:24	00:37:17:29	We had it good.
1172	00:37:17:29	00:37:19:06	You could still play football
1173	00:37:19:06	00:37:20:24	and basketball, and baseball,
1174	00:37:20:24	00:37:22:06	and run track.
1175	00:37:22:06	00:37:23:16	As a young man,
1176	00:37:23:16	00:37:25:07	that's pretty heady.
1177	00:37:25:07	00:37:27:23	This small building
1178	00:37:27:23	00:37:30:05	was the Thompson Grocery Store.
1179	00:37:30:05	00:37:31:10	We had regular
1180	00:37:31:10	00:37:33:19	and ethyl gasoline.
1181	00:37:33:19	00:37:35:03	We had two pumps and
1182	00:37:35:03	00:37:37:12	a place for cars to drive in
1183	00:37:37:12	00:37:40:13	over there on the side, to get
1184	00:37:40:13	00:37:42:20	their grease and oil changed.
1185	00:37:42:20	00:37:45:07	So, we pumped gas,
1186	00:37:45:07	00:37:46:19	changed oil and grease,
1187	00:37:46:19	00:37:48:05	and sold groceries.
1188	00:37:48:05	00:37:49:15	On Friday nights--
1189	00:37:49:15	00:37:50:20	My father was vice chairman
1190	00:37:50:20	00:37:51:23	of the county,
1191	00:37:51:23	00:37:53:00	and all the farmers would
1192	00:37:53:00	00:37:54:18	come in from around the area.
1193	00:37:54:18	00:37:56:12	My father was chairman of
1194	00:37:56:12	00:37:57:17	the road and bridge committee,
1195	00:37:57:17	00:37:58:25	and so they'd come in
1196	00:37:58:25	00:38:00:17	and talk local politics
1197	00:38:00:17	00:38:01:23	and talk about fixing roads,
1198	00:38:01:23	00:38:03:10	and repairing bridges,
1199	00:38:03:10	00:38:04:20	and so on, and so forth.
1200	00:38:04:20	00:38:05:26	Every Friday night
1201	00:38:05:26	00:38:07:18	at the Thompson Grocery Store.
1202	00:38:07:18	00:38:09:05	From that, became
1203	00:38:09:05	00:38:11:24	my love affair for politics.
1204	00:38:11:24	00:38:13:03	I worked my way through
1205	00:38:13:03	00:38:14:03	law school, as I worked
1206	00:38:14:03	00:38:15:17	my way through undergraduate,
1207	00:38:15:17	00:38:17:14	because we were very poor.
1208	00:38:17:14	00:38:19:11	When I graduated and I was
1209	00:38:19:11	00:38:21:04	working in the Capitol, and
1210	00:38:21:04	00:38:22:18	watched and decided I could do
1211	00:38:22:18	00:38:23:27	this job as well as anybody.
1212	00:38:23:27	00:38:26:00	Everybody told me I couldn't
1213	00:38:26:00	00:38:28:10	run for the Assembly.
1214	00:38:28:10	00:38:30:00	My father said, well,
1215	00:38:30:00	00:38:31:07	if you believe in yourself,
1216	00:38:31:07	00:38:32:26	go do it.
1217	00:38:32:26	00:38:34:03	My father gave me
1218	00:38:34:03	00:38:35:08	ten bucks a day.
1219	00:38:35:08	00:38:36:17	I put five bucks of gas
1220	00:38:36:17	00:38:38:01	in the car and spent five bucks
1221	00:38:38:01	00:38:40:10	going around the three counties,
1222	00:38:40:10	00:38:41:14	Adams, Juneau,
1223	00:38:41:14	00:38:42:20	and Marquette County.
1224	00:38:42:20	00:38:44:16	I was every place.
1225	00:38:44:16	00:38:45:23	I'm a workaholic.
1226	00:38:45:23	00:38:46:29	I guess I got that from my
1227	00:38:46:29	00:38:48:06	father.
1228	00:38:48:06	00:38:49:12	I just believed that you
1229	00:38:49:12	00:38:50:18	work hard and accomplish
1230	00:38:50:18	00:38:51:26	what you set out to do,
1231	00:38:51:26	00:38:53:03	and do a good job
1232	00:38:53:03	00:38:54:10	once you get there.
1233	00:38:54:10	00:38:55:16	I beat Louis Romell, who
1234	00:38:55:16	00:38:56:21	had been in the State Assembly
1235	00:38:56:21	00:38:57:24	for 16 years,
1236	00:38:57:24	00:38:59:08	in a republican primary.
1237	00:38:59:08	00:39:00:17	I then went on to win
1238	00:39:00:17	00:39:01:21	the general election
1239	00:39:01:21	00:39:03:20	at the age of 23.
1240	00:39:03:20	00:39:06:04	This used to be my law office.
1241	00:39:06:04	00:39:07:07	>> Nice to see you out and about
1242	00:39:07:07	00:39:08:14	for a change.
1243	00:39:08:14	00:39:09:19	>> How you doin', my friend?
1244	00:39:09:19	00:39:10:21	>> Very good.
1245	00:39:10:21	00:39:11:28	>> Everything going well?
1246	00:39:11:28	00:39:12:29	What are you guys doing?
1247	00:39:12:29	00:39:14:00	>> Everything's going finer
1248	00:39:14:00	00:39:15:08	than frog's hair.
1249	00:39:15:08	00:39:16:18	[both laugh]
1250	00:39:16:18	00:39:17:22	I'm showing him
1251	00:39:17:22	00:39:18:25	where I used to practice law!
1252	00:39:18:25	00:39:20:03	>> There you go.
1253	00:39:20:03	00:39:21:07	>> I'd been in
1254	00:39:21:07	00:39:22:08	the State Assembly 20 years.
1255	00:39:22:08	00:39:23:10	But you've frozen us
1256	00:39:23:10	00:39:24:17	out of the budgetary process...
1257	00:39:24:17	00:39:26:19	I'd run down to the Capitol.
1258	00:39:26:19	00:39:27:26	I was the minority leader.
1259	00:39:27:26	00:39:29:01	I'd get there and work Tuesday
1260	00:39:29:01	00:39:30:06	and Tuesday nights,
1261	00:39:30:06	00:39:31:24	and all day Wednesday
1262	00:39:31:24	00:39:33:04	and Thursday mornings,
1263	00:39:33:04	00:39:34:07	and then come back
1264	00:39:34:07	00:39:35:13	Thursday afternoon.
1265	00:39:35:13	00:39:36:18	I'd be in court all day Friday.
1266	00:39:36:18	00:39:37:25	Then on Saturday afternoon,
1267	00:39:37:25	00:39:39:10	I had a small farm then,
1268	00:39:39:10	00:39:40:25	and we raised beef cattle.
1269	00:39:40:25	00:39:42:03	My wife said,
1270	00:39:42:03	00:39:43:13	you can't keep doing this.
1271	00:39:43:13	00:39:45:07	You've got to do something else.
1272	00:39:45:07	00:39:46:10	So, I said,
1273	00:39:46:10	00:39:47:26	"Why don't I run for governor?"
1274	00:39:47:26	00:39:49:10	So my wife was supportive,
1275	00:39:49:10	00:39:50:18	never thinking
1276	00:39:50:18	00:39:52:05	I had a chance to win.
1277	00:39:52:05	00:39:53:27	Can I say hello to you, sir?
1278	00:39:53:27	00:39:54:27	You've got it made!
1279	00:39:54:27	00:39:55:26	You've got a television,
1280	00:39:55:26	00:39:57:03	and everything in your cab!
1281	00:39:57:03	00:39:58:06	I'm Tommy Thompson,
1282	00:39:58:06	00:39:59:17	candidate for governor...
1283	00:39:59:17	00:40:00:21	This was strictly shoe leather
1284	00:40:00:21	00:40:02:01	and driving from one event
1285	00:40:02:01	00:40:03:27	to another, and showing up
1286	00:40:03:27	00:40:05:13	and giving a speech.
1287	00:40:05:13	00:40:06:11	I said,
1288	00:40:06:11	00:40:07:13	"I'm from Elroy, Wisconsin.
1289	00:40:07:13	00:40:08:14	And if you don't know
1290	00:40:08:14	00:40:09:17	where it is, it's right between
1291	00:40:09:17	00:40:11:03	Union Center and Kendall,
1292	00:40:11:03	00:40:12:02	north of Wonewoc
1293	00:40:12:02	00:40:13:06	and south of Hustler,"
1294	00:40:13:06	00:40:14:24	and always got a laugh.
1295	00:40:14:24	00:40:16:10	Surprisingly, we had
1296	00:40:16:10	00:40:17:21	seven people in the primary,
1297	00:40:17:21	00:40:19:07	and I got 51%,
1298	00:40:19:07	00:40:21:09	which was an amazing thing,
1299	00:40:21:09	00:40:22:15	because nobody thought
1300	00:40:22:15	00:40:24:17	I was going to win the primary.
1301	00:40:24:17	00:40:25:21	Then it was just Tony Earl
1302	00:40:25:21	00:40:26:23	and myself.
1303	00:40:26:23	00:40:27:28	And Tony Earl and the democrats
1304	00:40:27:28	00:40:29:26	didn't think I had a chance.
1305	00:40:29:26	00:40:31:14	So they sort of just ignored me,
1306	00:40:31:14	00:40:33:16	to their peril.
1307	00:40:33:16	00:40:34:18	People thought the state was not
1308	00:40:34:18	00:40:36:01	going in the right direction,
1309	00:40:36:01	00:40:37:17	so the people took a chance,
1310	00:40:37:17	00:40:40:14	and I won by over 100,000 votes
1311	00:40:40:14	00:40:42:20	on election night,
1312	00:40:42:20	00:40:44:25	which was shocking to everybody.
1313	00:40:44:25	00:40:47:10	So when I came back,
1314	00:40:47:10	00:40:50:25	I rode into Elroy with my wife.
1315	00:40:50:25	00:40:52:24	It was cold, but the feeling
1316	00:40:52:24	00:40:56:20	of goodwill and so on, you know.
1317	00:40:56:20	00:40:58:11	We went down Main Street.
1318	00:40:58:11	00:41:01:21	It was just packed.
1319	00:41:01:21	00:41:03:06	I went to the school
1320	00:41:03:06	00:41:04:25	and I gave a speech.
1321	00:41:04:25	00:41:06:16	It was a very touching day.
1322	00:41:06:16	00:41:07:26	I still remember,
1323	00:41:07:26	00:41:10:14	I said if you come into Elroy,
1324	00:41:10:14	00:41:11:17	and if you don't have
1325	00:41:11:17	00:41:13:21	a tear in your eye
1326	00:41:13:21	00:41:14:27	and a lump in your throat,
1327	00:41:14:27	00:41:16:11	you're not human.
1328	00:41:16:11	00:41:18:27	That's how I felt.
1329	00:41:32:06	00:41:33:13	>> We're Cutler Cranberry
1330	00:41:33:13	00:41:34:24	Company, and we have
1331	00:41:34:24	00:41:36:25	about 700 acres of cranberries
1332	00:41:36:25	00:41:39:00	in the ground.
1333	00:41:39:00	00:41:40:12	Cranberries have four
1334	00:41:40:12	00:41:41:27	hollow chambers inside them.
1335	00:41:41:27	00:41:43:10	If you break one open, you can
1336	00:41:43:10	00:41:45:11	see the four air pockets inside.
1337	00:41:45:11	00:41:46:18	That's what enables us
1338	00:41:46:18	00:41:47:24	to harvest them this way.
1339	00:41:47:24	00:41:49:16	They can float in the water.
1340	00:41:49:16	00:41:51:28	We use this floating corral boom
1341	00:41:51:28	00:41:53:19	to corral the berries
1342	00:41:53:19	00:41:55:10	down to one corner of the bed.
1343	00:41:55:10	00:41:56:26	Then we have a spray bar
1344	00:41:56:26	00:41:58:15	that goes out into the water
1345	00:41:58:15	00:41:59:26	and sprays the berries
1346	00:41:59:26	00:42:01:23	and the water, and any leaves
1347	00:42:01:23	00:42:04:29	or other trash up into a tube
1348	00:42:04:29	00:42:06:27	that then separates the berries
1349	00:42:06:27	00:42:08:24	from the water and the trash,
1350	00:42:08:24	00:42:09:29	and then we can put the berries
1351	00:42:09:29	00:42:11:01	into our trucks and
1352	00:42:11:01	00:42:12:17	the trash into our trash truck.
1353	00:42:12:17	00:42:14:03	The water goes back into the bed
1354	00:42:14:03	00:42:15:19	where it came from.
1355	00:42:15:19	00:42:16:28	A place for everything.
1356	00:42:16:28	00:42:19:10	[laughs]
1357	00:42:21:27	00:42:24:05	My great-great-great grandfather
1358	00:42:24:05	00:42:26:04	was one of the pioneers
1359	00:42:26:04	00:42:27:08	of cranberry growing
1360	00:42:27:08	00:42:28:19	here in Wisconsin.
1361	00:42:28:19	00:42:30:00	This photo here shows four
1362	00:42:30:00	00:42:32:07	generations of the Potters.
1363	00:42:32:07	00:42:33:28	This on the far left here
1364	00:42:33:28	00:42:35:06	is Guy Potter, my
1365	00:42:35:06	00:42:36:17	great-great-great grandfather,
1366	00:42:36:17	00:42:39:00	who bought this marsh in 1923.
1367	00:42:39:00	00:42:41:00	His son, Roland.
1368	00:42:41:00	00:42:42:20	His son Bruce,
1369	00:42:42:20	00:42:44:03	who's my grandfather.
1370	00:42:44:03	00:42:45:24	This is my dad, Martin,
1371	00:42:45:24	00:42:48:24	and one of his brothers, Joe.
1372	00:42:48:24	00:42:51:14	It's one of only three fruits
1373	00:42:51:14	00:42:54:19	native to North America.
1374	00:42:54:19	00:42:56:01	The cranberry, the blueberry,
1375	00:42:56:01	00:42:58:03	and the concord grape.
1376	00:42:58:03	00:43:00:16	A common misconception is that
1377	00:43:00:16	00:43:02:11	cranberries grow in water.
1378	00:43:02:11	00:43:03:19	They actually
1379	00:43:03:19	00:43:05:02	don't grow in water.
1380	00:43:05:02	00:43:06:22	They grow in very sandy soils.
1381	00:43:06:22	00:43:07:25	But you can see here,
1382	00:43:07:25	00:43:09:22	it's a perennial vine growth.
1383	00:43:09:22	00:43:11:00	So once these plants
1384	00:43:11:00	00:43:12:13	are planted, they can last
1385	00:43:12:13	00:43:13:20	pretty much indefinitely.
1386	00:43:13:20	00:43:14:22	We have beds
1387	00:43:14:22	00:43:16:19	that are over 80 years old.
1388	00:43:16:19	00:43:18:03	They would grow naturally and
1389	00:43:18:03	00:43:19:21	people would just hand pick them
1390	00:43:19:21	00:43:22:12	out in the swampy, marshy areas.
1391	00:43:22:12	00:43:23:29	From there, people began
1392	00:43:23:29	00:43:26:00	to dig ditches around there
1393	00:43:26:00	00:43:27:13	so they could better control
1394	00:43:27:13	00:43:28:17	the water movement
1395	00:43:28:17	00:43:29:24	in and out of the beds.
1396	00:43:29:24	00:43:30:29	That's kind of how cranberry
1397	00:43:30:29	00:43:32:05	growing got started
1398	00:43:32:05	00:43:34:19	here in Wisconsin.
1399	00:43:34:19	00:43:36:22	Looking back historically,
1400	00:43:36:22	00:43:38:03	Native Americans
1401	00:43:38:03	00:43:39:08	used the cranberries when
1402	00:43:39:08	00:43:40:13	they found them growing wild
1403	00:43:40:13	00:43:41:26	for lots of different things.
1404	00:43:41:26	00:43:43:02	Other than food,
1405	00:43:43:02	00:43:44:10	they used them for medicine.
1406	00:43:44:10	00:43:45:23	They used the cranberry juice
1407	00:43:45:23	00:43:48:14	for dye.
1408	00:43:48:14	00:43:49:20	>> I was born
1409	00:43:49:20	00:43:52:15	in Black River Falls.
1410	00:43:52:15	00:43:55:19	I moved around with my folks,
1411	00:43:55:19	00:43:58:00	here and there, wherever they
1412	00:43:58:00	00:44:00:17	could make their living.
1413	00:44:00:17	00:44:01:28	Pick blueberries
1414	00:44:01:28	00:44:03:27	and strawberries.
1415	00:44:03:27	00:44:05:10	Then in the fall,
1416	00:44:05:10	00:44:08:09	we'd come to cranberry marshes.
1417	00:44:08:09	00:44:10:15	That's where I got started
1418	00:44:10:15	00:44:13:19	raking cranberries by hand.
1419	00:44:13:19	00:44:16:09	It's pretty hard on the back.
1420	00:44:16:09	00:44:18:17	You'd stoop down
1421	00:44:18:17	00:44:21:04	to reach the berries.
1422	00:44:21:04	00:44:22:23	At first, we used to rake
1423	00:44:22:23	00:44:25:16	10 hours a day.
1424	00:44:25:16	00:44:26:28	After a while,
1425	00:44:26:28	00:44:28:27	they cut it down to eight hours.
1426	00:44:28:27	00:44:32:08	Even that is too long, too hard.
1427	00:44:32:08	00:44:34:17	We worked like a horse, a mule.
1428	00:44:34:17	00:44:36:06	[laughs]
1429	00:44:36:06	00:44:38:04	I think we had to do it
1430	00:44:38:04	00:44:41:06	to earn our living.
1431	00:44:41:06	00:44:43:07	>> This self-propelled
1432	00:44:43:07	00:44:45:02	mechanical harvester
1433	00:44:45:02	00:44:47:14	has long metal fingers
1434	00:44:47:14	00:44:49:03	that pull the floating berries
1435	00:44:49:03	00:44:51:24	off the plant.
1436	00:44:51:24	00:44:53:13	>> Probably the biggest change
1437	00:44:53:13	00:44:55:15	was going from hand harvesting
1438	00:44:55:15	00:44:56:26	to mechanical harvesting
1439	00:44:56:26	00:44:58:11	of cranberries,
1440	00:44:58:11	00:45:00:02	which was in the early 1950s.
1441	00:45:00:02	00:45:02:14	It enabled growers to pick
1442	00:45:02:14	00:45:03:21	a lot more cranberries,
1443	00:45:03:21	00:45:04:26	and they could therefore expand
1444	00:45:04:26	00:45:06:16	their marshes and have more
1445	00:45:06:16	00:45:08:01	acres of cranberries.
1446	00:45:08:01	00:45:09:20	Around that same time, cranberry
1447	00:45:09:20	00:45:12:17	juice cocktail came around.
1448	00:45:12:17	00:45:14:10	So that greatly expanded the
1449	00:45:14:10	00:45:16:02	consumer demand for cranberries.
1450	00:45:16:02	00:45:17:17	Before then, it was mainly fresh
1451	00:45:17:17	00:45:19:12	cranberries, or cranberry sauce,
1452	00:45:19:12	00:45:21:19	were the two big products.
1453	00:45:21:19	00:45:22:25	So I think it was kind of
1454	00:45:22:25	00:45:24:00	a combination of those things
1455	00:45:24:00	00:45:25:05	that really helped
1456	00:45:25:05	00:45:27:17	the cranberry industry explode.
1457	00:45:27:17	00:45:28:19	>> It takes a berry
1458	00:45:28:19	00:45:29:22	with a bounce
1459	00:45:29:22	00:45:31:13	to get by this machine.
1460	00:45:31:13	00:45:33:20	Bad berries won't bounce,
1461	00:45:33:20	00:45:35:12	so they fall straight down
1462	00:45:35:12	00:45:38:04	and are culled out...
1463	00:45:38:04	00:45:40:05	>> Cranberry growers
1464	00:45:40:05	00:45:42:15	are very innovative.
1465	00:45:42:15	00:45:43:17	You can't go to
1466	00:45:43:17	00:45:44:27	the implement dealer
1467	00:45:44:27	00:45:46:22	and buy a cranberry harvester.
1468	00:45:46:22	00:45:48:05	So everybody kind of
1469	00:45:48:05	00:45:49:15	builds their machines
1470	00:45:49:15	00:45:50:18	a little bit differently.
1471	00:45:50:18	00:45:52:02	We share ideas freely
1472	00:45:52:02	00:45:53:19	and kind of build
1473	00:45:53:19	00:45:55:14	what fits our beds best.
1474	00:45:55:14	00:45:56:14	This machine,
1475	00:45:56:14	00:45:57:22	it's a standard tractor
1476	00:45:57:22	00:45:59:03	that we built harrows
1477	00:45:59:03	00:46:01:02	on the front and back.
1478	00:46:01:02	00:46:02:25	Basically, the tines are bent
1479	00:46:02:25	00:46:04:10	at an angle, and when
1480	00:46:04:10	00:46:06:14	they go down into the water,
1481	00:46:06:14	00:46:08:02	they shake, and that's
1482	00:46:08:02	00:46:09:07	what knocks the berries loose
1483	00:46:09:07	00:46:10:16	off the vine.
1484	00:46:10:16	00:46:12:02	This new machine is more gentle
1485	00:46:12:02	00:46:14:26	on the plants.
1486	00:46:16:24	00:46:18:13	>> Sharp eyes and skilled hands
1487	00:46:18:13	00:46:20:04	pick out any poorly colored
1488	00:46:20:04	00:46:22:20	berries that are left...
1489	00:46:22:20	00:46:23:25	>> Everything used to be
1490	00:46:23:25	00:46:26:11	hand sorted and packed by hand.
1491	00:46:26:11	00:46:27:21	They did have bagger machines,
1492	00:46:27:21	00:46:29:03	but everything else was done
1493	00:46:29:03	00:46:30:21	by hand.
1494	00:46:30:21	00:46:32:21	Now, we've really come so far
1495	00:46:32:21	00:46:34:06	in being able to do
1496	00:46:34:06	00:46:35:18	a lot of things electronically,
1497	00:46:35:18	00:46:36:25	and have machines to help us
1498	00:46:36:25	00:46:38:26	get the job done more quickly
1499	00:46:38:26	00:46:42:16	and more efficiently.
1500	00:46:42:16	00:46:43:25	Wisconsin currently grows
1501	00:46:43:25	00:46:44:29	over half the nation's
1502	00:46:44:29	00:46:45:29	cranberries.
1503	00:46:45:29	00:46:47:10	We've been the number one
1504	00:46:47:10	00:46:48:17	cranberry producing state
1505	00:46:48:17	00:46:49:27	for 18 years now.
1506	00:46:49:27	00:46:51:12	This is the 18th year,
1507	00:46:51:12	00:46:53:16	so we're quite proud of that.
1508	00:46:53:16	00:46:54:25	Over half the cranberries
1509	00:46:54:25	00:46:56:16	that are eaten around the world
1510	00:46:56:16	00:46:59:01	come from Wisconsin.
1511	00:47:12:00	00:47:13:20	>> When Glacial Lake Wisconsin
1512	00:47:13:20	00:47:16:04	drained during the last ice age,
1513	00:47:16:04	00:47:18:00	it left Juneau County
1514	00:47:18:00	00:47:19:22	with a patchwork of soil types
1515	00:47:19:22	00:47:22:03	and rock formations,
1516	00:47:22:03	00:47:24:02	with wetlands and sandy soils,
1517	00:47:24:02	00:47:26:28	covering much of the county.
1518	00:47:26:28	00:47:28:04	>> Parts of it have been called
1519	00:47:28:04	00:47:29:13	the soil is the most unfit
1520	00:47:29:13	00:47:30:21	for agriculture
1521	00:47:30:21	00:47:32:24	in the state of Wisconsin.
1522	00:47:32:24	00:47:34:21	>> Ironically, the less fertile
1523	00:47:34:21	00:47:36:25	land became a major attraction
1524	00:47:36:25	00:47:39:23	for the county.
1525	00:47:39:23	00:47:41:15	The town of Camp Douglas
1526	00:47:41:15	00:47:43:08	got its name, and its start,
1527	00:47:43:08	00:47:45:08	as a logging camp,
1528	00:47:45:08	00:47:46:13	supplying fuel
1529	00:47:46:13	00:47:48:20	for wood-burning railroads.
1530	00:47:48:20	00:47:50:25	Just north of Camp Douglas,
1531	00:47:50:25	00:47:52:10	the Wisconsin militia
1532	00:47:52:10	00:47:54:10	purchased a large piece of land
1533	00:47:54:10	00:47:56:04	for another kind of camp,
1534	00:47:56:04	00:47:57:16	a training ground
1535	00:47:57:16	00:47:58:25	that would become known
1536	00:47:58:25	00:48:01:03	as Camp Williams.
1537	00:48:01:03	00:48:03:01	>> Camp Williams was used
1538	00:48:03:01	00:48:04:23	for annual training encampments,
1539	00:48:04:23	00:48:05:29	usually a week
1540	00:48:05:29	00:48:07:00	or two weeks long.
1541	00:48:07:00	00:48:08:05	Every unit in the state
1542	00:48:08:05	00:48:09:08	would go there,
1543	00:48:09:08	00:48:10:11	either all at the same time,
1544	00:48:10:11	00:48:11:13	or staggered
1545	00:48:11:13	00:48:12:18	throughout the year.
1546	00:48:12:18	00:48:13:23	It's a centralized location
1547	00:48:13:23	00:48:14:24	in the state.
1548	00:48:14:24	00:48:16:10	It's also on a main rail line
1549	00:48:16:10	00:48:17:22	that goes through Wisconsin,
1550	00:48:17:22	00:48:19:09	so it was much easier for units
1551	00:48:19:09	00:48:20:17	from all parts of the state
1552	00:48:20:17	00:48:22:10	to get to that location.
1553	00:48:22:10	00:48:24:21	It was inexpensive land.
1554	00:48:24:21	00:48:26:05	It was land that was safe
1555	00:48:26:05	00:48:27:16	to conduct rifle training,
1556	00:48:27:16	00:48:29:08	with the large bluffs there.
1557	00:48:29:08	00:48:30:13	They would conduct rifle
1558	00:48:30:13	00:48:32:14	practice, basic tactics,
1559	00:48:32:14	00:48:34:29	just general military living,
1560	00:48:34:29	00:48:36:20	and all the customs,
1561	00:48:36:20	00:48:37:27	and courtesies, and protocol,
1562	00:48:37:27	00:48:40:26	and discipline with that.
1563	00:48:40:26	00:48:43:17	As the National Guard evolved,
1564	00:48:43:17	00:48:45:06	the facility evolved to meet
1565	00:48:45:06	00:48:48:14	the needs of the National Guard.
1566	00:48:48:14	00:48:50:03	>> After World War II,
1567	00:48:50:03	00:48:51:23	the Wisconsin National Guard
1568	00:48:51:23	00:48:53:29	outgrew Camp Williams,
1569	00:48:53:29	00:48:56:00	and moved most, but not all,
1570	00:48:56:00	00:48:58:09	of its operations down the road
1571	00:48:58:09	00:49:01:04	to Fort McCoy.
1572	00:49:01:04	00:49:02:17	At the same time,
1573	00:49:02:17	00:49:03:21	the newly-formed
1574	00:49:03:21	00:49:05:20	Wisconsin Air National Guard
1575	00:49:05:20	00:49:07:29	moved in to Camp Williams,
1576	00:49:07:29	00:49:09:04	building runways
1577	00:49:09:04	00:49:10:13	and other infrastructure
1578	00:49:10:13	00:49:12:20	for aviation training.
1579	00:49:12:20	00:49:14:18	And since then, the facilities
1580	00:49:14:18	00:49:16:06	have served the missions
1581	00:49:16:06	00:49:18:25	of both guard units.
1582	00:49:18:25	00:49:20:06	>> In the late 1950s,
1583	00:49:20:06	00:49:21:23	the Air Guard portion
1584	00:49:21:23	00:49:23:06	was renamed Volk Field
1585	00:49:23:06	00:49:25:12	in honor of Lt. Jerome Volk,
1586	00:49:25:12	00:49:26:18	who was a Wisconsin
1587	00:49:26:18	00:49:27:21	Air National Guardsman
1588	00:49:27:21	00:49:28:24	who was shot down
1589	00:49:28:24	00:49:31:02	during the Korean War.
1590	00:49:34:13	00:49:35:24	>> When Glacial Lake Wisconsin
1591	00:49:35:24	00:49:37:05	drained and carved out
1592	00:49:37:05	00:49:38:14	the formations
1593	00:49:38:14	00:49:40:00	of the Wisconsin Dells,
1594	00:49:40:00	00:49:41:17	it created a natural
1595	00:49:41:17	00:49:44:06	amphitheater at Stand Rock,
1596	00:49:44:06	00:49:45:15	where members of the Ho Chunk
1597	00:49:45:15	00:49:46:20	Nation performed
1598	00:49:46:20	00:49:49:10	ceremonial dances.
1599	00:49:49:10	00:49:51:14	>> 1917 or 1919, somewhere
1600	00:49:51:14	00:49:53:07	in that area, is when they had
1601	00:49:53:07	00:49:54:28	the first dances take place.
1602	00:49:54:28	00:49:56:06	At that time, it only ran
1603	00:49:56:06	00:49:58:03	for about two weeks.
1604	00:49:58:03	00:49:59:17	It was in 1929 that they started
1605	00:49:59:17	00:50:01:23	having the summer-long shows,
1606	00:50:01:23	00:50:03:00	where it'd start, usually
1607	00:50:03:00	00:50:04:26	the second week of June,
1608	00:50:04:26	00:50:06:22	and run through Labor Day.
1609	00:50:06:22	00:50:08:13	It was a nightly performance,
1610	00:50:08:13	00:50:09:23	seven days a week.
1611	00:50:09:23	00:50:13:10	It ran consecutively until 1999,
1612	00:50:13:10	00:50:15:26	so it had a long history.
1613	00:50:15:26	00:50:17:02	In its heyday,
1614	00:50:17:02	00:50:19:08	in the '50s and the '60s,
1615	00:50:19:08	00:50:21:05	the place was packed.
1616	00:50:21:05	00:50:24:01	Even up through the late '70s,
1617	00:50:24:01	00:50:25:15	early '90s,
1618	00:50:25:15	00:50:27:05	when I was operating it,
1619	00:50:27:05	00:50:28:25	the amphitheater was able
1620	00:50:28:25	00:50:31:05	to seat over 2000 people,
1621	00:50:31:05	00:50:33:00	and most nights
1622	00:50:33:00	00:50:35:10	we had a sold-out crowd.
1623	00:50:35:10	00:50:36:14	So it was one of the major
1624	00:50:36:14	00:50:37:21	attractions.
1625	00:50:37:21	00:50:39:27	[drumming ends]
1626	00:50:39:27	00:50:42:08	[applause]
1627	00:50:42:08	00:50:44:00	>> In 1950, completion
1628	00:50:44:00	00:50:46:13	of two hydro-electric dams
1629	00:50:46:13	00:50:48:05	on the Wisconsin River
1630	00:50:48:05	00:50:49:27	flooded thousands of acres
1631	00:50:49:27	00:50:52:02	of the old glacial lake bed,
1632	00:50:52:02	00:50:53:18	creating the Petenwell
1633	00:50:53:18	00:50:56:13	and Castle Rock Flowages.
1634	00:50:56:13	00:50:57:25	The Wisconsin River Power
1635	00:50:57:25	00:51:00:03	Company completed the projects
1636	00:51:00:03	00:51:02:01	that began with buying up land
1637	00:51:02:01	00:51:04:18	in the 1930s.
1638	00:51:04:18	00:51:05:24	>> It's really not hard
1639	00:51:05:24	00:51:07:00	to buy it.
1640	00:51:07:00	00:51:08:11	Here were many people
1641	00:51:08:11	00:51:09:17	that were happy that somebody,
1642	00:51:09:17	00:51:11:03	anybody was willing
1643	00:51:11:03	00:51:13:17	to take this dirt poor land
1644	00:51:13:17	00:51:15:08	off their hands.
1645	00:51:15:08	00:51:16:15	>> My daughter and I,
1646	00:51:16:15	00:51:18:04	we made this map, then
1647	00:51:18:04	00:51:20:07	we came up with the overlay
1648	00:51:20:07	00:51:21:24	to show the people
1649	00:51:21:24	00:51:23:27	where their property was.
1650	00:51:23:27	00:51:25:14	As you can see,
1651	00:51:25:14	00:51:27:17	there's lots of property owners.
1652	00:51:27:17	00:51:29:20	>> I had an obsession
1653	00:51:29:20	00:51:31:22	with taking pictures out there.
1654	00:51:31:22	00:51:33:25	Every week, I'd go out there,
1655	00:51:33:25	00:51:35:09	and the water was coming in
1656	00:51:35:09	00:51:36:21	more and more.
1657	00:51:36:21	00:51:38:12	>> This is what is now flooded.
1658	00:51:38:12	00:51:41:00	This is all water, and it
1659	00:51:41:00	00:51:43:17	goes down through here and up,
1660	00:51:43:17	00:51:46:06	and it encased the Yellow River.
1661	00:51:46:06	00:51:47:11	This became
1662	00:51:47:11	00:51:49:12	the Buckhorn State Park.
1663	00:51:49:12	00:51:51:02	>> This is my mother.
1664	00:51:51:02	00:51:53:06	This my aunt from Chicago.
1665	00:51:53:06	00:51:54:13	This is my aunt
1666	00:51:54:13	00:51:56:06	from Wisconsin Dells.
1667	00:51:56:06	00:51:57:17	They called up and wanted to see
1668	00:51:57:17	00:52:00:04	the place for the last time.
1669	00:52:00:04	00:52:01:27	They couldn't believe it,
1670	00:52:01:27	00:52:03:24	because they were born there.
1671	00:52:03:24	00:52:05:09	We were lucky to get in and out
1672	00:52:05:09	00:52:06:23	that day.
1673	00:52:06:23	00:52:07:23	The next week,
1674	00:52:07:23	00:52:08:29	we went out there,
1675	00:52:08:29	00:52:10:08	and really, I don't know
1676	00:52:10:08	00:52:13:04	how we got out of there.
1677	00:52:13:04	00:52:14:22	>> They were built solely to
1678	00:52:14:22	00:52:16:18	hold water to act as reservoirs
1679	00:52:16:18	00:52:20:04	for the power plants.
1680	00:52:20:04	00:52:22:04	As time went by, though,
1681	00:52:22:04	00:52:23:15	it became obvious that
1682	00:52:23:15	00:52:25:14	oh, my gosh, there is
1683	00:52:25:14	00:52:28:10	how many miles of water frontage
1684	00:52:28:10	00:52:30:09	that could be developed here.
1685	00:52:30:09	00:52:31:22	Much of the frontage
1686	00:52:31:22	00:52:33:14	remains undeveloped.
1687	00:52:33:14	00:52:35:09	What has been developed,
1688	00:52:35:09	00:52:36:15	hasn't been developed until
1689	00:52:36:15	00:52:38:29	maybe the last 20 years or so.
1690	00:52:38:29	00:52:40:20	But it's been a tremendous
1691	00:52:40:20	00:52:42:29	economic boom to Juneau County.
1692	00:52:49:06	00:52:50:23	>> In the restored wetlands
1693	00:52:50:23	00:52:52:28	of the Necedah Wildlife Refuge,
1694	00:52:52:28	00:52:54:20	a project to reintroduce
1695	00:52:54:20	00:52:56:10	the whooping crane,
1696	00:52:56:10	00:52:58:00	brought international attention
1697	00:52:58:00	00:52:59:28	to Juneau County.
1698	00:52:59:28	00:53:01:29	>> That's a species
1699	00:53:01:29	00:53:03:18	that almost became extinct
1700	00:53:03:18	00:53:05:03	in the whole world.
1701	00:53:05:03	00:53:06:09	It was down to
1702	00:53:06:09	00:53:07:12	very few birds left.
1703	00:53:07:12	00:53:09:19	Here was a bird that had to be
1704	00:53:09:19	00:53:10:29	trained the migration route,
1705	00:53:10:29	00:53:12:05	to leave Wisconsin
1706	00:53:12:05	00:53:13:12	during the cold winter.
1707	00:53:13:12	00:53:14:19	So they were trained to follow
1708	00:53:14:19	00:53:16:26	the ultralight wherever it went.
1709	00:53:16:26	00:53:18:03	They followed it
1710	00:53:18:03	00:53:19:15	clear down to Florida.
1711	00:53:19:15	00:53:21:02	So, it captured both national
1712	00:53:21:02	00:53:23:16	and international attention.
1713	00:53:23:16	00:53:24:28	We had filming crews from all
1714	00:53:24:28	00:53:28:13	over, from Korea, Japan, Canada.
1715	00:53:28:13	00:53:29:29	They were coming to do their
1716	00:53:29:29	00:53:32:16	documentary of this project.
1717	00:53:32:16	00:53:33:21	The Necedah Refuge
1718	00:53:33:21	00:53:34:22	became what we call in
1719	00:53:34:22	00:53:35:25	the Fish and Wildlife Service,
1720	00:53:35:25	00:53:37:05	a Flagship Refuge,
1721	00:53:37:05	00:53:38:29	a refuge that stands out,
1722	00:53:38:29	00:53:40:02	that people come from other
1723	00:53:40:02	00:53:41:13	states just to see something
1724	00:53:41:13	00:53:42:27	in that refuge.
1725	00:53:42:27	00:53:44:22	It got us congressional
1726	00:53:44:22	00:53:46:04	support and also public support
1727	00:53:46:04	00:53:47:08	for a visitor center.
1728	00:53:47:08	00:53:48:16	That was kind of spin off
1729	00:53:48:16	00:53:50:02	of this project.
1730	00:53:50:02	00:53:52:10	Once that was created and built,
1731	00:53:52:10	00:53:54:06	you had interactive displays,
1732	00:53:54:06	00:53:56:01	video and media to watch.
1733	00:53:56:01	00:53:57:08	Then you have some
1734	00:53:57:08	00:53:58:25	adjoining nature trails
1735	00:53:58:25	00:54:00:26	with interpretive signs.
1736	00:54:00:26	00:54:03:13	At this point, people come here
1737	00:54:03:13	00:54:05:11	all day long in the refuge,
1738	00:54:05:11	00:54:06:19	and can spend enough hours
1739	00:54:06:19	00:54:07:23	that they need a restaurant
1740	00:54:07:23	00:54:09:00	and motel.
1741	00:54:09:00	00:54:10:13	So, at that point, there's so
1742	00:54:10:13	00:54:11:25	many things in Juneau County
1743	00:54:11:25	00:54:13:08	that they can go out and look
1744	00:54:13:08	00:54:14:20	for, different attractions.
1745	00:54:14:20	00:54:15:29	So, eco-tourism has expanded
1746	00:54:15:29	00:54:18:27	tremendously in this area.
1747	00:54:21:04	00:54:22:12	>> Juneau County's diverse
1748	00:54:22:12	00:54:24:14	landscape and its history
1749	00:54:24:14	00:54:26:14	mirror in many ways
1750	00:54:26:14	00:54:29:27	those of the state of Wisconsin.
1751	00:54:29:27	00:54:31:19	>> It has a logging history,
1752	00:54:31:19	00:54:33:17	just like Wisconsin.
1753	00:54:33:17	00:54:35:10	It has the agricultural history
1754	00:54:35:10	00:54:36:20	that Wisconsin has
1755	00:54:36:20	00:54:37:26	in that southern
1756	00:54:37:26	00:54:41:08	and western part of the county.
1757	00:54:41:08	00:54:42:25	It has those great marshes,
1758	00:54:42:25	00:54:44:02	just as wetlands of course
1759	00:54:44:02	00:54:46:13	covered a third of Wisconsin.
1760	00:54:46:13	00:54:47:24	It certainly has the railroad
1761	00:54:47:24	00:54:49:03	history that Wisconsin has.
1762	00:54:49:03	00:54:50:11	It had the dependence
1763	00:54:50:11	00:54:52:21	on resources to make a living
1764	00:54:52:21	00:54:54:21	that the rest of Wisconsin has.
1765	00:54:54:21	00:54:57:02	And so, it can be said
1766	00:54:57:02	00:54:58:16	that if you know the history
1767	00:54:58:16	00:55:00:06	of Juneau County, in many ways
1768	00:55:00:06	00:55:01:17	you know the history
1769	00:55:01:17	00:55:03:26	of the state of Wisconsin.
1770	00:55:24:10	00:55:25:16	>> To purchase a DVD of
1771	00:55:25:16	00:55:27:05	Wisconsin Hometown Stories:
1772	00:55:27:05	00:55:28:13	Juneau County,
1773	00:55:28:13	00:55:32:26	call 1-800-422-9707,
1774	00:55:32:26	00:55:34:12	or visit
1775	00:55:34:12	00:55:35:28	the Wisconsin Public Television
1776	00:55:35:28	00:55:37:16	online store
1777	00:55:37:16	00:55:40:13	at the address on the screen.
1778	00:55:53:20	00:55:55:11	>> Funding provided in part
1779	00:55:55:11	00:55:57:16	by Philip J. and Elizabeth B.
1780	00:55:57:16	00:56:00:06	Hendrickson;
1781	00:56:00:06	00:56:01:26	Phyllis I. Moore,
1782	00:56:01:26	00:56:03:04	in memory of the
1783	00:56:03:04	00:56:05:04	Henry and Laura Grefe Family
1784	00:56:05:04	00:56:07:25	and John F. Moore;
1785	00:56:07:25	00:56:10:02	the Kari L. Schmidt family
1786	00:56:10:02	00:56:12:05	and Bank of Mauston,
1787	00:56:12:05	00:56:16:03	in memory of Thomas E. Schmidt;
1788	00:56:16:03	00:56:17:23	the Jean A. Traeder
1789	00:56:17:23	00:56:20:06	and Joan M. Randolph families,
1790	00:56:20:06	00:56:21:09	in memory
1791	00:56:21:09	00:56:24:01	of Beatrice P. Burgdorff;
1792	00:56:24:01	00:56:25:25	the John and Catherine Orton
1793	00:56:25:25	00:56:27:20	family, in memory
1794	00:56:27:20	00:56:29:22	of the Honorable Thomas J.
1795	00:56:29:22	00:56:32:16	and Colette S. Currran;
1796	00:56:32:16	00:56:35:19	Mildred Freymiller;
1797	00:56:35:19	00:56:36:25	the Friends of
1798	00:56:36:25	00:56:38:27	Wisconsin Public Television;
1799	00:56:38:27	00:56:41:08	and the Wisconsin History Fund,
1800	00:56:41:08	00:56:42:14	supported in part
1801	00:56:42:14	00:56:43:24	by the National Endowment
1802	00:56:43:24	00:56:45:24	for the Humanities.