LA CROSSE HISTORY
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THE LA CROSSE AREA'S HISTORY, DIGITIZED

Agriculture


Resources

—Agriculture—


Author:
UW-Madison
Creator:
Theodore J. Dunnewald, 1885-
Description:
Thesis for the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Subject:
Sewage disposal in rivers, lakes, etc. -- Wisconsin -- Pammel Creek (La Crosse County)
Pammel Creek (La Crosse County, Wis.)
Creator:
Olson, Harlan
Description:
This study of Pammel Creek, La Crosse County, Wisconsin, was initiated in order to quantitatively assess the degree, the type, and the specific sources of enteric pollution in the stream. Fecal coliforms and fecal streptococci were selected as the indicator organisms. Both types of bacteria are present consistently in the feces of all warm-blooded animals. Rainfall and the resulting storm water run-off probably contributed to the enteric pollution of Pammel Creek in two ways: by loading the stream with bacteria and nutrients, and by saturating the soil around septic system drainfields. Fecal coliform tests of July and August, 1971, revealed high levels of enteric pollution at all test stations. Only 3 of 58 samples yielded results which were under the suggested standard of 200 fecal coliforms per 100 ml for primary contact recreation. The fecal coliform - fecal streptococci ratios obtained in the test series of 1972 and 1973, indicated a probable injection point for human fecal contaminants in the vicinity of Station 12. Out of a total of 32 test samples from Station 12 and its subdivisions, 75% gave ratios which indicated enteric pollution which was predominantly of human origin. Ratios obtained at the other sampling sites suggested enteric pollution derived from warm-blooded animals other than man. In view of these-results, it is recommended: (1) that measures be taken to immediately correct defects in the septic sewage facilities in the vicinity of Station 12; (2) that priority be given to the extension of sewage lines connecting the municipal sewage system of the city of La Crosse with the residential areas in State Road Coulee and adjacent coulees; (3) that measures be taken to control run-off from concentrations of fecal contaminants on farms located on the Pammel Creek watershed; and (4) that thorough studies be made concerning the impact of any new development which affects the quality of water in Pammel Creek.
UW-L Master's Thesis
Subject:
Ariculture--Study and teaching--Wisconsin--La Crosse County
La Crosse County School of Agriculture and Domestic Economy (Wis.)
Creator:
William C. Merwin
Description:
A Brief History of the La Crosse County School of Agriculture and Domestic Science is a seminar paper written as partial fulfillment of the requirements for a masters degree at Wisconsin State University at La Crosse between the summer of 1964 and the summer of 1965. The La Crosse County School of Agriculture and Domestic Science located in Onalaska, Wisconsin, was opened in 1909 and closed in 1925. The school was the fifth of its kind in the state of Wisconsin. Special instruction in agriculture and domestic science aimed at educating young men and women for Intelligent and profitable living was the primary objective of the school. A number of courses including a two-year course, a four-year course, a one-year course and several special short courses and extension work were provided to accomplish these objectivos. A total of two hundred and sixty-nine students graduated during the sixteen year history. Tuition was free to all La Crosse County residents. Six regular teachers and one principal made up the entire school faculty. The number of students ranged from one hundred and fifty-seven during the first year to a low of forty-nine during the 197-1-918 school year. A failure to enroll a sufficient number of students was the primary reason for closing in 1925. This is the first written history of the institution. Through an investigation of school publications, county newspapers and microfilm, County Board Proceedings, in addition to personal interviews with former students of the school this brief history was written.
Subject:
Cooperative marketing of farm produce -- Wisconsin -- History
Northern Wisconsin Co-operative Tobacco Pool -- History
Tobacco -- Wisconsin -- Cooperative marketing -- History
Creator:
Gates, Wayne
Description:
An Early History of the Northern Wisconsin Co-Operative Tobacco Pool is a seminar paper written as partial fulfillment of the requirement for a masters degree at Wisconsin state University at La Crosse. Farmers in Wisconsin have produced tobacco for over a century. In 1922, to market the tobacco, growers organized the Northern Wisconsin Co-Operative Tobacco Pool. From the beginning the Pool tried to persuade growers of its effectiveness, while the tobacco buyers pointed out the weaknesses of the organization. Litigation between the Pool and the tobacco buyers followed. During the fourteen year history of the Pool the organization fought several contract renewal battles. In 1936 the Directors of the Pool decided to release members from their contracts. As a result of this action the Northern Wisconsin Co-Operative Tobacco Pool ceased to exist as a statewide organization. There has been very little research on this topic. Much of the information has come from local newspapers, tobacco industry publications, and interviews with people involved in the tobacco industry.
UW-L Seminar Paper
Author:
Miller and Wallen
Subject:
Tractor industry
Account books
Description:
An unused ledger titled The Farmer's Ledger, A Simplified form of Book Keeping. The cover also states Compliments of Wisconsin Tractor Sales Company, Oshkosh, Wisconsin; Distributor of La Crosse Happy Farm Tractors and Tractor Drawn Implements. It was distributed by the Farmer's Co-Operative Produce Company in Marshfield, WI.
This item was scanned by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Murphy Library courtesy of Randy Reysen. The physical item is owned by and resides with Mr. Reysen.
Author:
U. S. West Research
Subject:
La Crosse River (Monroe County-La Crosse County, Wis.)--History
Rivers--Wisconsin--History
Wetlands--Wisconsin--La Crosse--History
United States
Wisconsin
La Crosse
Creator:
Anthony Godfrey
Description:
forms part of the La Crosse River Valley Study a cultural history of the lower La Crosse River Valley marsh at La Crosse including landscape conditions and developments, transportation developments, industrial and commercial developments, agricultural activities and the like; grouped into three geographic areas of the river
ocm21224498
Author:
[La Crosse Plow Works]
Subject:
United States
Wisconsin
La Crosse
La Crosse Plow Company (La Crosse, Wis.)--Catalogs
Farm equipment--Catalogs
Agricultural implements--Catalogs
Plows--Catalogs
Cultivators--Catalogs
Creator:
La Crosse Plow Company (La Crosse, Wis.)
Description:
A black and white catalog from the nineteenth century of a plow company owned by the Albert Hirshheimer family in La Crosse, Wisconsin
16 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Author:
Murphy Library, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Subject:
Architects -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse -- Directories
Creator:
Nelson, Carolyn
Description:
Compiled in 1977 by Carolyn Nelson, this is a list of architects plying their trade in the city of La Crosse from 1853-1973.
Subject:
La Crosse Plow Company (La Crosse, Wis.)
Farm equipment
Agricultural machinery--Wisconsin--La Crosse
Plows
Creator:
La Crosse Plow Company (La Crosse, Wis.)
Description:
The La Crosse Plow Company Collection contains a variety of visual materials including repair guides, photographs, 3-dimensional objects, letters, and other similar items. The collection's materials span the various phases of the La Crosse Plow Company including names such as Sta-Rite, Happy Farmer Tractor Company, and the La Crosse Tractor Company. The bulk of this collection was scanned from materials owned by Randy Reysen, and the other items featured are part of the Murphy Library Special Collections. In total, there are over 100 items included in this collection with the prospect of adding more in the future.
Subject:
Farm tractors
Tractor industry
Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Description:
This incomplete instruction booklet contains information distributed by the Oshkosh Tractor Company, which succeeded the La Crosse Tractor Company.
This item was scanned by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Murphy Library courtesy of Randy Reysen. The physical item is owned by and resides with Mr. Reysen.
Subject:
Group portraits
Tractors -- American -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Farm tractors
Tractor industry
Description:
This unbound booklet contains seven engine and tractor diagrams as well as four photographs taken circa 1917. One diagram is a rear view of a tractor with the logo "Happy Farmer La Crosse Tractor Co." The photographs show presumably La Crosse Tractor Company employees demonstrating the tractor diagramed.
This item was scanned by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Murphy Library courtesy of Randy Reysen. The physical item is owned by and resides with Mr. Reysen.
Author:
Garder Printing Company
Subject:
Harness racing -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Fairs -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Author:
Garder Printing Company
Subject:
Harness racing -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Fairs -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Author:
Garder Printing Company
Subject:
Harness racing -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Fairs -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Author:
Garder Printing Company
Subject:
Harness racing -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Fairs -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Author:
Garder Printing Company
Subject:
Harness racing -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Fairs -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Author:
Garder Printing Company
Subject:
Harness racing -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Fairs -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Author:
Garder Printing Company
Subject:
Harness racing -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Fairs -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Author:
Garder Printing Company
Subject:
Harness racing -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Fairs -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Author:
Garder Printing Company
Subject:
Harness racing -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Fairs -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Author:
Garder Printing Company
Subject:
Harness racing -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Fairs -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Author:
Garder Printing Company
Subject:
Harness racing -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Fairs -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County
Author:
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Oral History Program
Subject:
McMahon, Bob -- Interviews
Oral history
Oral history -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Interviews -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
La Crosse (Wis.) -- History
Fishing -- Wisconsin -- Coon Valley
Fly fishing -- Wisconsin -- Coon Valley
Trout fishing -- Wisconsin -- Coon Valley
Water quality -- Wisconsin -- Coon Valley
Coon Creek (Monroe County-Vernon County, Wis.)
Timber Coulee Creek (Vernon County, Wis.)
Description:
Bob McMahon spends a majority of his interview discussing fishing and natural resources in the La Crosse area. Topics include but are not limited to: fishing as recreation, fishing in Coon Valley (1950s), fish species in Coon Valley, fly fishing limits, threats to recreational fishing (pollution and land usage), farming and run off pollution, Department of Natural Resources, and conservation. 00:01:30 -- Fishing in Coon Valley, 1950s
Author:
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Oral History Program
Subject:
Norcross, Henry -- Interviews
Oral history
Oral history -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Interviews -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
La Crosse (Wis.) -- History
Recreation -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Railroad engineers -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Railroads -- Employees
Labor unions -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
La Crosse (Wis.) -- Social life and customs
Description:
Henry Norcross (b. 1899) describes his family background and life on French Island. Topics include but are not limited to: German ancestry, festivals, Milwaukee Railroad, farming, French Island and La Crosse tensions, education, winter, drowning accidents, diseases and quarantine (mumps, measles, chicken pox), Frank Powell and Buffalo Bill Cody, circus, summer fairs, Mary Hauck (doctor), early electric cars, Dr. McLoone and Bessie Moore murders, home remedies, Rubber Mills, railroad engineer, anti-German propaganda during WWI, Prohibition, bootleggers, tobacco usage, Great Depression, unemployment, being member of Ku Klux Klan (KKK) (audio cuts out here in the middle of his story), Lodge 754, union strikes and involvement, anti-Black racism and his perceptions of white working-class discrimination. Content warning: this interview contains racist ideas and language.
Tape 2
Tape 3
Tape 4
Author:
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Oral History Program
Subject:
Haraldson, John -- Interviews
Oral history
Oral history -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Interviews -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
La Crosse (Wis.) -- History
Norwegian Americans -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Shoe industry -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Retail trade -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Clubs -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse -- History
Westby (Wis.) -- Social life and customs
La Crosse (Wis.) -- Social life and customs
Description:
Haraldson begins his interview discussing his family history, early childhood in Norway, and his immigration journey to the U.S. as a young man. He first arrived in Westby, where he worked on a farm. When he came to La Crosse, he began working in the shoe trade. Topics include but are not limited to: cobbling in Norway, railroads as a form of transportation at the turn of the century, Norwegian community in Westby (WI), tobacco farming, Arenz Shoe Store, Fry Shor Company, WWI, local shoe-making industry, businessmen's club, Adolf Gundersen, Trinity Lutheran Church, night school and furthering education, store fire, Judge Lincoln Neprud.
Tape 2
Author:
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Oral History Program
Subject:
Gilbertson, John P. -- Interviews
Oral history
Oral history -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Interviews -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
La Crosse (Wis.) -- History
Postal service -- Employees
Postal service -- History
Letter carriers -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Postmasters -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Recreation -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
La Crosse (Wis.) -- Social life and customs
Description:
John P. Gilbertson begins his interview by discussing his Norwegian family history. His interview largely focuses on La Crosse social life and recreation, as well as his career as a letter carrier. Topics include but are not limited to: saw mills, railroads, Coon Valley, family working-class occupations, the Great Depression, history of the La Crosse Post Office, steamboats, La Crosse Inter-State Fair, farm technology, newspaper and press industry, education in La Crosse, Wisconsin Business University, the circus, segregation from Ho-Chunk community and community racism, Bartl Brewery, anti-Black racism and interracial marriage, river and lumber industries, Goosetown, gambling houses and City policies, anti-German discrimination, WWI, automobiles, federal government, development of the La Crosse Normal School (now UW-L), Hoeschler family, medical history, Adolf Gundersen, early Ho-Chunk community members, early Black American community members, La Crosse Historical Society, Nathan Myrick, local politics, Wisconsin Progressive Movement, corruption in La Crosse Police Department, personal sentiments towards communities with different identities than his own (Indigenous, Black American, and Jewish).
Note: This interview has sections of poor audio quality.
Tape 2
Tape 3
Tape 4
Author:
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Oral History Program
Subject:
Van Loon, Maude -- Interviews
Oral history
Oral history -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Interviews -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
La Crosse (Wis.) -- History
Farm life -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
La Crosse (Wis.) -- Social life and customs
New Amsterdam (La Crosse County, Wis.) -- History
Description:
Van Loon discusses her ancestors' 1856 emigration from the Netherlands to Wisconsin, where they settled in New Amsterdam. She focuses on her father, John Van Loon, and also discusses general family life and her childhood growing up on a farm in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Topics also discussed include but are not limited to: ancestry, immigration from Holland, LaFleur family, New Amsterdam, Native Americans, Presbyterian Church, marriage and work, Childhood memories, diseases, Joseph Losey, her childhood home, her parents railroad tramps, birthday celebrations, farm animals, Christmas celebrations, farming and harvesting, education, Perkins family, Black Americans, childhood games, bluff hiking, agricultural and horticultural societies, traffic concerns with horses and cars, horse races, bird watching, food and cooking, farm labor, as well as local newspapers papers.
Warning, some bits of this recording has sound issues and the audio is incomprehensible.
Tape 2
Tape 3
Tape 4
Tape 5
Author:
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Oral History Program
Subject:
Kogut, Paul -- Interviews
Fly fishing -- Wisconsin -- Coon Valley
Oral history
Oral history -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Interviews -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Coon Valley (Wis.)
Timber Coulee Creek (Vernon County, Wis.)
Bohemian Valley Creek (Vernon County, Wis.)
Rullands Coulee Creek (Vernon County, Wis.)
Spring Coulee Creek (Vernon County, Wis.)
Coon Creek Watershed (Monroe County-Vernon County, Wis.)
Description:
Kogut discusses fly fishing in the streams and creeks around Coon Valley, Wisconsin. In particular, he mentions Timber Coulee Creek, Bohemian Valley Creek, Rullands Coulee Creek, and Spring Coulee Creek. He also discusses fishing pressure, catch-and-release areas, and the Coon Creek Watershed project.
Author:
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Oral History Program
Subject:
Bagstad, Tip -- Interviews
Trout fishing -- Wisconsin -- Coon Valley
Oral history
Oral history -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Interviews -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Fish habitat improvement -- Wisconsin
Flood control -- Wisconsin
Stream channelization -- Wisconsin
Coon Valley (Wis.)
Description:
Tip Bagstad's interview focuses largely on fishing in the Coulee Region and his employment in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Topics include but are not limited to: fish species (trout, sucker, and chub) and population in the area, popularity of fishing, threats to different fish species, farming and pollution, conservation methods, streams, projects on streams in area (Monroe, La Crosse, Vernon, and Crawford counties), and flooding.
Subject:
Halfway Creek (La Crosse County, Wis.)
Water--Pollution--Wisconsin--La Crosse County
Creator:
Robert R. Hoffman
Description:
The concentration of nitrate-nitrogen, nitrite-nitrogen, and ortho phosphate were determined from samples taken at six different locations, every two weeks for a year, on Halfway Creek in La Crosse County, Wisconsin. The temperature and the amount of sedimentation were also recorded for each station. The sampling and analysis began July 22, 1971 and ended June 28, 1972. The six stations were located between the mouth of Halfway Creek on Lake Onalaska and a point about two miles downstream from its source in the coulee. The results show a considerable variation in the amounts of nitrate, nitrite, and phosphate present at different times of the year and at the different locations on the stream. The average ortho phosphate level of the stream was 1.82 ppm, with very high levels recorded in the spring. The nitrate level of Halfway Creek was highest in the farmland near its source, decreasing as it moved toward its mouth. The average amount of nitrate present in the entire stream for the year was about 34 ppm. The nitrite level averaged 0.112 ppm over the entire stream for the measuring per oid. Sedimentation was very low with very little suspended material leaving the stream at its mouth in Lake Onalaska. While most of the temperatures recorded produced characteristic results, those recorded at the mouth of the stream were exceptions. They were generally lower than the next two stations upstream because of large amounts of water entering the stream just before it empties into the lake.