A Looming Decision for Two Rivers...
Two Rivers,
James Edward Hamilton, an early pioneer and the man most responsible for putting your town on the map, now needs your help.
His manufacturing complex, built over a 40 year period from the 1880s to the1920s, and covering over 12 acres of waterfront property, may be staring down the wrecking ball.
J.E. Hamilton was born in Two Rivers in 1852. After his father, also prominent in Two Rivers' history and
twice an elected member to the State Legislature, was killed in the line of duty in the Civil War, young James wandered a bit. He moved to New York with his family, and then returned to Two Rivers working various odd jobs. He then left for the Dakota Gold Rush in 1876, only to return again a year later - but this time he returned a determined man. He famously said to his mother after telling her he would be staying in Two Rivers for the long haul, "If there's anything in the old town, I'm going to get it out of her,"
Did he ever.
By 1880, J.E began his own business developing wood type. By 1885 he expanded his business to include furniture and cabinets, and by 1889 the Hamilton Manufacturing Company was officially incorporated and housed in the largest factory complex of it's kind in the world.
The factory complex continued operations as Hamilton's Wood Type Manufacturing until 1992 when it was acquired by what is now Thermo Fisher Scientific. By the mid-2000's dark days were looming and trends were not heading in the right direction. This last fall, the last 200 manufacturing employees at the factory, built in 1881, were let go.
The question now is what happens to the old complex. 
The easy answer is what seems to be the opinion of the majority of Two River's current business owners: Tear it down.
Really? Just tear it down? Wash your hands of it? The tradition, symbolism, and legacy of those buildings mean nothing to you?
The legacy of Hamilton Wood Type Manufacturing is that it was the lifeblood for 130 years of Two Rivers residents. Inside those walls were generations of blood, sweat, and tears shed by factory workers providing for their families, planning for their futures, as well as their children's futures. Many of them often times working overtime, or double shifts, so their children could go on to a brighter future and live the American Dream.
And you want to tear that down...
It is understandable that not all of our historic buildings can be saved. Some of them have deteriorated to the point where they just simply aren't safe anymore. Just 10 years ago however, almost 1,200 employees still worked inside these walls at Thermo Fisher. No doubt that extensive repairs are needed, but It is unlikely that a sprawling complex of this stature would go from being safe for hundreds of employees to beyond repair in just 10 years...and if it did, the city itself should be ashamed.
Some business owners, as in the news clip above, are clamoring for the buildings to be torn down and "something attractive to the community" put in it's place.
"Something attractive to the community?"
The Hamilton Buildings have their own "site file" at the Wisconsin State Historical Society, containing scores or writings, clippings, and historical documents pertaining to the buildings and their history. It housed the museum dedicated to the largest collection of wood type in the world and was a destination for artists, scholars, students, and craftsmen from the world over. It even has an award winning movie produced about it entitled, "Typeface" released in 2009.
Yes, maybe something more "attractive to the community" would work....
As a historical landscape photographer, I have seen the results of other community leaders and business owners from decades past who thought the same about certain structures in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. They, too, thought razing older buildings and putting in "something attractive" was the best way to implement innovation and promote commercial and residential development in their communities. Our streets are littered with these "attractive" sights throughout our state, and sadly, throughout the country. More often than not, these properties are now abandoned warehouses, old parking lots with cracked, uneven, weed-riddled pavement, or condo and retail space which never hold tenants. The community leaders who made those decisions are no longer around to answer for their decisions, and current leaders refer to the actions of their predecessors as "unfortunate," or "mistakes."
Two Rivers, you now have a chance to not make that same mistake. A "build it and they will come" mentality is unrealistic. You will never be a destination city...and that is OK. It is in your simplicity, identity, and history which lies your beauty. Hamilton IS your identity, your history, and your legacy - not condos or boutique shops. It is what you are not which makes what your are so unique.
If you tear these buildings down it is a virtual guarantee future generations will wish you hadn't.
Work with Thermo Fisher to repair and revitalize the buildings, acquire them, and build a task force to recruit future companies to once again provide for future generations of Two Rivers families.
James Edward Hamilton not only provided a good living to many generations of Two Rivers residents, he also built the Hamilton Community House, was instrumental in the founding of the Bank of Two Rivers, Grace Congregational Church, The Two Rivers Coal Company, and the city's early light, water, and phone companies, much of this paid for with his own money.
The spirit of J.E. Hamilton is no doubt somewhere, watching what may become of the pillars of his life's work.
73 years after his death, it's time to pay him back.
Scott Wittman is a professional photographer specializing in Historical Landscapes and Elegant Portraiture based in Appleton WI. More of his work can be seen at www.scottwittmanvisual.com.
Studio Ready to Roll
Consultation Area
I'm happy to announce, after taking about a month longer than first thought, the studio is now open and fully functional. There are still some cosmetic issues to deal with, but nothing to prohibit shooting.
Low key and Main backround shooting area
High key shooting area
Hair/Make-Up Area
Still some more pictures and mirrors to hang, nooks and crannys to tidy up, but for the most part this studio is ready to roll. (Special thanks to my dad for helping me out with so much of this!) Looking forward to creating some great work here.
Scott
An Officer and an Indian
As March is Women's History Month, I thought it fitting to research the very first woman ever written about in Wisconsin's recorded history.
Her name was Hopokoekau, or, "Glory of the Morning."
She is, to this day, the only known female chief of the Winnebago/Ho-Chunk Indian Tribe, and quite possibly the subject of Wisconsin's very first documented love story.
In an island village located near the northern base of Lake Winnebago, Glory of the Morning was born around the year 1711. Her father was the Ho-Chunk chief at the time. The island, formed by two branches of the Fox River flowing out from Lake Winnebago, today includes sections of the cities of Neenah and Menasha.
In her early years, Glory of the Morning made quite an impression on the tribe. Her wisdom, unusually superior, set her apart from others, including her brothers and the elders of the tribe. At age 18, her father became ill and passed away, leaving the Nation without a leader. In a stunning milestone event, Glory of the Morning was named to succeed her father as chief, causing a brief uproar by many in the tribe.
The French Come to WI
During Glory of the Morning's reign as chief, the French became involved in the Fox Wars throughout present day Michigan and Wisconsin. For the French to continue building it's empire in North America, the Fox River was vital to it's access to the Mississippi River and the western lands. The Fox River, however, was controlled by the Fox Indians, who resisted France's domination.
The Fox Indians were a deadly menace to the French. Surprise attacks and all-out slaughters were carried out by both sides, leaving a bloody, haunted history flowing through these waters.
Throughout the years of the Fox Wars, as well as the years of the fur trade, many French-Canadians passed through the region while serving their country's interests. One of these men was a French military officer named Joseph Sabrevoir Descaris. Descaris and his men established friendly relations with the Ho-Chunk on the island, ultimately culminating in Descaris' marriage to Glory of the Morning.
The officer was so enamored by the chieftess and the island village that he resigned his commission in the French military and became a fur trader, remaining on the island with Glory of the Morning and her people.
Breaking with much of the Greater Winnebago Nation at the time, Glory of the Morning aligned with the French against the Fox Indians in warfare throughout the 1730's and 1740's, though It was also largely through her efforts which led to peace finally being established between the two and ending the wars.
Duty Calls
In time, Descaris grew restless. His home country was facing an ever growing threat to it's empire in North America from Great Britain. He could not simply stand by. He was still a Frenchman, and with his country on the verge of war with it's greatest European rival on another continent, he was again ready to be an officer.
After seven years of marriage to Glory of the Morning, and with her, fathering three children, Joseph Descaris left the island and returned to his French-Canadian roots to re-enlist in the military and fight for his country. Glory of the Morning was torn. She understood the obligations of duty he felt for his people, as she felt the same for hers. Because of this, she decided to let Desacris go on without her, citing her refusal to leave her people without a leader. She did, however, offer for him to take their youngest child, their daughter, Nqno'abewiga. One can only imagine the scene of their final goodbye.
She would never see either of them again.
Years later, when the British invasion of North America was in full force and the French and Indian War was raging, Glory of the Morning remained loyal to her French-Canadian husband, and ordered her braves on the warpath against his country's enemy tribes. Their eldest son joined his father at the Battle of Ste. Foy, a French victory reclaiming the city of Quebec from the British.
It would be the last French victory of the French and Indian War.
Among the 833 French casualties of that day, was one Joseph Sabrevoir Descaris. Wounded in the battle, he died several days later. His son survived and returned to his mother on the island. Their daughter remained in Canada, living out her days married to a French-Canadian trader in Montreal.
Today, the Descaris name is still prevalent in the Ho-Chunk/Winnebago tribe, the pronunciation evolving over time, and is now known as the famed "Decorah" family. The chieftess and the officer's offspring thrived in a very celebrated line of Ho-Chunk Chiefs, including Spoon Decorah, Old Decorah, One-Eyed Decorah, and Waukon Decorah. Their influence was instrumental in many of the treaties signed between various Native American tribes and the United States.
As for Glory of the Morning?
After 1766, she disappears from written history - and astonishingly re-appears in an account by famed 19th century author Juliette Kinzie, who visited the tribe on the island while her husband was an Indian Agent stationed at Ft. Winnebago, WI. Mrs. Kinzie describes the following encounter:
There was among their number, this year, one whom I had never before seen—the mother of the elder Day-kau-ray. No one could tell her age, but all agreed that she must have seen upwards of a hundred winters. Her eyes dimmed, and almost white with age—her face dark and withered, like a baked apple—her voice tremulous and feeble, except when raised in fury to reprove her graceless grandsons, who were fond of playing her all sorts of mischievous tricks, indicated the very great age she must have attained.
The astonishing aspect is that this account illustrates a visit Mrs Kinzie made to the island in 1832, when Glory of the Morning would have been approximately 121 years old! As there is no recorded date of her death, history can only believe what seems to be the unbelievable.
The Treaty of the Cedars
After the Treaty of the Cedars was concluded in 1836, the Ho-Chunk, along with thousands more Native Americans from over 4 million acres of land, were relocated west. This land included what is now the cities of Appleton, Neenah, Menasha, Oshkosh, and Stevens Point, among many others. The U.S. government took control of the land, and subsequently sold the island to James Duane Doty, who proceeded to name it after himself.
Today, when walking along the rows of giant oaks and willows abundant throughout Doty Island, it's easy for one's imagination to overflow among the serenity of the sound of water and light wind, among the modern streets, lined with mansions built by 19th century paper barons, and among the island's many parks which hold their scenic beauty throughout any season. It's easy to imagine why the Ho-Chunk chose this place as their home centuries ago. And it's easy to imagine the spirits of two long lost lovers, a Forest Queen and a military man, choosing to remain here together in death, which war deprived them of in life.
Reign Studios
I am so proud of the work I was able to create while shooting at my studio in the Milwaukee area. I had wonderful opportunities to work with so many fantastic artists, including models, make-up artists, designers, bookers, art directors, creative directors, as well as other photographers.
The video below is just a small sample of the images they helped me create...and hopefully will continue to do so in the future.
Thanks to you all.
Pleasant Ridge
Tucked away among the undulating hills and abundant serenity of southwest WI, lies a plot of land which rests the remains of those who built a fascinating, though largely forgotten, Wisconsin community. A community, though no longer in existence, that still lends a legacy which epitomizes what is known as the American Dream.
Five miles west of Lancaster, in Grant County, a tranquil cemetery is all that remains of a place once known as Pleasant Ridge. A place unlike any other in Wisconsin, as it was settled and built by freed and escaped slaves from the Pre-Civil War South.
After being set free by his dying master, a man named Charles Shepard traveled with his family to the fertile lands of Wisconsin in 1848. After working in the Lancaster area for several years, Charles, along with his brother Isaac, had saved enough money to purchase 200 acres of their own. They called their land “Pleasant Ridge.”
Soon after, the national unrest leading up to the Civil War escalated and more former slaves from Missouri, Arkansas, Virginia, and Tennessee moved into the Pleasant Ridge community. Included in them was the Thomas Green family, who, after 2 failed attempts at escaping to freedom, was able to board a train in St Charles, MO and arrived in Pleasant Ridge 3 days later.
The Shepards and Greens were soon joined on Pleasant Ridge by the Grimes, the Craigs, the Lewis’, and other African-American families, peaking at about 100 people.
Isaac Shepard became the most prosperous farmer in the area and lived at Pleasant Ridge for the rest of his life. On land donated by him, the community built one of the first integrated schools in the nation, accepting black and white students, and employing black and white teachers.
Thomas Green, who lived well into his 90′s, was once asked why he risked his life to come to Pleasant Ridge. As quoted in a 1936 interview in the Platteville Journey, “I saw too many families broken up on the auction block.”
After the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, Charles Shepard and his son John walked to Prairie du Chien to enlist in the Union Army to fight for the way of life they found at Pleasant Ridge.
They never saw it again.
Charles gave the ultimate sacrifice at Vicksburg. John, while traveling back to Pleasant Ridge after the war, fell ill with pneumonia and died in Illinois. Both men are listed on the Civil War Memorial in Lancaster.
To them, what they had at Pleasant Ridge was worth the sacrifice. To breathe free air. To live a life of their choosing. To provide for their own families. Splendors and luxuries of which it seems so easy for many of us to take for granted today.
As the century turned and the generations at Pleasant Ridge expanded, the community found it hard to keep their children at home. The younger generations gradually began to search for greater opportunities elsewhere and in bigger cities across the country. Finally, in 1959, the last black resident of Pleasant Ridge, the grand-daughter of Thomas Green, passed away. Today, thousands of Greens, Shepards, Grimes, etc are prospering throughout this country because of the plight of a few so long ago.
On a visit to the cemetery today, you can stand on that very hillside they called Pleasant Ridge. You can gaze upon the vistas of plush, abundant farmland, and visit the resting places of those who made that initial journey from slave to free man.
You can see why they came here.
You can see what they fought for.
And you can thank them for reminding you that the way of life we have here, is, indeed, worth dying for.
