History

The Pierce County Historical Association (PCHA) will host its annual fall open house on Sunday, Oct. 2, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the River Bluffs History Center, W6321 E. Main St., Bay City. Historian Edward G. Langer and fingerstyle guitarist Bill Hammond will be featured. Light refreshments...

The sixth annual Scottish Heritage Festival will be held from 9:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, at the First Presbyterian Church of Hudson, 1901 Vine St. Activities include: Bag pipe music at 9:45 a.m.

Way back when, groups of farmers got together to "raise a barn" or perhaps a house--simple jobs? Not really, but most assuredly a lot faster...

There's a song whose lyrics run to the following phrase: "You light up my life." Everyone's life. There was electricity in homes in Ellsworth and River Falls--produced by a power plant on the Rush River (near the rod and gun club) and a dam/power source on the Kinnickkinnic River....

Stagecoaches were pulled by a four-horse or six-horse hitch team. These four-wheeled coaches traversed the county on its primitive roads. No...

Broadcasting. What is that? It is hand-strewn seeds for oats, barley, rye and any other grain crop done by hand. Individuals dropped kernels...

Many of you readers my age clearly remember the days of WWII and the announcement made by then-President Franklin Roosevelt on the radio, telling us this: "Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941---a date which will live in infamy---the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked." I...

Back in the early days of mechanized transportation, there were people who "rode the rails," but they had to watch out for the railroad yard security guys who tried to catch them and throw them off the trains. These transients were called "hobos" and they had camps in known locations--they...

Early in American history, and also here in Pierce County, people entertained themselves with simple things: Pa's fiddle, maybe also an accordion or banjo, or maybe a harmonica could be found. Folks sang, folks danced, but not in the ballrooms that would later be scattered around...

Rob Cesena shows his daughter Gabby how to churn ice cream at the Octagon House Museum in Hudson. The museum will offer free tours for fathers, when they are accompanied by a child of any age, from 2-4:30 p.m. Father's Day Sunday, June 19. This year's tour theme is the "Civil War...

April of 2011 marked the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the War Between the States--or Civil War. This particular war was fought over numerous political, economic and social issues, which included the rights of the states vs. a strong centralized national government.

Most people slow down only a little as they travel Hwy. 63 through the tiny community of Martell. But there'll be something worth stopping for Saturday. A daylong fundraiser and community gathering will include a flea market, food, fireworks at dark and a movie after the fireworks. "We're...