Message-ID: <BLU174-W33D6F8F8C2680C90297B8CA1F60@phx.gbl> From: Destinee Udelhoven <destineekae@hotmail.com> Subject: Agency House Speaker to Discuss La Farge Oral Histories Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 16:35:08 -0500
Second Speaker of Series Tackles Controversial Federal Project
& Its Effect on Wisconsin Families
The second installment of Portage's Historic Indian Agency
House 2014 Summer Speaker Series will take place Tuesday, July 29 at
6:30pm. At this time, historian, educator and author Brad Steinmetz wil
l
discuss the decades-spanning and controversial La Farge Dam and Lake
Project—that eventually resulted in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve—and the
related efforts to gather the oral histories of those land owners affected
by this federal endeavor.
Mr. Steinmetz is a native of La Farge and has taught at the Kickapoo
Valley Reserve as a history resource instructor since its inception in
the mid-1990s. The Reserve is comprised of nearly 9,000 acres of land
purchased by the U.S. government in the early 1970s for the Dam &
Lake Project. After the near completion of the dam and purchase of the
property for the lake and surrounding recreational areas, the project
was stopped in 1975 for political, financial and environmental reasons.
As a teacher at La Farge High School, Mr. Steinmetz worked with
students and local volunteers to capture these oral histories, many of
which were later chronicled in the 2004 book, The People Remember.
Then, in 2012, Steinmetz published his own book, That Dam History: Th
e
Story of the La Farge Dam Project, an ambitious work covering nearly
seventy-five years of historical ground.
On July 29th, Mr.
Steinmetz will provide an overview of the dam project at La Farge. He
will then delve into a detailed discussion of the related oral history
project, from its initial organization, the invaluable resources that
resulted, and the related “products” and public presentations. In
addition, excerpts of these interviews will be shared to bring the
subject matter home for the audience. Finally, Brad will cover the
evolution of his own book, and the public’s reaction to it.
Copies of The People Remember and That Dam History will be available for
sale the night of the event, and a book signing will take place
immediately following Mr. Steinmetz’s presentation.
The museum
and visitor’s center exhibits, always free to the public, will be ope
n
5pm until the lecture begins at 6:30pm. A guided tour of the 1832
Winnebago Indian Agency will be available at 5pm. (Minimal fee applies;
free for Supporters members). Light refreshments will be provided for
lecture guests.
This is the fifth annual Summer Speaker Series
hosted by the Historic Indian Agency House, with one lecture a month
from June to September held on the final Tuesday at 6:30pm. The 2014
series, entitled “Uncovering Wisconsin’s Past: Non-Traditional Resear
ch
Methods and the Shaping of Our History,” will explore the remarkable
variety of investigation and study that has molded our understanding of
the state we call home.
In addition, this theme will allow us
to highlight the many types of information that HIAH is able to draw
from in interpreting the multifaceted cultural context of our site and
the portage. From archaeological and other cultural features located on
this property (including at least a few suspected burial sites) to
Ho-Chunk oral histories about the immediate area, there is a wealth of
knowledge available to the discerning researcher that very much exceeds
the limitations of the written word.
For the fifth year in a
row, this speaker series is free to the public and made largely possible
by generous grants from the The Great Circle Foundation Inc. of East
Northport and the City of Portage Tourism Promotion Committee.
The Historic Indian Agency House hosts a variety of children’s and adult
programming throughout the year, including book-your-own Scout
workshops! Visit www.agencyhouse.org for a full listing of events, or cal
l 608-742-6362 with any questions.
___________________________________________________________________________
___
Destinee K. Udelhoven
Executive Director
Historic Indian Agency House at Fort Winnebago
historicindianagencyhouse@gmail.com
www.agencyhouse.org
(608) 742 - 6362
.
" I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing. "
~Socrates