 |
||||||
|
Reviews
Milwaukee Journal | West
Bend Daily News Author Records the Rich History of Copper Falls State Park
About The EchoThere is an old saying, “Every time an old person dies a dictionary is lost." Jeff Peters of Mellen, Wisconsin, has launched an exciting historical newspaper titled The Echo. Peters, a journalist and past publisher of several historical calendars said, “The paper is geared to bring the rich local histories of Wisconsin to readers of all ages.” "I want to make sure those stories are passed down from generation to generation -- everything from the shipwrecks of the Great Lakes to Grandma's favorite recipe. I hope to connect with each Wisconsin historical society for stories and photos from their area of the state. I want people to tell tales in their own style, much like telling your "favorite" hunting or fishing story around a campfire, or sharing a special event that happened in your community," Peters said. Peters urges historians and residents of Wisconsin to send their stories and old photos (quality reproductions or scans at 300 at dpi on a CD are preferred) to: Attention: Jeff Peters, The Echo, 31374 Long Lake Road, Mellen, WI 54546. Or e-mail them to peters@ceas.coop Subscriptions for the newspaper are $25 for the year and can be sent to the same address. It makes a perfect gift. Click here for a printable order form to subscribe to The Echo. "Sharing the history of families and communities is what this publication is all about. I sincerely think it will find a nice niche in our great state and help keep our history alive. |
 |
||||
|
||||||
Mary J. Schueller completed her undergraduate work at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire along with a certificate in Technical Writing from Moraine Park Technical College in West Bend. She has spent the past ten years researching and writing her father’s years of service in the Civilian Conservation Corps to “tell the next generation what men like my dad did for this country so that their sacrifice will not be forgotten.” She also wants to make sure the rustic CCC and WPA buildings in our parks will be preserved as heirlooms of our American heritage. 
Mary wrote the National Register document and gave a presentation before the Wisconsin State Historic Preservation Board to have Copper Falls State Park listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 15, 2005. Copper Falls is the first historic park site in the Wisconsin park system to qualify in the areas of Rustic Architecture, Conservation and Entertainment/Recreation for contributing to the tourism of northern Wisconsin during the years of significance 1929–1954. On December 4, 2005, Dennis McCann of the Milwaukee Journal wrote, “Visitors who want to learn more about the park’s early years will find it in the newly published Rustic Reflections of Copper Falls State Park by Mary J. Schueller of Richfield, WI whose father served as a CCC carpenter at the park in the 1930s. The thousands of hikers, campers and nature enthusiasts who visit the park’s offerings each year will appreciate them all the more for knowing how they came about.” 
Schueller’s second book entitled, The Soldiers of Poverty, is a creative nonfiction story detailing her father’s struggle during the Great Depression, his entrance into the CCC, his work in the hewing yard at Giant City Park in Makanda, IL before Company 692 was transferred to Mellen, WI. In the fall of 1936, Camp Copper Falls was sent to do firefighting on Isle Royale, MI where 1,800 professional firefighters and CCC men were credited with saving over two-thirds of the island from complete destruction. Schueller has been giving PowerPoint presentations at museums, historic societies and senior centers throughout Illinois and Wisconsin telling this fascinating story and has been reviewed in the May/June 2007 issue of Michigan History magazine. Her books are available at the Mellen Museum, on-line at