Chequamegon Bay Old Settlers Club
By
Sharon Manthei
The organization of an old settlers club was
the mind set of A. W. Bowron, who had arrived in Ashland as a small boy
along with Mrs. S. Fifield in 1872, to take the position of printer’s devil
for the Ashland Weekly Press, which was owned and operated by Sam S.
Fifield. The Chequamegon Old Settlers Club began organizing in 1923 with
Bowron as chairman; Miss Anita Fisher as secretary and Mrs. Margaret Wilkins
as treasurer.
The main principle upon which the club was to
be founded, was to acquaint, or re-acquaint, the old settlers with each
other. Many of the settlers, for various reasons, hadn’t seen each other for
many years. The goals of the organizers of the club was to enroll everyone
who had lived in Ashland or the Chequamegon Bay area for 35 years or more.
Membership was open to residents of Ashland, Washburn, Bayfield, Cornucopia,
Barksdale, Nash, Odanah, Marengo, Mellen, Glidden, Butternut and other
places within 50 miles of Chequamegon Bay. Other objects of the club were to
hold meetings to talk over experiences of members in the early days of
Ashland and vicinity; have two picnics during the summer at one of the
beautiful area parks; hold dances in the winter with old-time music and
dances; gather old photos of early views of region and mount them for the
public to view; create a photo album of old settlers and mark their date of
arrival and date of death; have articles read at each meeting about the
recollections of an early settler and collect and compile data or early
history of region and arrange for suitable marking of ancient landmarks and
points of historical interest.
At the first official meeting of the club,
held at Ashland City Hall, there were over 100 in attendance and a total of
244 already listed as charter members. Officers were elected. Bowron became
the President; C. A. Lamoreaux was elected Vice President and Miss Fisher
and Mrs. Wilkins retained their positions as Secretary and Treasurer.
Committees were formed to accomplish the goals of the club. The Membership
Committee consisted of Charlotte Brown, William Kellogg and B. O. Olson.
Thomas Edwards, Walter S. Green and Anita C. Fisher comprised the Memorial
Committee. The Historical Committee included W. F Shea, John C. Roehm, A.
D. McDonald, Mrs. Thos. Bardon and Mrs. George A. Sparling. The Board of
Trustees consisted of George F. Merrill, John Nelson, E. H. Quistorff, Mrs.
Lucy M. Duket and Mrs. Delia O’Connell.
Many meetings, picnics and dances were held,
all of which included reminiscing food and high spirits. At the first picnic
at Prentice Park, Commander C. L. Judd of the G.A.R., age 88, danced a
complete Virginia Reel and square dance in the afternoon and duplicated the
performance in the evening. Dancing was to the strains of Henry Armstrong on
the big bass viol, George Buchanan and Claude Talaska on their fiddles and
young Lawrence Lamoreaux on clarinet. Everyone of all ages joined in the old
time dancing. Also adding to the entertainment was Peter Stewart, the
inimitable bagpipe artist, who accompanied Edith Buchanan, who in costume
danced the Highland fling, the sword dance and others. Before the group sat
down to eat their picnic luncheon, several speakers talked about their
arrival in the area and what has happened in the past 35 years. Judd talked
about arriving in 1872 on the boat which carried the first iron for the
White River bridge, his first job here was helping build a Wilmarth block.
Mrs. E.A. Shores remembered the primeval forest before it fell to the
woodman’s ax. Bowron remembered when Francis McElroy arrived on the
propeller Atlantic with a large stock of furniture and opened the first
furniture store in Ashland on the corner of Vaughn and Front (where the
Biglow home now stands) and how the building was later moved to Vaughn and
Second St (where the Bay Theater now stands). C.A. Lamoreaux reminded
everyone that in the last 35 years the telephone had come to Chequamegon Bay
along with the street car, electric lights, radio, and the flying machine.
If he wanted to talk to the city clerk 35 years before, he walked to his
office; if he wanted to speak to anyone in Washburn, he hired a buggy, but
in 1924, phone calls to both suffice.
Among the many goals accomplished by The
Chequamegon Bay Old Settlers Club are the many meetings, picnics and dances
they held to reminisce at. Their membership numbers climbed. The Radisson
and Groseilliers monument was placed at the head of the Bay where the first
white men to the area made their camp. The marker has since been moved to
Maslowski Beach because of highway construction. The marker for the first
house built in Ashland was placed at 18th Avenue West and later
moved to the scenic drive-off at 10th Avenue West. Their photo
album of old settlers is now in the care of the Ashland Historical Museum.
The photo shows some of the musicians in
foreground l-r: Peter Stewart, bagpipes; George Buchanan and Claude Talaska,
fiddles; Henry Armstrong, bass viol. |
