Historical fall conference slated Oct. 3 and 4 in Manitowish Waters

The public is invited to join the Forest History Association at its fall conference to celebrate its 50th anniversary as well as the 100th anniversary of the Northern Highland American Legion (NHAL) State Forest.

The conference will be held Friday and Saturday, Oct. 3-4, at the North

Lakeland Discovery Center (NLDC) in Manitowish Waters.

Friday kicks off with guided carpool tours of several points of interest in the area. First, attendees can tour one of the earliest ranger stations on the NHAL as well as an original surveyor’s blaze at a section corner along a lakeshore.

Another stop on the tour involves the historic Rest Lake Dam on the Manitowish Waters Chain of Lakes. The first two dams at Rest Lake were operated under the Weyerhaueser logging syndicate to facilitate river drive logging for white pine.

Attendees can also explore some historical aspects of the WinMan Recreational Trails and tour the Papoose Creek State Natural Area, which includes a stop Manoomin (wild rice) stop at Papoose Creek.

Historic Camp Mercer Civilian Conservation Corp. is also a tour stop, and interested individuals can tour the camp, still in its original location where it was built in 1933. Here the camp became the headquarters of the northern woods of Wisconsin and was where young men were stationed before being dispatched to neighboring locations for work.

Work for these young men typically included fighting forest fires, planting trees and developing the North Woods through telephone poles and modern roads.

The tours on Friday will end with a return to NLDC by 4:30 p.m. From there, attendees will head to the conference banquet, held at the famed Little Bohemia in Manitowish Waters — the location of the John Dilinger gang’s ambush by the FBI in 1934. The lodge still features bullet holes from those gun battles as well as artifacts and memorabilia from this famous event.

Master Naturalist Jonn Bates will be the keynote speaker of the evening. His presentation will be titled “The State of Old Growth Forest Today.” Bates’ deep knowledge of the history of the North Woods and his conversational delivery style make him a local favorite.

Saturday’s agenda kicks off at the North Lakeland Discovery Center with check-in and registration at 8:30 a.m. Coffee and snacks will be provided.

The center was one home to the Statehouse Lake Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) Camp. The YCC was created in 1961, when, under the leadership of Gov. Gaylord Nelson, Wisconsin passed into law the Outdoor Recreation Action Program.

Students were selected specifically by high school principals for their work ethic and interest in natural resources. They then went to camp to gain experience working on conservation, develop an understanding and appreciation of the state’s natural resources, and also to become more self-reliant and to build leadership skills.

That said, the NLDC itself has quite a rich history steeped in the natural resources of the North Woods, making it an important part of forest history as well.

Jim Bokern of the Manitowish Waters Historical Society will kick off Saturday’s programming with an historical overview of the Northern American Legion State Forest. Present-day forestry and recreation on the NHAL will be the topic of Tom Shockley’s presentation to round out the morning.

In the afternoon, Kay Krans will share her presentation on the Historic State House Lake YCC Camp as well as the beginnings and future home of the Northwoods Forest History Experience.

Closing out the conference will be John Berg of the Forest History Association of Wisconsin. His presentation is the story of the Rest Lake logging dam, titled, “The Best Dam Builder in the Chippewa River Watershed.”

With opportunities for learning, networking and celebrating a century of stewardship, the conference invites attendees to connect with Wisconsin’s forest heritage in a meaningful and memorable way.

Registration for the fall conference can be completed on the Forest History Association of Wisconsin’s website, foresthistoryassociationwi.com.