70 Years Later; A Coincidence
–by Pat Weeden Those of you who were able to attend the March 31, 2014 meeting of the Brodhead Historical Society heard a very interesting presentation by Doug Tomas of East Troy, Wis., who talked about his “great uncle Berg”, TSgt. Charles L. Berg who was the flight engineer of a B-24 bomber, “Ready, Willing […]
The “Condon Painting”
In the Fall of 2012, this 1958 painting by F.H. Engebretson was given to the Brodhead Historical Society by the family of Franklyn II “Bud” and Kathryn (Kay) Condon. A phone conversation between Carol Gombar and Pete Condon gave us the following information. During 1958, an addition was built onto the (Bud and Kay) Condon […]
Preserving Local History
—Jerry Phillips, President, Bayfield Heritage Association Why is that so many of us only get interested in “local history” at the passing of our parents or other family elders? Invariably, we wish that we had taped their stories, or had at least taken notes. This is certainly true of both me and my wife, Mary […]
The Misadventures of Grape and Steve
Excerpts from the latest book by Gregg Condon, “The Misadventures of Grape and Steve; “Stories of childhood; suitable for adults only.” The book features recollections of growing up in Brodhead by Condon and Steve Saunders. STICK WITH ME! Raining cats and dogs. Man, what a dark day! Incessant downpour. Raining just as hard as it […]
A Frontier Letter Home – 1840
Following is the text of a letter written in 1840 by Mr. John Howe, an early settler in the Rock County, Wisconsin Territory, to his parents back east. Mr. Howe had come west to Rock County from Vermont and built a house by hand, using field stone and other local materials. Amazingly, this 160 year-old […]
Railroad Recollections
—By Gregg Condon On Monday, April 30, 2012, I had the tremendously enjoyable opportunity to present a program to the Brodhead Historical Society titled, “The Railroads and Brodhead.” “Railroads,” plural? Yes, just before the Milwaukee and Mississippi (M&M, early corporate name of the Milwaukee Road) planned to build “our” line from Milton Junction through Janesville […]
Ringling Brothers in Brodhead
—Betty Earleywine, Curator Adapted from Dorothy Kundert’s “Woodburners to Diesels” text for the 1956 Brodhead Centennial celebration. The colossus of the circus world – John Ringling North’s “Greatest Show On Earth,” made its debut at Madison Square Garden in New York. In Wisconsin, the state that was the early proving ground for the Ringlings, Wisconsin’s […]
Boy Scouts Celebrate 100 Years
The Boy Scout troop in Brodhead celebrated its 100th birthday in 2010. Excerpts of the following article were taken from the Independent-Register Sesquicentennial edition in 2006. Boy Scout troop #108 has been active in Brodhead since 1911, only one year after the organization was formed nationally. The Scouts belong to the Blackhawk Area Council in […]
Brodhead Telephone Company
The press release below was written February 27, 1956 by Mr. Woodrow Wollner of General Telephone Company in Madison. For more than half of Brodhead’s one hundred years, the telephone has been a chief means of communication between the citizens of the community. It was exactly 57 years ago this May that businessmen of the […]
Frank Engebretson
As published in the Spring, 2010 newsletter of the Brodhead Historical Society International Attention Back in March of this year, we received an e-mail inquiry from a gentleman in Oslo, Norway, who was doing research on Frank Engebretson and had found our website. He had recently read the book “Coast to Coast” by English travel […]