Pastor Marries Couple; Later Conducts Both Their Funerals

December 4, 2015

The Rev. Wilson J. Fisher called it an “unusual and interesting occurrence.” That would be an understatement. The Methodist minister wrote of how he conducted the nuptials of a young couple in North Prairie, Wisconsin in 1883, and later presided at the funerals of husband and wife more than four decades later in Wisconsin Rapids. … More Pastor Marries Couple; Later Conducts Both Their Funerals

Ads in History: Milwaukee’s Swaffield & Russell 1857

December 2, 2015

A great way to learn about a community in history is to examine old newspaper and directory advertisements. The ad designs and content provide valuable clues to how people lived and shopped in decades and centuries past. We’ll take a regular look at old ads here at Treasured Lives. Our first ad in the series … More Ads in History: Milwaukee’s Swaffield & Russell 1857

Of Helen Leng’s Murder and Investigative History

December 1, 2015

This week back in 1927, a high school freshman named Helen Leng was brutally murdered in Portage, Wisconsin. She had been walking home from a friend’s house after seeing the matinee at the local theater. She walked through a tunnel that ran under the Milwaukee Road rail tracks around 6 p.m. and was shot in … More Of Helen Leng’s Murder and Investigative History