On today’s edition of the Kickapoo Review, we’ll be taking a look at some very interesting regional history and at a few of the fascinating people that were a part of the diverse human landscape that left a lasting legacy in the area. So, join with us as we take a trip back through time in the hills and valleys of the Ocooch Mountains region.
African-American Settlers
The round barns of Vernon County are a delightful sight to behold in our area, and, nearly 100 years after they were built, 22 of them are still standing, more than anywhere else in the United States. Virtually all of those round barns were erected by an enigmatic African-American builder and his crew, who lived in an unusual social context for the times, a unique mixed-race community in the Cheyenne Valley near Hillsboro. The Kickapoo Review’s Charlie Knower tracked down that story.
Col. Rueben May
There have been plenty of outsized historical figures that have been a part of the Driftless region’s past. One of those you’ve likely never heard of. Way back in the mid-1800s, a larger-than-life Southern gentleman emigrated to the area and made his mark in a big way in Vernon County and beyond. The Kickapoo Review’s Ed Holahan talked with local history buff John Sime about Col. Rueben May.
Back-to-the-Land Movement
In the Vernon-Crawford-Richland County area, the make-up of the human landscape has had some rather intriguing changes over the past forty to fifty years. Part of the reason for that was the so-called back-to-the-land movement of the 1960s and 70s. Scores of people were drawn to the area, with Whole Earth Catalogs in hand, brimming with idealistic intentions, and ready to live simply off the land. The tale of those nouveau homesteaders has been the subject of a formal academic study by someone who grew up here during that time. The Kickapoo Review’s Tamara Dean has the full story.
Musician Freddie Slack
Just as is the case today, the Driftless region has always had its share of fine musicians. Back nearly a 100 years ago, a musical prodigy from a prominent Viroqua family wound up in the entertainment industry on the West coast and made a major mark on the pop musical world of the mid-20th Century. In an interview on the WDRT radio program Life: on the Radio, hosts Ed Holahan and Genie Nordscog talked with Eddy Nix about the life and times of Freddie Slack.
How Viroqua Got Its Name
Ever wonder how a particular place got its name? Well, we did. We wanted to know where in the world the name Viroqua came from? So we sent the Kickapoo Review’s top investigative team of Rena Medow and Jacob van Blarcom to find the origins of the city’s unusual name. Here’s what they came up with.
Straightening the Kickapoo
And, finally today, we turn to something from the lighter side of the Driftless.
For the past several years Kickapoo Review writer and humorist Ed Holahan has been conjuring up a character named John Johnson.
Mr. Johnson’s ersatz histories are of dubious veracity and considerable amplitude, and he says that he’s 84 or 95 or 111 years old, depending on his mood at the moment. He claims to reside in The Admiral’s Suite, atop Shady Rest Home and Casino, at the southern tip of Rainbow Ridge.
Mr. Johnson, however, was kind enough to record one of his tales for The Kickapoo Review: his recollection of the time they tried to straighten the Kickapoo River.
Well, that’s it for today’s Kickapoo Review. Next month the Review team will be taking the month off in order to warm up, and in this time slot WDRT will broadcast Round Two of the local storytelling event Truth Be Told, held this past November at the Ark. Be sure to tune in at 1 p.m. on April 6 to hear more of the area’s finest storytellers.
We would like to remind you that, for those of you who like to time-shift your listening, each downloadable recorded edition of the Kickapoo Review can be found on the very popular WDRT Website.
Our thanks to the contributors to today’s broadcast of the Review: Tamara Dean, Ed Holahan, Genie Nordscog, Rena Medow, Jacob van Blarcom and Charlie Knower. Thanks, too, to David Klann and Dave Wennlund for their production assistance. I’m Bill Motlong. Charlie Knower and I produced today’s edition of the Review.
From all of us on the Kickapoo Review team, thanks for tuning in.
