The following projects provide a window into our region’s history. 23 young men and women have contributed to the FHP since its inception and we thank them for their time and enthusiasm in helping us build this historical archive! The project is a work in progress and we appreciate your interest! We have organized the projects roughly chronologically related to our community’s history. In addition, corresponding articles by Rykken, and documents prompted by the topics of research, are included.
PRE-1900
2010: Levi Miles: The Civil War Experience
* Megan Rykken also interned and began the process of indexing the projects.
Article: “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” Jackson County Interprets Bleeding Kansas, 2010)
2011: Erick Conrad: BRF in 1875: Spaulding and the Removal Episode
Article: “Spaulding’s Funeral” (Wisconsin Magazine of History, Autumn 2021)
Document: Letter from Jake Spaulding to President Grant, 1873
2015: Zane Dukes: William Thompson Price
2018: Elizabeth Pardoe: Black River’s Holy Hill: The Origins of Three Parishes
* Ally McJoynt also interned and finalized indexing and changes to the FHP web presence.
1900-1920
2012: Josh Hanson: The Life and Times of Merlin Hull
2013: Sandy Lin: BRF and the China Connection
Yep Ging Profile: The Chinese Laundryman
2014: Dominic Vase: BRF and the Great War
Billy Krause Profile: The German Baker on Armistice Day
2016: Michaela Custodio: Edna Frances Perry
1920-1960
2008: Max Hart: The Jackson County Fair
2003: Kristen Boehm: The Great Depression Experience
2002: Andi Jo Cloud: The World War II Experience
Article and Documents: FDR and World Crisis (2007)
2004: Jill Janke: BRFHS in 1952
Lesson Plan and Documents: Ike, McCarthy, and the Election of 1952 (2018 Revision)
2007: Katie Norton: No Longer Forgotten: The Korean War Experience
Article: Red Cloud and the Power of Memory (2021 Revision)
2005: Kirsten Bjerke: Black River Falls Music History
2006: Cory Schultz: BRF in 1968: Politics and Perspective
1960-Present
2009: Alex Zank: Voice from the 1960s: Integration and the Public Schools
Article: A Complex Journey: The HCN and the BRF School District: Post-Removal Period to 1963
Article: Bridging the Divide: First Nations Studies at BRFHS
2019: Sydney Sampson-Webb: The Vietnam War
Article: Vietnam and American Memory (2005)
2020: Sam Lund: The Coming of the Interstate
2021: Madeline Diehn: 9-11 Twenty Years Later
2022 Paige Blackdeer: The Impact of COVID-19 On Our Community
* Note: In 2017 we began the process of putting the projects in a consistent format and went further with our web development. Jacob Markhardt served as our intern. We did not complete a project that year due to that work.
Falls History Project 