Technology & Engineering

The Next Generation Indie Book Awards Winner 2024

Corey Geiger, international agricultural journalist and author of On a Wisconsin Family Farm, pairs his rural roots and lively storytelling talents to capture six generations of life in America’s Dairyland.

After his mother Anna was killed by a train, Elmer Pritzl was thrown into adulthood at the tender age of sixteen. A clever and crafty fellow, Elmer quickly found work at the local foundry. Promoted to foreman by age eighteen, he began supervising men double and even triple his age during the depths of the Great Depression. However, that professional career track ended abruptly five years later when Elmer fell in love with a farmer’s daughter, Julia Burich. Six months after their wedding, Julia’s father passed away, and with no living male relatives left in her life, Julia’s mother, Anna Burich, asked, “Elmer, will you run my farm?” So, Elmer, born a city boy, transformed his life and began a love affair with a Wisconsin family farm.

Located in northwest Wisconsin and surrounded by Beaver Dam Lake, the city of Cumberland is known as the "Island City." The lake was known to the local Ojibwa tribe as Che-wa-cum-ma-towangok, or "Lake Made by the Beavers."

With over 1,100 acres of open water, the lake's resources brought in loggers to cut the big stands of timber to be milled into wood that would build the northern part of Wisconsin. Soon, an influx of Italian immigrants called Cumberland home, creating one of the largest communities of people of Italian descent in the entire state. The early pioneer families - Miller, Hines, and Ritan - had established stores, mercantile businesses, and livery stables to help the community grow. Over the years, many notable people have come from the area, including Olympic gold medal wrestlers John and Ben Peterson, statesman Thomas St. Angelo, and football standout Julius Alphonse. Stokely Foods, Ardisam, and 3M also call the area home. When the railroads came, the town became a destination for settlement and agriculture. After the timber industry moved away, the community became a popular place for summer cottages and homes.

Logging in Wisconsin explores the 70 years when logging ruled the state, covering the characters who worked in forests and on rivers, the tools they used, and the places where they lived and worked.

Wisconsin was the perfect setting for the lumber industry: acres of white pine forests (acquired through treaties with American Indians) and rivers to transport logs to sawmills. From 1840 to 1910, logging literally reshaped the landscape of Wisconsin, providing employment to thousands of workers. The lumber industry attracted businessmen, mills, hotels, and eventually the railroad. This led to the development of many Wisconsin cities, including Eau Claire, Oshkosh, Stevens Point, and Wausau. Rep. Ben Eastman told Congress in 1852 that the Wisconsin forests had enough lumber to supply the United States "for all time to come." Sadly, this was a grossly overestimated belief, and by 1910, the Wisconsin forests had been decimated.

The Milwaukee Fire Department, like the city it serves, boasts a long and proud past, rich with diverse details. The department first formed as a volunteer organization in 1837, evolving into a full-time service by 1874. Steeped in pride and tradition, its penchant for innovation is legendary.

These traits have characterized legions of brave and skillful professionals whose devotion to duty established the department's reputation as a leader in protecting lives and property. Throughout the department's history, its members have left their mark in countless ways, reflecting the background, work ethic, and talent of Milwaukee's citizens.

The aluminum and cookware industries in Washington County were main employers during the 20th century. Manufacturing competitors West Bend Aluminum Company and Kewaskum Aluminum Company (later Regal Ware, Inc.) began production early in the 20th century only eight miles apart. These company histories, while interesting in themselves, would be remiss without discussion of broader influences. Both companies had a substantial effect on American consumerism, women's social roles, and industrial design. Today the West Bend Company and Regal Ware, Inc., are two of the best-known makers of cookware and small appliances around the world. Their ability to survive economic depression, war, and changing times are three reasons for their success and make them excellent examples of the American dream come to life. With deep roots in Washington County, they were able to spread wide nets and capture loyalty around the globe.