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One of the more colorful aspects of Northwoods history is that 1930s-era gangsters such as Al Capone, Baby Face Nelson, and John Dillinger spent time in
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Our ancestors had to cope with the specter of disease and the possibility of death in ways that most of us cannot comprehend. There was a near constant fear that smallpox, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, cholera, diphtheria, pneumonia, and any number of childhood infections could strike and kill without warning. Of these maladies, smallpox was the most widespread medical terror of the past, and it was a particular concern in the Northwoods where it spread throughout the lumber camps.
There was a nationwide smallpox epidemic at the turn of the twentieth century. Hundreds of people died in major cities across the United States, and smaller communities like those in the Northwoods saw the epidemic wreak havoc on local economies. A smallpox vaccination had been available since 1796, but without government regulation to ensure quality and safety it was a risky and invasive procedure. As a result, many people resisted vaccination and thought the idea of compulsory vaccination
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During his lifetime, Nelson P. Hulst was known as “America’s Greatest Iron Hunter.” Born in New York in 1842, in 1870 he accepted a position as chemist for the Milwaukee Iron Company and began hunting for iron ore deposits. He found nothing in the southern part of Wisconsin, so in 1872 he headed north and almost immediately discovered what became the Vulcan mine in the Menominee Range.
As general superintendent for the Menominee Mining Company, Hulst developed mines at Norway, Quinnesec, Iron Mountain, and Florence. The latter was named for his wife, Florence Terry Hulst. In 1882, when the county was organized from parts of Marinette and Oconoto Counties, the name of the mine became the name of the new county and county seat.
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The accumulation of garbage has been a problem since human civilization began, and almost every society dealt with it by creating a communal dump somewhere outside of town. But a dump is only a partial solution because it is dependent on individuals taking the initiative to haul their own trash to the site. Many people find that it is much easier simply to toss garbage into the nearest ditch, street, or wooded area. This is how it used to be in the Northwoods.
In the earliest days of the logging and mining camps, most trash was burned. If it was not combustible, it was tossed aside to rust. As communities formed in the Northwoods, most established a town dump quickly, but many people continued burning trash or discarding it along a street or in the woods. In the winter things were worse as garbage collected behind houses only to have the mess exposed during the spring thaw.