WAUKESHA – Randall Rohe, University of Wisconsin-Waukesha geography professor, received a 2002 Local History Award of Merit from the Wisconsin Historical Society for his book, Ghosts of the Forests: Vanished Lumber Towns of Wisconsin.
Published last February, the book documents the growth and disappearance of fourteen lumber towns in the state. Filled with before and after photos, it dramatically depicts the passing of the state’s regional lumbering economy. Flourishing communities from a hundred years ago now sprout weeds and wildflowers, leaving only an occasional relic to tickle historical imagination.
Have you heard of March Rapids (Marathon County), Zeda, McKenna, or Goodyear (Jackson County), Porter’s Mills (Eau Claire County), Shanagolden or Morse (Ashland County), Knox Mills (Price County), Peshtigo Harbor (Marinette County), Heineman or Harrison (Lincoln County), Parrish (Langlade County), Little Sturgeon (Door County), or Star Lake (Vilas County)? Rohe reconstructs the records of their demise. He also investigated dozens of other Wisconsin ghost towns and draws his conclusions based on his total research.
With more than 200 photographs, both archival and current, as well as regional maps, the book graphically portrays the evolution of an important segment of the state’s economy.
A native of Menasha, WI, in the heart of the paper country, Rohe graduated from Carroll College in Waukesha and earned his master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Colorado. He taught at UW-Fox Valley, UW-Green Bay, Nicolet College, and the University of Colorado before coming to UW-Waukesha in 1983.
Ghosts of the Forest was published by the Forest History Association of Wisconsin, and copies of it are available for $42.50 plus postage and handling from the author at 1500 N. University Dr., Waukesha, WI 53188. He can be reached by telephone at (262) 521-5126 or e-mail at rrohe@uwc.edu
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