Snapshots of Holiday Work and Play

A little cold and snowy weather never stopped Portage County residents from their work or play. Grab a warm drink and enjoy these photos of our distant and recent winters past.

Photos from the Stevens Point Journal. Caption from 08/12/1937. NYA fences ready for winter’s blizzards. With the temperature hovering near the 90-degree mark much of the time, thoughts of winter blizzards are far removed from the minds of most persons. But, winter is “just around the corner” to these NYA workers who are manufacturing snow fence for Portage County townships in the barracks at the rear of the No. 1 fire station. The top photo shows the machine, a hand operated device, in operation. Heavy wires, which may be seen leading into the machine, are securely fastened around the laths, four feet long, one and a half inches in width and three eighths of an inch in thickness. The finished snow fence is then wound on the drum at the right. The machine is capable of producing about 400 ft of fencing a day. The crew, usually composed of three or four boys, already has manufactured about 1,000 ft of fencing, and has orders ahead for more than six miles. It is expected the project, sponsored by the Portage County Board and the County Agricultural committee, will be shut down during the winter months.

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal. Caption from 12/21/1948. Flood of packages. This picture, taken Monday, gives an idea of what postal employees go through every year. The local post office is on its way to a new Christmas record for volume of mail handled, according to Assistant Postmaster Frank Abb, with the peak of the rush expected today. The packages shown on the floor didn't remain in that position for any length of time, being hurried away in an hour or wo. In this photo James Malick is shown sorting outgoing packages in the right foreground while fellow employees sort mail in the background.

Photos from the Stevens Point Journal. Caption from 12/10/1948. Working on Goerke Park rink. Despite the lack of snow for embankments, city crews have been busy pouring the skating rink at Goerke park and other points in the city. The work is progressing well, and today's cold weather should help harden the skating surfaces throughout Stevens Point.

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal. Caption from 11/28/1949. The first snow that stayed on the ground this season brought both work and play for Stevens Point young people. In upper picture, Sally Benson, 1001 Main street, is shown in front of her home when Jimmy Marko, 1310 Clark street, came along.

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal. Caption from 12/22/1949. River Pines sanatorium received a gift of 300 books Wednesday afternoon from the Employees club of Hardware Mutuals. Lee Hinkle, left, club president, is shown making the presentation to Sister Mary Laura, superior at River Pines. In the rear are three patients, Ethel Fredman of Milwaukee, Mary Van Norman of Tomahawk and Lucille Green of Stevens Point, and Dr Henry A. Anderson, medical director.

Photos from the Stevens Point Journal. Caption from 2/17/1949. Curling, an ancient Scottish game, is one of the most popular winter sports in many Wisconsin cities. The above photo shows action at Waupaca Wednesday night between “rinks” (teams) “skipped” by Dr A.M. Christofferson, right, wearing a light colored jacket, and Alfred Mortenson, in the right foreground with his broom extended. In curling the skip directs the play. The principle of the game is to slide the heavy stones from the far end of the rink onto a target on the ice visible in the picture. A ring scores a point for every stone it has closer to the center of the target then it's opponents nearest stone. The two men at left, known as sweeps, clean the ice ahead of the stone to speed their progress. The game has been played for 60 to 80 years at Waupaca. and it's also popular at Wausau, Medford and other cities in this area. Eighteen rinks of four men each are now active in Waupaca. The curling house there has two “sheets” corresponding to bowling alleys. The stones used in the sport are made of granite, are imported from Scotland and cost $40 a pair.

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal. Caption from 12/29/1949. Scouts on winter outing - Members of troop 92 of the Boy Scouts are shown at camp Chicagami on Sunset Lake, where they enjoyed a short winter outing this week. The Scouts went to the camp Tuesday and return to their home today. Standing, left to right, are Dave Behrendt, Sherman Rudnick, Frank check, Bill Slavik, Lance Holthusen, John Behrendt, (behind Holtusen), John Jackson and Bill Henning. On the toboggan, front to rear, are Terry Briscoe, Palmer Taylor and Jim Feigleson. During the outing, the older boys acted as instructors and guides for the younger Scouts - enjoying their first experience in winter camping. The scoutmaster of troop 92 is Tom Benson.

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal. Caption from 1/31/1949. Action at Goerke Park. An Eau Claire player leads Warren Lundeen, center, in the chase for a free puck near the visitor’s goal in the Stevens Point - Eau Claire hockey game played at Goerke Park rink Sunday. Point won 3-2. Player at far left is Jack Snyder of Stevens Point.

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal. Caption from 1/10/1950. Operation McDill - Upper photo is the general view of McDill pond Sunday as ice fisherman turned out in large numbers to try their luck and lures. The pond southeast of the city long has been a favorite fishing ground for local hook and line enthusiasts, both in winter and summer. The view is taken from a point north of Highway 51 and the west side of the pond.

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal. Caption from 2/14/1950. Make room for more - Snow removal proved to be a big problem for city crews who battled all Monday night and today to try and keep ahead of the drifts which continue to pile up. This view shows the city-owned snow loader early today on North Third street during the lull before the heavy snowfall started all over again. County crews likewise have had troubles, battling continuously since Monday noon to keep the main traffic arteries open. The county highway department reported today that state and federal highways were open but county trunks and town roads were blocked throughout the county.

Photos from the Stevens Point Journal. Caption from 1/26/1950. Wednesday's heavy snowfall brought out all the city and county plowing equipment to keep the main arteries clear for traffic. Shown above is a city grader bucking the drifts on South Church street early in the afternoon during the height of the storm. Snow removal operations continued today, with city crews cleaning up in the business districts and on main thoroughfares and county crews opening side roads and county trunks.

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal, taken in 1951. No identified caption. Children pile onto a toboggan in Iverson Park.

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal. Caption from 2/14/1968. Twins from Antigo are living proof that the rough contact sport of hockey isn't restricted to members of the male sex. Patrice (left) and Elyse Bennett, 15, are mainstays on the Antigo bantam team coached by their father, Rev. Gordon Bennett, pastor of the Congregation Church in Antigo. The Bennetts were in Stevens Point Wednesday night for a game against the local Elk Flyers. The girls have been skating since age 3. Patrice scored the hat trick (three goals) and Elyse led the team in assists last season. The girls’ hockey interest comes naturally. Their father formerly coached as [sic] Minneapolis Central High School, where one of his star players was Bob Johnson, current hockey mentor at the University of Wisconsin. A native of hockey hotbed Fort William Canada, Rev. Bennett formerly played center on the old Antigo city team. Elyse, also a center, tallied Antigo’s lone goal in a 2-1 loss to the Elk Flyers last night with her sister Pat, a left winger, getting the assist. The girls have been playing in competition for three years. Goals for Point, now 4-2 for the season, were made by Gary Kitowski at 6;00 of the second period and Bruce Zurawski, assisted by Dick Dombrowski, at 2:40 of the third period. Goalie Bob Houck had 18 saves while Antigo’s Brian Linss stopped 33 shots. The Point team hosts Mosinee tonight at 7:00 at Goerke Park.

Photos from the Stevens Point Journal. Caption from: Thu, Feb 08, 2001 ·Page 1. Winter Wallop. Area braces for snowy onslaught as forecast calls for several days worth of sloppy cold conditions. A street light along Reserve Street North illuminates the falling snow Wednesday night in Stevens Point. (Photo of car on bridge was not run in the paper)

Photos from the Stevens Point Journal. Caption from: Sat, Mar 03, 2001. Page 19. Matt Louis pulls first to the finish with Clayton Jankowski in his sled during the "sled dog" race at St. Adalbert's Winter Carnival on Friday. (The next two photos were not run in the paper)

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal. Caption from: Fri, Feb 22, 2002. Page 5. The Portage County Business Park takes on the qualities of a winter wonderland following Wednesday's snowfall.

Photos from the Stevens Point Journal. Caption from 2/5/2007. Despite wind gusts sending temperatures below zero Saturday afternoon, ice fishers such as Madeline Turnquist, president of Women in Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, fished on McDill pond. Will Lehner serves a burger with fried onions Saturday during the 43rd annual Isaak Walton Ice Fisheree. Evan Zdroik’s bluegill was big enough to compete in the youth division.

Photos from the Stevens Point Journal. Caption from: Sat, Dec 23, 2006. Page 3. Walking in a winter wonderland. Like a last-minute shopper, Mother Nature is coming through with requests for a white Christmas as rain changed to snow Friday afternoon.

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal. Caption from Friday, Nov 18, 2011. Page 3. Gathering garlands. Point Street Department workers Cliff Bembeneck, left, and Scott Boyer helped set the stage Thursday morning as they decorate the downtown in advance of tonight's Holiday parade.

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal. Caption from: 11/10/2011. Winter strikes early. Rare November storm drops at least 2 inches on Stevens Point. A heavy, wet snow creates nearly white-out conditions Wednesday as the season's first snowfall hits the area, downing tree branches, knocking out power and causing vehicles to slide off the road.

Thank you for viewing this collection of winter images, and thank you to all the volunteers and supporters who have made this work possible!