Wabeno, Forest County, Wisconsin. This town was platted by the Western Town Lot Company in 1897. Its name is Indian and means “crafty magicians,” “wise men” and “mystery men.” Hence the modern legend that it meant “men from the east” or “men from the early dawn,” as many suppose all mystery and wisdom came from the East. It clearly was the name of a brotherhood or order amongst the Indians, rather than of a person. The Wabeno were “medicine men” and conjurers. They also called the tents or huts in which they initiated into their mysteries, Wabeno, and they also did the Indian who had therein been initiated. To show the connection of medicine with the work of these people, it may be said that Wabeno-wusk was the name the tribe gave to the Yarrow (Achillae Millefoliam) plant that they claimed were “roots of power” and “herbs of healing.” Source: A History of the origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western & Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways.
Wabeno is a small town in the heart of the Nicolet National Forest. My family moved to Wisconsin in the mid 40’s. We first lived in Soperton, a suburb of Wabeno, but after a year or so we moved to Wabeno. When I was in high school Wabeno had a population of around 900. Today it is about double that size - hardly a big town.
In those days the sidewalks were wooden with hitching posts and we had more bars than grocery stores. It was an old time lumbering town. By the early 1900’s all of the big trees were gone and after the war the forests were beginning to be managed by the big lumber companies. Even today when I go back and see trucks transporting logs to the mill, the logs are all the same 10-12 inch diameter and stacked crosswise rather than lengthwise as we see in the Pacific Northwest. Today the forests there are well managed and it only takes a few men running machines to do the work that used to take scores of men. The west will be that way one day.
Then in the 50’s wooden sidewalks were replaced with concrete and the hitching posts disappeared. In the years that followed the old lumbering town has evolved into a modern community with an service economy based largely on the tourist industry and the retirement community. That economy is also helped by Wabeno’s high school that provides education to students from up to almost 50 miles away.
Winters in northern Wisconsin can be brutal. I remember the winter of 48-49 was horrendous. The snow along side the road accumulated so much that I remember walking to school between the telephone wires. I delivered newspapers and at every house I wrote down the temperature reading from their outdoor thermometer. When I got to school I would average them out. The worse day the average was 50 degrees below zero. When I spit I could hear it crackling as it quickly froze. Each step I took the snow would squeak shrilly much like fingernails on a blackboard. I wound up with frost bite on my ear lobes and cheeks. All the skin peeled away and I had a funny looking face for a while; some family members claim it has remained funny ever since.
I don’t know how it is today, but back then everyone knew everyone else and their business. But when tragedy struck everyone also showed up to help out. Every adult in town parented every child. On several occasions I got a boot in the rear and was told to get myself home NOW! No phone at home, but when I walked in the door mom would smack me and depending on what I had been up to she might get the belt out. All the kids I knew in town got treated the same way and I don’t think there is a criminal in the bunch.
Wabeno was great for me, a kid that loved to fish. Within a few miles of town, a bike ride, were a number of lakes and little streams I could fish. Range Line Lake was the closest and had Walleye, Northern, Perch and Crappie. Richardson was nearby and it also had Muskie. Trump Lake was almost surrounded by cottages but still was great for fishing. I biked to Indian Lake a couple of time, but usually went with my brother and he drove. The same was true of Otter Lake and Roberts Lake. Based on stories from my cousin Ben who still lives in Wabeno, those lakes are still good for fishing.
Now
What did I do in Soperton?
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Read about the Wabeno religion of the Ojibwa