Latest news with #FDLReporter
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump orders JFK files released: Remembering John F. Kennedy's 1960 Fond du Lac visit
FOND DU LAC – In February 1960, John F. Kennedy was still a U.S. senator from Massachusetts one month into a campaign to become the 35th president of the United States. Before Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, arrived in Fond du Lac on Feb. 17 that year, they stopped in Waupun for coffee at the apartment of H.L. Guth, then a chat with working men at Guth's Tavern. In Fond du Lac, local World War II hero and then-City Council President James Megellas presented Kennedy with a key to the city, and then Kennedy and his wife stopped at their hotel room on the seventh floor of the Retlaw to prepare for that evening's speech. Declassified assassination files: Trump releases classified JFK files on assassination. Here's what they say. Tom Kitchen, retired history teacher and collector of presidential memorabilia, told the FDL Reporter in 2020 that a couple thousand people went through the reception line that night as community members packed into the Crystal Ballroom at the Retlaw to hear Kennedy speak. The crowd included many Republicans. Kennedy's speech was on water pollution, as both a nationwide issue and localized to Wisconsin, according to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. "Last year, the beaches of Milwaukee — a source of recreation and pleasure for thousands of people — were closed to the public. The reason: the water was polluted — it was unhealthy and unsafe," he'd said in his opening remarks. Kennedy's visit is also infamously remembered for a small incident that occurred before his speech: the Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, predecessor to The Reporter, reported that Kennedy was briefly locked out of his hotel room wearing a T-shirt and shorts. He found his key in his trousers an hour before his speech. Earlier this week, the White House released tens of thousands of pages of previously redacted records on the 1963 assassination of Kennedy. USA TODAY Reporter Josh Meyer wrote that so far, nothing in the documents has changed the understanding that Lee Harvey Oswald shot Kennedy while he rode in a motorcade through Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, and that Oswald acted alone in the assassination. Other presidential visits: From brushes with security to Kennedy at the Retlaw, FDL residents remember presidential visits In 1993, on the 30th anniversary of Kennedy's assassination, The Reporter published recollections from community members on where they were when he was shot on Nov. 22, 1963. Stan Gores, who was managing editor for the newspaper in 1963, was on the wire that day — where bells clanged whenever an important story came through — when he got word from one of the photographers. "That news turned my layout for Page One around, and we tried to keep holding off on the deadline until we got more news, found an answer," he'd said. As the wire room crowded with people from other departments, Gores and the staff managed to wait until they found out Lee Harvey Oswald was responsible. He said his reaction was just to do his job, change layout and get in as many bulletins as possible. "It was a sad day, difficult to understand why this young president was shot," he'd said. The late Fond du Lac County Executive Allen Buechel was in his junior year at St. Mary's Springs Academy, heading to his locker between gym class and English, when the news came over the PA. "It was a very somber class, and everyone was sort of reflecting how it would affect them and their futures," he'd said. "He had a much stronger message for the future than his predecessors or opponents, and I believe he truly wanted to do what was right for the country." His sister, Joyce Buechel, was in eighth grade at St. Peters school in St. Peters and added that Kennedy was important to her school because he was the first Catholic president. Daphne Lemke is the Streetwise reporter for the Fond du Lac Reporter. Contact her at dlemke@ This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: JFK files released: Did John F. Kennedy ever visit Fond du Lac?
USA Today
13-03-2025
- General
- USA Today
The historic Octagon House in Fond du Lac has been steeped in intrigue since 1856
The historic Octagon House in Fond du Lac has been steeped in intrigue since 1856 The living room was discovered to have a false fireplace with a small wooden stairway behind it. Show Caption Hide Caption First-time home buyer? These four tips could make the process easier From manufactured houses to community land trusts, homebuyers could find great deals in untraditional housing markets. The Octagon House in Fond du Lac was built in 1856 and is one of the few remaining examples of its kind in Wisconsin. Secret tunnels and rooms fueled rumors of a connection to the Underground Railroad, though historians largely debunked this theory in 2017. The house gained a reputation for being haunted after its owner reported paranormal experiences. After facing foreclosure in 2017, the Octagon House most recently served as a transitional housing facility. Amid Fond du Lac, Wisconsin's historic buildings is one steeped in architectural wonder and mystery. Former Fond du Lac mayor Isaac Brown built the Octagon House in 1856 after his time in office. Its address is now known as 276 Linden St., but at the time, that area was very sparsely occupied. Its design was based on trending octagon-shaped homes from the mid-1800s that was sweeping the U.S. and Canada, according to FDL Reporter archives. Because of its architectural significance, the Octagon House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and in the State Register of Historic Places in 1989, as it's one of the few remaining examples of an octagon house in Wisconsin. It also has a grout wall construction, which was innovative and uncommon for its time. The 1970s marked strife for the Octagon House's fate Fond du Lac was close to losing the Octagon House in the 1970s, after the state chose the site for a new Wisconsin State Employment Service in 1970. City officials objected to the plan the next year, though the planners' defense was the fact that the city and county were in discussions for a joint complex to the north — though this was not yet in the planning stages — which would make the new employment office conveniently placed. "Because of the fast-changing pattern of growth in Fond du Lac, it is difficult to know precisely what is going to happen," an editorial read in the Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter in 1971. "So while the state acted in good faith in seeking to find the best site for its new office, it has, quite innocently, penetrated a long-standing residential area," the editorial continued. "Scheduled to be torn down, in fact, is the historic old stucco octagon house that dates back to Civil War days. So what can be done?" More historic homes: Home of Indy 500's second winner Joe Dawson up for sale for nearly $1 million One of the earliest options was to move the Octagon House off its original property, particularly to the Galloway House grounds, but while the state was willing to donate the house, it was not willing to fund the move. A "Save Octagon House" project was born by the end of the year to raise money for the move, including a dedicated week for the house with public tours and a bake sale. Wisconsin Gov. Patrick Lucey even donated $2,000 from the demolition fund to the preservation fund, but fundraising still came up short by the January 1972 deadline. Additionally, surveyors discovered the house was grout and not stucco after all, raising the price tag considerably for moving because it was heavier than expected. However, Lucey didn't sign the building contract anyway that would have permitted the house's demolition, willing to authorize a project on a different site. The Octagon House made it onto the National Register of Historic Places by that November, but its fate was still in flux for a few more years. Moving it was deemed unfeasible by 1973, so another option was to buy it back from the state. Finally, Marlene Hansen bought the property in June 1975, promising preservation and public access to the house after some necessary restoration. The state built its job service office on North Peters Avenue instead. Secret tunnels fueled mystique on the property Within the first 40 years that followed Hansen's acquisition, the notoriety of the Octagon House grew. She took care of the house for that time but would never recover the money she invested into it. The Octagon House soon gained a reputation for being haunted, after Hansen and other visitors claimed to feel a "presence," as well as a sensation of getting shoved. Hansen has also said she saw the ghost of Ruth Pier, wife of the late Edwin Brown, the original owner's son. The living room was discovered to have a false fireplace with a small wooden stairway behind it, as well as a secret room adjacent to a second-story bedroom, with a cryptic message carved in the lath that presumably dates to 1888 and appears to give directions to a secret meeting. These finds and an underground tunnel leading to a log cabin on the property fueled a rumor that the property was a stop on the Underground Railroad, but that was never definitively proven. Local historians Rick Whaley and Sally Albertz even debunked the rumor in 2017, citing that the house was nowhere near escape routes to Canada, and the writing carved into the wall dates to 20 years after the Civil War ended. However, Whaley and Albertz said it was possible the secret tunnels and rooms were used to store and move alcohol during Prohibition, as Fond du Lac did have a proven bootlegging reputation. Hansen and other residents held onto the Underground Railroad theory, based on testimony from old neighborhood tenants. Fond du Lac's connection to abolitionists preceded the Octagon House's construction, including visits from Lewis Washington in 1847 and Frederick Douglass in 1850. As the Octagon House survived into the 21st century, Hansen spent many years trying to sell it, even writing to the show "American Pickers," which involved hosts Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz looking for hidden antique gems across the country. The crew filmed in Fond du Lac in 2010, but it didn't help Hansen sell the house. Hansen closed the property to the public in 2015 after she started renting it out privately. Almost two years later, BMO Harris Bank foreclosed on the house. Most recently, the Octagon House was home to the Walton Recovery House for Men transitional housing. "Remember when ..." is a bi-weekly column from Streetwise Reporter Daphne Lemke that looks back at businesses of Fond du Lac's storied past. Tell her what you'd like to see next by emailing dlemke@
