Books

  • Sale!
    By Richard A. Stoelb This is the story of the men of Company F, 127th Infantry, 32nd Division, Wisconsin National Guard who left Sheboygan, Wisconsin for Federal Service on October 15, 1940. They would fight in the Battle for Buna on the island of New Guinea against the Japanese in World War II. Richard’s father, Roland Stoelb, was one of those soldiers who fought in the jungles of the Pacific to stop the Japanese during World War II. Roland along with dozens of boys from Sheboygan spent their Time in Hell, many of them making the ultimate sacrifice. Richard’s story personalizes the fight in the Pacific and honors the boys from Sheboygan.
  • Sale!
    By Edwin L. Fisher Because of the prominence and close connection by virtue of the Sheboygan County Historical Society occupation of his 1852 mansion, it was thought more should be known about Judge David Taylor and his family. As a Wisconsin State Supreme Court Justice, he was one of the most important early settlers in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. As research proceeded so much interesting family-related information became available that the story expanded.
  • Sheboygan County's iron-fisted work ethic began with its earliest residents. From the jackknife trading posts and mill wrights of the early 1800s to the spas and "Great Wall of China" of Kohler Company, the importance of commerce to Sheboygan County is evident. This wonderful pictorial history of the small family-owned business of Sheboygan County begins in the 1870s and ends with a great image of a 1950s American Classic-McDonald's Golden Arches.
  • Sale!
    By Mary Jane Gruett Twelve year old Derk Van Vliet began the adventure of a lifetime in Holland in 1847. He left his home, his friends and his faithful dog, Bello, to begin a new life in America. But, disaster struck as his ship came within sight of its destination, Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The Phoenix, a Great Lakes steamer, normally delivered immigrants to their new homes. But, on Derk’s voyage, the doomed Phoenix, was part of an historic disaster which would cause Derk to question everything about life. He would have to forge ahead to find a new life and search to find courage deep within himself.
  • Sale!
    The Random Local History Reader is filled with odd and interesting history. What is the real story of the Dead Horse? Who was the Black Terror of Sheboygan? Have you ever read an obituary for an outhouse? Learn the meaning of the term, Yeggman. Find out why Cupid was baffled. And read the full story behind the murder of revered, early teacher, John Sexton. Great reading for quiet time, you’ll enjoy every story and photo included in this random collection of historical gems.
  • Sale!

    Prisoner 19053

    $12.00
    By Robert Matzner Sheboygan resident, Robert Matzner, had a very important story to tell. Friend, Larry Vogel, helped him to put pen to paper. The result is Prisoner 19053, the true story of Matzner’s three years in Nazi concentration camps. Matzner, a native of Poland, lost most of his family to the Nazi’s Final Solution. He somehow survived the horror and came to the United States and Sheboygan with his family in 1949. Robert and Larry have written a remarkable document, a story full of sadness and hope which will touch all readers. The introduction, written by Robert’s son, Murray, is a poignant tribute and a great beginning to Prisoner 19053.
  • Sale!
    By Scott Knickelbine On the night of October 8, 1871, a whirlwind of fire swept through northeastern Wisconsin, destroying the bustling frontier town of Peshtigo. Trees, buildings, and people burst into flames. Metal melted. Sand turned into glass. People thought the end of the world had come. When the "tornado of fire" was over, 2,500 people were dead, and Peshtigo was nothing but a smoking ruin. It was the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history. Kids’ book.
  • Sale!
    By Reverend Peter Pernin Rev. Pernin was the parish priest for Peshtigo and nearby Marinette, whose churches burned to the ground. He published his ac-count of the fire in 1874. The late William Converse Haygood served as editor of the Wisconsin Magazine of History from 1957 to 1975. He prepared this version of Father Pernin's account on the occasion of the Peshtigo Fire's centennial in 1971.
  • By Oostburg Historical Society Hundreds of photos of the village of Oostburg. Designed as a companion book to Oostburg, Haven of Hope.
  • By Florence Fenner Popp Mohrsville was a small settlement located at the intersection of the Green Bay and Howards Roads in the town of Herman approximately 2 miles north of Sheboygan Falls. In the early 1900s Highway 32 was known as the Green Bay Road, and later for some time, it was Highway 42. Until World War II, County O was known as the Howards Road. Mohrsville consisted of: Starlight School, Mohnsam’s, the old cheese factory where Carol and Manny Zunker lived and Zunker’s garage. It was named for Paul Mohr who formerly owned a tavern there
  • Sale!
    By Jerry Apps Polio was epidemic in the United States in 1916. By the 1930s, quarantines and school closings were becoming common, as isolation was one of the only ways to fight the disease. The Salk vaccine was not available until 1955; in that year, Wisconsin's Fox River valley had more polio cases per capita than anywhere in the United States. In his most personal book, Jerry Apps, who contracted polio at age 12, reveals how the disease affected him physically and emotionally, profoundly influencing his education, military service, and family life and setting him on the path to becoming a professional writer.
  • By Janice Hildebrand In Sheboygan County there was a lively trade with the Indians for deer hides and other animal skins. Barter with the Indians brought the first traders to the county in the early 1800s. The tanneries of the county were an offshoot of the fur-trading days and were among the first clothing-related businesses to get started in Sheboygan County. Everything from shoes to gloves to harnesses were made of leather. Follow the history of the leather business in the county.
  • Sale!
    By Richard A. Dykstra Here are thirty additional stories about growing up in rural Sheboygan County. Two favorite chapters are “The Airport” and “The Ice Box.” In the first you will appreciate the gullibility of children and in the second you will want to check Dykstra’s nose to see, if like Pinocchio, it has grown a foot or two. Besides the silly and nonsensical stories there are those with a much deeper meaning as in “Revisiting the Gift,” “Three Conversations with Dad” and “Grandma’s Quiet Life.” Dykstra's appreciation of family shines through the pages of all of his books.
  • By Richard A. Dykstra Thirty-five heartwarming stories about growing up in rural Wisconsin during the 1950s and 1960s.
  • By David Holmes The Irish have a rich and long history in Wisconsin, dating back to the 19th century. Immigrants quickly formed communities in Beloit, Fond du Lac, and Sturgeon Bay, as well as in rural Trempeauleau County. They worked at day labor, railroad construction, lumbering, fishing, and of course farming. Some of those early Irish communities have disappeared; others have experienced succeeding generations of Irish Americans settling in these Wisconsin cities and small towns and influencing them with their old country charm.
  • Sale!
    By Don Lau and Shirley Sager The schools covered in this book include Jefferson, South Cedar Grove, West Oostburg, Beaver Creek, Maple Grove, Fairview, Greene, Amsterdam, River Valley, West Cedar Grove, Liberty, Lakeview and Hoard.
  • By the Howards Grove Area Historical Research Committee The settlement of Haven, located in the Town of Mosel on the western shore of Lake Michigan, Sheboygan County, was formerly known as Seven Mile Creek, not Seven Creeks, as has been recorded in a newspaper account of the area’s history. It got its name from a small creek which flowed into Lake Michigan about seven miles north of Sheboygan. The first post office in Haven was established on July 16, 1897. The first postmaster in Haven was Frederick W. Franzmeier. In 1897 Frederick and Herman Franzmeier built a rooming house, tavern and store next to the railroad tracks. In 1903 the post office was established in that building.
  • Sale!
    By Betsy Jones Michael This charming memoir by a Sheboygan author tells about a middle-aged wife, mother/stepmother who, in 1970, trains herself to ride a brand new ten-speed Schwinn Super Sports bicycle. She qualifies for bicycle tours in foreign lands, and finds her own home roads of Wisconsin best of all. Her adventures require physical stamina, discipline and independence and strangely, lead her to uncover mysteries of her mother’s early life, as well as those of her ancestors. She also rediscovers herself. The Green Steed was chosen by Sheboygan’s Mead Public Library for their summer 2009 citywide Sheboygan Reads, co-sponsored by the Sheboygan Press.
  • By Richard Zeitlin Between 1820 and 1910 nearly five and a half million German immigrants came to the United States. Most settled in the Midwest and many came to Wisconsin. Learn about the values and the Germans brought with them from the Old Country.
  • Encore

    $25.00
    By Brian Leahy Doyle In Encore! The Renaissance of Wisconsin Opera Houses chronicles the histories of ten Wisconsin opera houses and theaters, from their construction to their heydays as live performance spaces and through the periods when many of these stages went dark. But what makes these stories so compelling is that all but one of the featured theaters has been restored to its original splendor.
  • Sale!

    Echoes from Home

    $5.00
    By Jim Carey Echoes from Home is a Civil War novel by Sheboyganite, Jim Carey. This is Jim's first entry into the world of publishing, but he's really been writing for twenty years. The book tells the story of Joshua Miller, survivor of the War of Secession. It is the story of a soldier from the south
  • Sale!

    Earthfest

    $5.00
    By Paul Hanson In 1990, Sheboygan resident, Kathy Alby, started Earthfest to make the public aware of the environment. It was to be a celebration of our environment and a venue to show us what we could do to make positive changes—small or large—to make our world a better place in which to live. Originally held at Lakeview Park, the festival moved to Vollrath Bowl in 1992 and finally to Fountain Park where it thrives today. This book is photographic memory or remembrance by Paul Hanson of some of the people and events that make Earthfest the special summer event that it is.
  • By Elmer Koppelmann A fascinating look at Sheboygan County's presidential races from the beginning of the county's involvement in national government (1848) through the 1988 election where George Bush defeated Michael Dukakis.
  • By Jerry Apps The barns of Wisconsin are history books in red paint, sociology with gabled roofs, theology with lightning rods. In many ways barns are Wisconsin agriculture nailed together in buildings with cupolas on top. This revised edition was printed in 2010 and filled with beautiful images.
  • Sale!
    By Roland Schomberg The stories for "...And That's the Way it Was" were inspired by Schomberg’s parents' life on their Sheboygan County family farm. Though not a literary masterpiece, the hand-written two-page chronicle of events, sprinkled with bits of his own philosophy, provided most revealing and interesting reading for the author. Reflecting on his part in the family history, he resolved to leave a similar legacy for his children and their offspring, so that they might be enlightened and amused by my narratives of life during Schomberg’s boyhood in Wisconsin.
  • Sale!

    Down by Prange’s

    $10.00
    By Bill Wangemann Mr. Wangemann began writing a weekly column for The Sheboygan Press in January of 2003 to help celebrate Sheboygan’s Sesquicentennial. Contained within this book are all 52 of the columns Bill wrote for the Press. Down By Prange’s brings readers a simpler slice of life. Wangemann paints a realistic picture of Sheboygan’s past, the good and the bad, and you are guaranteed to learn something about old Sheboygan by paging through this collection of columns.
  • By Emma Hermann Thieme   NO LONGER AVAILABLE -- OUT OF PRINT   Sophie Hermann Knop was born and raised in Schaefer, Russia, a German-Russian community along the Volga River. In 1923, when she was 18 years old, Sophie traveled to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where Gottlieb Hermann, had been living since 1912. During their long separation, Sophie endured great difficulties, including the Russian Revolution and the upheavals and famine that followed in its wake. Sophie willingly shared detailed descriptions of her life in Russia. Those “bits and pieces” follow a brief history of German migration to the Volga River area of Russia.
  • Sale!
    This book takes us back through the history of education in the northwest corner of Sheboygan County. Starting both sections with a history of the named township, this team of writers takes us from the early settling of the area to the recent consolidations. Each school is looked at in detail and the many pictures of facilities, classes and notable events take the reader on an enjoyable journey through the past. Also included are a comprehensive index, 1889 plat map, master plan for education in Sheboygan County and biographies of Ray B. Lightfoot, Violet R. Littlefield and Doris G. Phipps. Schools covered: Russell, Taft, Garfield, Little Elkhart Lake, Joliet, Elkhart Lake, Harrison, Dewey, Lime Ridge, Rhine Center and Victory. Originally published in 1997, this reprint contains updates and improved imaging.
  • Sale!
    This is a reprint and update of the 1976 book done for the Bicentennial. This book was done in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of Falls becoming a city. Trace the evolution of the business district and learn about the wide variety of civic groups which once kept citizens busy. See how the fire department has grown and take a peek at the folks who settled Falls
  • Sale!
    By Elmer Koppelmann The citizens of Sheboygan County have always gone above and beyond the call of duty in times of military need; the Second World War was no different. Some 3000 young men and women served during World War II on all fronts and in all capacities from this county alone. Recorded here, after eighteen months of searches and interviews, are vignettes of 234 soldiers- one young woman and 233 young men from the Sheboygan County area who lost their lives. Four others- Joseph J. Archbold, Elmer C. Prahl, Roland Thompson, and Douglas Thornberg are noted as making the ultimate sacrifice, but regrettably, no information was found other than their names.

Title

Go to Top