Stoltz-Wood wins genealogy award

The Wisconsin Historical Society, in conjunction with the Wisconsin State Genealogical Society, has awarded Helen Stoltz-Wood of Hudson a 2012 Genealogy/Family History Award for "From Denmark to Wisconsin: One Family -- Two Ships, 1641-2011."

An independent panel of judges found "From Denmark to Wisconsin" tells the saga of a Danish-American family from the 17th century in Denmark, through their 19th-century immigration to northwestern Wisconsin, to the present, primarily in Polk and St. Croix counties.

Extensively documented from Danish and American records, and well-illustrated, "From Denmark to Wisconsin" provides interesting context in its attempt to illustrate the "whys" as well as the "hows" of the family's history. The award-winning family history was selected from a field of five nominees.

The Wisconsin Historical Society's Board of Curators approved the award at its meeting in Bayfield on June 23.

Hudson Star Observer, July 4, 2012. See more at: http://www.hudsonstarobserver.com/event/article/id/47914/#sthash.xtX7Oqgl.dpuf

Greetings Fellow Alumni,

I’m providing the following information on myself and my family:

Education

• I graduated from UWRF in 1972 receiving a Masters Degree in History
• In 1981 I graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln receiving a Ph.D. in History, including a minor field in Sociology/Anthropology
• In 1984 I received a Masters Degree in Geography with a minor field in Community and Regional Planning, also from UN-L

Employment

• From 1977 through 1979 I taught history and geography at Wayne State College at Wayne, Nebraska
• For the 1979-1980 academic year I taught history at Nebraska Wesleyan University
• From 1979 through 1983 I taught history at UN-L
• From 1984 to the present I’ve worked in the NE State Department of Health as the Manager of Nebraska’s Credentialing Review Program which conducts reviews of proposals for new ideas for credentialing and / or for changes in scope of practice by health professions seeking to enhance their role in the health care system

 Family and other personal information

• I’ve been married since 1986 to my wife Kristi Jo Briel.  We have a daughter, Amber Marie Briel, ten years old.  She is a fourth grader in Lincoln Public Schools.  Amber is in the gifted program.  Amber just finished reading the entire Harry Potter series, from start to finish, since this last Christmas holiday season—amazing!
• My mother passed away in 2008.  My father passed away in 1992.
• I still own property in Wisconsin—my mother’s house in my home town.  It’s nice to still have a ‘foothold’ in my home state.  We vacation in Wisconsin every year and spend at least some of that time at that location. We also spend at least a couple of days of vacation time in River Falls every year.

 Special Memories of River Falls during the early 1970’s

• Teachers: Dr. Edward Peterson, Dr. Terry King, Dr. George Garlid, Dr. Noble Stockton, Dr. Steven Feinstein, Dr. Walker Wyman
• Places: ‘Emma’s’, ‘The Deep End’, ‘The Hollows,’ South Hall, the footbridge to the city park, Lake Louise, Third Floor Johnson Hall, the old newspaper room at the Library (now gone), Rodli Commons, the Area Research Center, those unique flat-topped hills surrounding River Falls, the beauty of Cascade Avenue, the old cinder trail on the far side of the Little Kini (now gone), the water falls on three sides of Lake Louise
• Times: Vietnam War ‘teach-ins’ on the campus mall where the Melvin Wall Fountain is now, long early morning walks to breakfast at Rodli Commons, time spent with colleagues at the Area Research Center, watching a football game in November 1971 when the temperature had to be near zero (it was OK; we beat Whitewater that day!), short trips to the Wilson Library at the University of Minnesota, tubing down the Apple River
• Friends and colleagues include: Bill Linkus, Bill Riley, Joe Poitier, Richard Lierman, Wayne Funk, Sister Ruth Behrends, Dr. John Turcheneske, Nancy O’Denius, Kurt Thompson, Dave Aaronson, Mike Grant, Mr. David Etok, Billy Beaudette, Richard Schelhaus, Gust Sagatook.  My apologies to all whose names I might have inadvertently misspelled. 

 If there is any additional information you might want from me, please send me a line.Thanks.

 Ron Briel

I went on the [History Club's Haunted UWRF] tour last night and I thought the students did an excellent job. What a great idea!  Wish I had thought of it when I was president of the History Club (1979-1980) . . . but we were busy waging the Save South Hall battle along with Ed and Ursula. Please pass my thanks along to the students who organized and ran the tours. If they ever want to hear my own South Hall Ghost stories I'd be glad to share them. The place is definitely haunted. PS:  . . . the ghost(s) my friends and I experienced were not malevolent. There were a lot of footsteps involved.

Greetings Fellow UW-RF Alumni,

Earlier this summer I took a walk down "memory lane" when I visited UW-RF campus with my family. This was my first visit to River Falls since I graduated with a Master of Arts Degree in 1972. As we slowly ambled across campus I played the role of tour guide, attempting to convey how things were when I lived there. As we proceeded, all kinds of memories from those times entered my mind, from long gone daily routines to specific events to particular persons who shared those times. "This was my early morning route to Rodli Commons to get breakfast," I explained as I pointed in an easterly direction from in front of the residence hall where I lived for most of the time I was there. "This is South Hall where I had most of my classes and where most of my professors had their offices," I said with a bit of a lump in my throat. I explained that there are no classes or offices in South Hall anymore, and that it is now preserved as part of the history of the university. As we walked by there I thought about George, Terry, Steve, Noble, and of course, Ed. I longed to walk through the front door and say hello, but that door is now closed to such communication forever. Time and tide wait for no one. I waited too long!

I thank Susan Voelker for this opportunity to share a few words with you about my visit to this very special place we all love so much.