History

The Neenah/Menasha funeral establishment history starts with furniture stores in the 1880s.  Our journey through the development of family-owned funeral homes will include stories about the Sorenson, Kessler, Westgor, and Laemmrich families.  Join Neenah Historical Society's Associate Executive Director and Kessler-Fahrenkrug Office Administrator Becky Heidke Kwiatkowski as she discusses the intriguing stories of the funeral businesses of Neenah-Menasha.

STORYTELLING with Weeya Calif as part of the Fox Cities Reads

Come listen to traditional stories told by Weeya Calif. She comes from a long line of oral storytellers. She dresses in authentic 18th Century clothing. Her stories have been passed down from many generations and teach important lessons, ways of life and how things came to be.  Weeya Calif, a member of The Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama and is a professional artist, art educator, and storyteller.

Join us for another program in our Immigration Stories of Neenah when we present “William Owen and the Welsh of Wisconsin.” Owen arrived in the U.S. in 1887 and made Neenah his home. One of his descendants became a prominent Neenah businessman, and the story is featured in our current “Tracing Our Paths” exhibit. The presentation will include his story as well as the Welsh of Winnebago County.

History programs are sponsored by the Neenah Historical Society and co-sponsored by the Neenah Public Library

You’ve seen her name, but how much do you really know about her? Theda Clark Peters relatively short life had such a positive impact on our community, and her legacy lives on in ThedaCare, but there’s so much more to her story. Join the Neenah Historical Society for a special presentation by Executive Director, Jane Lang, on the life of one of Neenah’s most beloved citizens, Theda Clark Peters.

Virtual Only. Please join us on Zoom.

Hear the story of Mallory Mortillaro's journey to authenticate a marble bust of Napoleon sculpted by Auguste Rodin, which sat in a New Jersey town hall for almost 80 years. Mallory will recount the story of being hired straight out of college for a part time art cataloging project and how it morphed into a search for this mysterious piece's provenance, eventually culminating in its authentication by the world's leading Rodin expert.

Virtual Program Only

"We Gotta Get Out of This Place: The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War"

Join us in person in the library's Shattuck Room, or online on Zoom.

This event is virtual only.

Please join us on Zoom!

Michael Scheibach, Ph.D., historian, author, and curator of Atomic Alert!, presents a multimedia talk on the impact of the atomic bomb on the nation’s government policy, military strategy, civil defense programs, and individual citizens during the early Cold War.

This event is virtual only.

Register on Zoom

Many of us know the description of the corner of Nicolet Blvd. and Ahnaip St. as “education, salvation, damnation” but what does that mean? Join us to discover the interesting history of the Walter Brothers Brewery which was located on the corner of Nicolet and Ahnaip. It’s another interesting piece of our hidden Doty Island history.