We recently brought to attention an article from the Milwaukee Sentinel which mentioned an “Indian Legend” with regard to why there is no longer rice in Rice Lake. Legend…

Truth… The dam was first built in 1864, and stories have been passed along that there was a threatened Indian outbreak at the time, as the dam that Knapp, Stout company built backed up the waters of Rice Lake and flooded the wild rice beds that the Indians relied on for food. To avoid an outbreak, Knapp, Stout company entered into a treaty with the Indians, and was forced to haul a large amount of supplies to replace the rice the Indians had depended upon.

It’s hard to imagine that the story in the article in the Sentinel was an Indian legend, particularly when you hear of the narrowly avoided outbreak. Still, it was interesting from a few different perspectives. First of all, how many “Indian Legends” are actually the work of a non-Indian creative writer? The famous “Song of Hiawatha” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow puts Hiawatha in the mid-west along the shores of Gitche Gumee, when in reality he was an chief of the Iroquois nation, and likely lived in upstate New York. Secondly, it’s a pretty sure thing that the dam was the actual culprit, and it’s a shame that the rice is gone from Rice Lake, but would the city be here if that had not happened? Probably not, as the city came well after the dam, officially in 1887. And, is the dam and the rice the worst that the logging industry did to the area?

He made himself a woven willow basket from the trees along the shoreline, and went to the top of a steep bank and rolled himself down to splash in the water. The ducks and geese were amused, and broke out into laughter. The whole flock gathered around Hiawatha and watched his strange performance, which he repeated for his spectators, who applauded him.

He then suggested they try it, and once he coaxed them into the basket he beat it with a club until it rolled into the water, where the cover opened and the few ducks that were left alive flew away. He gathered rest of the fowl, and buried them around a fire to cook, with only their feet sticking out. At this point he was tired, and went to sleep.

While he slept, some Indians came along and found the roasting fowl, noticing that the might hunter was asleep. They pulled up the fowl and ate it, and then took the feet and buried them around the fire to make it look like they were still there. When Hiawatha woke, he pulled the feet out of the hot sand, realizing he had been tricked, and was extremely angry. In his rage he jumped into the fire and attempted to stomp it out, burning himself in the process. At this point he jumped into the lake with his bleeding wounds, turning the water blood red. The willows along the bank soaked up the blood, and since have been known as red-willows. No rice has grown in the lake since Hiawatha jumped into it with his bleeding wounds, which is why there no longer is rice in Rice Lake, although it was plentiful there years ago.

The material for this article was found on the Wisconsin Historical Society website

4-H started around the turn of the 20th century, originating out of boys and girls clubs that were created to create interest and opportunities for education in agricultural and home skills. In many states, there were sponsored contests for raising corn from high grade seeds.

The original emblem for 4-H was actually a 3-leaf clover, representing Head, Heart, and Hands. The 4th leaf was later added representing Health.

According to the Barron County 4-H Youth Development website, there are currently 33 4-H Clubs in Barron County with about 700 youth involved. This represents just over 7% of the 4-H age youth in the county. Membership has had a declining trend in recent years, as the membership in 1995 is shown as over 1300 participants in 4-H clubs in Barron County.

More information on 4-H in Barron County can be found at the Barron County 4-H Youth Development website, and if you’re interested in the different categories of competition for the upcoming Barron County Fair, I would suggest going to the Fair website (www.barroncountyfair.com) and checking out the results from the past couple years!

First of all, right here in Rice Lake, Independence Day activities begin at City Park on Sunday, July 4th, with the Municipal Band playing in the bandshell at 7:30pm for Music in the Park. Fireworks follow at the waterfront beginning at dusk.

Other activities in the area include:

Chetek Liberty Festival, July 2nd-4th – some activities include a softball tournament, quilt show, arts & crafts, Beach Party, waterski show, parade and more. See their link for more information

Saturday, July 3rd

Mikana Parade & Celebration is highlighted by “The Biggest Little Parade in the World”. Other events include games, street vendors, and music. Fireworks from Tagalong at dusk.

Shell Lake Art Festival
Birchwood Firefighters Street Dance

Sunday, July 4th

Cumberland 4th of July Spectacular

The Ice Age Trail is a 1000 mile hiking path entirely within the state of Wisconsin, highlighting ice age landscape features, and offering access to some of Wisconsin’s most scenic wild areas.

For more information, check out the Ice Age Trail Foundation!