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As a member of the Bonduel
Community Archives (BCA for short) for several years now, I thought I would
do a web page explaining a little about the group and their holdings -- this
is by no means an official page for the BCA -- just my attempt at some free
advertisement for a group of GREAT, HARD-WORKING VOLUNTEERS. This
Archive could possibly be one of Shawano County's
BEST KEPT SECRETS!!!
A few years back on a
genealogy trip, I was trying to locate church records from the Bonduel area.
When I called one of the local pastors, he told me that their old
hand-written German records had been copied and translated by the BCA and
that he was
referring researchers to them, rather than have people handle these old
frail German books. I stopped by the archive and was amazed and
impressed... binder after binder of TRANSCRIBED CHURCH BOOKS!
Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Burials -- one stop shopping at its
finest!!! I also found out that they have a newsletter & "The
Historian" that is published periodically just filled with great tips and
info, not just Bonduel goodies, but also Pommern / Germany info as well.
I then proceeded to camp out at the archive every Wednesday and Saturday for
the remainder of my trip -- not hardly enough time to take in all the
records, newspapers and photos that this group of volunteers have collected.
And it's just not BONDUEL records -- they cover Advance, Briarton, Cecil,
Landstad, Navarino, Zachow, and surrounding areas.
WHO:
The Bonduel Community Archives
is an affiliated member of the Wisconsin Historical Society. The Bonduel
Community Archives receives collections from the public; serves as a
historical and genealogy research library; provides perpetual care of the
collection to safeguard its condition and availability to the public;
assists the public to record information of historical value; and helps
interpret historical information. The BCA was started in 1991 by local
people who shared an interest in preserving the old records and memories of
the Bonduel area. Since that time, they have had a house donated as
their official home -- the volunteers and members pain-stakingly restored
and customized this gorgeous house to be easily accessible, with plenty of
room for researchers to browse their holdings.
WHAT:
Many cemetery listings
and church records from the area. Has many of the local newspapers of the
Bonduel Times from 1909. Family history resources include: a collection of
obituaries and wedding announcements from the present newspapers and copies
of family scrapbooks submitted to the archives. News clippings are sorted
and filed by family name. The archives is collecting photographs of the
area's first settlers and their families.
Its research library
includes documents and photographs, plat books, land abstracts, family
history books, newspaper articles sorted by family name, and original issues
of the "Bonduel Times." AND CHURCH BOOKS!!! There is a wall with
binder after binder of TRANSCRIBED church books for most of the churches in
the Bonduel area. They even have the traveling circuit preacher's
records and diaries! And they also have copies of CEMETERY RECORDS.
Each year, the Archive holds their annual CEMETERY WALK, where the members
will take on walking an entire cemetery and copying the headstones.
Some of their records
include the following (this is not a complete list!):
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Angelica Episcopal/ Methodist
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St. John's Un. Ch. of Christ, Cecil
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Christus Ev. Luth., Gillett
(Hintz) |
St. John's Lutheran, Green
Valley |
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Ev. Luth. Emmanuel, Landstad
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St. John's Lutheran, Pulcifer
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Friedens Ev. Lutheran, Bonduel
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St. Paul Lutheran, Zachow
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Hope Lutheran, Cecil
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St. Paul Lutheran, Bonduel
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Immanuel Lutheran, White
Clay Lake |
St. Paul Lutheran, T/
Washington |
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Jerusalum Lutheran, Lunds
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United Methodist, Marion
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Our Savior's Lutheran, T/
Lessor |
Zion Lutheran, Zachow
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Owego Lutheran, T/
Maple Grove |
Zion United Methodist,
Bonduel |
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St. Jakobi, 1867-1880 Shawano
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Shawano Mission Circuit Rider
1868-1880
Hartland, Howe, Grant,
Pella, Richmond, and Seneca |
Seymour Mission Circuit Rider
1874-1889
Seymour, Salem, Cicero, Green Valley, Hartland, Freedom Shiocton, Pittsfield, and
Osborn. |
Shawano Mission Circuit Rider
1880-1904
Hartland, Seneca, Grant, Marion, Helvetia, Big Falls,
Red River, Belle Plaine, DuPont, Antigo, Union. |
Marion Mission: 1903-1946
Seneca, Grant, Marion, Big Falls,
and Helvetia |
ALSO,
Cemetery
Records that include...
Friedens Ev. Lutheran, Bonduel
St. Paul Luth. Church, T/Washington
St. Stanislaus Catholic, Hofa
Park
Shawano County Poor Farm Cemetery
St. Paul Luth. Church, Bonduel
Newspapers include:
The Bonduel Times 1909-1971/Seymour Times Press 1971-1978
WHEN:
The BCA is staffed entirely by
volunteers and have their doors open from 9-5 on Wednesdays and 9-4 on
Saturdays. If you are traveling a distance, I would suggest calling to
verify these hours.
WHERE:
The BCA address is:
108 South First Street
P.O. Box 205
Bonduel, WI 54107
Telephone: 715-758-2687
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August 2nd Pie & Ice Cream Social.
Great food and delicious home
made pies.
Short annual meeting. Held on the BCA grounds.
August 23rd: Walk in the Past.
Portrayals of local historical
figures at St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery, Bonduel, WI. (You
know this will be so very good!!!)
September 19th: Bonduel Founders Day. Area Crafters, Church
Bake Sales,
Music in the Bandstand, The BCA will be serving their delicious
chili.
December 11th: BCA Bake sale at the Bonduel State Bank. Starting
at 9:00 am. |
If you are not in the
Bonduel area, they will do xerox copies, etc. for you at VERY REASONABLE
RATES. Call them for the details.
And I've added HOW:
Public libraries are
supported through taxes -- FHC's are supported through tithes & member's
contributions -- The BCA receives no tax revenue support to provide this
service to the community at all. They do not charge a fee to use their
facility -- it is FREE
and open to the public.
It relies totally on the generosity of the public for its support -- through
membership & subscription dues, donations,
 publications
& books along with their fund raising activities. If you are looking
for a GIFT IDEA
for someone that is hard-to-shop for, think about a membership to the BCA --
individual memberships start at just $15. And be sure to check out the
link to BCA BOOKSTORE for a list of some of the current books that are
available at the BCA or through mail! And, if you are interested in
becoming a member, I've included the following MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION that
you can print and mail in -- the BCA address is on the form. Not only
does a membership help you in your research, it also helps the volunteers to
acquire & preserve more records and more data. And be sure to check
with your tax advisor if your donation to this non-profit group is tax
deductible... no donation is ever too small -- all are greatly appreciated!
Some Bonduel area
photographs - thanks much to Bev Fink, for the BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPHS!
Please click on the thumbnails to see the LARGER DETAILED PHOTO - depending
on your computer, these might take long to load but WORTH THE WAIT! I
left them LARGE so you get the feeling you are back in time right then &
there. And we welcome any photos to add to the Bonduel page!
History of Bonduel area
BUSINESSES & RESIDENTS: (coming soon!)
And here are some of my
favorite Bonduel area postcards:
(click on the
small thumbnail to see the larger original postcard)
If you have any you would
like to add, just
email me!
Return to SHAWANO INDEX PAGE - ATCz 2007-2009
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