Speaker: Steven Hendrix, SJD, LL.D., JD, & the Principal of Hendrix LLC

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Until 2024, Hendrix was the U.S. AID Coordinator for Foreign Assistance at the Department of State. As a former high-ranking government official in the last four administrations, Hendrix will share what he has seen and learned from a global diplomatic career which began in the 1980s. What exactly has America done that makes it a great nation? What natural advantages does it have? What does it do best? What are some areas where it can improve? From a national security perspective, what do we need to know? This frank presentation will highlight how the world views the U.S., and a few positive surprises that continue to make us a country to be envied, along with things the country still needs to work on - all from a global perspective.

This program is sponsored by Mark Flora & Sally Stevens.

Speaker: Hayden Walkush, master’s degree student and 2024 Winchester Academy Scholarship recipient

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The UW-Stevens Point Wisconsin Black Bear Project has studied bears in the Northwoods of Wisconsin since the 1970s. The project has had a traditional focus on documenting important aspects of the general ecology and life history of bears in northern Wisconsin—many master’s students have graduated from the project working on questions that relate to what we would consider the basic biology of bears—so much of what we know about bears in Wisconsin we know because of these projects. Walkush will share what we’ve learned about bears, how we study them, and our role in education.

This program is sponsored by Pat Pfeifer & Duane & Leslie Youngstaedt

Speaker: Sara Timm, Director of Marketing at the Waupaca Foundry
 

Join us for a dynamic overview of the Waupaca Foundry, North America’s leading supplier of iron castings to the automotive, commercial vehicle, agriculture, construction, and industrial markets. This presentation will highlight the iron casting giant’s cutting-edge technologies, commitment to sustainability, community engagement, and workforce development. Discover how the Foundry’s people, processes, and purpose drive innovation, support communities, and create lasting industry impact. Explore what makes Waupaca Foundry a trusted supplier and leader in the manufacturing world.​

This program is sponsored by Brenda and Dave Wenberg

Speaker: Chuck Theusch, Vietnam Veteran

 

Sissel along with Tamara Thomsen, a Maritime Archaeologist with the Wisconsin Historical Society's Maritime Preservation and Archaeology program, will present the Wisconsin Dugout Canoe Survey Project. They will highlight the persistence of Indigenous cultural traditions and technological ingenuity in Wisconsin. This project embodies the Wisconsin Idea by engaging local and national museums, historical societies, tribal museums, and tribal partners as well as documenting an important yet relatively rare form of material culture. Thomsen’s research has resulted in the nomination of more than sixty submerged sites to the National Register of Historic Places.

This program is sponsored by Dan and Mary Naylor

Speaker: Becky Liegl, School District of Waupaca Educator

 

Have you ever wondered about the lives of women during the 18th Century?

Becky Liegl spent a week at the George Washington Teacher Institute at Mount Vernon in 2023. She will share her experience learning about Martha Washington and the lives of women during the 18th century using primary sources, research from top female historians, and ways to engage young women and men through picture books.

What a great way to celebrate Women's History Month!

This program is sponsored by Jeanne Bootz & Linda Kassera

Speakers: Sissel Schroeder, PhD & Tamara Thomsen, a Maritime Archaeologist

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Sissel Schroeder is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at UW-Madison. Her research focuses on cultural-environmental systems and the archaeology of climate change on ancient peoples of the southeastern United States and the Midwest. Tamara Thomsen has worked as a maritime archaeologist with the Wisconsin Historical Society's Maritime Preservation and Archaeology program. Her research has resulted in the nomination of more than sixty submerged sites to the National Register of Historic Places. The Wisconsin Dugout Canoe Survey Project highlights the persistence of cultural traditions and technological ingenuity. It embodies the Wisconsin Idea by engaging local and national museums, historical societies, and tribal museums in this project that is documenting an important yet relatively rare form of material culture.

This program is sponsored by 

Speaker: Tracy Behrendt, Director of Waupaca Historical Society

 

2025 marks the City of Waupaca’s 150th anniversary. Waupaca’s history, however, goes back thousands of years, beginning with ancestors of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. Behrendt, director of the Waupaca Historical Society, will focus on our area’s early history, white settlement in 1849, and Waupaca’s early years of change and growth.​

This program is sponsored by David Raether & Kim Anderson

Speaker: Brennan Christianson, Collections Coordinator of the Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay

 

Door County has the highest concentration of shipwrecks in the state with over 200 shipwrecks. Despite so many wrecks taking place, only half of all vessels have been found. By studying these wrecks several questions emerge including what were they shipping? How many people lost their lives? and why was Door County so dangerous?

Come learn the answers to these questions and many more!

This program is sponsored by David Raether & Kim Anderson

Speaker: Carol Kratz, Papermaker, Author, Editor and retired Physician Assistant

 

Washi is strong, supple, and beautiful paper, still handmade in the mountains of Japan using methods unchanged since its perfection in 600 AD.

Kratz learned these methods with a Japanese master papermaker in Mino, Japan, long a papermaking center. Through her illustrated talk, she will detail the history and uses of paper in Japanese culture, illustrate the process, and through her paper, will show us the results. Her love of paper originated with her love of the book in all forms, practical and artistic.

This program is sponsored by Patricia Reckrey & Kate Saunders