To the editor:
Referencing Ron Dahm’s letter to the editor of July 26 regarding the preservation of the Soo Line (Wisconsin and Northern) depot, Mr. Daum misses a number of salient facts that should be brought to the attention of the residents of Shawano County.
The Wisconsin and Northern Railroad, which eventually connected Neenah to Argonne, was begun in 1906 and completed by 1920. The railroad was constructed in a number of unconnected sections beginning with a right of way south of Crandon and finishing with the completion of the right of way between Shawano and Neenah, via Black Creek and Appleton.
The Wisconsin and Northern brought economic prosperity to the city and county of Shawano, especially during the twilight years of the logging industry’s activities in the Wolf River Valley. This was at a time when hardwood timber was being cut between Shawano and Argonne and could not be transported by water, as hardwood logs had a tendency to sink within a few hours of being placed in the Wolf River for the purposes of driving them southward to the sawmills in the Fox River Valley. Instead, the Wisconsin and Northern Railroad moved these logs to the sawmills adjacent to its right of way via long trains of gondolas.
The Wisconsin and Northern Railroad depot in Shawano was the divisional office for the railroad, a mover of products that served pallet and box factories, sawmills, coal distributorships, a large condensery and creamery, and many of the commercial enterprises located on Main and Green Bay streets in the city.
The freight that moved to, and through, the city of Shawano via the railroad was governed by decisions made in that depot. Prior to the extension of the right of way of the Wisconsin and Northern Railroad south of Shawano, a connection had been made, in Shawano, with the St. Paul Eastern Grand Trunk (C&NW) Railroad, which connected Oconto and Clintonville. This connection permitted the movement of goods via that connection toward the east and the south of the state.
The Shawano depot was erected during the first year of construction of the Wisconsin and Northern Railroad. The promoters of the railroad, which included Mike Wallrich, a native son of the city, were confident that their project of connecting the Northwoods to the Fox River Valley would produce a viable organization that would serve the needs of the nearby residents.
One only need to travel to Gresham, or perhaps a bit farther north to White Lake, to enjoy other restored depots of the Wisconsin and Northern Railroad that serve today as museums and as reminders of a passed age when railroad was king.
The former Wisconsin and Northern depot in Shawano should be acquired and restored to its previous Victorian splendor before the Canadian National Railroad brings in its “destruction” equipment and levels the building, and the good citizens of the county, in thoughtful hindsight say, “coulda’ been, shoulda’ been.”
Lawrence A. Gueller
Legend Lake
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