For the Shawano County Historical Society, the new Zachow Depot replica is a piece of living history.
For Dean Proper, who grew up in Zachow in the 1940s, it’s reliving history.
“I spent probably half of my growing-up years in the Chicago and Northwestern depot. I knew all the agents at the time, from the time I could walk across that field from the house to the depot. I had to see it every morning,” Proper said.
The real-to-life railway station building has been a major focus for Proper, 76, who wanted people today to see the tiny village in eastern Shawano County during its heyday, when the railroad was in full swing and businesses were bustling. Zachow today looks nothing like it did nearly 70 years ago.
“The motivation was to preserve small-town Zachow. If you go to Krakow or Green Valley or all these smaller communities (nearby), they’re all dead. All the businesses have moved out,” Proper said. “They’re just skeletons of their former selves.”
Proper first toyed with the idea in 2005, but the first shovel full of dirt did not move until 2011. Since then, Proper has financed the project to the tune of more than $300,000 so far, although the final price tag might be closer to $400,000, he said.
Initially, the historical society applied for grants to help cut down on costs but did not receive them, with those in charge of the purse strings saying the project was “too local,” according to Proper.
The centerpiece of the new depot is an N-scale model recreation of Zachow, located in the depot’s freight room, with the buildings, roads and landscape authentic to the late 1940s. The model is very similar to an aerial photo taken of the area.
“This captured part of the intensity and enthusiasm and goodness and vibrancy of the town,” Proper said.
Most of the trees from that time period are on the model, although a few have been removed to avoid cluttering the view of the buildings and other prominent figures. Proper could vividly remember where every tree was, mainly because he was a delivery boy for the Green Bay Press-Gazette for seven years.
“There is still more green area we could put on there,” he said.
Proper said he shows up in two places: in a rowboat on a pond and outside the family home, which he noted he did on a regular basis whenever planes flew overhead.
The model includes lights within the homes and two panels with buttons that provide audio details about the history of the homes, the depot and the businesses. There is also a four-minute general history about the village itself.
Proper noted that the depot replica was crafted when he and others working on the project wanted a suitable — and large enough — place for the model. Putting it in Zachow did not seem feasible, as the original depot building had long since been removed. A thought of putting it in nearby Bonduel was discarded when there was not a site big enough in the village to house the model.
That’s when the idea of putting it at Heritage Park came to mind. Also, Proper liked the idea that the historical society was dedicated to preserving all of Shawano County’s past.
“The satisfaction of getting it done was my reward,” Proper said.
Although the model is the star of the newest museum for the historical society, there are other key aspects to the building. The floors and walls were aged to look like they did in the real depot in the 1940s, complete with black coaldust stains on the walls behind the pot-bellied stoves and oilcan stains and sawdust in the freight room.
“We have square nails in the floor here,” Proper said. “We didn’t need square nails, but that was what they used originally.”
Prior to seeing the model, visitors will get to see the front and back sides of the ticket counter.
Behind the counter, there are several telegraph machines, and the historical society hopes to be able to activate them remotely during tours for ambiance, according to Proper. There are also other vintage communication devices at the desk, such as the candlestick phone brought in during the 1930s and the black-box station-to-station phone.
“That probably came in around 1915 or possibly the 1920s,” Proper said of the station-to-station phone. “You needed a second telegraph for it. Shawano had a separate ring, and so did Green Bay. You had two big Eveready batteries to power it.”
Outside the station is a section of railroad track. Proper hopes to someday find or build a railroad car to go on it.
There are some other key pieces missing, and Proper and the historical society are looking for authentic furniture to put in. Missing are two indoor benches, a three-seater and a four-seater, along with darker 1940s style chairs for behind the ticket counter.
Ron Schumacher, historical society president, sees the depot, the sixth museum building in Heritage Park, as a key addition to its menagerie. The depot is now part of the regular tours taking place Thursdays and Saturdays.
“It’s a great addition,” Schumacher said. “It was put together with a lot of quality and lot of details. It’s very well done.”
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