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Novitiate Takeover

In 1975, a group known as the Menominee Warrior Society took over the Alexian Brothers’ former Novitiate near Gresham, Wisconsin in Shawano County, claiming treaty rights to the property. Various groups responded in different ways to this event, including local residents, the national media, the Menominee Nation of Wisconsin, and the Menominee Warrior Society dissident faction. This digital collection from the Shawano City-County Library consists of news clippings about the event and its aftermath, originally published in the Shawano Leader.

Oconto Falls Memory Project

Postcards and photographs depicting scenes from Oconto Falls, Wisconsin and the surrounding area, including images of Stiles Hydro Dam on the Oconto River, aerial views of Oconto Falls, and depictions of early 20th century local events by amateur photographer William Temple.

Odin J. Oyen Collection

The Odin J. Oyen firm was once a thriving business in downtown La Crosse, Wisconsin, that created original watercolors as proposed interior designs. The firm, or variations of it, existed from the late-1800s up to the Great Depression, generating countless watercolor designs for the interiors of courthouses, churches, fraternal organizations, and private residences, in locations across the Upper Midwest and beyond. Several hundred original watercolors reside in Murphy Library Special Collections, owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, and local attorney Nicholas J. Passe acquired over 100 Oyen interior renditions and was willing to allow the Murphy Library Digital Collections to digitize and include those items in the Digital Collections. These items currently make up the Odin J. Oyen Collection.

Opening the Doors: Wisconsin Mental Health Heritage

The Winnebago Mental Health Institute admitted its first patient on April 23, 1873 and was known as the Northern Hospital for the Insane. In 1935, the facility name was changed to the Winnebago State Hospital and was changed again in 1973 to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute. This collection includes annual reports authored by physician superintendents and issues of The Cue, a newsletter written and edited by patients at the hospital from 1968-1973.

Oral Histories of the Wisconsin HIV/AIDS History Project

The Wisconsin HIV/AIDS History Project brings to light significant stories from the state’s history of HIV/AIDS through the medium of oral histories. This collection includes video interviews with physicians, nurses, social service workers, AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin (ARCW) staff, and long-time survivors. The interviews were conducted by Linda Wesp at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2017-2018.

Oscar Grady Public Library

This photo collection captures the Saukville community throughout the 1900s and early 2000s.  Images were collected by brothers Jim and John Peterson and donated to Oscar Grady Public Library for the purpose of digital preservation and public access.

Oshkosh Businesses

Photographs, newspaper articles, postcards, pamphlets and catalogs of businesses that once flourished in Oshkosh, including Deltox Rug Co., Oshkosh Trunk Co., and Stein’s clothing store.

Oshkosh City Directories

Browse or search the collection to discover all kinds of interesting facts about historic Oshkosh as well as sketches of prominent people, local businesses and their advertisements, and views of Oshkosh. Each directory has been divided into sections: surnames, businesses, street directories, and more. Some directories include Menasha, Neenah, Omro, and Winneconne. Funding for the project was obtained from a grant from the Alberta Kimball Foundation.

Oshkosh Yearbooks

This collection contains 138 issues of The Index, the Oshkosh High School student publication, dating between 1906 and 1940. The Index began as a monthly school publication containing poetry, short creative writings, editorials, alumni information, student photos, sports statistics and summaries, and other writings and reporting about various school events and issues. Winter and Spring issues included photos of graduating students. The Index became an annual yearbook in 1926.