WAUSAU – The Marathon County Historical Society February History Speaks program will be presented by author Verne Pickering, who will share the story of the first Ojibwe Episcopalian priest in the United States, from about 1813 to 1901.
Discover the life and legacy of Enmegahbowh, who, during the turbulent frontier days of the 1800s, worked for peace, opportunity and cooperation among the people. He spoke both Ojibwe and English, lived among the Ojibwe, endeavored as a Christian missionary and participated in the politics of relations and treaties between the Ojibwe, the U.S. government and the settlers who desired land to log and farm.
Pickering’s recent book “Stands Before His People,” written with Stephen Schaitberger, makes extensive use of the written record left by Enmegahbowh to reconstruct his life and legacy. Pickering began his writing career creating engineering documents. The first book he published was “Hatley: History of a Central Wisconsin Village,” written in collaboration with his brother, Donald Pickering. Verne lives in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
This History Speaks program is presented live at 2 p.m. Feb. 4 at the Woodson History Center, 410 McIndoe St., Wausau, in conjunction with the Marathon County Public Library. The presentation will be recorded and available digitally on Facebook and YouTube within a few days of the live program (along with many of our past programs).
MCHS is in the Woodson History Center at 410 McIndoe St., Wausau. Exhibit and office hours are Tuesday – Friday 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is free. The research library is open from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday – Friday. Tours of the Yawkey House Museum are available Tuesday – Sunday. Call for times and prices.
For more information, call MCHS at 715-842-5750, email [email protected], or visit www.marathoncountyhistory.org.
