History of Sheboygan Series

Sheboygan County Historical Research Center History of the City of Sheboygan Series of  Lectures

Today's topic, program 4. First Families of Sheboygan, Those Who Built the City -
The first men and women who came to Sheboygan were true pioneers. Most came with nothing but their willingness to build new lives and own land in the wilderness. Others came to start a business and make a profit for themselves. A rare few dared to face the unknowns of a new, unsettled world just for the adventure. Their courage and fortitude built the base for Sheboygan to grow. We’ll be introduced to many of the first.

The presenter is Beth Dippel who has been the Executive Director of the Sheboygan County Historical Research located in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin since 2002. Prior to that she acted as Director of Development for the organization from 1998 to 2002.

Her educational background includes a Masters of Business Administration degree from Cardinal Stritch University with a non-profit focus and a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Beth has an extensive background in the local history of Sheboygan County and has created and executed dozens of historical programs. For the past 14 years she has been the project manager for a speakers’ series, Second Saturdays, Journeys Into Local History. The series has sponsored 140 speakers with an attendance of just under 12,000 history enthusiasts.

She has also developed and presented more than 30 local history programs dealing with specific Sheboygan County topics in the past four years. Topics have included things like Remembering the Phoenix Disaster, Great Surveys and Surveyors of Sheboygan County and The H.C. Prange Story, It’s Not Yours Til You Like It. On average more than 30 people attend each presentation.

This series is part of “Preserving the History of Sheboygan through Digital Images” which has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in these programs do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Additional funding from the Mead Public Library Foundation.