WAUPACA — The Waupaca Historical Society will host Dr. Connie Haack-Hurlbut for “A Visit with Margaret Ashmun” on Thursday, September 17, at 6 p.m. at the Holly History & Genealogy Center at 321 S. Main Street.
The program will also feature live period music featuring Harold “Lefty” Clumpner (trumpet), Dawn Nelson (oboe), Kari Esbensen (viola), and Amy Ording (keyboard).
Born in Rural in 1875, Margaret Ashmun went on to become an educator, author, editor, artist, traveler and biographer. Her sizeable body of work explored subjects that remain surprisingly relevant today, including women’s education and independence, adoption and the hopes for caring homes, the effects of domestic violence, the horrors of war and the need to find joy in everyday life. Even today, Ashmun’s books and writings continue to attract readers and researchers.
Haack-Hurlbut’s journey into Ashmun’s life began with a chance question she heard on a Wisconsin Public Radio call-in program and grew into decades of “detective work” that took her from Waupaca and the Chain O’Lakes to libraries and archives in Wisconsin, Washington, D.C., New York City, and locations connected to Ashmun’s life in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
A retired college educator and longtime community volunteer, Haack-Hurlbut was selected Wisconsin Teacher of the Year, then chosen Midwest Teacher of the Year and became one of four finalists for the AVA/ACTE National Teacher of the Year. She was also featured in the American Association of University Women’s book, “Dreamers and Doers of Northeast Wisconsin, Vol 1.” Like Ashmun, Haack-Hurlbut credits her own formative years in Waupaca’s Girl Scouts, Job’s Daughters, and local restaurant work for shaping her lifelong commitment to education and service.
This program is free and open to the public, and all are welcome to attend. Doors will open at 5:30, with limited seating available.
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