The Historic Indian Agency House at Fort Winnebago (HIAH) will host its fifth annual Summer Speaker Series this year, with one lecture per month from June to September. The 2014 series, entitled “Uncovering Wisconsin’s Past: Non-Traditional Research Methods and the Shaping of Our History,” will explore the remarkable variety of investigation and study that has molded our understanding of the state we call home.
Tuesday Jun 24, 2014
June 24, 2014, 6:30pm Historic Indian Agency House FREE. Speaker TBA
Director Destinee Udelhoven (608) 742-6362
In addition, this theme will allow us to highlight the many types of information that HIAH is able to draw from in interpreting the multifaceted cultural context of our site and the portage. From archaeological and other cultural features located on this property (including at least a few suspected burial sites) to Ho-Chunk oral histories about the immediate area, there is a wealth of knowledge available to the discerning researcher that very much exceeds the limitations of the written word.
Each installment of this four-part series will be held on the final Tuesday of each month at 6:30pm. For the fifth year in a row, this speaker series is FREE to the public and made largely possibly by generous grants from the Great Circle Foundation Inc. of East Northport, New York and the City of Portage Historic Preservation Committee.
The first of the series will take place Tuesday, June 24th. At this time, serious collector and authority on all-things-bottle, Mr. Michael Seeliger of Monona, Wisconsin, will present an overview of the Warner Patent Medicines—who Seeliger fondly refers to as the “King of Patent Medicines.” In business from 1879 to 1930s, Warner effectively peddled a range of “cures” for ailments affecting the kidney and liver, to asthma and rheumatism.
Seeliger’s presentation discuss his collecting adventures that paved the path to his Warner obsession, and he will describe the many different research sources that he has used to compile his Warner history, from bottle labels, to advertising almanacs and testimonial books, to oral histories.
Michael is a lifelong Wisconsin resident, with family ties in the Black Earth area dating back to the 1840s. After a few years of bottle-hunting (including finding five Warner bottles along the Wisconsin River shoreline just west of Portage near Pine Island), he and his wife, Alice, co-authored a book on the Warner Company and the bottles it produced in 1974 that has since been considered the authority on the subject.
Mr. Seeliger remains serious about his bottle “hobby,” attending bottle shows throughout the United States and giving lectures on bottle collecting across Wisconsin. His latest venture now underway is a virtual museum of bottles and flasks.
Mr. Seeliger’s ongoing research into the Warner Patent Medicine Empire is an excellent case study and example of the myriad way that researchers and historians investigate and capture the stories that make up Wisconsin’s multifaceted history.
The Historic Indian Agency House Visitor’s Center and exhibits, always free to the public, will be open from 5pm until the lecture begins at 6:30pm, with a guided tour of the 1832 Winnebago Indian Agency offered at 5pm. (Minimal fee applies for tour; free for Supporters members.) Light refreshments will be provided for lecture guests.
The Historic Indian Agency House hosts a variety of children’s and adult programming throughout the year, including book-you-own Scout workshops! Visit www.agencyhouse.org for a full listing of events, or call 608-742-6362.
PICTURE CAPTION: Michael Seeliger, “The Bottle Guy,” kicks off HIAH’s fifth annual Summer Speaker Series with a presentation on the Warner Patent Medicine empire and a show-and-tell of his fabulous related bottle collection.
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1490 Agency House Road, Portage, WI
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