It all began in the spring of 1882 with a fishing trip and ended up with electric lights for Appleton, Wisconsin. Appleton was caught in the current of hydroelectricity. Hearthstone House Museum features an exhibit on this fishing event by Mr. Henry Rogers who built Hearthstone, the worlds first home lit by Edison’s central hydroelectric station.
Thursday, September 13 at 6:00 pm you can learn about the history of sports fishing. Attendees will view the exhibits of vintage creels, baits, fish lures and early fly rods. A tour of Hearthstone will take you back when a day of fishing was a holiday and everyone dressed for the occasion.
Frank Koffend, a lifetime fisherman and tackle collector who amassed a collection of early fishing artifacts on display at Hearthstone will be the speaker, with special guest Arlan Carter, author of the book “19th Century Fishing Lures”.
The program is a “tongue and cheek” with lots of stories about the fun side of fishing. For example, the story of Jim Heddon inventing the fishing lure; Anthony and Cleopatra fishing from the royal barge. He rigged their competition but Cleo got even; Dame Juliana Berners, the Englishwoman who in1496 wrote her immortal Treaties on Fishing with an angle: The first “How To” book on fishing. A 1880s copy is on display at Hearthstone. You will learn why sports fishing really started in the USA and about the $101,000 Haskill minnow that sold recently at auction. Beginning in the mid to late 1800s, firms such as J.T. Buel, W.D. Chapman, and the Enterprise Manufacturing Company produced lures that rivaled their overseas counterparts in both quantity and quality.
Attendees will have a tour of Hearthstone and the fishing exhibit. Enjoy the talk along with snacks and beverages.
Date: Thursday, September 13, 2018
Time: 6:00 pm
Limit: 20 persons
Cost: $12.00 per person (includes tour of Hearthstone House Museum)
To sign up visit our website at: www.hearthstonemuseum.org
or contact:
Hearthstone Historic House Museum
625 Prospect Street
Appleton WI 54911 Telephone: 920-730-8204
