This file portion of www.watertownhistory.org website
2010 EVENT CALENDAR
FOR THE
WATERTOWN HISTORICAL
SOCIETY

Judy Quam, a guide and former manager of
the Octagon House Museum, joins volunteers in an annual spring cleaning effort
at the local landmark. For several days
each April, workers prepare the historic home for the upcoming tourism season. The former home of John and Eliza Richards
was built in 1854.
(John Hart photo / Watertown Daily Times)
All events are open to
the public
Monday,
April 19, 7 p.m. - Watertown
Senior & Community Center
Charles Damaske will share with us the history of The Milwaukee
Electric Railway & Light Co. with a focus on the interurban line that ran
between Watertown and Milwaukee.
Watertown
Historical Society to host railroad presentation April 19
The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Co.’s interurban line
between Milwaukee and Watertown will be the focus of a presentation Monday,
April 19 sponsored by the Watertown Historical Society. The presentation starts
at 7 p.m. at the Watertown Senior and Community Center and will be led by
Watertown author and railroad historian Charles Damaske. This event is open to
the public and there is no cost to attend.
Damaske’s presentation will
include numerous images from the early days of the railway and show the
construction and operation of the Watertown line until its final days in 1940
and 1941.
Damaske has been interested in railroads since he was a child
growing up in Muskego. As he grew older he began researching the Milwaukee
Electric Railway & Light Co. and between 1989 and 2001 he published six
books that covered all the lines of the interurban system. He has been an
active member of the East Troy Electric Railroad since 1985 and in November
2009 he was the recipient of the annual Chuck Zehner Memorial Award for his
outstanding contribution in the field of railroad history.
Damaske and his wife, Pat, are the owners of the historic Jesse Stone House Bed & Breakfast,
300 S. Washington St., Watertown.
This presentation is the first of four public events on tap for
the Watertown Historical Society this year. On Monday, June 28 historian Bill
Jannke will give a talk on the “lost octagon house of Watertown” that was once
located on the 500 block of North Washington Street. On Monday, Sept. 20 social
historian Kathleen Ernst of Middleton will share with program attendees how she
bases her award winning fictional novels in actual Wisconsin historic sites.
Finally, on Monday, Nov. 15 historical society members Randy Roeseler and
Melissa Lampe will present a before and after view of what many of Watertown’s
most stately homes and buildings looked in the early 1900s and what they look
like today.
All public presentations are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and will
be held at the Watertown Community and Senior Center. For more information,
call Linda at 261-2796.
May 15 -
September 1. – Visitor’s Center, Octagon House
Grounds

Beginning in mid-May and lasting through the 2010 season, the private
collection of Wizard of Oz memorabilia belonging to society president, William
Jannke, will be on display at the tour center.
This will include, among other things, autographs of Margaret
Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch of the West, and, of course, Meinhardt
Raabe.
Stop up and have a look.
Monday, June
28, 7 p.m. - Watertown Senior & Community
Center
“The Lost Octagon House of Watertown.” Bill Jannke will talk about
Watertown’s other eight-sided residence that once stood in the
500 block of North Washington Street.
Sunday,
August 15, 1:30 p.m. - Octagon House grounds,
919 Charles St.
Annual ice cream social and concert by First Brigade Band.
Monday, September 20, 7 p.m. - Watertown Senior &
Community Center
Social historian and novelist Kathleen Ernst of Middleton will
share her passion for Wisconsin’s historic sites and how many of them were used
as settings for her books.
Monday, November 15, 7 p.m. - Watertown Senior &
Community Center
“Picturesque Watertown” Randy Roeseler and Melissa Lampe will
present a before and after view of what many of Watertown’s most stately homes
and buildings looked in the early 1900s and what they look like today.
PLEASE NOTE
ALL EVENTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
CALL (920) 261-2796
FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION
