Bill Lieder’s Ski Patrol First Aid Kit

Kyle Willoughby

Catalog Number: 2013.018.03

Copyright La Crosse County Historical Society

Everyone in La Crosse can look out the window and see an endless blanket of white on the ground.

The Midwest has been hit with a multitude of snowstorms, leaving more than a foot of snow to decorate the landscape.

For those who despise the cold and anything to do with winter, this probably doesn’t sound appealing, but for those who enjoy winter activities such as cross-country/downhill skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling, a layer of fresh powder is like a dream come true.

This is especially true for the people who enjoy their pastime at Mount La Crosse, the local downhill ski slope.

Mount La Crosse offers wonderful blufftop views of snowy La Crosse, while also boasting a total of 18 ski runs. Mount La Crosse has been in operation since 1959 — its 60th year.

The focus of Things That Matter this week is a first aid kit that belonged to William Lieder while he lived in the area and volunteered as a ski-patrol officer at Mount La Crosse.

Bill patrolled the ski slopes for 25 years. His duties primarily included injury prevention by helping beginners on the slopes but also emergency assistance when necessary. It is the ski-patrol’s job to ensure that if there is an accident on the slopes, the injured skier makes it safely to the bottom of the hill for emergency care. This includes the instances in which they may need to be taken down the slope on a sled.

Pictured is a blue canvas first aid kit and its National Ski Patrol patch. The first-aid kit includes various lengths of rolled bandages. The kit would have been attached at the hip to a leather belt through the eyelets on either side. With both the first aid kit and the patches on his jacket, Bill would’ve remained visible to other skiers and be present to help.

While off duty, both Bill and his wife Verlyn Lieder were active members on the slopes of Mount La Crosse. Verlyn was more of a leisure skier but was also a member of the La Crosse Ski team and skied for sport. The La Crosse County Historical Society collections include a pair of personalized skis belonging to Verlyn.

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on February 23, 2019.

This object can be viewed in our online collections database by clicking here.

Here's the scoop on a WPA shovel

Ken Brekke

Copyright La Crosse County Historical Society

Catalog Number: 2004.064.01

The shovel is worn and showing some age, but even though it probably is more than 80 years old it still looks sturdy and capable of performing its earth-turning duties.

The letters “WPAC” are stamped onto the face of the shovel, and the letters “WPA” are on the back.

Those letters hint at the historic nature of an implement that must have been used by workers employed by the Works Progress Administration, an enormous federal agency charged with putting millions of employees to work building airports, dams, highways, parks, bridges, courthouses, hospitals and schools all over the country.

Long-handled shovels, like the one donated to the La Crosse County Historical Society by Nick Schroeder, were integral components of labor-intensive projects designed to provide work for unemployed people affected by the Great Depression.

The WPA was created in 1935, was renamed the Work Projects Administration in 1939, and was dissolved in 1943. It was disbanded when the U.S. began experiencing a shortage of workers as its young men left to fight in World War II.

A notable WPA project in La Crosse was the park shelter atop Grandad Bluff, which was built in 1938 using stone removed from the southern face of the bluff. The shelter was created so that people could more comfortably enjoy the view of La Crosse and the Mississippi River Valley. Other improvements, such as bathrooms, fencing and a flagpole, have been added over the years.

Other notable WPA projects near La Crosse include:

• Mill Bluff State Park, which protects several sandstone bluffs near Camp Douglas.

• The post office in Prairie du Chien.

• Carson Park in Eau Claire, home to a variety of outdoor activities, as well as ball diamonds and football fields.

The agency provided jobs, and paychecks, at a time when millions of people were unemployed. More than 8.5 million workers were employed by the WPA during its eight years of existence, and most of the projects those workers completed are still in service today.

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on February 16, 2019.

This object can be viewed in our online collections database by clicking here.

Murphy Candy Company Chocolate Box

Copyright La Crosse County Historical Society

Carole Mullen

Catalog Number: 1980.045.01

This box from the Murphy Candy Co. was once filled with handmade chocolates that would have been a lovely gift for someone’s Valentine.

Murphy’s Old Fashioned Chocolate assortment, a mixture of chocolate and vanilla creams dipped in bittersweet chocolate, was a popular offering of this La Crosse candy manufacturer, known for its quality confections in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

Murphy Candy was heir to a candy manufacturing tradition in La Crosse led by three large companies: Funke, Montague and Kratchwil.

All three had closed by the early 1930s due to decreased demand and the Great Depression. This left many skilled candy makers unemployed. A few chose to go into business for themselves, including Arthur Scherdin, a former employee of Funke, and his brother Henry.

The Scherdins’ business was purchased by Joseph W. and Donald F. Murphy in November 1939, forming the Murphy Candy Company. The Murphy brothers retained Arthur Scherdin as chief candy maker, and Henry as his assistant. Working beside them was one of the owner’s wives, Mrs. Donald Murphy, who was the Scherdins’ sister.

Operating part-time, Murphy Candy began by focusing on its most profitable months of the year, November and December. The firm moved from 712 Cass St. to 114 ½ N. Front St. in La Crosse.

Eight employees were kept busy manufacturing candy bars such as Haystacks and Nut Goodies, chocolate assortments and peanut brittle.

The peanut brittle was made in a large copper candy kettle with butter, cane sugar and fresh roasted peanuts as the principal ingredients.

All of Murphy’s candy fillings for chocolates were hand-rolled, then hand-dipped in milk or dark chocolate.

Some of their popular boxed assortments included Blue Ribbon and Swiss Milk, as well as the Old Fashioned assortment that filled this box.

Donald Murphy bought out his brother Joseph in 1954, becoming sole owner of the firm.

The candy bars were dropped, but the company was doing well, shipping chocolates and peanut brittle to five states.

“We find that it pays to produce good candy,” Murphy said in a 1940 La Crosse Tribune interview, “because we find our orders are increasing rapidly all the time. We wish that anybody who would try some to prove to himself that quality ingredients make better candy.”

By 1962, Murphy Candy Co. went into full-time production of its chocolates, though peanut brittle remained a seasonal item. The firm still employed most of the same candy makers it had 22 years earlier.

Murphy Candy continued to produce chocolates and peanut brittle through the 1960s, but by 1970 had disappeared from city directories.

This red polka-dotted candy box was donated by Robert Funke to the La Crosse County Historical Society in 1980. We can only imagine how delicious the chocolates that once filled it must have tasted.

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on February 9, 2019.

This object can be viewed in our online collections database by clicking here.