{"id":120,"date":"2011-10-21T02:57:50","date_gmt":"2011-10-21T02:57:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/?page_id=120"},"modified":"2020-11-28T14:43:33","modified_gmt":"2020-11-28T14:43:33","slug":"books","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/features\/books\/","title":{"rendered":"Books"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
I thought it might be interesting to list the books I use to research Racine history.<\/span>
Todd Wallace<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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An English Settler in Pioneer Wisconsin<\/strong><\/span>
The Letters of Edwin Bottomley, 1842-1850<\/em><\/span>
Milo M. Quaife, Editor<\/span>
Published by the Wisconsin State Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin, 1918<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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\"Daisy<\/a>

Daisy Winifred Brumsey’s diary<\/p><\/div>\n

Daisy Brumsey arrived in Racine from a tiny town in Nebraska as a nineteen-year-old. She lived in boarding houses near downtown and worked in a bank on Monument Square. I found her diary on Ebay and have transcribed the whole thing. I’ve also included a section of research. For instance, I found out that Daisy lived from 1888 to 1969.Here is an excerpt from Daisy Winifred’s diary about her job at the Manufacturer’s National Bank<\/a>:<\/span>MARCH 20, 1909<\/span>
Dear Journal,<\/span>
This has been a pleasant day.<\/span>This morning I arose at the usual time 6:15 or there about, and was ready for breakfast shortly after seven. I was comfortably busy this morning at the bank — I might say a “protest” too much. I had one after 11 o’clock. Shortly before eleven Mr. Hueffner sent me to the News and Times offices. On my way back from the News I stopped at the Y.W.C.A. Miss McMullen was not in. Miss Freer was though and had shortly before finished with the little girls’ Saturday morning class. She was going up to the First M.E. where the Y.W.C.A. were serving dinner (or preparing to) to the teachers who are attending the Teacher’s Convention here, so I waited for her and walked as far as the corner. I left the bank about 12:20, as I was going out, Mr. Shurr (at the adding machine in the rear) called out “Goodbye Daisy.” Wasn’t that great. But then I don’t think much of it — for he is a crazy monkey anyway — or I should say, tries to be sometimes.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Racine: Growth and Change in a Wisconsin County<\/strong><\/span>
Nicholas C. Burckel, Editor<\/span>
First printing, 1977. Second printing, 1978.<\/span>
This is a must-have for the historian. With 646 pages of information, this is the book that got me hooked on Racine history.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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\"\"<\/a>I Called It Home
<\/strong>David Kherdian
<\/em>Great book because of the vivid glimpses it gives of the Armenian-American neighborhood in Racine west of State Street Bridge in the 1930s and 1940s.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"2015-01-17-12-25-23-01\"<\/a>Finding Home<\/strong>
David Kherdian<\/em>
I just finished reading David Kherdian’s book “Finding Home,” and although I intend to read it through at least one more time, I felt the need to put up a book review because this book is good on many levels, including for people interested in Racine history.”Finding Home” is about the author’s mother, Veron, coming to America and to Racine as a “picture” bride after the Turkish massacres of Armenians in 1915 and the burning of Smyrna in 1922. Veron arrives to be the author’s father’s bride, and she gets to know the State Street and Main Street part of Racine intimately. There is a wonderful shopping sequence as she is preparing to get married that takes her up and down State Street, Main Street, and Sixth Street, finding her wedding dress and household items to start her new house with her much-older husband.David Kherdian has done an amazing job of bringing the Armenian experience of Racine in the 1920s and 1930s to life, and this book is an excellent addition to any Racine historian’s library.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"2014-03-12-20-55-50-01\"<\/a>The Farmer’s Encyclopedia<\/strong> from 1906
This book<\/a> is full of ads for Racine companies, including J.I. Case and Fish Brothers, probably because it was published by J. I. Case Plow Works.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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Images of America: Racine was written by a volunteer at the Racine Heritage Museum, George D. Fennell. It has a number of photos that I had never seen before, probably thanks to George’s experience with cataloging photos for the museum. Great book and highly recommended for the Racine historian.\n

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This booklet is from 1975 and was revised in 1978, so this was about the time I became aware of Racine History as a teenager. My parents may have had the booklet around the house and I probably picked it up. I got this from Ebay today and it immediately looked familiar!\"2015-04-16-19-42-11-01\"<\/a>\"2015-04-16-19-48-31-01\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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The last book in the box from my Anonymous Benefactor was a book I’d never heard of, The Grassroots History of Racine County. This is a huge, hardcover book with 660 pages, and it went through at least two printings, 1978 and 1979. The editor is listed as Judy Merrick. I’ve just started to explore this book, and it is jam-packed with history and personal stories.\n

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\"Selection<\/a>

Selection from Grassroots History of Racine County<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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