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THE CENTENNIAL STORY
               By Mary Ellen Ducklow
  Outagamie County's thousands of citi-
zens, springing from a dozen different
strains of the same sturdy pioneer stock
that built Wisconsin to national pre-emi-
nence, celebrated the centennial of their
state during the gala week beginning
May 22, 1948.
  It was more than merely the anniversary
of statehood. It was a tribute to the Wis-
consinites now  gone, who    built line
communities out of the forests and found
time to sing, too. Without their industry,
high ideals, spiritual strength and moral
courage the rich natural resources we
enjoy here would have been of little avail.
One of the primary purposes of the cen-
tennial celebration was to review and
reaffirm our faith in our American institu-
tions and ideals and in our standard of
living -all of which have amply demon-
strated that our system of government
has contributed much toward our ad-
vancement.
  The week's celebration was only part of
the story. All through the year, but par-
ticularly in the golden summer weeks,
thoughts turned backwards a century and
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more, as national groups marked the
anniversary of their arrivals in the area.
  Objectives of the Outagamie County
centennial celebration were broader than
the weeks of pageantry, of concerts, of
parades and picnics would have indicated
on the surface. There were long-range
aims, too.
  First, the centennial committee, under
the dynamic leadership of State Senator
Gordon A. Bubolz, sought to nourish
that feeling of 'one-ness'' which makes a
tight, neighborly unit of a great county,
which ties that county even more closely
with its parent state.
  Then, the committee worked to preserve
the antiques and relics crowding every
garret and store room which served to
make Outagamie County's past a living
story to its citizens of today.
  Thirdly, the county committee gath-
ered up the odds and ends of county his-
tory into a coordinated whole which
would tell the Outagamie story to readers
of the future.
  Closely associated with every year of
Outagamie County's history has been the