Title: Herbert and Bert Warner Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1900-1983

Creators:

• Warner, Herbert, 1870-1952
• Warner, Bert, 1900-1989

Call Number: Northland Mss R; PH Northland Mss R; AC 650-664

Quantity: 3.2 c.f. (8 archives boxes), 15 films (16mm), and 55 photographs

Repository:

Housed at the Area Research Center, History Center and Archives, Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center / Ashland Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Papers, mainly 1913-1933, of a father and son who were owners of the Forest Home Summer Resort (later called Herbert and Bert's Resort) on Plum Lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin, from 1898 until the late 1940s. Included are correspondence and detailed papers relating to the advertisement and operation of the resort, guest correspondence, and home movies. Other papers relate to the operation of a farm and the Lake and River Logging Company and various other business and community activities, including the Plum Lake Golf Course. Photographs consist of images of guests boating or displaying a prize catch, and other images showing equipment and work scenes from Herbert Warner's early work in logging operations.

Note:

There is a restriction on use of this material; see the Administrative/Restriction Information portion of this finding aid for details.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-nort000r

Northern Wisconsin resort owner and entrepreneur Herbert Warner was born near Cass City, Michigan on February 12, 1870. One of fourteen children, Warner began to work at the age of twelve in order to help the family. He first worked at fur trapping, later turning to logging, cooking for a logging camp, and surveying. In 1894 Warner came to Wisconsin where he found work as a timber cruiser and as a handyman and guide at the fishing camp of O.W. Sayner on Plum Lake. There he met Freda Fricke, of Colby, Wisconsin, who was employed as a cook, and the couple were married in 1899. The Warner's first child, Bert, was born in August 1900; he was followed by Margaret (who died at age four), Norman, Frederick (who died at age three), Evelyn, Grace, Jane, Joyce (who died as an infant), and one stillborn child.

About 1898-1900 Warner bought a large tract of cutover land on Plum Lake near Sayner where he established a homestead and a resort, first building a log cottage as a primary residence and later adding a lodge and nine cabins. The lodge, which was completed with the assistance of Warner's brother, Walter, was a large two-story building constructed of vertical tamarack logs. Forest Home Summer Resort catered to the professional classes, and guests came not only from the Chicago suburbs, but also from as far away as Texas and Kansas. In the 1920's the name was changed to Herbert and Bert's Resort in order to reflect Bert's increased involvement in the resort as well as the Warners' concern that a cemetery in Illinois was also named “Forest Home.” Thereafter Herbert devoted most of his attention to the operation of the farm.

Warner was involved in numerous endeavors in addition to his management of the resort. Because of his early work in Vilas County as a surveyor Warner was appointed county surveyor. He also owned and operated a 240-acre dairy farm on land purchased in 1903 which helped to supply food for the resort. In 1906 Warner organized the Lake and River Logging Company and milled “dead heads” (logs cut by various companies which had sunk while being shipped to the mill) in the Wisconsin River and its tributaries north of Rhinelander. In 1924 Warner's mill at Lake Tomahawk burned, and at that time Warner ended his lumbering activities.

In addition Warner served as a justice of the peace, sold Evinrude outboard motors, patented an anchor design, and ran a trap line. He was also active in civic affairs. He was the first Plum Lake town assessor and the first treasurer of the local school board. Warner also donated land for the establishment of the Plum Lake Golf Course and the Plum Lake Community Church. Herbert Warner died in 1952.

Like his father, Bert Warner was active in local affairs. He served one term of justice of the peace and was active in local aviation. He was also a founding member of the Plum Lake Conservation Club, which planted fish in area lakes prior to the stocking activities of the Department of Conservation. Warner and his wife, the former Florence Cook of Eagle River (and his teacher when he was in the eighth grade) raised three children: Florence, Camille, and Herbert. Bert Warner died in March, 1989.

The papers are divided into three series: RESORT RECORDS, OTHER BUSINESS RECORDS, and COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES. The records document a small northern Wisconsin resort from its beginnings about 1898 through the 1940s. While the papers span the years from 1900 to 1983, the period best documented is 1913 to 1933. The Forest Home Resort records are most numerous among the business papers, although sufficient records of other types are present to suggest the Warners' various entrepreneurial and community activities. Nevertheless, the resort records are far from complete. There are no financial record books or income tax forms. (All records relating to food are also missing.) Because of the absence of basic financial documentation, it is difficult to interpret the significance of Herbert Warner's non-resort activities. Rather, the importance of the Warner collection is its detailed documentation of the variety of activities required to operate a small Wisconsin resort during the early years of the century.

The RESORT RECORDS are divided into five subseries: Business Records, General Correspondence, and Guest Records, plus Photographs and Home Movies. The Business Records relate to various aspects of the management of the operation of the resort including advertising and purchase of equipment, furnishings, and supplies as unusual as imported cigars. The correspondence related to advertising of the resort documents not only the type of clientele sought but the publications where advertising appears and the text of many ads. It also includes sample letterheads and two advertising brochures “Summer Outing” and “Warner's Forest Home Summer Resort.” The second title, which dates from the late 1920's, is the only document in the collection which suggests that the resort sought a restricted clientele. The most complete files within the business records are the banking correspondence and the employment applications. In the latter, prospective employees described their skills and desire for work, and in many cases Warner's response is noted. Within the legal and medical correspondence several items pertain to an interesting case concerning an injured employee. Although much of the correspondence is fragmentary and only concerned with details, it provides a representative view of the resort's operations over a period of two decades.

The General Correspondence primarily contains letters exchanged between the Warner family and various summer residents of Plum Lake. (In many cases the Warners had become acquainted with these people because they originally stayed at the resort before purchasing property in the area.) These letters are filled with requests for services such as clearing of flower beds, putting boats into the water, and putting up docks. Also included is a small amount of family correspondence and two folders containing wartime material. The most valuable portion of the collection is the Guest Records. Covering the period 1913-1933, these papers include a wide variety of letters: requests, billing adjustments, and reservations. These letters document the individuals who vacationed in northern Wisconsin during the early part of the twentieth century.

Also arranged here are photographs of the resort (and Warner's logging operation) and home movies. Many of the photographs are printed postcards; others are candid photographs of guests boating or displaying a prize catch. While many of the home movies are imprecisely identified, they generally document activities at the resort as well as fur trapping, the local fish hatchery, and family vacations. They date from the early 1930s through 1970. Many smaller films have been spliced together, not necessarily in any order. The films and original photographs are available in the Visual Materials Archive of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

The BUSINESS RECORDS include papers related to the Warners' varied, nonresort activities. Correspondence and other papers document Herbert's work as a surveyor, justice of the peace, and fur trapper. The records of the Lake and River Logging Company are particularly notable. These records document the acquisition of the abandoned logs from various logging companies and the operation of the mill. Photographs filed in the Resort Records series also contain documentation of Warner's logging activities. Correspondence relating to the Plum Lake Golf Club, which Warner was instrumental in establishing (along with Fred S. James), include information on financing, management and development of the grounds. Warner also designed, patented and arranged for the manufacture of an anchor, and some correspondence with various retailers and manufacturers of the new design is included.

About the Warners' COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES there is documentation about area roads, a new post office site, the creation of the Community Protestant Church, and the purchase of instruments and scores for the town band. The property tax correspondence concerns not only Warner's own taxes but the desire for reduced assessment of many summer residents.

Use Restrictions

Copyright is retained by Florence E. Miller until January 1, 2050.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Florence E. (Warner) Miller, St. Germain, Wis., 1992. Accession Number: M92-197

Processing Information

Processed by Kathy Borkowski (1995 intern) and Carolyn Mattern.

Northland Mss R	Series: Resort Records
	Subseries: Business Records
Box   1 Folder   1-2	Advertising of the resort, 1913-1933
Box   1 Folder   3-4	Advertising received, circa 1910-1930
Box   1 Folder   5-8	Application, 1913-1932
	Bank correspondence
Box   1 Folder   9-11	1913-1918
Box   2 Folder   1-8	1919-1933
Box   2 Folder   9	Boats, 1913-1922
Box   2 Folder   10	Bosaki (cigars), 1916-1926
Box   2 Folder   11	Dorwin (dry goods), 1913-1927
Box   2 Folder   12	Fish (for stocking), 1913-1933
Box   2 Folder   13-16	General supplies, 1910-1943
Box   3 Folder   1	Legal correspondence, 1913-1921
Box   3 Folder   2	Livery, 1913-1920
Box   3 Folder   3	Mail orders, 1913-1930
Box   3 Folder   4	Medical/accidents, 1913-1926
Box   3 Folder   5	Menefee (printing), 1913-1922
Box   3 Folder   6	Minnows, 1913-1926
Box   3 Folder   7	O'Leary Hardware, 1913-1920
Box   3 Folder   8-9	Railroad correspondence, 1913-1931
Box   3 Folder   10	Regulations, 1913-1927
Box   3 Folder   11	Strong and Manley Hardware, 1916-1923
Box   3 Folder   12-13	Truck and automobile, 1913-1961
	Utilities
Box   3 Folder   14-15	Electricity, 1913-1929
Box   4 Folder   1	Gasoline, 1913-1933
Box   4 Folder   2	Telephone, 1912-1930
Box   4 Folder   3	Von Lengerke & Antoine (sporting goods), 1913-1928
	Subseries: Correspondence	⇧
Box   4 Folder   4	Camp (Wisconsin Highlands Camp for Boys), 1914-1923
Box   4 Folder   5	Family correspondence, circa 1900-1930
Box   4 Folder   6	Harding, A.J. and J.C., 1910-1923
Box   4 Folder   7	Harding, John T., 1917-1949
Box   4 Folder   8	Hook, Staley and Lang (patent attorneys), 1913-1933
Box   4 Folder   9	Miscellaneous, 1913-1933
Box   5 Folder   1	Peterson, Leonard and Florence, 1914-1933
Box   5 Folder   2	Simpson, Roberts, and Blatner, 1915-1929
Box   5 Folder   3	Telegrams, 1913-1927
Box   5 Folder   4	World War I, 1917-1918
Box   5 Folder   5	World War II, 1942-1945
	Subseries: Guest Records	⇧
Box   5 Folder   6	Billing, 1913-1933
Box   5 Folder   7-10	Requests, 1906-1933
	Reservations
Box   5 Folder   11-13	1908-1919
Box   6 Folder   1-4	1920-1933
	Subseries: Photographs	⇧
PH Northland Mss R	Original prints, circa 1900-1940
Northland Mss R Box   6 Folder   4a	Xerox copies
	Subseries: Home Movies, circa 1930-1970 Note: Many smaller films have been spliced together, not necessarily in any order.	⇧
AC 650	Film no. 1, 1970s? Scope and Content Note: [color] Fall foliage; dog sled race preparation, snowmobiles; [black and white, 1941?] tapping maple syrup, Ojibwa woman gathering sap buckets; family at shack/cabin; mining [Iron Mike?]; water skiing; 2 men and 2 women holding up fish; deer in woods; cranberry picking; Norhtern Highland State Forest, Wisconsin Conservation Department.
AC 651	Film no. 2, 1930s, 1945?, 1962? Scope and Content Note: Fall foliage along lane; catching fish; water's edge in fall [shot from boat in lake]; picnic with 2 men and a boy; 2 men and canoe, fish on pole and stringers; 2 skunks [pet?] with man; 3 men with fish; boys and fish; [1939?] Plum Lake Station train arrival; guests [approximately 20] in boat leaving dock; [1962?] Plum Lake Station, arrival of Hiawatha train; [1945?] girl and kitten; fishing in row boat; fish hatchery, men collection fish spawn.
AC 652	Film no. 3, 1930s and 1940s Scope and Content Note: Deer in woods; fall color; lake from boat; [1939?] spring, golf course; spearfishing; [1939?] winter, spearfishing - man and boy; boy in boat; man fishing in boat; snowshoeing group; boys hunting; snow rabbit; ice cutting with machine on lake; deer in winter.
AC 653	Film no. 4, 1941? Scope and Content Note: [color] Copper Falls, Brownstone Falls; paved road in fall; old Finnish cabins, river, abandoned church; New York City trip; cabin in winter; trapping beaver, muskrat; spearfishing; fishing from dock.
AC 654	Film no. 5, 1937? Scope and Content Note: [black and white] Deer; dog and cat playing; people with caught fish; boat race at Minoqua; sign - “Herbert and Bert's Resort” with guests and caught fish; boy painting boat, boy with dead pigeons?; lake steamer; plane taking off and landing; boy and stretched beaver hide; trapping beaver; beaver hides.
AC 655	Film no. 6, 1930s-1950s Scope and Content Note: [1939?, black and white] Man with bear cub, bear cubs climbing tree; [1937?] fishing with large net, minnows? caught; boy smoking pipe; setting up camp; fishing; bob cat, trapped and dead; setting traps; [1942?, color] man and fish; Scott? at 1 year; [1953?] building dam.
AC 656	Film no. 7 Scope and Content Note: Lake, ice harvesting, loading ice onto truck; sick or injured deer; bird and snow; deep snow, motorized sled into town, Eagle River Stadium in snow; motorized sled - ?Elmer and Jack Rassmussen; airplane taking off and landing in snow; motorized sled pulling skier in snow; snowplow clearing roads; film shot from snowplow; man on snowshoes pulling dead beaver from trap in water, collecting other beavers in traps; women and children on snowshoes; harvesting ice, Carl and Oscar?, elk and deer in winter; group of people in winter; maple syrup tapping, on man and two women by house; fishing with large net, collecting fish eggs, fish hatchery.
AC 657	Film no. 8, 1938 Scope and Content Note: [black and white] Ice hockey; deer; man and fish, collecting fish eggs, releasing fish, killing a turtle; hunters with dead deer at shack; ice fishing; airplane taking off in snow; ski jump - “Gateway”; harvesting ice, George?; driving piling in winter; bear cub; summer - man and fish, second man and fish; 2 men relaxing on porch; partridge; raccoon and car; 2 men and fish; people fishing at dock.
AC 658	Film no. 9 Scope and Content Note: [black and white] Pumping water from stream into tank on fish hatchery truck; bear cub in tree; spearfishing in stream [carp?], group including boy and girl fishing; fish hatchery; woodchuck or badger?; fishing and displaying catch; scenes by cabins, preparing for canoeing (men and women); motorboating, several women, man boy, and dog; canoeing, four women; dog; stream; porcupine; crane; man with stringer of fish; man on bluff; men and fish, another man fishing; deer, boy feeding deer corn flakes; minnows in buckets in boat for distribution in lake; baby goats and boy; winter - ice fishing, several men; hunter on snowshoes, and dead rabbit; beaver traps.
AC 659	Film no. 10, 1936? Scope and Content Note: Two women and boys at campfire and cabin; two men catching fish for fish hatchery, “milking” eggs from fish; boy spearfishing; deer and river; men at hatchery; logging, several men, loading logs on truck; beaver in trap, two beavers and one man; fish hatchery building; logging train; two men walking along tracks; logging camp, interior of camp building; man playing “tunes” on large horn and lantern glass; shot from aboard train; antler missing, sick deer; man with dead otter; outdoor winter scenes outside of cabin; man and boy with dead otter, rabbits.
AC 660	Film no. 11, 1930s-1950s? Scope and Content Note: [1939? or 1959?, color] Fall colors; logging museum; man dragging dead deer, two men outside cabin with dead deer; winter - man with dead deer; snowshoeing with dog through deep snow, dog in snow; summer - men and children on dock with fish; [1941] girls by car, Plum Lake Station; dock and group of people; man and fish, woman and boy and fish; [1940] car under snow; child and sled and small dog, two men; summer - Lake of the Clouds, women walking path, view of river from bluff; two women and boy; fall colors by stream; two men on trail; deer; man and four women and boy hold up pheasants; tractor in fall corn field; fall scenery at Rice Lake and Razorback Lake; Rock Lake, Northern State Forest.
AC 661	Film no. 12, 1930s-1950s Scope and Content Note: [1945?, color] Coyote in trap, timberwolf in trap; [black and white] winter - trapping, checking trap; dead fawn; summer - three women and boy on picnic, woman and boy drinking orange pop; man and boy in rowboat; two women in canoe; winter - boy shoveling; snowshoe race, snow softball with snowshoes; skiing; [1937?, 1945?] girl with fish, man with fish; waterskiing; winter - deer; [1954?, black and white] deer, woman and boy with dog; men with dead otter, beavers, at cabin; man and swing; man with two fish; summer - resort cook in front of cabin; woman with flowers; Forest Home Resort office; winter - deer; three men with dead deer; sawing logs; summer - adults and children swimming off dock; people and dog by car; man and fish; tennis; fishing.
AC 662	Film no. 13, 1930s? Scope and Content Note: [1937?, black and white] Winter - tobaganning; ice skating; motorized sled on road past Eliason's Grocery; stream; deer; beaver in trap; view from motorized sled, County Truck B, Carl Eliason and Co. Building; cross-country skiers, men and women, slalom skiing, poster “It's Ski Time” Musky Inn Sayner; dead fish at water's edge; skiing and snowshoeing, men and women; motorized sled; hockey.
AC 663	Film no. 14, 1930s-1960s? Scope and Content Note: [1939?, black and white] Picnic, women and children; man at fish hatchery, men emptying cans of fish into lake; boy with dead otter; weasel in trap; boat named “Sonny,” boy with dead otters, skins drying on racks; [1955?] women at Lake Michigan?; winter - deer; dog attacking fox in trap; [1960?, 1940?, color] large moth; [1955?, black and white] snowy road; deer; fall - woman and dog walking; [color, undated] bulldozer clearing land; grinding wood into mulch; winter - ice covered lake.
AC 664	Film no. 15, 1940s-1950s? Scope and Content Note: [1946?, color] Ice fishing; fall colors; [1953?] Southwest? Family vacation?; dog, winter and cabins; summer - boy pedaling “kid car”; babies; boy on scooter and “kid car”; [1944?, black and white] frozen lake, men and dog hunting; bulldozer and road; firetower; ocean and pelicans, dolphins; winter - downhill skiing; ice fishing shanty; [1943, color] kids with taffy suckers; men and beaver trap.
	Series: Other Business Records	⇧
Box   6 Folder   5	Anchor patent, 1913-1924
Box   6 Folder   6	Evinrude Motors, 1916-1933
Box   6 Folder   7-8	Farm, 1912-1935
Box   6 Folder   9-10	Fur trapping, 1916-1983
	Justice of the peace
Box   6 Folder   11	Herbert Warner, 1914-1949
Box   6 Folder   12	Bert Warner, 1952-1955
Box   7 Folder   1-3	Lake and River Logging Company Correspondence, 1906-1924 Note: Also see photographs, circa 1910-1920.
Box   7 Folder   4-5	Land transactions, 1911-1964
Box   7 Folder   6-7	Plum Lake Golf Course, 1913-1928
Box   7 Folder   8-9	Surveying, 1916-1949
	Series: Community Activities	⇧
Box   8 Folder   1	Elections, 1910-1918
Box   8 Folder   2	Post office, 1916-1933
Box   8 Folder   3	Protestant Community Church, 1915-1926
Box   8 Folder   4	Road building, 1913-1922
Box   8 Folder   5	School board, 1911-1922
	Taxes
Box   8 Folder   6	Property, 1913-1916
Box   8 Folder   7	Town budget, 1904-1980
Box   8 Folder   8	Town band, 1926