The Kohn Collection consists of four reels of 16 mm silent film made by LaVern A. Kohn during the 1930s. Most of the footage is black and white. Part of one segment is in color (reel 1, segment 3). The order of segments on each reel are in Kohn's original order but segment names and descriptions, segment numbering, and reel numbers were assigned by Archives Division staff.
The subject matter varies from reel to reel. There are scenes from Horicon Marsh, the Century of Progress International Exhibition in Chicago 1933-34, and local parades in Reeseville and Juneau. There is also a short sequence showing a confrontation during a 1933 milk strike. Reels two and three are road crews working in Dodge County, Wis. And include footage of snow plows clearing snow from county roads and the processes used in building rural and village roads.
The quality of the photography varies from segment to segment. There is excellent quality footage of a ski tournament (reel 1, segment 1), snow plowing (all of reel 2) and road construction (all of reel 3). A section of color film in the Horicon marsh sequence (reel 1, segment 3) has faded.
Reel 1 is divided into four segments. Footage on this reel shows the types of recreational activities available to people living in Wisconsin during the 1930s. This is especially true of Segment 1, a ski tournament in Oconomowoc, Wis., which is a popular winter activity in the state. This segment includes sequences of the tournament filmed from the top of a wooden ski ramp and from a distant vantage point showing jumpers making complete runs. Segment 2 is a car race which includes footage of the race, the race track and spectators watching the race as well as the race cars at the start of the race lined up in stalls like horses. Segment 3 documents events surrounding a duck release at Horicon Marsh in southeastern Wisconsin. In addition to the ducks being released in the marsh, there is footage of other events surrounding the duck release including speeches and a parade. The parade footage includes people in WWI uniforms, bands, and the Milwaukee area Boy Scouts as well as a truck loaded with ducks in cages. The parade and duck release could possibly have taken place in 1934 when a dam near the Horicon Marsh was closed and water levels in the area were held at a prescribed level to support wildlife. Segment 4 is footage from the Century of Progress International Exhibition held in Chicago, Ill., 1933-1934, and includes views of the Briggs Manufacturing Company exhibit, "The Car of the Future", the Exhibition grounds including the Ford Hall exhibit building, and an ice skating exhibition on a tiny rink at an outdoor restaurant.
Reel 2 includes footage of various types of snow removal equipment and procedures used in clearing rural and village roads in Dodge County during the 1930s. A number of the trucks are from the Dodge County Highway Commission. Several methods of clearing snow are shown including using two trucks in tandem to clear large drifts and using a truck with a snow blower attached to the front. People are shown standing in the cleared roads by drifts that appear to be 10 to 12 feet high. This reel may have been made in conjunction with Kohn's work with the state road schools.
Reel 3 contains footage of road construction in both rural and urban settings in Dodge County including Delton and Iron Ridge, Wis. This is excellent footage which provides an overview of processes used in road construction during the 1930s. The entire construction process is shown from the survey work to painting the lines down the middle of a completed stretch of road. The road bed is surveyed, graded, gravel and tar are spread, and steam rollers smooth the road. The materials are unloaded from a train and transported to the construction site. Dynamite is used to divert a stream. There are scenes showing the use of both heavy equipment and hand labor to do the work. Road building and repair are shown on specific streets in Iron Ridge. One scene in Iron Ridge also shows a young woman in mechanic's coveralls outside a gas station. This reel may have been made in conjunction with Kohn's work with the state road schools.
Reel 4 is divided into five segments. The first four segments show recreational activities common in Wisconsin in the 1930s. Segment 1 is footage of a parade in Reeseville, Wis., in 1931. A banner over the street reads "Welcome Homecomers, Aug. 15 and 16." The parade includes horse-drawn vehicles (carriages, a hearse, a delivery wagon, a fire wagon, and a reaper) as well as automobiles as "floats" depicting, among other things, a blacksmith shop and a log cabin. The entire town seems to be involved in the parade including children on their bikes and local businesses sponsoring floats. Segment 2 is of a baseball game. Included are shots of the game, the fans, and an airplane flying overhead. Segment 3 includes footage of waterfalls, rapids, and shoreline as well as children playing. Most of this segment appears to be of vacations and family. However, there is one short sequence of open pit mining and the end of this segment. Segment 4 is footage of a parade in Juneau, Wis., which shows vehicles advertising businesses from Juneau, Mayville, and Beaver Dam. The parade includes both horse-drawn and motorized vehicles. One noteworthy parade entry is a truck carrying "The Junior Boxing Club." Both the Reeseville and the Juneau segments are from a period when horse-drawn vehicles and motorized modes of transportation still coexist - when the blacksmith and log cabin, the horse-drawn hearse and fire wagon were beginning to be seen as quaint reminders of the past. The last segment of the reel, segment 5, is footage from the 1933 milk strike showing a dramatic, but non-violent, confrontation between farmers and men probably deputized by the local sheriff. Judging from the cold weather clothing worn and the fact that there is no snow on the ground, this footage may have been from the October strike which was the third and last of the 1933 rural milk strikes.
