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Water is the source of life, and it also has the power to build communities. "The Power of Water" explores specific instances of how water has affected people and the places they live.
Potawatomi elder Billy Daniels opens the program at Otter Spring in Forest County by saying that rivers and streams are Mother Earth's life-sustaining veins.
The program visits the Herrling Saw Mill at Wade
House, a Wisconsin Historical Society Historic Site. The sawmill,
constructed in the mid-1800s in Greenbush, has been rebuilt using the
materials and many of the tools of the 19th century. Viewers see the
reconstruction over time and how pieces of the original turbine that
powered the mill provided a blueprint for the replacement. The mill,
now open to visitors, provides a link to the early industrial age.
From the late 1800s into the early 1900s, "taking the waters" from fresh
springs was believed to improve health. And no waters were as prized
as those of the Waukesha springs. Waukesha welcomed some 25 trainloads
of visitors each day in the springs' heyday, and the king of England
insisted on having a bottle of Waukesha water on the table for every
meal. Viewers see many of the springs and the original improvements
made to bring them to an eager public. The Waukesha County Historical
Society has an impressive collection of springs memorabilia. Debi Hankel
of the Wisconsin Historical Society shows Wisconsin Stories around the
springs and the exhibits.
The Beckman Mill in Rock County is a case study in local action. Area people have worked to restore the historic gristmill and the dam that fed it. Given the modern era's awareness of the environment, that also required building a fish passageway, or fish ladder, so small species swimming upstream life would not be adversely affected. The project, completed primarily with volunteer labor and materials, has become a major source of pride for the community. "The Power of Water" visits over the course of the passageway's construction. Robert Fosler of the Friends of Beckman Mill shows off with pride the fish passageway construction.
Wisconsin Stories also visits the banks of the Milwaukee River in West
Bend, where dam removal has restored the waterway. While some people
may have feared the loss of recreational opportunities from the lake
the dam created, the reborn river has become a source of activity and
civic pride, says Mary Ellen Vollbrecht, section chief of the state
Department of Natural Resources Rivers and Habitat Protection.
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