Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Book gives rare glimpse of wilderness travel in the early 1900s in the Northwoods

They called themselves “the Gang,” and in the early 1900s the group of men and boys would leave town for wilderness canoe trips and an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Phillips_Border coverThey called themselves “the Gang,” and in the early 1900s the group of men and boys would leave town for wilderness canoe trips and an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life.

They were led by Howard Greene, a wealthy Milwaukee businessman who was looking for a diversion from work and found it by paddling down wild rivers, fending off mosquitoes and sleeping in tents that provided scant protection from the rain. 

Greene kept meticulous journals of the weeks-long journeys. And more significantly, he carted along a bulky 8-by-10 camera and tripod to photograph camp life, idyllic lakes, strings of fish, Indian villages and lumber camps at the dawn of a new century.

Keep reading.

Published in: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By: Lee Bergquist