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Mary Kane
reflects on the early days of Oconomowoc through postcards.
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Sometimes you can go home again - at
least, that is, if your home is Oconomowoc.
Writer Mary Kane is an Oconomowoc
native whose new book depicting the city’s early days is part of
Arcadia Publishing’s Postcard History Series. The series is an
intriguing format wherein a city, town or region is explored through
hundreds of vintage postcard images, accompanied by well-informed
commentary.
Kane brings exceptional experience to
her role as virtual tour guide. She began her journalistic career as
three-time yearbook editor while still at Oconomowoc High School, then
spent a decade working full-time for weekly and daily newspapers after
graduating from Ripon College in 1974.
"A book is something I think many
journalists over time want to do," Kane says. "In my case,
it was a happy convergence of influences that brought this project
about. While I was living in Williams Bay, I wrote a freelance article
about two women who did a book about Lake Geneva for this same series
from Arcadia. Then, within a matter of six months, I had moved back to
my hometown of Oconomowoc."
That’s when it occurred to Kane that
Oconomowoc would lend itself well to the Arcadia format. A few
inquires led her to Rae Kinn, who generously offered her extensive
postcard collection for the project. She was able to finish the book,
the royalties for which Kane is donating to the Oconomowoc Area
Foundation, in about six months.
"Oconomowoc" tells a
picturesque tale of millionaires’ mansions (beer barons and
department store tycoons built 50-room "cottages" on the
lakeshore) and brushes with history (both President Garfield’s
assassin and Prince Henry of Prussia once stayed at Draper Hall).
Of many discoveries made while
assembling the book, unearthing one treasure in particular had Kane
"tickled pink." A picture on page 102 shows victorious
soldiers marching down Wisconsin Avenue following World War I. In the
first full row, farthest to the right, proudly strides Kane’s
father.
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