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Unique Sign to Mark ^Location of Spirit Bock on Menominee ReserveAgain the Great White Father has listened to the appeal of the red man, and the kind spirit of the Menominees slumbers in peace.Which is another way of saying' that the state highway commission of Wisconsin has just finished the painting of the most unusual sign ever designed and built in the state sign shop.Painted in brilliant colors, the sign will mark the location of the Spirit Rock of the Menominee Indian tribe on state highway 55 north of Ke-shena. Around this rock, the Menominee reservation Indians have woven a colorful legend, and this story will be told on the lower half of the new sign.According to the legend, the Me-nominees believe that the crumbling of this large rock foretells the passing cf their race, and they believe that upon the complete disintegration of the rock their race will become extinct. For untold years, the rock has been wearing away, but it still stands more than 18 inches high above the ground.To appease the kind spirit of the Menominees, and keep the evil spirit from wearing the rock away, the Indians for years brought gifts to this rock and left them there, that the friendly spirit might slumber in peace. White people for years have carried 011 the tradition themselves, and each summer finds a goodly supply of tobacco and other articles left upon the rock.More than eight years ago, the state highway commission erected its first sign near the rock, calling attention to the interesting spot. These signs have had to be replaced at regular intervals because hundreds of tourists every summer wrote their names and addresses on the sign boards. Legend doesn't say that any good fortune will befall anyone who writes names and addresses on these sign boards. In fact, the Menominees feared the kind spirit anight resent such disfigurements of the signs.Tribesmen protested to Traffic Engineer R J. O’Meara that the old ' signs might anger the spirit, so the ! state highway commission this year 1 will erect the new sign. The old sign - had over 1,000 names and addresses ► scribbled on it, besides several caus-l tic comments about “fools’ names and ) fools' faces are always seen in pub-l lie places.”• I Chester Kalfsbeek, superintendent {of the highway commission’s signIndian MarkerMost unusual of the 20,000 signs ’the State Highway commission-makes each year is this one, re-i cently completed at Madison. It is part of a new sign that will be ; erected at Spirit Rock on STH 55 jin the Menominee Indian reserva-i tion. Most state highway signs call, for simple lettering, but this one) trequired several hours of art work.jshop, painted the upper part of thenew sign In his spare time at his 1 home. The second half cf the sign, lt;bearing the Spirit Rock legend, was , painted in the state sign shop at Madison. It will be erected in the 1 spring by W. C. McLendon, Green , Bay, division traffic engineer for the state highway commission.To forestall the autographic efforts of tourists, the state will place the new sign high on top of a post. The background for the Indian head sign is in deep colors to discourage any written additions to the signboard. State highway guard posts surround the Spirit Rock so that souvenir hunters will not hasten the rock's disappearance.The site is along the old Military road that once linked Fort Howard, near Green Bay, with Fort Wilkens, near Marquette, Mich. The road was authorised by President Abraham Lincoln, and built in 1864 to 1871. Builders of the highway were Squire Taylor, James Winslow and Jackson Hardy, according to another state highway commission sign near Spirit Rock.Along this road moved early day soldiers, trappers, settlers and travelers, Annually the Indians gathered at Spirit Rock to bring their gifts to the kind spirit. Since 1924 the road has been part of the state highway system, state trunk highway 55.
Newspaper Details
Shawano County Journal
Shawano, Wisconsin, US
Thu, Mar 02, 1939
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Jeremiah M.
NA, NA 04 Jan 2021
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