Remarkable Osceoleans
Home Town Legend- Elmer Swenson
Elmer Swenson's passion for viticulture has spanned most of a century. As a five-year-old in 1919, he picked up his grandfather's book on hybridizing wild American grapes, and it piqued a lifelong interest. Throughout his life, Elmer worked on a 120-acre farm near Osceola, Wisconsin which he had inherited from his maternal grandfather Larson, an immigrant from Sweden. Swenson began breeding grapes in 1943, starting a program of intercrossing French hybrid grapes with selections of the local wild species.
This self-taught grape breeder along with the University of Minnesota has created some of the Upper Midwest's finest grapes. Such varieties as Swenson Red, Edelweiss and St. Croix not only stand up to brutal Upper Midwest temperatures, but also to wine connoisseurs across the world. Swenson's grapes can be found in most wineries across the Midwest.
Elmer Swenson's passion for viticulture has spanned most of a century. As a five-year-old in 1919, he picked up his grandfather's book on hybridizing wild American grapes, and it piqued a lifelong interest. Throughout his life, Elmer worked on a 120-acre farm near Osceola, Wisconsin which he had inherited from his maternal grandfather Larson, an immigrant from Sweden. Swenson began breeding grapes in 1943, starting a program of intercrossing French hybrid grapes with selections of the local wild species.
This self-taught grape breeder along with the University of Minnesota has created some of the Upper Midwest's finest grapes. Such varieties as Swenson Red, Edelweiss and St. Croix not only stand up to brutal Upper Midwest temperatures, but also to wine connoisseurs across the world. Swenson's grapes can be found in most wineries across the Midwest.
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Gustav Stickley- Father of Craftsman Furniture
American furniture manufacturer, design leader, publisher and the chief proselytizer for the American Craftsman style., One of eleven children of German émigrés Leopold and Barbara Schlager Stoeckel, Gustav Stickley was born Gustavus Stoeckel on March 9, 1858, in Osceola, Wisconsin. The eldest surviving son, Stickley experienced the rigors of life upon a small Midwestern farm, forgoing his formal education in 1870 to continue work in his father’s field of stonemasonry and help support his struggling family. Stickley moved to Pennsylvania and learned furniture making. He published the first issue of The Craftsman magazine, an important vehicle for promoting Arts and Crafts philosophy as well as the products of his factory within the context of articles, reviews, and advertisements for a range of products of interest to the homemaker. Those ideals – simplicity, honesty, truth – were reflected in his trademark, which includes the Flemish phrase Als Ik Kan inside a joiner's compass. The phrase is generally translated 'to the best of my ability. The successor firm to the L. & J.G. Stickley Company continues to operate in Manlius, New York, producing a variety of styles, including many original Gustav Stickley Arts and Crafts designs. Examples of the Stickley furniture can be found in the Reading Room at the new Discovery Center in Osceola, WI.
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Horst M. Rechelbacher- philanthropist, health and nature advocate, author and entrepreneur.
Rechelbacher was the founder and chairman of the Horst M. Rechelbacher Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to social and environmental preservation projects that operate on a grass-roots level. His sustainable ideals and values are perpetuated through profit and non-profit organizations. He also owned HMR Galleries, an art and antiques business, and was involved in producing films including the 1999 film Hidden Medicine.
As the founder of the cosmetics company Aveda and Intelligent Nutrients, his interest in developing products without toxic chemicals launched the market for natural cosmetics in the United States. Rechelbacher maintained residences in Minneapolis, MN and New York City as well as a private estate and a company retreat in Osceola, WI located along the St. Croix River. The property served as an organic farm cultivating flowers and plants. Horst’s efforts to discover and highlight the health benefits found in nature will continue on in the HMR Pollinator Project in Osceola. This three-part project with the University of Minnesota Bee Lab will create an expansive pollinator habitat on the Horst M. Rechelbacher farm. The Osceola sanctuary will include organic pollinator gardens and sustainable farm plots and extensive acreage of habitat for wild bees, butterflies, birds and bats.
Rechelbacher was the founder and chairman of the Horst M. Rechelbacher Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to social and environmental preservation projects that operate on a grass-roots level. His sustainable ideals and values are perpetuated through profit and non-profit organizations. He also owned HMR Galleries, an art and antiques business, and was involved in producing films including the 1999 film Hidden Medicine.
As the founder of the cosmetics company Aveda and Intelligent Nutrients, his interest in developing products without toxic chemicals launched the market for natural cosmetics in the United States. Rechelbacher maintained residences in Minneapolis, MN and New York City as well as a private estate and a company retreat in Osceola, WI located along the St. Croix River. The property served as an organic farm cultivating flowers and plants. Horst’s efforts to discover and highlight the health benefits found in nature will continue on in the HMR Pollinator Project in Osceola. This three-part project with the University of Minnesota Bee Lab will create an expansive pollinator habitat on the Horst M. Rechelbacher farm. The Osceola sanctuary will include organic pollinator gardens and sustainable farm plots and extensive acreage of habitat for wild bees, butterflies, birds and bats.
