The Neville Blog

Moving from New York to Green Bay in 1959 was a bit of a culture shock for Emlen Tunnell. Housing, as always, was hard to find. Tunnell ended up staying at the Hotel Northland in downtown Green Bay during his two seasons with the Packers. It is rumored that Coach Lombardi even paid for the room and board.  Coach Lombardi brought the New York Giants veteran player with him when he took the job in Green Bay. Not only was Tunnell a seasoned defensive veteran, he was also a well-respected leader on and off the field. He assisted Coach Lombardi in changing the mindset of the team and led the defense. He also aided in bringing other talented black players to Green Bay.  “Em was a very bright guy who helped me tremendously. He had been around so long, one of the first black stars in the league, and for me just to have the opportunity to hang around him, I was awed by that.”- Willie Wood Tunnell played for Green Bay for three seasons after which he became an NFL scout. In 1967, t...

Imagine moving to a new city for a dream job. The first thing you do is look for a place to live. What do you do if you can’t find one? This is what African American players faced when they moved to Green Bay. Jim Crow laws and racism were most evident in the South, but racism was also present in the North. For example, a De Pere development barred African Americans and Jewish people from living there in 1948.[1] This was only two years before Bob Mann (the first African American player to start for the team) joined the Packers.   With few places willing to rent to them, African American players were forced to live in small cabins, the YMCA, and hotels. Some even stayed in a room at an extermination business owned by former player Tony Canadeo’s brother.[2] When Herb Adderley came to Green Bay, he lived in the “little shack down by the tracks.” In 1961, Adderley, Davis, and Pitts shared a one-bedroom place on Velp Avenue.[3]   African Americans living in Green Bay face...

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner we wanted to share a love letter from Fort Howard written in 1826. Unfortunately, this letter isn’t all hugs and kisses. Lt. Loring’s “dear Caroline” never received this letter that was given to John Lawe for delivery. Caroline, the 16-year-old daughter of the fort’s Commanding Officer, Major William Whistler, was being courted not only by Lt. Loring, but also Lt. Bloodgood.   In the end, Caroline never received the letter and married Lt. Bloodgood.   This water stained letter in our collection is all that remains of Lt. Loring and Caroline Whistler's short-lived romance.     Read the letter for yourself below!   Fort Howard, Sunday morning My dear Caroline,    A short time before I left this place I mentioned to you that Mr. Bloodgood had said to me that he was desirous of speaking to me on a particular subject & that I thought it was concerning you and myself this turned out to be the fa...

During my internship at the Neville, I had the opportunity to work on Delay of Game: Experiences of African American Football Players in Titletown (2018-2019) . When first told about the exhibition, I was thrilled to hear of the museum’s plans to explore African American history. But, because Delay of Game centers on the Packers, I worried football would overshadow the stories off the field. Thankfully, I was wrong. Not only did I learn more about the Packers, but also more about the community I grew up in. I found that the African American history of the Packers, and Brown County, reflected wider social histories. Packers First African American Player Bob Mann was the first African American Packer to play a regular season game. Recruited in 1950, Mann joined the team just four years after Kenny Washington signed to the Rams in 1946 (One year before Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers). Washington was the first black NFL player since 1933. Bob Mann was the first African A...

In the Generations Gallery, you can get lost in all the stories and artifacts between the mastodon and the 1908 Holsman Car. But the stories untold in the exhibit are even more remarkable. There is one storied blue military coat tucked in a drawer in the Exposed Collections wall. The story of the coat owner's fate is captivating.   Painting of Fort Howard from 1889 by B. Ostertac 189 years ago, Lt. Amos Foster was shot and killed by one of his own soldiers, Private Patrick Doyle.    In February 1832, Doyle was detained in the guardhouse for being drunk and disorderly.    Alcohol consumption was a real problem at Fort Howard, especially since part of the soldier’s rations included two gills of whiskey or rum (the equivalent of four shots today).    After a few days, on February 7, 1832, Doyle persuaded a guard to escort him to Lt. Foster’s quarters to talk to him.   After harsh words and a scuffle, Doyle stole the guard’s musket and killed Lt. Fo...

Henry Sink was born into slavery in 1830 in Batesville, Alabama. He escaped slavery through unknown means, and by 1864 he and his young family had made their way to Northeast Wisconsin. Sink served in the Union Army during the Civil War. It was the only time he spent away from Wisconsin, with the exception of some time spent in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Image Courtesy of the De Pere Historical Society Though African Americans in nineteenth century Wisconsin faced racism, they persevered and made lives for themselves here. Henry worked in Fond du Lac, Green Bay, and De Pere as a factory fireman, day laborer, and sailor. He learned to read and write here. Henry and his wife were recognized by the Brown County Democrat as “leaders of De Pere’s colored population.” He was a member of the De Pere post of the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization for Union veterans. The Civil War abolished slavery, but discrimination and racism continued. In 1900, Henry Sink purchased a ho...