The Neville Blog

January 28 th is National LEGO Day, and the Neville Public Museum is the proud home of the LEGO Lambeau Field display. In 2013, 15 students from the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) built a scale model of Lambeau Field using over 130,000 LEGO pieces. This opportunity was given to the students by their professor, who claimed that the project was an effective way to practice skills needed for engineering, such as design, scheduling, and estimating. The students took a trip to Lambeau Field to get photos of the stadium, and, using their pictures and Google Earth, they created the blueprint. Even though most of it was built in Milwaukee, it was transported to Green Bay to be finished at the real Lambeau Field in hopes of being displayed at an event on August 3 rd , 2013. Alas, it was not finished by then, but patrons were able to watch the work in progress and see a near-complete exhibit. The replica was finished two days later.  After it was displayed at Lambeau Field, the mode...

  Fur Trade: The Beaver Pelt During the fur trade, the beaver pelt was the most desired commodity—especially in the Midwest. Not only are they incredibly soft, but they are also warm and waterproof. Fur traders often travelled by water, so to survive brutal Wisconsin winters during their voyages, they looked to the beaver.                 Beavers were such a central point to the fur trade that, when they began to be overhunted, the fur trade began to collapse. Other animals were just as accessible as the beaver, but they were not as desirable. Deer and muskrat pelts were just as abundant as beavers once were; however, they did not have the same insulation or waterproof quality. Thus, the demand was much lower for these furs, causing the fur trade to collapse.                 At this time, Green Bay heavily relied on the fur trad...

Why is there a ledge on the inside of this cup? It's a mustache guard! Mustaches became trendy in the 19th century, which lead to extensive grooming and mustache care. Men used mustache wax, mustache brushes, mustache combs, and mustache scissors to shape and maintain their preferred style. Some even dyed their mustaches. All of these products did not fare well when mixed with the heat and steam from tea, coffee, or other hot beverages. Mustache wax would melt. Dye would drip. Tea and coffee could stain facial hair. Mustaches would be complete disasters. Mustache guards like this one protected a man's mustache, while allowing him to still enjoy tea time. This earthenware mustache cup was donated in 1937 by Mrs. Sophia Thelen. It is one of several mustache cups in the Neville's collection. The mustache cup was invented in the mid 19th century by English potter Harvey Adams. It soon spread across Europe and over to North America. Mustache cups were originally sold individuall...

This diary belonged to Adam Martin, who wrote in it from 1770 to 1780. Adam Martin was born on August 27th, 1739 in Sturbridge, Worcester, Massachusetts Bay Colony, to Aaron Martin and Sarah Newell. Adam married Abigail Cheney in Sturbridge on December 19th, 1762. Adam and Abigail had five daughters and at least one son. Adam joined the military in 1775 and was a captain in the Revolutionary War, first in Col. Ebenezer Learned’s 14th Massachusetts Bay Provincial Regiment in 1775, then in Col. Timothy Bigelow’s 15th Massachusetts Regiment, Continental Army in 1777. Adam and Abigail's son Walter became a brigadier general in the War of 1812, established the village of Martinsburg in New York in 1803, and served in the New York State Senate. Walter's son Morgan Lewis Martin is someone Green Bay history buffs are more familiar with. In addition to building Hazelwood Historic House and serving as a Brown County judge, Morgan L. Martin was a delegate to the U.S. House of Representat...

Ada Deer was born in Keshena, WI as a member of the Menominee Tribe in 1935. She lived most of her first eighteen years of life on the Menominee Indian Reservation in a cabin without electricity or running water.  Her mother instilled in her a drive and passion to be a strong advocate for Native American rights. Ada was the first Menominee to earn an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin and the first Native American to receive a Master of Social Work degree from Columbia University. She went on to become the first woman chair for the Menominee Tribe in Wisconsin. She played a major role in the Menominee Restoration Act of 1972, which officially returned the Menominee Reservation to federally recognized status. She acted as a spokesperson in Washington, D.C. and lobbied to return federal recognition and protection to the tribe. She was then elected chairperson of the Menominee Restoration committee and had the task of making the transition back to reservation st...

Richard Nixon ran for President in 1968 with the promise that he would end the Vietnam War. However, on April 30, 1970, President Nixon announced on live television and radio that the United States would be invading Cambodia. This led to many protests on campuses across the country. Protestors at Kent State University in Ohio launched a demonstration on Friday, May 1st, including various types of rallies and speeches. That evening, socializing in downtown Kent quickly escalated into a violent confrontation between protestors and police, which included building bonfires, stopping cars, throwing bottles at police cars, and breaking store windows. This prompted the Mayor of Kent, Leroy Satrom, to contact the governor of Ohio requesting assistance from the Ohio National Guard. On May 3rd, approximately 1,000 National Guard soldiers were sent to the Kent State campus and tensions remained high.   During an incident on May 4, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire into...

One of the things we are excited about for the Generations Gallery going forward is that the space allows us to make changes and rotate artifacts.  The exhibit opened in August 2020, and we are excited to share we opened our first new rotation last week!  The first rendition of the Art section featured Nature in Art.   Now we are rotating in Portraits.   These depictions of people from all different time periods and backgrounds are all from the Neville Public Museum’s collection.   You might even recognize a few artist or sitters.   Here are 5 things you want to look for!   Fear George Catlin George Catlin (1796-1872), well-known for his paintings of Native Americans, drew a series of self-portraits in 1821. They found their way to Green Bay through his nephew, Theodore Burr Catlin. George Catlin did the self-portraits at night, before a mirror, simulating facial expressions of various emotions. The drawings all have similar facial outlines...