Bill Casper

Interviewee Collection Sort descending Description Interviewer Date of Interview Location of Interview Affiliation
Gwen Bowe People of the Sturgeon: Wisconsin's Love Affair with an Ancient Fish

Gwen Bowe is interviewed by Bill Casper about catching a 126-pound sturgeon in 1980, the first time she’d gone to spear. This fish she speared was eventually donated to Case Western Reserve University when Robert Kennedy, Jr. contacted Bill Casper about getting a sturgeon to display in the museum. She also discusses her favorite methods for cooking sturgeon.

Bill Casper Wabeno, WI University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, Oshkosh Public Museum
Irene L. Halfmann People of the Sturgeon: Wisconsin's Love Affair with an Ancient Fish

Irene Halfmann and her husband Greg Halfmann of Malone, Wisconsin discuss their experiences sturgeon fishing. Bill Casper interviews them about Irene’s big catches of 1952 and 1979, methods of cooking sturgeon, how to prevent shanties from blowing around the lake, and the painting of their manual ice saw as art for their 50th wedding anniversary.

Bill Casper Malone, WI University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, Oshkosh Public Museum
Willard Jenkins People of the Sturgeon: Wisconsin's Love Affair with an Ancient Fish

Willard Jenkins is interviewed by Bill Casper about his experiences fishing sturgeon. They discuss Willard'ss first time fishing in the late 1940s, some of the more memorable people he's known, and methods of rescuing people from mishaps on the ice.

Bill Casper Malone, WI University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, Oshkosh Public Museum
Al Schumacher People of the Sturgeon: Wisconsin's Love Affair with an Ancient Fish

Bill Casper interviews Al Schumacher of the Stockbridge area on sturgeon fishing and related experiences in Schumacher’s life. At the time of the interview, Schumacher was 88 or 89 years old, and had lived in the same farmhouse since about the age of ten.  Stories surround the use of horses for moving fishing equipment, surviving the Depression, Schumacher’s family history, local decoy makers, and local landmarks such as the Fishtail Inn and the Calumet County Park.

Bill Casper Hilbert, WI University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, Oshkosh Public Museum