H.H. Bennett

Yesterday when we were at the library, our friend Debbie happened to come in. When she was on the city council and a member of the library board, she was one of the  people who encouraged me to apply for my job at the library. She and Tom have worked together on any number of projects since we moved here from Hyde Park. And perhaps because she is a retired English professor, she is one of the people who keeps nudging me to continue writing.

She gave me a hug and then went and chatted with Tom. She had just come from yoga and was on her way, Tom later told me, "to clean up the museum." Debbie is a descendant of H.H. Bennett and his nineteenth-century photography studio is celebrating a sesquicentennial this weekend. It is one of only a dozen or so official State Historic Sites. Here is the explanation of the celebration from the Wisconsin Historical Society website:

Come and celebrate 150 years of the H.H. Bennett Studio and tourism in Wisconsin Dells! See live 1800s photographic demonstrations, characters from Dells history, and Ho-Chunk dancing. SPECIAL admission will be by donation THIS WEEKEND ONLY!

After returning from the Civil War, H.H. Bennett founded his photography studio the spring of 1865. Bennett's iconic photography of the Dells of the Wisconsin River put Kilbourn City - now Wisconsin Dells - on the map as Wisconsin's premiere vacation destination. Family run until being donated to the Wisconsin Historical Society in 1998, the studio continues as the oldest business in Wisconsin Dells and longest continuously operating photography studio in the United States.

This is perhaps Bennett's most famous photograph, his son Ashley jumping from one bank of the Wisconsin River onto Stand Rock. It is not only iconic of the Dells, it is the first stop-motion photograph ever taken, using a technique Bennett invented. You will be happy to know that his son survived and was able to jump back to safety.  He had to make the leap seventeen times, however, before his father got the photograph he wanted. Today, trained dogs make the leap to entertain tourists and there is a safety net for their protection.

Because of the formation of the rocks, it looks longer, but it is only a five and a half foot jump. On the other hand, if you miss ...

If you ever get a chance to go to the museum -- small but one of the best things to see when in the Dells -- they have a place painted on the floor where you can try to jump the distance without any risk at all.

And a hearty congratulations to Debbie and her family on the occasion, and thank you for the generous gift of this remarkable  place to the people of Wisconsin.