The untold stories of the tranquil town of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, that have been swept under the rug or lost over the years.
Sheboygan deserves its reputation as a conservative city clean, quiet and law-abiding. But here are some stories that have been swept under the rug or lost overboard. Venture into the mists of the "Lake Michigan Triangle" that have swallowed boats, planes and entire tribes. Investigate speakeasy shootings, safes burgled by a fly swatter, poisoned Christmas candy, flaming shipwrecks and the hoax that had militiamen firing on their own cattle. Or just sit down with some bizarre anecdotes about a hometown you thought you knew, from the town's first baseball game to the man freed from jail by a jug of whiskey to the deputy sheriff who had to enforce Nicholas Hoffman's first bath in 50 years.
Bill Wangemann is a lifelong resident of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. From early on, he developed a strong interest in local history, especially the history of the Great Lakes. Bill is a twenty-eight-year veteran of the Sheboygan Police Department, where he served as a patrolman, emergency medical technician, crime scene photographer, police artist and crime scene reconstruction specialist. Bill is a board member of the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center in Sheboygan Falls and is also on the board of directors at the Sheboygan County Historical Society Museum. He is also a past member of the board of directors at the Mead Public Library. He has written three books that were published by the Research Center and has written over 360 columns on local history for various local newspapers. Bill also holds a seat on the Sheboygan Common Council as an alderman and has done so since 1999. In 1986, by act of the common council, Bill was appointed city historian, a position he still holds today. Bill is married and has three children, two stepchildren, eleven grandchildren, one great-grandson, three dogs and four cats. His hobbies are woodworking, model building, photography and drawing and painting.