DCHS honors service members with annual USO performance

In its fifth season, the 1943 USO Canteen Radio Show will be performed at 2 and 6:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Douglas County Historical Society.

A great lineup of our brilliant local talent offers 1940s songs, dancing and hokey but timeless jokes. Listen to Randy Lee and the Northland Youth Music Group, a 16-piece band, swing to ’40s music. The Canteen will once again sell coffee and donuts, SPAM sandwiches and Coca Cola.

The USO show at DCHS is a yearly tribute to military men and women, past and present, and is always held near Pearl Harbor Day. A ceremony by the American Legion Post 435 Color Guard begins each show.

Although this is DCHS’ biggest fundraiser of the year, it also gives a portion of its proceeds to the Northland Youth Music Group so that young musicians can attend summer music camp.

The event is sponsored by NBC, Kari Toyota, Stack Brothers Mechanical Contractors, SWL&P and Larson Chevrolet. All these businesses were in Superior in 1943 and their “radio” commercials are included in the show.

All tickets are $15 but get them this week. They’re usually sold out by performance time. Tickets will be on sale this week until 4 p.m. today.

In the past, many people were not able to attend DCHS events because the building was not accessible. That’s not so this year.

Thanks to the city of Superior’s Community Development Block Grant and many of our good citizens who donated to the project, DCHS will debut its elevator at the USO show.

Our fundraising raffle was drawn at the November History Sunday. The winner of the third prize, a basket of merchandise donated by DCHS, was Ruth Dalbec; winner of the second prize, a Pam Dull print of the Lift Bridge donated by Mick MacKenzie and framed by Kelly and Gary Reed and Barb Mattson, was Mike Spinner; and the first prize winner of a handmade quilt and rag rug donated by 4-Corners Crafters was Cora Krob. Thank you everyone, who entered the raffle. The raffle helped raise money to cover the extra costs of putting in our new elevator. Donations are still welcome.

We thank LaPorte General Contracting, Access Lifts and Tower Plumbing, for their hard work to make deadline, and to these businesses that donated materials: Campbell’s Building Materials, Tower Plumbing, AA Roll-Off and Sherwin Williams.

Our History Sunday season resumes in January with a talk by Michelle Baddin, daughter of Harry Bear of Bear Shoe Works. Bear Shoe has been among Superior’s Tower Avenue businesses for 100 years. This presentation will be held at 2 p.m. Jan. 13 at DCHS. The cost is $3 for non-members; members are free. Refreshments served.

DCHS’ Adopt-A-Day program continues as well. In November, Marianne Peters sent $100 in the name of Hilding Larson. For $100, you can “adopt a day” in your name, as tribute to or memorial for a loved one, or in honor of an event. This will help DCHS continue its mission and ensure that we are here to serve citizens of Douglas County.

DCHS will be closed for the holidays from Dec. 17-Jan. 2. Now is a good time to stop in our Museum Shop for your history lover’s Christmas gift. Not only do we have copies of books on Superior and Douglas County’s history, but we also have enlarged photo prints, hand-crocheted hot pads and warm DCHS sweatshirts.

The Douglas County Historical Society is located at 1101 John Ave. Contact us at dchs@douglashistory.org or 715-392-8449.

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