With a year-round population of approximately 600 residents, Islanders lead their lives as any residents of a small town. Happenings, Births, Birthdays, Anniversaries will be shared here…
Island News
Where’s Josie – Week 4?
This week’s contest is sponsored by Nelsens Hall and Bitters Pub Restaurant. 
Thanks to Robin for her donation of a $20 gift certificate! Contest Winner will be first person to accurately get Josie’s location sent to my email at jerry@washingtonisland.com. Weekly Prizes will be coupons or offers to local establishments. One prize per household per month. Comments on the news feed will not be accepted as winners. New pictures will be posted sometime on Sundays up till and including Monday evening at the latest. If there are no correct answers, we may submit extra photos for hints or we may roll the picture over to the next week. Totally at the discretion of our sponsor businesses and Washingtonisland.com. Prizes will vary from small to extravagant.
Where’s Josie? Week 3 Sponsored by Karly’s Bar!
Josie was out again this week on a warmer February Day. She found a new perch to stand on.
However, she had a hard time keeping still so her head is somewhat blurry. I haven’t totally figured out what it is going to take to get her to pose for me. Winners will be first person to accurately get Josie’s location sent to my email at jerry@washingtonisland.com. Prizes will be coupons or offers to local establishments. One prize per household per month. Comments on the news feed will not be accepted as winners. New pictures will be posted sometime on Sundays up till and including Monday evening at the latest. If there are no correct answers, we may submit extra photos for hints or we may roll the picture over to the next week. Totally at the discretion of our sponsor businesses and Washingtonisland.com. Thanks again to this week’s sponsors Tim and Lois Jessen!
Where’s Josie? Week 2
Josie was out for a survey of sights and smells. Winners will be first person to accurately get Josie’s location sent to my email at jerry@washingtonisland.com. Prizes will be coupons or offers to local establishments. One prize per household per month. Comments on the news feed will not be accepted as winners. New pictures will be posted sometime on Sundays up till and including Monday evening at the latest. If there are no correct answers, we may submit extra photos for hints or we may roll the picture over to the next week. Totally at the discretion of our sponsor businesses and Washingtonisland.com. Prizes will vary from small to extravagant. Congratulations to Jack Rose, who was the first person to correctly guess Josie’s location as Njordheim Marina on the southeast corner of the Island.
Today’s observations
The plows are out this morning. There was a fire call last night. No injuries! I can see some blue sky out my window and my current temp is 26 degrees!
New Weekly Game to be hosted on Washingtonisland.com!
“Where’s Josie?” will be hosted on WashingtonIsland.com every week starting today, President’s Day. Winners will be first person to accurately get Josie’s location sent to my email at jerry@washingtonisland.com. Prizes will be coupons or offers to local establishments. One prize per household per month. Comments on the news feed will not be accepted as winners. New pictures will be posted sometime on Sundays up till and including Monday evening at the latest. If there are no correct answers, we may submit extra photos for hints or we may roll the picture over to the next week. Totally at the discretion of our sponsor businesses and Washingtonisland.com. Prizes will vary from small to extravagant. Good Luck!
Men’s Day
Thursday February 11, 2010 was a great winter day for the annual Men’s Day trip on 4wheelers and snowmobiles around the shores, and interiors of our Island. Breakfast, refreshments and dinner are all inclusive and enjoyed each year by resident men and many arriving the day before or day of on the Ferry. Pictured here are many of the men who posed for a picture by Mack Gunnlaugsson.
Icelander in service
The Icelander is a boat formerly owned by Washington Island Resident Ted Jessen, it spent many years here on Washington Island at Shipyard Island Marina. Pictured here as it was then in its classic white hull and striping
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Now the boat is again in service as a towboat in Sturgeon Bay, WI. I spent sometime working on this wonderful craft in the 90’s and am glad to see the boat back in use helping stranded vessels in the water in our area. Photos provided by Steve Weinert.
Winter is here…?
I have been doing a little work on the website…not too many changes for the coming season as yet. I wanted to share a photo of my fishing experience with Captain Frank, one day this fall! If you have ever been late season bass fishing on the shores of Washington and Rock Islands you know what you can find in the order of big bass. The larger of the two was my first 5+ bass in my life at 5lbs. 11 oz. The other weighed in around 4 or so. They have been both released and hopefully will be back in the same area next year! Thanks Frank for the wonderful trip.
Island News needs help from you
Please let me know if you would like to be a contributor to the Island news section of the site! I would love to have daily pictures and observations posted for the web site visitors. Just email me and I will get you set up! jerry@washingtonisland.com
Ties from Iceland to Wisconsin
I received this email recently and if anyone would like ho help this student please feel free to email me so I can connect you with him!
My name is Nicholas Sepúlveda. I am currently a fourth year biology and anthropology student at Juniata College, PA, but a resident of Green Bay. I am writing because I have great interest in Washington Island’s cultural history and your website seemed to be the only real source of information that was not part of a library collection.
I spent my third year of university abroad at Aberdeen, Scotland where I met Karen Milek, a professor of archaeology there. I took interest in her work–which is largely about Viking Age homes in Iceland. My interest was so great that I was able to secure a position at the Icelandic Archaeological Institute’s (Fornleifastofnun Íslands) field school. To this end, I have spent the summer digging in Iceland. Currently, I am assisting with excavation of a modern farmstead in Skagafjörður. This site is interesting because it is one of a family that emigrated to North America.
Of course I developed an interest in these migrations, and I was able to locate from census data that many Icelanders settled in Wisconsin, mostly in Door County and on Washington Island (please see the attached census document and a newspaper article from the 1920s).
Because my interest in iceland is so great, I have decided to prepare an application for a Fulbright Scholarship to study abroad and complete my master’s degree in Medieval Icelandic Studies in Reykjavík. One of the large components of the program is interaction with the host country and fostering host/US relations.
I thought a great way to accomplish this might be to explore the ties between Wisconsin and Iceland and learn more about their historical relationship. To this end, I hoped I might be able to contribute some way to the presentation of Washington Island’s presentation of its history.
I would greatly enjoy any opportunity to complete an article about the settlement of the Island, trace genealogies, design presentations, or simply prepare a small newsletter to help more people understand the history of the island. I thought it might be a good idea to contact you about these possible opportunities.
If I were to receive a Fulbright, I would have considerable access to historical resources here in Iceland. I am typing this letter for example, in the Emigration Museum in Hofsós, a tidy building with a large library full of books and friendly Icelanders who enjoy genealogy.
I look forward to hearing from you and your thoughts of about Iceland or individuals I may contact in Wisconsin who may be interested, the Fulbright Program, and my ideas about Washington Island.
Best wishes,
Nicholas email: SEPULNB06@juniata.edu
