The UWSP Library and Portage County celebrate the Sesquicentennial on the Worldwide Web

Photos of John Pfiffner’s murals in the Hotel Whiting are now on the Worldwide Web. So is an index to over 76,000 obituary notices from the Stevens Point area, a photo of the 1923 fire on the Wisconsin River bridge and an index to the Pointer, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point’s student newspaper.

In cooperation with the Portage County Public Library, the Portage County Historical Society, the Stevens Point Historic Preservation/Design Review Commission, the Stevens Point Area Genealogical Society and the Sesquicentennial Commission of the Wisconsin Sesquicentennial, the UWSP Library and Archives have launched a series of Web-accessible historic research tools.

The most popular of the new Web databases seems to be the "Stevens Point Area Obituary Index" (http://tlr.uwsp.edu/obits/). It indexes issues of the Stevens Point Journal, including more than 76,000 names from 1881-1998. The project has been updated to being current within three months.

University Archivist Bill Paul says, "The Journal’s obituary index on the Web is a hit." Paul reports that requests for photocopies of obituaries have arrived from Guam, Germany, Denmark, Japan, Hawaii, and most of the states in the continental U.S. (except Alaska). And, of course, from all over Wisconsin! The archivist says, "It is not unusual for a genealogist to sing the praises of UWSP for putting this research tool on the Web." A recent note from a genealogist in Colorado proclaimed that the index is "about the best site I’ve found [for doing genealogy research]."

Arne Arneson, director of UWSP’s Teaching-Learning Resources, which includes the University Library and Archives, applauds the projects and has pledged technological support and staff expertise to create and maintain them.

Arneson says, "this is the best possible use for this new technology," and is a "natural extension of the cooperation that exists among area libraries and the Portage County community." "How else could we share this rich heritage with such a large audience?"

For sports fans who may want to know when the first Pointer football team was formed, the Index to the UWSP Pointer will tell you ( October 13, 1894). The Pointer Index: 1895 - 1956; 1972 – 1998 (http://tlr.uwsp.edu/pointer/) provides comprehensive coverage of campus life, opinion and local events. Feature stories, Letters to the Editor, and the Pointer Poll are extensively indexed. Division level or championship sporting events also are indexed.

Area history buffs may plug these addresses into their Web browsers:

For access to these and other area databases, link to the University Library’s Home Page on the Web at http://library.uwsp.edu/

Choose Indexes and Databases, and choose the topic "Wisconsin & Local."

Choose the Virtual Reference Desk, choose the topic "Central Wisconsin."

All of the Web pages may be accessed from any location without charge. Individuals interested in contacting the university about these Web services may call Arneson at (715) 346-4193 or Paul at 346-2586.

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