Passenger Pigeons

Passenger Pigeons

Passenger Pigeons

Name/Title

Passenger Pigeons

Scope and Content

Quoted from George Wilcox and Louis Spannagel about the mass population of pigeons in the Waupun area. Both these men are showing a sense of humor with use of exageration in story telling. The author of this piece is not known. PASSENGER PIGEONS. Quoting from George Wilcox - "Pigeons were everywhere. They used to nest in this section. We used to get the squabs by the bushel basketful. We have seen the pigeons so thick when they were flying we could not see the sun." Mr. Louis Spannagel told of the times when the Passenger Pigeons were so numerous, great clouds of them, that it was necessary for some one to watch the fields to keep them from eating the wheat. He added that Pigeon Pie was a great delicacy. An item from the Waupun paper of June 3, 1869 stated: "Thirty-five thousand pigeons were shipped from Oakfield Station last Wednesday, filling one hundred and sixteen barrels."

Acquisition

Accession

2016.0083

Source or Donor

Waupun Historical Society

Acquisition Method

Collected by Staff