Happy birthday to W.D. Hoard, who would have been 175 years old on Monday. Residents of Fort Atkinson, Wis. gathered this weekend to celebrate his birthday and remember the dairying legacy the late governor left behind.
The Hoard Historical Museum in Fort Atkinson hosted a program in conjunction with Governor William Dempster Hoard Day, which was being observed as an official state holiday today.
“As you may know, Governor Hoard’s birthday is Monday, Oct. 10. He was born in 1836 in upstate New York, and he wended his way here to Wisconsin, and, as we like to say around here, the rest of that story is history,” museum director Kori Oberle said in welcoming attendees.
Birthday cake, ice cream and milk punch were served during a reception that was followed by a 2:30 program. The keynote speaker was Ed Janus, author of “Creating Dairyland,” who discussed Hoard’s pivotal role in changing Wisconsin from a wheat-based agricultural state to one supported by dairying.
Source: Daily Jefferson County Union