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Each week a small segment of Vernon County history is published in the county papers.
For the week of 6/14/2026
by Kristen Parrott, curator
Did you know that the great baseball pitcher Satchel Paige once played a game in Vernon County? Leroy “Satchel” Paige, born in Alabama in 1906, played with the Negro Leagues in the 1920’s, 30’s, and 40’s. In 1939, his team arrived in Vernon County.
The Kansas City Monarchs played Satchel Paige’s All Stars at the Vernon County Fair on Friday, September 22, 1939. The Allamakee Journal and Lansing Mirror promised that “This game will likely be the greatest baseball attraction ever offered Vernon County fans...”
The Vernon County Broadcaster reported that over 10,000 people attended the fair that Friday. In an exciting game, the Monarchs beat the All Stars, 5 to 4. The Vernon County Censor exclaimed that “This exhibition game, put on by two of the best colored teams in the nation, was just about the smoothest piece of baseball that one would want to see – fast as greased lightning and abounding with plays that brought plenty of applause.”
Paige joined the winning team, the Monarchs, a few years later, playing for them from 1941 to 1947. In 1948, as major league baseball was finally integrated, Satchel Paige was signed on by the Cleveland Indians. The team went on to win the World Series that year. Paige was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971, and died in 1982.
The Black population in Vernon County in the 1930’s was very small. Most white people who lived here would have had little contact with African Americans, and might mainly know about them from negative, sensationalistic stories in newspapers. I wonder how the teams felt about coming here, and what their interactions with local people were like.
On June 19 we celebrate Juneteenth, America’s newest federal holiday. Another name for the day is Black Independence Day, and it commemorates June 19, 1865, when the end of slavery in the United States was officially announced in Galveston, Texas. Juneteenth is a great time to look at local stories like this one about Black history.
Our next big holiday will be July 4, and as always the Vernon County Historical Society will celebrate it with the annual Strawberry Shortcake Social. The social will be held that Saturday, July 4, from 1 to 5PM, at the historic Sherry-Butt House museum at 795 N. Main St. in Viroqua. For $6, you will receive homemade shortcake with strawberries, frozen vanilla custard, and a beverage, plus the opportunity to tour the house and enjoy music on the lawn.
The Viroqua Community Band will play outside at 1PM, and Kickapoo Joy Juice will play at 2PM. Inside the house you can enjoy a special exhibit of patriotic quilts on loan from the Vernon County Piecemakers Quilt Guild. Take-outs will be available, and in case of rain, the food will be by take-out only.
A baseball game at the Vernon County fairgrounds in 1936
For the week of 6/7/2026
by Kristen Parrott, curator
As part of our summer celebration of the U.S. 250th, the Vernon County Historical Society will host a public reading of the Declaration of Independence on Wednesday, July 8, at 5PM. This event will commemorate the first public reading of the Declaration, 250 years ago on July 8, 1776, in Philadelphia. Americans in all 50 states and 16 territories of the United States will be reading the Declaration of Independence “together” at the same time on July 8 this year.
Our reading will take place outside at the Vernon County Museum and History Center, located at the corner of S. Main St. and E. South St. in Viroqua. Many readers from the community will take part, each reading a different portion from the Declaration. Please contact us at 608-637-7396 or museum@vernoncountyhistory.org if you’d like to participate as a reader. Everyone is welcome to attend.
The Hawai‘i America250 Commission came up with the idea of everyone reading the Declaration together, and they are calling this program, “Sharing the Spirit of America”. The program’s accompanying materials include the following helpful background about the Declaration of Independence:
“In the early 1700s, more and more colonists became convinced that Parliament intended to take away their freedom. In fact, Americans saw a pattern of increasing oppression and corruption happening all around the world. Parliament was determined to bring its unruly American subjects to heel.
“Britain began to prepare for war in early 1775. The first fighting broke out in April in Massachusetts. In August, the King declared the colonists “in a state of open and avowed rebellion.” For the first time, many colonists began to seriously consider cutting ties with Britain.
“The publication of Thomas Paine’s stirring pamphlet Common Sense in early 1776 lit a fire under this previously unthinkable idea. The movement for independence was now in full swing.
“The Declaration of Independence was designed for multiple audiences: the King, the colonists, and the world. It was also designed to multitask. Its goals were to rally the troops, win foreign allies, and to announce the creation of a new country. The underlying message in the Declaration encourages others to join the cause, and, by doing that, they join humankind’s fight against tyranny.
“The introductory sentence states the Declaration’s main purpose, to explain the colonists’ right to revolution. In other words, “to declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” Congress had to prove the legitimacy of its cause. It had just defied the most powerful nation on Earth. It needed to motivate foreign allies to join in.
“On July 2, 1776, Congress voted to declare independence. Two days later, July 4, 1776, it ratified the text of the Declaration of Independence.”
We hope you will join us on July 8 for this special reading of the Declaration!
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