THE FALLS HISTORY PROJECT

2002 EDITION

We began this project by focusing on the stories of local veterans.  Pictured here is Mitchell Red Cloud, Jr.  He attended BRFHS in the late 1930s and served in both World War II and the Korean Conflict.  He posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary courage in battle.  Click here for a historical perspective on Red Cloud in our community.

ANDI Cloud ('02) was our first intern in the Falls History Project.    Our goal in the Falls History Project is to help our students connect more naturally to the history of our region.  Additionally, we are striving to develop a primary source data bank for future students to use. 

FLOYD PRATT was our first interview in the project.  He was born in 1922 in Monroe County and served in the 17th Airborne Division as a paratrooper during WW II. 

In the fall of 2002, we established a permanent display in our high school dedicated to Mitchell Red Cloud, Jr.

VILAS JOHNSON was interviewed by Andi Cloud on February 12, 2002.  Vilas was born in Melrose in 1919 and was in the army from 1942-46.  He spent 26 months with the 3581st Ordinance Automotive Maintenance Battalion in India, part of the time on the famed Ledo-Burma Road.  He also had a brief stint in North Africa. 

As part of our Red Cloud display, we received a copy of the citation for the Medal of Honor received by Nellie Red Cloud, Mitchell's mother, in 1951.  The citation is signed by President Truman.  We thank Merlin Red Cloud, Jr., nephew of Mitchell, for his contributions to our display. 

As a part of the process of learning to do oral history, our interns work on the skills related to questioning and also transcribing interviews into documentary form.  Here Andi is pictured with Bob Teeples.   

As part of the Falls History Project, we were honored to have Dr. Nancy Lurie as a guest of our department in the fall of 2001.  Dr. Lurie is curator emerita of anthropology at the Milwaukee Public Museum and has devoted much of her work to studying the American Indian Nations of Wisconsin.  She has a unique knowledge of the Ho Chunk people and particularly the Red Cloud family. 

Elmo Johnson was born in 1916 in the town of Irving in Jackson County.  He entered the military in January of 1945 and was assigned to the 285th AGF Band on Iwo Jima.  Later he was assigned to the 77th AGF Band on Saipan.  As director of the band and lead trumpeter, Johnson played for many U.S.O. shows including those of Bob Hope and Peggy Lee.  

Robert Woodrow Teeples grew up in the Hatfield area of Jackson County.  He served in the Pacific Theater during the Second World War with the 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Division.  He spent time in Australia, New Guinea, the Philippines, among other places.  He was part of the renowned "Alamo Scouts."  

Thor Rykken was born in Wittenberg, Wisconsin in 1924.  He was in the Army Air Corps from 1943-45.  He was stationed in Corsica and Italy and flew 49 missions, primarily in Northern Italy.  He was interviewed on February 23rd of 2002.  

Transcribing the interviews is a painstaking process.  For each hour of interview time, there are at least 4-5 hours of transcription work.  Along with our video record of the interviews, the transcriptions are part of our permanent archive.