June, 1948 - Milwaukee Road Archive

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Resplendent in new uniforms. the Hiawatha Band marches .past the crowd assembled
on the capitol grounds in Madison. The band preceded the Milwaukee Road float.
Statehood Day Marks Wisconsin Centennial
A
NY WAY you look at it, May 29
was a big day. In Madison, Wis.,
it was Statehood Day, the date officially
set aside for observing the state's
centennial, and the Milwaukee Road,
the first railroad in the state, joined
in the celebration.
The day was, furthermore, the 13th
birthday of the Twin Cities Hiawatha,
and the occasion was being celebrated
by the launching of new Hiawatha
trains from Chicago and Minneapolis.
The highlight of the day-long centennial
celebration in Madison was the
parade which was hailed as the state's
biggest, most colorful and most spectacular
by the 125,000 people who
jammed the capital to witness it.
For the people of Wisconsin, Statehood
Day was not only a birthday
party for their beautiful state-it was
also an occasion of great pride as the
30th star in the American Flag rose
into its ascendancy.
The parade started at 11 o'clock,
with a heavy artillery salute which
14
THE MILWAUKEE ROAD, FIRST RAILROAD IN
WISCONSIN, FIGURES PROMINENTLY IN CELEBRATION
echoed throughout the city, and a few
minutes before the first units of
marchers arrived Army B-25s zoomed
low over the parade route. First in
the procession were lines of cars bearing
the guests of honor to the reviewing
stand: Governor Rennebohm and
former Governor Heil; Julius Krug,
Secretary of the Interior; Admiral
William Leahy, President Truman's
chief of staff; Maj. Gen. James Gavin,
chief of staff for the Fifth Army;
President E. B. Fred of the University
of Wisconsin; Leo T. Crowley,
board chairman of the Milwaukee
Road; Chief Justice Marvin B. Rosenberry
and many others.
In addition to Mr. Crowley, the Milwaukee
Road was represented in Madison
by the following officers: E. W.
Soergel, vice president in charge of
traffic, Chicago; P. H. Draver, general
freight traffic manager, Chicago; A. G.
Dupuis, assistant public relations officer,
Chicago; W. J. Whalen, general
superintendent, Milwaukee; C. F.
Dahnke, assistant general passenger
agent, Milwaukee; R. H. Harding, assistant
general freight agent, Milwaukee;
G. C. Hiltel, division freight and
passenger agent, Milwaukee; J. J.
Casey, traveling freight and passenger
agent, Milwaukee; and E. J. Hoerl,
regional assistant, public relations department,
Milwaukee. Because of the
Hiawatha inaugural ceremony in Chicago,
President Buford was unable to
be in nfadison.
A cordon of marching policemen
followed the guests of honor, and they
in turn were followed by the Ashland
High School Band, which was given
the honor of occupying the lead position
as a tribute to Admiral Leahy, a
native of Ashland, Wis.
The mammoth parade consisted of 15
sections-historical, c i vic, military,
and several nationality groups. Italians
demonstrated their great contribution
to the art, culture, industry and literature
of the Badger State. The Scandinavians
reminded the spectators that
The Milwaukee Magazine