The idea of this organization was the vision of Lester and Jeanne Rentmeester, lifelong residents of the Village of Howard and authors of several books about the community.
Michelle Olman and Mary Kay Lynch contacted the State Historical Society and both Village Boards about this idea, and a foundational meeting was held on April 21, 2005, at which 16 people attended.
Those attending included: Michelle Olman, Mary Kay Lynch, Dan Weyenberg, Geri Corbielle, Ellery Gulbrand, Barb Rodaer, Ron Rodaer, Loren Olejniczak, Lenore Olejniczak, Jean Frey, Dolores Lass, Melissa Rusk, Rosella Sconzert, Jerry Steffen, Carlene Felmer, and Nancy O’Kelley.
By-laws were adopted on July 7, 2005, and officers were elected on August 1, 2005. The first officers were Dan Weyenberg-President, Melissa Rusk-Vice-President, Joy Schabow-Secretary, and Nancy O’Kelley-Treasurer.
We became officially incorporated with the State of Wisconsin on November 21, 2005.
The nine-member board meets monthly and meetings for the public are bi-monthly following the board meetings.
In 2006, Les Rentmeester thought it would be a good idea for the society to give back to the community by setting up a scholarship program at Bay Port High School for seniors who were going on to school. The scholarship was to be for $1000 to be given out at Bay Port Honor Day each spring. A HSHS Scholarship Committee was organized. Part of the application process included writing a paper on a local history topic which was chosen each year by the committee. Les gave the society $3000 for the first three years. Laura Frisque was the first winner in 2007 and the program continues today.
The organization was federally approved for non-profit status 501C(3) on February 28, 2007.
The society board decided that more had to be done to let the communities know that HSHS existed. The society members put together a cookbook and an Opoly game was designed for sale. Both were sold out. Used books are collected during the year in order to have 2 used book sales for the public. A calendar and note cards are for sale and booyah sales are held. These all are fund raisers. Photos are collected and digitized in order to show them to the public which started the Memories Shows in 2008. The Howard Village donated their 1952 fire truck to the society. It is stored in our garage at Ancestry Acres and is used for local parades and events.
Past Perfect, a software program for historical societies and museums was purchased in order to keep track of society information such as memberships, donations, archives, photos, etc. Quick Books was also purchased to keep track of the treasury. A logo was designed for the society. A newsletter is sent out to members and a website was developed.
The society has Christmas parties, annual banquets and volunteers keep our buildings open to the public during the summer.
The Howard Water Department building located at 605 Maywood Avenue in Howard became the new home for the Howard-Suamico Historical Society in 2009. The Howard Village Board approved a 10-year lease agreement with HSHS so that the Historical Society could have office space, hold small meetings, store, restore, and display historical artifacts. work was done to renovate the building for the society’s use. The Office/Museum Dedication was held on Saturday, July 25, 2009. The society board at the time of the dedication was as follows: Ellery Gulbrand, David Lane, Nancy O’Kelly, Loren Olejniczak, Tim Rasmussen, Joy Schabow, David Steffen and Barb Styczynski. The museum is set up with an Honor and Remember Wall for local veterans and also contains many local items of interest. Also available for use by the public are materials for genealogical use. The building is open to the public the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month from 9 a.m. to noon.
A letter received on March 8, 2010 written by Les and Jeanne Rentmeester gave HSHS the legal copyrights to the seven books they wrote. The books are sold by the society locally and are mailed all over the United States. the titles of these books are as follows: Early Duck Creek History, Memories of Old Duck Creek, Tomah, Our Marchant Relatives, The Flemish in Wisconsin, The Wisconsin Creoles, and The Wisconsin Fur Trade People. Three society members completed a second edition to the Early Duck Creek History for Les and Jeanne.
In 2011, the Village of Suamico offered the property next to their village hall on Velp Avenue to HSHS. The lease of this property was signed by Nancy O’Kelly and Tim Rasmussen in 2011. It included the land, a farmhouse, granary and barn. The farmhouse was renovated and is now a museum. The barn was also renovated and is used for events in the summer. The renovations were done as funds were available for materials and the work was done by volunteers. The property was first called the Robert Vickery Farm but was changed to Ancestry Acres. The farmhouse and barn are open for limited hours during the summer.
In 2019, the Howard-Suamico School District offered the Tremble School which was located on County B in Suamico to the society. There would be no charge for the building but the society would have to pay for moving the school to Ancestry Acres. The society board approved the project. Then approvals were received from the H-S School Board on April 11, 2022 and the Village of Suamico Board on April 18, 2022. A committee was formed to obtain the funds to move the school and its renovation. And as of June 2022, enough funds were available to move the school to its new home. The move to the foundation was completed on August 12, 2022 and renovations were started. The Treble School was rededicated in September 2023.
In 2022, the society received and award from the Brown County Historical Society for the renovation of the barn at Ancestry Acres.
