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1930

George Soros is born, Budapest Hungary is a Hungarian-born American financier, author, philanthropist, and activist whose success as an investor made him one of the wealthiest men in the world. He is also known as a powerful and influential supporter of liberal social causes.

Soros, who was born into a prosperous Jewish family, had his upbringing disrupted by the Nazis’ arrival in Hungary in 1944. The family split up and used false papers to avoid being sent to concentration camps. In 1947 they moved to London. He joined the London merchant bank Singer & Friedlander. In 1956 he moved to New York City, where he worked initially as an analyst of European securities.

In 1973 Soros established the Soros Fund that subsequently spawned a range of associated companies. His daring investment decisions caused the funds to grow rapidly.

In 1992 when the British government devalued the pound sterling. Through his Quantum group of companies, Soros had sold billions of pounds during the days preceding devaluation, much of it purchased with borrowed money. Afterward Soros bought back pounds, repaid the money he had borrowed, and made a profit of about $1 billion.

Soros has been broadly associated with left-leaning and progressive ideas for decades while his Open Society Foundations have donated to liberal causes. In the U.S., Soros has been a critic of the war on drugs for decades, supported same-sex marriage efforts, migrant protections, promoted criminal justice reform and was a vocal proponent of legalizing medical marijuana, among other issues.

Roseanne Barr, who spread several conspiracies in a social media frenzy, wrote, “George Soros is a Nazi who turned in his fellow Jews [to] be murdered in German concentration camps and stole their wealth.”

Theories spread on social media over the last decade have claimed Soros funded protests after Trump’s 2016 election, Black Lives Matter protests in 2016 and in 2020 and pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses, other theories allege Soros operated antifa. Open Society Foundations do fund organizations that often participate in such protests.

1931

Window air conditioners invented, the design revolutionized home climate control by fitting an air conditioning system into a compact unit designed for placement in a standard window frame. The innovation made efficient cooling accessible for residential and small commercial settings.

Units were initially costly—up to $10,000 (over $125,000 today after inflation)—so adoption was limited to the wealthy. However, the promise of home comfort sparked public interest, leading to rapid advancements and competition among manufacturers.

1933

Plymouth High School opens at a cost of $265,000.

This is where I went to high school (Fall of 1954-Spring of 1958, Mary was one year later.

My Sr yearbook picture

Taken 2016, Mary at old high school later converted to middle school

More information on my website at:

http://vernonite.com/photos.places1.wisconsin.plymouth1.phs.html

Includes my 1958 yearbook (find link below diploma).

1934

Poynette Game farm beginning, the state of Wisconsin purchased 500 acres of land for the raising and studying of pheasants and other animals and named the new site the Wisconsin State Experimental Game and Fur Farm.

In 1938, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) began renovating existing structures and adding new facilities to the Farm. Some of these facilities included much-needed storage facilities like a 75-foot barn, refrigeration facilities, slaughterhouses, and new pens for animals like raccoons. WPA carpenters also constructed a sawmill for use in future projects undertaken by the WPA in the future of the site. The WPA also constructed a residence building to be used by the farm manager, with an adjoining lecture hall.

A transformer building was constructed on the property to hold the farm’s main electrical grid. The project cost a total of $84,928 split between funds from the WPA and a sponsor. The WPA donated a total of $50,131 on the project, while the sponsor spent $34,797. An average of 62 workers worked on the project during its 5 years from 1936 to 1941. The completion of the project enabled the Conservation Department to “more than double” the annual production of game bird chucks for release throughout Wisconsin, as taken from the 1938 Biennial Report to the State Conservation Commission.

Because of the farm’s new facilities, game and animal stocking were positively impacted in the local community and around the state, seeing an increase in recreational hunting. The farm and adjoining MacKenzie Center served (and still serve) as a beacon of conservation efforts, with many tourists and prospective conservationists. The farm educates visitors on the importance of conservation and other works of nature. The farm was often a destination spot, with classes winning field trips to go visit. The WPA also sent workers to manage the farm, although by the end of the New Deal, their numbers dwindled. The farm was eventually closed as a separate entity and conjoined with the MacKenzie Center (which is located right next to the farm), which is how it now operates today.

The goals of the State Game Farm and the pheasant stocking program are to provide quality pheasant hunting opportunities on public and private lands, promote safe and ethical behavior in the field, and cooperate with conservation groups dedicated to promoting pheasant hunting in the state. There are a number of programs the DNR uses to accomplish these goals.

All ring-necked pheasants the DNR provides are produced at the State Game Farm. Approximately 300,000 eggs are incubated during the pheasant production season. Weekly hatches occur from early April through mid July. At the end of the hatching season, approximately 230,000 chicks will be hatched. Many of these chicks will be reared on the State Game Farm, with some going to conservation clubs participating in the Day-old Chick program. Hen chicks are also available for sale to the public.

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Where John and Liz Semo and family lived

Cathy Church and friend

(kids) Bob and Cathy Wolever

Mary Wolever, Liz Semo, Elizabeth Szepe, Harry Wolever, Willis Wolever

Elizabeth and Steve Szepe at his retirement from The Poynette Game Farm

Scene from museum, painted by Steve Szepe

Conservation center museum – painted by Steve Szepe