I would like to visit with you about where you found this post card of Emma. I grew up in Allamakee County, Iowa, born in 1947, and used to stop in Marquette with Curtis Webster to say Hi to Emma, as she would be setting outside often.
I have a 16×20 print of the same picture as in the inset.
I know the Talmadge family at the Wisconsin Dells area who are relatives. Roxanne said she was the one who went to Iowa to clean out the house after Emma died.
Their are a couple young girls near Waukon now who are suppose to be descendants as well.
If you would like to visit by phone email me your number and I will call on my dime.
My father and his siblings were born in McGregor, and raised in Marquette, IA. I still have family in Wisconsin, Guttenberg, IA and the surrounding area. My father moved to Tacoma, WA (Ft. Lewis) prior to WWII. My sister (recently deceased) was born in Prairie du Chein, WI. As a child we would take cross-country trips back to Marquette/McGregor to visit my relatives. My grandmother lived on the hill above town, on the loop/hill road. I would walk down to town in Marquette to go to the gas station/store and would visit with Emma Big Bear. She often sat in front of her home, in what I recall to be a birch-made chair. I remember being in awe the first time I saw her as she wore traditional native attire with intricate bead work. She usually wore a blanket around her shoulders in the evening hours. She was a very kind woman, although I must say at my age, quite intimidating to me as well. She had very kind eyes. There was a definite communication barrier, although that didn’t stop us from becoming “friends”. I treasure those times.
The stigma related to “Indians” here on the West Coast during that time was quite prevalent. Emma changed the way I thought about “Indians”, enlightened me to the fact that she was no different than I, merely a lot older! I’ll always hold the memory of her in my heart. I remember receiving word when she passed away, and felt a great loss. However, my memories are still vivid and I am thankful that I had the pleasure of meeting her and learning a life lesson from that experience. Somewhere I have photos of her and I together. I am now 51 years of age, and doubt that I’ll be able to return to the “River” again. But I do have my memories.
i am acousin to emma big bear, just now able to make a connection to their famils, as most of us were in orphan homes or adopted, it has taken some 50 years to get back together. i would have loved to have ment her. did you ever see her daughter.
I have a mint condition basket of Emma’s just like the one in the picture that my Mother pruchased many years ago in MacGregor. What can anyone tell me about it and if there is any value to it? thanks
I remembering going to visit “Emma Big Bear” as a child. The recollection is rather vague but what I can recall is that the drive was less than a day away (we lived in SE Minnesota); she enjoyed making beaded figurines and gave me a little doll made of beads – it was about 2″ high. That’s all I remember except I think the story was that we were somehow related abd it would have been mid 1968 +/- a few years.
I recall my mother and grandmother telling me that I have a great grandmother that was 100% Cherokee Indian but have no records. I’ve been doing genealogy research and am stumped.
What can you tell me about Emma Big Bear?
I look forward to hearing from you – feel free to send a note to my email address.
Kathy
My parents live in Marquette, Iowa and bought Emma Big Bear’s last residence and turned it into our family’s winery. It’s at 127 North Street in Marquette. We have a small museum attributed to Emma with some of her baskets displayed and many photos and stories to read about her. Last year we held our 1st Annual Tribute to Emma Big Bear the third weekend of July. This year will be our 2nd annual event on Saturday, July 19, and Sunday, July 20, 2008 and it’s open to the public. Last year two great-great nieces of Emma’s and a great-great-great niece were featured speakers and they sold their handmade Native American bead and leather works, blankets, jewelry, etc. they’ve traded with other Native Americans around the country. The folks around our NE Iowa, SE Minnesota and SW Wisconsin areas were invited to share their stories about Emma Big Bear and listen to family stories about her and Winnebago way of life. Emma was born in 1869 and we’ll celebrate her 140th birth anniversary in July, 2009. The 40th anniversary of her death will be in August, 2008. Just across the river in Prairie du Chien, WI we’re working on dedicating a life-sized bronze sculpture of Emma Big Bear at a cost of almost $80,000. Our “Mississippi River Sculpture Park” will contain 26 life-sized bronze sculptures of the last 12,000 years of inhabitants of this beautiful Confluence Region located in the Driftless Region. Emma’s clay maquette can also be viewed at her museum in our winery or online at http://www.MississippiRiverSculpturePark.com. If you’d like to contribute to this worthwhile project on behalf of Emma Big Bear and help make her sculpture a reality before her 140th birthday, you can do so by purchasing a brick, plaque or the entire sculpture (to date, we’ve fundraised for only about $10,000), please visit our website or contact our winery. I’m happy to say that we’ve been promoting Emma and more things are appearing about her on the internet and we’ve been able to put some of Emma’s long-lost family members together with her great-great nieces (about 65 years old today) and their families (Marie from Ohio, Allen from Minnesota). We welcome any stories you want to share and will one day write them all down in a book.
One more thing, if you do make a contribution toward Emma Big Bear’s life-sized bronze sculpture in the Mississippi River Sculpture Park, please, please make sure that you make it clear you want your donation to go toward Emma’s sculpture or else it may be applied toward another sculpture. To date, we have in the sculpture park: Blackhawk, Sauk Warrior (One-Eyed Decorah delivered Blackhawk and The Profit to Ft. Crawford in Prairie du Chien and Emma Big Bear is a descent of Chief Decorah of the Winnebagoes); Dr. Beaumont and Son Israel (Ft. Crawford surgeon and pioneer of internal medicine in the 1830s); and the Victorian Lady. We look forward to receiving any donation you can make for Emma. BTW – the porch you’re talking about Emma sitting on lies at the base of the entrance to our old Iowa to Wisconsin bridge and it remains the same today as it did when Emma sat there and you visited with her in downtown Marquette! Please stop in to see us and taste our Marquette Maid wines, named in honor of Emma Big Bear, Northeast Iowa’s last known Native American to live by their traditional means – she was an herb gatherer, bead worker, basket maker.
This postcards are available for purchase at the winery and many establishments in Marquette and McGregor, Iowa. Marjorie Goergen, a photographer from McGregor, took this now-famous photo of Emma and we have on display some others she has taken. Also see the McGregor Historical Museum on Main Street and the State Historical Museum in Des Moines, Iowa.
September 25, 2006 at 5:01 am
Dude, this is SO my favorite postcard!
November 5, 2006 at 7:05 am
I would like to visit with you about where you found this post card of Emma. I grew up in Allamakee County, Iowa, born in 1947, and used to stop in Marquette with Curtis Webster to say Hi to Emma, as she would be setting outside often.
I have a 16×20 print of the same picture as in the inset.
I know the Talmadge family at the Wisconsin Dells area who are relatives. Roxanne said she was the one who went to Iowa to clean out the house after Emma died.
Their are a couple young girls near Waukon now who are suppose to be descendants as well.
If you would like to visit by phone email me your number and I will call on my dime.
Best regards,
John C. May
608-792-7549
September 10, 2007 at 3:04 am
My father and his siblings were born in McGregor, and raised in Marquette, IA. I still have family in Wisconsin, Guttenberg, IA and the surrounding area. My father moved to Tacoma, WA (Ft. Lewis) prior to WWII. My sister (recently deceased) was born in Prairie du Chein, WI. As a child we would take cross-country trips back to Marquette/McGregor to visit my relatives. My grandmother lived on the hill above town, on the loop/hill road. I would walk down to town in Marquette to go to the gas station/store and would visit with Emma Big Bear. She often sat in front of her home, in what I recall to be a birch-made chair. I remember being in awe the first time I saw her as she wore traditional native attire with intricate bead work. She usually wore a blanket around her shoulders in the evening hours. She was a very kind woman, although I must say at my age, quite intimidating to me as well. She had very kind eyes. There was a definite communication barrier, although that didn’t stop us from becoming “friends”. I treasure those times.
The stigma related to “Indians” here on the West Coast during that time was quite prevalent. Emma changed the way I thought about “Indians”, enlightened me to the fact that she was no different than I, merely a lot older! I’ll always hold the memory of her in my heart. I remember receiving word when she passed away, and felt a great loss. However, my memories are still vivid and I am thankful that I had the pleasure of meeting her and learning a life lesson from that experience. Somewhere I have photos of her and I together. I am now 51 years of age, and doubt that I’ll be able to return to the “River” again. But I do have my memories.
October 17, 2007 at 1:03 pm
i am acousin to emma big bear, just now able to make a connection to their famils, as most of us were in orphan homes or adopted, it has taken some 50 years to get back together. i would have loved to have ment her. did you ever see her daughter.
October 28, 2007 at 3:08 pm
I have a mint condition basket of Emma’s just like the one in the picture that my Mother pruchased many years ago in MacGregor. What can anyone tell me about it and if there is any value to it? thanks
Bob
November 17, 2007 at 6:43 am
I remembering going to visit “Emma Big Bear” as a child. The recollection is rather vague but what I can recall is that the drive was less than a day away (we lived in SE Minnesota); she enjoyed making beaded figurines and gave me a little doll made of beads – it was about 2″ high. That’s all I remember except I think the story was that we were somehow related abd it would have been mid 1968 +/- a few years.
I recall my mother and grandmother telling me that I have a great grandmother that was 100% Cherokee Indian but have no records. I’ve been doing genealogy research and am stumped.
What can you tell me about Emma Big Bear?
I look forward to hearing from you – feel free to send a note to my email address.
Kathy
June 20, 2008 at 9:43 pm
My parents live in Marquette, Iowa and bought Emma Big Bear’s last residence and turned it into our family’s winery. It’s at 127 North Street in Marquette. We have a small museum attributed to Emma with some of her baskets displayed and many photos and stories to read about her. Last year we held our 1st Annual Tribute to Emma Big Bear the third weekend of July. This year will be our 2nd annual event on Saturday, July 19, and Sunday, July 20, 2008 and it’s open to the public. Last year two great-great nieces of Emma’s and a great-great-great niece were featured speakers and they sold their handmade Native American bead and leather works, blankets, jewelry, etc. they’ve traded with other Native Americans around the country. The folks around our NE Iowa, SE Minnesota and SW Wisconsin areas were invited to share their stories about Emma Big Bear and listen to family stories about her and Winnebago way of life. Emma was born in 1869 and we’ll celebrate her 140th birth anniversary in July, 2009. The 40th anniversary of her death will be in August, 2008. Just across the river in Prairie du Chien, WI we’re working on dedicating a life-sized bronze sculpture of Emma Big Bear at a cost of almost $80,000. Our “Mississippi River Sculpture Park” will contain 26 life-sized bronze sculptures of the last 12,000 years of inhabitants of this beautiful Confluence Region located in the Driftless Region. Emma’s clay maquette can also be viewed at her museum in our winery or online at http://www.MississippiRiverSculpturePark.com. If you’d like to contribute to this worthwhile project on behalf of Emma Big Bear and help make her sculpture a reality before her 140th birthday, you can do so by purchasing a brick, plaque or the entire sculpture (to date, we’ve fundraised for only about $10,000), please visit our website or contact our winery. I’m happy to say that we’ve been promoting Emma and more things are appearing about her on the internet and we’ve been able to put some of Emma’s long-lost family members together with her great-great nieces (about 65 years old today) and their families (Marie from Ohio, Allen from Minnesota). We welcome any stories you want to share and will one day write them all down in a book.
June 20, 2008 at 9:53 pm
One more thing, if you do make a contribution toward Emma Big Bear’s life-sized bronze sculpture in the Mississippi River Sculpture Park, please, please make sure that you make it clear you want your donation to go toward Emma’s sculpture or else it may be applied toward another sculpture. To date, we have in the sculpture park: Blackhawk, Sauk Warrior (One-Eyed Decorah delivered Blackhawk and The Profit to Ft. Crawford in Prairie du Chien and Emma Big Bear is a descent of Chief Decorah of the Winnebagoes); Dr. Beaumont and Son Israel (Ft. Crawford surgeon and pioneer of internal medicine in the 1830s); and the Victorian Lady. We look forward to receiving any donation you can make for Emma. BTW – the porch you’re talking about Emma sitting on lies at the base of the entrance to our old Iowa to Wisconsin bridge and it remains the same today as it did when Emma sat there and you visited with her in downtown Marquette! Please stop in to see us and taste our Marquette Maid wines, named in honor of Emma Big Bear, Northeast Iowa’s last known Native American to live by their traditional means – she was an herb gatherer, bead worker, basket maker.
June 20, 2008 at 9:57 pm
This postcards are available for purchase at the winery and many establishments in Marquette and McGregor, Iowa. Marjorie Goergen, a photographer from McGregor, took this now-famous photo of Emma and we have on display some others she has taken. Also see the McGregor Historical Museum on Main Street and the State Historical Museum in Des Moines, Iowa.