Travel, History & Culture in America's Dairyland

Fish Frys

Next June will mark the 330th anniversary of the exploration of the lower Wisconsin River by French explorers. (A milestone worth celebrating simply for the fact that the region has persevered despite this early association with the French.) 

One notable discovery in the 1673 expedition was the “bosque belle,” or beautiful woods. Today, Boscobel, pop. 3228, is among a handful of isolated little towns dotting the river’s lower leg. 

Boscobel’s most enduring contribution to history came more than two centuries after the first voyageurs paddled by, in the 1890s. Another fascinating footnote was added in the early 1960s.

It all happened at the Boscobel Hotel.

A God-Forsaken Place
On a September night in 1898, two traveling salesmen, John Nicholson, Janesville, and Samuel Hill, Beloit, shared room 19 in Boscobel’s Central Hotel. Nicholson, as a 12 year-old boy, had promised his dying mother that he would read the Bible every night before bed. Hill was equally devout, and the two men, strangers to one another before that night, began to discuss the creation of an organization to fortify fellow travelers with the Good Word.

The two salesmen went on to create the Christian Commercial Travelers Association, known best a the nickname borrowed from the Book of Judges. 

More than 100 years later, “the Gideons” have distributed tens of millions Bibles to hotels and hellholes worldwide, not the least of which was Boscobel.

As Paul Harvey would say, now you know the rest of the story. A huge onyx memorial donated by the Gideons hangs in the hotel lobby, official recognition of the fortuitous meeting between two strangers in 1898.

But who are you going to trust for the rest of the story, dear subscriber, Paul Harvey or classicwisconsin? That’s right, that’s right. Read on.

The two salesmen may have been motivated partly by divine inspiration -- the other part had something to do with the hotel lobby, occupied that night, according to Nicholson and Hill, by a crowd of “hang-abouts playing cards, shaking dice, smoking, laughing, cursing, yelling and singing with clinking glasses and men drunk and asleep in chairs.” 

Gotta love the river towns.

The Rest of the Story
The rest of the rest of the story gets even better. Flash forward six decades for the titillating legend of romance in room 19. Not just average, everyday whoo hoo hoo between Joe and Jane traveler, but the soon-to-be-elected president and first lady of the good ol’ US of A.

During the winter of 1960, Senators Hubert Humphrey, Minn., and John F. Kennedy, Mass., were locked in a tight battle for the Democratic presidential nomination. Wisconsin was an early primary state and bone yard for many a struggling presidential candidate. Humphrey, heavily favored due to his Midwestern roots, was pressing Kennedy hard to schedule a debate. For several days the two campaigns played a game of cat and mouse in the coulees of the 3rd congressional district. It seems the Kennedy caravan was adept at rolling into town just as the Humphrey caravan was leaving. 

According to the Boscobel Dial: “Hard on the heels of Sen. Humphrey was Sen. John Kennedy of Massachusetts, whose caravan followed Humphrey’s through the hills of southwestern Wisconsin Friday but studiously avoided a meeting. Kennedy had a small crowd in Boscobel as local Democrats who made arrangements for Humphrey were not fully prepared for Kennedy. The 42-year old easterner dropped in at the Dial office and had his picture taken. He also ducked in downtown stores to shake a few hands. In Meller’s Drug Store Kennedy rearranged a magazine shelf to put a magazine with his picture on the cover in better view.”

The Story of the Rest
Waiting outside with the caravan was Jacqueline Kennedy. (According to former Dial owner Ralph Goldsmith, the future first lady acted more than a tad bit aloof when asked if she enjoyed traveling through rural Wisconsin.) 

That afternoon, Sen. & Mrs. Kennedy rested in, you guessed it, room 19 of the Boscobel Hotel. Here’s the kicker: Local folklore says the resting part came only after John Jr. had been conceived here. Nobody knows for certain of course (an essential ingredient for great legends), but the story is an integral part of the considerable history associated with this colorful river city hotel.

For posterity -- and as a service to you, our paying subscriber -- the cracked research staff of classicwisconsin visited the state historical society’s archives, and in the process spent more than 75 cents on a parking meter.

classicwisconsin’s findings: The Kennedy campaign “rest stop” at the Boscobel Hotel occurred March 25, 1960. John-John was born, Nov. 25, approximately 8 months later.

So, there it is…maybe…maybe not. 

One alternative scenario is that Kennedy needed time to prepare for the major foreign policy speech scheduled in Madison later that day. 

Interestingly, when Kennedy appeared in Madison, the Wisconsin State Journal reported that despite his grueling schedule, the candidate looked “refreshed.”

Draw your own conclusions.

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