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La Crosse, Wis. — Steamboat photos and memorabilia continue to flow into the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The university’s Murphy Library Special Collections/Area Research Center holds one of the nation’s largest image collections related to historic steamboats and inland river scenes. There are roughly 40,000 images on site, nearly 30,000 of which can be viewed […]
A look at the historical shenanigans of the Great Steamboat Race and the people keeping the tradition alive today
Photos from the summer and fall of 1980, when thousands of Cuban refugees stayed at the Fort McCoy military base in Sparta, Wisconsin, after coming to the U.S. via the Mariel Boatlift.
Fort McCoy was one of four U.S. military installations that housed Cuban refugees after the Mariel Boatlift in 1980. Almost 15,000 Cubans lived there that summer and fall while waiting to connect with family members or find sponsors.
The Cubans who immigrated to the United States during the Mariel Boatlift have left Fort McCoy. Some found homes in Wisconsin and got jobs. Some started families. But first, they had to find sponsors.