A WPA guide to Wisconsin's edible mushrooms

Wisconsin Mushrooms


This publication was prepared by the Wisconsin Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration. The Writers' Project in each state provided work for unemployed researchers, writers, and editors during the Great Depression of the 1930s. In Wisconsin, it was initially headed by Charles E. Brown (1872-1946), an archaeologist, folklorist, and avid mushroom hunter. This short book was subtitled, "A Popular Guide to the Common Edible Fungi of the City, Meadow and Woodland, with Suggestions for Their Table Preparation." Its preface states that  "an effort is made to provide descriptions and information of some twenty species of common edible fungi of the city, meadow, and woodland which every mushroom lover should know." In addition, pages 11-13 contain several anecdotes about Wisconsin mushroom hunters.  Only about 200 copies of this booklet were made. They were printed by mimeograph, bound by W.P.A. workers in the Milwaukee Handicraft Project, and distributed to public libraries.


Related Topics: Wisconsin's Response to 20th-century change
Depression and Unemployment
Creator: Folklore Section, Federal Writers¿ Project, Wisconsin.
Pub Data: Madison, Wis.: Works Progress Administration, Wisconsin, 1937. From a copy in the Wisconsin Historical Society Library Rare Book Collection, call no. QK 617 F4
Citation: Folklore Section, Federal Writers¿ Project, Wisconsin. Wisconsin Mushrooms. (Madison, Wis. : Works Progress Administration, Wisconsin, 1937). Online facsimile at http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=1735 Online facsimile at:  http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=1735; Visited on: 4/25/2024