CONTACT:
Michael Goc
P.O. Box 558
Friendship, WI 53934
608-339-7191 (work)
608-339-7191 (fax)
newpast at maqs.net
Michael Goc will negotiate costs with you. He is often willing to do talks for free, if the organization can cover his travel costs. Contact him directly to make arrangements.REGION:
Adams County, Central WisconsinHUMANITIES EXPERTISE:
Wisconsin History, Aviation History.

MICHAEL GOC

Michael Goc is a veteran print and radio journalist. He is the author/editor of numerous scholarly and popular articles and over 70 books on Wisconsin historical subjects, including aviation, business and conservation, as well as numerous cities, counties, villages, and regions. Eight of his books have received Awards of Merit from the Wisconsin Historical Society, including Powder, People and Place (2003) and Forward in Flight (1998), the definitive history of aviation in Wisconsin. Goc is also a member of the board of directors of the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame in Oshkosh. He is the founder and president of the New Past Press Inc., which specializes in publishing historical books by Wisconsin authors.

A video of Michael Goc's presentation, "Social History and the Natural Landscape," given on September 25, 2008 as part of the WHC's Wisconsin: Making it Home series on the UW-Baraboo campus, can be viewed at portalwisconsin.org.

Public Presentations:

Powder, People and Place
The Badger Army Ammunition Plant near Baraboo was one of the nation's largest producers of high explosive propellants for the United States military in World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Cold War, and the war in Vietnam. Based on his research for the award-winning book, Powder, People, and Place, Goc will recount the story of the plant's construction on 10,500 acres of confiscated Sauk Prairie farmland, its operation as a vital supplier of ammunition for three decades, and its social, economic, and environmental impact on Wisconisin. He will also raise questions about the extent of a citizen's obligation to sacrifice in wartime and the boundaries of dissent in time of war, particularly in the 1940s and 1960s.

Aviation History
Wisconsin has a surprisingly significant and interesting aviation history. It begins with Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, continues with World War I hero General Billy Mitchell, airline inventor Alfred Lawson, air mail pilots, aircraft builders, inventors and eccentrics, and culminates with the contributions of Paul Poberezny, who founded the world's largest general aviation organization-the Experimental Aircraft Association in Hales Corners in 1954. Based on his award-winning book, Forward in Flight, The History of Aviation in Wisconsin, Goc will present an entertaining and locally focused view of Wisconsin's ventures into flight.

The End of Nature in Wisconsin
Applying lessons learned from writer Bill McKibben's provocative account of the impact of human activities on the global environment, Goc cites historical examples of how we have brought about "the end of nature" in Wisconsin. The demise of the Sauk Prairie in the 1840s, the re-engineering of the Wisconsin River Valley at the turn of the 20th century, the rise of "car culture" and the construction of Lake Delton in the 1920s, the discovery of a land ethic in landowners' response to "Dust Bowl" conditions in the Central Sands in the 1940s, and the surprising development of a refuge for grassland birds on the grounds of the Badger Army Ammunition Plant since 1975, tell the story of how we have reshaped the natural environment in our state. A video of Michael Goc's presentation, given as part of the WHC's Wisconsin: Making it Home series on the UW-Baraboo campus, can be viewed at portalwisconsin.org.

Other Public Program Ideas: Micheal Goc is available to work with groups interested in exploring the home front in Wisconsin during World War II and Vietnam or in learning about the aviation history of their home community. Please contact him directly to discuss research projects, public programs, book and/or panel discussions.