The First Ever Marinette Trivia Quiz

Dear George,

Marinette, Wisconsin, and Menominee, Michigan are twin cities, separated and connected by the Menominee River.  If the river hadn’t been a state line, they would undoubtedly be a single community.  In fact, in the early days the three separate villages near the Menominee River mouth — Marinette, Menekaunee, and Menominee — shared a single postal address: “The Menominee”.  Though Menominee was my home town, Marinettee also had a lot of importance to my youth.  The M&M Football game between Marinette and Menominee High Schools was the biggest local event of the year, generating a lot of fervor.  My parents took me shopping at Lauerman’s Department Store and Goldberg’s Men Store in downtown Marinette, and my mother liked the Bell Store.  I got my annual high school yearbook photos at Conant’s Studio on Main St., and I worked next door at my grandfather’s Rexall drug store during my teenage years.  As kids, we regularly went to weekend matinees at Marinette’s two downtown movie theaters, and later my friends and I patronized the Highway 64 drive-in.   As teens we cruised the loop and stopped at the A&W, Schloegel’s, or Mickey-Lu’s.  In more recent decades we’ve spent lots of vacation time searching for bargains at the Goodwill and St. Vincent de Paul or consuming soft serve sundaes and burgers at Culvers.  With all this personal history, it’s little wonder I’m fascinated by Marinette trivia.  I think if a reader can get twenty out of thirty questions correct in the quiz below, they are doing very well.  The answers are given at the end. 

Love,

Dave

1. Marinette’s Menekaunee neighborhood was originally a separate village that was known for:

(a) potato farming; (b) fur trapping; (c) logging; (d) fishing

2. Wells St., Merryman St., Carney Blvd., and Ludington St. in Marinette are named after:

(a) church leaders; (b) politicians; (c) lumbermen; (d) football players

3. How many motor vehicle bridges connect Marinette and Menominee?

(a) Two; (b) Three; (c) Four; (d) Five

4. Marinette is named after:

(a) a French nobleman, Duc Jean d’Marinette

(b) a city in Belgium

(c) a Catholic saint known for her dedication to the oppressed

(d) a Menominee Indian chief’s daughter who ran a trading post

5. The Marinette Marine shipbuilding corporation began by producing:

(a) barges and tugs for the war effort in World War II

(b) yachts for wealthy Great Lakes boatmen

(c) coal and lumber freighters used in the St. Lawrence Seaway

(d) white pine and oak furniture

6. Compared to the U.S. as a whole, Marinette has:

(a) more snowfall; (b) more rainfall; (c) more sunshine; (d) all of these

7. Marinette’s first church was the _____: 

(a) First Christian Science Church

(b) Pioneer Presbyterian Church

(c) St. James Lutheran Church

(d) Holy Family Parish

8. How many synagogues existed in Marinette in 1903?

(a) Zero; (b) One; (c) Two; (d) Three

9. Which of these county, state, or federal highways is NOT located in Marinette?

(a) Hwy 180; (b) Hwy 64; (c) Hwy 35; (d) Hwy 41

10. Marinette was incorporated in:

(a) 1847; (b) 1867; (c) 1887; (d) 1907

11. Which species of fish might be caught by a Marinette fisherman on Green Bay?

(a) Chinook salmon; (b) northern pike; (c) rainbow trout; (d) all of these

12. The historic homes of Marinette's lumber barons are mainly located on:

(a) Riverside Avenue; (b) Carney Boulevard; (c) Hall Avenue; (d) Main Street

13. The University of Wisconsin-Marinette began its first classes to 25 students in the Marinette High School on Main Street in:

1935; (b) 1950; (c) 1965; (d) 1980

14. Marinette exceeds the national average in:

(a) low health care costs

(b) physicians per capita

(c) air and water quality

(d) all of these

15. Marinette’s first railroad, built in 1871, was:

(a) the Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad

(b) the Wisconsin and Southern

(c) the Chicago and Northwestern

(d) the Tomahawk Railway

16. Marinette County is known as the ______ Capital of Wisconsin.

(a) Snowmobile; (b) Deer Hunting; (c) Whitefish; (d) Waterfalls

17. The Marinette Chautauqua Assembly, established in 1897, was located at:

(a) Pine Beach; (b) Red Arrow Beach; (c) Memorial Beach; (d) Victory Beach

18. Marinette and Menominee currently share:

(a) a Chamber of Commerce

(b) a daily newspaper

(c) a regional health center

(d) all of these

19. What percent of current Marinette residents are foreign-born?

(a) 2.5%; (b) 6.1%; (c) 11.3%; (d) 17.9%

20. The mayor of Marinette in 2016 is:

(a) Axel Baumgarten; (b) Ken Keebler; (c) Steve Genisot; (d) Shirley Goffman

21. The Lauerman Brothers Department Store was established by Joseph and Frank Lauerman in:  

(a) 1890; (b) 1905; (c) 1920; (d) 1935

22. The M&M game is one of the oldest interstate public school football rivalries in the nation (1894).  Which school’s team leads in games won?

(a) Marinette Marines, 63-41-4

(b) Marinette Marines, 53-49-6

(c) Menominee Maroons, 51-50-7

(d) Menominee Maroons, 61-44-3

23. The first house made of lumber in Marinette was built for:

(a) Isaac Stephenson; (b) Queen Marinette; (c) Stanislau Chappu; (d) William Farnsworth

24. How many murders occurred in Marinette in the 5-year period between 2009 and 2013?

(a) 0; (b) 3 (c) 8; (d) 17

25. True or False?  “In 2012 a majority of Marinette voters voted for Barack Obama over Mitt Romney.” 

(a) True; (b) False 

26. Which group is largest in Marinette County?

(a) Catholics; (b) Mainline Protestants; (c) Evangelical Protestants; (d) No religious affiliation

27. Compared to its twin city of Menominee, Marinette has more:

(a) hotels and motels; (b) cemeteries; (c) people in jail; (d) all of these

28. The most common ancestry in Marinette is:

(a) French; (b) German; (c) Irish; (d) Swedish

29. How much does the city of Marinette’s daytime population change due to commuting?

(a) +11%; (b) +19%; (c) +31%; (d) +54%

30. According to the 2016 White Pages, there are currently nine bars in the city of Marinette.  How many were there in 1900?

(a) 3; (b) 9; (c) 16; (d) 30

31. The most common occupations in Marinette are in the category of:

(a) food preparation and serving; (b) sales; (c) production; (d) construction

32. How many lakes are in Marinette County?

(a) 39; (b) 111; (c) 229; (d) 442)

33. Marinette’s public library was built from funds donated by:

Isaac Stephenson; (b) Augustus Spies; (c) Charles Ogden; (d) Dr. John Hall

ANSWER KEY:

l.d. Menekuanee is known for fishing

2.c. Streets named after lumbermen

3.b. Three motor vehicle bridges 

4.d. A Menominee Indian chief’s daughter, Queen Marinette

5.a. Marinette Marine began with WW II barges & tugs

6.a. More snowfall than average 

7.b. Pioneer Presbyterian Church (1870) 

8.d. According to Wikipedia, there were three synagogues in Marinette in 1903

9.c. Hwy 35 is in Michigan 

10.c. Incorporated in 1887

11.d.  All of these — salmon, pike, trout in Green Bay

12.a. Lumber barons’ homes on Riverside Ave.

13a. UW-Marinette began in 1935

14.c. Above average in air and water quality

15.c. Chicago and Northwestern R.R. first

16.d. Known as the Waterfalls Capital

17.a. Chautauqua located at Pine Beach

18.d. Twin cities share C of C, newspaper, health center

19.a. 2.5% foreign-born

20.c. Mayor Steve Genisot

21.a. Lauerman Bros. established in 1890

22.a. Menominee Maroons lead by one, 51-50-7

23.c.  Queen Marinette

24.a.  Zero murders

25.b.  False: 51% Romney, 48% Obama

26.d. No Religious Affiliation (52%) 

27.d. Marinette has more hotels/motels, cemeteries, prisoners

28.b. German ancestry is most common (31%)

29.d. 54% increase due to commuting

30.d. 30 bars in 1900

31.c.  Production occupations (40%)

32.d. 442 lakes in Marinette County

33.a.  The Stephenson Public Library

SOURCES:

www.bestplaces.net, “Marinette, Wisconsin”;  (Sperling’s Best Places) 

www.city-data.com, “Marinette, Wisconsin”;  

www.marinette.wi.us, "History of Marinette"; 

www.memory.infosoup.org, "A Brief History of Marinette for Children"; 

www.rootsweb.ancestry.com, “Marinette County, WI: Geneaology and Local History”; 

www.sites.google.com, "History of Marinette, WI"; 

www.wikipedia.org, “List of synagogues in Wisconsin”; 

www.wikipedia.org, “Marinette, Wisconsin”;

www.wisconline.com, "Marinette County, Wisconsin"