July 30, 2014 at 3:31 p.m.
Renowned photographer helped preserve history, beauty of Holmboe Conifer Forest
Renowned photographer helped preserve history, beauty of Holmboe Conifer Forest
By By Kyle Rogers-
Buildings are torn down and replaced with new structures. Once empty swaths of land are gradually filled with new development. That's what makes Rhinelander's Holmboe Conifer Forest unique. The 32-acre site located along the Pelican River has changed little over the years. It has been maintained as a nature preserve for nearly a half century now, and even before that it was largely spared from the significant logging that occurred in the area that led to the development of the city of Rhinelander. When one walks among the hemlock, black spruce, white cedar, and giant red and white pines that make up the forest, it's not difficult to feel the history.
The origins of the Holmboe Conifer Forest go back 10,000 years to the end of the Ice Age. A glacial esker runs along the southern boundary of the property, creating the steep slopes that are a distinctive feature of the forest. Prior to the arrival of European settlers, the forest was the site of occasional battles between North American tribes because of its location at the crossing of two rivers. The river turned red as a result of the bloodshed in one well-known battle between the Sioux and Ojibwe that occurred a century before Rhinelander was founded. Supposedly, there are still some Native American gravesites located within the forest.
During the logging boom of the 1800s, the city of Rhinelander began to take shape. The entire area was heavily logged, including some of the Holmboe Conifer Forest. The size of the trees today indicates, however, that the impact of logging on the site was relatively minor, possibly due to the steep terrain and wet soil making accessibility difficult.
During the Great Depression in the 1930s, a hobo jungle formed on the property. It wasn't long after that the forest's namesake came into the picture.
Frithjof Holmboe was born May 12, 1879 in Norway. When he was four years old, his family immigrated to America and chose to settle in Minneapolis. As a teenager Holmboe started a business with his two brothers making portrait enlargements and other paintings. This eventually led Holmboe to the photography business. He was a photographer for the Northern Pacific Railway prior to opening his first studio in 1907 in New Salem, N.D. Two years later he moved his business to Bismarck. According to newspaper archives, during his time in North Dakota Holmboe became the state's "official photographer." He handled all of the state's work, including pictures of the Legislature and several portraits of nationally prominent people such as President William H. Taft. In 1914, Holmboe was part of a goodwill trip to his home country of Norway headed by North Dakota Gov. Louis B. Hanna.
Holmboe filmed the trip, and the movie was later shown in theaters across the U.S. Shortly after that, Holmboe started a film production company and was hired to do a series of promotional films highlighting various aspects of North Dakota in order to attract more immigrants. Some of those films still exist. In the 1970s, the State Historical Society of North Dakota found the films. Some had deteriorated badly, but others were able to be restored.
After spending some time in the film industry in Hollywood, as well as selling amateur movie-making equipment across the country, Holmboe found his way to the Northwoods and got back to his roots - photography. Holmboe was in Rhinelander from 1933 to 1949. He ran a photography studio in downtown and it was during this time that he gained recognition for his exceptional wildflower photography, in particular rare orchids. His property, which is now the Holmboe Conifer Forest, provided plenty of inspiration.
Holmboe's wildflower photography led to some national recognition. In 1942, he was featured in the publications "Who's Who in America" and "Who's Who in American Portrait Photography." Holmboe's wildflower photos were displayed by leading museums, nature clubs and botany departments of universities. Oakes Ames, director of the botanical museum at Harvard University, called Holmboe's work the best he had ever seen for colored photos of plants, according to a 1938 Daily News article.
Holmboe and his family moved to Mill Valley, Calif. in 1949 to take over a camera and stationery shop. In 1965, a year before his death, Holmboe donated his Rhinelander property to the Nature Conservancy of Wisconsin, one of the first properties in the state donated for conservation purposes. It ensured that the site would be preserved for subsequent generations to enjoy as Holmboe and his family had. The Northwoods Land Trust is the current caretaker of the property.
Flip through the notebook available at the informational kiosk at the forest's trailhead for people to write comment and you'll find that people continue to do just that. Take the comment written by one woman on June 8: "Lovely day. Magical place. So blessed to be alive."
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