Athens, WI: The Place Where Time Stood Still

by Ed Semon

Athens, WI-Place Where Time Stood Still is three Athens, a small village in Wisconsin in the 1930s, my father and the management of his business, my mother's story, my brothers and sister, the only Jewish family in town and a boy, growing up in that magical time and place. Mostly, we were the same as our friends, but there were some who never let us forget that we were different.

178 pages, Paperback

First published February 7, 2013

Reviews

[Irving Koppel]

Unlike its namesake,Athens,Wisconsin is a very small town(about 1200)in Northern Wisconsin.It was
there that Ben Semon,a Russian-Jewish immigrant,brought his Czechoslovakian-Jewish bride,Hattie.There
they made a life for themselves in the early 1920's.Ben established a general store from which he earned a comfortable living.It was there that they reared four children,three boys and a girl.

While there were signs of occasional prejudice,their lives,on the whole,were calm,healthful and productive.The children interacted very well with the Christian children who also attended their very
small first through eighth grade school.They studied their lessons and played all the popular games.It
was really an idyllic childhood.

When the children became teens, and the question of dating arose,the parents,wanting them to retain
their faith,moved to Milwaukee.There one could find numerous Jewish families.The children adjusted well to their learning in the upper grades.The parents were gratified that all the children married
persons of the same faith. Still,the family always remembered fondly the lives and friendships they had made in the north woods of Wisconsin.

[Kimberly]

I'm not sure why this book has received such low ratings. It isn't rocket science but it IS a well writen piece about the history of a small Wisconsin town and a family that contributed to it. I lived nearby in Medford for several years and it was fun to read a piece of history of Athens, especially about the early years of the still popular Athens Worlds Fair, and learn more about business owners successful decades ago in Medford. Everyone in central Wisconsin knows all these tiny towns used to be busy and necessary but too few people get the big picture about how the disappearance of farming and logging has changed the economic outlook for an entire section of the state.