The digitized Stanley Republican archive at Wisconsin Badgerlink may have cost around $20K through fundraising, but boy does it help with research, and that can be crucial when you’re pressed for time. Take the old building addition at Chapman Park: how much did it actually cost at the time it was built, or what’s the story there anyway?

After a few hit and miss search term queries, we start out our findings for ‘Rod and Gun addition’ with a column “From the Editor” in the August 29, 1974 Stanley Republican gave some of the writer’s thoughts on the relocated fall city carnival, along with the then new Rod and Gun addition, later to suffer a roof collapse 45 years later due to abnormally heavy snows. Among the thoughts shared by the Editor in 1974 was the observation that, “the relocation of the carnival” was “a big improvement. Our park could be used as usual,” and with greater ride visibility for parents, the writer shared. Meanwhile of the food stand together with the Rod and Gun addition, the writer shared their additional thoughts that, “The local food stand’s re-location near the beer tent presented a burden to the food stand workers, working both sides of their tent, but aided the beer tent workers as well as those socializing in the area. The Rod and Gun addition, which was used for the first time last year, is a terrific improvement for the club’s chicken serving, plus it offers a wonderful dance floor in the evening for the music…” Bingo, paydirt. We read “The Rod and Gun addition, which was used for the first time last year…,” thereby providing us with a year to look for cost comparison: 1973. Moving backwards in time but forward in our research, page three on February 21, 1974, makes it known that a then recent meeting of the Rod and Gun Club presided over by Jack Caswell had taken place at the Stanley Auditorium, at which, “the projects for the past year were discussed. They included: tree planting, a fish feeding program at Chapman Lake, the raising and releasing of 1400 pheasants and a 30 by 60 new building at Chapman Park. The new building got its first use when we had our Pony Pull in July and were able to serve our barbequed chicken dinners in it both at the Pony Pull and two days during the Fall Festival.”

More paydirt: comparative building dimensions to help identify it (30 by 60 feet) and even a month for its first use (July 1973). To get to the bottom of this community mystery and make even just a partial report then, one had only to look for pictures in July and City Council meetings before this. What are the results?

•The Rod and Gun addition was next to the beer tent (July 27,