Local bookstore hosts book talk celebrating strength of Wisconsin women
While Caramel Crisp Corner may be known for the “Best. Cookies. Ever!,” the downtown Oshkosh cafe is also home to a cozy bookstore that features fascinating stories from local Wisconsin authors. On Saturday, April 12, two members of the Winchester Area Historical Society came to the bookstore to advertise and sign their collective book, It Takes Strong Women. Researched and written over the course of a year, it features a collection of previously overlooked female narratives from throughout the state.
The Historical Society helps preserve the history of towns in and around the Winchester area. One way that the society achieves this is by organizing informative walks in the Grace Lutheran Church Cemetery, where women from the society portray and write scripts for several of the strong women buried there.
Society member Bette Lee saw how the stories shared at the walk began to circulate throughout the community, and those unable to attend the cemetery walks began to want access to the scripts.
“A lot of people didn’t get to come that day, for whatever reason, and they wanted to know how they could get to read these stories as well. So we thought, we’ll put it together,” she said.
The society also helps families learn more about their past and their genealogy. Ellen Gomoll, a fellow member of the Winchester Area Historical Society, experiences this first hand as her membership in the society helps her and others learn more about their family’s past.
“My mother’s family grew up in the area in Winchester,” she said. “I wanted to be a part of that and to find out more things about them. But I also wanted to help people find their families.”
The organizers of these events, including Gomoll, understand that women’s stories have been overlooked in the past. The major goal of both the cemetery walk and their book was to share these stories with the public.
“Historically, women’s stories weren’t being told,” she said. “If you look back through the decades, it was the men, because they either owned the land or they owned the companies. The women were supportive, for sure, but they were in the background and their stories weren’t told, so we wanted to start to capture some of those stories. That was the idea behind the walk.”
Jen Frank, the organizer of these events at Caramel Crisp, met one of the members of the Winchester Area Historical Society in the store and ended up talking to her and learning about the book.
“When I heard about her book, I invited her to consign with us here, which is a thing we do for local authors,” she said. “Any local authors that have a book, either self-published or traditionally published, we’re happy to have them at the Carmel Crisp bookstore.”
Frank believes that the message behind the book is an important one to share with the public. She agrees that women’s stories need more recognition in the community.
“I knew that the book was about women’s history, and powerful women that have been influential in Wisconsin,” she said. “I was really interested in having them come talk to the public about that, so I invited them to come!”
This book signing is not the first of its kind at Caramel Crisp and certainly not the last. In fact, events like book signings and readings occur at Caramel Crisp all throughout the year. Frank looks forward to continuing this outreach into the community.
“We have so, so many events,” she said. “One of the poet laureates of Wisconsin is coming in early May. We're pretty excited about indie bookstore day, which celebrates all things indie. There’s many book signings and author events, and just all kinds of fun.”
For anyone interested in learning more about influential women from throughout Wisconsin’s history, It Takes Strong Women can be purchased at Caramel Crisp in Oshkosh, Red’s Boutique Market in Winneconne, Cedar Ridge Crafts and Gifts in Neenah, and Bluebird Boutique on Racine Street.
Gomoll hopes that, after reading It Takes Strong Women, people will consider learning more about their family history.
“The people you have in your life–ask them about their lives and what they did. That’s the one thing people always say: ‘I wish I would have asked’. Just remember to ask more questions.”
by Dania Mian and Kathryn S.
Published April 28th, 2025
Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue VII