Neenah Notables

Many remarkable and noteworthy persons have called Neenah home over the years. Here are the stories of just a few:

EFFIE WALLER SMITH: Early 20th Century African American Poet.

ETHWELL "EDDY" HANSON: Musician and radio personality. Composer of Wisconsin's official State Waltz.

GEORGE EDWIN BERGSTROM: Chief architect and designer of the Pentagon.

HOWARD HAWKS: Noted movie director.

C.B. MANVILLE: Neenah photographer changed careers and became a multimillionaire.

MARCUS LEE HANSEN: Pulitzer Prize winning historian.

HARRISON REED: Neenah founder becomes governor of Florida.

MATHILDA KRUEGER: "Neenah's Florence Nightingale."

ARTHUR SHATTUCK: World-renowned concert pianist.

Neenah Notables Featured in the Cemetery Walk

In the Annual Cemetery Walk, the Historical Society focuses on four individuals who have influenced Neenah. Starting in 2025, we created webpages about the individuals to accompany the presentation.

2026 - Individuals who are connected to the American Revolution:

Frank R. Miller: WW2 soldier and United States Postal Worker. Ancestor: Captain Hendrick Aupaumut.

Letta J. French: Stenographer for John Strange Paper Company. Ancestor: Private John French.

L. John Pinkerton: Product scheduler at the Gilbert Paper Company. Ancestor: Sergeant Asa Kellogg.

Mary C. Howden: Nurse at Theda Clark Hospital. Ancestors: Private John Stroud, Lieutenant Levi Whitney, Captain Abijah Smith, Private William Mansur, and Private Hezekiah Lee.

2025 - Individuals who Impacted the Childhood Experience in Neenah:

Rev. John Chapin: First Presbyterian Church minister and founder of Boys’ Brigade

Jennie Jamison: First Domestic Science Teacher in Neenah

S.F. Shattuck: Brigade Leader, Businessman, and Philanthropist

Helen Roberts: Neenah Teacher and Principal