Antigo Silt Loam
Can you name your home state's official state soil?
I can. And, here’s why:
In high school in 1983, my best friend, Becky Mead, and I got an unusual proposal from an unusual person. A soil scientist, Frances D. Hole, wanted us to make puppets for a puppet show he wrote to convince the Wisconsin State Legislature to adopt an official state soil: Antigo silt loam. He even paid us $50 for our labor.
A character indeed, Frances D. Hole had written a song about Antigo silt loam (which you can listen to below), had t-shirts made (we are wearing them in the newspaper article above) and traveled the state extolling the virtues of the ecosystem’s unsung hero, soil.
“Soil is the hidden, secret friend, which is the root domain of lively darkness and silence.”
Francis D. Hole
Becky and I made puppets representing Bucky Badger, erosion, wind, Mr. Sun and Terra Loam. In the newspaper photo above, Becky is holding up Terra Loam, which we crafted by stretching panty hose over pillow stuffing and strategically giving it shape with hand stitching. I’m holding up the evil but misunderstood character, Erosion. We weren’t entirely inexperienced; for fun, Becky and I made marionettes.
All 50 US states now have a state soil, but Wisconsin was a pioneer, thanks to Mr. Hole’s insistence that the fertile soil responsible for sustaining plant, animal and human life deserved respect. Although regarded as “silly” at the time (imagine that!), his campaign worked and Wisconsin got a state soil and, in 1987, a historical marker.
I wrote in my bio that my childhood was spent around adults who read Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson and Edward Abbey. This story is just one example of how it played out.
Many thanks to my friend, Craig Acomb, who reminded me of my high school moment of fame as an early soil influencer. I had forgotten about this. What an honor, really, to be part of it all.
Here are the lyrics to his song about Antigo Silt Loam.
Antigo, a soil to know, Wisconsin’s crops and livestock grow; and forests too, on Antigo; and forests, too, on Antigo.
Great Lakes region, fertile land; glaciers spread both clay and sand; Winds blew silt, then forests grew, giving soils their brownish hue.
Great Lakes region, fertile land, you strengthen us in heart and hand; Each slope, each flower, each wild bird call proclaims a unity in all.
Plant a seed and pull a weed; the soil will give us all we need, and plenty more, so birds may feed: and plenty more, so birds may feed.
Of all the crops, true peace is tops; its soil is love that never stops; It blesses sand and water drops: it blesses sand and water drops.
