“Thinking Like a Historian,” authored by Bobbie Malone and Nikki Mandell, and released in December 2008 by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press, is a compelling guide that not only introduces readers to the craft of historical inquiry but also champions the value of thinking historically in everyday life.
The Owen-Withee Mennonite community values—including modesty, simplicity, and separation from certain forms of modern technology—is a great illustration on how to think like a historian. The Mennonites practice the art of oral history telling and education. The methods of historical analysis and preservation as championed by Malone and Mandell prove invaluable: by piecing together local histories from a variety of sources—property records, church documents, personal interviews, and community newspapers—students and teachers alike can build a fuller picture of how Owen-Withee has evolved. Within the private Mennonite school system, teaching of history, both before and after 1973 (the date that Mennonites first settled in Owen-Withee) is a priority.
Ultimately, teaching about ethnicity in Clark County demands both historical empathy and methodological rigor. It requires acknowledging tensions and misunderstandings, while also celebrating the resilience and adaptability of all who have called the region home. “Thinking Like a Historian” provides the conceptual tools to navigate these challenges—empowering educators and students to ask thoughtful questions, confront difficult truths, and appreciate the complexity of their community’s past and present.
Another crucial motif is contingency—the idea that nothing in history was inevitable. The rise and fall of the lumber era in the Black River region was shaped by a tangled web of choices, accidents, and market forces. Why did the railroad come to Owen-Withee, sealing its place as a regional hub, while other settlements faded away? What if conservation laws had been passed earlier, or if a devastating forest fire had never occurred? “Thinking Like a Historian” encourages readers to seek out these what-ifs, understanding that history is not a straight line but a braided river of possibilities, shaped by the land and its people.
“Thinking Like a Historian” excels in its accessibility. The prose is lucid and inviting, peppered with anecdotes and analogies that demystify the historian’s craft. Malone and Mandell’s voice—whether formal or conversational—never condescends, treating readers as partners in inquiry rather than passive recipients.
The book’s practical activities are readily adaptable to local history projects. For instance, a teacher in Owen or Withee might ask students to collect oral histories from elders about the old farmers, compare land deeds and maps from different decades, or analyze newspaper reports on the shift from logging to farming and cheese making to greenhouses to tourism. These exercises transform the book from a theoretical guide into a hands-on toolkit for uncovering the layered stories of one’s own community.
No book is without its shortcomings, and “Thinking Like a Historian” is no exception. While its global examples are impressive, readers interested in the microhistories of small towns like Owen and Withee may need to look beyond its pages for specific case studies. However, the methods Malone and Mandell teach are universally applicable: their call to question sources, consider context, and seek out silenced voices is as relevant to the history of Wisconsin’s Northwoods as to any world capital.
“Thinking Like a Historian” by Bobbie Malone and Nikki Mandell, published by Wisconsin Historical Society Press in December 2008, is more than a manual—it is an invitation to join an ongoing conversation about the meaning and construction of the past, whether that past is found in the old one room rural schools of the Black River valley or the grand sweep of global events. Its pages urge readers to embrace uncertainty, delight in nuance, and persist in questioning—skills that are vital for understanding not only world history, but also the stories etched into the landscape of places like Owen and Withee, Wisconsin.
For educators and curious citizens of the Northwoods, this book offers both inspiration and a practical framework for exploring the mysteries of the past right at home—reminding us that to think like a historian is, above all, to keep asking new questions as we walk the well-trodden paths of our own communities.