By Dorothy Helmke.

At the time when most people are contemplating retirement, Dorothy Helmke became a newspaper columnist, writing stories for the Wisconsin State Journal, the Capital Times, and the McFarland Community Life.  Dorothy was born on a farm east of McFarland in 1892.  She raised four daughters in the family house on Main Street in McFarland.  Her stories begin with her memories of Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) Indians traveling across the family farm in the 1890’s and continue with village life through the 1900’s until she died in 1978.