ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: honoring Jerry Apps for his contributions to Wisconsin’s heritage.
Whereas, Jerry Apps became an active member of the Waushara County 4-H club at age 10 and has remained an advocate of 4-H throughout his life; and
Whereas, Jerry Apps began his professional career as a county extension agent in Green Lake and Brown Counties, advising farm families and youth and serving as a fair organizer and judge; and
Whereas, Jerry Apps taught thousands of students as a professor at the University of Wisconsin College of Agriculture; and
Whereas, Jerry Apps has written more than 50 books on Wisconsin history and rural life, exploring topics such as barns, cheesemaking, gardening, fishing, conservation, horse-powered farming, one-room schools, and country winters; and
Whereas, Jerry Apps has researched and published 23 books with the Wisconsin Historical Society Press, including the definitive Wisconsin Agriculture: A History, documenting in depth our state’s agricultural past, present, and future, as well as Old Farm: A History, which has won more than a dozen regional and national awards; and
Whereas, Jerry Apps has written engaging and informative books for young readers that are enjoyed by schoolchildren in classrooms across Wisconsin; and
Whereas, Jerry Apps has informed, entertained, and inspired countless residents of Wisconsin and the world through his newspaper columns, articles, books, and television and radio appearances; and
Whereas, Jerry Apps is exceedingly generous with his knowledge and craft, teaching classes and workshops for aspiring writers and encouraging them to preserve and share their own stories; and
Whereas, Jerry Apps has earned dozens of writing awards; received the Distinguished Service Award from the UW–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences; was named a fellow of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters; and was inducted into the 4-H Hall of Fame; and
Whereas, Jerry Apps has created seven documentaries on rural life with PBS Wisconsin and won a regional Emmy Award for the documentary A Farm Winter, and two Eric Sevareid Awards for Merit for The Land and Food and Memories; and
Whereas, Jerry Apps stands alongside the great Wisconsin naturalist and environmental thinkers Aldo Leopold, John Muir, Sigurd Olson, Increase Lapham, and Gaylord Nelson; and
Whereas, Jerry Apps has shown unwavering dedication to preserving Wisconsin’s agricultural heritage and strengthening our bonds to our past and to one another; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the Wisconsin Legislature honors Jerry Apps for his numerous, unique, and impactful contributions to Wisconsin’s heritage.
Representative Robin J. Vos
Speaker of the Assembly
Senator Mary Felzkowski
President of the Senate
Cyrus Anderson
Senate Chief Clerk
