Burlington historian has dedicated years to preserving the community’s past for future generations | Local News
BURLINGTON — Don Vande Sand lived in a world of dusty archives and forgotten documents that collectively tell the story of a city.
Don Vande Sand left Burlington in the 1960s for a job with the federal government, but returned and became the volunteer researcher and archivist for the Burlington Historical Society.
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As the Official Collector of the Burlington Historical Society, Vande Sand has dedicated years to collecting and preserving the stories of Burlington’s people, families, landmarks and events.
Before there was Google, there was Don Vande Sand.
Colleagues at the historical society say Vande Sand has amassed a tremendous amount of information and created a vast repository that is helpful to those seeking to better understand Burlington’s past.
“Don was a real guy – Mr. History,” said Dennis Tully, the organization’s former president.
Vande Sand, a Burlington native who returned home and became an authority on local history after a successful career elsewhere, died Monday at the age of 82.
story of a historian
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Those who knew him remember Vande Sand as an individual who poured his energy into the nonprofit historical society, working hours by himself every day at the group’s offices at 232 N. Perkins Boulevard.
“He did it all,” said Julie O’Neill, the group’s current president. “If the light outside was on, you knew Don was there.”
Born in Burlington near the end of the Great Depression, Vande Sand was the second oldest of seven children born to Aloysius and Henrietta Vande Sand. The family lived in a four-bedroom house on Perkins Boulevard near the current historical society office.
After graduating from Burlington High School in 1957, Vande Sand attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
He then landed a job at the US General Accounting Office and moved to Washington, D.C.
With an accounting certification, he spent the next 30 years analyzing government programs for efficiency or waste.
Don Vande Sand of the Burlington Historical Society, left, and Christopher Paulson of the Racine Heritage Museum collect GPS coordinates of an Underground Railroad site September 19, 2007, at the Bowie Knife Potter site, 116 E. Jefferson St .
Dustin Safranek, Journal Times file photo
Retiring in his mid-fifties, Vande Sand returned to Burlington and became interested in a project his father and mother had embraced – the local historical society.
Vande Sand quickly immersed himself in the company’s mission, devouring mountains of old records, photos and other artifacts.
His brother, John Vande Sand, said the work appealed to Vande Sand’s nature as a meticulous analyst who preferred to work independently, away from the public spotlight.
“I think he’s found his groove,” his brother said.
Over the next 20 years, Vande Sand created the company’s website, built a searchable archive, and collected and documented countless historical facts, figures, and images. He went through old telephone books, city directories, maps, vital records and newspapers.
Although he worked as a volunteer without being paid, he logged hours almost every day and welcomed visitors or researchers inside the historical society office. It has become a primary source of information for people researching family history, landowners checking land records, or journalists gathering information for the Racine Journal Times and other news outlets.
Vande Sand
“He knew everyone,” Tully said. “No one can compare to Don.”
The private historical society receives funding from the city, but it operates with the financial support of its approximately 140 members, who pay a membership fee of $10 a year.
Vande Sand became vice president of the company. He also served on the 11-member Board of Directors.
He, however, avoided public attention and preferred to stay in the background.
“He was a touch guy,” Tully said.
Vande Sand’s brother agreed, recalling that Vande Sand enjoyed working with other people individually. If anyone was looking for information on Burlington’s history, he was always ready to help.
“I think he had fun opening windows into people’s pasts,” his brother said.
Vande Sand never married, but became a well-known figure in the community, working with the Burlington Area Chamber of Commerce, St. Charles Catholic Church, and other organizations. At least one local service club honored with “Man of the Year” award.
As his colleagues deal with Vande Sand’s death, they also grapple with the reality of running the organization without him.
Tully said it is a testament to Vande Sand’s years of hard work that the historical society is able to continue operating after his passing.
“We have a bright future ahead of us,” Tully said.
O’Neill agreed that Vande Sand leaves behind a rich legacy. However, she added, others still working in the historical society may have to accept that he will never be replaced.
“We weren’t done with him yet,” she said. “We had too much to learn from him.”
Photos: From industry to recreation, Burlington’s beloved Echo Lake through the years
A photo from the early 1900s shows water flowing over the Echo Lake Dam
Water rushes over the Echo Lake Dam in Burlington in this photo taken looking north in the early 1900s.
Photo submitted courtesy of the Burlington Historical Society
Man standing on Echo Lake Dam in Burlington in 1900
A man on the left appears to be standing on the Echo Lake Dam in Burlington, in a 1900 image looking northwest across the lake.
Photo submitted courtesy of the Burlington Historical Society
Locomotive roars past Echo Lake Dam in Burlington circa 1890
An 1890 locomotive belches smoke into the air as it passes through Burlington and past the Echo Lake Dam on the right, with water crashing into the White River on the left.
Photo submitted courtesy of the Burlington Historical Society
Men fishing along the dam on Echo Lake in 1890
Two men are seen fishing on the left along the White River in an 1890 image by the Burlington Historical Society, with a dam in the background holding back water from Echo Lake in Burlington.
Photo submitted courtesy of the Burlington Historical Society
Chimney industry exhibit across the White River towards Echo Lake Dam
Chimneys are visible with the dam also in the background in this 1930s photo of the White River looking southwest toward Echo Lake.
Photo submitted courtesy of the Burlington Historical Society
Men wearing bowler hats gather at Echo Lake Dam in 1900
Some wearing bowler-style hats popular in the 19th century, men gather at Echo Lake Dam in Burlington, in a photo dated 1900 by the Burlington Historical Society.
Photo submitted courtesy of the Burlington Historical Society
Low water conditions on Echo Lake in 1904
In an image dated 1904, the Burlington Historical Society says this photo shows low water conditions on Echo Lake, with the dam shown on the left and a man apparently standing on the far right.
SCOTT WILLIAMS
Skaters head to a frozen Echo Lake in Burlington in 1965
Ice skaters head to a frozen Echo Lake in Burlington in a 1965 photo, showing the 70-acre lake was a popular place for recreation in both summer and winter.
Photo submitted courtesy of the Burlington Historical Society
The pitcher delivers the ball in an “ice ball” game on frozen Echo Lake in Burlington
A pitcher on the right prepares to throw a ball to a batter on the left in a 1975 photo showing an ‘ice ball’ game on frozen Echo Lake in Burlington.
Photo submitted courtesy of the Burlington Historical Society
Spectator Boat Races on Burlington’s Echo Lake
In an undated photo likely from the back half of the 20th century, people gather at Echo Lake in Burlington to watch the boat races, with more spectators visible in the distance on the opposite shore.
Photo submitted courtesy of the Burlington Historical Society
A man walks across frozen Echo Lake during a winter ‘ice ball’ game
In an image facing west on Echo Lake in Burlington, a man runs on the frozen lake, center, during a 1975 baseball game called “iceball” in the Burlington Historical Society archives.
Photo submitted courtesy of the Burlington Historical Society
Spectators watch the boat races on Echo Lake in 2003
Spectators watch the boat races on Echo Lake in Burlington in 2003, a summer attraction that has since come to a halt on the pollution and sediment-ridden lake.
GREGORY SHAVER, Journal Times file photo
A man fishes on the White River near the Echo Lake Dam in Burlington in 2021
With the 300-foot-long Echo Lake Dam visible in the background, Racine’s Adrien Erickson casts his line July 8, 2021, while fishing the White River in Burlington.
SCOTT WILLIAMS
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