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New PBS Wisconsin Education Resource Explores Life of Fly Fishing Entrepreneur Carrie Frost
March 23, 2021 Leave a Comment
PBS Wisconsin Education released a new Wisconsin Biographies story titled, Carrie Frost: Fly Fishing Boss. Wisconsin Biographies is a collection of free educational, online media resources that shares the stories of notable Wisconsinites and enriches grade school social studies and literacy curriculum. Carrie Frost: Fly Fishing Boss is be available for free online access at pbswisconsineducation.org.
Born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Carrie Frost moved to Stevens Point with her family in 1885. A passionate and skilled fly fisher, Frost began making her own ties after noticing her imported European flies were not attracting the Wisconsin fish she was after. She gathered local feathers, animal fur and other native materials and began tying flies in her family home. Fly fishers in Stevens Point took notice, and demand for Frost’s flies grew. She soon established her own fly-tackle business, the C.J. Frost Fishing Tackle Manufacturing Company.
The company continued to grow and eventually put Stevens Point on the map, helping make it the “Fly Tackle Capital of the World.” Frost’s life paved the way for other female entrepreneurs and business owners in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Despite the fact that women could not vote and in many cases could not own property, her successful manufacturing company gave approximately 150 local Stevens Point women a chance to earn their own wages.
On the Wisconsin Biographies website, students in grades 3-8 can explore Frost’s story through an animated video, a digital book and an image gallery. An Educator Guide provides additional resources and extension activities.
Carrie Frost: Fly Fishing Boss is part of Wisconsin Hometown Stories: Stevens Point funded by major support from Sentry Insurance, Dr. Henry Anderson and Shirley Levine, Marshfield Clinic Health System, Dick Cable Family, Mitzi and Bernie Hlavac, Judy Cable Anderson and the John Anderson Postcard Collection, Sue and Jim Buck, Community Foundation of Central Wisconsin, JHL Digital Printing, Tina and Don Peters, Rebecca Wiegand and Marvin VanKerkerix, and the Focus Fund for Wisconsin History supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Additional support from The Timothy William Trout Education Fund, a gift of Monroe and Sandra Trout, the Focus Fund for Education, and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
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Paul Chandler says:
Does the building that housed her business still stand?
If not what was the address?
I reside near SP and enjoy visiting historical sites even if they no longer exist as they once were.
Thank you for uncovering such interesting stories.
Tara Lovdahl says:
Hi Paul, thanks for your question! Our history producer is not completely sure, but she believes Carrie Frost’s two company buildings were at 106 and 108 Ellis Street, because those were the addresses used by the people who eventually bought her businesses. But she doesn’t think this address numbering matches up with the current system used in Stevens Point. She believes Carrie Frost’s buildings were downtown where the current Sentry parking lots now stand. If you are interested in learning more, we recommend looking into the UW-Stevens Point archives or the Portage County Historical Society. There you could find old maps to confirm this information.
UW-Stevens Point Archives & Area Research Center’s website: https://www.uwsp.edu/library/archives/Pages/default.aspx
Portage County Historical Society website: https://www.pchswi.org/