by Gretchen Gerrish
When Chancey Juday co-founded Trout Lake Station (TLS) in 1925, it was the beginning of a connection to the waters of the Northwoods that was both professional and personal. Those connections have endured across a century of research and across families – as many descendants of important leaders from the Station’s history continue to be connected to our work.
Juday’s nephew, Eugene Thurston “Tug” Juday, carried on his uncle’s legacy. To this day, Tug’s children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren remain connected to the research, scientists, and students at TLS.
Pat and Dave Juday, Tug’s daughter and son, remember the strong sense of responsibility that both Tug and their mother, Jean, instilled in them to care for the environment. Their time in the Northwoods involved disconnecting from everything else, long walks in the forest, and many adventures on Anderson Lake with parents, siblings, children, and now grandchildren.
Both Pat and Dave continue to support the water-centered research and training of students at the Center for Limnology (CFL). Dave continues to push the Center and its research station on Trout Lake to ‘get out there and be more visible’ and actively promotes recognition and connections with regional partners.
The family says they are “humbled” to be a part of this now 100-year legacy and continue to see the amazing work being done and appreciate the approachable scientists and students on station, as well as the work we do to share our knowledge. There is “a sense of awe and pride that E.A. Birge and Chancey Juday recognized the importance of this region and the science they were building that long ago,” Pat says.
Arthur ‘Fritz’ Hasler is another living descendent of an important CFL and TLS leader. His father, Arthur D. Hasler, reinvigorated the CFL and TLS after World War II and brought a new approach to Wisconsin lake research. Like many ecologists of the time, Hasler moved beyond taking samples and measurements and pursued an experimental approach, initiating some of the first whole-lake nutrient experiments on Peter and Paul Lakes in Land-O-Lakes and conducting extensive lab-based fish behavioral work on Lake Michigan salmonids.
Art was instrumental in securing funding from the National Science Foundation to move the center of operation to the southern shoreline of Trout Lake and build the limnology lab. Hasler conducted ground-breaking research, including the work that led to the understanding of how salmon find their way “home” to their natal springs when they spawn.
Fritz has captured the rich story of Art Hasler’s international limnological journey in his pictorial biography A Way Home: A Photo Biography of Arthur Davis Hasler which includes many images of him with his large family who were often with him on the shores of Trout Lake.