e5tettin --  uclear Towerhouse

The Town of Stettin, which was short-changed
somewhat when it came to water power, could show
up the entire State of Wisconsin and perhaps the
nation in the future when it comes to providing
new "fuel" as a source of tomorrow's power.
Stettin, it seems, may have a supply of uranium be-
neath its fertile farm fields.
To date, of course, there is no definite assurance
of this. Yet, trained geologists have indicated a
belief that uranium may be found in this township.
Today, with plenty of surplus stocks on hand,
Uncle Sam has quit paying a bonus for uranium
discoveries, but what about the future, when nucle-
ar power may be all-important to mankind?
On Dec. 22, 1953, Allen Black, Madison, a Uni-
versity of Wisconsin geologist was quoted as say-
ing that in Canada, uranium appears at the end of
a geological deposit of stone. After a look around
Stettin, he said he expected the same could be true
here, since the rock formations of the glacial period
end in Central Wisconsin.
R. C. Emmons and F. G. Snyder, two other ge-
ologists of the state university, wrote that "it ap-
pears desirable to obtain more detailed information
on this promising area than we have been able to
gather in four weeks. It is suggested a party spend
a full summer to map, on a scale of six inches to
the mile, the area of greatest promise around
Stettin."
A Record-Herald article on Sept. 27, 1956, an-
nounced: "Wisconsin has apparently not been writ-
ten off as a source of uranium or other radioactive
material."
At that time, the Atomic Energy Commission
was running a survey in this part of the state, us-
ing a meter in an airplane to detect gamma rays
emitted by radioactive material. Earlier, in 1946,
the U. S. Bureau of Mines made test borings in
the area.
However, efforts at digging pay-off supplies of
uranium apparently paid no dividends in the Town
of Stettin. Still, with all of the promising reports,
it still seems likely that a workable supply of the
nuclear fuel of the future will be found in this
township.
John Bramstedt and Nick Axotis, Fond du Lac,
who formed the Titan Mining Co., a closed cor-
portation, reported in 1955 that they had discover-
ed some ore which reportedly had a 6 per cent
content of uranium. They reported that the Geiger
counter, which indicates the presence of radioactive
material, goes "crazy" when it comes near a par-
ticular "hot spot vein" in the Town of Stettin.

The two men had obtained mineral rights to two
square miles.
A Record-Herald headline of July 2, 1955, re-
ported "Encouraging Uranium Ore Samples Re-
ported Found in Marathon County." These were
reported to be on the Harold Utecht farm in the
Town of Stettin. It was reported that uranium
is frequently found in areas with large deposits of
granite and the sub-surface of Marathon County
is, of course, largely granite. However, early test
borings showed that the uranium deposits were too
"lean", it was reported.
Regardless of whether the Town of Stettin be-
comes an important source of the nuclear fuel of
tomorrow, it is certain that it is an area of great
geological significance. In addition, Stettin form-
erly had quarries operated by the Lake Wausau
and Marathon County Granite companies. Lake
Wausau was in Section 23 and Marathon Granite
in Section 14, off County Trunk U. The stone
was geologically described as "dark gray syenite."
The significance of the stones in Stettin is evi-
denced by the fact that many university groups
interested in geology have visited the township on
many occasions in the past. Professor Emmons,
of the state university, brought a group of students
from the universities of Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa
and Indiana here on Oct. 19, 1953.
"This is perhaps the most spectacular occurrence
we shall see," he told the students in pointing out
stones in an abandoned quarry off County Trunk
U, now used as a swimming hole. He called it a
quarry in a "syenite dike which trends northwest."
In another report, one rock in Section 5, Range
7 East, was said to offer "real promise of yielding
good commercial feldspar . . . " Zircon, the dia-
mond substitute, was also found in quartz veins
in Section 22, Range 6 East, and it was reported
that they may well occur elsewhere in the Town
of Stettin. The zircon content was expected to im-
prove with depth.
Also noted was the value of "disintegrated syen-
ite," or rotten granite, in road-building. Not all
of the "faults" where this material exists have been
recognized, it was reported, although more can be
estimated with reliability, it was stated.
And so Stettin, whose past has been largely a
history of the growing of crops and feeding of
dairy cows at ground level, may have a great fu-
ture below ground level. It may provide the fuel
which will generate the nuclear power to run our
submarines, to fly our airplanes, to power our auto-
mobiles and to light our homes. Who knows?