Hello, I just stumbled onto your page after reading my grandmother's 1970 autobiography that mentioned the steamer "Thistle". I loved seeing the photos you posted!
In case it's of interest, here's what she said about the Thistle :
For many years steam boats came from Oshkosh to the east side of Lake Winnebago every Saturday morning. The first stop was at Calumet Harbor around 7:00 - 7:30 a.m., then on to Brothertown by 8:00 and Stockbridge Harbor by 9:00. The steamer "Thistle" and later the "Leander Choate" took both passengers and freight and arrived at Oshkosh around 11:00 and left again on the return trip by 4:00 p.m. The fare used to be only 10 cents and many people went for the ride and a few hours shopping in Oshkosh. In later years the fare was 50 cents but it gave our family an opportunity to visit my Dad's sisters who lived in Oshkosh.... After World War I began the boats stopped going across the lake and never started up again.
