While Jens Jensen gets much of the credit, you may have never been able to experience an art class at The Clearing Folk School in Ellison Bay without the work of Mertha Fulkerson. In 1935, Jensen recruited Fulkerson to join him in Door County to start The Clearing on his family’s property following the death of his wife. Fulkerson promised Jensen one year, but she stayed at The Clearing until 1969. The Clearing attracted mostly landscape architect students who wanted to study under Jensen until he passed away in 1951. The Wisconsin Farm Bureau would come in a couple of years later and brought Fulkerson aboard as its resident manager. In 1954, she collaborated with faculty from the University of Chicago on a curriculum that would attract a broader audience by turning their focus to arts, crafts, natural sciences, and humanities. Executive Director Mike Schneider says The Clearing Folk School would not exist as it does today without Fulkerson.

Fulkerson passed away in January 1971, less than two years after she retired from The Clearing Folk School. Through the end of the month, we will celebrate the women who helped shape Door County for future generations. You can listen to our full interview with Schneider below.

Photo courtesy of The Clearing Folk School