Author Larry Scheckel

The McIntosh Memorial Library of Viroqua will be hosting a local author presentation and book signing.  The event will take place on Friday, January 17 at 10:30am in the library program room as part of the bi-monthly Conversations program.  Tomah author Larry Scheckel will speak about his book titled Murder in Wisconsin: The Clara Olson Case.

The book reads like a novel, but it’s the true story of romance and courtship, intrigue and murder set among the hills of southwestern Wisconsin in 1926.  The book is about the relationship between Clara Olson and Erdman Olson and their 18-month courtship.  However, when Clara disappears, a search ensues and is resolved by the chance discovery of her hidden grave.  The book is laid out in suspenseful detail; the inquest, the funeral, and the subsequent search for the killer.

Larry Scheckel spent three years researching this high-profile murder, combing through countless newspapers, magazines, and archives.  He interviewed people of the area in Crawford and Vernon Counties, detailing their accounts and recollection of the crime.  The case was deemed the “Crime of the Century.”

Larry Scheckel is an award-winning teacher and author of four science books and a memoir, Seneca Seasons: A Farm Boy Remembers.  Larry and his wife, Ann, both retired teachers reside in Tomah, Wisconsin.