The Honorable Walter “Ike” Terry
Time period/Baraboo: 1909 - 1977
Submitted by: Denis Terry
The Honorable Walter “Ike” Terry built a legacy upon the foundation of family, farming and public service. In 1958, he was elected to represent Baraboo and Sauk County in the Wisconsin Assembly, where he served four terms, before being elected to the State Senate in 1966. As a legislator, Terry played a pivotal role in the 1959 opening of the Circus World Museum – established to preserve the colorful history of the circus and honor Baraboo’s circus families, the Ringlings and the Gollmars. He authored a statewide resolution recognizing the Museum’s opening day of July 1 as “Circus Day”, to be celebrated thereafter throughout Wisconsin. As co-chairman of the Senate’s Natural Resources Committee, Terry advocated the conservation and stewardship of Baraboo’s own treasured natural resource, Devil’s Lake State Park. And from its grand opening until his death, Terry served on the Advisory Board of Baraboo’s St. Clare Hospital where his wife, Grace, worked as a registered nurse.
Born on his family’s centennial homestead northwest of town, Terry attended Baraboo schools, where he was a celebrated student-athlete, later graduating from the University of Notre Dame, where he briefly played football for the legendary coach, Knute Rockne. A descendant of an Irish émigré dairy farmers, Terry served as officer on local and state farm associations and, throughout his life, promoted and successfully implemented new, modern agricultural methods on his “Terrytown” farm, a home where he and Grace raised six children.