Alumnus donates lifetime collections worth more than $26,000
Released: June 20, 2008
Lloyd Behl has been affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for more than 50 years and is donating his collection of Native American artifacts, precious rocks and “National Geographic” magazines to the university he loves.
Behl will officially donate these items, collectively worth more than $26,000, in a ceremony on Friday, June 20 in room 236 of Upham Hall at 2 p.m. The collections will permanently be in the back of the classroom so it’s always available for students to observe.
“This generous donation from Mr. Behl and his family will be appreciated by UW-Whitewater faculty and students in a variety of ways,” Associate Dean of the College of Letters and Sciences David Travis said. “Besides the aesthetic beauty of the geological and Native American Indian collections, the historical and cultural information contained within provides invaluable examples of the types of subject material covered in numerous courses in geography/geology, history and anthropology, among others.”
After he was discharged from the Marines, Behl decided to enroll in school at UW-Whitewater. In 1949, he received a bachelor’s degree in business education and began a teaching career that would span more than 40 years. However, his love of learning and the university did not end after he graduated.
He would continue his formal education through night classes at UW-Whitewater and he then earned his master’s. Even after he earned his master’s, he continued to attend night classes for several more years.
Behl decided to start collecting Native American artifacts in 1954 after he moved to Lake Mills. He would wander the fields and streams in the Lake Mills and Fort Atkinson areas. Besides finding artifacts on his own, he would also go barter and trade with people and would also go to antique malls, sales and auctions.
The Native American artifacts he is donating are varied and come from all over the Western Hemisphere. His collection encompasses many different artifacts from many different tribes. The collection has moccasins from the Black Feet, Sioux and Cree tribes. Behl has arrowheads from all over the Midwest and Colorado. The collection also houses many beautiful vases from locations like Fort Atkinson ranging all the way to Brazil. One the vases is believed to have been created around 700-900 A.D.
Later in his life, as always in the pursuit of more knowledge, Behl decided to take lapidary, jewelry and metal-working classes at the Madison Area Technical College. After taking these classes, Behl’s interest in rocks, stones and geology began to take off. He began collecting, cutting, polishing and labeling rocks from all over the world. Along with his wife Barb, he collected rocks from the Mississippi River and many other spots to which he traveled. He also purchased rocks that he couldn’t find naturally.
Besides Native American artifacts and rocks, Behl also collected “National Geographic” magazines. He started collecting back issues and had all of them bound by year. He has read each of his 102 bound editions from cover to cover.
Behl has decided to donate all three of his collections to the university in hopes that his collections can serve as learning tools for future generations of UW-Whitewater students. “We feel honored to have such a comprehensive and well-preserved set of collections located on our campus,” Travis said. “We sincerely thank Mr. Behl and his family for donating it.”
- Tom Applegarth,applegartg17@uww.edu
