“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” These opening lines from L.P. Hartley’s 1953 novel, The Go-Between, remind us that time changes perspectives, values, and behaviors, making the past a unique and distinct place from the present. However, Einstein once said, “The distinction between the past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.” Both quotes guide my thoughts as I explore the past. How do we understand the past on its own terms? What events from “back there” continue to define our lives today and into the future?

After 41 years of teaching high school history and politics, I pivoted to the world of virtual teaching starting in the fall of 2020 as a Lecturer through UW-Green Bay’s Dual Enrollment Access Academy. This is a continuation of work I started in 2014 with UW-GB’s First Nations Studies Department.  Starting in fall semester 2024, the class was also offered through the Rising Phoenix Program. I continue to co-direct the Falls History Project which I coordinated for 20 years at BRFHS. In addition, I remain an active contributor to Wisconsin First Nations, a website devoted to advancing the cause of First Nations history in our state. In the fall of 2025, I will start my 47th year of teaching.

Some quick background: I graduated from West Fargo High School (North Dakota) in 1975 and earned a B.A. in History and Coaching Minor from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota in 1979.  I also earned a master’s degree from Minnesota State University Moorhead in 1985 with an emphasis on American History. After student teaching at Fargo South High School in the fall of 1978, my full-time career started at Appleton High School in 1979-80 (now part of the Lac qui Parle Valley School District after consolidation in 1990). l spent ten years at West Fargo High School in North Dakota (1980-1990) prior to coming to Black River Falls in the fall of 1990. I have been actively involved with coaching throughout my career and continue as a varsity assistant in Cross Country at BRFHS.

This page reflects my areas of interest and current activities related to studying the past.  Thanks for the visit and please contact me if you have questions!

Email Contact: rykkenp@uwgb.edu