World's Largest Penny

The World's Largest Penny commemorates a 1953 fundraising stunt. Dr. Kate Pelham Newcomb (known locally as "The Angel On Snowshoes") implored local school children to save their pennies so that Woodruff could build a hospital. TV picked up on the story and pennies were soon pouring in from all over the country -- 1.7 million in all.

Woodruff got its hospital, and the schoolchildren of 1953 are just about ready to enter the new assisted living facility behind the penny.

World's Largest Penny in 1953.
Agnes Wiedemeier provided this photo shot by her mother, Jennie Trinka, in 1953 of Agnes (far left) with three friends

The Dr. Kate Pelham Newcomb Museum, which is a block away from the Penny, features memorabilia from the town's annual "Million Penny Parades" and a video of Dr. Kate on This is Your Life.

World's Largest Penny

Address:: 923 Second Avenue, Woodruff, WI
Directions:: At the corner of 3rd Ave. and Hemlock St. One block west of US 51 and two blocks south of Hwy 47.

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Nearby Offbeat Places

Scheer's Lumberjack Demo Show, Woodruff, WI - < 1 mi.
World's Largest Speared Sturgeon, Lac du Flambeau, WI - 11 mi.
Little Bohemia Lodge - Dillinger Shootout, Manitowish Waters, WI - 17 mi.
Home of the Hodag, Rhinelander, WI - 23 mi.

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November 23, 2009