Mr. Alfred A. Bish came to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin in 1887. He brought with him his wife, Mrs. A.A. Bish, who then gave birth to their daughter, Margaret “Marjorie” Bish sometime after their arrival. Mr. Bish is referred to fondly as the “Man of Mystery” due to the inclusiveness of where he originally came from prior to 1887 and where he eventually went to, post 1915. Except for a couple of newspaper articles dated to the beginning of the Twentieth Century, little is known about Bish apart from Chippewa Falls locals’ own memories and reflections.

Alfred A. Bish was probably in his twenties when he came to Chippewa Falls (view picture from newspaper of Bish) with his wife. (insert also picture of wife and daughter). According to a local directory, his wife, Mrs. A.A. Bish, was the secretary and active member for the Chippewa Falls’ Relief Society, one of the multiple Secret Societies which were a popular social pastime during that period in history.

Their daughter Margaret “Marjorie” Bish graduated from the Chippewa Falls High School as a member of the Class of 1912, she eventually marries Clyde Bowman of Menomonie in August of 1917. Mr. Bowman was the director of Industrial Arts Program at Stout Institute.

Mr. Bish had a photography studio located at 35 E. Central Street until 1894 when he bought the Seymour Bank on West Central Street, Chippewa Falls. He remodeled the bank and added an addition, transforming the property into “Bish Studios”. This was the place for Chippewa Falls’ residents to come and capture their special moments. With the creation of his studio, Bish’s portraits became an integral part of his business. Within the studio, Bish could experiment with backdrops, lighting and props, and it was the uniqueness of his picture style that allowed him to be “The Photographer” of Chippewa Falls.

Many of Bish’s photographs were published in the local newspaper and used by local businesses for advertisements. Even with many of his photographs publish locally in the newspaper, only a few articles actually mentioning Bish himself were found. One article found in the Chippewa Times Edition dated 1903, Bish himself wrote about the importance of photography and an appreciation for the natural beauty of Chippewa Falls.

Also, in the Chippewa Times, November, 1900 there was an article written about Bish’s personal and photographic contributions to Chippewa Falls. The article went on to describe him as a hard worker which generated, “one of the best businesses of the kind in Northern Wisconsin.” Bish was highly respected by the people of the community. Not much was known about him apart from his photographs but his reputation speaks for itself.

"Man of Mystery"

The Chippewa County Historical Society has over 700 of Bish’s glass plates. There is a local story behind these glass plates. The story starts when the wrecking crew came to demolish the building that used to house Bish’s Studio to build the Bank that is there now. As the crew started to knock down the walls of the building with a wrecking ball, someone (unclear as to who that person was) noticed some boxes in the wall. This person called a halt in the demolition and upon closer scrutiny they discovered that all of the boxes held these approximately 700 glass negatives. They were turned over to the capable hands of the Chippewa County Historical Society. From them photographs were developed and can been seen upon request at the Chippewa County Historical Society.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has about 170 of their own collection of Bish plates, from which they have also made photographs. Duplicates of many of these photographs are located in the University of Eau Claire, University Archives as wells as at the Wisconsin Historical Society. All of these photographs are available for viewing by the public.     Since so little is know about the “Man of Mystery,” his photographs are all we have to expose Bish and his life. This website will take you on the journey to solving this “Man of Mystery” and allow the viewer to see this man and Chippewa Falls come alive through the focus of his passion and art. He has left the imprint of his logo on the hearts of the Chippewa Falls locals.