Explore the inspiring story of Carrie Frost, a fly fishing entrepreneur who paved the way for other female business owners in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Despite the fact that women could not vote and in many cases could not own property, Carrie Frost created a successful manufacturing company, and she gave over 150 Stevens Point women a chance to earn their own wages in a time when they were not often able to do so.
How did Carrie Frost persevere to create the C.J. Frost Fishing Tackle Manufacturing Company? She started by following her passions and paying attention to nature, specifically the wildlife that surrounded her.
In the 1880s, Wisconsin fly anglers were buying British fishing flies made with colors and shapes that were unfamiliar in North American ecosystems. Frost changed the game by creating locally-made flies that got the fish biting. She made an even larger impact when she transformed consumer demand into jobs for women.
Watch this Wisconsin Biography from PBS Wisconsin Education. It’s one in a series of free educational videos created for elementary and middle school age kids.
Who are the women in the second boat? Ida B. Wells, Kate Gleason, Annie Turnbo Malone, Zitkala-Sa, Belle La Follette, and Sojourner Truth. Learn and teach more with PBS Wisconsin’s educator guide [pdf].
• Carrie Frost: Fly Fishing Boss, a PBS Wisconsin Educator’s Guide Google doc.
• Carrie Frost: Fly Fishing Boss, Google slides with audio.
• PBS Wisconsin Biographies Educator Resources
Previously from Wisconsin PBS on TKSST:
• Milly Zantow: Recycling Revolutionary
• Chief Oshkosh and a history of Menominee Forest conservation
• The Fight for Fair Housing in Milwaukee: Vel Phillips and James Groppi
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