As visitors descend onto the area for the NFL draft ― no doubt some for the first time ― here’s an introduction for newcomers and a history lesson for residents on the names of some other places across Green Bay (whose name comes from the French “La Baye Verte” or “La Baye des Puants”), the village of Ashwaubenon (named after Ashwaubomay, son of an Ottawa chief), and Brown County (named after a War of 1812 war hero).
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Austin Straubel International Airport: Lt. Col. Austin Straubel descended from a prominent German business family that immigrated to Green Bay in the mid-1800s, according to Brown County Library historians and a biographical record of families at the library. The Brown County Board voted in the 1940s to name the airport after the lieutenant colonel, the first airman from the county who died in combat in World War II while fighting Japanese forces over the South Pacific.
Leo Frigo Memorial Bridge: Leo Frigo, a prominent local philanthropist and founder of the local nonprofit Paul’s Pantry, was delivering food on Feb. 13, 2001, when he got into a car accident and died from his injuries. Following his death, the tallest bridge in Wisconsin ― then called Tower Drive Bridge ― was renamed in Frigo’s honor.
Donald A. Tilleman Memorial Bridge: The city of Green Bay was shocked on Nov. 27, 1972, when its mayor Donald Tilleman died of a heart attack while on a trip with his wife to New York City. Remembered as a warm, dedicated leader, the Mason Street Bridge across the Fox River was dedicated with Tilleman’s name after his death.
