My mother was born and raised in Garden Valley, Jackson County, deep in the "cooley" region of West-Central Wisconsin, near Black River Falls, home of Wisconsin's oldest library.

What's a "Cooley" you might ask?  The large, rounded bluffs of West-Central Wisconsin.

I've never heard the origin of the term, but my personal belief is that the word, like "Grand Teton" came from the early Scandinavians who settled the area. Perhaps, the round-top bluffs in the area reminded them of women's breasts, as did the tetons, to the French explorers who named that range of Rocky Mountains.
Coolie or kulla (girl in Swedish) is my  theory for the word's origin.  Anybody want to try another explanation, let's hear from you?

Many thanks to Muriel Gunderson, Library Director, for the invitation to meet, greet and speak with local residents about my novels.  That audience was very close to my heart since my mother, herself was a vallkulla as a child in Jackson County.

If there is a sequel to "Vallkulla", it will pick up after the emigration to Amerika, in Garden Valley where the 25 Swedish families settled.  I've though a good deal about the sequil...but there's so much to write.

Thank you all for your very interesting stories; it was nice to meet old friends and make new acquaintances.  I look forward to another visit in the future.