Wisconsin 101

Enjoy a browse through Wisconsin 101’s collection of object histories. Click on the “Read More” button to view the full story and its accompanying related histories or explore the categories listed above each object history to learn more about certain themes, periods of time, and Wisconsin locales.

OBJECT HISTORY: A Hmong Baby Sash

We are surrounded by objects that seem very ordinary, but once we look closer, they often reveal deep connections to the history of our state and our communities. In this Object History, Pao Vue writes about the thread-bare baby sash he found in his mother’s room that, it turns out, once saved his life and…

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July 15, 2018

Art & Design / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Lake Koshkonong / Sports & Games / Wisconsin Made / A Duck Decoy / Jefferson County / 1877-1900 / Nature & Environment / Region 7 - South Center

OBJECT HISTORY: A Duck Decoy

With its painted black bill, brown head, and white and black body, it is likely obvious to humans that this object is made out of wood. This object is called a duck decoy, and was intended to fool other ducks into settling…

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July 1, 2018

Art, Sport & Entertainment / 20-sided die / Lake Geneva / Object Histories / Sports & Games / Walworth County / 1965-1987 / Region 8 - South East

OBJECT HISTORY: A Twenty-sided Die

Dice are used in games around the world to generate a random number. Traditionally the die is cubical; however there are multiple forms of non-cubicle die, such as, the 20-sided die. Ancient die were typically made from bones, wood, or rock. Today, die of all shapes are usually made from resin. The 20-sided die can…

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June 15, 2018

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Wausau / Object Histories / Sports & Games / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Everyday Life / Marathon County / A Hudson's Bay Company Point Blanket Coat / 1918-1945 / Region 4 - Center

OBJECT HISTORY: A Hudson’s Bay Company Point Blanket Coat

This wool coat was constructed from a ‘point blanket’ made by the Hudson’s Bay Company, likely during the early 1920s. A Wausau businessman wore it at one of the town’s early Winter Frolics, an annual winter sports festival that attracted tourists from as far as Chicago. The businessman belonged to a group of local business…

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February 1, 2018

Object Histories / Industry / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Hamburg / Everyday Life / Marathon County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1918-1945 / Region 4 - Center / Fromm Fox Fur Coat

OBJECT HISTORY: Fromm Fox Fur Coat

This coat was made from the fur of foxes raised on the Fromm Fur Farm in Hamburg, Wisconsin. The jacket is covered in light-silver fox fur and lined with a taupe fabric. Straps allow the coat to also be worn as a cape. In the early decades of the 20th century, it was fashionable to use…

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December 9, 2017

Object Histories / Education / Door County / 1945-1965 / Society & Religion / Region 5 - Center East / Door County Bookmobile

OBJECT HISTORY: Door County Bookmobile

The Door County Bookmobile was the rural public library. In 1950 when the Door-Kewaunee Regional Library Demonstration first brought bookmobiles to the Door Peninsula, nearly 23% of Wisconsinites did not have access to a free library. With many remote towns and islands, a low overall population, poor transportation, and low literacy rates, the Door Peninsula offered an opportunity…

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November 1, 2017

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