Wisconsin 101

The Consolidated Badger Cooperative and the Shawano Milk Strike of May 1933

In the aftermath of the 1929 Wall Street Market Crash and the subsequent Great Depression, Wisconsin farmers struggled to meet the costs of production associated with dairy commodities. As a tool to improve their standard of living, some of Wisconsin’s farmers turned…

0 Comments

June 27, 2023

Shawano / New Object Histories / Object Histories / Food & Cooking / Manufacturing & Trade / Politics, Society & Government / Region 2 - North East / 1920-1940 / Shawano County / National Guard Nightstick

OBJECT HISTORY: National Guard Nightstick

Police nightstick, signed by National Guard Members who participated in Milk Strike, 1933. Image courtesy of Nick Censoprano In mid-May 1933, battles, clashes, and strikes erupted throughout Wisconsin. The catalyst? Milk. On the orders of Governor Albert G. Schmedeman and Adjunct General…

0 Comments

June 27, 2023

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Marathon / Food & Cooking / Related Stories / Marathon County / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 2 - North East / 1920-1940 / Marathon Brewing Company "Superfine" Beer Bottle

Marathon City Brewing and the Wee Willy Basketball Team

The Marathon City Brewery sponsored local sports teams like the Wee Willy basketball team, originally known as the Catholic Youth Organization Team, which organized in 1936. Though the team temporarily disbanded during World War II, in the mid-1940s, young men from the…

0 Comments

September 14, 2021

Marathon / Food & Cooking / Related Stories / Marathon County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1880-1900 / Region 2 - North East / Marathon Brewing Company "Superfine" Beer Bottle

The Marathon Brewery’s Chain of Calamities

In the early 1880s, Franz Sindermann, who was trained as a brewer in Germany, formed a brewery in Marathon, Wisconsin with his brother, August, along with a third partner, Charles Klein. The brewery got off to a good start, producing 300 barrels…

0 Comments

September 14, 2021

Object Histories / Food & Cooking / Marathon / Marathon County / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 2 - North East / 1940-1960 / Marathon Brewing Company "Superfine" Beer Bottle

OBJECT HISTORY: Marathon Brewing Company “Superfine” Beer bottle

The "Superfine" beer bottle is from the 1940/1950s from the Marathon City Brewing Company. Superfine was one of the many labels produced by Marathon City Brewery over eight decades from 1881 to 1966, featuring names such as Tannenbaum, Marathon Holiday, Marathon Bock,…

0 Comments

August 31, 2021

Medford / Object Histories / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / 1880-1900 / Region 2 - North East / Taylor County / Bark Spud

OBJECT HISTORY: Bark Spud

The bark spud is an iron tool used to remove bark from cut timber. Most bark spuds have a steel head with a hard wooden handle. The head is rounded or dish-shaped and has one cutting edge. The sharp wedge on the end of the bark spud slides between bark and wood on a log…

0 Comments

September 10, 2020