Wisconsin 101

OBJECT HISTORY: Mepps Fishing Lure

The classic Mepps fishing lure the Aglia, was invented in France in the 1930s and patented in 1938. (Mepps is a French acronym for Manufacturier d’ Engins de Precision pour Peches Sportives, translated as “Manufacture of Precision Equipment for Sport Fishing”.) It was introduced to northern Wisconsin, and to the U.S., by a G.I. returning from France.…

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September 10, 2020

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: Vulcan Bowling Pin

Vulcan Bowling Pin. Photo credited to Joe Hermolin.

Sports & Games / Wisconsin Made / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Antigo / Object Histories / Langlade County / Global Connections / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 2 - North East / 1945-1965 / Vulcan Bowling Pin

OBJECT HISTORY: Vulcan Bowling Pin

This bowling pin was produced by the Vulcan Corporation in Antigo, Wisconsin, sometime in the late 1950s after Vulcan had introduced its patented “Nyl-Tuf Supreme” plastic coating (as indicated by the pin’s red label).

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September 8, 2020

Sports & Games / Industry / Wisconsin Made / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Antigo / Related Stories / Langlade County / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / Region 2 - North East / 1945-1965 / 1965-1987 / Mepps Fishing Lure

Mepps Lures: The Antigo Connection

A chance encounter of an American G.I. in France after World War II with a local fisherman led to the development of a major industry in Antigo, Wisconsin and put Antigo on the sports fishing map.Frank Velek discovered a fishing lure while…

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May 24, 2018

Read more about the article Bowling in Japan

Bowling featured on this 1964 cover of a special issue of Life Magazine devoted to Japan. Click to enlarge.

Sports & Games / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Antigo / Related Stories / Langlade County / Global Connections / Region 2 - North East / 1945-1965 / Vulcan Bowling Pin

Bowling in Japan

In 1964, a representative of Japanese company Sanko Trading visited the Vulcan Corporation, a bowling-pin manufacturer based in Antigo, Wisconsin. Sanko was seeking a deal for exclusive rights to import bowling pins to Japan. At the time, Vulcan didn’t think much of the…

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February 1, 2016

Read more about the article The Vulcan Corporation

Inspecting pins coming off the Vulcan assembly line, 1954. Photograph courtesy of the Langlade County Historical Society.

Sports & Games / Industry / Wisconsin Made / Broad History / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Antigo / Related Stories / Langlade County / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Everyday Life / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 2 - North East / Vulcan Bowling Pin

The Vulcan Corporation

The Vulcan Corporation was founded in 1909 in Ohio as a manufacturer of wooden shoe lasts. The business really took off once they developed a new shoe last turning lathe. In 1919, Vulcan started a plant in Crandon, Wisconsin, which made “rough-turned”—or unfinished—lasts.…

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February 1, 2016

Read more about the article An Immigrant Family in Rural Wisconsin

European immigrants boarding a steamer to the United States. Harper’s Weekly, November 7, 1874.

Home Furnishings / Antigo / Langlade County / Ethnicity & Identity / Related Stories / Everyday Life / Global Connections / Region 2 - North East / Politics & Government / 1900-1918 / 1918-1945 / CCC Pillow Sham

An Immigrant Family in Rural Wisconsin

Rose Mary Drab was born in southeastern Langlade County on April 23 of 1913. Her family had settled there the year before on a small farm south of Antigo. Originally named Drabowski, Rose Mary’s parents left Hungary for Chicago a few years…

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October 1, 2015