Region 8 – South East

Ozaukee County / Grafton / Paramount Records 78 / Region 8 - South East / Manufacturing & Trade / 1840-1860 / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Nature & Environment

OBJECT HISTORY: Paramount Records Power Wheel

Located near the heart of Grafton, WI, a rusted power wheel sits on the steep west bank of the Milwaukee River. Despite its corroded appearance, this metal device once powered an entire factory responsible for pressing popular shellac records. The history of…

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December 29, 2020

Racine County / Racine / Region 8 - South East / Racine Belles Movie Costume / Clothing & Fashion / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / 1980-2000

OBJECT HISTORY: Racine Belles Movie Costume

This Racine Belles costume was worn in the 1992 film "A League of Their Own." The film focused on the Rockford (Illinois) Peaches, tracking a season in the All-American Girls' Professional Baseball League. The Peaches played the Belles several times during the film.

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September 10, 2020

Milwaukee County / Milwaukee / Migrant Worker's Cabin / Region 8 - South East / Art, Sport & Entertainment / 1880-1900 / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity

OBJECT HISTORY: Piano and Song Recital Poster

Mr. Raphael Baez, a well-respected violinist, pianist, composer, and music professor, and his wife Mrs. Mary Schoen Baez, a noted vocalist, had performed together in various music halls in the city of Milwaukee since 1889. The Athenaeum, home of the Women’s Club of Wisconsin, had hosted Mr. Baez and his students throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth…

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September 10, 2020

Washington County / Region 8 - South East / West Bend / Penguin Server / Food & Cooking / Manufacturing & Trade / Object Histories / 1940-1960

OBJECT HISTORY: Penguin Server

A penguin-themed serving bowl dishes out stories about the aluminum industry, postwar consumer culture, and home entertainment in mid-twentieth century Wisconsin.

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September 10, 2020

Ozaukee County / Port Washington / Paramount Records 78 / Region 8 - South East / Manufacturing & Trade / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / 1900-1920

OBJECT HISTORY: Paramount Records 78

Created by the management of the Wisconsin Chair Company, a furniture making business based in Port Washington, Wisconsin, Paramount Records was initially incorporated to help sell phonographic cabinets in the late 1910s. Relying on resourceful talent recruiters and a relatively cheap production process, Paramount Records became one of the leading blues music record producers in the 1920s, and is today recognized by…

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September 10, 2020

Milwaukee County / Lifesaving Medal / Milwaukee / Region 8 - South East / Manufacturing & Trade / 1860-1880 / Object Histories / Nature & Environment / Transportation & Tourism

OBJECT HISTORY: Lifesaving Medal

All along Wisconsin’s 820 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, storms could mean the difference between profit and financial ruin, survival and terrifying death. This lifesaving medal reminds us of the risks that sailors and Wisconsin’s maritime communities have routinely faced since the early 19th century, and it documents the personal bravery, dedication, and ingenuity of those who would rescue their fellows…

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September 9, 2020