Wisconsin 101

Earlene Fuller and the African American Bowling Scene in Milwaukee

Earlene Fuller designed and made bowling outfits for numerous black and white teams in Milwaukee and elsewhere from 1970 through the mid-1990s. She was a member in two African American bowling organizations — the National Bowling Association and the Milwaukee Bowlers Guild, Inc. — and in the 1990s began incorporating kente cloth and other African-inspired fabric patterns into the shirts she made for her own teams.

Comments Off

August 30, 2020

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Kenosha County / Racine / Kenosha / Ethnicity & Identity / Related Stories / Sports & Games / Curators' Favorites / Racine County / 1945-1965 / Society & Religion / Region 8 - South East / Racine Belles Movie Costume

Gender Norms and The All-American Girls’ Professional Baseball League

Philip Wrigley, the gum manufacturer and owner of the Chicago Cubs, conceived of the All-American Girls' Softball League in 1942 as World War II and its drain on manpower threatened to shut down Major League Baseball. Wrigley's ideas about gender norms helped shape the league, from its strict rules to its uniform policies.

Comments Off

August 24, 2020

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Racine / Sports & Games / Related Stories / Ethnicity & Identity / Racine County / Curators' Favorites / 1945-1965 / Region 8 - South East / Racine Belles Movie Costume

“Ringing the Community Belles” – Racine’s Professional Baseball Team

As the United States entered World War II in 1941, the war’s impact on American culture was felt far and wide. Aside from the obvious strains on economic and industrial production, American recreation was temporarily put on hold. This included much of…

Comments Off

August 24, 2020

Read more about the article <i>Happy Days</i> and 1950s Sentimentality

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Music, Theatre & Cinema / Milwaukee County / Related Stories / 1965-1987 / Region 8 - South East / Happy Days Bowling Shirt Costume

Happy Days and 1950s Sentimentality

Happy Days — the precursor to other famous spin-offs including Laverne and Shirley, Joanie Loves Chachi, and Mork and Mindy — first brought idealized values associated with 1950s middle-class America to television viewers on ABC in a 1971 pilot titled “New Family in Town.” While the network…

Comments Off

August 15, 2020

Indigenous Wisconsin / Forest County / Related Stories / Ethnicity & Identity / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / Nature & Environment / Region 2 - North East / Politics & Government / Society & Religion / Potawatomi Beaded 'Soldier Coat'

Missionaries and Land Rights: The Story of Erik Morstad and the Potawatomi

Some histories are not as straightforward as others, especially when cultures collide. It may come as no surprise that stories about the interactions between Native Americans and white settlers are sometimes one-sided. We can partly attribute this to the European tradition of…

Comments Off

August 1, 2020

Indigenous Wisconsin / Door County / Ethnicity & Identity / Related Stories / Curators' Favorites / 1900-1918 / 1918-1945 / Politics & Government / Region 5 - Center East / Potawatomi Beaded 'Soldier Coat'

Chief Simon Kahquados

Chief Simon Onanguisse Kahquados was the last hereditary descendant in a long line of Potawatomi chiefs, his family being one of the oldest known Potawatomi inhabitants of Wisconsin. An engaging speaker, Kahquados often served as an interpreter and provided a wealth of information to the Wisconsin Historical Society regarding traditional Potawatomi culture and history.

Comments Off

August 1, 2020