Wisconsin 101

Greendale, Greenhills, and Greenbelt: The Government’s “Green” Towns

The Greenbelt towns were the brainchild of Rexford Guy Tugwell, an economist who served as President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Undersecretary of Agriculture in 1934 and 1935. A policy advisor to President Roosevelt, Tugwell believed that he could effectively combat the Depression-era issues…

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August 14, 2024

Usher Uniform / Music, Theatre & Cinema / Baraboo / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Related Stories / Sauk County / 1918-1945 / Region 7 - South Center

Stars of Silent Film

The Ringling Theatre featured many forms of entertainment throughout the years, including live theatrical performances as well as silent films. At the time when the theatre was built in 1915, silent films were becoming more popular because advancements in film technology allowed…

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July 18, 2024

Usher Uniform / Music, Theatre & Cinema / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Baraboo / Related Stories / Sauk County / 1900-1918 / Region 7 - South Center

The Al Ringling Theater

General View from the South, Al Ringling Theatre. Photo by Douglass C. Green for HABS (Survey #WI-261), ca. 1970. Albert (“Al”) Ringling was the eldest brother of the Ringling family and was credited with both the creation of the famous Ringling Brothers Circus and…

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July 18, 2024

Broad History / Sports & Games / Lodi / Wooden Curling Stone / Columbia County / Milwaukee / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Dane County / Milwaukee County / Madison / Related Stories / Ethnicity & Identity / Global Connections / Region 7 - South Center / Region 8 - South East

Curling’s Growth in Wisconsin

When the Scottish migrated to the United States in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, they brought more with them then just bagpipes; they brought the growth of curling, a winter sport in which the players slide heavy granite blocks across icy terrain…

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June 20, 2024

Broad History / Sports & Games / Lodi / Wooden Curling Stone / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Columbia County / Related Stories / Ethnicity & Identity / Global Connections / Society & Religion / Region 7 - South Center

The Lodi Curling Club: 150 Years of Curling

How do you bring leisure and fun to a newly founded city? Build a curling club of course! At least that’s what James Otis Eaton did just over a decade after the small Wisconsin town of Lodi was officially founded in 1869.…

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June 20, 2024

Industry / Fish Boil Kettle / Door County / Related Stories / 1848-1877 / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / 1877-1900 / Region 5 - Center East

Early Fishing in Northern Door County: Before the Turn of the 20th Century

The impact of the fishing industry on Door County cannot be understated, as it held the keys for the original formation of the County and many of its cities and villages. Although commercial fishing has waned, the tradition persists in area as…

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April 10, 2024