Wisconsin 101

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

Broad History / Fish Boil Kettle / Related Stories / Door County / Nature & Environment / Transportation & Tourism / Region 5 - Center East

Tourism in Droves: Door County as a Tourist Destination

In the present day, the Door County tourism industry brings in over $500 million in total economic impact every year, with the summer as peak season. Rising from humble beginnings, and getting some help along the way from innovation, mainly the rise…

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April 10, 2024

Wisconsin Dells / Columbia County / Related Stories / Everyday Life / Nature & Environment / 1900-1918 / Transportation & Tourism / Region 7 - South Center / Lefeber Glass Plate Negatives

Images of the Wisconsin Dells (Waterparks Not Included!)

More than a century before the Wisconsin Dells became the "Waterpark Capital of the World," it was a famous tourist destination known for its scenic beauty. Guides began taking sightseers in rowboats along the Wisconsin River as early as the 1850s, and…

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February 21, 2024

Wauwatosa / Milwaukee County / Related Stories / Everyday Life / 1900-1918 / 1918-1945 / Region 8 - South East / Lefeber Glass Plate Negatives

Images of a Treasured Childhood: At Home in Wauwatosa with the Lefebers

In the first decades of the 20th century, Wauwatosa was well on its way to becoming a bedroom suburb of Milwaukee. Families were moving into newly developed subdivisions built on land that once grew grain, fruit, and vegetables for the large Milwaukee…

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February 21, 2024

Wauwatosa / Milwaukee County / Related Stories / Everyday Life / Manufacturing & Trade / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / 1918-1945 / Region 8 - South East / Lefeber Glass Plate Negatives

Wauwatosa’s Lefeber Brothers Department Store

“A clerk had to show Mother each item. She retrieved a pair of folded silk stockings and carefully inserted her hand to show how the color looked against the skin.”--Jean Lobe, from her memoir recounting her experiences growing up in Wauwatosa in…

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January 25, 2024

Eau Claire / Education / Ethnicity & Identity / Related Stories / 602 Club / Eau Claire County / Region 3 - Center West / Society & Religion / 1965-1987

GLO: UW-Eau Claire’s First Gay Student Organization

Gay history in Wisconsin, while often focused on major cities like Madison and Milwaukee, was also being made in the often-overlooked rural parts of the state. One such place is the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, where a coalition of gay students founded…

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November 2, 2023