Wisconsin 101

OBJECT HISTORY: Madison-Style Ice Boat Model

This miniature ice boat was originally built in Madison, Wisconsin about 1916-1917 by a member of the Bernard family. Carl Bernard grew up in the culture of ice boating and began making models of them at a young age. Creating models helped the Bernards try new innovative building techniques and were also raced for fun.

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October 1, 2020

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Dane County / Madison / Related Stories / Sports & Games / Curators' Favorites / 1848-1877 / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / Transportation & Tourism / Region 7 - South Center / Madison-Style Ice Boat

Ice Boating in Madison: A Bernard Family Tradition

Ice boating for sport began along New York's upper Hudson River around the Civil War and soon spread to other cold weather locations. An 1878 article in Harper's Weekly includes an engraving of ice boating in Madison. The city quickly became a center for ice boating in North America, a distinction held for over a century.

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October 1, 2020

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Milwaukee County / Milwaukee / Ethnicity & Identity / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Sports & Games / Curators' Favorites / Everyday Life / Global Connections / 1987-2011 / Region 8 - South East / Earlene Fuller's Bowling Shirt

OBJECT HISTORY: Earlene Fuller’s Bowling Shirt

This shirt, which features an African kente cloth print, was designed, made and worn in the mid-1990s by Milwaukee's Earlene Fuller, an African American bowler and seamstress.

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August 30, 2020

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Milwaukee County / Milwaukee / Ethnicity & Identity / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Related Stories / Sports & Games / Curators' Favorites / 1965-1987 / Region 8 - South East / Earlene Fuller's Bowling Shirt

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.

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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.

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August 24, 2020

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Racine / Object Histories / Music, Theatre & Cinema / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Sports & Games / Racine County / 1987-2011 / Region 8 - South East / Racine Belles Movie Costume

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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August 24, 2020