Wisconsin 101

OBJECT HISTORY: Fish Boil Kettle

This fish boil kettle from the Wisconsin Historical Museum collection, was donated by the Viking Grill in 2010. The two handled baskets sit inside a cauldron which was originally manufactured as a drum for a washing machine. Door County may be the…

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April 10, 2024

Home Furnishings / New Object Histories / Beetown / Object Histories / Food & Cooking / Grant County / Pleasant Ridge / Everyday Life / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940 / Region 6 - South West

OBJECT HISTORY: Sanitary Metal Kitchen Cabinet

Kitchens form a central part of the American experience. The Sanitary Metal Kitchen Cabinet, also known as the Mound City Kitchen Safe (circa 1906), fits into the history of American cookery, American kitchens, and American consumerism. Originally owned by members of the…

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January 23, 2024

Food & Cooking / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / Politics, Society & Government / 1920-1940 / National Guard Nightstick

The Wisconsin Milk Strikes of 1933

As the effects of the 1929 Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression rippled through the United States, many working-class Americans felt the economic impacts, including Wisconsin’s farmers. Midwestern farmers were already suffering even before the Depression, and since Wisconsin served as…

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June 27, 2023

Shawano / Food & Cooking / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 2 - North East / Politics, Society & Government / 1920-1940 / Shawano County / National Guard Nightstick

The Consolidated Badger Cooperative and the Shawano Milk Strike of May 1933

In the aftermath of the 1929 Wall Street Market Crash and the subsequent Great Depression, Wisconsin farmers struggled to meet the costs of production associated with dairy commodities. As a tool to improve their standard of living, some of Wisconsin’s farmers turned…

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June 27, 2023

New Object Histories / Shawano / Food & Cooking / Object Histories / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 2 - North East / Politics, Society & Government / 1920-1940 / Shawano County / National Guard Nightstick

OBJECT HISTORY: National Guard Nightstick

Police nightstick, signed by National Guard Members who participated in Milk Strike, 1933. Image courtesy of Nick Censoprano In mid-May 1933, battles, clashes, and strikes erupted throughout Wisconsin. The catalyst? Milk. On the orders of Governor Albert G. Schmedeman and Adjunct General…

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June 27, 2023

New Glarus / Food & Cooking / Related Stories / Ethnicity & Identity / Green County / Global Connections / Manufacturing & Trade / 1860-1880 / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940 / Region 7 - South Center / Swiss Cheese Kettle

Early Cheese Factories in New Glarus

Green County has long been known for its cheese factories, particularly ones making Swiss cheese. However, when the first Swiss immigrants arrived it wasn’t at all clear that they would go into cheesemaking at all. New Glarus’s rise to prominence as a…

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April 17, 2023