Wisconsin 101

Children in the La Crosse Normal School model kindergarten sitting before the fireplace. Image courtesy of Leslie Crocker, "We've Hung the Lanturn," (2013) pg. 33.

OBJECT HISTORY: La Crosse Normal School Fireplace

UW- La Crosse was once a smaller school that went by a different name. The original school, La Crosse Normal, was originally a training school for prospective teachers. It opened on September 7, 1909. Parts of the Normal School can still be seen on the UW-La Crosse campus, though they can be difficult to spot.…

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April 9, 2018

Image courtesy of WikiCommons

Music, Theatre & Cinema / Home Furnishings / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Everyday Life / 1877-1900

OBJECT HISTORY: Graphophone

The graphophone was one of the first ways to record and play sound. And without this invention we would not have things like voicemail, iTunes, or Spotify.

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December 9, 2017

Indigenous Wisconsin / Home Furnishings / Object Histories / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Ethnicity & Identity / Everyday Life

OBJECT HISTORY: Cradleboard

Native Americans used cradleboards in North America to protect, carry, and entertain their babies. Cradleboards allowed women to keep babies close to their side. Women carried cradleboards on their backs. They also could rest them against a tree. The cradleboard protected babies from danger and kept them happy. Native tribes made cradleboards in many ways,…

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June 9, 2017

Art & Design / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Home Furnishings / Related Stories / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / Wilson Place Door

The Arts & Crafts Movement

Wisconsin’s Stout Institute is a major landmark of educational innovation in state history. With its emphasis on creativity as well as vocational preparation, the school was greatly influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement, then a major force in artistic, cultural, and progressive political…

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March 7, 2016

European immigrants boarding a steamer to the United States. Harper’s Weekly, November 7, 1874.

Home Furnishings / Antigo / Related Stories / Ethnicity & Identity / Langlade County / Everyday Life / Global Connections / 1900-1918 / Politics & Government / Region 2 - North East / 1918-1945 / CCC Pillow Sham

An Immigrant Family in Rural Wisconsin

Rose Mary Drab was born in southeastern Langlade County on April 23 of 1913. Her family had settled there the year before on a small farm south of Antigo. Originally named Drabowski, Rose Mary’s parents left Hungary for Chicago a few years…

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October 1, 2015

Bernhard Carl Ziegler (1884-1946). Image from Washington County’s Aluminum Industry, p. 11.

Wisconsin Made / Industry / Home Furnishings / West Bend / Related Stories / Everyday Life / Washington County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1918-1945 / Region 8 - South East / Penguin Server

The West Bend Aluminum Company

On September 27, 1911, a group of businessmen headed by Bernhard Carl Ziegler founded the West Bend Aluminum Company. Ziegler was the director and president until his death in 1946. As one of the most influential people in the community, he was…

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August 1, 2014