Wisconsin 101

From Cow Feed to Korn Kurl

By the mid-1930s, the Flakall Corporation was trying to build up a customer base for its machine, a version of the feed grinder initially designed and built by Clair Mathews. But, as it turned out, the machine would end up being more useful for snack food manufacturers than farmers.

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September 23, 2019

Science & Technology / Object Histories / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Door County / Sturgeon Bay / Science & Medicine / 1945-1965 / Region 5 - Center East / X-Ray Shoe Fitting Machine

OBJECT HISTORY: X-Ray Shoe Fitting Machine

Intended to help customers get the perfect pair of shoes, X-Ray shoe fitting machines like this one from Sturgeon Bay were popular in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

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September 10, 2019

Norwegians / Food & Cooking / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / Everyday Life / Global Connections / 1877-1900

OBJECT HISTORY: Lefse Stone

Can you think of a time when someone wanted you to eat something new? Did you eat it? For many people, if they saw lefse on a plate, they would not know what it was. Lefse looks like a tortilla, but it…

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March 9, 2019

Object Histories / Oshkosh / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Ethnicity & Identity / Everyday Life / Global Connections / Winnebago County / Region 5 - Center East / 1965-1987 / A Hmong Baby Sash

OBJECT HISTORY: Hmong Baby Carrier

This Hmong cloth baby carrier was hand-stitched in Thailand around 1987, and its history helps tell part of the story of the Hmong community in this State. A young woman named Kia Vang crafted the carrier inside a refugee camp located in Loei province to transport her unborn child to Oshkosh, Wisconsin after the Vietnam…

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January 9, 2019

Industry / Home Furnishings / Object Histories / Everyday Life / Manufacturing & Trade / 1900-1918 / Science & Medicine

OBJECT HISTORY: Vacuum

People in the early 20th century witnessed the invention of all kinds of household tools we take for granted today, such as the vacuum cleaner, laundry machine, and refrigerator. This is a manual vacuum cleaner from 1911 at the Wisconsin Historical Museum. This small upright vacuum was designed to be operated by hand and easy…

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September 10, 2018

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: Trade Blanket

A trade blanket, with the "points" visible on the right side of the picture. Image courtesy of Ron Dennis.

Industry / Fur Trade / Indigenous Wisconsin / Pre-1787 / Home Furnishings / Object Histories / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / 1787-1848 / Everyday Life / Global Connections / Manufacturing & Trade

OBJECT HISTORY: Trade Blanket

This blanket, ordinary though it may seem, tells the story of an important meeting of cultures that occurred in Wisconsin between 1634 and 1763. Not long after the explorer Jean Nicolet first set foot in Wisconsin, French traders saw an opportunity to make money by sending beaver furs back to Europe for use in stylish…

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September 10, 2018