Wisconsin 101

The Vulcan Corporation

The Vulcan Corporation was founded in 1909 in Ohio as a manufacturer of wooden shoe lasts. The business really took off once they developed a new shoe last turning lathe. In 1919, Vulcan started a plant in Crandon, Wisconsin, which made “rough-turned”—or unfinished—lasts.…

Comments Off

February 1, 2016

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Home Furnishings / Art & Design / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / Langlade County / Everyday Life / 1918-1945 / Region 2 - North East / Society & Religion / CCC Pillow Sham

OBJECT HISTORY: CCC Pillow Sham

Created in 1933, this commemorative pillow sham was just one of a number of textiles created by second-generation Hungarian immigrant Rose Mary Drab to honor her brother Edward’s service in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Rose Mary appliquéd the black cotton sateen sham with a small cotton tent, a blue eagle and two small stars, and hills, pine…

Comments Off

October 1, 2015

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

Comments Off

October 1, 2015

Daily Life in the Civilian Conservation Corps

The young men who lived and worked at Camp 657 were typical of Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees throughout the country during the 1930s. The first enrollees were between 18 and 25 years of age, were unmarried and physically fit, and were willing to allot most of their earnings to their families. In 1937, with the CCC’s popularity growing, Congress expanded the age range to 17 to 28 and later extended enrollment to World War I veterans.

Comments Off

October 1, 2015

Milwaukee County / Food & Cooking / Object Histories / Whitefish Bay / Everyday Life / Manufacturing & Trade / 1900-1918 / Society & Religion / Cassel Soda Bottle / Region 8 - South East

OBJECT HISTORY: Cassel Soda Bottle

This soda bottle was sold by the Cassel Soda Company in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, in the early 1900s. Conrad Cassel owned and managed the company from 1897-1917. The company, along with other Wisconsin soda companies during that time, made carbonated water, a beverage that would gain special significance during Prohibition. The Cassel Soda Company sold its soda to Whitefish…

Comments Off

October 9, 2014

Food & Cooking / Related Stories / Everyday Life / 1877-1900 / Manufacturing & Trade / Cassel Soda Bottle

History of Soda Bottles

In the 1800s, semi-automatic machines began making glass bottles. The first soda bottles were made in 1806 and resembled ale and spirits bottles. These bottles had short, square bottoms and a small neck.The next style of soda bottles, called Saratoga bottles, looked…

Comments Off

October 1, 2014