The Door County fish boil is a culinary tradition local to the peninsula that spawned the invention of the two-sided spork. This unique cooking utensil made its first appearance at the White Gull Inn in the 1960s. The White Gull Inn’s history…
Found at the Aztalan archaeological site in southeastern Wisconsin, these small copper artifacts were most likely used as ornate jewelry.[1] Specifically, Mississipian people likely wore the mask-shaped copper designs as earrings. Although Native Americans seldom used metal, they sometimes used metals from…
As was so often the case with major American businesses in the 1800s, the Kohler Company grew from modest roots. The company’s founder, John Michael Kohler, began his working life first as a delivery truck driver and then a salesman. Born in…
When we think of a “bathroom,” we usually imagine a room containing three standard fixtures—a bathtub, a sink, and a toilet. Bathrooms such as these are so universal in homes today that we can hardly imagine a time when they did not…
The beaver felt hat was one of the main reasons for the success of the fur trade in northern states, such as Wisconsin, and in Canada. But why was this hat more popular than others? Clothing allows for people to choose their…
In the 1800s, European immigrants coming to America had to find a way to preserve the objects indispensable to their lives, bringing their most precious belongings on an ocean voyage to a far-away new home. Most families were only able to bring…