Wisconsin 101

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

Agriculture / Industry / Shawano / Food & Cooking / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 2 - North East / Politics & Government / 1918-1945 / 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

Agriculture / Industry / Shawano / Object Histories / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 2 - North East / Shawano County / 1918-1945 / Society & Religion / 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

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: World’s Largest Six-Pack

Photo depicting original Old Style behind updated LaCrosse Brewing label, August 7, 2021, Courtesy of Cortney Anderson Kramer.

Agriculture / Industry / La Crosse / Food & Cooking / Object Histories / La Crosse County / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 3 - Center West / 1965-1987 / King Gambrinus Statues of LaCrosse

OBJECT HISTORY: World’s Largest Six-Pack

Located in La Crosse, Wisconsin, the “World’s Largest Six-Pack” is a popular tourist attraction and landmark structure representative of the city’s renowned brewing history. At 54 feet tall, the six steel storage tanks, shaped and arranged to resemble a six-pack of beer,…

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August 17, 2021

Agriculture / Madison / Object Histories / Education / Dane County / Curators' Favorites / Manufacturing & Trade / Society & Religion / 1918-1945 / Region 7 - South Center

OBJECT HISTORY: Jar of Marbles

Today, the Wisconsin State Fair is full of attractions, rides, and great food, but in its early years, it was a place for farmers to gather and share ideas about the agricultural industry. It wasn’t until the early 1900s that the state…

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October 6, 2020

Migrant Worker's Cabin

Agriculture / Home Furnishings / Oconto / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / Everyday Life / Global Connections / Manufacturing & Trade / Migrant Worker's Cabin / Oconto County / Region 2 - North East / 1945-1965

OBJECT HISTORY: Migrant Worker’s Cabin

This cabin, once occupied by a family of migrant workers employed by the Bond Pickle Company, is located at the property of Thomas and Jamie Sobush of Pensaukee, Wisconsin. The cabin was originally one of many other small cabins, clustered together at the Bond Village Migrant Camp on Van Hecke Avenue in Oconto, Wisconsin. The…

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September 10, 2020