Wisconsin 101

OBJECT HISTORY: Lifesaving Medal

All along Wisconsin’s 820 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, storms could mean the difference between profit and financial ruin, survival and terrifying death. This lifesaving medal reminds us of the risks that sailors and Wisconsin’s maritime communities have routinely faced since the early 19th century, and it documents the personal bravery, dedication, and ingenuity of those who would rescue their fellows…

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April 9, 2015

West Bend / Industry / Food & Cooking / Object Histories / Wisconsin Made / Everyday Life / Manufacturing & Trade / Washington County / 1945-1965 / Region 8 - South East / Penguin Server

OBJECT HISTORY: Penguin Server

A penguin-themed serving bowl dishes out stories about the aluminum industry, postwar consumer culture, and home entertainment in mid-twentieth century Wisconsin.

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August 10, 2014

Read more about the article The West Bend Aluminum Company

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Westbendco.webp

West Bend / Home Furnishings / Industry / 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

West Bend / Military History / Industry / Related Stories / Global Connections / Washington County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1918-1945 / Politics & Government / Region 8 - South East / Penguin Server

The Aluminum Industry and Wartime Demands

In 1920 the aluminum cookware industry in Wisconsin gained control of over 50 percent of the total national market, after selling less than five percent in 1910. By 1929, West Bend ranked third in the nation in sales of aluminum cookware; however, during the Great…

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August 1, 2014

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Grafton / Music, Theatre & Cinema / Industry / Related Stories / Ozaukee County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1918-1945 / Region 8 - South East / Paramount Records 78

The Record Production Process

Paramount Record’s parent company, the United Phonographic Corporation, a subsidiary of the Wisconsin Chair Company, decided to begin recording and pressing records to include with their phonograph cabinets in the early 1920s. Paramount initially recorded in studios throughout the United States. They…

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February 24, 2014

Home Furnishings / Industry / Port Washington / Related Stories / Ozaukee County / Everyday Life / 1877-1900 / Manufacturing & Trade / 1900-1918 / 1918-1945 / Region 8 - South East / Paramount Records 78

The Wisconsin Chair Company

Founded in 1888 by Frederick A. Dennett, the Wisconsin Chair Company (WCC) was perhaps the most important business in Ozaukee County at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century. The company, located along the northern shore of the…

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February 16, 2014