Wisconsin 101

Women in Shipbuilding during World War II

Most people recognize the patriotic World War II campaign of “Rosie the Riveter,” which aimed to recruit female workers to patch the gaps in industrial labor left by male military enlistment. Shipyards, specifically, hired women into the war effort at an exponential…

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June 10, 2025

Mercedes Herman's Welding Uniform / Maritime Industry / Industry / Related Stories / Door County / Sturgeon Bay / 1900-1918 / Manufacturing & Trade / 1918-1945 / 1945-1965 / Region 5 - Center East

Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding and Drydock Company

The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal opened in 1881 to provide a sailing route through the Door Peninsula to both shorten the shipping distance between cities on Green Bay and Lake Michigan and to avoid the treacherous waters of the Porte des Mortes…

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June 10, 2025

Mercedes Herman's Welding Uniform / New Object Histories / Military History / Industry / Object Histories / Maritime Industry / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Door County / Sturgeon Bay / Manufacturing & Trade / 1918-1945 / Region 5 - Center East

OBJECT HISTORY: Mercedes Herman’s Welding Uniform

At only sixteen years old, Mercedes Herman stepped forward as one of the first Wisconsin women to join the local manufacturing workforce in Door County during the second World War, operating as a shipyard welder at Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding and Drydock Company.…

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June 10, 2025

Art & Design / Milwaukee / Milwaukee County / 1918-1945 / Society & Religion / Region 8 - South East / Milwaukee Handicraft Project Portfolio

Elsa Ulbricht: A Pioneer for Women’s Work

Due to its longevity and the number of women employed, historians consider the Milwaukee Handicraft Project to be one of the most successful programs sponsored by the Works Project Administration (WPA). The WPA funded many public works projects during the Great Depression as a…

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April 23, 2025

Art & Design / New Object Histories / Object Histories / Milwaukee County / Milwaukee / 1918-1945 / Society & Religion / Region 8 - South East / Milwaukee Handicraft Project Portfolio

OBJECT HISTORY: Milwaukee Handicraft Project Portfolio

A seagull is eating fish for lunch, disrupting the regularity of the water’s waves as it splashes around. This is a scene so common on the Milwaukee shores of Lake Michigan that it served as design inspiration for local craftsmen, and in…

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April 23, 2025

Janesville / Industry / Rock County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1918-1945 / Society & Religion / Transportation & Tourism / Chevy Caprice / Region 7 - South Center

Janesville GM 1937 Strike

Economic tension during the Great Depression in the early 1930s caused a massive shift in labor relations as many workers wanted protection, jobs, and better wages. Many Americans were desperate for jobs that would meet their needs, and this led to grassroot…

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February 17, 2025