Wisconsin 101

Wisconsin’s 1918 Special Election for Senate and the Trial of Victor Berger

In 1918, Wisconsin held a special election to fill the seat of recently deceased Senator Paul Husting, who had been elected in 1914. The election was a three-way race between Democrat Joseph E. Davies, Republican Irvine L. Lenroot, and Socialist Victor L. Berger. Running under federal indictment, Berger placed third. He won 26% of the vote statewide in the April Senate election, winning 11 counties.

Comments Off

September 10, 2018

Milwaukee County / Milwaukee / Related Stories / Curators' Favorites / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / 1918-1945 / Politics & Government / Region 8 - South East / Victor Berger Campaign Banner

Victor Berger and the Sewer Socialists

Victor Berger, one of the "Sewer Socialists," became the first Socialist to serve in the United States House of Representatives, winning the election in Wisconsin’s 5th congressional district in 1910.

Comments Off

September 10, 2018

Broad History / Industry / Lake Koshkonong / Pre-1787 / Related Stories / Ethnicity & Identity / 1787-1848 / A Duck Decoy / 1848-1877 / Jefferson County / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / Manufacturing & Trade / 1918-1945 / Nature & Environment / Region 7 - South Center

When Lake Koshkonong was a Marsh

Maintaining practices like an annual visit to Lake Koshkanong to hunt and harvest food is an important way for indigenous knowledge and culture to be passed-on to the next generation.

Comments Off

July 1, 2018

Wausau / Industry / Related Stories / Marathon County / 1900-1918 / A Hudson's Bay Company Point Blanket Coat / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / 1918-1945 / Region 4 - Center / Transportation & Tourism

The Wausau Group: The Businessmen Who Revived Wausau’s Economy

Located on the Wisconsin River, Wausau developed as a logging town in the 1830s. George Stevens chose the site because of the waterfall that spanned the river, which provided power for sawmills used to turn the felled trees into lumber. The waterfall,…

Comments Off

February 1, 2018

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Wausau / Related Stories / Sports & Games / Marathon County / A Hudson's Bay Company Point Blanket Coat / 1918-1945 / Region 4 - Center / Transportation & Tourism

The Wausau Winter Frolic: Wausau’s History as a Sports Capital

In 1929, a teacher in Waupaca asked her pupils what Wisconsinites did for winter sports. According to one newspaper, the children “with one accord all exclaimed: ‘They go to Wausau!’” In the 1920s, when Wisconsinites thought of winter sports, they thought of…

Comments Off

February 1, 2018

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Wausau / Object Histories / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Sports & Games / Everyday Life / Marathon County / A Hudson's Bay Company Point Blanket Coat / 1918-1945 / Region 4 - Center

OBJECT HISTORY: A Hudson’s Bay Company Point Blanket Coat

This wool coat was constructed from a ‘point blanket’ made by the Hudson’s Bay Company, likely during the early 1920s. A Wausau businessman wore it at one of the town’s early Winter Frolics, an annual winter sports festival that attracted tourists from as far as Chicago. The businessman belonged to a group of local business…

Comments Off

February 1, 2018