Wisconsin 101

Migrant Worker's Cabin

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

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Antigo / Object Histories / Langlade County / Global Connections / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / Region 2 - North East / 1920-1940 / Mepps Fishing Lure

OBJECT HISTORY: Mepps Fishing Lure

The classic Mepps fishing lure the Aglia, was invented in France in the 1930s and patented in 1938. (Mepps is a French acronym for Manufacturier d’ Engins de Precision pour Peches Sportives, translated as “Manufacture of Precision Equipment for Sport Fishing”.) It was introduced to northern Wisconsin, and to the U.S., by a G.I. returning from France.…

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September 10, 2020

Beloit / Object Histories / Food & Cooking / Rock County / 1920-1940 / Science & Medicine / Region 7 - South Center / Clair Mathews' Feed Grinder

OBJECT HISTORY: Clair Mathews’ Feed Grinder

Recognizing the need to grind feed for his dairy cows, but unable to afford a mill, Clair Mathews designed his own version of a feed grinder. That grinder would inadvertently create the snack that would come to be known as Korn Kurls.

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September 9, 2020

Ephraim / Object Histories / Food & Cooking / Door County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960 / Region 5 - Center East / Transportation & Tourism / Cherryland T-Shirt

OBJECT HISTORY: Cherryland T-Shirt

In 1927, Marilyn Färdig’s grandparents, Andrew and Esther Färdig, purchased twenty acres of land in Ephraim, Image courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society. Image ID: 79142. Wisconsin, and started a cherry orchard. With the help of their seven children and workers from a variety of locations, including the southern United States, Mexico, and Jamaica, Andrew…

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September 9, 2020

Home Furnishings / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Langlade County / Politics, Society & Government / Region 2 - North East / 1920-1940 / CCC Pillow Sham

OBJECT HISTORY: CCC Pillow Sham

Created in 1933, this commemorative pillow sham was just one of a number of textiles created by second-generation Hungarian immigrant Rose Mary Drab to honor her brother Edward’s service in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Rose Mary appliquéd the black cotton sateen sham with a small cotton tent, a blue eagle and two small stars, and hills, pine…

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September 9, 2020

Wausau / Object Histories / Clothing & Fashion / Marathon County / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 2 - North East / 1920-1940 / A Hudson's Bay Company Point Blanket Coat

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…

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September 9, 2020