Wisconsin 101

Wisconsin’s Feminist Leaders and the National Organization for Women

In the early nineteen sixties, American women organized in pursuit of socio-political change and gender equality. In Wisconsin, women challenged inequitable policies and societal norms by organizing the Wisconsin Commission on the Status for Women and participating in the National Organization for Women…

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August 19, 2021

Art & Design / La Crosse / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Industry / Ethnicity & Identity / Global Connections / Manufacturing & Trade / La Crosse County / 1918-1945 / Region 3 - Center West / 1965-1987 / King Gambrinus Statues of LaCrosse

OBJECT HISTORY: King Gambrinus Statues of La Crosse

The King Gambrinus statue located in La Crosse, Wisconsin depicts the king of beer and brewing.[1] The origins of the statue, specifically its sculptor and construction date, are unknown. Weighing in at approximately 2,000 pounds, this concrete statue is 15 feet tall.…

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August 17, 2021

La Crosse / Agriculture / Object Histories / Industry / 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

Food & Cooking / Object Histories / Fish Creek / Door County / 1965-1987 / Transportation & Tourism / Region 5 - Center East / Two-sided Spork

OBJECT HISTORY: Two-sided Spork

The Door County fish boil is a culinary tradition local to the peninsula that spawned the invention of the two-sided spork. This unique cooking utensil made its first appearance at the White Gull Inn in the 1960s. The White Gull Inn’s history…

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May 3, 2021

Industry / La Farge / Object Histories / A Dam Tower in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve / Manufacturing & Trade / Vernon County / Nature & Environment / Politics & Government / 1965-1987 / Transportation & Tourism / Region 6 - South West

OBJECT HISTORY: A Dam Tower in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve

This concrete obelisk stands near the Kickapoo River and is located a mile north of the village of La Farge. It rises nearly a hundred feet above the river valley floor. The tower was constructed more than forty years ago as part…

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September 9, 2020

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Milwaukee / Milwaukee County / Ethnicity & Identity / Sports & Games / Related Stories / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Curators' Favorites / 1965-1987 / Region 8 - South East / Earlene Fuller's Bowling Shirt

Earlene Fuller and the African American Bowling Scene in Milwaukee

Earlene Fuller designed and made bowling outfits for numerous black and white teams in Milwaukee and elsewhere from 1970 through the mid-1990s. She was a member in two African American bowling organizations — the National Bowling Association and the Milwaukee Bowlers Guild, Inc. — and in the 1990s began incorporating kente cloth and other African-inspired fabric patterns into the shirts she made for her own teams.

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August 30, 2020