Highlights Archives
Top 10 Wisconsin History Stories of 2003
From the rumble of tens of thousands of Harley-Davidson motorcycles all over
Wisconsin to the launch of a Web site, American Journeys, which made history of its own by providing worldwide online access to firsthand accounts of American exploration, history made news all over the state in 2003. Following is a list of the Wisconsin Historical Society's picks for the top 10 Wisconsin history stories making news this year:
- Wisconsin Historical Society Weathers Another Budget Storm
As Gov. Jim Doyle and the Wisconsin Legislature struggled to eliminate a
$3.2 billion state budget deficit — the largest in state history — state
agencies were forced to radically reduce their general-purpose revenue
and tax-supported workforce. The Wisconsin Historical Society cut $1.5
million and 15 jobs for the two-year period beginning July 1, 2003, but,
with bipartisan support from the Legislature, it narrowly escaped even
more drastic cuts that would have permanently crippled the institution.
The Society avoided cutting public access to its library, archives, historic
sites and museum.
- Christopher Columbus to Lewis & Clark — Explorers' Accounts Go
Online
Students, teachers and armchair historians by the thousands can now view
eyewitness accounts of North American exploration online with the Wisconsin
Historical Society's launch of American Journeys.
The Web site makes more than 18,000 pages of rare books and manuscripts chronicling
four centuries of North American exploration available to anyone with Internet
access. Documents include eyewitness accounts of epic journeys of discovery,
including those of Christopher Columbus, Ponce de Leon, and Lewis and Clark.
More than 700,000 students and 7,500 teachers across the nation will use
the Web site to study American exploration this school year. A $202,000 federal
grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services made the project
possible.
- History Takes to the Highway — On Two Wheels
Hundreds of thousands celebrated the centennial of a Wisconsin business icon — Harley-Davidson
Motor Company — in 2003. In 1903, William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson
built their first motorcycle in a wooden shed in Milwaukee. The company,
emblematic of Wisconsin’s fine history of industries designing and
manufacturing engines and motorized vehicles, became a symbol of American
values of freedom, independence and a fascination with the "open road." In
August, Harley riders from all over the world took the "ride home" to
Milwaukee to celebrate Harley-Davidson's 100th year in the motorcycle manufacturing
business.
- A Victorian Gem Returns to its Glorious 1890s Heyday
Culminating many years of painstaking research, the documentary restoration
of the Villa Louis historic site in Prairie du Chien, a National Historic
Landmark, was completed. Working with a team of restoration experts, the
Wisconsin Historical Society completed one of the nation's most well-documented
restorations of a Victorian home. Restoration of the William Morris-inspired
British Arts and Crafts mansion on the Mississippi River was funded through
support from the state of Wisconsin and many private donors, including
the Jeffris Family Foundation and members of the Prairie du Chien community.
Spurred by the restoration, paid visitation to the Villa Louis rose 22
percent in 2003.
- Broadway Gem Preserved in Wisconsin
Ten Chimneys, the bucolic country estate of Broadway legends Alfred Lunt
and Lynne Fontanne, opened in May for its first season of public tours.
Some 19,000 people visited the house museum this year. Sadly, Joseph Garton,
who led the effort to preserve and restore Ten Chimneys, died of cancer
in August.
- David Maraniss Creates Time Capsule: Madison and Vietnam, October 1967
In a unique approach to writing history, author David Maraniss intertwined
two vastly different, but distinctly related, moments and places in time — a
battlefield in Vietnam and violent anti-war strife on the University of
Wisconsin-Madison campus. In "They Marched Into Sunlight: War and
Peace, Vietnam and America, October 1967," Maraniss weaves together
the agony of a deadly jungle ambush that killed 61 soldiers of the 1st
Infantry Division and — half a world away — the bloody clash
between club-wielding Madison police and students protesting the presence
of campus recruiters for Dow Chemcial Co., makers of napalm and Agent Orange.
- Participation in National History Day Doubles
Four thousand state middle and high school students participated in National
History Day events throughout Wisconsin during 2003, a 103-percent increase
in participation in one year. The statewide educational initiative, part
of a national competition culminating each June in Washington, DC, drew
students from 20 Wisconsin counties to the state finals, coordinated by
the Wisconsin Historical Society's office of school services.
- Declaration of Independence Comes to Wisconsin
The state Capitol hosted a national traveling exhibit of rare documents on
the founding of the United States, including a copy of the Declaration
of Independence. The Wisconsin Historical Society supplemented the exhibit
with rare documents from its archives, including autographs of five signers
of the Declaration of Independence: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, John
Hancock, Benjamin Franklin and — the rarest of all 56 signers — Button
Gwinnett, who died less than a year after signing the Declaration.
- Circus World Museum and the Great Circus Parade in Jeopardy
In December, Circus World Museum officials confirmed that the museum's precarious
financial position has been "exacerbated in the last couple of years
by reductions in donors." The museum's fiscal situation casts doubt
on whether funding will be available to mount the 2004 Great Circus Parade
in Milwaukee.
- Green Bay Packers Make Wisconsin Sports History
Brett Favre, Ahman Greene and Ryan Longwell combine to make Wisconsin sports
history on December 14 by breaking a 22-year-old Green Bay Packer record
for consecutive games with touchdown passes; a 41-year-old single-season
rushing record; and a 58-year-old all-time scoring record.
:: Posted December 29, 2003
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