December 2006 Highlights
Take a Cup o' Kindness Yet
Wisconsin has celebrated New Year's ever since Europeans and Yankees first settled here. French-Canadian residents brought a custom called "La Guignolée," a sort of New Year's trick-or-treat in which old men collected clothing and food for the poor. According to...
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Posted December 29, 2006
Wisconsin History's Top 10 News Stories of 2006
In 2006 Wisconsin saw major political change, tragic school violence, advances in science, amazing feats of athleticism, and controversy over changes to the state's Constitution. Continuing a year-end tradition begun in 2003, Society staff has identified history-making stories of 2006...
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Posted December 27, 2006
Ghosts of Christmases Past
Wisconsin residents have observed Christmas for more than 300 years, but usually not like we do today. Different ethnic groups celebrated in different ways at different times, and only recently did the holiday take the form it has now. To...
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Posted December 22, 2006
Larger-Than-Life Images of Wisconsin
Photographer Alfred Stanley Johnson Jr. specialized in the tall-tale postcard, extolling Wisconsin's agricultural abundance through images of oversized produce and animals. Staging his friends and family to pantomime story lines, Johnson added enlarged fruits, vegetables and animals to fit the...
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Posted December 20, 2006
New Findings on Fate of the Christmas Tree Ship
During the 19th century, Chicago was one of the busiest shipping ports in the world. By 1875 nearly 21,000 vessels cleared the port of Chicago annually. A Great Lakes ship carried nearly every commodity that passed through the bustling city,...
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Posted December 15, 2006
New Life for Historic Ringling Train Shed
The Wisconsin State Building Commission has approved expenditure of $1.315 million to complete the rehabilitation of the historic Ringling Train Shed at Circus World Museum in Baraboo. The nearly 600-foot-long frame building — the only structure of its kind in...
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Posted December 13, 2006
History Books for the Holidays
Each year more than 10,000 new books pass through the hands of the Society's librarians on their way to the 14 miles of shelves in the headquarters building. The Society routinely acquires every American history title you see at Barnes...
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Posted December 11, 2006
Winter Wisconsin Magazine of History is Here
Take a break from the holiday madness with the newest issue of the Wisconsin Magazine of History, on newsstands and in mailboxes now. Here's a sneak peak. In "Showdown in Chicago," author Jeff Bloodworth explores the new brand of progressivism...
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Posted December 8, 2006
Museum to Host Model Railroad Display
All aboard for an interactive experience with an animated model railroad layout at the Wisconsin Historical Museum on Madison's Capitol Square! Buck and Jan Guthrie of Argyle took a barn in southern Wisconsin that was home to a herd of...
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Posted December 6, 2006
Break Bread with Father Christmas!
A historic and beloved holiday figure will warm the hearts of youngsters who sit down for Breakfast with Father Christmas from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 16, at Old World Wisconsin. In addition to a delicious breakfast,...
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Posted December 4, 2006
Enjoy History? Become a Society Member!
Whether you actively use the myriad resources of the Wisconsin Historical Society or simply appreciate the significance of the past, we invite you to become a Society member. Membership is open to all and is largely composed of individuals and...
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Posted December 1, 2006
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