|
Our Motto: Strange but true.
Our Mission: Amuse, surprise, perplex, astonish, and otherwise connect you with your past.
Our Method: Lower a bucket into the depths of Wisconsin history and bring to light curious fragments of forgotten lives.
Odd Wisconsin
"I am trying as you will perceive, to make the most of this fearfully wearisome summer. . . I live in a retired manner in a private house on the outskirts of the town where there are no other boarders and have all the advantages of the country. . . . I am so miserable over my great sorrows, that...
read the rest.
Posted in Odd Lives on June 30, 2009
The religion of white settlers often seemed peculiar to American Indian elders. In 1828, for example, Ho-Chunk Chief Dandy was at Galena with some companions and "while strolling about the town one day, they came upon a Methodist church where a revival service was in progress. They approached the windows and were amazed at the sight within, the house crowded...
read the rest.
Posted in Curiosities on June 22, 2009
In the 1830s, a giant named Pierre Pauquette traded with the Ho-Chunk at the portage on the Wisconsin River. At six-foot two and 240 pounds, Pauquette was famous for his strength. His thighs were as thick as most men's waists, he could carry an 800-pound barrel of lead, and more than once he lifted a horse clear off the ground....
read the rest.
Posted in Curiosities on June 18, 2009
Are you ready to pack up the car and head out on a summer vacation? Whether it's a grand cross-country journey or just a quick trip up north, this is a good time to reflect on how we got from horse-drawn wagons like this one to comfortable cars like this one. Take a break from packing for a quick look...
read the rest.
Posted in Curiosities on June 8, 2009
That's the headline of a Wisconsin State Journal editorial from 1898, when a seemingly noble military intervention spawned a wave of blind, unthinking nationalism, and the U.S. quickly became embroiled in a messy foreign occupation with a Wisconsin soldier in charge. When the Spanish government set up concentration camps in 1896 to suppress a rebellion in Cuba, thousands of the...
read the rest.
Posted in Bizarre Events on June 1, 2009
We've been told for decades that Jean Nicolet (1598-1642), the first European known to reach Wisconsin, was searching for a route to Asia when he landed near Green Bay in 1634. Artists showed him wearing a Chinese robe as he strode ashore at Red Banks and local historians staged celebrations and erected historic markers where they assumed it happened. But...
read the rest.
Posted in Curiosities on May 25, 2009
Many cities and towns claim the distinction of holding the first Memorial Day. Setting aside a day to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers began at the end of the Civil War, when Southern widows placed flowers not only on their Confederate husbands' graves but also on nearby neglected graves of Union soldiers. In May 1868 General John Logan, national...
read the rest.
Posted in on May 21, 2009
Smart phones seem to be trivializing social life. The constant stream of Twitter tweets, Facebook status updates, and daily blogs calls to mind Henry David Thoreau's famous comment on the new technology of his own day: "We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important...
read the rest.
Posted in Curiosities on May 12, 2009
John Lawe (1780-1846) was one of the first English-speaking residents of Green Bay, arriving in 1797 to trade for furs. He grew to be one of the village's most respected and affluent residents, building this house (luxurious in its day) and holding various public offices. None of that kept him from bold or impetutous action. This newspaper story recounts how...
read the rest.
Posted in Bizarre Events on May 7, 2009
Tornado season is here again. Huge storms are crossing the Mississippi as we write tonight, prompting a reminder that everyone needs to be ready when the sirens sound. On June 12, 1899, there were no sirens when a tornado struck New Richmond, in St. Croix Co. and 117 people died. Because a circus was in town, the town's population swelled...
read the rest.
Posted in Animals on April 22, 2009
Did You Know?
The Wisconsin Historical Museum is currently featuring Odd Wisconsin objects in the latest exhibit: Odd Wisconsin. And don't miss the Odd Wisconsin book by author Erika Janik published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press.
|
