November 2006 Odd Wisconsin
Isaac Van Schaick (1817-1901) came to Milwaukee in 1861 to help run his brother-in-law’s flour mill. He got rich, and was well-liked; the secret to his success, he later said, was “being one of the boys.” In 1871 the boys in Milwaukee persuaded him to run for the Common Council, and two years later he began representing them in Madison....
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Posted in Odd Lives on November 27, 2006
In the mid-1850s, railroads spread rapidly across the Midwest. In Wisconsin, a line built from Milwaukee to Waukesha in 1851 was extended to Madison in 1854 and reached the Mississippi three years later. But then disaster struck: the Panic of 1857 killed investment, and the brakes were temporarily slammed on railroad development. The workers who graded the earth, bedded the...
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Posted in Children on November 21, 2006
One would naturally think that our official state song, "On, Wisconsin!," was inspired by residents of the Badger state. But the "Battle Hymn of the Republic"? Who'd have known. Here's how it happened. Early in the Civil War, the Wisconsin Sixth Infantry was stationed outside Washington, D.C., to protect the nation's capital. On Nov. 20, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln held...
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Posted in Curiosities on November 16, 2006
In the summer of 1952, the town of Oconto was invaded. The town lies on the western shore of Green Bay (map), and has been home to humans for thousands of years. Native Americans have lived there since at least 2000 B.C., roughly, when it was home to a community of Old Copper Culture people. Before Europeans arrived, the Menominee...
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Posted in Animals on November 8, 2006
When the explorer LaSalle set out to build a great arc of French trading posts stretching from Quebec to New Orleans, he chose as his chief lieutenant 28-year-old Henri de Tonty. Tonty was a tough young navy officer who, when a grenade mangled his right hand, calmly amputated the shredded remains with his left. He wore an iron prosthesis under...
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Posted in Odd Lives on November 5, 2006
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.
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