April 2008 Odd Wisconsin
In the summer of 1834, Rev. Cutting Marsh of Kaukauna journeyed across Wisconsin into Iowa, keeping a daily diary as he went. On the Mississippi he heard about the recent death of "a very wicked man" named Nadeau, whose fate was worthy of a story by Edgar Allan Poe: "It was said," Rev. Marsh wrote on August 23rd, "that he...
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Posted in Strange Deaths on April 30, 2008
As tiny kinglets and gigantic sandhill cranes move north through Wisconsin again, this may be a good time to consider our state's place in American ornithology. Before the Civil War, R.P. Hoy cataloged the birds of southeastern Wisconsin and reported his findings to scholars in the East. Another mid-century scientist, Increase Lapham, built on Hoy's work to create the first...
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Posted in Animals on April 24, 2008
That was the headline atop the final section of Industrial Milwaukee, an annual review of business trends and statistics about Wisconsin's largest city that ran from 1919 to 1929. The anonymous writer went on, "Industry still has its ups and downs and good years will still be followed by years not so good. In the aggregate, 1929 was a high...
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Posted in Curiosities on April 13, 2008
The first day of air mail service linking Wisconsin to New York was marked by violent weather that not only stopped the mail but claimed the life of a veteran pilot. On June 6-7, 1926, planes were supposed to leave New York at 8:00p.m., Chicago at 5:50a.m. and Milwaukee at 6:50a.m. to arrive in Minneapolis at 10:40a.m. Different pilots flew...
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Posted in Curiosities on April 6, 2008
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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