http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/ http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/images/common/logo.gif http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/ The Wisconsin Historical Society presents Odd Wisconsin, to amuse, surprise, perplex, disgust, astonish, and otherwise engage you with the past. Michael Edmonds (mailto:miedmonds@whs.wisc.edu) Wisconsin Historical Society <webmaster@wisconsinhistory.org> en-us 2009-11-13T11:49:04-06:00 http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/004032.asp Considered ugly by some and revered by others, sturgeon boast a rich history in Wisconsin. After having survived whatever killed the dinosaurs, they evolved into a robust fish that can enjoy a lifespan of more than a century. In 1932, one sturgeon proved its lasting power in a particularly fragrant way. For years, state law required that confiscated fish and... 4032@http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/ Animals 2009-11-13T11:49:04-06:00 Michael Edmonds http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/001004.asp The New York Times reported this week on a Stoddard, Wis., couple who build homes not from dead lumber but from living trees. Apparently their methods have many advantages, including not only beauty but also unexpected structural strength and minimized ecological impacts. Their story reminded us of John Krusback, president of the Embarass State Bank, who had a similar idea... 1004@http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/ Bizarre Events 2009-11-05T01:40:04-06:00 Michael Edmonds http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/004027.asp Today's visit by President Obama to Wright Middle School in Madison swamped our Library with calls about previous visits by incumbent chief executives. The first of those occurred on Sept. 10, 1878, when Rutherford B. Hayes spent the day in our capital city. Unlike Obama, Hayes was not an especially noteworthy president. In 1876 he had actually lost the popular... 4027@http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/ 2009-11-03T15:38:51-06:00 Michael Edmonds http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/003133.asp In honor of Halloween, here are a handful of Wisconsin ghost stories that we've reported in Odd Wisconsin. There's the horrible case of Monsieur Nadeau, hounded to death in 1830 by the ghost of the woman he had murdered (or perhaps by his conscience). The Hille farm in Waukesha Co. was haunted after a family tragedy in 1918. At the... 3133@http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/ Bizarre Events 2009-10-28T01:00:17-06:00 Michael Edmonds http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/004017.asp Wisconsin is known for a many things, but few people realize we possess the world&#39;s largest penny. That&#39;s right -- Wisconsin is home to the largest penny in the world, a monument commemorating Dr. Kate Pelham Newcomb (1886-1956). "Dr. Kate" was responsible for the health of residents in nearly 300 square miles of northern Wisconsin. She was a dedicated... 4017@http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/ Curiosities 2009-10-23T15:54:45-06:00 Michael Edmonds http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/004010.asp Pope Benedict XVI canonized five new saints Sunday, including Jozef De Veuster (1840-1889), a 19th century priest more commonly known as Father Damien. St. Damien worked with ostracized leprosy patients on Molokai, an isolated Hawaiian island, until he contracted the disease himself and died in 1889. By then he had been joined by Joseph Dutton (1843-1931) of Beloit, who carried... 4010@http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/ Odd Lives 2009-10-11T07:37:16-06:00 Michael Edmonds http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/002468.asp The origins of many Wisconsin place names are recorded in our online Dictionary of Wisconsin History. The note there on the Columbia County town of Wyocena -- that the name came to the town's founder, Elbert Dickason, in a dream -- led us to investigate. Dickason (1799-1848) was born in Virginia and migrated west gradually, arriving in Illinois in time... 2468@http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/ Curiosities 2009-10-01T02:55:50-06:00 Michael Edmonds http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/003999.asp The soap opera Guiding Light, which went off the air a week ago after 72 years, remains alive in the Archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society. According to the New York Times, it was "the longest-running scripted program in broadcasting history." After 15 years on radio, more than 15,000 televised episodes were produced before the plug was pulled last Friday.... 3999@http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/ Curiosities 2009-09-24T09:48:14-06:00 Michael Edmonds http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/003997.asp In Encore! The Renaissance of Wisconsin Opera Houses author Brian Leahy Doyle tells the chilling story of a devoted opera house employee who refuses to vacate the premises...despite having been dead for more than 40 years. The brain-child of five local businessmen, the Grand Opera House in Oshkosh first opened its doors in 1883. Designed by architect William Waters,... 3997@http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/ Bizarre Events 2009-09-18T15:40:55-06:00 Michael Edmonds http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/003996.asp Nathaniel Tallmadge (1795-1864), Wisconsin's third chief executive, just missed being the tenth president of the United States. Born in Chatham, N.Y., he was admitted to the bar in 1818 and served in the New York legislature before going on to two terms in the U.S. Senate (Mar. 1833-June 1844). In 1840 Tallmadge was offered the nomination for vice-president, as running... 3996@http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/ Odd Lives 2009-09-17T10:12:11-06:00 Michael Edmonds http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/003992.asp Today the Milton House in Milton, Wisconsin, is well-known for its history as a stop along the Underground Railroad. What most people don&#39;t know is that six early Milton residents were laid to rest beneath the floor of its underground tunnel, which ran between the Milton House inn and original owner Joseph Goodrich&#39;s log cabin. In 1850 a cholera epidemic... 3992@http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/ Curiosities 2009-09-10T15:55:32-06:00 Michael Edmonds http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/003978.asp When one considers Wisconsin's important contributions to big industries, products like cheese, beer, and even ginseng come to mind. Unfortunately, for fashionistas across the state, Wisconsin designers have usually been marginalized while metropolitan centers like New York and Paris typically dictated what was "in." But in 1966, a Wisconsin paper company proved that the state was hip enough to instigate... 3978@http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/ Curiosities 2009-08-27T10:50:18-06:00 Michael Edmonds http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/001640.asp August 21st marks an important Wisconsin anniversary. Our last execution took place on this date more than 150 years ago, when John McCaffary was hung in Kenosha for drowning his wife. The restraints that bound his arms and legs that day ultimately came to the Society's Museum collection as documentation of the last public execution in Wisconsin. It was a... 1640@http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/ Strange Deaths 2009-08-20T01:47:53-06:00 Michael Edmonds http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/001730.asp "Yes, I am fond of history," comments the hero's sister in Jane Austen's 1803 novel, Northanger Abbey. "I wish I were too," replies heroine Catherine Morland. "I read it a little as a duty, but it tells me nothing that does not either vex or weary me. The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars or pestilences, in every page;... 1730@http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/ Curiosities 2009-08-12T01:38:47-06:00 Michael Edmonds http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/001579.asp In the fall of 1935, Wisconsin State Journal cartoonist David Seltz produced a panel every day showing strange episodes from our state's past. He called them "Badger Curiosities" appropriately enough, though today we might call them urban legends (or not-so-urban, given that this is the dairy state). Some of the stories he depicted are well-known, some are forgotten trifles; few... 1579@http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/ Curiosities 2009-08-05T01:50:08-06:00 Michael Edmonds