Playmates From Wisconsin #4...Hope Olsen

I think it best to let an Italian sum up this Wisconsin beauty...
"La bella Hope è una playmate nata in Wisconsin (Stati Uniti). In queste pagine proponiamo fotografie di alta qualità della Olsen. La Olsen è famosa per la sua bellezza in America del Nord. Se cercate una delle playmates di Playboy più belle in Stati Uniti Hope è certamente tra loro: il sorriso smagliante della Olsen, il suo corpo da favola ed una simpatia innata sono ciò che la rende famosa e ricca di fans. La Olsen è tra le nostre bellezze preferite! Le immagini di Olsen Hope sono state rintracciate nella rete tra le tante che la ritraggono. Abbiamo selezionato immagini di Hope non sempre castigate, certo è che non abbiamo pubblicato i ritratti della Olsen più esplicitamente sexy."
The all important turn on and turn off list...
AMBITIONS:
To be a successful model, and happy and healthy.
TURN-ONS:
Snowmobiling, outdoor activity. (The snowmobile was invented in Wisconsin.)
TURNOFFS:
Dirty teeth.
SOMEONE I ADMIRE:
Raquel Welch.
FAVORITE FLICKS:
The Godfather, Billy Jack, The Ten Commandments. (Milwaukee's own Tom Laughlin played the role of "Billy Jack".)
GROWING UP:
I grew up in LaCrosse, Wisconsin but went to high school in California.
GREAT TV:
"The Six Million Dollar Man" and wildlife shows.
MY TYPICAL DAY:
Includes plenty of exercise. I love all outdoor sports but especially swimming and bicycle riding.
Now in english...
Hope Olson was born in 1956 in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its October 1976 issue. Later, Hope shared the cover of the september 1977 issue and made an appearance in the December 1977 issue. After her Playboy days, Hope returned to Wisconsin and earned a degree in early childhood education. She used her education to open a day-care center in her home. esplicitamente sexy... indeed.

Fun Fact: Hope appeared in an episode of Fantasy Island.

Liberace Meets His Fan Club

The gift that keeps on giving...our very own Liberace. Such a good Polish Catholic boy - his mother must be proud. The picture was probably taken in the late 50's.

Wisconsin Vaudeville..."I've been to hell..."

An old story that circulated among entertainers in the 1920's; Two performers are waxing philosophical during a break between performances.
One performer asks the other,"Do you believe in Heaven and Hell?"
The other answers, "I don't know about heaven, but I've been to hell...I've played Madison, Wisconsin twice."
Madison was the terror of every living vaudeville performer. Those cold, unsmiling, judgemental Norwegian faces...or worse...the cool, analytical stare of the professional student from the east coast. For a good 20 years it easily held the title of "the toughest crowd in the theater game", which brings me to my subject...
Wisconsin Vaudeville performers. The biggest of them all was Houdini, but there were others - small specialty players who were well employed in their day and are now completely forgotten.
Oconto, Wisconsin's Fay Holderness was a vaudeville performer and a film actress. She began her vaudeville career in upstate New York appearing in a "comedy and harmony quartet" called The Village Four. Between short tours and theater engagements she found time to appear in numerous films appearing with Tom Mix, W.C. Fields and Lillian Gish. Her claim to fame is her work in several Laurel and Hardy comedy shorts in which she played both Mrs. Laurel (in Their Purple Moment, 1928),and Mrs. Hardy (in Hog Wild,1930). She later was reunited with W.C. Fields in both The Barber Shop and The Bank Dick. Her acting career continued into the mid 1940's.
In 1963, Fay Holderness died at a retirement home in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 82.
Ben Bergor was a lifelong Madisonian. He is best remembered as a magician. From the 1912 until 1954 he worked every type of venue extant, from tent shows to trade shows to the vaudeville circuit to summer fairs. In mid career, he found his niche as an escape artist...sort of a Houdini immitator. "He and his wife Alvina made history in the world of escape tricks with their "original combination trunk and straitjacket escape and substitution." The trick won the Wisconsin Houdini Club trophy for three consecutive years, and received plaudits from Harry Houdini's widow. Had Ben and Alva not been very similar in size, the trick would not have been possible."
His real name was Ben Goldenberger. He was born in a house one block from the State Capitol in 1893. He never graduated high school and only briefly attended UW. He tried acting, boxing and dancing in medicine shows. Nothing captured his imagination until Harry Bostock, a Madison optometrist/magician (say it twice)took Ben in and helped him with his stagecraft.
After a long, varied and successful career in show biz, Ben Bergor retired and opened booking agency called Madison Entertainment Service. He died in 1981.
That's Ben and his wife in the picture up above doing their famous escape act.
The Madison wing of the International Brotherhood of Magicians is known as Ben Bergor Ring 31.
Ben was a World War I veteran. He returned with a severe case of shell shock. Ben Bergor had definitely been to hell.
In 1922, with establishment of a shell shock hospital, Wisconsin was the first state in the nation(here we go again) to deal with war trauma. In use were treatment methods that had already been perfected at the Mendota State Mental Institution.

Roadkill Website...Prescott man launches site devoted to record setting roadkill

Wow. This one comes courtesy the Appleton Post Crescent.
By Terry Lipshetz
PRESCOTT — Richard Sanders hadn’t given much thought to roadkill until a buddy came across a very large bear on the roadside near Hudson.
The animal was bigger than any trophy bear the friends had bagged over the years, and they thought it deserved a better fate than rotting by the road.
“It is not their fault they were hit by a car or truck,” Sanders said. “They shouldn’t go unnoticed.”
Recognized big game record books, such as those kept by the Pope & Young and Boone and Crockett clubs, won’t list roadkill animals because they weren’t taken by bullet or bow.
To remedy that, Sanders created an alternative online: The Road Kill Record Book Club.
The roadkill bear, which is now at the taxidermist, will have its place on the Web site and in his friend’s den.
The Road Kill Record Book Club Web site includes a gallery and registry for bears, cougars, elk and other animals killed by vehicles. It also offers memberships and merchandise.
But Sanders cautioned that the Web site should not be seen as promoting accidents or glorifying roadkill. He plans to provide information on peak danger seasons for vehicle-deer collisions and tips on reporting roadkill.
“The Web site is written in a serious vein, because it is a touchy subject,” he said.
The friend who helped him start the Web site dropped out after receiving flak about it, said Sanders, 60, of Prescott, a marketing consultant for hunting-related clients.
Lou Cornicelli, big-game program coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, scoffed at the idea of a Web site devoted to roadkill.
“I thought I had seen everything, but I hadn’t until now,” Cornicelli said.
He added, “I don’t see it serving a purpose, but if he wants to have a Web site for animals smacked by Buicks, more power to him.”
Wisconsin wildlife officials were more charitable.
“It certainly is a novel idea,” said Keith Warnke, Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources big-game specialist. “I suppose it could serve an educational purpose, especially if they provide information on peak seasons and what to do if you see a deer in the road.”

The roadkill site is here.

Ray "Crash" Corrigan....Serial King, Real Estate Magnate, Guy In An Ape Suit, Star

A friend of mine, Bill Forsche(you may remember him as the werewolf in The Howling IV ) sent an E-Mail reminding me of Milwaukee's own Ray "Crash" Corrigan. How could I forget. Ray Corrigan was the first celebrity ever to be featured on a box of Wheaties. If he is remembered at all today, it is as a star of 1930's serials and B westerns. He was born Raymond Benitz in Milwaukee on February 14, 1902. He moved to Hollywood at age 18 - a 90 pound weakling with curvature of the spine. In 1921 he discovered California's burgeoning physical fitness culture and built his body up. By 1925 he was on the Hollywood scene as an in-demand physical fitness instructor to the stars. "He was good looking guy with lots of muscles. In the early 30's, he started at MGM as a muscular stand-in and double for Johnny Weissmuller of Tarzan fame. He was soon doing walk-ons and bit-parts in films such as Mutiny On The Bounty and Nightlife of the Gods, a film based on a book by the author of the "Topper" series, Thorne Smith. During these early years, he was known as "Ray Bernard". The name change to Ray Corrigan would occur during his first year at Republic Pictures." At Republic pictures Ray starred in Undersea Kingdom, a successful serial that launched his career. He was soon cast as one of the Three Mesquiteers and proceeded to appear in 24 films in the long running series. In 1937, he purchased land in Simi Valley, California and developed it into Corriganville, a shooting ranch - a location for Western movies and, years later, TV shows(Have Gun Will Travel was shot there). Corriganville proved to be a solid, steady money maker. Ray joined Monogram pictures and starred in the "Range Buster" series of films. The production deal for these films gave Corrigan a substantial share of the film profits. Twenty-four films were released during 1940-1943, and Corrigan appeared in 20 of them.
By the 50's Ray could be seen working in a Gorilla costume (Just like Bill in his werewolf costume)in such films as Bela Lugosi Meets
a Brooklyn Gorilla, Nabonga (with Julie London) and Zamba. His last film role was as the creature in the science fiction thriller It! The Terror from Beyond Space. Corrigan was 59 years old and decided to retire from the screen. He eventually sold Corriganville to Bob Hope in 1966 for three million dollars, took his money and moved to Oregon. He died in 1976 at the age of 74. Here's a short paragraph that sums up a very remarkable man...
"A dreamer, a planner, a doer, a seer. An astute businessman with diversified interests, a stuntman,an actor, a fortune-seeker, the owner of a movie ranch built on prime real estate. He trained as a fencer, boxer, wrestler and swimmer, was a physical culturist. He sold real estate and built swimming pools. Ray Corrigan was a one man E-ticket ride!"

Bill Forsche is also an interesting and very talented fellow. He had a long, successful career as an effects make-up artist in Hollywood before returning to Appleton in the 90's. You can check out Bill's many film credits here. Here's another great link from Bill....click here.

Rowers and Bombers....The Terrorist Attack On Sterling Hall

There they are, the University of Wisconsin 1909 varsity eight mens crew. Like the long gone and legendary UW boxing team, the UW crew always dominanted their sport. A team sport since 1874, they won their first National Championship in 1900 and since then have won 48 Intercollegiate Rowing Association titles. As a kid, I loved to go to Madison and watch them. My older cousin Tim and later on, my future wife, both rowed for the Badgers. Tim was a star. Coach Randy Jablonic called him the "best athlete I ever coached", and he would eventually go on to row for the USA 8 man crew in the '72 Olympics. But back in the spring of 1970, at the height of the Vietnam War and while still a member of the UW varsity crew, Tim came home to Deerfield for the weekend to visit his aunt, a wonderful woman who also happened to be our next door neighbor. I was 13 years old and very curious about the fellow who drove down from Madison with Tim. I was told that this guy was his good friend, and until recently, a UW crew member. He was serious and he had round glasses, sideburns and a mustache. He also looked like he would rather be anywhere else than this peaceful, small town on the edge of Liberty Prairie. My Dad took one look at him and said,"He looks like Lenin." At the time, I thought he meant "Lennon"...which was also true. His name was Leo Burt, soon to be known as one of the Sterling Hall bombers, and presently, the only one still at large.
Sterling Hall on the University of Wisconsin campus was bombed at 3:42AM on August 24, 1970. The bomb was intended to destroy the Army Math Research Center located on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors of the building. It caused massive destruction to the building and on other nearby buildings, in some cases causing damage that would take years to fully ascertain. The blast was so powerful that it was heard in Belleville, a small town over 30 miles away. Pieces of the stolen 1967 Ford Deluxe Club Wagon that had held the bomb were found on top of an eight-story building three blocks away. It resulted in the death of a researcher, Robert Fassnacht, and injured four others. Fassnacht, a father of three small children, was a 33-year-old post-doctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin. He had gone to the lab, located in the basement level of Sterling Hall, to finish up work before leaving on a planned family vacation the next day. Rescuers found him face down in a foot of water. Neither Fassnacht nor the physics department itself were involved with or employed by the Army Math Research Center. "The bombers used a stolen Ford Econoline van filled with close to 2,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil. Pieces of the van were found on top of an eight-story building three blocks away and 26 nearby buildings were also damaged; however, the targeted AMRC was scarcely damaged."
The bombers were Karleton Armstrong, His brother Dwight Armstrong,David Fine and Leo Burt.Karleton Armstrong was oldest of the bombers, After the bombing he went into hiding and wasn't caught until February 16, 1972. He was sentenced to 23 years in Waupun State Prison, but served only seven years. He continues to reside in Madison and operates a juice cart on the library mall called Loose Juice just four blocks from Sterling Hall.
Dwight Armstrong was 19 at the time of the bombing. After serving his sentence, he was again arrested and convicted of drug charges in Indiana. Last I heard, he was driving cab in Madison.
David Fine was 18 years old. Like Leo Burt, he wrote for The Daily Cardinal. Burt introduced Fine and Karl Armstrong to each other in July of 1970."In 1987, after passing the Oregon Bar exam, Fine was denied admission to the Oregon Bar by the Oregon State Supreme Court based upon his participation in, and lack of remorse for, the bombing of Sterling Hall and the murder of Robert Fassnacht."
Leo Burt,then 22, worked as a writer at the Daily Cardinal, his radical writings increased in frequency after he left the varsity rowing team. The FBI is baffled as to his whereabouts and he is now known as the "Ghost of Wisconsin." Below is Leo, as he was then, and as the FBI imagine him to look now.


The Bombing produced an Altamont like effect upon the campus. Before the bombing, the campus seemed fully radicalized and committed. After the bombing, football game attendance at Camp Randall Stadium, which had hit an all time low during the Vietnam War years, began to pick up and the old pre-Vietnam War staples of mass drinking and partying returned with an unprecedented vigor.
"Historians have called the Sterling Hall bombing a watershed moment in American history. The sobering impact of Robert Fassnacht?s death brought a sudden halt to the violence to which anti-war protesters and police had resorted. A calmer mood spread over the country that deterred extreme violence from occurring in the name of peace or revolt. This may explain why the Sterling Hall bombing remained the largest act of domestic sabotage for twenty-five years until the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995."
Sterling Hall still stands. A plaque dedicated to the memory of Robert Fassnacht is affixed to it. My cousin Tim has done very well for himself in the business world and currently lives in the state of Washington. He hasn't heard from his old friend and one time roomate since before the bombing took place. The Wisconsin Badgers men and womens crew continue to be among the elite in the Nation.
I think the FBI should grill Dr. Mike. He looks like he's got a bit of Trotsky in him...and I could swear he was one of the radicals who came running through the Orpheum Theater in an attempt to escape the tear gas that flooded State Street during one of many protests of that era. I was there - 12 years old, trying to enjoy a matinee performance of 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY and in no mood to watch running hippies make a mad break for the Johnson Street exit.

Wisconsin Rushmore #1...Schlitz, Miller, Blatz and Pabst

From left to right, Joseph Schlitz, Frederick Miller, Valentin Blatz and Captain Frederick Pabst. The four Titans of Brewtown. The men who made Milwaukee famous.
Joseph Schlitz came from Mainz, Germany. He began brewing Schlitz Beer in 1850. In 1871, he "donated" thousands of barrels of beer to the city of Chicago after the Great Fire wiped out that city's brewing industry thus insuring a foothold in Chicago and later, the entire nation. Schlitz grew to be the #2 brewery in America and remained in that position into the early 1970's. Schlitz always had great slogans and catch phrases, It was "the name that made Milwaukee famous" and later, the beer with "Gusto". As with every other American industry, the 70's brought trouble. In the middle of that decade, at the height of it's game, the bean counters took over the brewery. In an attempt to cut costs they changed the brewing process. The results were predictable. Today, the once mighty Schlitz remains only as a brand and the old brewery is a business park. Schlitz is owned by Pabst, which now claims to be brewing the original "classic" formula again. Is the "gusto" back? I asked Dr. Mike.
Me, "Hi Mike, have you tried the new classic Schlitz?"
Mike, "Go fuck yourself."
Frederick Miller was from Sigmaringen, Germany. His brewery has thrived and is currently #2 in the world - the sole survivor of the four giants pictured above.
Next is Valentin Blatz, a native of Bavaria. His brewery was the first of the four to go nationwide. He also was the first to sell out, in 1890 to a consortium of British businessmen. The brewery remained in Milwaukee and continued to brew "Milwaukee's finest beer". Today, after many transitions and the closing of the main brewery, the label is owned by Pabst and contract brewed by Miller.
Last in line is Captain Frederick Pabst. Born in Saxony, he arrived in Wisconsin and
began working as a cabin boy on a great lakes steamer. He eventually became a captain. Here's a brief history of his namesake brewery:
"Pabst Brewing Company was founded in 1844 by Jacob Best. Best known for Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, it is historically associated with Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it was founded, although its corporate headquarters are currently in Woodridge, Illinois. Pabst retains a data center in San Antonio, Texas, the previous location of its headquarters. In 1999, the Pabst Brewing Company began transferring its production to Miller Brewing Company on a contract basis. It owns the following brands, Schmidt, National, Stag, Strohs, Old Style, Old Milwaukee, Rainier, Special Export, Schlitz, Schaefer,Pearl, Lone Star, Ballantine, Olympia, Piels, Black Label and many more. In 2001, it closed its last brewery in Allentown, Pennsylvania."
Today Miller still brews all Pabst products, and the company is trying to make good on retirement obligations to it's former Milwaukee employees - obligations it had once reneged upon. PBR was banned from all Milwaukee County facilities in 1996. I don't know if the ban has been lifted, or if Milwaukee is willing to forgive. The former Pabst Brewery will soon be a brightly imagined complex called The Brewery, a 32-building complex in the northwest corner of Downtown Milwaukee. I broke my 15 minute photoshop rule and worked an hour on the picture, I hope you like it. I've got to get back to my real job.
Have a nice weekend everyone!

Louis Piquette...A Letter From Dillinger's Attorney

Louis Piquette was a flamboyant, shady, superstar attorney, he was the model for the "Billy Flynn" character in the musical Chicago and like almost everything else in John Dillinger's life....he was from Wisconsin - born and raised in Benton, a small town in the southwest. He wrote this friendly reply to Eulalia Callender, an elderly woman who wrote him of her belief that Dillinger must only have been able to escape the Crown Point Jail with the help of God.

Law Offices
LOUIS P. PIQUETT
Suite 2110
228 N. Lasalle St.
CHICAGO

Telephones Central 8847 8848

March 7, 1934

Mrs. Eulalia Callender
Galion, Ohio.

My Dear Mrs. Callender,
Yours of March 7th, received and read with great deal of interest. Let me say in behalf of my client I certainly appreciate a very tender feeling reading between the lines of your short message. I can clearly realize the trend of your beautiful heart.

I will undertake seriously to have the message delivered to my client in person. You may rest assured that I am perfectly safe in saying that the party in question will be most appreciative of your very sweet offerings and thought. I, like you believe that it was the hand of God that enabled this young Christian soul to live on.

From my experience with the party in question, I can safely tell you that he will rob no banks, but it is his firm intention to travel in the path of righteousness. He is a great student of the Bible. The last conversation I had with him he had told me that it was his intention to vie the balance of his life in this world to God, and beyond any doubt your sweet prayers have had a great deal to do with this deliverance.

I will be most happy to talk in person with as sweet a mind as I think you have, so if any time in the near future you feel well enough to come to Chicago you may meet me at my office address. I will be more than glad to discuss this matter with you further.

With very deepest appreciation for your very kind and thoughtful message, I beg to remain yours very sincerely and truly,
Louis P Piquett
That's Richard Gere as Billy Flynn/Louis Piquette in the photo above.

European Reader's Top Ten Wisconsinology Articles

I love tracking international traffic to this blog. Lately, quite a few European readers have been dropping by. Here's their Wisconsinology top ten.

#1 - There Will Be More Blood, The Real Daniel Plainview

#2 - Playmates From Wisconsin #1, Rebecca Scott

#3 - Dillinger In Wisconsin

#4 - Playmates From Wisconsin
Yes, the general category. Dirty bastards.

#5 - Land of 15,000 Lakes

#6 - Playmates from Wisconsin #2, Shay Knuth
See where this is headed?
#7 - General Archive List

#8 - Dillinger's Girl, Billie Frechette

#9 - Lewis Black Loves Wisconsin

#10 - Thompson Boats, Classic Style
Now that's more like it. I love Thompson boats. In fact, I love all our boats.

Thanks Europe.

Tony and Jessica...I hear wedding bells

I can't even begin to imagine their conversations. Burlington, Wisconsin's Tony Romo and his oft and thus far, wrongly reported future bride, Jessica Simpson. What do I care, he's not a Green Bay Packer. End of story. Strange picture.

George H. does it again...Remembering Vito Pascucci

George Hesselberg leaves the greatest comments. Dr Mike told me that I should call myself into my office, tell myself how disappointed I am in me, fire my amateur ass and let a real professional like George drive the Wisconsinology truck. Here's George's comments concerning my Bunny Berigan post. Read.
"If I might add one more Wisconsin guy with a horn, though he switched from coronet to clarinet (from a 2003 column):
Vito Pascucci, a coronet player in the Kenosha High School band, taught himself how to fix instruments, joined the army in 1943, taking along his repair kit. He ended up working as a repairman for the Army Air Corps Band, led by a trombonist named Glenn Miller. Ordered to a just-liberated Paris, Pascucci was sent ahead to arrange for Miller to visit the musical instrument manufacturers in and around the city. While waiting for Miller to show up in Paris, he received word that the famous bandleader's plane had crashed over the English Channel.
He kept the appointments anyway, and one was with G. Leblanc Cie. According to the company history, he was welcomed into the Leblanc family, and, after the war, Leblanc offered Pascucci a chance to head the company in America.
Leblanc picked New York. Pascucci held out for Kenosha, where eventually a shop was created. Two workers were hired to take apart instruments sent from France. Those instruments were climatized and reassembled, then sold to a growing national network. Profits grew. A clarinet factory opened in Kenosha, other companies were bought out, other instruments added. Vito Pascucci is still in Kenosha, and his company can make a grade-school band clarinet that sells for a few hundred dollars, or a symphony concert-quality Leblanc rosewood clarinet, for $6,365."
I'd like to add that southeast Wisconsin is a hotbed of instrument manufacturing,
it's the home of "brass alley", a formerly endless row of brass instrument makers, and the Baldoni Accordion Company - America's premiere accordion manufacturer and the subject of a future post.
Dr. Mike, a former Madison resident, is a long time George Hesselberg reader. Mike can be found reading all the major state papers and the Wall Street Journal every morning, usually by 11:30 am, at various valley bars and diners.
Vito Pascucci passed away in 2003. Here's an obit of sorts...
Vito Pascucci, founder and chairman of the Kenosha, Wisconsin-based G. LEBLANC CORPORATION, passed away on Monday, August 18th, 2003 after a long period of declining health. He was 80 years old.
Born on Oct. 12, 1922 in Kenosha, Vito first learned music as a trumpet student. He went on to play with the Glenn Miller Army Air Corps Band during World War II. Returning from the war, Vito co-founded the G. Leblanc Corporation in America in 1946. He turned his original one-man shop into a nine-brand corporation employing some 450 people and serving a world market from two continents. G. Leblanc is currently the source for both the Vito and Sankyo brands of flutes and piccolos in the USA.
In recognition of his lifelong contributions to music education, Vito was awarded honorary doctorates from six universities. He served six terms as president of the National Association of Band Instrument Manufacturers.
Thankyou, George.

Cursed By A Timber Rattler...Yankees dig up jersey in curse plot

Why that's the jersey of Boston Red Sox slugger, David Ortiz. Red Sox fans buried his jersey on the grounds of the new Yankee Stadium in what was meant to be a curse. The Yankees found it and quickly blessed the ground thus foiling the curse. I remember seeing David play for the class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (former Appleton Foxes) right here in Appleton during the 1995 season. He was David Arias back then. That was a year after Alex Rodriguez played for Appleton and also the year that the Timber Rattlers logo was the dominating minor league logo in the nation - a spot it would hold as swag sales boomed well into the new millenium and other teams scrambled to copy it. Ortiz also met his wife, Tiffany, a native of Kaukauna, while he played here. He's been spotted numerous times on the sidelines at Packers games - the couple spend some of their off season time here in the Fox Valley. It's always great to see two former Appleton minor league players - each one his respective team's Kingpin - square off against each other.

Police Blotter #1...Menasha

I just love the police blotter. It was a slow month, but Menasha came out with it's "B+" game and flat out crushed everyone in this month's statewide roundup.

#1 Disturbance: A man reported that his mother and ex-mother-in-law had gotten into an argument that became physical. The incident occurred when his ex-wife claimed that his mother had assaulted her.

#2 Assist: A man reported that his wife was hitting him in the head at night when he was asleep and that these late night incidents were becoming increasingly violent.

#3 Ordinance violation: A caller asked to speak to an officer about a neighbor who had a dead deer in his backyard. The caller said it was tied up in a tent and had been there since last fall.
(#3 reaffirms my faith in Mankind and Wisconsin in general. Dr. Mike thinks the person with the deer in his backyard is his ex-brother in law.) A toast to the real twin cities.... Neenah and Menasha.

Errol Morris and Ed Gein...The Unfinished Plainfield Project

Errol Morris is one of the greatest filmmakers alive. He is also a UW-Madison grad (BA History '69) and something of a Wisconsinologist. In 1975, he visited Plainfield, Wisconsin and supposedly conducted multiple interviews with Ed Gein himself at the Mendota State Mental Institution. He later made plans with German director Werner Herzog to secretly open the grave of Ed Gein's mother in order to test the theory that Gein himself had already dug her up. Herzog arrived on schedule, but Morris had second thoughts and didn't show up. The grave was never opened. Morris later returned to Plainfield, this time staying for almost a year, conducting hundreds of hours of interviews with local citizens. Although he had plans to either write a book or make a film (which he titled, "Digging up the Past"), Morris never completed his Ed Gein project.
Above I've posted one of Errol's countless Miller High Life commercials...he's directed over 80 of them. The guy on the bike reminds me of Dr. Mike, a 20 veteran of making dead of winter runs to the liquor store on his bike....he kind of looks like Mike too.
Here's Errol's website link. It's a fascinating place.

I Almost Forgot...It's Gaylord's Special Day

Earth Day. The brainchild of Wisconsin's Senator Gaylord Nelson. I remember the first Earth Day. An elder gentleman in my hometown thought it was an ideal day for rounding up groups of congregating hippies... "Get 'em when they're all gathered around dem trees, you know." He was always coming up with new ways to solve the "Hippie Problem". (Posted with one hour to spare while watching Kenosha native Don Ameche on Turner Classic Movies.)

Bunny Berigan...Young Man With A Horn

He loved Louis Armstrong. He was one of two upper midwest virtuoso trumpet players whose initials were "BB"...the first being Bix Beiderbecke. Both were the model for the "young man with a horn" story...you know it: young man spurns convention by falling in love with jazz, he goes to the big city, finds fame, finds booze...booze wins. Bunny lasted longer than Bix, but in the end, alcohol, fatigue and a worried mind did him in.
He was born in Hilbert, Wisconsin and raised in Fox Lake. The early 30's found him in New York City, gigging in a succession of successful big bands and doing a great deal of session work. He was a part of the legendary 1935 Benny Goodman tour that was credited with launching swing music across the nation. The following year his trumpet solo on the Tommy Dorsey hit "Marie" was a knockout...and he could sing too. In 1937, Berigan put together a band to record under his name and cut the Ira Gershwin/Vernon Duke composition, "I Can't Get Started." His memorable trumpet solo and vocals made the song one of the biggest sellers of the year and gave Berigan something that every band leader of the era needed...a theme song. He led his own band for three years while continuing to make records and weekly radio appearances.
"Berigan was known to fret over a business sense that wasn't quite equal to his musical talent. Already a heavy drinker, the business stress of bandleading drove Berigan to drink even more heavily. Nevertheless, musicians considered him an excellent bandleader."
In 1940, he disbanded his orchestra, rejoined Tommy Dorsey for awhile and then formed a smaller, easier to manage, touring band. While working an endless stream of one nighters, he collapsed and was hospitalized with pneumonia. At a hospital in Pittsburgh, doctors made a further discovery - he had advanced cirrhosis of the liver. Bunny Berigan died at age 33 on june 2, 1942.

"No one ever played like he played,"Said Joe Aguanno, a trumpeter who worked with the Berigan outfit in 1939-40. "The sound was so rich and so soulful. There's something that us trumpet players used to hear in Bunny. When he would attack a certain note, it would sound . . . it makes you cry. The sound that came out of Bunny's horn was just like the type of person he was. He was such a fine, lovable guy... a big man, nice-looking."

Bunny's home town, Fox Lake, Wisconsin, celebrates him every year with with an annual Bunny Berigan Jazz Jubilee. Here's a link.

Bunny is seen above singing and soloing with the Fred Rich Band in 1936.
Below is a clip that has absolutely nothing to do with Wisconsin, other than the fact that Bunny Berigan briefly played in the band. I just thought it was highly entertaining and oddly funny. It's Abe Lyman's Orchestra - a small taste from a small corner of the pre-swing era. Check out the guy with two clarinets...thanks to sleepy hacienda for the clip.

Chief Oshkosh...Between a rock and a hard place

Chief Oshkosh was the chief of the Menominee Indian tribe ("Omaeqnominniwuk"- People of the Wild Rice) during a time of rapid change and full scale Yankee expansion. He was born in 1795, not far from present day Nekoosa on the Wisconsin River. He fought for British during the War of 1812 and later sided with the Americans during the Black Hawk War of 1832. During the 1840's, Tribes being moved from upstate New York and Yankee settlers in great number were arriving in northeast Wisconsin. Not wanting war that he couldn't win, Oshkosh had no choice but to negotiate a series of one-sided treaties with the United States. During this time, Menominee land shrank from well over 10 million acres to a mere 235,000 acres (a reservation on the Wolf River). His last actions as Chief were of lasting importance...he taught his people how to manage and conserve their timber resources. 46 variety of trees and a healthy 1.7 billion board feet of lumber became the backbone of the tribal economy for it's later generations.
Chief Oshkosh lived his final years as a beaten man, overweight and alcoholic, often having to defend his previous actions. He died after a drunken brawl in Keshena, Wisconsin, on August 29, 1858.
In 1926 his remains were moved to Menominee Park in his namesake city, Oshkosh, WI. His final resting place is at the foot of a monument dedicated to him. His name is another legacy: A city, a racing airplane, a ship, one of the biggest specialty truck manufacturers in the world, a children's clothing giant, and among many others, a beer brand.

"From space the astronaut can tell exactly where the menominee reservation is. It is a patch of green in a mottled background. Also, NASA and the Air Force use the very northwest corner of the reservation to calibrate some of their space born equipment. Oshkosh's Legacy is painted on the surface of this planet." ...quote and NASA picture below are courtesy of this site, CankuOta.

Flyboys #4...Alfred Lawson, inventor of the airliner, genius, nutball, founder of a new religion and professional baseball player

"Space always was, is now and always will be. It had no beginning and it will have no end. It was not created, nor can it be destroyed. It is eternal..."...Alfred Lawson

Stick with me on this one. It's not your standard issue "another Wisconsin first in the entire world!!!" story (which, by the way, are so overwhelming and numerous that I'm getting bored with the whole concept). Unlike the simple headline, the story you're about to read gets tangled and complex, with serious philosophic overtones that transcend the category. Here's a good overview...
Alfred W. Lawson was the Leonardo da Vinci of kooks. Not only did he discover the Cause of Sex (which is..."the universal law of suction"), the Cause of Evolution and the Cause of Capillary Action, but he was also the inventor of the airliner and the two-tier passenger compartment (and many other mechanical devices), played in and managed pro baseball teams, founded the University of Lawsonomy and the Direct Credits Society and somehow found time to invent and expound on LAWSONOMY, aka... The All Knowing Universal Knowledge of Life.
Now here's the story...
1869. Alfred W. Lawson was three weeks old when his family emigrated to North America from London, England. He spent his early years in Detroit. A voracious reader, he grew up to be a man of many interests and skills. He began his adult life as a professional baseball player/manager and fantastic novelist. In his one year as a pitcher for Boston and Pittsburgh, he posted a 6.63 era and his batting average of .000 reaffirmed the old adage that pitchers can't hit. He soon found better employment in management.
Born Again, his only novel, was first published in 1904. Here's the plot. A seeker and world traveller,John Convert, is thrown off a ship after arguing (preaching to) with his fellow crewmen. Convert is washed ashore on a strange little island. There he meets the lovely Arletta. She is the last of a race of superpersons, The Sagemen, who perished four thousand years before in the Great Flood. She uses telepathy to communicate with Convert, whom she calls an “Apeman”. Apparently we humans are unevolved creatures, especially when compared to the Sagemen, who once lived as vegetarians in an egalitarian state of perfection. In the end, we learn that man must stop his war against both nature and his fellow man and that “Selfishness is the root of all evil; eradicate selfishness from all human beings and the earth will be heaven.”
In 1907, a chance sighting of a dirigible struck Lawson's imagination. "That was the spark that set me afire, and forever afterward I was unable to extinguish the aeronautical blaze that burned within me."
He settled in Philadelphia and then New York City, where he launched two popular aviation magazines and contributed to the 1912 edition of Webster's dictionary by providing a glossary of Aviation Terms. In the October 1916 issue of Aircraft Magazine, Lawson made this prediction: "Prior to the year 1970 air traffic will be practiced to such an extent that traffic rules of the air will have to be enforced, certain routes being charted altitudinally, the larger, long-distance ships being given the right of way at the higher altitudes."
Brilliant.
In 1917, Lawson wanted to build airplanes. He needed support for establishing an aircraft factory. He found that support in the nations most forward thinking state. Businessmen of Green Bay, Wisconsin offered to invest and the Lawson Aircraft Corporation was established to build training planes for the Army.
The company's prototype, the Lawson Military Trainer One flew on September 10, 1917. A purchase agreement for a modified version of his plane was signed by the Army but was withdrawn after the armistice of 1918. The Lawson Aircraft Company was forced to close down.

Lawson had plans for a larger type of aircraft - one that could transport a dozen or more passengers in comfort and hall light freight and mail pouches at the same time. He needed more capital, so he traveled south to Milwaukee.
The Lawson Airplane Company opened its facilities on South Water Street in Milwaukee on April 14, 1919. The Lawson C-2, which he called an airliner, was completed in August, 1919. It was the world's first airliner.
Now for the kooky part....
Already a practising vegetarian and a utopian idealist, Alfred Lawson pulled an L. Ron Hubbard and created his own religion. Based on his own unusual theories of physics, according to which such concepts as "penetrability", "suction and pressure" and "zig-zag-and-swirl" were discoveries that equalled Einstein. He began publishing books on these concepts (50 in all), and even invented his own typography for the entire set which became the backbone of "Lawsonomy" - the Lawsonian religion. He took his act on the road during the great depression. His lectures, a combination of Lawsonian philosophy and all out socialism, attract thousands. This lead to the founding of the University of Lawsonomy in Des Moines,Iowa,which offered the degree of "Knowledgian," but after various IRS and other investigations it was closed and finally sold in 1954, the year of Lawson's death. "Lawson's financial arrangements remain mysterious to this day and in later years he seems to have owned little property, moving from city to city as a guest of his farflung acolytes. A 1952 attempt to haul him before a Senate investigative committee and get to the bottom of his operation ended with the old man leaving the senators baffled and unimpressed."
A farm near Racine, Wisconsin is the only remaining university facility, although a handful of churches survive in Kansas and a large sign, reading University of Lawsonomy, is familiar to anyone driving along I-94 10 miles north of the Illinois border. At present, the "University" exists only as a URL.

Move over Scientology, here are a few Lawsonomistic quotes you may have lifted
to service your brand of metaphysical extortion.
"There are two distinct kinds of Mental Organisms—one kind builds up and the other tears down things. One is constructive and the other is destructive. The intelligent ones build and the ignorant ones destroy. The intelligent Mental Organisms, that I have named MENORGS, develop life while the ignorant Mental Organisms, that I have named DISORGS, degrade and destroy life."
"Suction is the female of movement and Pressure is the male of movement. (...) No electron, no atom, no molecule, no earthly formation, no cosmic formation, or any other formation in Space, large or small, could move at all except by, or through the agency of currents caused by Suction and Pressure."

Hah?

Stamped #7...John Bardeen, Father Of The Transistor

The Information Age began on the day the transistor was invented. It made possible every modern electrical device and triggered an endless stream of invention that defines the world in which we live. John Bardeen, a UW grad, born and raised in Madison, won the Nobel Prize in Physics twice. Superconductivity had been a puzzle since its discovery in 1908. In 1957, Bardeen and two colleagues, L.N. Cooper and J.R. Schrieffer, proposed the first successful explanation of superconductivity, and in 1972 they were awarded the Nobel prize (Bardeen's second) for the fundamental theory of convectional superconductivity (also known as the BCS theory). This work led to the development of CAT scan and MRI technology. But it was his first Nobel Prize that made such a marked change on the world - In 1956, working with Walter Brattain and William Shockley at Bell Labs, the transistor was invented.

"Bardeen was a man with a very unassuming personality. While he served as a professor for almost 40 years at the University of Illinois, he was best remembered by neighbors for throwing cookouts where he would cook for his friends, many of whom were unaware of his accomplishments. Because he differed radically from the popular stereotype of genius and was uninterested in appearing other than ordinary, the public and the media often overlooked him." John Bardeen died in 1991, a year after being named one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century - a list dominated by Wisconsinites.

A Lonely Road On A Winter Night

Hypnotic video. Darkness, a rural road and snow. I'm glad winter is over.

March 31, 1918. Prof. E.A. Schimler, a teacher at Northland College, was abducted by a group of masked men - some wearing Klan like hoods. They drove him to a secluded spot in the woods outside Ashland, stripped him, beat him, covered him with tar and feathers and then left him in the snow filled field. Schimler hobbled 1 and 1/2 miles back to town along a snow covered road, finally arriving at his boarding house in the early morning hours. E. A. Schimler was a U.S. citizen. He attended Dartmouth College and taught school in the U.S. before joining the language arts faculty at Northland College. The violence that occurred on the night of March 31 was the latest of many anti-German hate crimes that occured in Wisconsin during World War One. Anti-German sentiment was the work of a massive state and federal propaganda effort. Despite our large German population, the hysteria grew and all things German became vulnerable to charges of disloyalty. The next day, the Mayor of Ashland offered a $100 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of guilty parties.
"At the urging of federal officials, the State Council of Defense and the Wisconsin Loyalty Legion joined forces to suppress anti-war opinion through persuasion, propaganda, intimidation, and harassment. Public sentiment in Wisconsin went from largely anti-war in early 1917 to overwhelmingly pro-war 18 months later in what the episode's historian described as a triumph of public relations. Even libraries, which are usually champions of intellectual freedom, kow-towed to the pressure from governments and public opinion."

Book Club # 8.....Little Golden Books

Western Publishing (also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Co.): A publishing firm based in Racine, Wisconsin, that was responsible for Little Golden Books.
In 1942, Little Golden Books began selling their line of small books for childrens hands for 25 cents each. For the first time, high quality, low-priced children's books were available to all children. Little Golden Books were very sturdy, the illustrations were first rate(in fact,completely charming) and they were sold not only in bookstores, but in department stores, chain stores, grocery stores and even hardware stores. Everything about them was an entirely new concept, and they changed the publishing world. Five months and 1.5 million copies later, Little Golden Books began their third printing...two months later, their fourth.
Since then, well over two billion Little Golden Books have been sold all over the world. It was always a great pleasure to read Little Golden Books to my children when they were small. The art alone represented the work of some of the finest illustrators of the 20th century. To me, Little Golden Books and all Golden Books in general are a wonder. The illustration above is by my favorite of the series many great artists, Tibor Gergely...from the book "Circus Time" by Marion Conger.
"Today, Little Golden Books are an icon. The Smithsonian Institution includes Little Golden Books and artwork in its Division of Cultural History."
The all time best seller is "The Poky Little Puppy" wth 15,000,000 units sold.

The Giant Frog Invasion Of 1952....It Happened in Oconto

Oconto, Wisconsin is a small town on the western shores of Green Bay. It was here that French Jesuit missionary Father Claude-Jean Allouez held the first Roman Catholic Mass. It is also the home of Copper Culture State Park - an 8,000 year old Indian burial ground that is considered to be the oldest cemetery in Wisconsin and one of the oldest in the entire nation.
In two days during the summer of 1952, an estimated 175,000,000 Leopard frogs emerged from nearby marshes and enveloped the town. "The explosions of amphibians beneath the wheels of automobiles at night sounded like rifle fire. People mowing their lawns did so in a storm of flying frog legs and truncated frog bodies."
Marshes near Oconto had never seen frogs in such numbers.
"Typically, the water level of Lake Michigan would rise in the spring, wetlands would flood, leopard frogs would lay eggs, and when the lake level receded with the advance of summer, most of the eggs would die. But in 1952, Lake Michigan remained high. And inconceivably huge numbers of gelatinous frog eggs grew into hungry, live amphibians."
"A man I know said they had besieged his house one night in what he swore was a highly organized way. He had gone out on his front lawn to have a look around with his flashlight and had been confronted by a million shining little eyes. He started toward the back yard and found that he had been outflanked. He swung the light around and discovered that the whole house was encircled. It was a scary thing to see, he said."
Summer wore on, nothing could be done. Few mosquitoes were seen that summer. Eventually, the frog population began to dwindle. It never happened again.
Eli Waldron. "A Carnival of Frogs." New Yorker. April 11, 1953
Here's a follow up in the New Yorker online...
These frogs were leopard frogs. Bullfrogs are scarce in Wisconsin. They are native onto to North America. 20 years ago they were introduced into Japan & 50 years ago into Cuba. In Oconto a bullfrog is called a "bismaroon", which the writer thinks comes fron the English word "bismarine" meaning "between two seas". For eating, bullfrogs' legs are almost always served Provencale. Dr. Albert Broel, a frog farmer, has turned out hundreds of recipes for bullfrogs. The bullfrog can make a sound like a wailing tugboat or scream like a cat. He can swallow a leapard frog in one gulp & has been known to attach goslings & chickens. In the South they are known as "bloody nouns". An adult bullfrog can leap 5 or 6 feet in one jump.

Ole Goes To War....The 15th Wisconsin Regiment

"I know the Norwegians, No immigrants have served America better than they."
Abraham Lincoln

1861-65. The 15th Wisconsin was a Norwegian regiment. Over 90% of the regiment were born in Norway. They were led by one of their own, Colonel Hans Christian Heg,
the first Norwegian elected to a statewide office in Wisconsin, and the highest ranking Wisconsin officer killed in combat during the Civil War. Heg required his officers to be fluent in English, but many of the enlisted men spoke only their native tongue. While orders were in English, everyday conversations were in Norwegian. During its 3 year term of service the 15th also earned a well deserved reputation for bravery and steadfastness in battle, especially at Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, and Pickett's Mill, where it suffered 50% casualties.
Among them was an ancestor of mine, private Sivert Anderson Lie of company H (many from Deerfield,Christiana, Cambridge,Primrose). He was captured at the battle of Pickets Mill and sent to Andersonville prison camp in Georgia. Here, translated from Norwegian, he describes the food at the camp...
"The provisions could kill you. The first food I received was cornbread without salt, and it was one and a half inches thick and wide and four inches long; that was a day's ration. Later we received half a pot of flour so we could boil it, fry it, or eat it raw. Once we got rice boiled in water -- a small pot for the day; another time we got beans and dirt -- also a pot for the day, but without salt or meat, and - worth noticing - only one portion for a day's ration. Usually there was cornmeal of the simplest kind, ground cob and all; a farmer's pigs would scarcely eat this..."
He survived, came home to Deerfield and eventually, like so many other Norwegians, sought out the treeless plains of North Dakota. I guess they liked the view.
Of the 906 officers and enlisted men who served in the 15th, the regiment lost: 267 killed in battle or died of wounds or disease; 22 missing; and, 204 who became physically disabled and were discharged from the Army. When the regiment mustered out after 3 years, only 320 officers and enlisted men were still with it.
Here are the names of the various company's that made up the regiment...
Company A St. Olaf's Rifles
Company B Wergeland Guards.
Company C Norway Bear Hunters
Company D Norway Wolf Hunters (aka Waupun Company)
Company E Odin's Rifles
Company F K.K.'s Protector's (aka Valdres Company)
Company G Rock River Rangers
Company H Heg's Rifles (aka Voss Company)
Company I Scandinavian Mountaineers (aka Waupaca Company)
Company K Clausen's Guards

The picture above shows a handful of survivors standing in front of the gates at Camp Randall in Madison during the 1917 regiment reunion. 1917 is also the year Camp Randall's Football Stadium, home of the Wisconsin badgers, was built.
A great site devoted to the regiment can be found here.
"Ole Goes To War", by Jerry Rosholt, is a book about the many thousands of Norwegians from the upper midwest who fought in the Civil War.

Today,Colonel Hans Christian Heg stands proudly - a statue on the southeast corner of Madison's Capitol Square, facing King Street. When arranging a get together in Madison, the older generations in my hometown always used to say, "I'll meet you by the Heg statue."

Vince Neil Does The Chicken Dance...and a farewell to Bob Kames

I had written a very long, detailed post about the recent passing of Bob Kames- the Milwaukee organist/entertainer who popularized "The Chicken Dance", released dozens of LP's and 45's in the 50's, 60's and 70's and, out of his music store, sold more living room sized organs than any human being on the planet (thus making Milwaukee the home organ playing capital of the world). In the end, the above clip of Motley Crue lead singer Vince Neil doing the Chicken Dance with two young frauleins says it all.

Rocket Racing League Will Debut In Oshkosh...."It will be the Nascar of the skies"

NEW YORK -- The Rocket Racing League on Monday detailed plans to move from a sci-fi fantasy to a full-fledged commercial enterprise -- including "vertical drag races" using rockets. At a press conference at the Yale Club in New York, Rocket Racing League CEO Granger Whitelaw said rocket-powered planes will fly their first exhibition race in August at the EAA AirVenture air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with at least three more races to follow in 2008.
Whitelaw described a company that is more than just a racing venture. He talked enthusiastically about developing technology that could have applications in the commercial aviation industry and the suborbital space race, and mentioned that the league has already filed several patents on its technology.
"If I were going to start a sport like NASCAR today, I think I would want to own some of the [intellectual property] that went into building the cars," Whitelaw said. "If you're going to be racing Ferraris, why not own Ferrari?" The league expects to start the official racing season by 2009.
It makes sense. Wisconsin is the home of the first automobile race and the first speedway....The Milwaukee Mile.

Felice Bryant.....The power of psychic chemistry

When the state of Tennessee was deciding what song to adopt as their official state song they had two choices, "Rocky Top" and a previous, and very well known unofficial state song, "The Tennessee Waltz." Funny thing - both songs were written by a Milwaukee natives. "Tennesse Waltz" is the work of Pee Wee King, and "Rocky Top" was written by Felice and Boudlaux Bryant, the legendary husband and wife songwriting team whose songs filled three decades and sold over 300 million records.
They met in an elevator in Milwaukee's Schroeder Hotel in the spring of 1945. The elevator operator was 19-year-old Matilda Genevieve Scaduto. While working, she struck up a conversation with a visiting musician from Georgia named Boudleaux Bryant. Five days later, they were married.
Felice Bryant was born at St. Mary's Hospital and raised on the east side on Humboldt Avenue. She has semi-fond memories of knowing band leader Woody Herman as a child. "I didn't know he was going to be Woody Herman, he was just a rotten little shit," she recalls. Bryant attended St. Casimir Elementary School and went to Lincoln High School. Her musical talent flourished early. At 6, she sang on Cousin Betty's Saturday morning radio show. She also performed in live musicals at the Riverside Theater, where she landed a job as an usherette during the war years. Later, she began working at the Schroeder. "Boudleaux was working in the cocktail lounge at the Schroeder and he was on the wagon, so he'd have to walk over to the water fountain by the elevator," she recalls. Though their paths had never crossed before, she knew him. Felice explains it this way: "I had dreamed of Boudleaux when I was 8 years old. When this man was walking toward me I recognized him right away. The only thing that was wrong was that he didn't have a beard. Although he grew one for me later. In the dream we were dancing to our song. Only it was our song."
His romance with Felice wasn't exactly a hit with her family. "The families were very upset. This was my second marriage. I'd been married earlier to a very nice boy from Wauwatosa - no - wait. Where's the fair park? West Allis." Matilda soon became Felice, a pet name from Boudleaux. In the early years of their marriage the Bryants bounced around quite a bit. At one point, they worked in Green Bay co-hosting a morning show on WBAY. "I loved Green Bay, until the first snowfall," she recalls. "We were living in a trailer house and we knew it was never going to take a Wisconsin winter."
The Bryant's eventually settled in Boudleaux Bryant's home town, Moultrie, Georgia and started to write songs together. Their first was a song for a Grand Ole Opry newcomer named Little Jimmy Dickens. His version of "Country Boy" went to No. 7 on the country charts, and the Bryants were off and running.
They wrote "Hey Joe" for Carl Smith, "Let's Think About Lovin'" for Bob Luman,"Rocky Top" was for Buck Owens, "Raining In My Heart" for Buddy Holly, and "Love Hurts" for Roy Orbison. They produced hits for Tony Bennett, Eddy Arnold, Ruth Brown, Charley Pride, Jim Reeves, and are best known for a long string of top ten hits they wrote for the Everly Brothers: "Bye Bye Love," "All I Have To Do Is Dream," "Problems," "Take A Message To Mary," "Bird Dog," "Poor Jenny," "Like Strangers" and "Wake Up Little Susie" were all written by the Bryants for the Everlys....and "Rocky Top" was adopted as the Tennessee State Song in 1981.
Quotes, entire sections and a great deal of info for this post was lifted from this
excellent and very deep music site - THE OFFICIAL ROCKABILLY HALL OF FAME. Click on it and poke around, it's the brainchild of Appleton, Wisconsin native Bob Timmers. Bob now lives in Tennessee, but you can catch him at the International Rockabilly Fest held every two years at Green Bay's Oneida Bingo Casino. Thousands of people from all over the world attend this week long music festival. It's a big damn deal.

SONG SUNG BLUE....The True Story Of Thunder And Lightning.

Everybody's talking about this one. Two clips from the new documentary on the weirdly fascinating and tragic lives of Milwaukee's singing sweethearts, "Thunder and Lightning". The film is called Song Sung Blue, it won the audience favorite and best documentary awards at the Slamdance Film Festival. Here's a link to the film's website.
It's been 8 years since a film about a pair of eccentric Milwaukeeans swept the nation...that previous film was American Movie.

Wisconsin Wilders #2...Thornton Wilder

Like Liberace, Thornton Wilder had a twin brother who died at birth - and like Orson Welles, he came from an overachieving family that expected much of their children. He was born in Madison, in 1897. He lived the first decade of his life in Wisconsin, and it was here that he first began to write stories and plays. When his father, Amos Parker Wilder, was assigned to be U.S. consul general to Hong Kong (and then Shanghai), the entire family moved with him. He finished high school in California, got his undergraduate degree at Yale and recieved a graduate degree from Princeton. A 1927 book, The Bridge of San Luis Rey was a best seller that won him his first Pulitzer Prize in 1928. His second Pulitzer was for the beloved and oft performed play, Our Town. Another success, The Skin of our Teeth, debuted on Broadway in 1942 and starred Wisconsinite Frederick March. He wrote the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's 1948 film Shadow of a Doubt and had one last hit on Broadway with The Matchmaker - later turned into the musical, Hello Dolly. The motion picture version of The Matchmaker was directed by a Milwaukeean, Joseph Anthony. Anthony was a very successful stage director, a five time Tony nominee, who occasionaly dabbled in filmmaking.

Liberace Meets The Pope...in a business suit

In honor of the upcoming visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States, I give you Liberace and Pope Pius XII. Damn. These Liberace posts keep getting better and better, the man just doesn't know how to disappoint..and how many posts can be labeled under both "Liberace" and "Religion"? In the above picture we find Lee toning down his look in the presence of his holiness...Mr. Pius.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Gas Station

Ray W. Lindholm's Service Station in Cloquet, Minnesota, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright... built in 1956.
"Watch the little gas station.... In our present gasoline service station you may see a crude beginning to such important advance decentralization; also see the beginning of the future humane establishment we are now calling the free city. Wherever service stations are located naturally these so often ugly and seemingly insignificant features will survive and expand. [The new city]... is all around us in the haphazard making, the apparent forces to the contrary notwithstanding. All about us and no plan. The old order is breaking up"
- Frank Lloyd Wright 1930

Wayne's World Pacer on ebay...reserve not met, "...the most famous Pacer in the world"

Here it is, Wayne's AMC Pacer from the film "Wayne's World". Here's the description...
You are bidding on a 1976 Amc Pacer, this car is the coolest of the un-cool and the most famous pacer ever. This is a rare chance to own a real Paramount pictures built Wayne's World Pacer. This car was built by Paramount as a prop for the Paramount Kings Island ride, Stan Milenkos. This car then was sold to the Volo Museum and is part of the George Barris Star Car collection. ( the hood is signed by George Barris. The pacer comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. This car is a major attention getter and stops people in their tracks. This car will also be featured in the up coming movie 5-25-77 Check out the youtube video. Great Promotional Tool! Very low mile car, but has all typical pacer problems, Saggy Drivers door, cracked door panels, there is not a working radio in this car or speakers. Even though this car runs and drives I wouldn't drive it any long distances being that it has been sitting in a show room and a garage for years needs some TLC. This car is 99% rust free. Any questions please ask, we need to unload a few cars and this one has to go, reserve is much less than we paid for it. I will be uploading some hi res pictures this week. Thanks
This is pure Wisconsin gold...where's the Milwaukee Museum, the State Historical Society? The Calatrava? We're talking art meets history plus modern art without irony...my favorite kind.
...and the hood is signed by George Barris! My thanks to TosaSteve.
Here's the ebay link.
Here's an earlier AMC Pacer post link.

Spaceport Sheboygan...forward to the future

Spaceport Sheboygan...sounds like a Sci-Fi show. Sheboygan lies just west of a large restricted airspace over Lake Michigan - a location custom made for launching spaceships. This part of Lake Michigan has been restricted since World War II when the United States military had an anti-aircraft training range at Camp Haven. The former camp is better known now as Whistling Straits golf course. Suborbital rockets were first launched from near this site in 1995. Since then, students from Wisconsin and neighboring states in the Rockets for Schools program have run experiments using eight and twenty foot rockets. On a number of occasions Super Loki rockets were launched from Sheboygan by the Florida Space Institute, which reached maximum altitudes until 50 miles. The proposed spaceport was made possible by the establishment of the Wisconsin Aerospace Authority, which was signed onto law by Governor James Doyle in 2006. The proposed site has been endorsed by NASA, would recieve only outside (non tax payer) funding, and, if developed, would become the only spaceport in the Midwestern United States.
That's right, all flights departing for the Moon, Mars and beyond will be departing from Sheboygan. The illustration above depicts possible space alien trouble at Spaceport Sheboygan.

Cheese Kings... the finest cheese in world.

I swore I was never going to write about cheese, but...a very nice Californian e-mailed me about his state's dairy industry producing more quantities of milk and cheese than Wisconsin. He also asked me to post about it...well... quantity is not what it's about. It's about quality and variety. Created in 1957, The World Championship Cheese Contest is the largest international cheese and butter competition in the world. A recent Contest in 2006 drew a record-breaking 1,795 entries from 18 nations, with Judges hailing from all over the world. I don't even need to say this, and in spite of some tough competition from Denmark, France, and Switzerland, Wisconsin once again won the overall 2008 competion beating the entire World and the rest of the United States (placing first in dozens of categories)...and that's why Wisconsin is America's Dairyland. So.....tonight, with your wine, don't shortchange your tastebuds, do the right thing and buy the finest cheese in the entire world. And, if you ever come here to visit, I'll take you to Monroe, Wisconsin for a slice of limberger on plain bread with a beer chaser. It's a one of a kind old world experience.
The picture is from 1950. The Wisconsin Cheesemakers Association website and 2008 contest results are here (click).

Riding Giants......"A young swimming champion from Wisconsin..."

At the very end of this clip from the surfing documentary "Riding Giants" is our very own Tom Blake. Tom was the father of surf lifestyle, the modern surfboard, underwater photography and so much more. We first met him here click.

The Great Burning Tide....and the Wisconsinite who went to the Philippines

They came from Pennsylvania, upstate New York, Michigan, Ohio, and all points east. They worked their way westward to the former French and British (and quietly Catholic) territory of Wisconsin. Every sect, religion and "ism" imaginable. Missionaries all, bent on converting souls to their cause. They were Methodists, Congregationalists, break away Mormons, 2nd Day Adventists, and on and on and on. From 1830 until 1900, an unbelievable tide of religious and, their opposite, utopian socialist idealists - Warren Chase and his "Fourierites", a utopian sect that disdained prosperity and capitalism and yet, ended up flush with cash on the day they disbanded, the completely insane Joseph Strang and his 'Strangites', an offshoot Mormon sect who claimed Wisconsin would be the site of the second coming of Jesus. It's a wonder that we survived this onslaught. My father grew up in the Madison's east side, Cottage Grove and Deerfield. He graduated UW and became a PT boat skipper in WW II. After the war, he managed a lumber company on tiny Basilan Island in the Philippines and in Borneo. He fell in with and became the last of a long gone breed known as "old far east hands"(synonymous with "going native"). Back in Wisconsin, he was once asked by a well meaning Lutheran Minister about missionary work in those far off places. Dad replied, "My advice to anyone who runs into a missionary is this...get a gun and shoot him. Shoot him now, shoot him quick and, most important, make sure he's dead after you've shot him." A great memory, I laugh every time I think of it. The photo above is my Dad and his crew, after a long nights work during the pacific campaign. As always, click on the photo to enlarge.

Roller Derby...The Dairyland Dolls put the hammer down

"These women were attracted to the idea of a physical outlet that would allow them to be brutally aggressive, yet gorgeous."
In the video, Madison's Dairyland Dolls led by jammer Jenny Knoxville, take on The Rollers from Minnesota. Roller Derby is back. Gone are the oval tracks of yesteryear, it's now done flat track style. Madison, Milwaukee and The Fox Valley all have leagues. All the Wisconsin teams have great names, logos and killer swag.
Madison's Mad Rollin' Dolls Derby League are The Quad Squad,The Dairyland Dolls, The Vaudeville Vixens, The Reservoir Dolls and The Unholy Rollers. Here's a link.
The Fox City Foxz are The EightQueen Wheelers, The Pushy Posse, The Roller Girl Regiment and The Paper Dolls. Link.
Milwaukee is collectively The Brewcity Bruisers: Maiden Milwaukee, Shevil Knevils, Rushin Roulettes and the Crazy Eight. Here's a link.
The packed opening night in Appleton brought out the Fire Marshall. Eight thumbs up, it's long overdue.

Ipod Lederhosen...Wisconsin Germans Unite!

Calling all Wisconsin Krauts. You know who you are, there's over 2 million of you...you can now return to your roots and not be embarrassed by the wardrobe. The German company Lodenfrey have created a pair of high-tech lederhosen with built-in iPod controls. The cool part is....It comes with a hunting jacket!!!!!!! Here's the link.

A Reminder...The term, "Sconnie"... is still stupid.

One week later, it's still stupid. Just a reminder. That's all.

Fur And Fashion From 1928

Pictured are Robert Koehring, David Flambeau, Edward Ziese, Robert B. Sullivan, and Genaro Florez, four frat boys at the height of college fashion in their raccoon coats in front of the Theta Chi House, Madison 1928. From Yeuhd's Picasa gallery, an illustrated history of the Psi Chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Check out this amazing gallery(click here).

An Electric Day...Appleton expands its grid

August 18, 1886, The first day of electric street car service in the United States... in Appleton, Wisconsin - the first city in the Union to build a commercial electric plant.

Summerfest Polka Commercial....."There'll Be No More Rock and Roll."

I love this spot. The people are real, they're on a quixotic quest and nobody is being made fun of. It was filmed at Art Altenburg's Concertina Bar in Milwaukee.
Summerfest is the largest music fest in the world. Milwaukee is the city of ethnic festivals and out of all of it's great fests, my favorite is Festa Italiana...getting back to polka music, when driving to Milwaukee I always tune in to 104.9 Polka Power
from Hartford, Wisconsin. The DJ's and the home-made commercial spokesmen have great accents, and the on air dedications alone are worth the price of admission.

Book Club #3.....Robert Bloch, the man who wrote Psycho

He was yet another Wisconsin author who was greatly influenced and encouraged by H P Lovecraft (click). Robert Bloch wrote dark fiction for pulp magazines and later supplemented his income by working as a copy writer for the Gustavus Marx Advertising Agency. Along the the way he helped run Carl Zeidlers' successful 1940 Milwaukee mayoral bid and created the first ever (and soon to be copied all over the nation) "release the balloons from the ceiling at the convention hall" gag. Bloch continued his work as a writer into the 50's, and then Ed happened... The revelations that followed the arrest of Ed Gein in 1957 shook the entire world and pushed Bloch into writing the one book that changed his life..."Psycho." Alfred Hitchcock bought the rights and a new genre was born and Bloch was able to establish a prolific and successful Hollywood career. He was once asked about the mechanics of horror and weird fiction,"If you see a clown in a parade or at the circus, it's a normal occurence, however
if a clown comes to your door at midnight and knocks...."