Odd WisconsinThe Wisconsin Historical Society presents Odd Wisconsin, to amuse, surprise, perplex, disgust, astonish, and otherwise engage you with the past.Tarred & Feathered in Wisconsin- March 31, 2008 On the evening of March 31, 1918, Prof. E.A. Schimler, a language instructor at Northland College, was kidnapped by a mob of masked men. They took him to a lonely spot outside Ashland, stripped him naked, roughed him up, covered his body with tar and feathers, and left him to fend for himself. Schimler limped back to his boarding house...http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/003305.asp The First Book Printed in Wisconsin- March 26, 2008 Printing presses were not something that pioneer settlers wanted to carry west. They were made of cast iron and weighed as much a winter's worth of provisions. To be useful, they had to be accompanied by an equally heavy load of lead type. Hauling them overland was impossible and shipping them down the Great Lakes was problematic. So it...http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/003300.asp Happy Birthday, Gene Shepard!- March 21, 2008 This weekend marks the birthday of Wisconsin's most famous practical joker, Eugene Shepard (1854-1923). Shepard began cruising Wisconsin forests for lumber companies as a teenager in 1870. Over the next four decades, he mapped and assessed the market value of vast holdings of forest lands for lumber companies, making and losing more than one fortune. He was equally at home...http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/003294.asp The Ides of Marsh- March 15, 2008 Driving from Madison into Dodge Co. yesterday, we saw open water for the first time in months, as well as a foolish turkey walking in Hwy 73 and three majestic sandhill cranes overhead. That part of the state is known for its wildlife, thanks in large part to the preservation of Horicon Marsh. On March 14, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt...http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/003287.asp |