WHYSCONSIN
‘Where time can stand still’: Why most Wisconsin summer camps stay open for decades
Summer camps are a big deal in Wisconsin. Whether it's playing sharks and minnows, roasting marshmallows while sitting around a bonfire, or tying off a completed friendship bracelet, summer camp activities have bonded youth together for years — and sometimes even generations.
This story is part of Wisconsin Life and WPR's WHYsconsin project. What have you always wondered about Wisconsin, its people or its culture that you want WHYsconsin to look into? You ask the questions, and we find the answers!
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Finding stillness in the storm: Family camping in the best and worst of times
Taking the kids camping usually sounds like a great idea, until it’s not. Author BJ Hollars brings us a story about the trials and triumphs of the family camping trip.
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Finding Stillness In The Storm
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…
With those famous words, Charles Dickens opened his classic novel, which, if you read no further, might very well be a book about camping.
Influential director Michael Schultz on Wisconsin roots, not slowing down
The movies of Michael Schultz, like “Cooley High,” “Car Wash,” and “Krush Groove” have given joy, drama and great jams to millions around the world. The Milwaukee native was one of the first and most successful directors in Hollywood to bring the lives of Black Americans to the forefront of his films.
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My weekend with the doe
Though sunny weather was forecast, my Memorial Day weekend plans did not include picnics or fishing. Yard chores and planting the garden was my fate. Pulling in the driveway, I saw my neighbor had cut his first crop of hay.
Lac du Flambeau tribal youth are taught the time-honored tradition of spearfishing
Spearfishing is a tradition practiced every spring by Ojibwe tribes in northern Wisconsin. It’s a practice that’s been passed on for generations, and it’s part of tribal rights to hunt, fish and gather on lands ceded to the U.S.
Navigating IVF treatments and pregnancy during a global pandemic
Tens of thousands of people turn to fertility clinics every year in the US to help them grow their families. For many of those hopeful parents, the process can be an emotional rollercoaster and expensive.
To morel or not to morel
Morel mushrooms are a coveted treat in Wisconsin every spring. But the right conditions for finding them can be as finicky and moody as the state’s spring time weather. Yet the result is well worth the effort.