Page 88 – Wisconsin Life

On April 5, 1860, as tensions over slavery grew, Wisconsin Congressman John F. Potter was challenged to a duel by a pro-slavery colleague from Virginia. The argument led to a 31-pound, 6-foot-long folding knife and a story that made Potter famous.Gilman

The Legend Of The Hodag
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The Legend Of The Hodag

The Arts

The Legend Of The Hodag

Practical jokes and hoaxes are par for the course on April Fool’s Day. More than a century ago, an elaborate hoax helped form the identity of one northern Wisconsin town. Emily Bright has the story.

Controversy And Acceptance At A Mount Horeb School
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Controversy And Acceptance At A Mount Horeb School

Culture & History

Controversy And Acceptance At A Mount Horeb School

A few months ago, a school in Mount Horeb made national news with the selection of a book about a transgender girl. Writer Alex Bledsoe’s son attends that school and he shares what happened when he talked to his son about the controversy.

Cooking Up A Batch Of Bray And Family Memories
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Cooking Up A Batch Of Bray And Family Memories

Culture & History

Cooking Up A Batch Of Bray And Family Memories

March weather can be unpredictable in Wisconsin, tossing blue skies and warm sun with snow and bitter winds. To keep herself grounded, Chris Seroogy cooks up a batch of her mother’s bray.

Swan Creek Sewing Circle, More Than A Century Of Friendship And Sewing
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Swan Creek Sewing Circle, More Than A Century Of Friendship And Sewing

The Arts

Swan Creek Sewing Circle, More Than A Century Of Friendship And Sewing

For more than a century, the women of the Swan Creek Sewing Circle have gathered on the first Wednesday of the month for friendship and good works. Several members have been in the club for more than fifty years, all descendents of original club members.

Mud Season, The Unloveliest Of Wisconsin Months
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Mud Season, The Unloveliest Of Wisconsin Months

Culture & History

Mud Season, The Unloveliest Of Wisconsin Months

This weekend marks the first day of spring – at least astronomically. Writer Catherine Jagoe tells us why this time of the year– caught between winter and spring – is the hardest in Wisconsin.

Luck Of The Irish: Milwaukee’s First Major Immigrant Group
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Luck Of The Irish: Milwaukee’s First Major Immigrant Group

Culture & History

Luck Of The Irish: Milwaukee’s First Major Immigrant Group

While we tend to associate Germans with Milwaukee, the Irish were the city’s first major immigrant group. Historian John Gurda describes the Celtic imprint on Milwaukee. On St. Patrick’s Day, the saying goes, we’re all Irish.

Increase Lapham, Wisconsin’s First Scientist
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Increase Lapham, Wisconsin’s First Scientist

Culture & History

Increase Lapham, Wisconsin’s First Scientist

On an early summer evening in 1836, the steamship New York docked on the Milwaukee lakefront and a young naturalist and engineer stepped ashore. Only 25 years old and already gaining notice for his scientific skills, Increase A.

A Lifetime Of Reading And Loving Aldo Leopold
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A Lifetime Of Reading And Loving Aldo Leopold

Culture & History

A Lifetime Of Reading And Loving Aldo Leopold

Many people have been inspired by the works of Aldo Leopold. Ron Weber first picked up the Sand County Almanac as a high school kid looking for an easy read for an assignment.

Sol Levitan, Wisconsin’s Unlikely Politician
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Sol Levitan, Wisconsin’s Unlikely Politician

Culture & History

Sol Levitan, Wisconsin’s Unlikely Politician

Bob LaFollette, Joe McCarthy and Scott Walker are among Wisconsin’s most famous politicians, but a century ago, Sol Levitan might have been the most unlikely. Sol Levitan was Wisconsin state treasurer from 1923 to 1933 and again from 1937 to 1939.

The Beauty Of A Winter’s Frost
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The Beauty Of A Winter’s Frost

Science & Nature

The Beauty Of A Winter’s Frost

Frost is one of the blessings and curses of winter – beautiful but also potentially dangerous. Writer Marnie Dresser has experienced a bit of both. Here’s a game I like to play on winter mornings when I’m scraping my windshield.

The Dips And Swings Of Wisconsin Winter Weather
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The Dips And Swings Of Wisconsin Winter Weather

Culture & History

The Dips And Swings Of Wisconsin Winter Weather

Winter is full of its ups and downs, both in our moods and in the temperatures. Helene Phelps reminds us what is so wonderful about these dips and swings. In summertime, the terms “dip and swing” sets a seventeen foot canoe in motion, dodging boulders and downed trees on river ways — or gliding into good fishing territory on inland lakes in Wisconsin’s Far North.

SAAF #3: Who’s Here?
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SAAF #3: Who’s Here?

The Arts

SAAF #3: Who’s Here?

A knock at the door leaves Rose wondering who could be visiting.

UW Madison Student Flies With Badger Aviators
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UW Madison Student Flies With Badger Aviators

Culture & History

UW Madison Student Flies With Badger Aviators

Remington Viney, a junior at UW-Madison, has been a pilot for four years. She’s also a member of the Badger Aviators. According to her, “the best part of flying is the view, the view of the ground, especially clouds” and that “you just can’t find it anywhere else.”

Milwaukee’s First Love Letter
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Milwaukee’s First Love Letter

Culture & History

Milwaukee’s First Love Letter

Valentine’s Day was not, you’d guess, a high point in the lives of Milwaukee’s pioneers. If their photographs are any clue, the city’s early settlers were a cheerless lot, doomed to lives of unending work and unbending morals.