Innholdsfortegnelse for Spring 2017 i Wisconsin Magazine of History

North Americans know Laura Ingalls Wilder best as the author of eight books based on her late-nineteenth-century pioneer childhood in the Midwest. At the height of the Great Depression, Wilder’s Little House series captured the imaginations of countless children and adults, going into reprint for the next eighty-four years and gaining her devotees in each new generation. The first of these books, Little House in the Big Woods, is set in Wisconsin. Wilder spent approximately four years of her early life in Pepin County, Wisconsin, with brief interludes in Missouri and Kansas. Besides the Little House books, scholars and fans have also written about Wilder’s pioneer life. Knowing that Wilder’s writings did not cover every incident and location where her family settled, researchers have provided additional details about her early…

Several readers noticed an error in Simone Munson’s image essay, “Greetings in Wartime,” from the Winter 2015-2016 issue. The caption incorrectly stated that Herbert Hoover was president during World War I. In fact, he led relief efforts in Belgium before becoming head of the US Food Administration by executive order in August 1917. He served as US president from 1929 to 1933. Also, in the caption on page 10 of the Winter 2015-2016 issue, Governor Martin Shreiber’s name was misspelled.…

Dirk Hildebrandt holds the position of Historic Farmer at Old World Wisconsin, where he oversees agricultural programming. At Old World he keeps Wisconsin’s agricultural history alive through the use and breeding of heritage livestock and raising heirloom crops. Dirk is a member of the Livestock Conservancy and he is currently working to grow and harvest historic varieties of barley for a traditional brewing program at Old World. He is the author of “A Generation of Oxen,” which appeared in the Wisconsin Magazine of History in Autumn 2015.…

I just finished reading the article “Wisconsin’s Good Neighbor” about Maestro Diego “Jimmy” Innes and the Wisconsin WPA Symphony Orchestra. To say the least, I was extremely enthused about the writing of the article and the superb layout of the graphic media. I find myself compelled to offer you my gratitude for publishing it. I offer my congratulations to its author Charles V. Heath for an extremely well-researched and well-written article. My wife of 48 years is from Mexico City, Mexico. She came here to improve her English, so that she could get a better job in her home country. We met at the University of Wisconsin where I was a senior in 1968 and, needless to say, I proposed marriage to her within a month of meeting her. She…

Jennifer Van Haaften has been Assistant Director of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum since 2015. She earned her bachelor’s in history at the University of Northern Iowa, her master’s in history at the University of Manchester, and her master’s in historical administration at Eastern Illinois University. Prior to her work at the Veterans Museum, she was Associate Director of Historical Programs and Resources at Old World Wisconsin, where she directed the annual month-long World of Little House event, giving every visitor a chance to live like Laura.…

The following is excerpted from the memoir Thousand-Miler: Adventures Hiking the Ice Age Trail, published this spring by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press and available at bookstores everywhere. A wide carpet of thick, green weeds unrolls before me, cascading down a steep ski hill. One step down the hill, and my right knee twinges. Two steps, and a warning flare of pain shoots up my leg. Three, and it nearly buckles beneath me. Shifting all my weight to my left leg, I stop and ponder my situation. Just three days into my journey, and I’m in trouble. Big trouble. It all began late yesterday, when I was partway through the McKenzie Creek segment. Rounding a corner, I ran into a massive patch of overgrown wild raspberries. Nearly shoulder-high, the thick…

I just finished reading the article “Wisconsin’s Good Neighbor” about Maestro Diego “Jimmy” Innes and the Wisconsin WPA Symphony Orchestra. To say the least, I was extremely enthused about the writing of the article and the superb layout of the graphic media. I find myself compelled to offer you my gratitude for publishing it. I offer my congratulations to its author Charles V. Heath for an extremely well-researched and well-written article. My wife of 48 years is from Mexico City, Mexico. She came here to improve her English, so that she could get a better job in her home country. We met at the University of Wisconsin where I was a senior in 1968 and, needless to say, I proposed marriage to her within a month of meeting her. She…

It is with deepest thanks that the Wisconsin Historical Society recognizes individuals and organizations who contributed $5,000 or more between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2016. $25,000+ Anonymous Ruth and Hartley Barker Advised Fund through Incourage Community Foundation The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Demmer Charitable Trust Ruth DeYoung Kohler Robert Dohmen Ray and Kay Eckstein Charitable Trust Pleasant and Jerry Frautschi Marianna Fuchs Estate of Lorenz Heim Claire and Marjorie Johnson Kohler Trust for Preservation Carlyn Mayer Bassham and Ben Bassham Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Black Point Historic Preserve Operation and Maintenance Fund Barbara Mayer and Frank Rowbotham Navistar Old World Wisconsin Foundation Estate of Ruth M. Schoenfeld The George and Jane Shinners Charitable Fund Dawn and David* Stucki State of Wisconsin $10,000–$24,999 Anonymous Renee and Tom Boldt Family…