Everyday Life

Whitefish Bay Pabst Resort (Image courtesy of the Whitefish Bay Historical Society).

Milwaukee County / Related Stories / Region 8 - South East / Milwaukee / Cassel Soda Bottle / Manufacturing & Trade / Food & Cooking / 1880-1900 / Transportation & Tourism

Milwaukee Resort Towns

When Chicago’s population boomed in the 1800s, the newcomers frequently traveled “up north” to Milwaukee for vacations. Several Milwaukee-based companies built resorts in the towns surrounding the city to increase profits from tourists. These “resort towns” attracted visitors from all over Wisconsin…

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October 1, 2014

Bernhard Carl Ziegler (1884-1946). Image from Washington County’s Aluminum Industry, p. 11.

Washington County / Region 8 - South East / West Bend / Penguin Server / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / Food & Cooking / Science & Medicine / 1900-1920

The West Bend Aluminum Company

On September 27, 1911, a group of businessmen headed by Bernhard Carl Ziegler founded the West Bend Aluminum Company. Ziegler was the director and president until his death in 1946. As one of the most influential people in the community, he was…

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August 1, 2014

Penguin Server / Related Stories / Food & Cooking / Art, Sport & Entertainment / 1940-1960

Cocktail Parties

One of the most dominant functions of the West Bend Penguin Hot and Cold Server was its use as an ice bucket, an important container for cocktail parties. A popular way to entertain, cocktail parties acted as gateways into glamorous evenings. After Prohibition, the…

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August 1, 2014

Outdoor Grilling

Related Stories / Penguin Server / Food & Cooking / Art, Sport & Entertainment / 1940-1960 / 1960-1980

Outdoor Grilling

Fueled by the evolution of the middle-class suburban housing market and the modern family, home entertainment, especially outdoor activities, became a popular postwar activity. The Penguin Hot and Cold Server graced many patio and picnic tables during the 1950s and 1960s, but what sparked…

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August 1, 2014

Grade-school children using a Babcock butter fat testing device, Balsam Lake, Wisconsin, c. 1915. Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin Archives.

Babcock Butterfat Tester / Related Stories / Food & Cooking / 1880-1900 / Science & Medicine

How Does a Babcock Tester Work?

Simplicity, Simplicity, SimplicityIn 1890, few farmers had ever taken a science class, and even if they understood the potential benefit, most lacked the cash to pay an expert for laboratory testing. Babcock’s great accomplishment was to develop a powerful, reliable test that was simple…

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December 1, 2013

Handlers exhibit the University dairy herd for students at the Farmers Course, UW Stock Pavilion, 1900-1920. Part of the Frank N. Campbell Slide Collection. Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin Archives.

Dane County / Babcock Butterfat Tester / Madison / Region 7 - South Center / Related Stories / Food & Cooking / Manufacturing & Trade / 1880-1900 / Education

The Babcock Tester and the Wisconsin Idea

Free As Well WaterIn 1894 Adolph Schoenman of Plain, Wisconsin, published a booklet extolling the virtues of the Babcock butterfat test. In a parable explaining its benefits, an astonished Farmer Jones exclaims, “Isn’t that a dandy little machine, though? I suppose, of…

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December 1, 2013