Wisconsin 101

Mepps Lures: The Antigo Connection

A chance encounter of an American G.I. in France after World War II with a local fisherman led to the development of a major industry in Antigo, Wisconsin and put Antigo on the sports fishing map. Frank Velek discovered a fishing lure…

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May 24, 2018

Langlade County / Wolf River / 2000-2020 / 2020-2040 / Region 2 - North East / Pre-1600 / 1600-1800 / Mepps Fishing Lure / Related Stories / 1800-1820 / Manufacturing & Trade / 1820-1840 / Politics, Society & Government / 1840-1860 / 1860-1880 / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / Nature & Environment / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960 / 1960-1980 / 1980-2000 / Transportation & Tourism

The Wolf River

Todd Sheldon first discovered the virtues of the Mepps Aglia spinner and later realized improvements afforded by a tuft of squirrel tail while fishing at one of his favorite spots: the Wolf River. Today the Wolf continues to be a destination for sports…

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May 24, 2018

Langlade County / Region 2 - North East / Mepps Fishing Lure / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / 1920-1940 / Transportation & Tourism

Building a Tourism Industry in Northern Wisconsin

Equipment manufacturers played a major role in developing fishing as a part of the tourism industry in northern Wisconsin. Each year nearly two million people fish in Wisconsin’s waterways. They catch about 72 million fish of various species. Fishing lures expanded in…

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May 24, 2018

Marathon County / Region 2 - North East / Wausau / Employers Mutual Audiometer / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / Politics, Society & Government / 1900-1920

The 1911 Workman’s Compensation Act and the Birth of an Industry

Wisconsin passed the nation’s first constitutionally upheld worker’s compensation law in 1911. It is one of the great successes of Progressive-era social legislation and a triumph of the Wisconsin Idea.[1]Previously, American workers toiling in industrialized workplaces had often faced the threat of injury at…

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May 24, 2018

Marathon County / Region 2 - North East / Hamburg / Fromm Fox Fur Coat / Manufacturing & Trade / Clothing & Fashion / Object Histories / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940

OBJECT HISTORY: Fromm Fox Fur Coat

This coat was made from the fur of foxes raised on the Fromm Fur Farm in Hamburg, Wisconsin. The jacket is covered in light-silver fox fur and lined with a taupe fabric. Straps allow the coat to also be worn as a cape. In the early decades of the 20th century, it was fashionable to use…

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December 9, 2017

Oconto County / Migrant Worker's Cabin / Region 2 - North East / Oconto / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / Food & Cooking / 1900-1920 / Nature & Environment / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960 / Ethnicity & Identity / 1960-1980

Migrant Workers and the Bond Pickle Company

The Bond Pickle Company of Oconto, Wisconsin was founded in 1915 by five brothers. The Bond brothers quickly developed the firm, by 1917 acquiring 10 “salting stations” where the cucumbers were received from local farmers and a processing factory on West Main Street in…

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September 1, 2017