Wisconsin 101

OBJECT HISTORY: Piano and Song Recital Poster

Mr. Raphael Baez, a well-respected violinist, pianist, composer, and music professor, and his wife Mrs. Mary Schoen Baez, a noted vocalist, had performed together in various music halls in the city of Milwaukee since 1889. The Athenaeum, home of the Women’s Club of Wisconsin, had hosted Mr. Baez and his students throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth…

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September 10, 2020

Milwaukee County / Lifesaving Medal / Milwaukee / Region 8 - South East / Manufacturing & Trade / 1860-1880 / Object Histories / Nature & Environment / Transportation & Tourism

OBJECT HISTORY: Lifesaving Medal

All along Wisconsin’s 820 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, storms could mean the difference between profit and financial ruin, survival and terrifying death. This lifesaving medal reminds us of the risks that sailors and Wisconsin’s maritime communities have routinely faced since the early 19th century, and it documents the personal bravery, dedication, and ingenuity of those who would rescue their fellows…

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September 9, 2020

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: Cassel Soda Bottle

Cassel Soda Bottle (Image courtesy of Whitefish Bay Historical Society). Photograph by Elkin Gonzalez.

Whitefish Bay / Milwaukee County / Cassel Soda Bottle / Region 8 - South East / Food & Cooking / Manufacturing & Trade / Object Histories / 1900-1920

OBJECT HISTORY: Cassel Soda Bottle

This soda bottle was sold by the Cassel Soda Company in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, in the early 1900s. Conrad Cassel owned and managed the company from 1897-1917. The company, along with other Wisconsin soda companies during that time, made carbonated water, a beverage that would gain special significance during Prohibition. The Cassel Soda Company sold its soda to Whitefish…

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September 9, 2020

Milwaukee County / Earlene Fuller's Bowling Shirt / Milwaukee / Region 8 - South East / Clothing & Fashion / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / 1980-2000 / Curators' Favorites / Global Connections

OBJECT HISTORY: Earlene Fuller’s Bowling Shirt

This shirt, which features an African kente cloth print, was designed, made and worn in the mid-1990s by Milwaukee's Earlene Fuller, an African American bowler and seamstress.

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September 8, 2020

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: <i>Happy Days</i> Bowling Shirt Costume

Region 8 - South East / Milwaukee / Milwaukee County / Happy Days Bowling Shirt Costume / Clothing & Fashion / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / 1960-1980 / 1980-2000 / Curators' Favorites

OBJECT HISTORY: Happy Days Bowling Shirt Costume

This bowling shirt costume from the television series Happy Day speaks to Wisconsin's association with bowling. Milwaukee, where the show was set, was known as the bowling capital of America.

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September 8, 2020

Read more about the article Earlene Fuller and the African American Bowling Scene in Milwaukee

Theodore Henderson, Earlene Fuller, Louise Westbrooks, and Taylor Richards wear African-inspired bowling shirts designed and made by Earlene Fuller, Milwaukee, April 1995. Source: Image courtesy of Pauline McCollum

Earlene Fuller's Bowling Shirt / Milwaukee County / Milwaukee / Related Stories / Region 8 - South East / Clothing & Fashion / Art, Sport & Entertainment / 1960-1980 / Ethnicity & Identity / 1980-2000 / Curators' Favorites

Earlene Fuller and the African American Bowling Scene in Milwaukee

Earlene Fuller designed and made bowling outfits for numerous black and white teams in Milwaukee and elsewhere from 1970 through the mid-1990s. She was a member in two African American bowling organizations — the National Bowling Association and the Milwaukee Bowlers Guild, Inc. — and in the 1990s began incorporating kente cloth and other African-inspired fabric patterns into the shirts she made for her own teams.

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May 27, 2020