Wisconsin 101

Yerkes Telescope Construction and Use

The construction of the 40-inch refracting telescope at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, was directed by George Hale, an astrophysicist at the University of Chicago, and funded by Charles Yerkes, a Chicago businessman. The telescope is made of 40-inch glass lenses manufactured by the…

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May 9, 2018

Door County / Door County Book Mobile / Region 5 - Center East / Related Stories / Politics, Society & Government / Education / 1940-1960 / Transportation & Tourism

Creating the Door County Bookmobile

Door County Library Bookmobile service began in 1950 through a Wisconsin Free Library Commission experiment called the Door-Kewaunee Regional Library Demonstration. The Demonstration was developed to explore the possibilities of providing library service to remote areas of the state. This was during a nationwide movement to…

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November 1, 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

Oconto County / Migrant Worker's Cabin / Region 2 - North East / Oconto / Related Stories / Politics, Society & Government / Nature & Environment / 1940-1960

Wisconsin’s Migrant Housing Laws

Before World War II, most of the migrant workers in Wisconsin’s pickle fields were single young men, and pickle companies provided housing for workers in large dormitories. After World War II, however, farmers began to hire more families to harvest pickles in…

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September 1, 2017

Read more about the article Migrant Labor and Door County Cherries

Oliver, Sheldon, and Glen Fardig help in the Fardig Orchard in Ephraim, WI, c. 1930. Photograph courtesy of the Ephraim Historical Foundation.

Door County / Cherryland T-Shirt / Region 5 - Center East / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / Food & Cooking / Politics, Society & Government / Nature & Environment / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960 / Transportation & Tourism

Migrant Labor and Door County Cherries

Early Door County cherry orchards relied heavily on local workers, and all members of the family that owned a cherry orchard were expected to contribute. From the planting process, spraying of fungicides, pruning, and finally cherry picking, each cherry tree required a…

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July 1, 2017

Read more about the article The Cherry Industry in Door County

Image courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society. Image ID: 48771.

Door County / Cherryland T-Shirt / Region 5 - Center East / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / Food & Cooking / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / Nature & Environment / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960 / Transportation & Tourism

The Cherry Industry in Door County

While early European immigrants in Door County survived by subsistence farming, efforts in later years to grow cash crops proved challenging, due in large part to the area’s rocky landscape. Despite little success with traditional crops, Door County residents continued to look…

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July 1, 2017