Wisconsin 101

Read more about the article The Vulcan Corporation

Inspecting pins coming off the Vulcan assembly line, 1954. Photograph courtesy of the Langlade County Historical Society.

The Vulcan Corporation

The Vulcan Corporation was founded in 1909 in Ohio as a manufacturer of wooden shoe lasts. The business really took off once they developed a new shoe last turning lathe. In 1919, Vulcan started a plant in Crandon, Wisconsin, which made “rough-turned”—or unfinished—lasts.…

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February 1, 2016

Read more about the article The Civilian Conservation Corps

Civilian Conservation Corps recruits in line for the mess hall at Camp 657’s temporary location near Summit Lake, Wisconsin, c. 1933. Photograph courtesy of the Langlade County Historical Society.

CCC Pillow Sham / Related Stories / Politics, Society & Government / Nature & Environment / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960

The Civilian Conservation Corps

In 1933, with nearly a quarter of the civilian labor force unemployed, newly inaugurated President Franklin Delano Roosevelt initiated the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a cornerstone effort in his New Deal program.Under the direction of several governmental departments, including the Department of…

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October 1, 2015

Read more about the article An Immigrant Family in Rural Wisconsin

European immigrants boarding a steamer to the United States. Harper’s Weekly, November 7, 1874.

Langlade County / Antigo / 2000-2020 / CCC Pillow Sham / Related Stories / Home Furnishings / Politics, Society & Government / Clothing & Fashion / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960 / Ethnicity & Identity / 1960-1980 / 1980-2000 / Global Connections

An Immigrant Family in Rural Wisconsin

Rose Mary Drab was born in southeastern Langlade County on April 23 of 1913. Her family had settled there the year before on a small farm south of Antigo. Originally named Drabowski, Rose Mary’s parents left Hungary for Chicago a few years…

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October 1, 2015

Read more about the article Whitefish Bay Urbanization

Milwaukee, 1872 (Image courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society).

Milwaukee County / Cassel Soda Bottle / Whitefish Bay / Region 8 - South East / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / Politics, Society & Government / 1860-1880 / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / Nature & Environment / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960

Whitefish Bay Urbanization

In the late 1800s, meatpacking, wheat processing and brewing industrialization boomed in Milwaukee. This increase of manufacturing attracted workers from all over the country to move to Milwaukee. In fact, from 1870-1900, Milwaukee’s population quadrupled. Milwaukee's housing infrastructure couldn't support this drastic…

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October 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

Washington County / Region 8 - South East / West Bend / Penguin Server / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / Politics, Society & Government / 1940-1960 / Global Connections

The Aluminum Industry and Wartime Demands

In 1920 the aluminum cookware industry in Wisconsin gained control of over 50 percent of the total national market, after selling less than five percent in 1910. By 1929, West Bend ranked third in the nation in sales of aluminum cookware; however, during the Great…

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August 1, 2014