Wisconsin Redux

Here's some more ditties about my fair state:

Back in 1933, Wisconsin became the first state in the Union to outlaw race as a factor in hiring and firing teachers.

Wisconsin passed the first law eliminating all legal discrimination against women in 1921.

The town of Ripon is considered the birthplace of the Republican Party. (It has really changed over the years!)

October 8, 1871 is not only the date of the famous Chicago fire but also of the Peshtigo fire, which claimed over 1000 lives making it the deadliest in US history. Word of the fire spread slowly, however, as, unlike Chicago, the town had no telegraph lines.

The first ice cream sundae was served in Two Rivers (known as "Trivers") by Ed Berner back in 1878. Chocolate syrup...mmm...

The federal government's ELF Project is located way up north. ELF stands for Extremely Low Frequency and is part of the Navy's system for submarine communication. It sends signals through the crust of the earth and into the water to communicate with submerged submarines.

Elmwood,WI is a welcoming town - even to aliens. There is a UFO landing pad there to greet any extraterrestrial visitors that are in need of cheese and/or beer.

Mt. Horeb, a town just west of here, features, to my knowledge, the only museum dedicated to mustard in the world. They have billions and billions of flavas.

And, several years ago, I lived just up the street from a toilet paper museum here in Madison.

In addition to spawning commie-hunter Joe McCarthy, we also had William Proxmire, a long-term US Senator who kept a vigil against wasteful government spending. I think he also donated his salary to a University of WI scholarship fund. Today we have Russ Feingold - GO RUSS!

First state statute using a broad-based income tax to fund recycling efforts. (1990)

First workmen's compensation law. (1911)

First (along with Illinois) to ratify the 19th Amendment for women's suffrage. (1919)

First state to pass a law authorizing monetary benefits for unemployed workers. (1932)

First state to provide payments to persons who required continual care because of permanent disabilities. (1945)

The University of Wisconsin was the first university to offer extension courses. (1925)

First state to enact a comprehensive certification law for public librarians. (1921)

A nice drive west of Madison is American Players Theater. It is an outdoor theater nestled in the woods outside of Spring Green. (Yes, they provide mosquito repellent.) You can sit in the great outdoors with a glass of vino and enjoy the Bard or whatever play those folks are doing. One cool thing about it is that, during some plays, parts of the action will take place off-stage and out at the perimeter of the theater in the woods. I recall one night scene where a red backlight silhouetted 2 figures amongst the trees as one murdered the other.

The Rodney Dangerfield movie, Back to School, was shot here, in part. Most of the scenes of the campus are of my alma mater.

The Nick Nolte/Julia Roberts vehicle, I Love Trouble, also had scenes filmed here. I remember a a scene in which a car blowing up outside the Majestic Theater.

Keanu Reeves was in town for a while to shoot a scene for Chain Reaction. Our state capitol building resembles the US Capitol building which was unavailable for use as a shooting location.

Jeepers, I didn't even know most of this stuff. Madison is home to the band Garbage. (Some locals tell me that Shirley Manson is a complete beeotch.) I used to live a couple blocks from their Smart Recording Studios where Nirvana recorded the demos for their Nervermind album. The version of "Polly" on the album is from these sessions. "Dive" was on Incesticide and the remaining tunes found their way onto various compilation and tribute albums. One of my faves, Son Volt recorded demos there as well and my friend Bill got to meet Jay Farrar when he popped into the restaurant Bill cooked at. Other bands that have recorded or had mixing work done there include: Smashing Pumpkins, U2, Beck, L7, Jayhawks, Everclear, Paw, Limp Bizkit, Freddy Johnston, and Poster Children. And "lost" live recordings of Big Band greats Jimmy Dorsey, Woody Herman and Stan Kenton, have been digitally remastered at Smart Studios. Madison is home to former James Brown drummer, Clyde Stubblefield and keyboardist Ben Sidran.

Other Wisconsin musicians include The BoDeans, Willy Porter, and Daryl Stuermer. Stuermer played with Jean-Luc Ponty and Genesis.

Heck, even more stuff I didn't know. Whew! This was pretty fun. For being part of Hillary Clinton's "fly-over" area, Wisconsin has some funky stuff. And I haven't even mentioned lefse and lutefisk.