"The History of Wisconsin Winter Weather"

Yesterday I had to deal with a laptop belonging to a vice-president of the company for which I work. He was in town for a few days from his office in Scotland. I made some small talk with him and found out that he would be flying back later in the afternoon and also that he'd be glad to get back to the relative warmth of Edinburgh. Although it has gotten a bit warmer the past few days, it has been colder than a well digger's ass lately.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has a neat little bit up at their webpage called "The History of Wisconsin Winter Weather". Here is an excerpt from the days before fiberglass insulation and central heating:

The French explorers, missionary priests, and fur traders were succeeded in the early 19th century by permanent settlers who also left evidence about Wisconsin winters. In December 1836, for instance, the first surveyors of Madison "found the snow very deep, and after a hard day's work wading in the snow, we camped at night between the Third Lake (Monona) and Dead Lake (Wingra), where we found some thick timber and a sheltered spot. With a good deal of difficulty we made a log heap fire and eat our snack, and after the fire had thawed the snow and warmed the ground, we removed the fire to a little distance and made our bed on the ashes where the fire had warmed the ground. The weather was extremely cold but we slept warm and the next morning ... the weather extremely cold we returned to Mineral Point to wait for milder weather."