I’m from Fall Creek, Wisconsin, which is a very small town. Growing up, I was surrounded by a family of storytellers. Photos by Andi Stempniak My dad’s a public speaker, and my grandparents love to tell stories. My paternal grandmother has been writing poetry for longer than I’ve been alive, and my mom’s mother used …
“I love creating characters with important life lessons to learn.” Read More »
I was born and raised on the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe Indian reservation in northern Wisconsin — I had a lot of fun growing up there. Photos by Andi Stempniak As kids, we were outside all of the time. In the summer we spent the majority of our time swimming, and in the winter it was …
If it wasn’t for the railroad I would never have been born. Trains brought my parents together. Photos by Laura Merchant On my dad’s side, my grandfather was the last family member born in Germany. He was born in 1885, two years after the establishment of the city of Spooner. As a young man, he …
I am a Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa whose congregation — a religious community of Catholic Sisters — is based in the southwestern Wisconsin town of Sinsinawa. Photos by Tyra Leonard Born and raised in Big Spring, Texas, I am also Mexican American and a third-generation American. My parents are devout members of their Catholic parish. …
“It is a blessing to live in community, to love and serve God and God’s people.” Read More »
A long time ago, I dated a pilot who took me flying—multiple times, actually. And I fell in love with it. Photos by Hedi Lamarr Rudd It was one of those moments where a light bulb went off and I thought, ‘Hey, I could do this.’ And I thought more about it and decided if …
When I was a kid, I always wanted to live on a farm. I often asked my parents, ‘Can we at least live in the country?’ I loved animals more than anything. Photos by Hedi Lamarr Rudd But we always lived in town, in the La Crosse area. My dad’s a physician and my mom …
A Century-old, Family-run Farm Perfects the Corn Maze. Read More »
I was an extremely lucky kid to grow up on a small farm. I’m the seventh of eight kids in a farm family from down in far southwest Richland County. Our home farm is right above the Wisconsin River. Photos by Andi Stempniak I grew up exploring the Driftless ridges where I could hunt and …
“I want my grandchildren to have the same clear-water experiences I had growing up.” Read More »
I was born and raised in Kyle, Texas. My mom was extremely creative and crafty and just loved making pretty things. Photos by Colleen Bies Growing up in the projects and being raised by a single mom for most of my childhood, my siblings and I never felt like we were missing anything. My mom …
I was born in Chicago Heights, a Chicago suburb. When I was six years old, my family and I moved to Middleton, Wisconsin because my dad had a new job. Photos by Hedi Lamarr Rudd This was a huge culture shock and a tough experience for me. In Chicago Heights, I was around a lot …
I am from Upstate New York and there’s a shop out there called Rolf’s Pork Store. When I was a kid, my uncle would go to Rolf’s to get landjaeger, a semi-dried sausage snack, to bring to our family camp. Photos by Hedi Lamarr Rudd taken at the Muskellounge and Sporting Club I have these …
I am called Paul DeMain, but my name is Skabewis in the Ojibwe language. I take the title ‘The Messenger.’ I speak for things that don’t have a voice. I speak for the water, and for our natural world that is impacted by water. Photos by Julian Emerson I grew up in Wausau and have …
I am a water girl, and absolutely love being on, in, or near the water. Just yesterday my husband, 16-year-old son and I spent a few hours in our boat fishing for smallmouth bass near Ashland on Lake Superior. This is one of my favorite places because the Big lake has a special beauty that …
