My ancestors came from Ireland and Ohio to a parcel of land in the Driftless region and homesteaded in 1854. Photo by Hedi Lamarr Rudd I am the sixth generation to be raised on the family property formerly used as a 40-head milking dairy farm, but the government pretty much forced out family farms. It’s …
I was born in Ban Vinai refugee camp in Thailand in September 1976. I am the oldest of six children. Photos courtesy of Annie Vang When the Vietnam War ended in 1975, thousands of Hmong families were displaced from their homes. The Hmong people were recruited by the American military to fight in the war …
I go by Bobby Bullet St. Germaine. Bobby Bullet is a stage name. In the late 70s, I had a couple songs out, one of them which broke the Billboard top 100. Well, my manager and I had the idea to get the name “Bullet” into the conversation because, if a song was really good, …
Joel: In high school, I took an entrepreneur leadership class. There they really pushed me to think about my community and where I come from. Photo by Abby Chi I had to think about the problems I’ve seen in my community and what I could do about them. I was born in the Democratic Republic …
The Wisconsin Historical Society Press published ‘Hope Is the Thing: Wisconsinites on Perseverance in a Pandemic’. In this series, we feature five writers who share their experiences as they explore hope in the era of COVID-19. BJ Hollars both edited and contributed to the book. March 10, 2020 was my last presentation in a public …
I write songs. That’s what I do. And it’s a job, so I drive around the country and sell those songs door to door like a vacuum cleaner salesman. Photo by Adam Blackbourn I was born just outside of Houston, Texas, but I don’t have any memories of Texas. Before I was able to be …
“Music always makes sense. That’s why I keep coming back to it.” Read More »
My parents never forced me into music and were always super encouraging. My mom’s family is a singing family and she’s a jazz singer who’s been playing my whole life. Growing up we had a family piano and guitar in the house and a big basket of toy instruments—these were the toys I wanted to …
“Music is the thing that brings me the most happiness.” Read More »
I was born half a mile down the road as the crow flies from where I live in Cashton. I’ve had chances to go many places with my music but have never moved more than just a quarter mile from home. Photos by Adam Blackbourn Cashton is the best city in the world; it’s a …
“If I let go of that, then the tradition is lost.” Read More »
Ever since I was young, I would always be singing. I remember there was a children’s music record that I loved called Canticuentos that my parents would play for me. I knew all the lyrics. Photo courtesy of Juliana Mesa I would always sing along, oftentimes playing on a little Casio keyboard, and after the …
Oshkosh was a different world when I was growing up than it is today. We would walk eight blocks to school and back every day as a kindergartner and a first-grader, and there was no worry that someone was going to kidnap me. Photos courtesy of Colleen Bies Maybe we were just completely ignorant at …
“There is that one moment in your life that really changes everything.” Read More »
I am the Executive Chef at Base Camp Café, a quaint restaurant in Mazomanie not too far from my house. This is the first proper job I ever had. Back when I lived in Morocco, I took care of my family and helped in my father’s clothing shop. But I started at Base Camp in …
“Food brought us together to catch up on our day.” Read More »
I first got interested in history in the fourth grade. I took a book out of the school library on the colonial South—I don’t remember what the title was, but I remember how it looked. It had a real cloth pink binding. Photo courtesy of the Center for the Study of the American Constitution From …
