Those were the days. We’d go down South 17th Street in Sheboygan and I’d go by three of my buddy’s houses and we’d pull our four wagons to the pier. Photos courtesy of Dan Welsch I had a blue wagon with white PVC rod holders, rod sticking up, landing nets, my boombox, my dip net
“Fishing is a part of me.” Read More »
I have customers who come into Speed Queen Bar-B-Q to this very day that come through our door and they’ll be like, ‘I remember when your mom was pregnant with you and she couldn’t even barely walk.’ I remember when I was little, putting on a chef’s coat and having a little pad and writing
“I’d like Speed Queen to continue for more generations.” Read More »
Duane: When I was growing up in Oulu, Wisconsin, everywhere you went there were people speaking the Finnish language. Finnish sounds and refrains were around every corner. I remember going to the co-op store in Iron River as a kid. There’d always be these old-timers sitting on a bench by the door, passing time, speaking in
Building a Place for Finnish Heritage to Thrive Read More »
I’m a fourth-generation circus performer. My mother is originally from Hungary and my father is originally from Bulgaria. My great-grandfather and great-grandmother started circus arts in Budapest. He did slack wire, balancing on a thin wire suspended in air and juggled side-by-side with my great-grandmother. Photos by Hedi Lamarr Rudd In 1963, both my grandmas
“I’m a fourth-generation circus performer.” 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 »
My name is Dylan Jennings, or Bizhikiins—Young Buffalo, as we translate from Ojibwemowin, our language. Photos by Megan Monday “My parents were really young when they had me, just out of high school. They met down by Waaswaaganing, or the Lac du Flambeau Reservation, near Minocqua. They stuck together to raise me and to take
“I dedicate my life to educating others about Native people.” Read More »
My family’s been logging with horses since they came to the United States in the 1800s. As far back as I can trace my family we have been working with horses. Photos courtesy of Taylor Johnson Some of my family are what people call Travellers. They were Scottish, Irish, and Welsh traveling people who went
“I want to keep our family tradition of horse logging going.” Read More »
I call Eau Claire home. I grew up in Elk Mound but was born and raised in Eau Claire. My Hmong-American identity really comes out on the weekends. Photo courtesy Tor Ger Billy Lor On the weekdays, I hang out with people my age. But, on the weekends, I hang out with people twice or
Learning and Practicing as a Shaman Leader Read More »
People assume just because I live here on the reservation that I’ve been here all my life. But I have to tell them no, I was born in Chicago, and I’m a product of the Indian Relocation Act. Photos by Megan Monday “The Indian Relocation Act was an initiative that displaced Native Americans from the
“I am descended from people who embraced the breath of life.” Read More »
If you see a large sculpture of a mouse holding a slice of cheese, you know you are in Wisconsin. Across the country, we are known as Cheeseheads, but how much do you actually know about the “dairy” in America’s Dairyland? Back in 1841 Anne Picket used milk from her neighbors’ cows and established one
“I am a fourth-generation cheesemaker.” Read More »
I was born in 1950 in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. I lived literally between two lakes, a woods, and a swamp. We were on the edge of the city limits, and quite a few of our near neighbors were on small farms. Photos by Megan Monday “In my family, we have some Welsh and some Scottish
Driven by a Love of Folklore Read More »
When I was in middle school, I did a project on Elizabeth Blackwell. I read her biography; she was the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States. I thought to myself, ‘Maybe I’ll do that someday.’ Then in eighth grade science class, we had to dissect a frog and I decided
“I was interested in studying the history of my people.” Read More »
