I grew up in a place called Veefkind. It used to be a little bitty rural community with a store, post office, a couple of sawmills, tavern, church, and, of course, the cemetery. It was named after my great-great grandfather, Henry Born Veefkind, who actually built our farm. The home farm went through six generations …
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 …
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 eighth of 12 children. Six boys and six girls. We divide into three groups of four and I am the youngest of the middle group. Photos by Gary Porter My dad was a railroad worker and my mom was home with us. At the time, the regularity and frequency of railroad work …
I went to Milwaukee Trade and Technical High School and during freshman year they had us take an exploratory shop class to decide the trade we wanted to spend the next three years learning. Photo courtesy of Tom Jenz They had an electronics shop, plumbing shop, carpentry shop, all these different shops. I didn’t know …
I live in Mondovi, a city along the Buffalo River in western Wisconsin. I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and often would listen to radio programs and watch television shows about dogs, like ‘Lassie’, ‘Rin Tin Tin’ and ‘Sergeant Preston of the Yukon.’ That kind of dovetailed into my dog sled racing interest. …
“The essence of being a good dog musher is your love for dogs.” Read More »
I was in Ramadi, Iraq, in 2006 with Bravo Company, First Battalion, 506th Infantry. I was a forward observer, positioned at Three South, which was a little sandbag bunker on top of a hill that we had to improvise because some insurgents were coming over the hill and shooting rocket-propelled grenades into the back of …
“Those little pieces of shrapnel had such a huge impact on my life.” Read More »
I started singing on the drum when I returned from Vietnam. One of my most memorable times singing was at the dedication of The Highground in 1988. The Highground is a memorial park that pays tribute to veterans. Photo courtesy Gary Kmiecik They were going to dedicate the “Fragments” statue—a Vietnam veterans’ tribute—and they asked …
“It’s a place where we can go and find peace and healing.” Read More »
I was born in Chicago and grew up north of Withee. I went to White School, a one-room grade school that didn’t get indoor plumbing until the summer before I went to first grade. Photo courtesy of Scott Schultz I graduated in 1964 from Owen-Withee High School. My family was farmers, and my dad took …
I have always been fascinated with history—I come from a family that loved history. My father and brother were serious military history buffs, my mother loved European history and genealogy, and I fell in love with all of it. Photo taken courtesy of Scott Schultz As a kid, my main obsession was finding items. I …
“There is a deep emotional and spiritual aspect to this place.” Read More »
https://vimeo.com/194582427 We met up with a group of amazing Wisconsin women vets at their monthly connection luncheon. The women span generations and served in many different conflicts. It was so fascinating to hear about their varied experiences and also so heartwarming to see how they support each other. Listen in as they talk about what …
I grew up back in the good-ol’-days, in Pittsville, Wisconsin. My dad was a logger and a professional fur trapper. My mother was a nurse. Mom is an angel, and we still talk every day. But my dad and I had a kinda difficult relationship when I was growing up. One thing we bonded over, …
“My experiences in Vietnam had a huge impact on me.” Read More »
