Wisconsin - Bye bye Badger State!

Wow - I've spent more than two months blogging about Wisconsin, which is the longest I've spent on any place so far.  Mind you, I didn't blog for about a month during that period, as my non-armchair travelling took over, which is a good thing, right?  By the way, I have another blog covering a series of walking trips I'm doing - it's called http://www.walkingthechesters.blogspot.com/ - check it out if you haven't already!

Anyway, it's been an interesting 'virtual' journey to the Badger state.  As usual, I'm going to use this last blog post to summarise my learning about Wisconsin, including the things I didn't get a chance to blog about properly.

I've learned that Wisconsin is called the Badger state and that locals are nicknamed 'cheeseheads', a reference to the fact that the state is the US's second-biggest cheese producer.  I've learned about the Green Bay Packers and American football.  I've learned about the different types of badgers, including 'the world's most dangerous animal', the honey badger which, by coincidence, has cropped up in recent episodes of Glee (as shown on UK television - we're a bit behind the American showings). 



 I've read a biography of Oprah Winfrey, who spent part of her childhood with her mother in Milwaukee.  I've (re)watched The Color Purple and watched Oprah's version of Toni Morrison's Pulitzer prize-winning Beloved.  I've also done some research into Wisconsin-born Ron Kovic, author of Born on the Fourth of July which was made into a movie starring Tom Cruise.  I watched the movie again, as I haven't seen it in years and I wanted to see if I would view it differently as a 'grown-up'.  I have to say it brought tears to my eyes and I found it incredibly moving in a way that I might have glossed over when I was younger, so I guess the way you watch a movie can change as you get older? 



Lake Monona, Madison by nightbuses



I also watched an amusing Romcom, set in Madison, called The Last Kiss, starring Zach Braff (of Scrubs fame).  My expectations for the movie weren't that high, as I normally avoid Romcoms, but it was surprisingly good and made me chuckle, which was a relief after watching Beloved and Born on the Fourth of July!

I learned about the origins of the US political system, which has cleared up a lot of the confusion that I had in my mind - hopefully, I'll understand things a bit better, when the next US Presidential election comes round again.  I've also watched with interest, the developing situation with the trade unions in Wisconsin.  I've learned about the ethnic ghettos of Milwaukee, reputedly the most segregated city in the US.  I've also been shocked by the news from Marshfield, Wisconsin about a 63-year old man who was planning to shoot doctors and nurses at a Family Planning clinic in Madison, because of his anti-abortion views.  Marshfield is another side to Wisconsin that I've not had much time to discover.  It's predominantly white and was the centre of a controversy in 2003 when a Nazi-apologist organised a pro-Hitler exhibition in the local library. 



Wisconsin countryside by Darin

 I've read Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Milwaukee-born Jack Finney.  Although he was born in Wisconsin, Finney migrated to California, which is the setting for his novel.  I also watched three movie versions of the book, which was fascinating and a good overview of how the US has changed, culturally, since the 1950's. 

I cooked Wisconsin Bratwurst and Blue Ribbon Chilli and I had great fun listening to the music of Violent Femmes, Garbage, The Gufs and Bon Iver. 

Just this morning, I was researching into Wisconsin's state symbols.  Like most American states, Wisconsin has a state animal, flower, fruit, bird etc., but I was surprised to learn that Wisconsin even has an official state microbe!  Perhaps, less surprisingly, the state microbe is the Lactococcus Lactis, perfect for a state where dairy and cheese is so important! 

I've going to leave you with a YouTube video of the Wisconsin State Song, On, Wisconsin!  I'm not a big fan of militaristic anthems, but this did give me a bit of a giggle!  The words on the video have been adapted from the original, so the song can be sung during football matches.  Enjoy and up next month . . . X!



Image credits:

The beautiful photo of Lake Monona in Madison was taken by flickruser nightbuses aka Kyril Negoda, who works in design and is based in nearby Minneapolis.  You can see more of his photos at http://www.flickr.com/people/plasticboy/

The amazing image of the countryside in Wisconsin was taken by fellow-walker and flickruser Darin - who is a local Wisconsinite.  You can see more of Darin's photos at http://www.flickr.com/people/carquestguy/

Thanks to nightbuses and Darin for sharing these images with us through the Creative Commons License. 

Wisconsin - Badgers, Cheese, Republicans and Gay Rights!

It's approximately 4,600 miles (or 7,400 kilometres) from Venice to Milwaukee, the largest city in Wisconsin, the US state which I have chosen as the subject for my blog this month!  Like a lot of my fellow-Europeans, my geography of the US is a bit rough around the edges and I'm sure most of my peers would find it difficult to pinpoint Wisconsin on a map of the United States.  I often hear Europeans expressing their disbelief when Americans don't know the difference between Slovenia and Slovakia or don't know where exactly Cornwall is, but I think it goes both ways!  A lot of the detail about the US gets lost in the general picture that we have of this nation, that's why I'm looking forward to learning about Wisconsin, so I can separate it in my mind from the blurred impression of the States that I have from a lifetime of movies and TV programmes!

Badgers and Cheese



Wisconsin farm by lesliebyk

 So to start with - a lot of my American friends will understand the reference to Badgers and Cheese in the title of this blog, but I'm sure most of my non-American friends will have no idea what this is all about!  Well, like other states, Wisconsin has been given a nickname, in this case the Badger State.  Although there is a species of badger that is native to North America, the 'badgers' in this case were Cornish lead miners, who were amongst the first Europeans to settle in what is now Wisconsin, in the early part of the 19th century.  Lead mining didn't seem to take off, for whatever reason and the Cornish immigrants were soon followed by other Europeans, notably German and Norwegian farmers, who have helped shaped Wisconsin's identity and politics in a way that is still perceivable in the 21st century.

Wisconsin is also known as America's Dairyland and is the second largest producer of dairy products, after California.  Having dallied with wheat production for a large part of the 19th century, in the 1890's most Wisconsin farmers shifted to dairy production and Wisconsin is well known for its cheeses, Wisconsinites being referred to as cheeseheads by some of their less countrified neighbours! 

Republicans and Gay Rights

I'm already sensing the apparent contradictions that make up Wisconsin's political outlook.  On one hand it's an incredibly progressive state, steeped in a Scandinavian liberalism that is characteristic, not only of Wisconsin, but neighbouring states like Michigan and Minnesota.  It surprised me to learn that Wisconsin was the first American state to provide legal rights for gay people.  Wisconsin is one of the 12 states (including Michigan and Minnesota) that doesn't have the death penalty. 

On the other hand, the Republican party was founded in Wisconsin and the state was the birthplace of the rabidly anti-communist senator, Joseph McCarthy.  That the Republican party's origins are in the anti-slavery movement is something I'm still trying to get my head around and I'm hoping my research for this blog will help me understand the nature of the American political system.

A Tale of Two Cities



Milwaukee skyline by Amy Puzia

 Most Americans think of Wisconsin as being an incredibly rural state but more than two-thirds of the states' inhabitants live in urban areas.  Although the biggest city in Wisconsin is Milwaukee (which I'm sure most people have heard of), the state capital is Madison (hands up who's heard of Madison, WI?).  I've always been baffled by the fact that many American states seem to completely ignore their main cities and have, as their capital, a small city which is patently obscure.  I'll give you a few more examples:


Sacramento, California (not Los Angeles or San Francisco)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana (not New Orleans)
Tallahassee, Florida (not Miami)
Lansing, Michigan (not Detroit)
Springfield, Illinois (not Chicago)
Carson City, Nevada (not Las Vegas)
Olympia, Washington (not Seattle)

You get the picture?  It's like a deliberate attempt to make pub quizzes more interesting!  I guess there are good historical reasons why this is the case and, from what I've read about Madison, WI - it sounds like a pretty cool place!  But I find myself being drawn towards Milwaukee, the Algonquian Pleasant Land, as my main reference point. 

I'm looking forward to learning even more about this corner of the USA and I hope you'll continue to join me on my learning experience!

Image credits:

The image of a farm in Wisconsin is by flickruser lesliebyk who is originally from Wisconsin, but now lives in Oklahoma (a nice tie up with my last blog about an American state!). You can see more of Leslie's photos at her photo stream.


The photo of Milwaukee's skyline is by flickruser Amy Puzia. You can see more of Amy's photos at her photo stream.

Thanks to both Amy and Leslie for sharing these images with us using the Creative Commons license.