Mar 1 2014
Less than 200 miles separate Wisconsin from Bloomington, Ill., but what a potential difference in buffet lines: Red beet eggs. Ham loaf. Vareniky (stuffed dumplings). Turnip slaw. Suet pudding. Shoofly pie. This is “Menno food” and some of the recipes – like the suet pudding, palatable because of molasses or sorghum, plus whipped cream topping(…)
Feb 22 2014
In the Wisconsin Dells area are more hotel rooms (8,000) than year-round residents (5,600). No Wisconsin city contains more accommodations for tourists, and that is one indication of the locale’s popularity. What’s the big deal? Families with children know best. They head to indoor and outdoor waterparks: No other place in the world has a(…)
Feb 15 2014
Meat lovers crave thick and juicy steaks, right? Let’s say “part right,” because pork during the past two years has been the food-service industry’s fastest-growing protein. That means cutting-edge restaurant chefs are giving pork entrées more than a perfunctory nod on their menus. The Wisconsin Pork Producers Association helps this along with the annual Taste(…)
Feb 8 2014
Between the Showboat Saloon and Old River Mini Golf, downtown in Wisconsin Dells, Katie Chandler and Evert Reeve officially began a new chapter of life this month. “There is no institution more sacred than the home you are about to make,” Scott Joles observed, inside the cheerful yellow sanctuary that is Dells Bells Wedding Chapel.(…)
Feb 1 2014
Whenever Black History Month arrives, I am reminded that Wisconsin is not average. About 88 percent of the state’s population is Caucasian and 6.5 percent is African American, compared to 13 percent nationwide. The U.S. Census stats were even more lopsided during my childhood, and I recall meeting only one black person – at a(…)
Jan 25 2014
Recent mail from readers seeks and gives advice about travel that is close to home. Here is a selection of what’s on your mind. – My column about the devastating 1871 Peshtigo fire and the city’s fire museum prompted you to write about a place of religious pilgrimage, 60 miles south. “I am familiar with(…)
Jan 18 2014
Single-digit temps. Double-digit winds. Looks like our January thaw is history, but the frosty season which remains is a beauty, thanks in no small part to ice. Ice? The glaze that makes roads and sidewalks perilous adds a warm sparkle to Wisconsin during this time of year. The state is a shimmering showcase of frozen(…)
Jan 11 2014
Seems like everybody makes predictions during this time of year. We assign odds to football championships and celebrity romances. We speculate which quirks and changes will turn into trends or cultural shifts. Those who guess right become experts and visionaries. Those who guess wrong risk their credibility. So it pays to have a clear crystal(…)
Jan 4 2014
When hopes for a new year include outings, the destinations need not be exotic to be fulfilling. Here are ways to put a fun and enriching spin on the first six months of 2014. January: I’m plunging into winter with three Wisconsin authors whose newest books are tributes to rural living and published by Wisconsin(…)
Dec 28 2013
Much of my work feels like a treasure hunt. Road trips and research sometimes begin with a set of priorities and assumptions that unravel or are enriched with unexpected surprises. At year’s end, my archives are always packed with many interesting tidbits. Here are 10 examples. Soda Pops, 125 S. Railroad St., Eagle River –(…)
Dec 21 2013
In the Erzgebirge Mountains of eastern Germany, one hill away from the Czech Republic border, the charm and promise of Christmas prevail all year. In Seiffen, population 2,500, about 100 shops sell finely crafted nutcrackers, candle arches, rotating pyramids, tree ornaments, smokers (which burn incense) and other figurines that mark the season. Angels, snowmen, pot-bellied(…)
Dec 14 2013
The world’s courts protect foods and beverages that are unique because of where they are produced. True Parmesan cheese comes from Parma, Italy. Champagne, a French product, is a specific type of sparkling wine. Sweet onions from only a precise part of Georgia can be branded Vidalia. In Germany, more than 100 items are deemed(…)
