Joe McCarthy, Houdini at Appleton museum
I’m certainly not the first to be tempted to make comparisons between Joseph McCarthy and Houdini. Anybody else want to join in? Hmmm. That didn’t […]
Princeton, Green Lake: ‘quiet time’ appealing
It is mid January, but winter has taken its time to reappear, at least in southwestern Wisconsin. After our holiday landscape melted into a dank […]
Cooks Corner specializes in kitchenware
He has a pleasant and disarming way of hawking his merchandise. Today, it is porcelain dinnerware – 22,000 pieces that are being sold for a […]
2005: Best places to spend the night
I was away from home 88 nights during 2005, with a tremendous variety in lodging. The settings were plush to rustic, in urban to remote […]
Badger Barbies at home in NY toy museum
Barbara Millicent Roberts, a woman of many personalities, used to hang out in Sturgeon Bay with hundreds of her friends and family. As of this […]
Christmas chocolates: Line forms at Hughes
The boxes are plain, lightweight and stamped simply in red or black. The contents are luscious, fresh and full of chocolate – a jumble of […]
Berrymans: Dey’re here, dey’re dere
The Mabel Tainter is an elegant old building in downtown Menomonie that is part church, part theater, part library and community center. Named after a […]
Catching the spirit of Kenosha, downtown
I would have never expected to find Jimmy Carter, Jesse Jackson and Sylvester Stallone shoulder to shoulder in downtown Kenosha. A block away, I met […]
Indie businesses define neighborhoods
Racine’s Jerome Boulevard was an average neighborhood two decades ago. Our bungalow was a good starter home, with not much – besides the lime green […]
Destination Galena, Ill.: great for shopping
The thrill of the hunt has begun, but it’s not only about the whitetail stalkers who are heading north. Their annual departure is good reason […]
Stay overnight in a Frank Lloyd Wright house
I would have liked to stay for the night, or at least until dark, but at least I had access to the next best thing: […]
Over the top: MGM Grand, Cirque du Soleil
There is a lot about the MGM Grand in Las Vegas that is over the top. Consider the lions. One weighs 100,000 pounds, stands 45 […]