|
Throughout its history, Wisconsin has been shaped by people who passed
through—educators, entertainers or photographers. Some of these
visitors unharnessed forces of lasting change, others simply offered
a lasting thrill.
Hosts Tracy Will and Debbie Kmetz visit three opera houses to discover
the joy these buildings held. These opera houses, and others like them
around the state, drew performers of national stature - Mark Twain,
Enrico Caruso and Mary Pickford. They were the center for town social
functions and education in many cases. As society moved into the 20th
century, however, these destinations for traveling shows fell into disrepair,
betraying their once glorious past. In Argyle, Stoughton and Oshkosh,
the communities pulled together and restored their opera houses.
Host Kmetz spends some time in the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS)
archives savoring the extensive postcard collections from Sherwin Gillette
and L.L. Cook. These traveling photographers recorded rare images of
main streets, lovers' lanes and northwoods cabins. The postcards go
far beyond their original intent and sometimes provide the only documentation
of these small towns.
Ed "Strangler" Lewis hailed from Nekoosa and during the 1920s was unbeatable
in 6,000 matches across the country—at a time when wrestling was
a true sport, not a trumped-up put-on. He made millions and spent millions
in his 30 years of criss-crossing the country as an athlete.
Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli who, with no formal architectural training, acted
as architect, stone mason and general contractor for 24 Catholic churches
in southern Wisconsin during the rough-and-tumble lead-mining boom.
Mazzuchelli also founded an early school for girls that eventually trained
nuns to educate students at Madison's Edgewood College.
|
