Guest Curators
Chris Lay on good and bad costumes
Week of October 29, 2012
Chris is is the person behind the excellent Twitter feed and Facebook page from Wisconsin Historical Images.
Jeff Dawson on Two Rivers, then and now
Week of August 13, 2012
Jeff Dawson has 24 years of experience in a variety of libraries. He’s worked in academic libraries in Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, and Arizona and from 2000 to 2007 he served at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library, Topeka, Kansas. Jeff’s exploration into social software and internet marketing began March 2007 in Two Rivers, Wisconsin in his current position as Lester Public Library Director. Jeff’s use of Flickr, a photo sharing social network, has strengthened the bond between the Lester Public Library and the Two Rivers community it serves.
Breanna Norton on Northwoods camps and resorts
Week of July 20, 2012
Breanna has lived, worked and studied in Wisconsin most of her life. Growing up in the Northwoods, she has since lived in almost every region of the state, giving her a deep respect for the variety of traditions represented throughout the Badger State. Breanna completed her undergraduate degree at UW-Madison in Anthropology, Archaeology and Material Culture and is currently searching for that perfect museum job. She loves squeaky cheese curds, the lake and a really good story.
Erika Janik on food history
Month of May 2012
Erika Janik is an award-winning writer, historian, and the producer and editor of Wisconsin Life on Wisconsin Public Radio. She’s the author of Odd Wisconsin, A Short History of Wisconsin, Madison: A History of a Model City, and Apple: A Global History. Originally from Redmond, Washington, she now knows more about Wisconsin than she ever thought possible - and loves every second of it. She’s particularly interested in women’s history and the history of food. During the month of May, Erika looked at food-related topics including Wisconsin’s dairy culture, Victory Gardens and other wartime food concerns,beer and brewing, apple growing, and the history of home economics.
Jesse Gant and Nick Hoffman on 19th century bicycling culture
Week of April 2, 2012
Nick Hoffman is the curator at the History Museum at the Castle in Appleton and Jesse Gant is a Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Together they are writing an introductory book-length history of 19th century bicycling culture in Wisconsin for the Wisconsin Historical Society Press, along with a variety of other shorter articles and essays.
Debbie Cardinal on effigy mounds
Week of February 20, 2012
Debbie is the former Program Manager for Wisconsin Heritage Online. She was born in Wisconsin and has lived here most of her life. She loves Wisconsin’s often surprising history and its varied and beautiful landscape.
Jody Clowes on Wisconsin’s ice fishing culture
Week of February 13, 2012
Jody is exhibitions manager for the James Watrous Gallery of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. She learned to fish as a girl in south Florida, and became fascinated with winter fishing after visiting a 1997 exhibit about Native American fishing traditions at the Wisconsin Historical Museum. Jody writes: “I’m grateful to my ice-fishing friend Tim Kubala for sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm, even if I still haven’t taken to the ice myself!”
Mark Speltz on Milwaukee’s civil rights movement
Week of January 30, 2012
Mark began exploring the photographic record of Milwaukee’s civil rights movement as a graduate student in public history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In the five years since he has interviewed participants, politicians, and photographers and remains ever hopeful new photographs and stories will come forth. He works as a senior historian at American Girl and lives in Madison.
Beth A. Zinsli on deer hunting
Week of November 28, 2011
Beth is a member of a large deer hunting clan from central Wisconsin raised on venison, Colby cheese, and other typical Wisconsin fare. She is also a Ph.D. candidate in art history and visual culture studies at UW-Madison.
