Organized By Heritage Hill State Historical Park
2640 S Webster Ave,Green Bay (44.473419, -88.031152)
Tuesday, December 8, 2015 6:00 pm Education Center and Gift Store open for book purchase 6:30 pm Presentation with signing to follow Admission is FREE While Bob La Follette's exploits as leader of progressive politics are legendary, his early morning exertions to save valuable government documents and executive department paintings during the disastrous 1904 capitol fire are largely unknown - until now. "Odd Wisconsin" captures the Wisconsin people, places, and events that didn't make it into conventional state histories, lowering a bucket into the depths of Wisconsin history and bringing to light curious fragments of forgotten lives. History is really about stories — too many people were taught that history is a collection of names and dates. Sure, names and dates matter but the stories are what make history fun, important, and relevant. You don't need to be from Wisconsin, either, to find someone or something in this book that you can connect with on some level. Everyone has a crazy relative. This unique book unearths the stories that got lost to history even though they may have made local headlines at the time. No mythical hodags or eight-legged horses here! "Odd Wisconsin" features strange but true stories from Wisconsin's past, every one of which was documented (albeit by the standards of the day). These brief glimpses into Wisconsin's past will surprise, perplex, astonish, and otherwise connect readers with the state's fascinating history. From "the voyageur with a hole in his side" to "pigs beneath the legislature," "Odd Wisconsin" gathers 300 years of curiosities, all under the radar of traditional stories. Erika Janik grew up in Redmond, Washington but now knows more about Wisconsin history than she ever thought possible. She has master's degrees in American history and journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has written many essays and articles on Wisconsin history for the Wisconsin Historical Society online collections and as editor of the Society's membership newsletter. She coordinated the Society's digital collection "Turning Points in Wisconsin History," wrote dozens of topical essays on state history as well as a short history of the state, composed encyclopedic dictionary entries on Wisconsin, and continues to provide regular feature stories for the Society homepage. Her work has appeared in "Wisconsin Trails" magazine, "On Wisconsin," "Renewing the Countryside," "Isthmus," and the "Wisconsin State Journal." Check out her latest book, "A Short History of Wisconsin."