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ODD WISCONSIN

Odd Wisconsin: Some rural school districts soaked the state

Thu., Oct 9, 2008 - 9:44AM

Government earmarks have a history that reaches far beyond Washington. Even rural Wisconsin residents have been eager to feed at the public trough when they could.

For example, in the 1940s, state officials proposed reorganizing rural school districts to save tax dollars. Much of... >>MORE

Odd Wisconsin: Skunk grease was used for respiratory problems

Wed., Oct 1, 2008 - 11:05AM

Among the oddities going on display Friday at the Wisconsin Historical Museum in Madison is a yellowing bottle of skunk grease concocted by New Glarus farmer Hank Blumer. He made it for an ailing neighbor to spread on his chest, much as we use Vicks VapoRub today.

Until modern times, rural... >>MORE

• Odd Wisconsin: Mary Todd Lincoln's time in Wisconsin

• Odd Wisconsin: Low pay hurt early Supreme Court justices

• Odd Wisconsin: "What ya in the big house for?' 'Tight corset'

• Odd Wisconsin: Activist gave working women free medical care

• Odd Wisconsin: State native coined 'conspicuous consumption'

• Odd Wisconsin: Did the devil come for a Wisconsin man in 1838?

• Odd Wisconsin: Trumped-up pig theft case heard in kangaroo court

• Odd Wisconsin: Animals seemed to anticipate deadly tornado

• Odd Wisconsin: X-ray shoe fitter was big sales aid

• Odd Wisconsin: Tiny wooden chapel known for miracle cures

• Odd Wisconsin: State lumberjack's dams saved the Union Navy

• Odd Wisconsin: Joke played on poet leads to best-selling book

• Odd Wisconsin: Explorer's vision went down in Lake Michigan

• Odd Wisconsin: Ojibwe dictionary survived perilous trip

• Odd Wisconsin: 1918-19 flu season more deadly than battlefield

• Odd Wisconsin: Jesuits claimed eclipse as special power

• Odd Wisconsin: Minister's gift plucked from another man's pocket

• Odd Wisconsin: Death penalty approved for owners of loose dogs

• Odd Wisconsin: 'Slave stealer' was actually a slave saver

• Odd Wisconsin: Residents of Holmen went 'julebuk' for Christmas

• Odd Wisconsin: Lumber magnate tighter than bark on a tree

• Odd Wisconsin: Typewriter, butterfat tester, blender on state's can-do list

• Odd Wisconsin: Lone Rock Uranium Tunnel purported to heal

• Odd Wisconsin: Prostitution played important part in economy

• Odd Wisconsin: National honey-bee industry started in state

• Odd Wisconsin: Hermit made home in Wisconsin River marsh

• Odd Wisconsin: La Crosse, horse racing capital of the U.S.A.?

• Odd Wisconsin: Muir invented alarm clock without snooze option

• Odd Wisconsin: Hodag hoax lures tourists to the North Woods

• Odd Wisconsin: The wild life of journalist Griffin Barry

• Odd Wisconsin: Wood ticks once raced in the North Woods

• Odd Wisconsin: Party celebrated Madison's first July Fourth

• Odd Wisconsin: Civil War vet meets stranger with remarkable tale

• Odd Wisconsin: Creator of mischievous Bad Boy' was governor

• Odd Wisconsin: Steam-driven carriages traveled state's roads in 1878

• Odd Wisconsin: Shooting rapids with a boatload of silver

• Odd Wisconsin: The story of Henry Gratiot, who tried to stop a war

• Odd Wisconsin: Poet Percival spent last years in mine shafts

• Odd Wisconsin: Two Chippewa River floods do great damage

• Odd Wisconsin: Neighbors fought 4,000 miles from home

• Odd Wisconsin: Old chief's expert shot takes skeptic's money

• Odd Wisconsin: No creampuff duel for 1860 congressman

• Odd Wisconsin: Searching for treasure at Bogus Bluff

• Odd Wisconsin: Dewey, first governor, guessed wrong on capital

• Odd Wisconsin: Doctor was nervous as his killer approached

• Odd Wisconsin: Madison's top fisherman was Pickerel Billy

• Odd Wisconsin: Army major lets the cat out of the bag

• Odd Wisconsin: Only one person was executed by Wisconsin

• Odd Wisconsin: The Dickeyville Grotto springs to life - twice

• Odd Wisconsin: Ho-Chunk chief upheld honor of his word

• Odd Wisconsin: Menominee war chief Tomah was anti-war

• Odd Wisconsin: Trader's wound becomes window into physiology

• Odd Wisconsin: Legend of Ridgeway Ghost includes a death

• Badgers rushed for gold their own, long way

• Mormons declared Beaver Island a monarchy

• Odd Wisconsin: In two minutes, F4 tornado killed 17 people

• Odd Wisconsin: Fighting Bob rescues state treasures from blaze

• Odd Wisconsin: Gideons' movement began in Beaver Dam

• Odd Wisconsin: How slavery kept Chicago out of Wisconsin

• Odd Wisconsin: Penniless to prominent, hermit's legend survives

• Odd Wisconsin: For three lumberjacks, it looked like the end

• Odd Wisconsin: Mysterious stranger puts roads on right track

• Odd Wisconsin: Janesville man spent decades with lepers

• Odd Wisconsin: Tribal sovereignty outlined in 1830 murder trial

• Odd Wisconsin: City pioneer mastered hard work, heavy drinking

• Odd Wisconsin: Large doses of quinine were used to treat malaria

• Odd Wisconsin: Vigilantes shot up house, burned barn of pacifists

• Odd Wisconsin: Wisconsin pioneer had an 'inappeasable thirst'

• Odd Wisconsin: Flooding along Fox River nearly led to violence

• Odd Wisconsin: 175 million frogs invaded Oconto in 1952

• Odd Wisconsin: Lincoln led military unit chasing Black Hawk

• Odd Wisconsin: Ho-Chunk Chief Dandy would not be moved

• Odd Wisconsin: State's senator launched nation's first Earth Day

• Odd Wisconsin: Hodag hoaxer loved practical jokes

• Odd Wisconsin: One Indian's good deed changed logger's opinion

• Odd Wisconsin: State roads were usually in poor shape in 1800s

• Odd Wisconsin: State woman got care for Civil War soldiers

• Odd Wisconsin: First state presidential primary was held in 1912

• Odd Wisconsin: Wild cat's meow is nothing new in these parts

• Odd Wisconsin: State residents didn't drink to Prohibition

• Odd Wisconsin: Nuns took chances with wild lumberjacks

• Odd Wisconsin: Edgerton can claim role in church-state debate

• Odd Wisconsin: Man who claimed to be 145 was exaggerating

• Odd Wisconsin: In 1853, residents voted to outlaw alcohol

• Odd Wisconsin: Did mother's ghost haunt Maiden Rock house?

• Odd Wisconsin: 'Dorset, the woods are full of ghosts!'

• Odd Wisconsin: Explorer disproved writer's hollow world

• Odd Wisconsin: Snake was swallowing boy, says 1893 paper

• Odd Wisconsin: Black lumberjacks worked in the North Woods

• Odd Wisconsin: Paul Bunyan legends began with UW student

• Odd Wisconsin: Bull Dog Regan liked the Bucket of Blood

• Odd Wisconsin: A coincidental meeting on the battlefield

• Odd Wisconsin: Woman found petrified eight months after burial

• Odd Wisconsin: Bribery and controversy led to city of Monroe

• Odd Wisconsin: 'I seen my duty and I done it'

• Odd Wisconsin: Shivarees could lead to some dastardly deeds

• Odd Wisconsin: Racine man designed steam-powered car

• Odd Wisconsin: Candidate Eisenhower backed off McCarthy

• Odd Wisconsin: Renowned poet also cleaned hospital kitchen

• Lumber king Bradley created his own city

• Odd Wisconsin: How Wisconsin got its Badger State nickname

• Odd Wisconsin: Eagle Diamond fetched just $1 before fame

• Odd Wisconsin: The long, winding story behind Wisconsin

• Odd Wisconsin: The cow that cured corruption

• Odd Wisconsin: New Year's Day was a citywide open house

• Odd Wisconsin: Celebrating Christmas without gift-giving

• Odd Wisconsin: Ripon native helped create modern-day shopping

• Odd Wisconsin: Election campaigns were fought in the streets

• Odd Wisconsin: Lies, bribes and Capitol stationery, 1856

• Odd Wisconsin: Chief's daughters proved to be worthy warriors

• Odd Wisconsin: 'Fighting Bob' was shunned for free-speech beliefs

• Odd Wisconsin: Weather forecasting has Wisconsin roots

• Odd Wisconsin: September's the time to gather rice, fowl and fish

• Odd Wisconsin: First state settlers preferred to keep money at home

• Odd Wisconsin: Missionary among those claiming royal blood

• Couple viewed region a foot higher than most

• Odd Wisconsin: Popular fur-trader's name misread as Poynette

• Odd Wisconsin: Petrified man spoof mystified Rusk County

• Odd Wisconsin: 'Butte des Morts' first used for Menasha mound

• Odd Wisconsin: Mark Twain learns a little about croquet

• Odd Wisconsin: Penniless to prominent, hermit's legend survives

• Odd Wisconsin: Pokerville died when bypassed by railroad

• Odd Wisconsin: Waiting patiently for a natural place to sit

• Odd Wisconsin: He wouldn't have passed bar without stopping

• Man arrested in hit-and-run early today

• Boy shoots intruder at North Side home with BB gun

• Domestic abuse a tragic trap for illegal alien women

• UW Marching Band will perform at Saturday's football game, but director promises culture change

• Packers notes: Seahawks' Robinson holds no grudges

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