Rachel Maddow sums up Wisconsin's extraordinary Labor History

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And she does it quite well, I love it when she describes the Packers as a "collective". The very thought must cause a chill to run down the collective spine of the Tea Party.

Orson talks Wisconsin

A charming video. The Herb Shriner Show from 1956. Orson weighs in on his Wisconsin roots and "very large" cows.

Jack Penewell and his Twin Six Guitar

Jack Penewell in his prime with his double six Stella guitar. Jack was a multi-neck instrumentalist - he played a twin 6 string guitar and a twin 6 steel guitar. He also designed the world's first double neck steel guitar (an acoustic model built by Gibson in 1932). Jack was born in Stoughton and lived most of his life in Madison. He recorded sides for Paramount, Wisconsin's legendary blues label. His career hit it's stride in the 1920's and early 30's when he became a featured attraction on the vaudeville circuit. He would continue to hit the stage, cut records and do radio show appearances well into the 60's. Below is an article from a Davenport, Iowa newspaper hyping a Jack Penewell show date. "Ever see a twin six guitar?" it asks.
"You will be allowed that pleasure at the first Tri-City radio-electric show and exposition." And you will too if you click here. Look for more detailed info on the music and life of Jack Penewell in future posts.

January 1944.... Papua, New Guinea

Candid snaps of Carole Landis. Born Frances Lillian Mary Ridste in Fairchild, Wisconsin on January 1,1919. Actress, singer, author and template for all wounded child blonde bombshell suicides - she truly was (as she was rumored to be) "Jennifer North" in Jaqueline Susann's sleazy best seller, The Valley of the Dolls. During World War II, she loved her boys. No female showbiz personality traveled more miles entertaining them. Malaria and amoebic dysentery (a lethal combination that I and my brothers knew well) nearly killed her. The sudden dull thud of the post war years and a fast fading film career eventually did. (Above photo, Jack Benny's USO Troupe. Top row - Jack Benny, Larry Adler. Bottom row - June Bruner, Martha Tilton, Carole Landis)
Larry Adler was a virtuoso harmonica player - perhaps the greatest ever to play the instrument. Classical composers Ralph Vaughn Williams and Darius Milhaud wrote entire works for him. His later years saw him working with Sting, Elton John and Kate Bush and.....Richie Sambora??!!!!??. Oh well, they can't all be great. He died in England, one of many Americans who were forced abroad during the McCarthy Era(Hello Wisconsin!). Download some
Mp3's and you'll become a Larry Adler fan.


A native Papuan's reaction to Jack Benny's violin playing is very similar to our own.
June Bruner, Larry Adler, Carole and Jack.
Carole climbs down from a PBY.

The Illustrated Man...Amund Dietzel

Last summer, Milwaukee Tattoo historian and artist (Solid State Tatoo) Jon Reiter released his beautifully designed and exhaustively researched book, These Old Blue Arms: The Life and Work of Amund Dietzel. Click here to view or order.

Amund Dietzel was born in Kristiana (now Oslo), Norway in 1891. At the age of 14, he left his homeland on a merchant ship (at the time, the fourth largest merchant fleet on earth) and spent the next 3 years of his life at sea. The art and significance of tatoos to the insular world of men at sea had a great effect on the young Norwegian. With home made tools and no small amount of drawing skills he went to work learning the art of tatooing by practicing on his shipmates. A timely shipwreck brought an abrupt end to his ocean travels and left him on the the shores of North America. Later, while in Connecticut, he developed a close friendship with a British immigrant tatoo artist named William Grimshaw. The two men inked each others bodies from head to toe (photo above, circa 1914) and hit the carnival circuit. They exhibited themselves, sold photographs of their inked bodies and provided tatoos for curious carnival goers. In 1914, Dietzel arrived in Milwaukee. He liked what he saw. Who wouldn't? America's machine shop was in full stride. The vitality of the immigrant city was a perfect fit for the Norwegian with unusual skills. He would spend the rest of his life in the Cream City. Two World War's worth of tatoo hungry soldiers and sailors from nearby Great Lakes Naval Station brought him both a wealth of customers and worldwide word of mouth advertising. He was soon known as the finest tatoo artist in the midwest.

Milwaukee was at it's nadir as a city when the Milwaukee Common Council banned tattoo parlors in 1967. Dietzel got in the last word, "At least it took the city fifty-one years to find out it doesn't want me. Milwaukee used to be a very nice town." Dietzel passed away in 1974.

Factory Girls

The photo is labeled as having been taken in Appleton in the 1890's. Two factory girls take a break at a rail yard. From SHORPY, a great site full of hi-res
images from the near and distant past.
In the 1890's, Appletons rail yards - close to cheap hotels, bars, brothels and low rent housing was a drop off spot for tramps, a good place to get drunk, commit suicide or meet with professional and semi-professional prostitutes.
In close-ups, the girls look very much at ease, a sharp contrast to formal portraits of the era. I can't place the exact location. For all I know, It could be the outskirts of Kimberly. Love the girl with the Bozo collar.