If a kid can understand the county they live in... then they can understand the world! After all, this unit is a mini-microcosm of geography, government, history, economics, and so much more. It is the place where even a child is a bona fide citizen and has rights, responsibilities, and privileges. It's where you live, go to school, work, pay taxes, vote, get your first driver's license, and many other useful, important, everyday things that make our own personal world go 'round. When kids learn how this geo-political unit works to aid and benefit citizens of all ages, it is to their great advantage. This book includes reproducible county/parish/borough map and activities; the who, what, when, where, and why background; advantages, benefits, and responsibilities of being a citizen; where to go for help...and to help out; reproducible activities such as creating an automobile license plate, applying for a library card, registering to vote, a trip to the Health Department, a trip to the courthouse, and much more! Available for every county, parish and borough in the U.S.!

Bright with Silver, first published in 1947, it has been nearly sixty years since Kathrene Pinkerton wrote Bright with Silver. This study of the famous Fromm brothers and their endeavor and persistence to breed a very rare and valuable type of fox would become a landmark history of American entrepreneurship. The simple beauty and elegance of the silver fox would be the fulfillment of the brothers' struggles to build a fur breeding empire. The story of the Fromm brothers that Pinkerton provides is a classic study of ingenuity and stick-to-itiveness that for so many years became a trademark of these four brothers. The intricate and complex history of their endeavors began with growing ginseng. This included intense observations of the plant that would provide the conditions, which eventually yielded abundant harvests that resulted in the necessary cash to start their fur business. Of course, the main story of Pinkerton is how the dreams of a perfect silver fox culture had overtaken the Fromm's possessions, thoughts and lives. The continual endeavor to find the right strain for their silver fox breed and their devotion to medical research that would ease the ravages of disease that could plague these precious animals would be the story that Pinkerton does so very well. It is without doubt that these four brothers, Walter, Edward, John, and Henry brought to the central Wisconsin landscape a business enterprise that played a large part in the economic development of this part of the state. Their story has all the ingredients of imagination, creativity, and great business sense. This edition brings back the story of the Fromm brothers that has been long gone, and sorely missed from the Wisconsin literary scene. Included are 32 pages of photographs.

When Jerry Apps was growing up on a Wisconsin farm in the 1930s and 1940s, times were tough. Yet most folks living on farms had plenty to eat. Preparing food from scratch was just the way things were done, and people knew what was in their food and where it came from. Delicious meals were at the center of every family and social affair, whether it be a threshing-day dinner with all the neighbors, the end-of-school-year picnic, or just a hearty supper after chores were done. As Jerry writes, "For me food will always be associated with times of good eating, storytelling, laughter, and good-hearted fun." Inspired by the dishes made by his mother, Eleanor, and featuring recipes found in her well-worn recipe box, Jerry and his daughter, Susan, take us on a culinary tour of life on the farm during the Depression and World War II. Seasoned with personal stories, menus, and family photos, Old Farm Country Cookbook recalls a time when electricity had not yet found its way to the farm, when making sauerkraut was a family endeavor, and when homemade ice cream tasted better than anything you could buy at the store.

As Wisconsin’s population moved from farmsteads into villages, towns, and cities, the state saw a growing interest in gardening as a leisure activity and source of civic pride. In Vintage Wisconsin Gardens, Lee Somerville introduces readers to the region’s ornamental gardens of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, showcasing the “vernacular” gardens created by landscaping enthusiasts for their own use and pleasure. The Wisconsin State Horticultural Society, established during the mid-nineteenth century, was the primary source of advice for home gardeners. Through carefully selected excerpts from WSHS articles, Somerville shares the excitement of these gardeners as they traded cultivation and design knowledge and explored the possibilities of their avocation. Women were frequent presenters at the WSHS annual meetings, and their voices resonate. Their writings, and those of their male colleagues, are a remarkable legacy we can draw on today—learning how Wisconsinites past created and enjoyed their gardens helps us appreciate our own. Filled with period and contemporary images, recommended plant lists, and garden layouts, Vintage Wisconsin Gardens will interest those curious about the history of the state’s cultural landscape and inspire readers to restore or reconstruct period gardens.

From mining to logging to farming, Finns played an important role in the early development of Wisconsin. Although their immigration to the state came later than that of most other groups, their contributions proved just as significant. Finns pride themselves for their sisu, a Finnish term which, roughly translated, means fortitude or perseverance, especially in the face of adversity. They needed their strength of character to help them face the difficult task of building a new life in a new land. Many Finns arriving in Wisconsin, unable to own land at home, hoped to establish themselves as small independent farmers in the new land. They settled mainly in northern Wisconsin, due to jobs and land available there. This book traces the history of Finnish settlement in Wisconsin, from the large concentrations of Finns in the northern region, to the smaller "Little Finlands" created in other areas of the state. Revised and expanded, this new edition contains the richly detailed story of one Finnish woman, told in her own words, of her hardships and experiences in traveling to a new country and her resourcefulness and strength in adapting to a new culture and building a new life.

When Wisconsin became a state in 1848, its densely forested north awaited railroad construction before settlement. Taylor County, the "Garden spot of Northern Wisconsin", was founded on March 4, 1875. The area was primarily forested with eastern hemlock. The county's early years were dominated by lumbering and leather tanning, the latter made possible by tannic acid leached from hemlock bark. Today, Taylor County's municipalities are home to diverse industries.