curb magazine

MIDTOWN TO MADTOWN

SMALL TOWNS, BIG DREAMS

RYAN RISING

SURFING THE

ELEMENTS

SEVENSTATELYSINS

GREEN BEERBIRKIE LIFEFASHION FORWARD

Famed designers make the move Immigrants enrich Wisconsin

FALL 2011WISCONSIN’S LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

+PLUS

A Wisconsin native faces a daunting climb after an unimaginable fall

TENTh

EDITION

curb_sections_all.indd 1 11/21/11 10:21 AM

74 Runs • 700’ Vertical

65 Acres of Tree Skiing

5 Terrain Parks

SkiGranitePeak.com

Located in Wausau, Wisconsin

715-845-2846

Authentic Mountain Skiing in the Heart of Wisconsin


74 Runs • 700’ Vertical

65 Acres of Tree Skiing

5 Terrain Parks

SkiGranitePeak.com

Located in Wausau, Wisconsin

715-845-2846

Authentic Mountain Skiing in the Heart of Wisconsin

3

FALL 2011

45 mALibu oF the midwest

50 out on A Limb

56 winding wisconsin

Learning to surf in Sheboygan presents unexpected challenges

Urban tree climbing showcases cities from a sky-high view

Exploring the Great River Road

52 no doiLies ALLowedArbor House brings the green B&B to Madison

expLoreencounter

24 smALL towns, big dreAms

30 king oF oshkosh

38 rAw tALent

32 the LittLe wArrior

Somali and Latino Immigrants enrich Wisconsin

Jessica King’s unlikely path to the State Senate

How one mother uses her blog to cope with the loss of a son

A young Wisconsin entrepreneur leads the way in the goat cheese industry

15 new grApes on the bLock

17 dude, where’s mY FLAnneL?

A growing trend wraps itself around the Wisconsin wine industry

A loyal fan base and innovative ad campaign spark growth for the Duluth Trading Company

14 LAbeLs gone LocALHomegrown and handmade, Wisconsin fashion makes its mark by staying close to its roots

experience

10 midtown to mAdtownA pair of famed designers move their business from the East Coast to East Wilson

58 birkie FeverCross-country skiers turn a pastime into an obsession

41 rYAn risingA Wisconsin native faces a daunting climb after an unimaginable fall

21 kringLeviLLe, usARacine’s Danish heritage baked into a pastry

Food, drink + merriment wisconsin individuALitY destinAtions + Adventures

contents


PublisherKaty Culver

editorJamie Stark

Managing editor

Grace Urban

CoPy editorsValerie Klessig Kelly Larson

lead WritersKatie Foran-McHale

Kayla Jensen Cailly Morris

Marketing direCtorLinda Brozyna

PubliC relations ManagerEmily Kesner

Marketing rePresentativesSarah Schupanitz Hannah Shepard

art direCtorBrittany Radocha

ProduCtion editor

Samantha Overgaard

ProduCtion assoCiatesGayle Cottrill John Soper

Photo editor

Evan Benner

online editorLindsey Cohen

online assoCiatesBeth Pickhard Kaitlyn Schnell

Katie Teresi

Cover Photo byLukas Keapproth

When you hear “Wisconsin lifestyle,” what comes to mind?

Stuffing brats and Miller down your gullet until the seams in your snowmobile suit rip? Driving past acres of cows on your way to hunt deer?

For me, it’s planning to have just one child, so my Packers season tickets remain together forever. While we laugh at Wisconsin jokes for their scrap of truth, they allude to a level of pride, a modest Wisconsin exceptionalism. We’re different, just not in the ways you’d expect.

Ten years ago, the inaugural Curb Magazine staff set out to prove life in Wisconsin is more than a mitten-shaped stereotype. Their vision gave Curb its name — pull over to the side of the road and explore the Wisconsin you never knew.

Today, you hold in your hands the 10th edition of Curb, and we’ve returned to our founding philosophy.

Curb is the lifestyle magazine for Wisconsinites who know what they want and aren’t afraid of the journey. We provide readers with a platform to indulge their curiosity. Our staff and our readers share a hunger for Wisconsin’s best stories, uncharted adventures and remarkable people.

At Curb and in Wisconsin, we love our beer and our cheese, our sun and our snow, our Green and our Gold. That much hasn’t changed in 10 years. But we’ll always surprise you. To us, life is about the pursuit of the unexpected. In Wisconsin, there’s much to see beyond the curb.

Stay curious,

Jamie StarkEditor, Curb Magazine

Curb Magazine is published through generous alumni donations administered by the uW Foundation and in partnership

with royle Printing, sun Prairie, Wis.

© Copyright 2011 Curb Magazine

4 CURB | curbonline.com | 2011

staff

curb_sections_all.indd 4 29/11/11 23:00

Local IngredientsPrepared Simply & Honestly

Madison’s First Craft Cocktail BarOpen ‘Til 2AM Nightly

Open for Lunch, Dinner, Late Night and Weekend Brunch

Located right around the corner on E. Doty St. & S. Pinckney St.

Paying Homage to tHe american artisan movement

Merchant_Ad.indd 1 20/11/11 02:35curb_sections_all.indd 6 11/21/11 10:22 AM

She’s known for her shape and beauty, but Wisconsin is more than eye candy.

Get to know the hand inside the mitten.

Q&Awith Wisconsin

So, Wisconsin, you run hot and cold. If you

could date another state, who would it be?

Some girls would pick Texas. After all, size matters. But I like a date with brains and character. New York has it all but knows it, so I stay away from him and his ego. I like the shy boys, like Maine or Oregon. But lately, I’ve been flirting over the

border and eyeing Ontario.

We have to ask about your cheesehead. Why is

it orange like cheddar with holes like Swiss?

Does it matter? A bunch of flatlanders mocked us with that name, and we turned it into an icon. Plus, I

make mad money on those things. Pure win!

Where do happy cows come from?

Don’t bring up that fugly California. Would you be a happy cow if you shared a state with Kim

Kardashian and Arnold Schwarzenegger? I don’t think so. Happy cows live in America’s Dairyland.

Cali can kiss my dairy air.

“Soda” or “pop”?

The real question we should all be asking is, “Leinenkugel or New Glarus?” Germany, my half

cousin twice removed, taught me, “stein or boot?” If you ask me, we should all take a lesson from Herr

Beermeister.

What would you do if you found out you were

lactose intolerant?

Don’t even joke.

Do people make fun of your accent?

I sound real. If that bothers a fussypants from Bah-ston or ’Bama, fine by me. I’ll keep my long vowels as I announce another Super Bowl title. You didn’t really think I was getting through this interview

without a Packers reference, did you?

What’s the worst thing about being Wisconsin?

People either call me “forward” or “cold.” A girl has to work hard to overcome that.

What’s the best thing about being you?

I wish I could take all the credit, but truly, the best thing about being Wisconsin is my people. Who

wouldn’t love five million folks working and partying in your borders every day? I’m not a state. I’m a

legend. When you say Wisconsin, you’ve said it all.

Local IngredientsPrepared Simply & Honestly

Madison’s First Craft Cocktail BarOpen ‘Til 2AM Nightly

Open for Lunch, Dinner, Late Night and Weekend Brunch

Located right around the corner on E. Doty St. & S. Pinckney St.

Paying Homage to tHe american artisan movement

Merchant_Ad.indd 1 20/11/11 02:35

72011 | curbonline.com | CURB

curiosities


Car dealerships

cannot sell cars on a

Sunday.

State prisons are not

allowed to serve butter substitutes.

Whenever two trains meet at a set of tracks, neither train shall

proceed until the other has. Also, it is illegal to kiss on a train.

In La Crosse, you cannot

“worry a squirrel.”

Livestock have the right

of way on public roads.

Dinner with our state fruit

cranberry and pecan couscous

crostini with brie and cranberry sauce

pork tenderloin with balsamic-cranberry sauce

cranberry upside down coffee cake

For “How-To” and recipes,visit curbonline.com

Wisconsin Bucket List

Doors Open MilwaukeeTour Milwaukee’s hidden architectural gems during this annual fall event. From the observation deck of the U.S. Bank building to the David Barnett Gallery in a historic home on State Street, experience a new side of buildings integral to Milwaukee’s past, present and future.

Sunset in Sister BayCatch the best sunset Wisconsin has to offer while enjoying a Door County cherry juice margarita at Fred & Fuzzy’s in Sister Bay.

Paddle & PortageQuench your thirst for outdoor competition in the heart of Madison. Start with a scenic 1.5-mile paddle on Lake Mendota, followed by a one-mile portage through downtown Madison. Finish with a 1.5-mile paddle across Lake Monona to Olin-Turville Park in this annual event.

Muskie Fishing More than 700 lakes and 83 streams in Wisconsin offer fishermen a chance to catch the elusive muskellunge, but don’t think it’s easy. Try your hand at reel-ing in the state fish and see if you can beat the average: 50 hours to catch one larger than 30 inches!

Racing Sausage KabobYou may have been to plenty of Brewers games, but have you ever stopped to smell the sausages? Miller Park is home to the new Racing Sausage Kabob that lets you try all five Klement’s Racing Sausage varieties, served to you siz-zling and skewered on a stick.

Cheese Days What Wisconsin bucket list could be complete without cheese? One cheese curd stand said it goes through about 4,000 pounds of cheese during this bi-annual festival in Monroe. Complete with a parade and yodeling, Cheese Days is a quintessential Wisconsin tradition. Don’t leave without a picture —and be sure to say cheese!

Wisconsin on Screen

Weird Wisconsin Laws...prohibitions that once appeared on the books

8

curiosities


1. In this 1980 classic, the “Illinois Nazis” drive off a bridge — surprise — not in Chicago, but in Milwau-kee, with the U.S. Bank building just visible in the back-ground.

2. Johnny Depp caused quite a stir while filming across Wisconsin for this ‘09 film. Scenes were shot in Milwaukee, Columbus, Darlington, Oshkosh, Manitow-ish Waters and more.

3. Although he leaves campus to work on the Clinton campaign, an aspiring politico-turned-ad exec meets his future wife as a student at UW-Madison. He re-counts his messy relationship history to his daughter in this romantic comedy.

4. With scenes filmed between innings of Brewers games, this Bernie Mac comedy used the recently built Miller Park as the site of an aging baseball star’s final games.

5. A hometown Wisconsin girl meets the prince of her dreams while taking a Shakespeare class at UW-Mad-ison and waitressing in the Rathskeller in this 2004 ro-mantic comedy.

1. The Blues Brothers 2. Public Enemies 3. Definitely, Maybe 4. Mr. 3000 5. The Prince & Me 6. Back to School 7. The Last Kiss 8. Major League 9. I Love Trouble 10. Bridesmaids

dairyland drinks

Wisconsin on ScreenHow well do you know your state movies?

6. UW-Madison alumni from the mid-1980s may have anecdotes about the filming of this movie, which fea-tures the campus as the fictitious swimming power-house “Grand Lakes University.”

7. UW-Madison students and alumni will recognize scenes from campus in this 2006 dramedy where the two main characters meet at the Memorial Union Ter-race.

8. The old County Stadium in Milwaukee masquerades as the home of the Cleveland Indians in this 1989 film, which also was shot in Milwaukee’s Third Ward.

9. Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte star in this movie about rival Chicago reporters. It was filmed in Baraboo and Madison.

10. This 2011 summer hit takes place in both Milwaukee and Chicago and has some squirm-worthy scenes, as well as Wisconsin’s friendliest state trooper.

Peaches & Cream anything but expected

1 oz peach schnapps

1 oz Kahlua

Top off with milk

The 43

1 oz Cuarenta Y Tres

1 oz milk

1 1/2 oz caramel vodka

1/2 oz coffee liqueur

1/2 oz espresso

1/2 oz cream

RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE KISS

2 oz Jägermeister

1/2 oz raspberry liqueur

1/2 oz chocolate liqueur

Splash of cream


curiosities


by KATIE FORAN-McHALE // photos by EVAN BENNER

Venture one block past the charming, whimsical Williamson Street on Madison’s east side and you’ll find a less lively one. With an empty field, dying grass and a view limited to an unsightly building and train tracks, the 1200 block of East Wilson

Street is aesthetically jarring.But tucked away in this block are two renowned designers

who traded in their chic studio in Manhattan for a storefront overlooking an ugly white building.

Rick Shaver and Lee Melahn have been featured in The New York Times, House Beautiful, Elle Décor, O at Home, Veranda and New York Spaces, to name a few. You can even find a Shaver Melahn Studios desk and bed in the private residence of Bill and Hillary Clinton.

After nearly 30 years of establishing a stellar reputation in one of the biggest design capitals of the world, the two are just getting their feet wet in a mid-sized Midwestern city.

“We are still the new kids on the block,” Melahn said.

A pair of famed designers trade the rat race for a Badger state of mind

EAST COAST TO EAST WILSON Shaver and Melahn made names for themselves in New York City

but had smaller suburban upbringings. “Lee was born in Madison, I was born in a small town in Georgia,” Shaver said, with a hint of a Southern drawl. “It is not like we grew up on Park Avenue.”

But despite their familiarity with the lifestyle of smaller communi-ties, Shaver and Melahn had concerns about making the switch from the Big Apple to the Badger State.

“When you work in New York, there is a level of sophistication that you get to with every client, even if the client is spending the bare mini-mum,” Shaver said. “And we didn’t know what to expect here.”

In Manhattan, all the necessities — food, entertainment, supplies for design — were either mere blocks away or easily attainable by a short subway ride. Here, in Madison, car rides slow down their daily lives, as well as their accessibility to supplies. Melahn often has to drive to Chicago — three hours from Madison — for fabric.

Even with a new clientele, Shaver and Melahn still know what they want to accomplish in their designs — individualized attention

Midtown to Madtown

experience

10


to achieve personal comfort. “We did not have one style … it is getting to know you, the client, and how you live, and how your family lives, and what your needs are, and design to that,” Shaver said.

And with the shift from the hustle and bustle of the big city to the laid-back feel of a much smaller one, Shaver and Melahn evolved their studio with it, changing their moniker from Shav-er Melahn Studios to Pleasant Living. “We wanted a slower life-style ourselves because New York was a rat race,” Shaver said.

BIg BEgINNINgSDesign has always been a passion for both Shaver and

Melahn. They each moved to New York City with lofty aspira-tions and soon found each other.

“It was the ’70s,” Shaver said.“… Across the dance floor,” Melahn added.“Leave it at that. The era of Studio 54,” Shaver smiled.Together they started an industrial show business in 1981,

designing visuals for events and sales meetings for large corpo-rations, including Sony, AT&T and Johnson & Johnson.

Melahn earned his undergraduate degree in architecture from the University of Illinois and received a master’s degree in landscape architecture from the UW-Madison, but always had interest in interior design as well. Shaver went back to school

Customers can view a selection of Shaver

and Melahn’s designed furniture and gift items,

which beautifully decorate their east side

storefront.

Shaver and Melahn made little adjustments to the storefront, but left much of the structure the same to honor the architecture of the house.



in New York to study interior and fur-niture design and started picking up clients immediately. Together they trav-eled to conferences

around the world, from Arizona to Hawaii to Rome, finding clients along the way. But after Sept. 11, 2001, many corporations stopped flying out their sales forces and remained reliant on video confer-encing. “The whole industry sort of died out,” Shaver said.

With more time and resources available for the two to focus on interior and furniture design, the pair started their own furniture line under the name “Shaver Melahn Studios” and showed at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, which proved to be a surefire spark in their presence as designers.

“The first year, we had a business advisor who said, ‘Give your-self five years, and you’ll get into a showroom, and things will start.’” Shaver said. “We got a showroom the first year, and by the fifth year, we had seven or eight.” From there, success was imminent. Shaver was drawing clients from places like Santa Barbara, Florida, Con-necticut, Massachusetts and Milwaukee.

After years of prosperity, business took a downturn alongside the economy in 2008. “People were really starting to hold back,” Shaver said. “We’d been talking about downsizing anyway because it was really costing a lot to keep all these showrooms running.”

Although they were given the real estate and a sales force, the showrooms weren’t owned by Shaver and Melahn. They had to keep things looking fresh and supply new furniture every time they came up with something new, racking up an annual bill of $40,000 to $60,000 to keep each showroom going.

With the economy tanking, Melahn’s desire to take care of his mother and the couple’s wish to relocate before their daughter started high school, they made the move to Madison.

SLOW TrANSITIONSAfter arriving in Wisconsin, Shaver and Melahn were uncertain

about their future. “We had no plan, and we didn’t really know if we were going to work again,” Shaver said. But by June of this year, they were back in business. First on the to-do list was finding a

storefront, which came in the form of the house on Wilson Street — even Shaver describes it as “off the beaten track.”

With minor adjustments, they fixed up the house to make it “in-dustrial glam,” with precious items juxtaposed against wild, rough fixtures. “We wanted to bring a New York vibe but also honor the architecture of this building, of Madison and of Wisconsin,” Shaver said.

Neutral colors with upscale furniture — one room’s desk is a version of the one that sits in the Clinton residence — mixed with glass decorations add to the comforting ambiance. The store, open since June, now provides design consultation, decorations and has limited furniture for sale.

The couple is all about mixing styles for the sake of comfort. They see “comfort” as an elusively subjective term, different for their clients and for themselves. Shaver is most comfortable in spaces he is able to lounge, while Melahn envisions a huge, white bathroom, done mostly in marble, complete with a beautiful chan-delier and meditation room.

LOSINg NEVErLAND, fINDINg STYLE

For Lynn Yde, something was missing in her home. Her 13-year-old son, Donald, lacked comfort in his bedroom.

One wall was devoted to a life-sized mural of Captain Hook. The middle of the room featured a map of Neverland, with one side housing a crocodile face that opened up and revealed a shelf holding his alarm clock. The “Peter Pan” theme was well suited for a younger boy, but, unlike the story’s title character, Donald was starting to grow up.

“[He] definitely grew out of it,” Lynn said. “I did not blame him for being embarrassed about it.”

Shortly after Shaver and Melahn moved to Madison, Shaver took up a part-time position at an area Boston Store to network. There, he met Lynn, the store’s manager, and together they brain-stormed ideas for a new room for Donald.

Lynn described her son as liking “techie” things, with passions for music, radio stations and old-fashioned vinyl albums. Shaver sat down with Donald for a meeting to discuss what his dream room would look like. “Donald felt like he had a part in designing his room,” Lynn said.

experience

12


“Comfort” and “style” are subjective and elusive terms, translating dif-ferently for every individual. But it would be hard to deny that these affordable furniture pieces could easily make any living room cozier.

Curb’s ideas to complete a sophisticated, comfortable room

SunQube Home Essentials San Jose Leather-ette Convertible Sectional Storage Sleeper Sofa ($849 + free shipping from sears.com)

This sofa would add to any living room with its sleek design and detailed stitching, a defi-nite sanctuary for unwinding and relaxing. But it serves additional purposes – it can easily be converted to a comfortable bed, and it provides large storage areas underneath.

After the discussion, Shaver and Melahn de-cided to go with another themed room. A defi-nite upgrade for both Donald and Lynn from “Peter Pan,” Shaver and Melahn constructed a makeshift sound studio.

One wall is now painted a deep red — for theatrics, the shade is titled “Show Stopper” — matching Donald’s elevated bed, which Lynn painted. Another wall imitates the ripples of acoustic foam. Shaver had Donald choose his 10 favorite albums, whose covers are now framed. Economically priced steel and metal shelves from Target, giving the appearance of industrial shelving, holds his stereo equipment and speakers. A giant movie reel and a big spot-light are suspended from the ceiling.

“What I think would be really difficult is to get what your son wants and what the parent wants incorporated. Rick was able to pull it off,” Lynn said.

SIgNATurE STYLEAs Shaver and Melahn find their footing in

a new market, their philosophy remains the same: a desire to have their designs reflect the lifestyles and tastes of their clients, free of constraining labels often presented by specific styles.

Although Shaver’s instructors encouraged him to create a “signature style,” his interests were and are far too varied to pinpoint. He’d be just as happy living in or designing an arts and crafts bungalow as a sleek glass house, a hut on the beach or a stately Georgian mansion. After all, he said, “You can’t have a song with just one note.”

Left: Former New York City designers Rick Shaver and Lee Melahn juxtapose precious objects with the sturdy brick

walls of their storefront. Center: Shaver and Melahn work at their new storefront in Madison at a desk from their furniture line.

A replica of the desk exists at the private residence of Hillary and Bill Clinton. Right:

The storefront’s walls are lined with shelves of design books and inspirations. Here

Shaver and Melahn display a few of their own plans and designs.

C

Jayden Recliner Bella Velvet by NewCo ($569 from stacksand-stacks.com)

For a solitary repose, lean back in this functional yet elegant re-cliner. With soft but supportive foam padding and luxurious vel-vet upholstery, the armchair can be used as both a recliner and a glider, bringing traditional charm and undeniable comfort to any living space.

Bombay Lafayette Storage Ottoman ($169.99 from bed-bathandbeyond.com)

Purposeful and versatile, this ottoman can be used for seating, in-side storage or an ex-tra surface. The dark brown ottoman comes with large and small serving trays.



Labels Gone LOCAL

Kenton Sorenson Leather Passport Wallet Sold exclusively at Context in Madison and handmade in Wisconsin, this passport wallet ($150) is perfect for the jet setter who values a marriage between style and quality. Cut from natural vegetable tanned leather, this wallet becomes golden brown with continuous use. Find it at: Context > 113 King St. Madison, Wis. > contextclothing.com

Jaxie << Athens Applique Headband Born and raised in Milwaukee, designer Jackie Barutha is quickly becoming a household name among serious accessory aficionados in the Mid-west. This large beaded and sequined appliqué headband with netting ($42) comes in silver as pictured, as well as black/brown. Couture cus-tomization is available upon individual request. Find it at: Various Boutiques across Wis. > shopjaxie.com

WiSKULLsin The Green Bay Rib Cage Tee

This badass clothing line for both men and women has elevated the essence of

Wisconsin pride. Show your alliance to the green and gold with this top-selling Green

Bay Rib Cage tee ($26.99), also available for women.

Find it at: Wiskullsin > 1726 E. North Ave. Milwaukee, Wis. > wiskullsin.bigcartel.com

Lulu’s PetalsHoliday 2011 Collection Necklace >>

Inspired by her mother-in-law’s vintage jewelry collection, Staci Schemm creates one-of-a-kind jewelry

pieces that can make a statement in any wardrobe. The necklace ($88) mixes pearls and rhinestones with

classic elements and is part of the Holiday 2011 collection.

Find it at: Lela Boutique > 321 N Broadway # 1A Milwaukee, Wis. > luluspetalsart.com

Homegrown and handmade, Wisconsin fashion makes its mark by staying close to its roots.

Stark Collection << Matthew Coat Appleton native Lauren Stark is showing the world that age is just a number. The recent UW-Stout grad already has an award-winning menswear collection under her belt. This collared black pea coat ($294) falls slightly above the knee and has white accent buttons. Find it at: Atmosfere > 1428 West Lake Street, Minneapolis, Minn. > starkcollection.com

Little Ocean Thelma Dress >>

Milwaukee resident and fashion designer Janelle Gramling is the mastermind behind the vintage Little Ocean label.

All clothing items are made from special fabrics, made to order and limited edition. This V-neck empire waist dress ($98) is made with soft vintage stretch polyester and can

be made to order in sizes 0–10. Find it at: littleocean.bigcartel.com

>>

>>

Ph

oto

cou

rtesy

of: Little

Oce

an

Ph

oto

co

urt

esy

of:

Co

nte

xt

Photo by: Britt Lee Photography

Ph

oto

by: A

nd

rew

Ols

on

Photo courtesy of: WiSKULLsin

Ph

oto

cou

rtesy

of: S

taci S

ch

em

m

Curb readers take 20% off @

shopjaxie.com at checkout with the

code: madcurb

by LINDA BROZYNA

experience

14


France. California. Wisconsin. For many self-proclaimed wine snobs, America’s Dairyland probably ranks low on the list of high-quality wine producers.

After all, merlot and chardonnay grapes can’t survive Wisconsin winters, and Wis-consin doesn’t have years of winemaking experience like France and California. But even though Wisconsin has a young wine industry, its winemakers dream of putting this beer-drinking state on par with other wine-producing regions.

Wisconsin has traditionally focused on fruit wines like apple, cranberry and pear, but cold-hardy grapes are redefining Wis-consin wine. Most popular among the red grape varieties are Marechal Foch, Fronte-nac and Marquette. Popular white grapes

include St. Pepin, Edelweiss, Frontenac Gris and La Crescent.

“Those varieties aren’t very well-known to the public, and so there’s a unique brand-ing challenge,” Ryan Prellwitz, president of the Wisconsin Grape Growers Association, said.

In just 15 years, Wisconsin’s wine in-dustry has grown from a mere 15 wineries to more than 70. Part of the boom comes from the release of hybrid grapes that have been created to survive cold winters, and part is because of a buy-local movement. According to the Wisconsin Grape Grow-ers Association, nearly half of Wisconsin wineries produce wine made mostly with Wisconsin-grown grapes. That number is expected to rise.

Grapes can be difficult to grow and

harvest, especially in Wisconsin with its cold-weather climate that would kill tra-ditional varieties like cabernet sauvignon and zinfandel. Viticulture, the science of growing grapes, and enology, the study of winemaking, require patience and dedica-tion. It usually takes three years for grape vines to produce any fruit and five years until they’re fully mature. The process be-tween harvesting the grapes and corking the bottle is time-consuming and arduous. Grapes have to be picked, de-stemmed, crushed and pressed before beginning the fermentation process.

Because Wisconsin has such a young wine industry, it doesn’t have an estab-lished terroir, a French term referring to the distinctive flavor land gives to its grapes and, thus, the wine. Wine connoisseurs

by KELLY LARSON // photos by SAMANTHA OVERGAARD

New grapes oN the blockHardy fruit and local flavor intertwine in growing winemaking trend

Wollersheim Winery in Prairie

du Sac , Wis., grows grapes

on 27 acres overlooking the Wisconsin River

Valley.



Wisconsin grape varieties range from Marechal Foch (at right) to St. Pepin, a white grape used to produce ice wine, a dessert wine made from grapes processed after freezing on the vine.

steps to wine tAstingBased on tips from Jen Masterson at Wollersheim Winery5

claim that wines, even those made from the same grape variety, taste differ-ently depending on where the grapes are grown. It can take years to develop ter-roir, and many in the wine community be-lieve it can only be detected by someone with a mature pal-ate who has tasted

wine from the same grapes for years. But grape growing is a continuous experiment, providing Wisconsinites the opportunity to develop a unique terroir.

Alwyn Fitzgerald, owner of Fisher King Winery in Mount Horeb, Wis., is among those Wisconsin winemakers who want to prove that the state can, in fact, make high-

quality wine from locally grown grapes. “I am convinced that we can make very, very high-quality wines here in Wisconsin, even with our cold-hardy hybrid grapes,” Fitzgerald said.

The buy-local movement has added to the Wisconsin wine industry’s boom. “Peo-ple want to be more in touch with their food and their agricultural-based products,” Fitzgerald said. “We have our own local feel to it.”

Wisconsin’s grape growers, winemakers and wine lovers now have the grapes and the wineries to make an impression on the wine industry at large. Whether it’s made from merlot or Frontenac grapes, wine can influence people to try new things, learn about the local area where the wine is made and savor the flavor of a beverage that’s of-ten overlooked in a state known for beer. Terroir can exist in Wisconsin. Hardy grapes and blossoming wineries are proving it.

Hold the wine glass by the stem, not the bowl. The warmth from your hands will heat the glass and the wine, which can affect the flavor.

Examine the wine in front of a light source. The color of the wine reflects how old it is. Young red wines tend to be bright red with a blue or purple hue, and an aged red wine generally has more of a ruby color.

Swirl the wine in the glass for 10 seconds, either in the air or on a flat surface. This al-lows oxygen to en-hance the wine’s aro-ma and flavor.

Bring the glass to your nose and breathe in the wine. What you smell significantly af-fects what you taste.

Finally, take a sip! Swish the wine around in your mouth, first in front and then in back. Slurping the wine may help bring out the wine’s full flavor.

1

2

3

4

5

C

experience

16


Wisconsin men don’t make the ideal fashion customer base. Known more for brats than blazers, they stereotypi-

cally shy away from spending time or mon-ey on their look.

But one retail store in Mount Horeb, Wis., has accomplished the unthinkable: Men are eager to shop.

The Duluth Trading Company flag-ship store opened just west of Madison in Mt. Horeb October 2010 and has since at-tracted longtime loyalists and fans not only from the Midwest but also Japan, Alaska, Hawaii and more. In addition, new custom-ers are drawn by the welcoming store and authentic clothing.

The brand’s beginnings date to 1989 when two brothers invented the Bucket Boss in Duluth, Minn. They watched con-struction workers and tradesmen struggle to carry their tools in an unorganized buck-et each day and invented a canvas tool or-ganizer to solve the problem.

This simple invention led to the cre-ation of the Portable Products catalog that showcased products for tool storage and organization. In 1993 the company became Duluth Trading, later moving to its current headquarters in Belleville, Wis., continu-ing with the spirit of “innovation for the job site” and expanding into apparel for men.

In 2002, Duluth Trading created the product that made it famous. Remember the last time the plumber was over? Re-member not wanting to stand behind him fearing the view while he fixed that leaky faucet underneath the sink? Well, Duluth Trading has got it covered. Literally.

Enter the Longtail T. Nearly every shirt Duluth Trading makes is three inches

longer than an ordinary shirt. Three inches is all it took to discover the “Solution to the plumber’s butt.”

“It’s a big, stupid, simple innovation. No-body thought of it until now, but it definitely fixes plumber’s butt,” Suzanne Harms, mar-keting director for Duluth Trading, said.

It may not be worthy of New York Fash-ion Week, but this sort of ingenuity has created a sense of deep brand loyalty and trust. The company prides itself on authen-ticity and listening to the needs of trades-men. Simply look at their website and see the nearly 3,000 reviews for the Men’s Short Sleeve Longtail T alone, 98 percent of which gush over the greatness of the “best T-shirt.”

“The whole business is inspired by what is happening with real people in our area,” Harms said.

Much of the company’s success and au-thenticity can be attributed to the Men’s Trades Panel. This panel is comprised of 10 “tough-as-nails” Wisconsin men who are contractors, plumbers or carpenters who help with product testing as well as provid-ing ideas for products.

“Designed and Tested by Tradesmen,” the Duluth Trading tagline, is not only the heart of the recent marketing campaign, but also a major internal motivation.

“Is it manly? Does it work?” These are the questions Harms and her fellow em-ployees ask every day about their products.

“You’ve got to think about the cus-tomer. What do they love about the brand already?” Harms said. “It’s illustrative. It’s definitely a great storyteller. I didn’t write anything for the ads that wasn’t already said in the catalog.”

The catalog itself is a true testament to the authenticity of the company. Since 1993 when the first edition was mailed to cus-tomers, the catalog has been full of detailed illustrations showcasing men wearing the products in extreme and rough conditions.

“There’s such a legacy here,” Harms said. “The illustration allows us to make a t-shirt look heroic. It allows us to point out fea-tures much better than a photograph would … The men’s brand has this almost Mark Twain storytelling capacity.”

DuDe, where’s my flannel? A loyal fan base and innovative advertising campaign spark growth for the Duluth Trading Company

by SARAH SCHUPANITZ // photos by JOHN SOPER & SARAH SCHUPANITZ



The current advertising campaign uses the personality and storytelling ability of the catalog in combination with the inge-nuity of well-differentiated products and product names to create memorable and sassy advertisements.

The television, online, radio and out-of-home billboard advertisements began run-

ning in test markets such as Minneapolis, Denver and Madison early in 2010. Both the print and television ads are all illustrat-ed like the catalog and use sharp humor to attract attention, with each spot focusing on one product attribute:

“Duluth Trading Fire Hose Work Pants. Tougher than an angry beaver’s teeth.”

“Duluth Trading Ballroom Jeans. Crouch without singing soprano.”

“Buck Naked Underwear. The most comfortable underwear there is. No pinch. No stink. No sweat.”

There’s no denying the advertisements – and especially the product names – are unexpected and full of personality. “You

can interpret [ballroom] the way you want to interpret it,” Harms said. “A lot of it’s the voice of the brand and what we have: The guts to name our products.”

The visual style and subject matter of the television and banner ads is also un-expected, Principal and Digital Director of Planet Propaganda Ben Hirby said. “It’s

stark almost, line draw-ings on a creamy, beige background with red and black. It’s really stripped down visually. Viewers are forced to focus on the sub-ject matter.”

Duluth Trading hired Planet Propagan-da, a full-service agency based in Madison, to play a large role in the marketing cam-paign and execution. “Duluth wants to be something unique and begs for creative thinking,” Hirby said. “We love to work with clients that are hoping to do that.”

Hirby said Planet worked with Duluth to help them identify the one attribute that makes them unique and stand out from the competition — and that is ingenuity.

“We’re trying to actually accentuate what is there. Their catalog and website before was fun and enjoyable. They have these pretty loyal fans. They’re not just customers, but loyal people that love read-

ing their catalogs,” Dana Lytle, Planet Pro-paganda founder and design d irector said. Just as ingenuity was already there, so was the funny and blunt personality.

“It’s a fun brand to be around. It’s a fun brand that I think a lot of people can have access to,” Lytle said.

Customers have access to the brand via its website, catalog and now a flagship store in Mount Horeb that has proven to be quite successful.

“We were blown away and continue to be blown away by how people feel about the store. How far they’ve come. We’ve had people from Japan. We’ve had people from probably close to every state,” Harms said.

While loyal customer Mike Traut of Madison may not travel far and wide, he said he and his wife take a trip to Mount Horeb specifically for Duluth Trad-ing Company and perhaps a beer at The Grumpy Troll just down the road.

“I work in a warehouse, so I need clothes that are very dependable that can withstand the torture,” Traut said.

Traut was buying clothes to stock up for the upcoming winter months, but the product he raved about was the pair the jeans he was wearing and bought at Duluth Trading last spring.

“I like how roomy they are, how com-

...WAY BETTER THAN THAT WRANgLER CRAP BRETT

FAVRE TRIES TO SELL

experience

18


“We will never be in a mall,” Harms said. Duluth Trading will always be accessible but “off the beaten path.”

Although the Mount Horeb store re-mains the only brick-and-mortar retail outlet, Harms said the company remains hopeful for more stores soon.

“For a brand our size, it was definitely an interesting test. It’s pretty early in our life cycle to be thinking about retail strategies and multichannel strategies.” But Harms makes an important point that resonates throughout Duluth’s advertising campaign and overall strategy: “You’re not going to grow if you don’t risk some things.”

The Mount Horeb store celebrated its one-year anniversary in October, and their television and radio advertising campaigns went national, as well. The company that started with a bucket organizer a little more than 20 years ago is making big strides, and all involved seem optimistic and excited for the next steps in the journey.

“I think it’s going to be pretty interesting to watch,” Lytle said. “I think they’re going to get discovered. I don’t think they’re go-ing to be Wisconsin’s best-kept secret after this campaign.”

From work boots to flannels, the Duluth Trading Company with have the working man ready to tackle any task with durable yet comfortable clothing.

From boots to flannels, the Duluth Trading

Company will have the working

man ready for any job.

Before working with Planet Propaganda, Duluth Trading had never done any marketing or advertising.

C

fortable they are and how heavy duty they are. Very good quality — way better than that Wrangler crap Brett Favre tries to sell,” Traut said.

From customer reviews online to those shopping in the store, quality is the num-ber one attribute mentioned about Duluth Trading products.

“I like the high quality, outdoor styling of the products they have here. There are a lot of very well-made products,” Sean Kinsey, of Mount Horeb, said while shopping.

The store’s overall atmosphere and character also attracts customers and fans of the brand.

“Customers love that the store feels like the catalog. It’s really like them walking into our catalog,” Store Manager Scott Rorek said.

Most of those who walk in ready to shop spend at least one to two hours in the store.

“We had one gentleman shop for four hours,” Rorek said. “It’s weird. I’ve never seen men shop this long.”

With both a men’s and women’s section, a lounge area, where customers can watch television, pick out a good book or grab a cup of coffee, and the Wally Keller Tool Mu-seum, there is plenty to take in and to do.

The museum is in the middle of the store and features about one-third of the tools collected by Wally Keller, a Mount Horeb native. Duluth Trading bought and curated the collection comprising of tools predating the Civil War through 1960. There are tools specific to farming, automotive or firefight-ing as well as sections featuring wrenches, hammers and one-of-a-kind tools. It’s quite the impressive sight upon arriving at the store.

The location of the store itself was also important for Duluth Trading. The 120-year-old building was for most of its life the original hardware store for Mount Horeb. The press tin ceilings and hardwood floors are original to the building and are featured throughout. This idea of restora-tion and old-time feel is apparent when shopping.

“We want it to be like in the old days when you used to go the barbershop and everyone would come in and know your name. It was like the hub of town. We want to make sure we greet everybody and welcome them, make sure that they feel comfortable,” Rorek said about the store’s small-town feel, not necessarily found in big retail stores or shopping malls.



explore

The artists of Atimevu Dance and Drum gather on the shores of Lake Mendota on a serene October morning to play tradi-tional Ghanaian music. Their instruments bind them together, and their sound is their gift to the world. The kpanlogo is a hand-carved drum that can sound like a sharp slap, high crack or thumping bass depend-ing on how it’s hit. The iron gakogui is a simple bell that produces two clear notes, high and low.

Atimevu is one of many Madison-based bands that bring music from around the world to Wisconsin. Each musician of Atimevu handles one instrument, play-ing a lively melody or bouncing rhythm. Low thumps of the kpanlogo and dundun drums mix with the cheery songs of chant-ing voices and the atenteben, a flute. Em-manual Eku, the group’s master drummer,

leads the musicians and weaves the sepa-rate pulsing beats of the various instru-ments into a cohesive and happy piece.

To this group, drumming has become a way of life. For some of the musicians who moved to Wisconsin from Ghana, it is part of their history taught to them by family. Other members, some Wisconsin natives, joined Atimevu because of their love for the music.

“I grew up playing drum since I was a little kid, and that’s what I like to do so that’s why I do it all the time. I mean, I can-not imagine not playing music somehow,” Edi Gbordzi, a member of Atimevu, says. “It has been part of me for my life. That’s how I see it.”

Read more about international bands like Yid Vicious and Xtring at curbonline.com

eclectic melodiesglobal sounds resonate through Wisconsin’s caPital citY

curbonline.com exclusive

by CATHERINE TERESI // photos by BRITTANY RADOCHA

C

experience

20 CURB | curbonline.com | 2011


Few pastries rival the genuine ethnic experience provided by Danish Kringle straight from Racine. Nowhere else compares in Kringle authenticity, en-sured by competition among four bakeries for the mouths and hearts of lo-cals and visitors alike. Each Kringle is attached to a family name, and with each name comes a family recipe tracing directly back to Denmark. Locals

take as much pride in their favorite bakery as the bakeries do in their handicraft.More than mere ingredients, Kringle’s authenticity begins with technique. From

start to finish, each oval ring of flaky goodness takes three days, all for something guaranteed to be gobbled up in a matter of minutes. For two days and nights, butter and flour are folded together over and over and refrigerated to set, giving the dough its delicate flakiness. This time-intensive process makes it difficult for even well-es-tablished bakeries to add Kringle to their inventory. Shortcuts tempt even the saintli-est of bakers, but to stray from the tried and true methods would compromise what makes this delicacy so unique. Visitors from Denmark might show surprise walking into a Racine bakery. Traditional Kringle is pretzel-shaped, pleasing Danes’ prefer-ence for more flaky crust. Stateside, Kringle takes its famous oval shape, one small adaptation made to accommodate Americans’ desire for a higher filling-to-pastry ratio.

Hungry for more? Gobble up Kringle history and pictures at curbonline.com

Kringleville, USAby EVAN BENNER

C


green beer, greener pLAnetCentral Waters Brewery commits to sustainability

by BETH PICKHARD

Tucked away in Amherst, a vil-lage of 1,000 in central Wis-consin, a group of individuals are putting values before prof-its at Central Waters Brewery.

It’s a small business in a small town, but Central Waters sees itself as a mod-el for other corporations by using its modest income to invest in sustainable methods.

“I think that’s what really makes us different,” Paul Graham, president of Central Waters Brewery, says. “It’s nev-er, ‘What’s the return on investment?’

or ‘How am I going to make money on this?’ For us, it’s an ethical question on should we do this, and when the answer is ‘yes,’ you just do it.”

Graham, a 35-year-old with brown hair and scruff on his chin and cheeks, wears simple wire-framed glasses, a T-shirt, stained denim jeans and a faded brown hat with “Central Waters Brew-ery” embroidery. Graham was hired as a brewer a few months after Central Waters opened in 1998. At 24 years old, he and a partner bought the brewery in 2001.

Central Waters struggled to keep afloat during its early years, Graham says. A geogra-phy graduate of UW-Stevens Point, Graham doesn’t con-sider himself a businessman. He jokes about balancing sustainability with earnings. “I probably qualified for food stamps for about eight years, just had too much pride,” Gra-ham says as his laughter fills the room. “[There were] a lot of years where we were not making money.”

NOT BuSINESS AS uSuALGraham says he is self-

educated in the brewing process. He and his college friends practiced home brew-ing together, and about half of the Central Waters staff is former classmates. In all, Gra-ham and his business partner, Anello Mollica, work with 11 other staff members. “We’re team-oriented here,” Graham says. “We’re not all individu-

als working on a packaging line. We’re a group of people trying to put out a qual-ity product.”

Employees perform quality-control testing of bottled beer during a full staff meeting every Friday. Workers taste and smell the beer for flatness and bacterial growth.

“We’re in this for a labor of love,” Graham says of his staff ’s commitment to sustainability. “We’re not hippies. We’re green-minded people.”

BrEW POWErBehind the brewery sits 1,000 square

feet of solar panels. They produce en-ergy to heat the building and offset nat-ural gas usage in the brewing process. Graham hopes new panels will produce an average of 20,000 watts — about 25 percent — of Central Waters’ electricity needs.

The Wisconsin Department of Natu-ral Resources awarded Central Waters with Tier 1 status in Wisconsin’s Green Tier program in May 2011 for their strides toward sustainability.

“Brewing beer’s the easy part,” Gra-ham says of Central Waters’ constant commitment to creating a green prod-uct.

BuYINg frOM NEIghBOrSCentral Waters invests in the local

community by supporting agricultural operations near the brewery. Graham says, to him, sustainable means “an on-going relationship with suppliers.”

“We’ll pay more to a farmer down the road to grow it organically, but we know that farmer, at the end of the year, has to put a new roof on his barn,” Graham says. “If he can’t afford to do that be-

Central Waters uses specially-designed oak barrels to age beers like Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout.

experience

22


cause of the commodities market, it’s not sustainable.”

The barley Central Waters places in its vats during the brewing process comes from Wisconsin, but only a small portion of its hops are harvested in state. Disease killed off most Wiscon-sin hops production in the 1920s. Today, most hops are produced in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

A founder of the Midwest Hops and Barley Co-op, Graham wants to bring hops production back to Wisconsin. Graham says hops, in particular, require an investment because they are hard to grow and don’t mature for the first three years. The co-op provides funds for farmers to begin the risky process of growing hops for beer.

“What we’re really trying to do is build that sustainable relationship in a local economy,” Graham says.

Despite helping to bring hops back to Wisconsin, Graham remains focused on beer production. “I’m a brewer,” he says. Central Waters is not in the brew-ing business for the profits and would rather use funds to assist local farmers.

LOOkINg AhEADCentral Waters continues to search

for new technologies to aid in its long-term sustainability efforts. Although costly for small-scale businesses, the brewery is considering adding wind-mills. “Most corporations don’t think that way these days,” Graham says. “Ev-erybody is about short term.”

“If I can afford to do it, anybody can,” Graham says. “There’s no joke, if little old Central Waters can do this stuff, there’s no reason anybody else can’t.”

Central Waters recently added more solar panels to its existing 1,000 square feet. In May 2011, Central Waters was awarded Tier 1 Status in Wisconsin’s green Tier Program because of its sustainability efforts.

C

To save water in the bottling process, Central Waters plans

to install a more efficient packaging machine.



Small Towns, Big DreamsImmigrants enrich Wisconsin

encounter


Just days after the nation’s strictest immigration law took effect in Alabama, its state education officials reported some 2,000 Hispanic children absent from public schools. On a warm October afternoon in rural Darlington, Wis., as the autumn sun painted the surrounding cornfields gold,

four of the children from Alabama gathered with their parents around a plastic banquet table in the basement of a small Latino church. They spoke urgently in Spanish, occasionally adding Eng-lish for clarity.

They spoke of fear, of random stops to “check papers” and of mixed-status families separated by provisions that would deport parents who were in the United States illegally, even if their young children were citizens.

But they also spoke of hope, describing a vision in which edu-cation was the centerpiece, and of moving north to escape repres-sion. For the parents of these four children and the 60 like them whose families have arrived in the last decade, tiny Darlington is the pathway to a dream free of discrimination. And for the town, the arrival of kids and families has breathed new life and new chal-lenges into a school district once in decline.

Darlington is nestled in the heart of Lafayette County in south-western Wisconsin. The county was home to just 92 Latinos or Hispanics in 2000, a number that has grown to more than 500 a decade later – with about 60 percent residing in Darlington. Downtown, old brick buildings and American flags line the side-walk. Sprinkled among the storefronts — the pharmacy, the ap-pliance store, the diner — are two Mexican grocery stores and a restaurant.

During the 2001-02 school year, no English Language Learn-ers attended Darlington public schools. Today, 64 of them — nearly all Latino — laugh with their friends in the hallways, cheer loudly at Friday night football games and play on the tire swing before school.

Six-year-old Selene Castro likes to play on the tire swing with her friends. Sporting pigtails and a bubble gum pink T-shirt that matched her Hello Kitty backpack, Castro talked about why she likes going to Darlington Elementary/Middle School.

“Because I get to have three recesses,” she explained in a quiet

The migration of Latino families revives a

small school district once in declineby VALERIE KLESSIG

photos by SAMANTHA OVERGAARD

Small Towns, Big Dreams

BREATHING NEw LIfE INTO RuRAL wIScONSIN

25


They’ve brought so much

to our com-munity and to our kids

because we didn’t have a lot of differ-ences in di-versity and ethnicity.

Laughter carries over the playground of Darlington Elementary/Middle School as two first-graders enjoy a break from class.

voice, smiling timidly through an array of long black eyelashes. Only a few of Castro’s friends understand Spanish, but that’s

okay because she speaks English, too, she pointed out proudly. Like many other Latino children in Darling-

ton, Castro began learning English her first day of school when she was four years old.

La llegada: The arrival Darlington has seen a quickly in-

creasing Latino population since 2005, well before the arrival of the

newest neighbors from Alabama. In addition to fueling the econo-my, the migration of these fami-lies has revitalized the school district, whose student head count determines its amount of state aid, and thus its operating budget.

Kori Hemming started teaching in the district nearly

two decades ago, and her chil-dren attend the elementary/mid-

dle school. “Our Hispanic kids have saved our school district,” she said.

Seated at a student desk in her Darlington Redbirds pullover, Hemming

expanded on this mindset: Before the ar-rival of Latino families, the district was expe-

riencing a severe decline in enrollment, she said. The addition of these kids to the schools has helped

the district gain funding. She added that Latino students have enriched the lives of classmates who have not encountered other cultures.

“They’ve brought so much to our community and to our kids because we didn’t have a lot of differences in diversity and ethnic-ity,” she said.

Los comienzos: The early stages Rodis Gutierrez Santacruz moved to Darlington in November

2005, joining the first non-English speakers in the high school. His parents chose Darlington because of job opportunities the area offered. Although Gutierrez Santacruz was born in the United States, he went to elementary and middle school in a small town in Michoacán, Mexico. In 2004, he moved with his aunt and uncle to Milwaukee, where he spent his freshman year. Because he at-tended a school with a primarily Latino and black student body, he arrived in Darlington knowing hardly any English.

“In classes, every time the teacher would say something [to me], I would turn red because I didn’t know anything,” he said in English, speaking quickly with a noticeable accent.

He remembers feeling intimidated and nervous daily because of the language barrier.

Mostly, he remembers walking through the hallways, observing kids conversing in groups and wishing he, too, could participate. He remembers crying after school because he felt as though he had no friends. This longing for camaraderie left him determined

to learn English. He worked diligently in classes and met with the English as a Second Language teacher daily.

Gradually, he formed friendships and felt comfortable partici-pating in class, and he joined the wrestling team senior year. On graduation day in May 2008, he remembers swelling with pride as he curled his fingers around his diploma.

Gutierrez Santacruz is currently enrolled in a two-year degree program in music technology at the Madison Media Institute. His parents, who came to the United States to offer their kids educa-tion opportunities they never had, could not be prouder, he said.

Sacar adelante: Pushing forwardThe immigrants from Alabama echoed the desires of Gutier-

rez Santacruz’s parents. “How can we leave our children without a good education?” one father asked, fists clenched and eyes full of desperation. “We have to fight for our children.”

Speaking slowly, with tired eyes and somber expressions, the parents described their motives for crossing the border years be-fore. Crime runs rampant in Mexico, one said, making it an incred-ibly dangerous place for children.

“If you were in our place, would you want to return to your country?” he asked. “We cannot give our children a better life in Mexico.”

Unlike Alabama, Wisconsin does not require schools to record incoming students’ immigration status. Linda Erickson served as director of instruction when Latinos began enrolling in Darling-ton schools. She said not all staff initially agreed with the district spending additional money to help families who may not be in this country legally. Still, Erickson found herself legally and morally

26

encounter


Sadia Mahmud walked into Green Bay East High School with the fears of any freshman. The wide halls were covered with bright posters, the people were new and the teachers were unfamiliar.

But she wasn’t any freshman. Her black hair tightly pulled back and long clothes covering almost all her skin, she stood out as a dark face in the crowd. Language and culture eluded her: She couldn’t tell the difference be-tween English and Spanish and thought the hot dog served to her at lunch was a real dog.

The depth of discomfort extended beyond her new culture. At 14 years old, this was not only her first time in high school — as a Somali escaping nearly 10 years of violence and civil war, this was her first time in any formal school anywhere.

Unlike cities with relatively large and growing immigrant populations, Green Bay had few Somalis and even fewer re-sources to help them. But it was exactly that difference that made an impact on Sa-dia and others. A small city demanded differ-ent things of her and has given her the drive for a sense of belonging and independence.

Since Somalia’s civil war broke out in 1991, women like Sadia have been arriving in the United States with no knowledge of the language and culture in their new communi-ties.

Arriving in Green Bay“It was [difficult] for a while, especially when you don’t speak the lan-

guage, you really don’t know the culture and when you don’t see people like you,” Sadia said. “School. It was lonely, but I managed.”

Born in Somalia, Sadia escaped to a refugee camp in Cairo when she was 12 years old. Little remained of the country she remembered when she was young. Beaches, palm trees and white buildings were replaced by images of men with guns and emaciated children.

The Somali civil war began after rebel forces ousted President Siad Barre in 1991, leaving various factions fighting for control over the north-eastern African nation. Despite interventions by the United Nations and other African nations, Somalia remains in a state of chaos with 200,000 Somalis displaced by fighting and 70,000 fleeing the country in 2011 alone, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

Independence In Green Bay

A Somali woman’s empowering journey

by KayLa JenSen

My little brother goes, ‘I

think we’re in heaven,’

because it’s the first time he saw snow. And I thought,

‘maybe we are.’

obligated to help these families — federal law requires schools to provide education to all students regardless of legal status, and the children, regardless of how they arrived, had a right to an education, she said.

El sueño: The dreamIn the basement of the small Latino church, one

child drifts in and out of sleep in her father’s arms. Outside, the autumn moon drips its cold light onto the sleeping town. The families had arrived the previous week. The parents were eagerly searching for work, one parent reiterated, to provide a future for their chil-dren: education.

“No government can say that a child, if she or he doesn’t have papers or if the parents are [undocu-mented], cannot go to school. The government can-not deny them that,” one father said, looking at his children. “For this reason, we’ve come to Wisconsin, to Darlington, where we have been welcomed, where there is no discrimination.”

Without Latino families like these, Darlington’s school district’s enrollment likely would have contin-ued declining, and the town would have continued ag-ing. Darlington, in return, offers Latino families a path-way, through education, to a dream and to a promise of a better life for their children, for the future.

Read the full story online at curbonline.com

C



After waiting two years in Egypt for word on their refugee sta-tus, Sadia and her “adopted” family — the people who took her out of Somalia — learned they were going to the United States.

“When I heard we were going and we were accepted, we had a big celebration,” she said. “Dancing all night, eating … I was happy.”

Sadia and family arrived in Green Bay in winter 2000. “There was snow everywhere. My little brother goes, ‘I think we’re in heaven,’ because it’s the first time he saw snow,” Sadia said. “And I thought, maybe we are.”

Despite the welcome and support from the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay, Sadia’s adopted family felt isolated in the small city and wanted a larger Somali community. When they told Sadia they were moving to Minneapolis, she decided to stay.

Just 14 years old in an unfamiliar country, Sadia had to find a place to live and people to support her. Dr. Gail Carels, a physician in Green Bay, heard Sadia’s story through her church and decided to take her in.

Sadia spent the next four years living with the Carels, whom she calls her American family. Although she moved out when she got married at 18, she lives five minutes away and remains close.

“[Gail] respects who I am, where I come from, my culture and religion, same way I do hers,” Sadia said. “And I believe that fam-ily is not by blood. Family is someone who love and care for each other.”

Sadia now works full time at the Forward Service Corporation in Green Bay helping Somali women find jobs and adjust to life in

the United States. After spending 11 years in the area, Sadia is both an expert and an advocate for Somali refugees arriving in Green Bay.

A modern Somali womanDespite the expectation in Islam for girls to start wearing a hi-

jab at age 9, Sadia did not start covering her hair until she was 18. “When you become woman, you have to cover up. For me, I

didn’t cover up until I married,” Sadia said. “I cover up because I want my children to see me and follow me.”

Even now, the dark scarf lies haphazardly over her hair, an af-terthought as she runs through her busy day helping other Somali women.

“I want to break the little gap between Somali and Green Bay people. Somali people are very hardworking people, and family is very important to them,” Sadia said.

Along with working full time and raising three children, Sadia is going to school to become a social worker. She wants to build re-lationships with people, hearing their stories and working to make their lives better. As someone who has had support from people around her, Sadia tries not to let the tragedy in her home country hold her back.

“I’m done crying. I used to, but everyday I hear the stories over and over, and I get stronger and stronger.”

For more information on Sadia and the life of Somali immigrants in Green Bay, visit curbonline.com

More than 1 million refugees have fled

Somalia since the civil war began in 1991.

C

28

encounter

CURB | curbonline.com | 2011


king oF oshkoshJessica King’s unlikely path to the State Senate

by JAMIE STARK // photo by EVAN BENNER

Jessica King walks to the front door of a Winnebago County nursing home on a rainy Packer Sunday. No sign of her senate lapel pin, she sports a green vest and tennis

shoes with her auburn hair pulled back into a short ponytail. She’s driven her white 1999 Oldsmobile from her law office for a Sun-day tradition — watching football with her father.

At 69, Richard King, a Naval veteran, quietly sits in a wheelchair as his daughter arrives to watch the game with him, some-thing he rarely did with her as a child.

“Happy Sunday!” she chimes in long Wisconsin vowels toward two white-haired women in the entryway. She shows little exhaustion from running an upstart cam-paign to unseat a Wisconsin state senator. Elected in the whirlwind of summer recalls, King, along with Jennifer Shilling, joined the Wisconsin State Senate as one of its newest members in August.

Sitting in the nursing home lounge, Jes-sica King doesn’t look the part of new leg-islator or progressive leader. But King has spent a lifetime defying “typical.”

At just 36 years old, King represents Os-hkosh, Fond du Lac and Rosendale, towns where she lived an unstable and uncertain youth, dependent on communities and state services for help. The daughter of two parents with mental health disorders — her mother was schizophrenic and her father, bipolar — she was making adult decisions long before she was legally able to drive.

That independence and sense of pur-pose carried her from factory job to col-lege to East Coast advocacy and back to

Wisconsin to care for her aging parents. Threaded through her journey is a string of responsibility.

Determined to give her neighbors the same fighting chance at success she had, King wants to give back to the communi-ties that helped push her toward the top with social services and education.

“To thrive you really want to make sure you do have opportunities for children, you do have dignity for elderly people, that we are good stewards of our community for future generations and that people have access to a living wage,” King said.

PATh TO ADVOCACYKing spent time in and out of foster

care beginning at age 4. She had to grow up faster than most kids. King was just 15 when she became a ward of the state. She stayed out of foster care and in her high school by moving in with a half-sister she barely knew on a farm in Rosendale.

King thrived on the farm, where she had a pet pig and learned how to use a grain sweep. She began working third shift as-sembling juice boxes after graduating high school at 17. Her move from factory floor to higher education began with a visit to UW-Oshkosh and a chance meeting with Professor Ken Grieb.

“She came to the university I think not exactly sure where she was heading,” Grieb

said. “It was during her university years that she grew and blossomed.”

At UW-Oshkosh, King earned three majors and began a life of leadership in extra-curricular activities. She worked for the U.N. in New York City and studied me-dieval history in Cambridge, England, on scholarship.

To a woman who had spent her young life bounc-ing around her future senate district, college offered snap-shots of how people lived out-side Wisconsin. King found that “people need an advo-cate,” a mantra that became her guiding career and politi-

cal vision. After law school, King set off to Wash-

ington, D.C. to represent patients who had been denied coverage by insurance companies, working as a voice for disad-vantaged communities that needed lead-ers. But she always kept her roots as she moved. “I think people really saw me as an ambassador from Wisconsin.”

rETurN TO hEr rOOTSIn 2004, King made the decision to

move back to Wisconsin — her mother had developed breast cancer and her fa-ther had entered the early stages of kidney failure. The transition home gave her new opportunities to lead.

“In Wisconsin, average people really get the opportunity to play a role in their government,” King said.

So after moving home, King pivoted to politics. In 2007 she began advocating for her community vision, winning a seat on the Oshkosh City Council. In 2008 she won the Eleanor Roosevelt award from

SHE TOOK THE PARTY POLITICS OUT OF IT ... SHE UNDERSTANDS

THAT CITIzENS NEED TO BE INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS.

30

encounter


the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, given to a rising female elected official. In 2010 she became deputy mayor of Oshkosh.

“She took the party politics out of it,” Steve Herman, a former Oshkosh city coun-cilman, said of King. “She understands that citizens need to be involved in the process.”

In 2007, King announced her first bid for the state senate, seeking votes in a dis-trict then tilting decidedly Republican. With nearly 84,000 voters, she lost the general election in 2008 to small-business owner Randy Hopper by just 163 votes.

Recall fever struck before Hopper could finish his first term. King ran to unseat her senator after he supported Gov. Scott Walk-er’s controversial budget repair bill, and in August 2011 she won by 1,250 votes in a slew of recalls that garnered national media at-tention.

“It’s hard to get a nice person angry,”

King said of the thousands of Wisconsin-ites who worked on recalls. In her eyes, the special elections were the people’s voice saying, “We want to reclaim our stake in government.”

MIDWESTErN MENTALITYKing finds strength in a passion-filled

to-do list. “To be a public servant you have to genuinely like people,” King said.

She talks about her busy days with ease because they involve people she cares about: her father, her legal clients and now her district neighbors. King seems driven by a simple Midwestern mentality: get the job done and be grateful you know how to do it.

“We are organizing communities so that we don’t just survive, that we actually thrive because we are working together and we are harnessing that community

spirit,” she said.In her mind, community resources

helped make her the person she is today — a woman who advocates for the same op-portunities for others. “I went from some-one that was a foster child, a ward of the state,” King said. “And, now, I am a business owner, and a taxpayer, and a homeowner, and a contributor to the community.”

As someone who benefited directly from social services, King feels a lasting duty not just to give back, but also to urge others to move forward — especially future generations.

“When I go speak to a high school class, I really want to press upon them that we’re making these investments in you because we want you to thrive and succeed,” King said. “The alternative to me is really unac-ceptable.”

Sen. Jessica King jokes with staffer Brandon Strand in her Capitol office. King, D-Oshkosh, won her seat in the Wisconsin State Senate in an August

2011 recall election.

C

WE ARE ORgANIzINg COMMUNITIES SO THAT WE DON’T JUST SURVIVE, THAT WE ACTUALLY THRIVE.



the LittLewArrior

How one Wisconsin mother uses her blog to cope with the loss of a son

by GRACE URBAN // photos by EVAN BENNER

At a mere 6 months of age, Owen Bissing already had a well-developed personality. Not only was he “the easiest” and “the fattest” triplet, as his mother, Melissa, fondly recalls, but he was also the peacemaker. Melis-sa often plopped Owen between his battling brothers

to keep them from fighting. Even in the womb, Logan and Weston would appear in ultrasounds fighting to one side as Owen eased himself into the middle and just “hung out,” Melissa says.

But when Owen battled for his life for five heart-wrenching days in May, Melissa came to know him not as a peacemaker, but as a warrior. “Who knew that when we selected names ... Owen would be so fitting. It means Little Warrior,” she wrote May 26, 2011, on her blog, just a few short hours before Owen’s death. Feeling power-less to help her baby boy, the young mother turned to the Inter-net, sharing her thoughts with the world through her blog, “Three Times the Fun,” and asked for prayer.

Mommy bloggers represent a growing force in the online com-munity. According to eMarketer, 3.9 million women with children write blogs in the United States. By 2014, that number is expected

to increase to 4.4 million. Many mommy bloggers say blogs allow them to connect with women who share the same experiences as them. And for women like Melissa, blogging has become a lifeline, a means to sort through complicated emotions associated with the death of a child.

LOSSMay 26, 2011: He’s gone and for once I’m at a loss for words. Noth-

ing. On the evening of May 21, 2011, Melissa decided to give Jaden,

her 4-year-old son, a bath. Her sister, Rachael, and friends Sar-ah and Abby went to put the triplets to bed. As Melissa scrubbed Jaden, he began talking about his “Grandpa Tickley Beard,” Melis-sa’s grandfather who passed away three years ago. Jaden sobbed, asking his mother why God takes away those he cares about most.

“Owen’s too busy smiling and he won’t eat his bottle!” Rachael laughed from the other room. “Aww, that lover,” Melissa thought. Then, suddenly, Rachael came rushing into the bathroom.

Owen wasn’t breathing. Melissa ran to the nursery. Blood covered Owen’s face. His skin

was gray. “His eyes were open, and that’s why I knew that some-thing was so wrong,” Melissa remembers. “You know they say that your eyes are the gateway to your soul and I just kept looking in his eyes and … his eyes are open — there’s something wrong … He’s really not there.”

Owen was rushed to the hospital, his heart not beating for near-ly an hour. Melissa and her family spent the next five days living in the “2 percent,” praying that a miracle would occur and Owen would overcome his two percent chance of survival.

ThE BLOgMay 22, 2011: Please pray. If any of you have any favors to call in

with “the big guy” now is the time. This just can’t be happening to my precious Chunky Monkey. Pray.

On a typical day, Melissa’s blog received 100 to 200 hits. But af-ter she first began writing about Owen fighting for his life, it jumped to 1,200 hits. The next day it had 26,000 hits, and by the time Owen passed away, the blog was up to 125,000 hits a day. “We were get-ting comments from all over the world: Belgium, Canada, Korea

Melissa Bissing’s blog, “Three Times the Fun,” has been nominated as one of the best blogs of 2011 by Parents.com.

32

encounter


Melissa shows a picture of

Owen to her sons Jaden, Logan and

Weston. Owen died unexpectedly

last spring at the age of six months.

… Guam, Australia,” Melissa says. “It spread like wildfire.”

“I heard about Owen from friends on [Facebook]. I don’t know you and you don’t know me but as I read your blogs it brings tears to my eyes. I will be praying for Owen and your family,” a blog follower wrote on May 24, 2011.

Melissa receives countless emails from women around the world who say they were finally able to articulate their own feel-ings after reading Melissa’s on her blog. According to Dr. Kristine Eiring, a licensed psychologist in Wisconsin, social support, even via the Internet, can contribute to general wellness and aid in the grieving process.

Research suggests that writing about your problems can be very therapeutic when dealing with strong emotions — even more effec-tive than talking to someone about them, Joanne Cantor, professor emeritus at UW-Madison, adds.

Although there is no definitive research regarding whether blogging has the same effect on the grieving process as journaling, Eiring is confident it can only help, provided the blogger gets “to a

point in their writing where they start to turn a corner rather than just talk about it as a problem.”

StruggleMay 27, 2011: While I already know he wins this battle, I asked [my

husband] Doug if he thought Owen would be scared. He told me of course not. He died in bravery and in strength. Our child completed more in his life than anyone else we know.

At 9:14 p.m. on May 26, 2011, Owen was declared dead.The next day, Melissa, Doug and their families marched behind

their Little Warrior as he was wheeled to the operating room to donate his organs and save the lives of other children. “We felt the most proud, like our son was marching off to war. It was like a vic-torious warrior march,” Melissa recalls.

Returning to the daily routine of being a stay-at-home mom af-ter Owen’s death was hard for Melissa, even amid the outpouring of support she received from family, friends, community members

May 22, 2011: Please Pray. If any of you have any favors to call In wIth “the bIg guy,” now Is the tIMe. This JusT can’T be happening TO My preciOus chunky MOnkey. pray.



and blog followers. Daily reminders of her loss surrounded her: one less crib in the nursery, an empty feeding chair, two bottles instead of three. “Once we came back and after the funeral, all of a sudden there was so much life mixed in with this death,” Melissa said.

Melissa again turned to her blog to express her innermost thoughts and fears and articulate what she couldn’t say out loud.

June 15, 2011: Daily life. This part I find harder than the hospital. I feel lost and not sure what I’m supposed to be doing. In the hospital my role was clear … make the best medical decision for Owen, sit in his room and hold his hand, make sure to eat a meal, pray for Owen. Now what? What do I do now? Go on with life? Yes. But how do I do that now? It’s different.

Although putting very private thoughts and experiences into the public sphere can be controversial, Melissa feels no hesitation in sharing her own thoughts and feelings on her blog — even those she feels guilty about. She recounts her first experience grocery shopping with all of her children after Owen’s death — an activity now made possible because she has three young children instead of four. “To be thankful for that felt wrong and disgusting, yet I still felt it and thought it,” Melissa says. And so she wrote about it.

Eiring says she has seen an increasing number of people man-aging their grief though social media such as blogging — especially mothers who may not have the time to leave the house and attend a group counseling session. Despite this fact, Cantor emphasizes the importance of face-to-face contact in addition to blogging, even though the Internet can be there for you “at three in the morning when you can’t sleep” and your family and friends can’t.

Moving onJuly 6, 2011: We painted the streets of Wauwatosa orange on Sun-

day. I was so proud to see so much orange on the streets, in the restau-rant and on the patio. I was blown away by the turn out! People said they could see orange from all the way down the street. That made me one proud mama!

Fortunately for Melissa, it’s not only followers of her blog that provide support — she also has an incredibly strong support net-work of family and friends through Orange for Owen, a fund-rais-ing and memorial effort for the Bissings. The “orange” is inspired from hats a friend’s grandmother made for Melissa so she could be sure to keep the triplets straight when they were babies.

The Bissings have held numerous fund-raisers since Owen’s death to pay medical bills, and intend to eventually form a memo-rial in Owen’s name. Melissa says one of her favorite parts of the

fund-raisers, besides seeing the sea of orange for Owen, is meeting her blog followers. “I am so supported by my virtual friends,” she wrote July 6 after a fund-raiser in Wauwatosa. “I hoped they could see just how much I appreciated them through my eyes. I some-times don’t know if my words express my gratitude.”

Melissa says she’s struggled with finding the proper memo-rial for Owen. “I knew that I wanted it to be big and profound and something that would pay it forward again,” she said. She bounced back and forth between several ideas, and has essentially settled on creating a website that helps parents find volunteer opportunities for their children. “Living in the 2 percent” was a crucial mantra for Melissa and Doug throughout Owen’s time in the hospital, and it’s the driving force behind their memorial for Owen. “It’s pretty much to find the good, to keep fighting,” Melissa says.

tripletSThrough all the struggles and pain, Melissa and Doug have been

able to move on with their lives and maintain a sense of pride for all that their Little Warrior did in his short time on earth. Remind-ers of Owen are everywhere: in the pictures scattered around their suburban Wisconsin home; in the faces of Logan and Weston; in the colorful urn containing Owen’s ashes; in the brilliantly orange monarch butterflies that inexplicably appear every time they’re doing something for Owen.

Melissa still refers to Logan and Weston as triplets. “I just don’t want them to grow up thinking that they’re twins because they’re not,” Melissa said. “They had a brother.”

And his name was Owen, the Little Warrior.

To read Melissa’s blog and learn about Orange for Owen, a fund-raising and memorial effort for the Bissings, visit http://bissingfamily.com

I just don’t want theM to grow uP thInkIng

that they’re twIns because They’re nOT.

C

Where to Volunteer

The bissings keep reminders of Owen

throughout their house, including a colorful urn of his

ashes.

Logan laughs as Melissa feeds the boys, seated next

to Owen’s chair.

34

encounter


Where to Volunteerexplore non-profits throughout wisconsin

GROWING POWERgrowing Power is a nonprofit urban agriculture organi-zation based in Milwaukee. the group is committed to sustainability and providing healthy, affordable food to

people in the community. the only functional farm within the city limits offers weekly volunteer sessions saturdays

at 10 a.m. volunteers are welcome at every level of the organization — from graphic design to farming.

growingpower.org

ICE AGE TRAIL ALLIANCEthe Ice age trail is a 1,000-mile footpath winding

throughout the state of wisconsin and supported by the Ice age trail alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to

creating and protecting the trail. the trail takes hikers through landscapes shaped by glaciers that covered

the area more than 10,000 years ago. volunteers help build and maintain the trail.

iceagetrail.org

GIRLs ON ThE RuNgirls on the run is a national nonprofit organi-

zation dedicated to helping preteen girls lead an active and healthy lifestyle. coaches and volun-

teers lead girls in an after-school running program culminating in a 5k race at the end of the season. throughout the program, leaders strive to teach girls about all areas of female development and give them the tools to maintain a positive life-

style. girls on the run has six locations through-out wisconsin: bluff country (Pierce county), eau

claire, Madison, Milwaukee, northwoods (vilas and oneida counties) and watertown.

girlsontherun.org

ThE ROAD hOME OF DANE COuNTYthe road home of dane county works with local faith

communities and organizations to help homeless families with children. the organization runs programs designed to assist families through a difficult time by helping them find shelter and maintain stable, affordable housing. volunteers may work in a variety of roles — from working directly with

families to sorting donations and working in the office. trhome.org

by KAYLA JENSEN // photos by EVAN BENNER



With every pair you purchase,TOMS will give a pair of new shoes

to a child in need.One for One

Did you know

of the UW-Madison

budget comes from

private support?

18%

www.studentfoundation.wisc.eduwww.facebook.com/UWStudentFoundation

twitter.com/#!/studentsforuw

Spreading the word about the power of

philanthropy.


Did you know

of the UW-Madison

budget comes from

private support?

18%

www.studentfoundation.wisc.eduwww.facebook.com/UWStudentFoundation

twitter.com/#!/studentsforuw

Spreading the word about the power of

philanthropy.

big bad Wolf dark aleafter a hard day of huffing and puffing, even the big bad Wolf needs to kick back and relax.

cinderella vanilla cream stoutif you had a job like cinderella’s,

you would drink, too.

Little red hen strawberry wheatWho will help you drink this beer?

i will!

rumpelstiltskin maple porterplease enjoy and return the bottle

as it cannot be spun into gold.

rapunzel blonde aleit’s time to let your hair down and

enjoy.

red riding hood american amber ale

next time you go to grandmother’s house bring this beer. Forget the

baked goods.

Brothers Grim Beer

Q: Why did you decide to name your brand “brothers grim”?vince: when trying to think of a name for this brewery, everything that we came up with was just twisted. I just remember thinking, ‘wow, that’s wrong.’ one of the first beers we wanted to brew was a maple porter. we were trying to think of things we could name it, and somehow rumpelstiltskin came up.

Q: When did you develop an interest in home brewing?vince: My friend josh had a home brew set up in baltimore, and I would assist him when needed. he wouldn’t let me close to much stuff. It was kind of his thing. It got me thinking, ‘hey, this is something I could really have fun with.’

Q: What persuaded you to begin your own operation?jeff: I had been working full time and going to school for business, and I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want to work for anybody else. It was that and vince coming back to wiscon-sin. It just made sense. when vince sets his mind to do something, and I set my mind to do something, typically we can do it pretty well.

Q: how do you come up with the names for your beers?vince: behind each beer is a slogan. My favorite is cin-derella vanilla cream stout: “If you had a job like cinder-ella’s, you’d drink too.”

jeff: one of the best examples is red riding hood. when you read “little red riding hood,” you have a young girl skipping through the forest to visit her grandmother. that’s not what we made our riding hood. riding hood the beer is aggressive.

Q: What are your future plans for brewing?jeff: for the next two or three years we’re planning on running the brewery out of our home. we’re both going to have to keep full-time jobs during this time. hopefully three years from now we’ll be able to get a full-scale facility.

vince naimon, 29, and jeff naimon, 23, brothers and home brewers from appleton, wis., began brewing under the name brothers grim in january 2011. the brothers rely on friends and acquaintances to taste-test their beers, each cleverly bearing the name of a different childhood fairytale.

the Brothers Grim on tap:

by BETH PICKHARD


encounter


Katie Hedrich has never done things the way she is expected to — and she is the first person to say it.

“I always took the rough path in the sense of if my whole fam-ily went this way, Katie went the other way,” she admitted. But it is exactly that attitude that brought her where she is today – a young, trendsetting, award-winning goat cheesemaker.

One year after beginning cheese pro-duction, Katie’s family business, LaClare Farms, won one of the industry’s most prestigious awards: Overall Champion at the 2011 U.S. Championship Cheese Contest. Their Evalon cheese beat more than 30,000 pounds of 1,600 different cheeses to take home top prize in the competition.

“People work their whole lives to ac-complish these things we are accom-plishing very young,” Katie said.

Their cheeses, both varieties of Evalon and chevre, proceeded to win awards at the Wisconsin State Fair and at the American Cheese Society Contest and show no signs of stopping. Eva-

lon is a smooth cheese likened to the texture of Gouda with hints of Asiago and is excellent for cooking, while the chevre is a traditional, creamy, salty goat cheese.

“She’s done an amazing job in the infancy of what she’s creating,” Ken Monteleone, owner of Fromagination, said. Ken sells her Evalon cheese in his Madison cheese boutique.

Just as their cheese is unlike any other, LaClare is no typical Wisconsin dairy farm — there are no cows in sight. LaClare, based in Chilton, Wis., is, and always has been, a dairy goat farm.

With plans for an expanded milking facility, their own creamery and an on-the-farm store, Katie and her family are working tirelessly to take their years of experience — both on and off the farm — and move their family business into the next generation.

Growing up, Katie and her four sib-lings milked the goats every morning before school. Although their father wanted to begin by 5 a.m., his five chil-dren often pushed back.

“I always loved the goats, but I didn’t always enjoy having to milk them every day and be there all the time,” she ex-plained.

After graduation, Katie started her career as an executive team leader for Target in Appleton.

“My parents have this rule that you have to work off the farm for at least two years after graduating college be-cause they want you to get an outsiders perspective and go and try things for yourself and if you want to come back, then if there is something that you are interested in and that opportunity is available, you’ll be invited back,” Katie said.

Although she did not initially know

what that path would be, Katie, after about two years, found her way back to the farm.

In June 2009, shortly after begin-ning to make cheese themselves, Ka-tie joined her parents on a trip to the Netherlands where they toured dairy goat farms and cheesemaking opera-tions.

“When we were in Holland, that’s where I fell in love with the cheese,” Katie said.

“I had always wanted to get away from Target, I always wanted to come back to the farm, but I didn’t really know how — and when I was in Holland, I was like ‘This is how I’m doing it,’” she continued.

By September, Katie had quit her po-sition at Target and had begun appren-ticing at Saxon Creamery in nearby Cleveland, Wis., full time before return-ing home to LaClare Farms.

From the start, it was a big transi-tion for Katie to go from working in the corporate world to running a family business.

“There is no structure and there’s nobody telling you what to do, or how to do it, or when to do it, or why to do it,” Katie said. “Sometimes it takes you a little while to figure out, and some-times it just slaps you in the face.”

Together with their sister Anna, who has experience with animal manage-ment, and their sister Jessica, who works in the design industry, Katie and her older brother Greg, the business manager, aim to reduce their parents’ workload and eventually take over full control of the family farm.

To continue growing the farm and the business, Katie apprenticed more than 260 hours with a cheesemaker to become licensed in the trade. This al-

raW talenta young wisconsin entrepreneur leads the way in the burgeoning goat cheese industry

by EMILY KESNER

38

encounter


PeoPle work theIr whole lIves to accoMPlIsh these thIngs We are accOMpLishing very yOung.

lows her to make cheese alone, a skill she will use with the opening of the farm’s creamery this spring.

After two years, she will be able to teach others the art, and after 10 years, she will be eligible to become a master cheesemaker, her end goal. She would be the first female master goat cheese-maker.

Master cheesemakers spend at least five years working toward perfecting a type of cheese and, in the process, cre-ate industry standards for excellence. Wisconsin is the only state to regulate the industry in this way. Katie explained there are currently no such standards for goat cheese, and she hopes to build them over the course of her career.

Katie and Greg are working together to move their farm forward, taking all they have learned and applying it to expand their reach and market. In the past year, production has increased from two batches of cheese a month to two batches of cheese a week, and de-mand continues to grow.

With booming cheese production,

LaClare Farms’ previous business fo-cus on milk has been forced to change. Currently, about 85 percent of milk produced on the farm goes into aged cheese, creating the need for a consis-tent, reliable supply.

This planning has forced Katie to re-evaluate how she works, both person-ally and professionally. Whereas ear-lier, she was a self-described “terrible planner,” now she is continually look-ing ahead.

“With aged cheese, you don’t get to think about tomorrow, you have to think five months in advance,” she ex-plained.

With Greg handling the business, records and invoicing, Katie is free to handle everything cheese-related. Making, selling and marketing the cheese — from start to finish — is all handled by Katie.

While that means there is no typical day at work — particularly not a typical day for a 26-year-old marketing major — Katie wouldn’t have it any other way.

This past summer, Katie spent more

than a week on the East Coast meeting with cheesemongers and store own-ers — people who sell LaClare Farms cheese. Her goal was, as it always is, to put a face, a family and a history to their cheese.

“People want to know the story be-hind it, so I try to educate them the best I possibly can,” she said.

For Katie, meeting with customers and wholesalers is a necessary part of her day-to-day business.

“They want that story, they want to feel good about what they’re buying,” she said. By sharing her own story, it can then be passed on to households, to friends and to family, further ex-panding recognition for the still-young company.

“When people think of dairy goat products, we want them to think of us,” Katie said. “When they look at a recipe, we want ourselves to always come to their mind, our family, our products, our cheese.”

a Future Farmers of america project

introduced katie to the possibility of creating products

from her family’s milk, leading her all the

way to award-winning cheesemaker.

C



onʌyoteˀa·ká·S av i n g L a n g u ag e to S av e a C u Lt u r e

unexpected Oneida

the Oneida language …

-has 15 letters and 13 symbols-includes whispered sounds-is part of the iroquoian language family-does not have swear words

The Oneida celebrate various ceremonies at a community longhouse. To foster language and cultural revitalization, the ceremonies are conducted in Oneida.

There is a cultural component to nearly every word in Oneida. Simple words like colors, numbers and other basic nouns express more than

one visual.

“red” [onikwʌ́htalaˀ] comes from the word for “blood” [onikwʌ́hsaˀ]

“blue” [olú·yaˀ] and “sky” [olú·yaˀ] are synonymous

What is often lost in simple translations is the imagery associated with each word. If you think about “medicine” in English, you’ll

probably envision pills or cough syrup. However, the imagery of the Oneida word [onúhkwaˀt] is of plants, nature’s medicinal remedies.

Many nouns describe the function of the object when translated to their deeper meanings.

“tape recorder” [kawʌnaye·nás] = “it catches/gathers the words”

“chair” [anitskwahlákhwaˀ] = “the thing that you sit/squat on”

“refrigerator” [yewistohtákhwaˀ] = “the place where you keep things cool”

“window” [hsuhtakahlʌt] = “a hole in the wall”

I n Oneida, relatives and friends are verbs instead of nouns.

“my mother” [onulhá] = “she who mothers me”

“friend” [atʌloˀslʌ] = “be friend” and is always a two-way relationship

L ike many American In-dian tribes of the Unit-ed States, the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin is working to revital-

ize their native language. Since the 1930s, scholars and histori-ans have worked to preserve the language through dictionaries and archived stories.

The lack of native Oneida language speakers has made it difficult to revitalize the lan-guage entirely. The complexity of the language has also presented challenges to teaching and re-cording it — there are unique and unusual rules of Oneida that make direct English translation difficult.

Today, many people who are learning Oneida as a second lan-guage are doing so to ensure the language and culture that ac-companies it do not disappear. This cultural education helps teach others from both inside and outside the tribal commu-nity about challenges faced by the Oneida Nation.

Read more about these efforts to save the Oneida language and culture at curbonline.com.

by GAYLE COTTRILL

RYAN RISING

40

encounter


onʌyoteˀa·ká·

by BRITTANY RADOCHA

a wIsconsIn natIve faces a dauntIng clIMb after an unIMagInable fall

RYAN RISINGon a wyoming mountain nearly 20 times as high as any wisconsin ski hill, an exhausted trio of

backcountry skiers took a moment to rest after a five-hour climb. the island of mountains they were perched upon burst through the earth, interrupting a peaceful ocean of rustling flatland sage painted blue from the sunrise. and while the three skiers continued their ascent to the summit for four more hours, that morning is all one of them remembers.

no memory of the mountain catching every foot of his tumble. no memory of the rescue basket tightly holding him as he dangled below the helicopter. no memory of the eighth-floor hospital bed cradling him for weeks during his coma. and although the skier’s face is once again speckled with sunlight, the light that brightens his face pours through the windows of his mother’s wisconsin home rather than from the wyoming daybreak. It is in this home where ryan redmond now reconciles the life he was plucked from three months ago with the life of recovery he now faces.



solitude and gazed at the sun’s rays creep-ing over the shadowed Tetons, slowly il-luminating the sea of lush greenery below and the demanding trail above.

Nine arduous and exhilarating hours af-ter he first arrived at the Middle Teton, Ryan stood atop the Ellingwood Couloir breath-ing in the thin air and ready to take the plunge. He anchored his boots to his skis and strapped on his bindings. Positioned to glide past the rock walls that enveloped the white channel of snow, Ryan propelled himself down the chute. And for a fleeting moment, the chilled wind thrust against Ryan’s face as he flew toward the bottom. But after his fourth turn, Ryan began plum-meting down the couloir, colliding with the cold, hard earth and striking his head with every fall. “It’s pretty rare for me to fall, and I cartwheeled — or we call it ragdolled — I ragdolled for almost 1,000 feet,” Ryan said. “Which is why I’m currently living at my mom’s house.”

…As Ryan cartwheeled down the snow-

encrusted ground and disappeared into the distance, Ben, one of Ryan’s fellow climbers, sprang to action. Working steadily, it took him an hour-and-a-half to finally reach Ryan’s unconscious body. An outdoor ad-venturer trained in wilderness medicine, Ben noticed swelling in Ryan’s head and peeled off his fixed, inflexible climbing hel-met to keep him stabilized. “My head prob-ably would have exploded,” Ryan said. “He’s probably the reason I’m alive.”

Ben called the Teton Interagency Dis-patch Center at 10:15 a.m., and two rang-ers arrived to provide emergency medical care around 12:30 p.m., more than three hours after the accident occurred. Another ranger was flown into a landing zone near the accident and helped prepare Ryan for a

T welve years ago, Ryan’s dad, Mark, presented him with a gift of independence: a 1999 Toyota Tacoma, a truck Ryan later affectionately named

“Yoder.” Over the past decade, wherever Ryan went, Yoder went. This past June, Ryan again packed up his life with his girl-friend Maria, stuffed it into Yoder and head-ed west to Wyoming’s Jackson Hole valley to complete a six-month AmeriCorps in-ternship. A strong advocate for equality and social justice, Ryan began a program for Latinos and Native Americans — a program that would fuse together his passions of the outdoors and social justice by bringing the underprivileged into nature. But only one month into his internship, a skiing accident upended Ryan’s world.

After arriving in the tourist ski hub of Jackson, Wyo., Ryan organized a moun-tain climb and ski trip with two graduate students. They decided to climb the Middle Teton, the third-highest peak in the Teton Mountain Range, and ski down the Elling-wood Couloir, a dauntingly steep 1,500-foot gully filled with snow and nestled in the side of the Middle Teton.

The trio arrived at the base of the Middle Teton by midnight. During the first four hours of the early morning, the three deter-mined backpackers scaled the mountain’s rocky terrain in the dark and by 4 a.m. fi-nally approached the snowline — the height at which snow and ice cover the ground year-round. Ryan, Ben and Rob pulled out their ice axes and crampons to begin as-cending the mountain through snow, rock and ice. An hour later, the three sleep-de-prived backpackers rested on the side of the mountain and watched the vast morn-ing sky greet them with warm radiance. The trio stood on their mountainous island of

short-haul evacuation. Cocooned tightly in a basket, Ryan and a park ranger dangled 200 feet below the cabin as the helicopter ferried them to land where rangers could stabilize him. “They brought in another he-licopter with doctors in it to check me out and make sure I was even worthwhile, to see if I’d even lived.” After a team of emer-gency medical providers stabilized him, Ryan was flown to the Eastern Idaho Re-gional Medical Center in Idaho Falls.

More than 1,000 miles away, Kay Red-mond returned from church to her Wis-consin home and noticed the message light blinking on her phone. She had two mes-sages, one from a park ranger and one from

I RAGDOLLED FOR ALMOST 1,000 FEET,

WHICH IS WHY I'M CURRENTLY LIVING AT MY MOM'S HOUSE.

ryan stands at the top of the ellingwood couloir after climbing more than nine hours to the top.

42

encounter


a doctor asking if she was related to Ryan Redmond. Kay called the doctor back, a neurosurgeon in Idaho Falls who told her about Ryan’s fall and current condition. As the sun began to set on Wisconsin, Kay an-ticipated difficulties locating a plane flying near Idaho Falls before the day was over and told the doctor she would find a flight to arrive in the morning. The voice on the other end of the phone said, “I think you need to get here tonight.”

The first three weeks Ryan was in the hospital became a whirlwind of nurses, se-dation, tubes, paralytics and doctors.

As the doctors and nurses tirelessly worked on Ryan, his team of friends and family at the hospital did everything they could to support him. They created a cal-endar and mapped out shifts, so Ryan was never alone. They played familiar sounds like bluegrass music and sounds of the ocean. They read him books and entries from CaringBridge. They bought organic food from Whole Foods and crushed up vitamins to throw in his feeding tube. His girlfriend Maria slept in his room every night in a cot next to his bed for two weeks. “We talked to him even when we didn’t even know if he could hear us, and we just kept thinking something in his brain is going to connect,” Kay said. “Something’s hearing us.”

Three weeks after Ryan had been pro-gressing far more quickly than anyone imagined, the Redmonds decided they needed to move him closer to home to Co-lumbia St. Mary’s Sacred Heart in Milwau-kee, a hospital offering a coma recovery/brain injury unit dedicated to patients like Ryan. Ryan moved into what he later called “The Eighth Floor Club,” a private wing on the top floor of the hospital with 19 other patients in situations like his. Bluegrass and reggae music resounded off the walls, picture boards of familiar faces were all around the room and a good friend brought in vibrant prayer flags to hang.

“Some people think that you wake up out of a coma like you quick open your eyes and you know who everybody is, but that wasn’t Ryan at all — it was very slow,” Kay said. Through weeks of therapy and stabi-lization, Ryan began to show small signs of expedited recovery: opening his eyes for brief moments, moving his body in re-sponse to stimuli, sometimes following movement commands. His physical thera-pist with more than 30 years of experience noted he had never seen such quick prog-

ress during his career. And on the morning of July 29, Ryan said his first words since the day of the accident — “yes” and “no.” That afternoon during physical therapy session, Ryan said, “Hi Mom.” The Redmonds began to cry: Ryan was back.

Ryan had something to live for: a driv-ing passion for social justice. As a teenager, he had dedicated more than 350 hours of volunteer service to inner city youths. In the Peruvian town where the Redmonds’ church sponsored low-income families, Ryan built a hospice in his father’s honor. Inspired by Peru, he attended grad school to study international humanitarian aid. And even while he had his own battles on the eighth floor in the neurological wing, Ryan was still fighting for others.

Ryan actively learned about the diffi-culties head trauma patients in the Eighth Floor Club regularly dealt with. Some were unable to communicate, others did not have a solid support system and still oth-ers faced the same lofty issues like racism and classism society at-large grapples with. And just as Ryan had become an advocate for many of the misfortunate he encoun-tered in years before, he again became the voice for those who didn’t have one in the hospi-tal. Ninety percent of the Eighth Floor Club couldn’t speak. “That doesn’t mean they’re not freaked out, they just can’t tell you that they’re freaked out,” Ryan said. Since the accident, Ryan has been even more vocal about advocating for the misfortunate than he was before.

That isn’t to say Ryan doesn’t face difficulties with recovery. He’s seeing double, and with a dis-tinctly slower speech and walking rate, Ryan has work to do. As his mom says, the story’s not over. Now, Ryan spends his days split between his mother’s and his sister’s homes. On Mondays and Wednes-days, Ryan has speech, occupational and physi-cal therapy; on Tuesdays, it’s vision. His days off are spent doing independent work through pushups,

sit-ups, yoga and particularly vision ther-apy so he can hop back behind the wheel of Yoder. “It’s pretty much my biggest goal because in this country especially, driving is the key to independence,” Ryan said. He’s hoping to drive back to Vermont and begin student teaching this January.

“It’s easy to just call a person dumb or crazy and then just not deal with them,” Ryan said. But after his 800-foot tumble, Ryan’s hope is to better understand what others less fortunate than him endure and force an unforgiving light onto the far-reaching social issues America hosts but doesn’t always face. His passion for social justice continues to guide him in life, and his feelings about representing those with-out a voice are as strong as ever. Ryan came out of the accident alive, and he came out stronger. “I think God just has more in store for Ryan,” Kay observed. “He’s an amazing young man, and I think he has a lot to give to this world. And I don’t think God was ready for him yet.”

Ryan’s family and friends adorned his hospital room with photo-filled posterboards and inspirational quotes.

C



The Wisconsin IdeaCelebrating 100 Years

What’s your Wisconsin Idea? wisconsinidea.wisc.edu


The Malibu of The MidwesTLearning to surf in Sheboygan

by CAILLY MORRIS // photos by LUKAS KEAPPROTH & EVAN BENNER

The Wisconsin IdeaCelebrating 100 Years

What’s your Wisconsin Idea? wisconsinidea.wisc.edu452011 | curbonline.com | CURB

explore


Standing waist deep in the frothy water, I stare at the 4-foot wave tumbling toward me. I pause, close my eyes and recite my mantra one more time — push, jump, stand up.

Push.Jump.Stand up.Simple enough. An icy wave forms be-

hind me, barreling toward my back. I take a deep breath and push off with my board, feeling the whoosh of the water graze my side.

Push.Jump.Wipeout.Far from the exotic shores that lure in-

ternational surfers to ride dangerous and impossible waves, I’m plunged deep into the swirl of Lake Michigan off the coast of Sheboygan, Wis., known as the Malibu of

the Midwest . Surfing in Sheboygan is one of the state’s best-hidden secrets and is cur-rently making me wonder — where the hell am I?

As I drive to the Lake Michigan coast-line, I feel transported into a world where the sun-bleached, laid-back California surfer meets rugged beer-bellied cheese lover. Seven cars line the edge of the road with worn-in multicolored surfboards jut-ting from the roofs. Men stand outside each door, stripping down to nothing as they im-pressively pull up their jet-black wetsuits with ease and run toward the shore.

I envy their wetsuit abilities, as it takes me 10 minutes to get my first leg in the tiny mouse hole of an opening, and another five minutes to realize I’m actually shoving my leg into the armhole. After heaving and thrusting my body into the rest of my un-forgiving wetsuit, I ask for help to shove my

head through the suffocating hood. Catch-ing my breath, I turn to look at myself in the mirror, and there I am — a bald seal, over-heating in my rubbery skin.

For once, the cold air is a blessing.“We practice safe surf here,” Sheboygan

surfing aficionado Larry Williams says as I stand sweating in my body condom. “The Great Lakes are tremendously cold … so make sure that you are properly dressed. You wouldn’t go sled riding in a T-shirt and shorts, so don’t go surfing without a wet-suit.”

Larry is the definition of chill. He em-bodies the surfer mindset, and it shines through in his passion and admiration for the power of the Great Lakes. At 58, Larry and his twin brother Lee are the David Beckhams of freshwater surfing. Everyone looks to them for direction and inspiration. Growing up with Lake Michigan as their

Larry “Longboard” Williams prepares his board for surfing by waxing the top surface. The wax helps surfers “stick” to their surfboard when in the water.

46

explore


backyard, Larry and Lee were introduced to surfing at a young age.

“With 35 surfers in town, my brother Lee and I were within the top two or three surfers starting right off the bat,” Larry says, his eyes glistening with pride. “It was just something we were born to do.”

Their love affair with the surfing life-style is what led the brothers to develop the Dairyland Surf Classic, the premier freshwater surfing competition in the na-tion.

“It’s a celebration that summer is fi-nally over, but it’s [also] the celebration that our surf season is finally starting up,” Larry says eagerly. I couldn’t have asked for a better surfing master to take me out in the water for the first time.

Larry is kind enough to lend me his legendary yellow and tan Dewey Weber surfboard, one of the most respected longboard brands in the country. I try to replicate every surf movie in existence by carrying my new companion Dewey over my head. No such luck. I can barely carry him at all, let alone raise him any higher than my waist.

When I enter the water and start walk-ing toward the waves, my nerves finally settle in. The water doesn’t intimidate me — I’m actually a talented swimmer — but for some reason I begin to picture my surfboard knocking me unconscious and freshwater fish eating me alive.

“We’ve never had a reported shark at-tack, [but] we’ve had plenty of frostbite,” Larry says. That’s reassuring.

As the waves ripple toward me, I re-count the past 30 minutes of explana-tion from my surfing coach on what to do when the wave hits the board: push, jump, stand up. Before entering the water, Larry gives a brief lesson on the anatomy of a wave so I know exactly when to push off from the water. My goal is to get on right when the base of the wave hits the tail end of Dewey, right when I feel him being lifted in the air.

Keeping everything my surfing guru told me in mind, I wait for my first wave.

“Here comes your wave,” Larry shouts. “Get ready!”

As the waves roll toward me, I repeat my surfing mantra again: push, jump, stand up. The wave hits the tail end of Dewey, causing him to rise slightly, and I push off hard and jump onto his center.

Push.Jump.Wipeout.Years of yoga have not prepared me for

the balancing skills needed for surfing. My body gains 20 pounds as the wave drags me under the water. Larry informs me I am positioning myself too far back, but before I can think about what I’m doing wrong — crash! Another wave. Dewey and I can’t catch a break.

I learn the importance of having a leash attached from my leg to my legendary friend. I feel like Tom Hanks searching for Wilson in “Castaway” as I rummage through the choppy water searching for Dewey.

The average wave period in Lake Michi-gan is nine seconds. That means I have nine seconds of break between each wave to recover my grounding before I am thrown by another wave. In the ocean I can have almost 20 seconds — but not here. Here I spend all my energy paddling out to catch one wave and then land myself right back to where I started.

It is exactly because of this power and exciting commotion that Sheboygan has been awarded the title the “Malibu of the Midwest.”

“Each place and each body of water is unique unto itself, but there are some days that you would swear this is Malibu,” Larry says. “Some days you would swear this is the north shore of Oahu Hawaiian Islands.”

Breathing as if I had just run up a hill with 20-pound weights on my shoulders, I begin to paddle out again, amazed at the agility and strength of my wise teacher.


I am determined to stand up on my board. Staring down the wave until it hits the back of Dewey, I jump and, while try-ing to stand, flip sideways and wipeout. The water carries my bruised body back to the shore.

I quickly learn that surfing is not just a sport. It’s a lifestyle.

“It’s the terrible colored shirts we have to wear, it’s the vehicles we have to drive around to carry our 10-foot long surf-boards, and it’s a style of music,” Larry ex-plains. “Golf doesn’t have golf music, fishing doesn’t have fishing music, tennis doesn’t have tennis music. Those are sports, but surfing is as much a lifestyle as it is a sport.”

I begin to regret my choice of a bagel and cream cheese breakfast from Starbucks. Meat on a stick would have been more pro-tein for my now lifeless body. Larry informs me that to have enough energy the surfer’s diet is filled with power bars, granola and fruit juices — but never alcohol.

“Alcohol and water do not mix, not even one beer,” Larry says as I look down and quietly curse the two Spotted Cows I had the night before.

Larry admits surfing is not for everyone, but he encourages everyone to try it at least once to experience exhilaration unlike any-thing on land.

I know I can’t give up, especially after the generous donation of a wetsuit from the EOS surf shop and with Larry and the other surfers cheering me on from the coast. I can’t let them down.

I paddle out one more time, so tired I can’t even raise my arm to wave. This time I paddle out a little farther and wait for the perfect wave. Larry announces a big swell coming my way. This wave is a lot bigger than the last few ones I tried. Once again, Larry preps me.


As the wave hits the tail end of my board, I glide onto Dewey and manage to get to a kneeling position and ride the wave all the way into the shore. It is invigorating.

Larry tells me that riding a wave is un-like anything you can do on land. It is the power of the water, he teaches me, and I will

each Place and each body of water Is unIque unto Itself, buT There are sOMe days yOu sWear

This is MaLibu.



Top: Larry explains how to jump on a surfboard.

Middle: Larry rides a wave to shore.

right: cailly struggles to carry her board into Lake Michigan.

learn to respect it. I finally understand what this means.

While flying toward the shore, it is as if I am in the eye of the storm. Everything goes quiet, and all I can hear is the swoosh of the wave bringing me into shore. My body be-comes one with the water and moves with each rhythmic ripple that passes through me. Being on top of a wave and floating high above the shoreline, I feel omnipotent, like I have power over anything else on land.

“Surfers everywhere have coined a phrase for this place,” Larry says. “They call it COTU. It’s an acronym, and the surfers call it the ‘Center of the Universe.’”

And now I understand why. For that brief second, Dewey and I are in control of

the water and noth-ing can stop us.

Pulling my board back to the beach, I am beyond ex-hausted and certain I will not be able to move for the rest of the day. I drag Dew-ey to the first spot of sand and collapse on the ground, my left leg still attached to him.

Passed out on the ground, I begin to look back at the progress I made. I successfully caught a wave and rode it to shore. My eighth

grade gym teacher’s jaw would drop at the athletic ability he thought I’d never have.

But I know I owe my success to the unique people that make up the Wisconsin surf culture.

Larry says that if I surf in places like Windansea Beach, Calif., or Makaka, Hawaii, and I don’t know somebody there, I will be exiled from the water.

“It’s like that in many places around the world — but not here on the Great Lakes, and espe-cially not here in the Malibu of the Midwest: Sheboygan, Wis. It’s the ‘Aloha Spirit’ of sharing and caring, it’s the water — it’s here for everyone. The Great Lakes is 11,000 miles of coast,” Larry says. “There’s plenty here for everybody, and we share ev-erything that we have.”

When someone comes from out of state and wants to surf, Larry walks up to the individual and says, “Hey, why don’t you get in the water? I have an extra wetsuit and surfboard.”

“They can’t believe our sharing, our kindness and our openness,” Larry says. “It is kind of a Midwest tradition.”

Wisconsin surfing requires a special type of person found in the Midwest: the outdoor adventure-seeker who loves Wis-consin and lives for the challenges fresh-water surfing brings everyday. I’m now a part of that culture.

In Wisconsin, the prime time to surf is from September to December, replacing the light Pacific wetsuit with thick-fitted win-ter suits equipped with gloves, boots and a hood. Instead of being wary of sharks, Wisconsin surfers watch out for chunks of floating ice and try not to catch hypother-mia.

Larry says the stoke of surfing comes from the people who surround him. “You’ve got all your best friends in life around you and hooting and hollering, catching wave after wave.”

I look over my shoulder and see a surfer in the distance climbing into the water from the jagged stone pier, a group of friends surrounding him. Hearing the crash of the waves against the rock, I walk away from my newly discovered world, still drawn by the sound of surfers’ cheers fading in the distance.

Larry was right. “It’s very easy to get caught. Once you’re in, you can’t get out.” C

48

explore


barrel when the water peaks over your head while you’re inside the wave

bitchin’ cool, awesome

The lip the tip of the wave as it breaks

big bottom Turn turning your board at the base of the wave

The elbow the huge Sheboygan pier that bends into a little sandbar and follows it back to the beach; can produce extremely tall waves on a strong south swell; the most-surfed spot in the Great Lakes

wisconsin surfing lingolongboard a long surfboard with a rounded nose; will give beginner surfers much more success when starting off surfing in freshwater

stoked full of enthusiasm

break point also known as “surf break,” a permanent obstruction such as a rock or headland that causes a wave to break and form a barrel

Tubed riding a wave inside the tunnel of water so the wave is breaking around you

Mahalo the Hawaiian word for “thank you”


To fi nd fun faster, scan the QR code below to download our free iPhone®

or Android™ travel apps.

Don’t have a QR reader? Text “SCAN” to 43588 or go to getscanlife.com from your smartphone.


Tree climbing is no longer a hobby simply for backyard daredevils. Climbing enthusiasts now rule the branches, using rock-climbing gear to maneuver up trees more than 300 feet tall.

It wasn’t until Marti Ryan read “The Wild Trees” by Richard Preston that she even knew people climbed trees recreationally. After reading

the book, Ryan signed up for a class with Peter Jenkins, the “godfather” of tree climbing, to learn the required techniques.“When I was reading that book I realized that was one thing I really wanted to do in life,” Ryan said.

“Part of my bucket list was to climb a tree.”Most people would consider tree climbing an activity to grow out of, but not Ryan.

She sees trees as problems to solve, which dovetails with her work as a business consultant. As she makes her way up the tree, tying knots to secure herself, Ryan focuses intently. When she reaches the top, she finds the ideal place to meditate and obtain a new perspective on nature. To her, it is a place of tranquility.

Ryan scouts trees to climb all over Madison, searching for those offering the best view. Her favorite spots are near the lakes or on top of a hill, which let her drink in the Madison skyline.

Sitting atop a giant tree can be a peaceful but dangerous place. Climbing requires proper training and tech-nique, and climbers must learn to be aware of their surroundings.

“It’s not illegal, but it’s not legal,” Ryan said.Some climbers sneakily employ the “ninja” climb, getting in and out of a tree as swiftly as possible. Whether climbing to stay in shape or to get a better view of the city, the top of a tree is an easy place to get lost.“I’ve been up in a tree, and I have no idea if I’ve been there for two hours or an hour,” Ryan said. “You just don’t

know. They call it ‘tree time.’”

Out On a limbA distance of fifty feet above the ground is known to climbers as the redline. They hold it as a rule of thumb that if you fall fifty feet to hard ground you will very likely die. Indeed, an adult human

can easily die after falling ten feet, if he lands on his head.

-Richard Preston, “The Wild Trees”

by SAMANTHA OVERGAARD

C

CURB | curbonline.com | 201150

explore


TUTTO PASTA STATE STREETMadison’s own Classic Italian Trattoria

offerIng grouP events wIth custoMIZed Menus

tuesday nIght sPecIal: half-PrIce wIne bottles

305 STATE STREET // Madison, wi 53703 // (608) 294-1000

Still curious?Learn more

about Wisconsin and download

our iPad app for an interactive

CURB experience

Out On a limb


I settle into a worn leather loveseat just as Cathie pops up out of hers and apologizes for not offering a cup of coffee sooner. She tells me that the inn brews Just Coffee from an eco-friendly coffee co-op based in Madison. This relationship is not unique for Arbor House, as this isn’t an average bed and breakfast. The inn strives to be as environmentally conscious as possible and stocks up only on goods that sup-port this philosophy.

Although Cathie and her husband, John, always wanted to create an eco-friendly inn, they original-ly hoped to establish one in California, where they knew they would have a large clientele. When they realized the cost involved, they turned to their home state of Wisconsin.

“The business idea was a synthesis between our skills, background and our passions,” Cathie says. “Everything has the environment in mind.”

Arbor House is eco-friendly from the ground up. Its recycled timber frames once belonged to a Sears warehouse, and its 12-inch-thick walls keep the building 16 degrees cooler than the outside tem-perature on the hottest of days. It is also armed with a hydronic heating system that can heat the hotel environmentally and efficiently. Additionally, the fireplace is constructed in such a way that its heat

arbor house brings the green b&b to Madison

by LINDSEY COHEN // photos by EVAN BENNER

no doilieS

alloWed

Cathie Imes greets me at the door to the Arbor House the way she greets all her guests: with a warm grin and my first name. She wel-comes me in and motions to follow her into the Great Room — a small, intimate area with a traditional fireplace and exposed wood beams lining the high ceilings. A tiny fountain bubbles in the corner

and soothing, classical music plays softly in the background.

52

explore


can be felt throughout the entire 3,600-square-foot structure.

The Imeses’ decorating philosophy corresponds with their simple, eco-friendly outlook. Arbor House is defined by clean, simple lines and a greater emphasis on “form and function” rather than the opulent and unnecessary. Lush, green gardens and large, overgrown trees compose the outdoor land-scaping and provide natural shade to assist the cooling system in the summer. The Great Room, characterized by dark tiled floors and a few sturdy dining tables, serves as a social center for the inn and gives guests a place to converse or merely cozy up in one of the leather chairs to read.

The kitchen, meanwhile, is located in the sec-ond part of the inn, accessible by a short, tree-lined walkway connecting the two buildings that make up Arbor House. Cathie cooks all the meals, which, in accordance with the Imeses’ naturalistic values, are “seasonal, organic, homemade, fresh and home-grown.” The inn, Cathie says, places a high priority on building relationships with like-minded vendors who move their mission forward.

Arbor House’s award-winning sustainability isn’t the only thing that makes it unique. It also promotes the natural side of Madison by suggesting outdoor

activities for guests to enjoy. Located across the street from the UW-Madison Arboretum, Arbor House supplies guests with bicycles to use during their stay. In the summer, visitors can choose to canoe or kayak on nearby Lake Mendota and can get there using a bus pass the inn provides, free of charge.

Cathie says visitors welcome the inn’s natural, fresh-air philosophy. “People love the bikes,” she explains. “People love to be able to leave their car and walk to a restaurant.”

The fact that the inn only has eight rooms adds to its unique, intimate vibe. Each room has a different name, and most are named after famous Wisconsin environmentalists, like John Muir. The Muir is one of the most requested rooms for its spacious, airy sitting room and its balcony with sweeping views of trees below. A short walk through the inn brings you to the Tap Room, a guest room with a drastically dif-ferent feel — it’s as if it belongs to a different inn en-tirely. Lavish shades of deep red decorate the room, and the furniture is made from rich, dark wood. Despite its age, all the bathrooms in Arbor House are completely remodeled, giving the washrooms a modern, upscale-hotel feel.

Arbor House typically attracts a well-rounded

arbor house owner cathie imes and her

husband, John, strive to provide a green experience

for guests at their b&b.

bottom left: The arbor house addition; bottom center: the entrance sign welcoming guests into the house; below: the great room, where breakfast, dessert and the evening

beverage are served to hungry guests.



mix of business people and vacationers, along with a few international guests. The reason, Cathie ex-plains, is that the international market truly ap-preciates a more homestyle inn like that of Arbor House. Plus, the variety of cultures makes the mealtime conversations much more interesting, Cathie says.

“It is not unusual, on any given breakfast — we have eight rooms — for there to be … one or two people from Denmark, Germany, Italy,” she says. “We have a man from Nepal and Switzerland right now.”

Each day, the inn serves a full breakfast, has a 5:30 p.m. beverage hour featuring local beer or domestic wine and serves an organic, homemade dessert in the evening. In addition to sampling the inn’s fare, this also gives guests a chance to social-ize and get to know each other.

“It almost makes me cry — how nice it is to see people coming and going and enjoying,” Cathie says.

The majority of guests are in their 20s and 30s, making its clientele considerably younger than at most bed and breakfasts. This is in part because of the young, modern vibe of the inn and the Ime-ses’ effort of reaching out to younger generations through YouTube and Facebook.

“I need to speak to newer customers and say, ‘We would be a good fit for you,’” Cathie says. “There’s no doilies, teddy bears or cats [here].”

Curious Wisconsin travelers aren’t the only ones to discover the inn. The media have taken notice too. Arbor House has appeared in The New York Times on four separate occasions. Midwest Living and the Chicago Tribune have also covered the inn, while Travel + Leisure once named Arbor House its “Inn of The Month.” One might even say Arbor House has gone global, as the Fine Living Network featured the inn as one of the world’s “Top 10 Eco-Hotels.”

“It’s almost overwhelming,” Cathie says. “I never thought we’d have such a big little business in a million years.”

Ironically, while the Imeses once dreamed of starting an inn in California, Arbor House now takes in more revenue than an inn of similar size in California, a much more common vacation des-tination.

At the end of the day, Cathie reminds me that Arbor House is dedicated to being eco-friendly and creating a greener Earth. But it is also more than that, she says. Arbor House is an environment where people of different ages, backgrounds and cultures can come together to socialize and ex-change ideas.

“There are few places now where you can actu-ally talk to a stranger — in person, not online — and feel safe,” Cathie says. “And we provide that every day.”

Lemon Rosemary Olive Oil Cakebutter, for greasing dishflour, for dusting dish1/2 cup unsalted room temperature butter1 cup all-purpose flour2 tablespoons chopped fresh lemon thyme, or1 tablespoon fresh finely chopped rosemary1 lemon, zest of1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt1/2 cup powdered sugar2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice1/2 cup powdered sugar

In a small bowl combine flour, thyme (or rosemary), lemon zest and salt. Set aside. Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat together 1 stick of butter and powdered sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Beat in the lemon juice and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Using damp fingers, press the dough into prepared pan. Baked for 30 minutes until golden. Cool 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk lemon juice with powdered sugar until smooth. Spoon glaze over the cooled crust. Allow glaze to harden, at room temperature, for about an hour.

Using a metal spatula, or run a knife around the edge, remove the crust from the pan. Cut into 1/2 inch square bars and arrange on a serving platter or store airtight in a plastic container at room temperature.

Top left: bicycles sit ready and waiting for visitors to use; top right and bottom: the cozy studio room has two bedrooms and a fireplace.

C

54

explore


Near an industrial park in Spring Green, Wis., sits an old barn with chipped siding fading from red to brown, a roof patched with mismatched shingles and white paint peeling from window trim.

To an outsider, the building more than lives up to its confrontational name, The Sh*tty Barn. Sitting on less than an acre of land, the former pig barn is home to an intimate music venue for artists of all genres.

Chris Staples, one of the founders of Furthermore Beer, and his wife, Martha, bought the land in spring 2008 with the plan to burn down the barn to make room for a brewery.

While they waited for the right time to begin construction, Sta-ples thought he’d use the old barn to host events for Furthermore and local artists and musicians.

As interest grew and visitors began to appreciate the barn’s character, Staples reconsidered his plans to demolish the building. At the same time, plans for the brewery failed to materialize.

“We started to see it through other people’s eyes,” Staples said. “We’ve always appreciated how beautiful it was in its decay.”

When Staples left Furthermore Beer last winter, he started a monthly musical event called the Sh*tty Barn Sessions and brought in artists and performers during the week. The trial run was suc-cessful, and Staples realized there was a place for the barn in a city with an established arts scene through American Players Theatre

BARN AGAIN

and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin.

“The commu-nity otherwise has a relatively aging demo-graphic but has a really, really strong cultural history and arts background, so people tend to be receptive in the area to arts endeavors,” Staples said.

Chris and Martha decided to turn the Sh*tty Barn Sessions into a weekly, six-month series. Without a stage or green room for the artist, the barn’s intimate setting creates a living room-like atmo-sphere for the Wednesday night shows.

The audience sits on a concrete floor, bringing lawn chairs and blankets for comfort. No food or hard alcohol is served and artists maintain a low volume, though the energy can be electric. Without a booming bass, and despite its strong name, The Sh*tty Barn is a family-friendly location.

“The fact that the building is rough and diminishing, and there’s nothing to hide behind there, it really sort of informs our approach to the programming and people’s response to it,” Staples said. “It’s just really honest. It feels good.”

a dilapidated remnant of state history is reborn as a hip music venue

by kayLa Jensen // photos by cOnnie Ward

Top: pezzettino’s Margaret stutt rocks

out during a sh*tty barn session. below:

surgeons in heat entertain visitors up close and personal.

C



Winding WiSconSinexploring the beauty and personality of the great river road

by KAITLYN SCHNELL

I towered above the network of trees and water,

feelIng ashaMed of My low exPectatIons. hOW had i Lived in WiscOnsin My WhOLe LiFe nOT knOWing This exisTed?

Every city has its story – a coura-geous founding, a famous citizen, a popular attraction.

But along Wis-consin’s western

border, despite the diverse town narratives, stories are forever linked by the pump-ing artery that connects them all: the Great River Road.

This Mississippi River roadway has a 250-mile section that travels along Wisconsin’s western border, winding through 33 unique river towns. Travelers can follow U.S. Highway 35 for most of the trip and drink in views of the river as they speed through limestone bluffs and wooded ar-eas.

On a crisp, fall Sunday, my mom and I packed up the car for a 120-mile day trip from Wyalusing to Fountain City, not quite knowing what to expect from this largely unnoticed Wisconsin tourist destination. I had often forgotten the Mississippi River borders Wisconsin and had never even been to that side of the state before.

My background research uncovered claims that the Great River Road is the best scenic drive in the Midwest, with overlooks, historic markers and locks and dams. I also found it is Wisconsin’s only officially desig-nated National Scenic Byway. The program is a grassroots effort created to help ac-knowledge, preserve and enhance chosen roads throughout the United States. Two-thirds of the journey was spent cruising past wildlife refuges, parklands or natural areas.

With a lazy Sunday to burn and the trav-el bug in our veins, we drove west to our first stop.

WyaluSingpopulation: 370

We rolled into Wyalusing State Park, situated high above the junction of the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers. I figured it would be like any other campground, with a campsite here and there amongst the trees.

We parked the car and strolled down a leaf-ridden path in the direction of Point Lookout. Sprawled before me was a pan-orama: a maze of islands, channels and sloughs. A bridge stretched across the river, the ends disappearing into the auburn-col-ored forests. I towered above the network of trees and water feeling ashamed of my low expectations. How had I lived in Wis-consin my whole life not knowing this ex-isted?

We continued following the path along the ridge and ran into a couple hiking along the overlook.

“Do you know how far the cave goes in?”

the man asked us.My mom and I looked at each other.“Cave?” we asked.

“Yeah, Treasure Cave,” he answered, and informed us about a flight of stairs leading to a small cavern for adventurous hikers.

We grasped the oppor-tunity to be a little daring, walked down through a stone arch dubbed “The Keyhole” and climbed the steep wooden staircase to investigate the limestone sanctuary. We were alone,

and it felt like a secret only mom and I knew.

Wyalusing — which means “home of the warrior” in the language of the Munsee-Delaware Native American tribe — includes 2,674 acres of outdoorsman bliss. Visitors can camp, hike, picnic, enjoy scenic over-looks, bird watch, bike, cross-country ski and fish. We only had time for a little hiking and sightseeing, but vowed to come back again soon for more.

With our sights set on Prairie du Chien, we loaded up on pamphlets in the visitors’ center before forging northward.

prairie du Chienpopulation: 5,911

I shuffled through the pamphlets I picked up: a Valley Fish & Cheese pamphlet extolling “the finest smoked fish in the world,” a Cycle Southwest Wisconsin pam-phlet “featuring 28 bicycle loops through-out Southwest Wisconsin’s Driftless Re-gion” and Shihata’s Orchard pamphlet with

56

explore


an image of the sun shining on a slope of apple trees amid the morning fog.

As the oldest community on the Upper Mississippi opened up before us, I noted the flat city landscape nestled between the sur-rounding stone hills. The 21st century had definitely reached the historic neighbor-hood, with a Culver’s, car dealership, Mc-Donald’s and Hardees.

But modernity couldn’t mar this histori-cal landscape. Case in point: the Mississippi River Sculpture Park. With more than two dozen life-size bronze statues by sculptor Florence Bird, the artwork depicts 12,000 years of human history from a Mastadon Hunter to a Riverboat Captain.

As we pushed north and caught the last views of Prairie du Chien in the rearview mirror, I gazed at the red barns, silos and rustic homes nestled into the rock hills and pondered the stories behind each one. I no-ticed the road ran parallel not only with the river, but also a snaking railroad. The three modes of transportation swerved in cho-rus past swamps, boat landings and piles of crunchy fallen leaves smelling crisp and earthy. I watched the piles growing taller as more leaves fell to the ground like a soft snow.

genoapopulation: 253

With the “let’s go fishing” motto on the welcome sign, I wasn’t surprised to see the prominent display of Genoa National Fish Hatchery. Visitors can learn about game fish stocking and restoration of sturgeon

and coaster brook trout. It piqued my interest, but still we trav-eled on.

onalaSkapopulation: 17,736

The city on the shores of the 7,700-acre Lake Onalaska is known for its boating, bird watching and fishing. It is called the Sunfish Capital of the World, and we real-ized how seriously the residents took that title when we saw their mascot “Sunny the Sunfish” towering 12 feet high and 20 feet long at a wayside next to the Mississippi. We found out Sunny is the guest of honor at Onalaska’s annual Sunfish Days, and my mom angled the car in several positions while ordering me to snap pictures from every direction.

Fountain Citypopulation: 859

We arrived at our last destination tired but content. Seven Hawks Vineyard and Wine Tasting appeared like a sign from God congratulating us on our long jour-ney. Seven Hawks is part of the Great River Road Wine Trail that runs through Wiscon-sin, Minnesota and Iowa and offers travel-ers locally produced wines while voyaging along the byway.

After wetting our tongues with several samples and purchasing a bottle of 2009 LaCrescent Reserve white wine, my wine-

loving mom was in heaven. We chat-ted with employee Chris Hermann about Fountain

City’s unique character. He mentioned great fine dining, bars with delicious food, quirky shops — including one called The Cat-Tail for cats and their owners — and odd tourist attractions, like Rock in a House, which is just as its name suggests.

Hermann said that the distinctive land-scape tends to lure in tourists from all around the area.

“You don’t get the feeling that you get around here in a lot of other towns,” he said. “You have the real nice bluffs with the river right here, and it’s very uncommon.”

After a quick look around in The Cat-Tail, we hopped in the car for the ride back home. I then realized one day-trip couldn’t uncover all there was to explore on the Great River Road. But for a travel-hungry mother-daughter duo, we were happy to spend the time we did just driving along the road in suspense of what each commu-nity would offer. I watched the river slowly vanish out of view, and had a deep respect for the never-ending working artery that carried recreation, commerce, transporta-tion, ecology and history to the people of the Great River Road. This was truly one of Wisconsin’s hidden treasures.

Care to explore the Great River Road? Check out more stops at curbonline.com

The great river road extends 250 miles along the

Mississippi river and takes travelers through 33 towns,

some of the oldest in the state. upper right: Wyalusing

state park is home to 500-foot high bluffs that overlook

the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin

rivers; lower right: sunny the sunfish welcomes visitors to

Onalaska, the sunfish capital of the World.

C



Jesse Coenen is currently saving his money for some top-notch wax. His closet boasts a collec-tion of 11 ski bibs, each with a personalized story stapled inside. He is already planning the day he’ll start growing out his beard. And this year, as is his

tradition, Coenen transformed the outgoing message on his answering machine into a countdown clock:

“Hey! You’ve reached Jesse. I just want you to real-ize, and be certain, because this is awfully important. The Birkie is in 158 days. GET READY.”

*****The Birkebeiner, affectionately nicknamed “The Birkie”

by its passionate participants, is the largest cross-country ski marathon in North America. It spans 54 kilometers from Cable, Wis., to Hayward, Wis., and attracts 20,000 spectators, as well as 9,400 skiers of all experience levels.

Although the American Birkebeiner will celebrate its 39th anniversary this February, the race actually com-memorates a trip made in 1206 by Norwegian rebels. These soldiers skied to safety with the rightful infant heir to the Norwegian throne on their backs.

To honor this journey, three volunteers dressed in tra-ditional Norwegian apparel — fur-lined boots, helmets with horns, wooden skis — are always among the 6,000 Birkie skiers. The fur-clad heroes, called “Birkie Warriors,” carry a baby doll strapped on their backs for most of the race to symbolize the young prince. Near the end, they trade the doll in for a real baby and carry him to the fin-ish line.

For those who live the “Birkie Life,” it is difficult to imagine that these rituals might seem foreign to the un-

Birkie Fever

by HANNAH SHEPARDphotos by BRETT MORGAN & DARLENE PROIS

cross-country skiers narrow the gap between pastime

and obsession

58

explore


fortunate souls who weren’t born in northern Wis-consin. Their friends all participate in the Birkie, as do their children, spouses and even their dogs. For them, the Birkie is a lifestyle, and its traditions make it remarkable.

*****Peter Coenen, Jesse’s brother, truly devotes him-

self to living the Birkie Life. Although he is a UW-Madison student in the middle of medical school, he manages to focus the rest of his life around the Birkie.

“It’s not just an event, it’s a lifestyle,” he says. “The Birkie is the most important day of the year for me. It drives everything else that I do. School, work, the Birkie is off to the side motivating me in whatever I do.”

The two broth-ers grew up about a mile from cross-country ski trails in Iola, Wis. Nor-dic skiing and the Birkie have always been a part of their lives. Jesse calls it his “healthy obses-sion.” Although the brothers skied to-gether at several Birkies, they say there isn’t much competition between them. In fact, the brothers hardly talk at all during the race.

That is, of course, unless they’re talking about “beardcicles.”

If a skier has enough facial hair and it’s cold enough, the moisture he breathes out will stick to his beard and cover his face in a frosty layer. Jesse ad-mits that although he generally doesn’t talk to other skiers during the race, a good, traditional beardcicle is worth a comment.

Although beardcicles are a planned event for many men at the Birkie, one glance around the race reveals several participating dogs achieving the look quite ef-fortlessly.

*****Jennifer Sereno, elite skier and veteran Birkie par-

ticipant, classifies Birkie Fever as the anxious feeling that skiers begin to detect months before the race. Sere-no is proof that Birkie Fever can affect even the most seasoned skiers.

“Birkie Fever doesn’t really set in until the snow falls. That’s when you start feeling the cold chills and the night sweats. You wake up thinking about the race, and then you start looking at the calendar,” Sereno says.

Jesse insists he enjoys it. He readily admits that his countdown voicemail is a symptom of Birkie Fever. Like many Birkie regulars, he begins thinking about new skis, trips to practice trails and fancier ski wax al-most as soon as the first snowflake falls.

“That’s another oddity about Wisconsin,” Sereno says of Birkiebeiner skiers affected by Birkie Fever, “They don’t want to spend more than four or five dol-lars on a hamburger — they bristle at that — but they’ll spend a lot of money on a nice pair of skis and some expensive wax.”

EvEry cold BirkiE morning, familiEs wakE up, chokE down

somE oatmEal, Eat somE Bananas for thosE impEnding lEg cramps,

wax their skis, pile into their salt-smeared mini vans and enjoy their last moments of artificial heat.

about 9,400 skiers participate in the Birkebeiner every year, the

largest cross-country race in north america; left: hot breath plus cold air

equals frosty beardcicles for many men at the Birkie.

59


country skiing, and they want to include everyone in the event.

“It’s such a healthy sport and supports such a healthy lifestyle that it can only be beneficial if more people get involved,” Pe-ter says.

The Birkie is a community with tradi-tions and rituals that have endured for 38 years. For some participants, it’s a yearly reunion. They catch up, ski the race and grab a beer afterward. Anyone who partici-pated in the Birkie in the past has only one goal: to go back and do it again.

explore

2,000volunteers

spectators20,000

gallons of water5,000

portable toilets165

kilometers of trail54

medals4,000skis and poles

22,000

cups98,000

gallons of sport drink1,500

The AmericAn BirkeBeiner:

by the numbers

six costumed skiers share “The giant ski”

race down Main street in hayward, Wis.

a young skier participates in the barnebirkie, a race designed for kids ages 3 to 13.

Tradition drives the Birkebeiner. Ev-ery cold Birkie morning, families wake up, choke down some oatmeal, eat some ba-nanas for those impending leg cramps, wax their skis, pile into their salt-smeared mini vans and enjoy their last moments of artifi-cial heat. They will spend the next 12 hours convincing their bodies that a thin layer of polyester and two flimsy handwarmers are enough to block the freezing wind.

Once the participants accept frostbite as a potential outcome of this 54-kilome-ter expedition, they must wrap their minds around the fact that many skiers end up racing alone in uninterrupted whiteness. If they squint hard enough, they might catch a colorful glimpse of another skier’s bib, but even this is unlikely. Katie Roberts, a first-time Birkie participant, says this isolation can sometimes add to the physical exhaus-tion.

“There was definitely a time halfway through where I was like, ‘Am I going to fin-ish this? Are my fingers black? Are they go-ing to fall off?’ It’s definitely a mental thing.”

Of course, the skiers are not always as alone as they think. In fact, several snow-mobile paths cross the Birkie ski path. Some fun-seeking spectators like to park their snowmobiles near particularly chal-lenging turns and watch the skiers wipe out. Peter says these onlookers sometimes hold up numbers to rate how spectacularly a skier falls.

*****The Birkie is not just for experienced

cross-country skiers. It hosts events for kids, families, and even dogs. Above all, Birkie participants want to spread the word about the underdog sport that is cross-

C

explore

60


Floating poses

A group in Madison is redefining yoga by moving from mat to water. Atop the soft ripples of Madison’s Lake Wingra, yoga enthusiasts work their practices on paddleboards, bringing new balance to their poses.

Wingra Boats in Madison offered its first Stand Up Paddleboard Yoga — SUP Yoga — classes last summer and is eager to expand into summer 2012.

Instruction begins with a few minutes testing the paddleboard before getting onto the water. Instructor Maureen Hebl said the most difficult part is getting on the board.

Hebl was trained in alignment yoga, which cen-ters on finding body alignment in postures through breathing and focus. This works well in combination with the paddleboard.

“You move through poses a lot slower and connect more with the mind and body,” Hebl said.

Many participants found that doing yoga on a paddleboard was easier than expected. It’s more about finding stability and learning about the self through the process.

“Finding balance is the most challenging. You have to be present in the moment, more attuned with the body compared to a classroom environment,” Hebl said.

Most enjoy the simple aspect of being on the water and in nature. Favorite poses include inverted pos-tures and poses lying down, looking at the sky.

It’s a space that you can relax in. “It’s very calming,” Hebl said. “You can let your thoughts go.”

Yoga on Lake Wingra offers new challenges to finding your balance

by SARAH SCHUPANITZ // photos by JAHNA COOK

C



15 0 Y E A R S

W I S C O N S I N

ALUMNIA S S O C I A T I O N

W

ALWAYS A

BADGER

7Our harsh, endless winters and single week of 90-de-gree weather really put stress on our roads. And stress on our streets leads to the bane of every Wis-consinite’s existence: road construction. The cracks, the potholes and a slew of ramp closures may force us to lash out in anger. But the state of relaxation isn’t far: just grab a glass of cherry wine and start a lavender-scented bubble bath to al-leviate your frustrations.

WRATH

To all of you hardwork-ing Wisconsinites: Need a break? Instead of heading to the fair and grabbing a deep-fried Snickers, turn to the Little Wolf River for your daily dose of leth-argy. With cup holders in the oversized inner tubes, your floating party can sit back, sip some brewskies and wait for the sunburn to set in.

2SLOTH

3The only thing Wisconsin men might leave their wives for is beer. That’s easy to do with the Hop Head Beer Tour Company, where par-ticipants hop on a motor coach for a day-long bus tour to microbreweries, brew pubs and distilleries around the state. The tour fulfills every Wisconsinite’s passionate desire for home-grown, quality beer.

LUST 4 The Wisconsin State Fair is home to more than 60 foods on a stick and a concoc-tion of deep-fried food, drinks and condi-ments for your eating and cardiovascular (dis)pleasure. With Wisconsinites looking to overindulge their insatiable and curious senses, the racing potbellies won’t be the only pigs at the fair.

GLUTTONY

5Your friends will be green with envy when you de-scribe your fun-filled day at Wisconsin’s deepest natu-ral inland lake: Green Lake. Lame play on words? Yes. Good fun? Of course. Spend your hot summer days swimming, fishing or kaya-king. In winter, bundle up and head to the Winnebago Trail for a serene hike along the shore. That’s Wisconsin, making everyone else jeal-ous year-round.

ENVY

6Reigning Super Bowl champions. More championships than any other team in National Football League history. Aaron Rodgers. Need we say more?

PRIDE

1GREEDSelfishly roll in the dough you won from the slots at Menominee Casino Resort. Bingo, table games, slots and poker will help you earn the excessive wealth you’ve always craved. If you’re unsuccessful in fill-ing your pockets with gold, head to the resort’s Forest Island Restaurant to eat away your feelings.

THE SEVEN STATELY SINS


15 0 Y E A R S

W I S C O N S I N

ALUMNIA S S O C I A T I O N

W

ALWAYS A

BADGER


5115 vilas communication hall821 university avenueMadison, wI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3690fax: (608) 262-1361


curb magazine

Documents

sh tty barn sessions

sh tty barn

precious chunky monkey

prairie du chien

racing sausage kabob

impending leg cramps

loyal fan base

wisconsins western border