Wisconsin
Wisconsin
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Above: Refrigerator magnets. One from a Wisconsin trip. One gifted by visiting locals.
Two words: America's Dairyland!
Picture above: My grandfather and I pictured during a visit to my mom's family farm, up in Wisconsin in 1977. Next to a red barn, my mother and her family grew up on these countless acres of field corn. Her family worked so hard on that family dairy farm.
Ask me about it in real life. I can tell you about the work of being a dairy farmer on a Wisconsin family farm at the turn of the century and beyond. Myth-like stories of working the land. Pulling each weed — from each row of corn — before the invention of Roundup. You can't take a vacation when you have a Wisconsin family farm. The milking cows need to be milked twice a day. Nobody else is going to milk those cows. You're it.
Of course, farm life wasn't all work. There was fun to be had along the way. During the late 40s, you might learn to play the accordian and before that, perhaps at the dawn of electricity, there was a fiddle. We found it. "Who played this?" Hilarious. Then, there are the fish boils, Wisconsin cheese, little sausages to snack on, and brats.
Today, I purchase brats pre-cooked. When don't buy my bratwurst pre-cooked everyone complains the brat is "not cooked in the middle." "It's still pink inside the brat" and then they microwave it.
Up there, in Wisconsin, my people can explain how to get the center of the brat completely cooked. It's a process that involves boiling the brat in a liquid and this is is per my own father who remembers the process. He explains to me the process of cooking raw bratwurst as I warm up my pre-cooked brats on the grill today in year 2026. So, some knowledge has become lost along the way. More importantly than lost recipes, we miss the people who have made their departure. In many ways, they remain and stories of them handed down through the generations in stories of who they were.
Meanwhile, the original photo (above) has been lost, for years. The photo was on display during the Wible wedding reception of 1996. I was on a photo board remember these people. Meanwhile, the copies of the photo that I do have are falling apart. Hopefully I find the original photo, someday.
I totally remember this trip to Wisconsin. With assistance, my grandfather let me drive the tractor. (Don't fall off now. Yikes! Hahaha) This was before car seats, too.
Then, we hopped in grandpa's old farm truck. Grandpa drove us to get an ice cream cone at the local dime store. All of this is from a bygone era. Ask me in real life and I'll explain why it's not that way anymore and I wish my kids could have been there to see this era. Going back, it's not the same place. Most of it was the people.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin has always been a dreamlike place for me. Now it becomes misty memories of loved ones and places. In real life, I can explain how the world has changed and how, really, you can't go back to that era. The toothpaste is out of the tube, now. You can't put the toothpaste back into the tube.
Wisconsin is one of my favorites states. It's wonderful. For me, I remember Wisconsin from a different era alongside different dynamics of the family farms and it seemed to me as if everybody knew everybody who was farming.
"Did somebody just ring the dinner bell?"
"Did somebody just ring the dinner bell?"
Pre-cooked Bratwurst from Wisconsin.
About to be warmed on a grill from Palatine — and that's Chicago.
Now, maybe it's raining outside. Maybe it's lunchtime in a corporate breakroom. In your igloo cooler you have one brat. One bun. In these scenarious you could microwave your brat(s).
Usually, I say "Meh" on the microwave method. I mean it's something to eat but not nearly as tasty as grilled brats.
Here's why grilling the cooked brats is better:
The grill marks make it look like you really worked at putting dinner on the table — even on a weekday.
Plus, these brats just seem to taste better served fresh from the grill. Must be carmelization or the "smoked meats" principle of cooking?
Or maybe it's standing there in the (setting) sun and manning the grill after work - and a day of staring at a computer screen. lol.
Then, you can serve this entree with some of that fresh-picked Ohio sweet corn-on-the-cob to support* your local Ohio farmer.
*As an Ohio boy, I can tell that "supporting the Ohio farmer" is a bit of myth. Less than 1% all of the corn you see gowing in Ohio is sweet corn. The rest of the corn that you see growing in Ohio will be dent corn.
Regardless, even after work on a weekday, this is one of our favorite quick and easy-to-make meals. It's delicious!
Nom! Nom! Nom!
Nom! Nom! Nom!
Above: Whimsical note paper brought to Ohio from Wisconsin.
Wisconsin background and regional insights are "in progress."
I will be posting from the standpoint of business travel, so, you won't find anything overly personal since this is a portfolio website.
Moreover, my Wisconsin knowledge is sharply focused on the eastern side of the state, stretching from some knowledge of The Wisconsin Dells and then a more deep understanding of the state as we get closer to Lake Michigan. If your headquarters is along that stretch (anywhere north to south) then I have likely driven by it—ask me about it next time we chat!
I’ve been traveling to Wisconsin since the early '70s; head over to the Indiana page for the story about that. You'll find the "Trip to Wisconsin" details within the section about the Indiana Toll Road.
If you’re reviewing this portfolio and I had reached out to you, then you know why this matters—family ties to the state of Wisconsin make frequent trips throughout the year somewhat seamless and easy. If that's possible. It's a long road trip by car from Cleveland, Ohio to anywhere in Wisconsin. Chicago is the bottleneck. Air travel is much faster. Or should I air travel was much faster when you could fly direct from Cleveland to Milwaukee. If a direct flight exists, you simply fly across Lake Erie. You fly across Lake Michigan. Here's the trouble: CLE is not a major hub, anymore. I don't feel like MKE is a hub anymore, either. So then you are connecting through O'Hare or some other hub. That makes air travel somewhat strange if you look at the map. Why do I have to fly here to get to this place over here? Supply and demand. What's the demand to fly from Milwaukee to Cleveland? Might be better off getting a private jet or a Net Jets if you are at the helm of the company.
Then, there is always "The Badger." The Badger is a historic car ferry that has been running across Lake Michigan since the 70s. I've made my way across Lake Michigan on board "The Badger" during the 70s and more recently with our Dodge Caravan during the early 2000s.
Full Wisconsin details will be launching soon. I have to decide what photos in my picture box could be business oriented. I can't really post a picture of me in my trunks on the "lazy river ride" up at The Wisconsin Dells.
The Dells waterpark is similar to Kalahari in Sandusky, Ohio. They are both great in their own way. I've been to both.
Meanwhile, I'm starting by sharing a picture of our refrigerator magnets. As proud Ohioans, these Wisconsin souvenirs always brighten our day.
Wisconsin is an amazing state with wonderful people who live there. I know dozens and dozens of Wisconsin people.
About the climate. Wisconsin does become very cold in winter. For example, the winds blow down from the Rockies and all the way across the great plains with nothing to warm those winds. Nevertheless, the cold and the snow is all part of the charm.
Oh, one more thing. At night, the starry skies of Wisconsin are amazing — especially in the wintertime. All of the moisture freezes out of the air. If you navigate out to the dairyland then you will notice that the night sky is really dark. Or at least that's how I remember it from the 70s and 80s. It's one of the few places I've seen the Milky Way going all the way across the sky.
I'll conclude with the following:
Go Pack Go! 🧀
"♪♫ On, Wisconsin!
♫♪ On, Wisconsin!
♫♪ Grand Old Badger State! ♫♪"
Above: July 2019. Tom Wible and his mother pictured in front of Kuhefuss House Museum which is part of the Cedarburg Cultural Center in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.
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