Northwestern Notes

todaysdocument: Happy Birthday, Lewis Hine Breaker boys....

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 14:31:56 -0500

Happy Birthday, Lewis Hine

Breaker boys. Smallest is Angelo Ross. Hughestown Borough Coal Co. Pittston, Pa., 01/16/1911

Born September 26, 1874, investigative photographer Lewis Wickes Hine used his camera as both a research tool and an instrument of social reform. This photograph is one of a series given to the Children’s Bureau by the National Child Labor Committee. The almost five hundred photographs represent a fraction of the approximately 5,000 photographs Hine took for the committee to document working and living conditions for children.

The Oshkosh Public Museum touched on Hines’ Oshkosh upbringing in their column this month. But before he became famous for photos of the slums and of workers, he grew up the son of parents who ran a coffee shop on Main Street.

170 Years Ago Today, Abe Lincoln and a Rival Almost Dueled

Sat, 22 Sep 2012 14:56:25 -0500

mentalflossr:

Lincoln’s weapon of choice: the cavalry broadsword. Here’s the full story of the duel, and the sarcastic anonymous letters that caused it.

We find this funny, if only because politics has become so polarizing in today’s world, but we’d be hard-pressed to find an instance of one candidate ghost-writing letters meant to defame it’s target.

theatlantic: In Focus: America: 50 States in 50 Photos In the...

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 12:46:55 -0500

theatlantic:

In Focus: America: 50 States in 50 Photos

In the past, I’ve composed many photo essays that took viewers on virtual tours of distant countries. Today, I decided to do the same thing, but focus closer to home, collecting one recent photograph from each of the 50 states in the United States of America. The photographs are not necessarily meant to represent the whole of any state. They are simply interesting, noteworthy, beautiful, or otherwise caught my eye. Sit back and enjoy a quick jaunt around the USA in 50 photographs from mid-2012.

See more. [Images: Reuters, AP, Getty]

I bet you can’t guess what Wisconsin’s image is. Hint: No cheese, airplanes, beer or brats.

As school starts here in Oshkosh, here are some historic images...

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 14:03:21 -0500

Outdoor view of a group of school children at the Second Ward School. It was located at the corner of Otter Avenue and the corner of Mill Street and was designed by William Waters

Studio view of the Oshkosh High School Football Team in 1895

Outdoor view of the students at Lincoln School from around about 1898-1900.

Outddor view of the Frentz School Kindergarten class in 1897. The students and two teachers are seated in the grounds.

1865 Group portrait of Oshkosh High School teachers and students, Arthur Everett, principle. Four men are seated in chairs, and three young men are standing between them. Everett is second from left.

Bust view of James H. Merrill. He was a county supervisor, judge and mayor of Oshkosh. Merrill school is named after him. He died in 1900

Photographic postcard of School Children at Merrill School in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. They are seated and standing outside the building in 1922

Large format portrait of the students and teachers at the 11th Street School 1891.

Photographic postcard of a Dale School class picture from between 1908-1915. The Dale School was built in 1870, in the Italianate style. The building now houses apartments.

Sixteen individual gelatin prints mounted on a large black photograph board depicting the graduating students of Oshkosh High School, January 1904 Class.

As school starts here in Oshkosh, here are some historic images of school in the city taken from the Oshkosh Public Museum’s digital archive.

If you haven’t lost hours of your time sifting through their archive. You really need to do so. It’s a blast.

(All images courtesy of the Oshkosh Public museum.)

theatlantic: A Map of All the World’s Hurricanes Since...

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 09:08:36 -0500

theatlantic:

A Map of All the World’s Hurricanes Since 1851

[Image: IDV User Experience]

It’s hurricane season and this data visualization is just awesome on the history of known hurricanes.

Wisconsin’s first major candidate to seek the White...

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 11:26:24 -0500

.

Anti-La Follette cartoon from Life magazine in 1917

Wisconsin’s first major candidate to seek the White House

Paul Ryan wasn’t the first Wisconsin resident to seek an office in the West Wing. Wisconsin Senator Robert “Fighting Bob” LaFollette ran for president in 1925 and collected almost 5 million votes in a losing effort against Republican Calvin Coolidge.

Photos:

1. 1923 cover of Time. (Time)

2. 1906 political cartoon (Wisconsin Historical Society)

3. The 50th Congressional delegation from Wisconsin. La Follette is top left right, adjacent to Oshkosh’s Philetus Sawyer. (Oshkosh Public Museum.)

4. A 1911 cartoon of La Follette’s railroad reform (WHS)

5. An anti-La Follette cartoon from Life magazine in 1917. (WHS)

ourpresidents: V-J Day New York City celebrating the surrender...

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 09:04:36 -0500

ourpresidents:

V-J Day

New York City celebrating the surrender of Japan. “They threw anything and kissed anybody in Times Square.” 08/14/1945

We’ve been full of stories about the Buckstaff company the...

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 10:47:03 -0500

We’ve been full of stories about the Buckstaff company the last week. But we feel that some of the cooler items in our package may have been missed, like these photos from a gallery of Buckstaff workers. There are some really great shots of the company’s workers throughout the years. Like this gallery, you may also want to check out this gallery on Buckstaff senics, Buckstaff documents as well as a look into the empty shells of the buildings on the property now.

theeconomist: Daily chart: which countries have the highest...

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 14:41:36 -0500

theeconomist:

Daily chart: which countries have the highest rates of cannabis use? There are between 119m and 224m users of cannabis. The Pacific island of Palau reports the highest rate: nearly a quarter of people aged 15 to 64 smoked pot in the past year. Italians and Americans also like to get high.

Photo: Americans apparently like to get high. Especially when compared to rest of world. But does this mean anything?

A quick sneak peek at the Northwestern’s coming iPhone app...

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 13:58:54 -0500

A quick sneak peek at the Northwestern’s coming iPhone app and tablet-dedicated site. Tired of the desktop site, you’ll have multiple other options to consume your news coming next week. Pretty exciting!

"We’re drinking lots and lots of water. We wish it was vodka or beer, but it’s water."

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 09:37:33 -0500

““We’re drinking lots and lots of water. We wish it was vodka or beer, but it’s water.””

- One fan on how they are dealing (and, errr, sacrificing) with the recent heat on the Country USA festival grounds.

Today was a beautiful day here at the Northwestern. Surely,...

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 15:32:40 -0500

Today was a beautiful day here at the Northwestern.

Surely, you’ve heard about Burger King’s new ~~heart-attack-in-a-dish~~ bacon sundae. Burger King certainly isn’t the first restaurant chain to put a porky spin on dessert (see the Jack In The Box bacon milkshake and the Denny’s maple bacon sundae), but it’s the first one to do it within driving distance of our newsroom.

So today, the newly assembled Oshkosh Northwestern Bacon Team (Twitter hashtag: #onwbaconteam) officially convened for the first time. Our mission: sample the bacon sundae. We’re not the first news organization to offer a review (in fact, BuzzFeed and CollegeHumor faced off in a beautiful bacon sundae challenge yesterday), but we’re confident we’re the most bacon-smitten team to do so.

Here’s what happened.

The team: The founding members of ONW Bacon Team are digital editor Dave Wasinger, reporter Jeff Bollier (Streetwise), content manager/community newsroom editor Erin Wasinger and reporter Jessie Opoien (yours truly). Let the record reflect that Erin Wasinger is a Bacon Team member only for Kevin Bacon, and she participated in today’s event by providing moral support and taking photos.

The mission: Dave returned from lunch with three bacon sundaes.

“They’re bigger than I expected,” Jessie said.

Dave agreed: “This makes the BuzzFeed video even more impressive.”

Our goal was not to find out who could down the sundae the fastest (although Dave won that competition, by leaps and bounds), but to determine if it was as good as we hoped and dreamed it would be.

The first bites:

There was some initial disappointment when we first laid eyes on the sundae. The sundae of our dreams, the one we saw in pictures, was not what sat before us. Instead of chocolate and caramel delicately drizzled atop swirls of vanilla, we had globs of syrup smushed into a dish surrounded by melting ice cream. While the sundae of our dreams was garnished with a rich, glistening slab of crisp bacon, the sundae of reality contained a limp strip of what we assume was precooked bacon, floating in a pool of melted ~~semi-ice-cream-product~~ soft serve. And the tiny chunks of bacon adorning the sundae we saw in pictures were nowhere to be found.

Dave jumped right in, while Jeff and Jessie proceeded with caution. Jeff stayed fairly quiet, while Dave enthusiastically complimented the sweet-and-salty wonder and Jessie shook her first and let her eyes roll back into her head with pure joy.

This: Soon turned into this:

Dave destroyed his sundae first, much to no one’s surprise.

“You do not mix two great things like bacon and ice cream and not expect me to gulp it down,” Dave said.

Jeff was next, and Jessie conquered hers last (there’s something to be said for savoring a treat as delectable as a bacon sundae).

The numbers:

Three bacon sundaes cost a total of $8.79. At 510 calories each, the three of us consumed a combined total of 1,530 calories, 54 grams of fat and 183 grams of sugar.

The verdict:

Jeff’s review: Needs more bacon

Tasty and delicious combination of smoky, saltiness and sweet fudge and caramel, but needs more bits of bacon to make the experience last the duration of the sundae.

6 (out of 10) strips of bacon.

Dave’s review: Close to nirvana

Ice cream and bacon. Two of my favorite food items, but ones that I try to limit consumption of. Mix the two together and what gets devoured should be pure nirvana. And it came close. The sundae is basically a turtle sundae with bacon substituted for the pecans (but what would happen if you added the pecans? More awesomeness, I’d assume.). Problem is, just like many turtle sundaes you eat at places, there’s never enough pecans. Or in this case bacon. And the bacon was fast-food quality bacon — meaning low quality and highly salty, which momentarily took away from the overall taste. Would I get one again? Yes. But let me run this one off first………… now where did I place my running shoes………

6.5 (out of 10) strips of bacon.

Jessie’s review: Ecstasy on a spoon

My mom was horrified when I told her I would, in fact, be consuming one of these. I feel obligated to assure her that I will not make it a habit. Was it worth the calories? Absolutely. Was it everything I hoped for? Not quite — but boy, was it good. Bacon or not, it was a solid ice cream sundae. The syrups globbed together a bit, which was mildly annoying, but nothing a little stirring couldn’t fix. The combination of bacon, ice cream, chocolate and caramel was… how do I put this… heavenly. It was ecstasy on a spoon. The thing is — at the risk of sounding like a glutton — it needed more bacon. If I order a bacon sundae, I want bacon in almost every bite. One piece of bacon is not enough. Where were the bacon bits, Burger King? Where were they? One strip does not a bacon sundae make.

6.9 (out of 10) strips of bacon.

The aftermath:

We could all use a nap. Our managing editor, Jim Fitzhenry, seems to be concerned for our health. He’s checked to see if any of us are experiencing any heart palpitations or other ailments. So far, we’re in the clear — though words fail to describe exactly what we’re feeling right now.

Apparently you can buy a peel and stick wall decal (up to a...

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 16:44:26 -0500

Apparently you can buy a peel and stick wall decal (up to a 72x48 inch) of an Oshkosh Corp MATV to jazz up the decorations at your house, man cave or patriotic display.

Hurry quick and you can be the first to review the item.

Here’s a pre-Depression era photo of the Robert Lutz house...

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 09:37:18 -0500

Here’s a pre-Depression era photo of the Robert Lutz house in Oshkosh. The house was open for a tour this weekend, and you can check out what it’s like in this photo gallery.

Here’s the photo’s caption from the Oshkosh Public Museum:

Exterior view of the Robert Lutz House. The house was designed by William Waters and built by the C. R. Myer and Son Construction Company in 1910. Robert Lutz owned the Lutz Quarry and provided all the stones for the construction. The house (still standing) is located on the north-west corner at the intersection of Knapp and South Park. The rought iron fence around the house is still present.

datahacker: contributions to scott walker’s wisconsin recall...

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 11:16:49 -0500

lite

dark

overlaid points, rounded lat/long

aggregate amounts, rounded lat/long

datahacker:

contributions to scott walker’s wisconsin recall campaign. circles sized by amount donated (per address). first photo is on a light background, which serves to eliminate noise and focus on point density/clustering. the dark version makes it easier to see regions where contributions aren’t concentrated. the next two photos use rounded latitude and longitude points to get a cleaner picture, with the first overlaying all points on top of each other, and the the next showing aggregated amounts for each rounded lat/long pair. (data from http://data.influenceexplorer.com/bulk/)

davewasinger: NASA has released some super-awesome high def...

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 13:31:14 -0500

davewasinger:

NASA has released some super-awesome high def footage of yesterday’s Venus transit past the sun. Prepare to be amazed.

It’s Statehood Day! Here’s the home of James D....

Tue, 29 May 2012 11:13:11 -0500

It’s Statehood Day!

Here’s the home of James D. Doty, a powerful figure in early Wisconsin history and one of the delegate’s to the state’s two Constitutional Conventions (along with former U.S. Representative and Territorial Governor.)

You may also know the name from the island that sits on the Fox River between Neenah and Menasha.

Pay Attention To Friends @ Roosevelt School in Oshkosh. Photo...

Sun, 20 May 2012 20:36:31 -0500

Pay Attention To Friends @ Roosevelt School in Oshkosh. Photo by Adam Jungwirth

Senator Herb Kohl sent out this email release today about...

Thu, 17 May 2012 10:24:17 -0500

Senator Herb Kohl sent out this email release today about efforts to get a Wisconsin Civil War soldier awarded the Medal of Honor.

Alonzo Hersford Cushing, as Kohl describes in his email, fought and died in the Battle of Gettysburg.

A Wikipedia page devoted to him gives more gruesome details about his death, and his battlefield valor:

He commanded Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery at Gettysburg, and was hailed by contemporaries as heroic in his actions on the third day of the battle. He was wounded three times. First, a shell fragment went straight through his shoulder. He was then grievously wounded by a shell fragment which tore into his abdomen and groin. This wound exposed Cushing’s intestines, which he held in place with his hand as he continued to command his battery. After these injuries a higher ranking officer said, “Cushing, go to the rear.” Cushing, due to the limited number of men left, refused to fall back. The severity of his wounds left him unable to yell his orders above the sounds of battle. Thus, he was held aloft by his 1st Sergeant Frederick Füger, who faithfully passed on Cushing’s commands. Cushing was killed when a bullet entered his mouth and exited through the back of his skull. He died on the field at the height of the assault.^[3]

While the Wikipedia page states that he has already been awarded the Medal of Honor, apparently there are more hoops to jump through and Congressional action to take to get him the award.

ABC might have had the exclusive interview with President Obama,...

Thu, 10 May 2012 11:31:44 -0500

ABC might have had the exclusive interview with President Obama, but Northwestern reporter Jessie Opoien got this exclusive with a Menominee Park Zoo llama. It didn’t have as much to say.