While Bob La Follette's exploits as leader of progressive politics are legendary, his early morning exertions to save valuable government documents and executive department paintings during the disastrous 1904 capitol fire are largely unknown - until now. Odd Wisconsin captures the Wisconsin people, places, and events that didn't make it into conventional state histories, lowering a bucket into the depths of Wisconsin history and bringing to light curious fragments of forgotten lives. This unique book unearths the stories that got lost to history even though they may have made local headlines at the time. No mythical hodags or eight-legged horses here! Odd Wisconsin features strange but true stories from Wisconsin's past, every one of which was documented (albeit by the standards of the day). These brief glimpses into Wisconsin's past will surprise, perplex, astonish, and otherwise connect readers with the state's fascinating history. From "the voyageur with a hole in his side" to "pigs beneath the legislature," Odd Wisconsin gathers 300 years of curiosities, all under the radar of traditional stories.

Pig men . . . trolls . . . the curse of Miller Park . . . the Golden Plates of Voree. When it coms to weird, Wisconsin's got it! And nobody is better at telling the bizarre stories of the state's odd side than best-selling author and paranormal authority Linda Godfrey. Join the fun on an eyebrow-raising tour of people and places you won't believe!

There is absolutely no better guide for haunted Wisconsin. Linda S. Godfrey. With her smooth journalistic style and her keen sense of what makes a good ghost story, she has the ability to send chills up and down your spine --Brad Steiger, author of Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places Wisconsin's leading authority on the paranormal presents strange stories from around the state, from witches in the Wisconsin Dells to spirits in the State Capitol. Readers will encounter Kenosha's Headless Nun, the Man Bat of Lacrosse, Rocky the Rock Lake Monster, and John Dillinger's phantom. They will explore Aztalan's ancient mounds, the ghostly bars and taverns of Madison and Milwaukee, and the creepy town of Caryville, one of the most haunted places in America.

Popular public radio show host Michael Feldman and coauthor Diana Cook introduce Wisconsin's weirdest, wackiest, and most outrageous people, places, and things including a man who owes his life to a foam rubber cheesehead, a worm that plays basketball, and the best place to savor chicken in a hubcap.

Things that go bump in the night, disembodied voices, footsteps in an empty stairwell, an icy hand on your shoulder...let your imagination run wild as you read about Wisconsin's most extraordinary apparitions, sinister spooks, and bizarre beasts. You may know of Lotta Morgan, Ghostly Lady of the Evening, but perhaps you haven't heard about: A man driven crazy at the Summerwind Mansion after finding a mummified corpse in a drawer The phantom acapella music of the Lost Spirits of Coolidge The flying manbat known as mothman of LaCross The mythical haunchies of Haunchyland who hung a man for discovering their underground tunnel system.

Rediscover Wisconsin history from the very beginning. A Short History of Wisconsin recounts the landscapes, people, and traditions that have made the state the multifaceted place it is today. With an approach both comprehensive and accessible, historian Erika Janik covers several centuries of Wisconsin's remarkable past, showing how the state was shaped by the same world wars, waves of new inhabitants, and upheavals in society and politics that shaped the nation. Swift, authoritative, and compulsively readable, A Short History of Wisconsin commences with the glaciers that hewed the region's breathtaking terrain, the Native American cultures who first called it home, and French explorers and traders who mapped what was once called "Mescousing." Janik moves through the Civil War and two world wars, covers advances in the rights of women, workers, African Americans, and Indians, and recent shifts involving the environmental movement and the conservative revolution of the late 20th century. Wisconsin has hosted industries from fur-trapping to mining to dairying, and its political landscape sprouted figures both renowned and reviled, from Fighting Bob La Follette to Joseph McCarthy. Janik finds the story of a state not only in the broad strokes of immigration and politics, but also in the daily lives shaped by work, leisure, sports, and culture. A Short History of Wisconsin offers a fresh understanding of how Wisconsin came into being and how Wisconsinites past and present share a deep connection to the land itself.

Updated and even stranger, this new edition boasts more than 400 unique destinations for tourists looking for attractions off the beaten path. Bizarre locations and landmarks include Chainsaw Gordy's Garden of Saws, Smokey Bear's head, the World's Largest Soup Kettle, the Toilet Bowl Parade, and the world's only upside-down White House. This book offers fascinating and little-known historical tidbits and answers burning questions such as Where was Liberace born? What is a hodag, and where do you catch one? Who invented the hamburger? and Will a Polka Hall of Fame ever be built? This is the real guide to Wisconsin, birthplace of the snowmobile, the typewriter, and the ice cream sundae. The address, phone number, hours, cost, directions, and website of each oddity accompany its description.