Teachers to embark on weeklong ‘Here at Home’ cultural tour

Twenty-six K-12 teachers from around Wisconsin will join University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty members and undergraduates on an eight-day “Here at Home” cultural tour of the state June 23-30.

Their motor-coach journey will take them from Madison to the shores of lakes Superior and Michigan and conclude with a visit to Milwaukee. Among their stops will be Muscoda, La Crosse, Eau Claire, Drummond, Bayfield, Ashland, Lac du Flambeau, Rhinelander, Green Bay, Kewaunee and Door counties, and Wales.

The tour, sponsored by the university’s Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures and the Wisconsin Arts Board, is designed to promote an understanding of Wisconsin’s disparate cultures and help participants gain a deeper awareness of the environmental and human forces that shape local cultures.

Topics addressed will include cultural geography, folklore and folk life, meteorology, geology, music, the arts, history, rural sociology, urban planning and environmental studies.

In addition to providing first-hand experiences, the tour will address two specific needs identified by teachers: experiential training in ways to study local culture and simple methods by which to incorporate local culture studies into existing curricula.

Accompanying the teachers will be Ruth Olson, associate director of the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures, who will serve as staff folklorist; Steve Ackerman, director of the university’s Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, who will serve as resident meteorologist and research scientist; Anne Pryor, folk arts education coordinator for the Wisconsin Arts Board, who will serve as curriculum specialist; and Debbie Kmetz, coordinator of Wisconsin Teachers of Local Culture, who will serve as staff historian and music specialist.

The tour also will feature several special guest presentations. UW-Green Bay professor of urban and regional studies William Laatsch will help participants learn how to analyze the cultural landscape. David Mickelson, a UW–Madison senior research scientist in geology and geophysics, will provide an overview of how geological forces shape local culture. Professor Mark Louden, co-director of UW–Madison’s Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, will lead an exploration of German and Jewish immigrant culture in Milwaukee. Jeff Zimmerman, a cultural geographer from UW-Parkside, will discuss the effects of urban development on local culture in Milwaukee.

The tour has been made possible through funding from the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment, with additional support from the Wisconsin Arts Board, the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures and the National Endowment for the Arts.

“Here at Home” tour stops include:

Friday, June 23, Madison: Lecture on geology and place with Professor David Mickelson; a brief example of Park Street Cultural Tour with Randall fifth-grade teacher Mark Wagler; and trips to Wilkie Gorge, Muscoda, the Ho-Chunk Bison Ranch and Norskedalen.
Saturday, June 24, La Crosse: Visit Hmong restaurant and blacksmith shop; the Prairie Moon Sculpture Garden in Fountain City; Buena Vista Park in Alma; and St. Bede’s in Eau Claire.
Sunday, June 25: Visits to the Drummond Historical Museum, Drummond Lumber Co. and the UW-River Falls Pigeon Lake Field Station.
Monday, June 26: Visit with contract logger and Moquah Homemakers; Bodin’s Fishery in Bayfield; Aquaculture Demonstration Facility on Red Cliff Reservation; Tetzner’s Dairy in Washburn; and Upper Thirteen League baseball game.
Tuesday, June 27: Visit museum and basket-makers in Lac du Flambeau; Hodag Park in Rhinelander to talk with teachers from charter school about local culture projects; pasties from Joe’s Pasty Shop in Rhinelander.
Wednesday, June 28: Lecture and driving tour by professor Bill Laatsch on Belgian and Czech cultures in Kewaunee and Door counties; visit Krohn’s Cheese Factory; St. Lawrence Church and Cemetery in Stangelville; visit Slovan Country Inn, with a presentation by polka musician Clete Bellin and a performance by his orchestra.
Thursday, June 29: New Port Restaurant in Port Washington; Ewig’s Bros. Inc. fish smoking in Port Washington; Botanas restaurant in Milwaukee, view murals by Juan Flores and talk to artist; Walkers Point Center for the Arts: Presentation on Day of the Dead Altar by Rosa Zamora; and Holler House for tour of bowling alley.
Friday, June 30: Lectures by professor Mark Louden and Jeff Zimmerman, cultural geographer at UW-Parkside; bus tour of Milwaukee’s Old World Third Street; African Hut, cultural presentation on African cultural practices; tour of Wisconsin Black Historical Society and Museum and gospel performance by Queens of Harmony; Le Duc Frozen Custard Drive-In in Wales.

“Here at Home” tour participants and their schools are:

Sharon Jeardeau, River Valley Elementary, Arena
Mary Berg, Parkview Middle School, Green Bay
Theresa Charapata, Parkview Middle School, Crivitz
Sonia Lee, Phoenix Middle School, Delavan
Kamie Kolb, Northland Pines Middle School, Eagle River
Lisa Ray-Christenson, Hustisford Jr./Sr. High School, Hubertus
Roxanne Neat, Jackson Elementary School, Janesville
Karin Jordan, Jackson Elementary School, Janesville
Mary Newton, George S. Parker High School, Janesville
Mari Fager, Kewaunee Grade School, Kewaunee
Katherine Clausius, Lake Delton Elementary/Wisconsin Dells School District
Beth Zingler, Lena Grade School, Lena
Christine Steinhagen, Luxemburg-Casco Intermediate School, Luxemburg
Lila Schlorf, Luxemburg-Casco Intermediate School, Luxemburg
Jan Deadman, Madison East High School, Madison
Sara Whirry, Merrill Area Public Schools, Merrill
Jenny Eder, Jefferson Elementary, Merrill Area Public Schools
Barbara Finch, Fritsche LEAP Alternative Middle School, Milwaukee
Jan Nelson, Plymouth High School, Plymouth
Terry Hettenbach, Mitchell Middle School, Racine
Kathleen Schmidt, Crescent Elementary School, Rhinelander
Kathy Marshall, Sevastopol Elementary School, Sturgeon Bay
Bridget Bowers, Sevastopol Elementary School, Sturgeon Bay
Georgie Vavra, Verona School District
Peggy White, Lowell Elementary School, Waukesha
Amanda White, Lake Country Fine Arts School, Waukesha
Melissa Miescher, 2006 graduate, UW–Madison School of Education