Found: Front View and Builder, Dickeyville, WI

Found: "Front View and Builder, Dickeyville, Wis. on DOPS paper, circa 1930

Father Matthias Wernerus sculpted the Dickeyville Grotto of bits of colored glass, minerals, shells, pottery and other shards embedded in mortar. After driving along Highway 151 heading southwest out of Madison the place looks like a colorful mirage of pop culture intersections with patriotism and religiosity. An adjacent gift shop sells holy water, holy cards, and rosaries. Our first visit to the grotto with college friends in the 1980s  pointied toward the surreal possibilities of making fantastical realities in hidden away places. Some art historians believe Father Wernerus gained inspiration from the much vaster Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend Iowa and that Wernerus' creation in turn inspired similar mystic grotto projects in Wisconsin.

Found: Front View of Grotto at Dickeyville, Wis., © 1929 Rev. Math. Wernerus Genuine Curteich-Chicago "C.T. American Art" "The Grotto of Christ, the Kind and of Mary his Mother, was conceived, esigned, and bult by a priest from thousands of pebbles, stones, shells, and corals from all parts of the world. Its beauty and originality must be seen to be appreciated.

Found: Holy Ghost Cemetery, Dickeyville, Wis. Genuine Curteich-Chicago "C.T. American Art" circa 1929

Found: Park Scene, Dickeyville, Wis. Genuine Curteich-Chicago "C.T. American Art" circa 1929

Found: America's Favorite Place of Pilgrimage

Found: "Friess Lake, From the East, Holy Hill in the Distance" Hartford (Erin), Wisconsin, by The Hermitage Art Company, Chicago, postmarked September 14, 1949. Shrine of our Lady "Mary--Help of Christians." U.S. most favorite place of Pilgrimage. Highest located church in the State of Wisconsin. Handwritten message on front: "Was on here yesterday -- see me?" and on back: "275 steps after getting clear to the top of hill. How glad that our faith does not depend upon all those forms etc."

Romy Gosz Grave, Francis Creek, WI

Romy Gosz Grave, Francis Creek National Cemetery, Francis Creek, Wisconsin, August 31, 2012

Homestead Tavern former home of Romy Gosz, "Polifka's Corners" near Kellnersville, Wisconsin, Auugust 8, 2012

Rich Bouril with his Airstream, Two Rivers, WI, August 6, 2008

Rich Bouril with Toni Gosz's, Kellnersville, WI, 1972
Photo courtesy of Rich Bouril

 Wisconsin Polka King Romy Gosz (1910-1966) made rich complex Bohemian style polka music that formed the sound track of our lives. His records, TV appearances, and live performances created the atmosphere of all social events from weddings to firefighters picnics. We collect his Polkaland LPs, 45s and 78s for the drunken joie de vivre they encapsulate. His family has worked to keep his memory alive even hosting a Facebook page. Grandson Rich Bouril offers Roman's Espresso Roast coffee at his Culture Cafe on Calumet Avenue in Manitowoc, Wisconsin and remembers skate boarding in the dance hall of Romy's former home/tavern at Polifka's Corners. Daughter Ramona "Tootsie" Bouril has a boutique, Ramona's Courtyard Shoppe, next door to Rich's cafe. Despite the long trek from Manitowoc, her high school dates were willing to make the "mighty long" trek to Polifka's Corners near Kellnersville to pick her up.

Romy Gosz played on a Seeburg M100C video by J. Shimon & J. Lindemann 2012 

Romy's daughter Ramona (a/k/a Tootsie) from Hi-Tower Flashes,
Lincoln High School, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Friday, October 14, 1949

County ZZ, Wrightstown, WI

County ZZ, Wrightstown, Wisconsin, June 30, 2012

Found: "Highway Scene, U.S. 16 and 12, Camp Douglas, Wisconsin" by Wayne Paper Box & Printing, Fort Wayne, Indiana, circa 1950s

Found: "River Drive, Cornell, Wis." on DOPS paper, circa 1938

Found: "Highway 130, Lone Rock, Wisconsin, on EKKP paper, circa 1930

Found: "Scene at Minocqua, Wis." on DOPS paper, circa 1941

Found: "A Pleasant Drive Near Rio, Wisconsin," circa 1910

Found: "James Street, Columbus, Wisconsin" by E. A Bishop Publishing, Racine, Wis., circa 1930

Found: "'At the Turn of the Road'" Potowatomi State Park, Door County, Wisconsin" by E. A. Bishop Publishing, Racine, Wis., postmarked July 3, 1944

Found: "Prairie Avenue, Kenosha, Wisconsin," by E. A. Bishop Publishing,  Racine, Wis., postmarked May 7, 1909

Found: "Driveway, Humboldt Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin," by M.L. Anneberg Publisher, Milwaukee, postmarked December 31, 1911

Found: "A Pleasant Drive, Omro, Wisconsin, by National Colortype Co, circa 1950

Found: "The Drive, Lake Side Park, Fond Du Lac, Wis." published by the Acmegraph Co, Chicago, circa 1920

Found: "Grand Dad's Bluff, La Crosse, Wis." published by Spencer-McCord Drug Co., La Cross, Wis., circa 1940

Found: "One of many Beautiful Drives near Baraboo, Wis." by Baraboo News Agency, Baraboo, Wis, circa 1930

Found: "Road Scene, Trail 3, Near La Crosse, Wis." published by Spence-McCord Drug Co., La Crosse, Wis, circa 1940

Found: "Road to the Lake: At the end of this birch lined lane are
the invited waters of an inland lake, Vacationland Scwne"
copyright The L.L. Cook Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1954

Found: "Opposite Prairie du Chien, Wisc., this colorful rugged bluff
bordering the Mississippi River is in the Effigy Mounds National Monument
above Marquette and McGregor,  Iowa" Ektachrome by Margery Goergen
published by Goergen Studio, McGregor, Iowa, circa 1954

Found: "Greetings from Eagle River, Wis., Colorful autumn in the Vactionland of Wisconsin: Magnificent Autumn!...comes like a warrior with the stain of blood on his brazen mail...Longfellow" published by Wyman Photo Center, Wausau, Wisconsin, postmarked November 26, 1952

Found: "A Modern Super-Highway thru the Grandeur of Autumn" photo by Free Lance Photographers Guild, Inc. published by C. R. Brown Co., Eau Claire, Wis,  circa 1960

Found: "Greetings from Rhinelander, Wisconsin, Lookout," published by Wyman Post Card Co, Wausau, Wis, circa 1960

    

Duane Hall confessing his psychopathic driving urges, scene from Annie Hall

Driving the rural back roads of 21st century Wisconsin isn't as romantic as the vintage postcards we've posted once portrayed it when gawking at the landscape was the only concern. Now there are texting teens, liquid manure spills, and farm implements wider than the road. The "picturesque" mid-century roadways depicted on postcards invited folks to jump in their cars with family and friends to motor to destinations throughout the state. Fall colors, rivers, scenic bluffs, and parks peppered the landscape. Being an attentive driver or "keeping your eyes on the road" seemed beside the point. A perfectly neurotic Wisconsin night driving movie scene is a highlight of Woody Allen's 1977 film Annie Hall.  New York City comic Alvy Singer (played by Woody Allen) and night club chanteuse Annie Hall (played by Diane Keaton) visit her home town of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Singer's Manhattan aversion to driving plays out in a scene with Annie Hall's brother Duane (played by Christoper Walken) confessing his psychopathic driving urges in his dimly lit bedroom: "Sometimes when I'm driving on the road at night and I see two headlights coming toward me fast, I have this sudden impulse to turn the wheel quickly head-on into the oncoming car. I can anticipate the explosion, the sound of shattering glas, the flames rising out of the flying gasoline..." Modern Super-Highways with their smooth curves, reinforced dividers, and fenced-off roadbeds eliminate many rural hazards as drivers zoom between cities and suburbs. Still, the back roads remain the most intriguing Wisconsin driving as they weave through the glacial Wisconsin landscape, small towns, and woods with lush trees arching overhead.

Found: Antigo by Curteichcolor® 3-D Natural Color Reproduction and Antigo Card Service, Antigo, Wisconsin, circa 1960

Kwik Trip, Sheboygan, WI

Kwik Trip, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, October 11, 2010

Kwik Trip, Menasha Avenue, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, September 26, 2010

Found: "Adams DX Truck Stop and Restaurant", located on I-90 and U.S.  Highway 51, Madison, Wisconsin" copyright Dexter Press, circa 1960 (featured as a location in Werner Herzog's 1977 film "Stroszek")

The culture of eating, drinking, and refreshing in the age of the motor vehicles evolved from the full-service truck stop with restaurant (open 24 hours, seats 100, delicious food, mechanics on duty) such as the Adams DX, infamous for its appearance in Werner Herzog's Strozek. Now there's the Kwik Trip here in Wisconsin, established in 1965 and spreading into Iowa and Minnesota. It offers the 24/7 convenient consumption experience for motorists that the old truck stops once did. Besides gas, there's a range of food (from onions to Greek yogurt), a bakery, a dairy, hot coffee, lottery tickets, newspapers, and smokes. The Kwik Trip became the hub in the neighborhood near our studio by the mid-1990s. In the late 1980s, there were still a couple grocery stores within walking distance, a food co-op, news and video store, and there wasn't a lottery. All that's gone now and the Kwik Trip has filled the void, a lifestyle.

Cows in the Rain, Polifka Road, Whitelaw, WI

Cows in the Rain, Polifka Road, Whitelaw, Wisconsin, May 5, 2012

Found: "The Nation's Dairyland, Wisconsin - near Camp McCoy" copyright A.E. Luckenbill, message handwritten on backside: "P.S. It is cold as hell here, Love Bob" post marked October 29, 1942

Found: Two men with Holsteins, location unknown, circa 1907

Found: "Country Life in Wisconsin"from Theochrom Series printed
in the U.S. post marked May 10, 1912, 7 am in Hollandtown, Wisconsin

Found: "We're all Good Friends on the old Farm (Scenes along the country roads."
 by E.A. Bishop Publishing, Racine, circa 1912

Found: "Greetings from Eau Claire, Wis, Dairy Cattle in Pasture Creek" published by Johnson Printing, crica 1970

In a time of industrial scale agriculture and massive confinement barns that keep cattle out of view, cows grazing along the road have become a rare sight, even something the tourism department people want to nurture to create quaint views. Once America's Dairyland, Wisconsin has lagged behind in milk production to California. Massive farms pop up in Wisconsin as the small farms with red barns and a manure pile fade away to be replaced by big "dairies" with computers displaying commodity prices in the office, scores of employeees, human resource managers, manure lagoons and 10,000 cows always waiting to be milked. Cheddar cheese carving, artisanal cheese, and small operations are re-emerging and reinventing themselves as public interest in "local" grows.

Tensegrity Wigwam with Builder, Whitelaw, WI

Tensegrity Wigwam with Builder near Whitelaw, Wisconsin, April 7, 2012

Ranchero with Wigwam near Whitelaw, Wisconsin, May 27, 2012

Found: "Black River Falls, Wisconsin, 1909. "This is the remains or frame work of a tent where an
Indian dance has been held. Doesn't it look odd? I have been to a feast dance which the Indians had in such a tent."

Found: "Indian Home in Northern Wisconsin", circa 1907 on Kodak Azo paper

Found: The New Horticultural Conservatory, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, "Plants from all over the world are on exhibit" copyright by L.L. Cook Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin circa 1967

Using poplar trees found onsite at our farm while channeling ideas and visions set out by Wisconsin natives, Buckminster Fuller his ideas about tensegrity, and the beehive shaped Domes in Milwaukee, we've been making wigwams for our upcoming exhibitions.

Found: Looking at Lakes and Rivers

Found: Turk's  Head, Devil's Lake State Park near Baraboo, Wis.
 The ripple marks in this rock show that it was once part of the floor of an
ancient sea. Copyright by and published by
 H.H. Bennett Studio, Wisconsin, circa 1965

Found: "View from High Rock: This beautiful view is found in the Upper Dells of the Wisconsin River,
Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin" copyright H. H. Bennett Studio, circa 1965

Found: "Greetings from Appleton, Wisconsin: Huge driftwood offers shelter from the misty spray blown up by crashing waves on a quiet beach." copyright L. L. Cook Co., 1951

Found: "Lake Scene/Bohners Lake, Burnlington, Wis." color by Eric Sanford, circa 1960

Found: "Riverside Park, Watertown, Wisconsin: Riverside Watertown's largest park, is ideally situated along
the banks of the Rock River" copyright L. L. Cook Co., 1951