Badger Boneyards: The Eternal Rest of the Story by Dennis McCann

From Bayfield to Madison, Door County to Milwaukee, and everywhere in between, former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel author Dennis McCann's Badger Boneyards: The Eternal Rest of the Story tells the tales behind some of the most fascinating cemeteries and gravestones in the dairy state. While McCann gives attention to many of famous Wisconsinites like the Milwaukee beer barons and former governor "Fighting Bob" La Follette, perhaps the most interesting tidbits of information are of the lesser known individuals who have made Wisconsin their final resting place. From Wisconsin's first public school teacher to "the boy who would not tell a lie" and paid the ultimate price to the woman whose headstone names her murderer, Badger Boneyards is filled with often humorous, sometimes sober, historical anecdotes about this those who are at eternal rest in this great state.

One Small Farm: Photographs of a Wisconsin Way of Life by Craig Schreiner

It's difficult to travel anywhere in this state with out seeing farm buildings beautifully gracing the gorgeous Wisconsin countryside. These farms are much of what this great state is built on. One Small Farm: Photographs of a Wisconsin Way of Life is the perfect illustration of a small Wisconsin farm, where the rhythms and routines of daily farm life keep the Lamberty family grounded. Milking cows in the morning and at night, plowing the fields, planting crops, baling hay, cleaning the barn, and helping birth a calf are just part of daily life on a farm.

Photographer Craig Schreiner perfectly captures a typical day, through the course of all four seasons, on the Lamberty farm near Pine Bluff, Wisconsin, while capturing the exceptional moments of a calf standing on its legs for the first time and corn just peeking through the ground for the first time in spring. While Schreiner's thoughtful photos illustrate farm life, he also helps shed light on the growing concern of disappearing small family farms, the rural way of life, and ultimately Wisconsin traditions.

Educating Milwaukee: How One City's History of Segregation and Suffering Shaped Its Schools by James K. Nelson

Between public schools, parochial schools, private schools, charter schools, choice schools, and online learning, today’s students in the city of Milwaukee have more choices in education than any other city in America. This amount of choice evolves from Milwaukee’s struggle to desegregate schools in the 1970s. Most are familiar with the ruling of Brown vs. the Board of Education which ended de jure segregation or segregation by law, and thoughts of desegregation tend to conjure up images of the Little Rock Nine as a group of nine African American students walk into their newly desegregated high school for the first time amid protest.

But what happens when segregation isn't the law, but neighborhood lines and housing patterns make it that way? Nelson traces the root of Milwaukee's segregation problems (including neighborhood segregation today) to discriminatory housing practices of the early 1900s which limited regions in which African Americans could purchase property. This caused clear racial lines in the city, which in turn made the neighborhood school segregated. Educating Milwaukee traces the evolution of programs in Milwaukee Public Schools, which were aimed at desegregation, from magnet schools, busing finally developing into the schools Milwaukee has today. This book provides wonderful background into many issues that plague and politicize our schools today and can appeal to the local history buff in us all. 

The Man Who Painted the Universe by Ron Lego and Avi Lank

The Man Who Painted the Universe is the story of a man with a passion and his desire to share it with others. Frank Kovak Jr. grew up fascinated by the stars. As a child in Chicago, he loved the Adler Planetarium. He  also painted glow-in-the-dark constellations on his bedroom walls and built his own backyard observatory. Frank's passion grew as he matured. Eventually he bought a small piece of land in northern Wisconsin. Away from city lights, this was an ideal place to observe the stars. He tried to share his passion with others--church and youth groups. But often the weather would interfere--fog or clouds, or rain or cold. So he spent years building and hand painting a 22-foot rotating globe planetarium near Rhinelander, Wisconsin. He financed his project with his own money; he created it with his own ingenuity and built it with his skills in the manual arts. The result is that, despite his lack of a college degree of any kind, he is running a planetarium of his own. In 2008 he opened it to the public and now tiny Monico, Wisconsin has its own tourist attraction. Frank Kovak's story is unique and authors Ron Lego and Avi Lank have told it with respect and empathy. They have reported a Wisconsin success story.  

The Cherry Harvest by Lucy Sanna

Set during World War II in Wisconsin's beautiful Door County peninsula, The Cherry Harvest follows the story of Thomas, Charlotte, and Kate Christiansen, the owners of a cherry farm. With their son Ben and most of the men on the peninsula sent away to fight the Nazis, Thomas and Charlotte worry how they're going to survive the harvest season, until the mention of German POWs enter the picture. Many in Door County fear that these German POWs are nothing more than Nazi sympathizers. With enemies on Wisconsin soil, many living in Door County fear for their safety. Even though it's unpopular, the Christiansens, needing all the help they can get to make this cherry harvest successful, agree to have the POWs work on their property.

Much of this story focuses on the relationship between Kate and her mother Charlotte. Their relationship is not rooted in love. Kate is a typical teen, interested in fashion, her friends, and boys, particularly Clay the son of an Illinois senator vacationing in Door County for the summer. When a secret threatens to tear the family apart, Kate and Charlotte are forced to deepen their relationship.

The Cherry Harvest is written by the Wisconsin-born Lucy Sanna. Although this is a work of fiction, there were in fact German POWs who worked the cherry orchards of Door County. During 1944 and 1945, Wisconsin was in fact a harboring place for many German POWs. POW camps were scattered throughout the state from Door County to Eau Claire and Rockfield, just outside of the Cedarburg/Germantown area.

Wisconsin Supper Club Cookbook by Mary Bergin

Wisconsin is famous for its food. Beer, brats, and cheese are often staples in any Wisconsinite's diet. There's also the famous Friday night fish fry and the classic Wisconsin drink the Old Fashioned. Wisconsin is a state rich in food history. With that food history comes the supper club. Bergin's Wisconsin Supper Club Cookbook points out that each Wisconsin supper club is as unique as the small town in which it's located. Traditionally owned by a "local," these establishments are a toss back to a more simple time--homemade food, a small town feel, and a regular crowd.

Bergin's new book takes a look at some of Wisconsin's classic supper clubs. Broken up by geographical location, the book features some of the most favored recipes from of Wisconsin's most well know supper clubs. From cucumber dill spread from Redd Mill Supper Club in Stevens Point to bacon wrapped water chestnuts from Milwaukee's The Packing House, this unique cookbook is sure to have something for everyone. With a bit of a history about each supper club and lots of pictures, this book provides a unique glimpse at Wisconsin history and culture.

Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler

In Butler’s debut novel, we find the tale of a small town called Little Wing in rural Wisconsin.  The story is told by a group of life-long friends and alternates between five points of view: Hank (the nice guy who stayed to take over the family farm), Lee (the now ridiculously successful rock star who always comes back to Wisconsin to recharge), Kip (the friend who never really felt at home in Little Wing who has now moved back from Chicago in an attempt to resurrect a decrepit local business), Ronny (a former professional rodeo who is now a bit slower than normal after an unfortunate alcohol induced accident) and Beth (Hank’s wife and friend to Lee, Kip and Ronny).  As the book unfolds, we find that Lee has returned home early from an international tour in order to sing at Kip’s wedding.  But old habits die hard and soon the group of friends is wondering why they were ever close to begin with. 

Shotgun Lovesongs is as much a love song in honor of Wisconsin as it is a tale of friends who struggle to stay close years after they go their separate ways in life.  Descriptions of the land and seasons connect all of the stories in a way that almost makes the thread appear stronger than the fabric it is sewn onto.  Butler’s love for Wisconsin is clearly channeled through that of Lee’s character; his prose lush and inviting.  A longtime fan of Kent Haruf’s depictions of small town life in the Colorado plains, this book invoked for me a similar heartfelt ode to Wisconsin in its treatment of people and place.  Those looking for a book about life in a small Midwestern town or even a story about life-long friends will find plenty to enjoy in Wisconsin novelist Nickolas Butler’s Shotgun Lovesongs.

The Repeat Year by Andrea Lochen

How would you like to repeat a year?  What would you do differently if you had the chance?  Well the main character in this novel, Olive gets that chance.  Olive Watson is 25 years old and works as a nurse in a hospital.  She wakes up on New Year’s Day 2011, a year that she has already lived.   She realizes that she is able to change her future and learn from the mistakes that she made in 2011.  She also comes across another “repeater” who is also reliving this year, and the two of them are able to share this struggle together.

The author, Andrea Lochen, currently lives in Milwaukee with her husband.  This novel has various references to Wisconsin, such as the Wisconsin weather or the Brewers baseball team.  So if you live in Wisconsin this story will make you feel right at home.  “The Repeat Year” is a must read.   I usually take weeks to read a book but this one I was able to read in three days because it truly kept my attention and I could not put it down.  It is a page turner that is beautifully written.  As a reader you become a part of Olive’s subconscious as she struggles with her choices of her previous year and tries to change the year she is reliving.  There are also many life struggles that Olive is going through that many readers may relate to.  Andrea did an amazing job creating characters that I wanted to root for.  Anyone who would love to relive a time in their life would truly enjoy reading this book.  

Check out The Repeat Year @ the library! And stop by the West Allis Public Library of August 13th at 7 PM to meet the author! For more details, check out the library calendar.

Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures by Emma Straub

In the late 1930’s, seventeen year old Elsa Emerson leaves her Door County home, headed for Hollywood intent on a movie career. Within ten years she has become Laura Lamont, a glamorous star with an Academy Award.  Married to a powerful movie producer, mother of three, best friends with a wacky red-headed television star, Laura seems to have it all. But this success has come with a price. She is unable to escape the nagging guilt that her fame and good fortune should really belong to a talented older sister who died when Elsa was a child. Her father’s death and mother’s disapproval give her second thoughts about the wisdom of leaving Door County. Her husband’s death leaves her unmoored and drives her career into a tailspin. Faced with dire health, family and money problems, she rallies, simplifies her life style, swallows her pride and takes any work she is able to get. From that point on, her story becomes one of triumph over adversity.

Emma Straub has said that Laura Lamont is based on actress Jennifer Jones. Readers who are familiar with movie and television stars of the black and white era will enjoy identifying the other stars characterized in Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures.