John McGivern’s Main Streets

- I am in Iowa County, but I'm not in the state of Iowa.

I am in the largest city in Iowa County, Wisconsin.

– Announcer: John McGivern's Main Streets thanks the following underwriters: [gentle music] - Narrator: Greendale is proud to be the inspiration for John McGivern's Main Streets.

This historic village is a real place, where all are welcome to gather, to shop, to enjoy.

Charming!

Vibrant!

Joyful!

Welcoming!

You've just gotta see Greendale.

To the unknown I'm on my way Oh, it's time to hit the road I'm on my way This is the freedom I live for - Narrator: Remember when the American dream was being able to say, "I made that.

I built that."

Wouldn't it be great if your kids and grandkids chose a career that provides that kind of pride with good pay, but without a ton of student loan debt?

A four-year degree isn't the only path to success.

We need talented people to make and build on Main Streets everywhere.

Skilled work isn't a thing of the past.

It's a bright future.

– Announcer: Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Plum Media and the Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

Thanks, friends.

'Cause these are our main streets Something 'bout a hometown speaks to me There's nowhere else I'd rather be The heart and soul of community's right here On these main streets - I am in Dodgeville, which is in Iowa County, Wisconsin.

I find it funny that it's not even bordering the state of Iowa.

Oh, well.

Dodgeville is in the unglaciated hills of the Driftless region, and it is beautiful here.

This entire region of Wisconsin grew up around the mining industry.

More about that later, but just so you know, the 5,000 residents, mining is not what keeps them here today.

Dodgeville is in southwest Wisconsin.

It's about 45 miles west of Madison.

And it's about 30 miles north of the Illinois border.

You know what I just heard?

I heard that that is the oldest courthouse in the state of Wisconsin.

That's what I heard.

No, I didn't hear it from him.

I heard it from his mom, Emmy!

- Is he a little historian already?

- He's the best.

- Your babysitting skills.

I mean, top notch.

That should go on your rsum.

- They're remarkable.

- I'm impressed.

- They really are.

Yeah, so let's talk about the history.

Is this really the oldest courthouse in the state of Wisconsin?

– Emmy Fink: The title comes from the fact that it's the oldest building in Wisconsin still being used as a courthouse.

– John: Oh, good, good to know.

- Construction started in 1859 after the county government was moved from Mineral Point here to Dodgeville.

- Oh, okay.

- And it was actually built by Cornish stonemasons.

– John: Is that right?

As in Cornwall, England Cornish?

– Emmy: Yes, that is exactly right.

Now, before I can tell you why they came, I should probably tell you the beginning of Dodgeville.

So 1827, Henry Dodge packs up his family, brings 40 of his mining friends, and they come to this area from Missouri.

It was because of the success of the lead ore and the zinc mining that miners from England just flooded to this area because they knew mining, and the industry, of course, was booming.

Now, if you take a walk downtown, you can see still the British and the Cornish architecture, and it's just stunning.

– John: So should we take a walk down Main Street?

– Emmy: Well, let's do it, except it's Iowa Street, so you gotta get it right.

- I think it's a freeway, too, just so you know.

Or some sort of highway.

We're on Main Street, which is really Iowa Street, which is really Highway 23.

And I love the fact, in downtown Dodgeville, to get across the street, this is what you do.

[playful music] I'm gonna take two, just because that's me.

Now watch this; okay, I'm gonna wait for this.

I don't know; do you just go out onto the street and be like, "Hey, I'm out here!"

Okay, watch.

[playful music continues] [groovy music] So let's talk about the name, because, you know, we're on PBS, okay?

– Bob Page: Yep.

[John laughing] We're not swearing.

We're describing the food.

– John: "So good you'll lick your napkin."

[laughing] People love this place.

- We're reasonably popular, yes.

- Are you?

- Yes.

We've served well over a million people in 10 years.

– John: Congratulations.

Eleven years ago, what were you doing?

– Bob: So I started to play with barbecue sauce and gave it as a gift, and it just kind of grew from there.

- Can we have a little discussion on barbecue?

- We're Dodgeville style.

I do things that I like, and you know, we do everything with a dry rub.

– John: Served dry.

– Bob: Unless you ask for it to be wet.

And this way, people get to try all the sauces.

- Right.

[laughing] - A little fun fact.

I have not had brisket nor pulled pork in 10 years.

- That's like me saying, "Oh, I don't ever watch television."

- Right.

- You know, that's kind of... - Do you?

- So much.

[laughing] - Okay.

So that's really nothing like... - No, but that's what it would be like to me.

- Yeah, it would be.

We'll start with the original.

So the original, I have been making forever.

- We could stop there and I'd be a happy man.

- Okay, all right.

- But give me some more.

- Next, let's do the BrewBQ.

So this is made with Spotted Cow.

Each one is gonna be different.

- That's candy-like.

- It is.

- Can we talk about the menu a little bit?

- Sure; we can't change much anymore.

- You can't.

- Because when you take an item off the menu-- - They're mad at you.

- They get mad.

All right, next is raspberry.

This one is very popular with kids.

- Mm-hmm, it's a little too sweet for me.

- Yeah; the next is the Habanero.

- Okay.

- This is my favorite sauce.

There's a little bite to it, but very little.

- This, I would just be like.

[laughing] That's what I would do.

– Bob: Rarely do people walk out without buying one to four bottles of sauce.

That's the whole idea.

Next is Honey Chipotle.

It's a little bit hotter.

This one is sweetened with honey.

- That may be my favorite so far.

- Yeah.

- You know, I'm the guy who would walk out of here with all of them, so... - Yeah.

Well, good.

They are for sale.

- Okay.

[both laughing] [upbeat music] So we travel a lot in this show, and you see me eat a lot in the show, and in all of my travels, I've never eaten this: square ice cream.

So why a scoop of square ice cream?

Well, it's novel, it's memorable, it's tradition.

It's Dodgeville, and it's still ice cream, come on!

[upbeat music] We're at Steph's Sweet Treats.

Okay, this is what surprised me.

It's more than just sweet treats you eat.

Oh, you started off with a bakery?

– Stephanie Halvorson: Yes, yep.

We've had the bakery for 10 years, and then expanded into the boutique and all the other stuff four years ago.

– John: Because you didn't have enough work, Steph?

- Right, I just wanted no sleep.

- Is that right?

- Yeah.

- What are people shopping for?

- We do a lot of what we call our signature graphics.

We make and print them.

- Take a look; no, it's not for me.

Come on, I heard you at home.

– Steph: We have a lot of, like, veteran-owned companies and made in U.S.A. companies, which is pretty big for our customer base and stuff.

- You guys have a lot!

- Yeah.

[both laughing] We have women's clothing, men's clothing, little kid stuff, a lot of gifts.

- Take a nap, Steph.

Let's go up to the bakery.

- Okay.

- You will give a kit for somebody to go home and make exactly what you do.

- Yes; open and go is easiest.

You don't need fancy equipment, just a bowl and a spoon and an oven.

– John: Apple cider donut muffins.

- All of this comes in the box.

I do all kinds of things.

So we've done s'mores bars, apple cider donuts, cookies.

- Yeah.

- A variety of things.

- And it's a monthly thing?

- It's called a subscription, but you don't have to get it every month if you don't want to.

I just have, like, an email list subscription.

- And do they stop in and pick up the box?

- Yep, they stop in, they get the box with everything inside, and then they just take it home.

- I'm gonna shake it.

- And then you get the recipe to go with it so you can make it again, even after your box is gone.

- This is so clever!

You know, this is TV right here.

[both laughing] Can we split one?

- Yeah.

- Here, I'm taking the big one.

[Steph laughing] It couldn't be any better.

[Steph laughing] So moist, so good.

Thank you; I'm gonna take this home, and goodbye, Steph.

There we go.

[laughing] - The Dodge Mining Camp Cabin is one of Wisconsin's oldest structures.

It was built as a house in 1828 at the original lead mining claim of Henry Dodge.

So what happened to all the miners when the most profitable surface deposits of lead were gone?

Well, many left for California in the gold rush of 1849 or for the copper mines along Lake Superior.

Others turned to farming or became merchants, but that's probably because Lands' End wasn't here yet.

[upbeat music] - Lands' End.

Let's talk history of this company.

– Kelly Ritchie: So our founder, Gary Comer, he was a sailor, he was a copywriter, he was a pilot, and he started Lands' End as a sailboat hardware company.

And in his basement, he had a mail-order company selling the pieces and parts to customers.

And that's how Lands' End started in 1963.

And then he started to get into some apparel, all with a nautical heritage.

The rugby shirt, the squall jacket, the duffle, and the business really took off once he came to Dodgeville.

- Yeah, how many people work here?

- So depending on the time of the year, because we do a large school uniform and holiday business, we could have 2,000 to 2,500 employees at our Dodgeville location.

- We are in embroidery.

What are we doing today?

– Roy Pflieger: We're running six luggages.

Some of them have a lot of different colors that we program in 'cause we have, like, 300 different threads.

– John: And how long will it take to do these six totes?

– Roy: A little under three minutes to run.

Sometimes the machine stops if a thread breaks.

– John: Uh-oh.

– Roy: Yeah.

– John: Why did it stop?

– Roy: It's just doing a trim cut to go to the next letter.

– John: Oh, there we go.

So do you just stand here and watch this?

- No.

- No; then what do you do?

- A lot of times, once I hit start on this one, I'll be working on two other machines.

- Oh, you will?

- These little things that come on up.

- Can I do this one?

- Yeah.

- Do you mind?

- Go ahead.

- Okay.

My work here is finished.

This is an incredible process.

On the other side of this room, there's an order fulfillment center where people put the package on a conveyor belt.

It comes down here and goes into this chute.

From the chute, it's on this belt and it goes down there to the trays.

They manually put it on a tray.

It goes to that scanner there.

The scanner tells it what chute to put it in.

There is a live person there who will then take that product, pack it up, and send it to shipping.

Out of this facility, 30,000 to 250,000 packages are shipped a day.

This is amazing.

What's this?

[playful music] - Well, John, this is a slag furnace.

Slag is the byproduct left over after metal has been separated or smelted from its raw ore. Well, Samuel Cornelius and Thomas Carkeek knew there was more lead that they could get out of the slag, so they built this special furnace in 1876.

Now the furnace proudly stands as a testament to the mining roots of this town.

[gentle music] - We're in an amazing space; it's called White Oak Savanna.

We drove up and it's like, wait, what's going on here?

– Paul Gaynor: You tell me.

[both laughing] - You please tell us, like, is this your history?

- Well, I'm a lawyer, actually.

- You are?

- Yeah.

– John: Would have been my second guess.

- Right.

This farm was settled by Charles Lloyd Jones, Frank Lloyd Wright's first cousin, and I fell in love with the place.

When we bought the property, it was a traditional barn with a second floor.

What we ended up doing is the foundation was a mess, and so we ended up bringing in a house mover and they jacked it up, excavated, poured a new foundation, and then brought it down to grade.

Well, then it became, "Let's have an event space."

– John: Right.

– Paul: Yeah.

And then, we opened it in 2017 as a venue.

We have a Quonset hut over there that we've restored so if it rains for a wedding ceremony, you can have it in the Quonset hut.

So this building, yeah, was in pretty bad shape.

This is all material again from another building.

Wait, where am I going?

I'm taking you to the kitchen.

– John: Wow!

– Paul: Most chefs that come in here say, "This is the nicest kitchen we've ever been in."

– John: Isn't it great?

– Paul: Yeah.

We have two dressing rooms.

- Like, you have to have this too.

You really do.

- Yeah.

When you rent our venue, you get chairs, you get tables, you get dressing rooms.

And we don't keep upcharging you on stuff.

– John: Right.

– Paul: This is the house that we rent out.

Usually, the wedding party stays here or family.

– John: A lot of space.

– Paul: Yeah, man.

– John: Yeah.

– Paul: So there's the solar.

It's what's called dual metered, so you're putting the energy back on for the power grid.

– John: And that you're credited for.

– Paul: Yes, exactly.

– John: Yeah.

This is kind of incredible.

– Paul: It's a big mission creep operation, is what I would say.

I mean, this-- - John: Congratulations.

– Paul: I guess, I'm not so sure.

– John: It's remarkable.

– Paul: Thank you.

- Governor Henry Dodge.

So you're thinking, "Oh, he must have been the governor of the state of Wisconsin."

No; Wisconsin didn't become a state until 1848, but it was 1836 when Colonel Henry Dodge became the first territorial governor of the original Wisconsin territory.

It's only fitting that he would have one of the most popular state parks in Wisconsin named after him.

[gentle music] - We who live in Wisconsin, we know this.

The other five states that surround us should know this park as well, shouldn't they?

– Eric Stopper: Absolutely.

We have over half a million visitors annually here at Governor Dodge.

– John: That's good.

Is it all year that they come in and out?

- Yeah, we're proud to offer year-round recreation, even winter camping.

We plow out campsites for the visitors.

- Do you camp in the winter?

– Matt Seguin: Personally, no.

- No.

Do you camp?

- Yeah, I like camping.

- Do you camp in this park?

- I have, yeah.

But it's always good to explore.

- You get a deal, don't you?

- No.

- Come on!

[both laughing] Campsite, how many do we have here?

– Matt: Over 300, including the family-style campsites, along with group campsites, backpack campsites, and even a very nice and new equestrian campground that we're very proud of.

- Where are we in the park right now?

- Right now, we're at Cox Hollow Campground.

- Okay.

- This campground is more for the tenters, non-electric campsites.

The RVers and trailer people will end up at Twin Valley Campground.

- And, like, private campsites, aren't they?

A lot of 'em?

- Very secluded, yeah, yeah.

They're well-designed and thought-out.

It's still a campground; you still have neighbors.

- Yeah.

- And generally speaking, it's usually a pretty good crowd that comes out and, you know, if you want to visit, you can visit.

Or if you want to get away, you can get away.

It's good times.

- You know the park well.

- Very well, yes.

– John: Yeah.

If someone were to say, "What should we look at first?"

What do you tell 'em?

– Eric: Well, it depends on the time of the year and really what you're looking for.

But we have two lakes within Governor Dodge State Park that offer excellent fishing, two beaches, very nice picnic areas along there.

– Matt: Cox Hollow Beach is where we're at.

It's one of the most heavily visited spots we have in the park.

Summertime, you can rent some canoes, kayaks, paddle boats.

– John: Sure.

– Matt: But we get a lot of fishermen that come out.

– John: Yeah; so this is a state park?

– Eric: Yes, that's correct.

- And is this the biggest?

- It is one of the biggest, yes.

We're over 5,000 acres here, so there's plenty of room.

– John: People love this park.

– Eric: They do, yes, yes.

– Emmy: This is among the last of the Masonic temples in Wisconsin that's still a functioning Masonic lodge.

This one dates all the way back to 1859, Dodgeville Lodge number 119, and it also serves as a museum.

[gentle music] - We're at Wilson Park; this is Gene Van Dyck.

Gene Van Dyck Field.

– Gene: Yeah.

- I'm a little nervous now talking to you.

[laughing] Do you spend day after day, year after year in this park?

– Gene: Yep, starting in about 1978.

– John: Nice.

– Gene: And still going.

– John: And coaching what and who?

- When my daughter was four years old is when I got started coaching softball.

I moved out of that when they got high school age, into coaching high school, and so that's been 30 years or a little better.

And still with it.

- To watch girls play softball, these are remarkable athletes.

- Well, the skill level that they play with is unbelievable.

- Yeah.

- But they're focused and they work really hard, the ones that want to play.

And we work really hard.

In softball, there's so much that has to do with quickness and thought process, where baseball's so much strength and speed and whatever.

They're different in how the game's played.

And I kinda look at the sports as an extension of the high school, where you're trying to be one cog in the thing that's gonna turn out a productive person as they grow up.

– John: Are players different than they were when you started?

– Gene: No.

– John: They aren't.

– Gene: It has to be a team that kinda gets along.

First rule when we meet in the spring is nobody messes with anybody else's boyfriend that's on this team.

Nobody.

- And are they all like, "Oh, my Lord, okay."

- Yeah.

- You won some state championships?

– Gene: We won one state championship, we got beat twice, but I've had teams every bit as good as the ones that did that.

– John: So what's the Hall of Fame and what do you have to do with it?

– Gene: Well, I'm going in, I guess.

– John: How nice.

– Gene: It says what kind of kids I've had and the type of program we've run, and so it's quite an honor.

- Did you get a new tie or anything for the event?

[both laughing] I'd be like, "I need new shoes!"

- I do need new shoes!

[John laughing] - John: The Dodgeville area district sports teams are known as the Dodgers.

And their mascot used to be known as Dodger Dan.

But you know what that left out?

It left out a lot of Dodger Dianes, so they let go of that persona.

So what is the Dodgeville Dodger mascot today?

[playful music] - Now, when I looked into this, I figured that, given the history of this town, that a Dodger must be a nickname for a miner.

But I found zero evidence backing that theory and I guess the school district found no evidence either, because when they gave Dodger Dan the boot, they replaced him with no mascot, just the letter D. So here in Dodgeville, you just sport your jerseys and you know that it's a... - In unison: Great day to be a Dodger.

- I knew that.

- Where'd you come from?

It was my line.

Don't you have enough of this show?

Geez.

[John laughing] [upbeat music] - John: Yeah, this is a good-looking field.

And people live pretty close, don't they?

– Mike Reilly: Oh, yeah.

– Pat Reilly: Three foul balls hit that house last week.

- What, right here?

- Yeah.

- Is that right?

This is Mike and this is Pat Reilly.

How are you guys?

- Very good.

- You guys know each other?

- Don't really want to, but you know.

- But you do.

- We do.

- So you're brothers?

- We put up with each other.

- Who's the older brother?

- Definitely him; can't you tell?

- We're gonna talk to Pat first.

You know this ball field, don't you?

– Pat: Yeah, this is actually Reilly Field.

– John: It's called Reilly Field.

Any relation?

- Yeah, us.

– John: You guys.

You're the baseball coach at the high school.

– Pat: Yes.

– John: And you've done other work around town, around baseball, haven't you?

– Pat: Oh, yeah, yeah, that's been my second life.

– John: Yeah.

– Pat: I coached every level from nine years old to adult.

And I'm still doing adult and high school.

- Do you have a senior leagues playing?

- No.

- No.

- You don't?

– Mike: We have home talent baseball.

– John: Home talent.

– Mike: Yeah.

– John: What's that?

– Pat: Home talent is the adult men's league, 44 teams, and I'm the president of the league.

- Good.

- Which means nobody likes me.

[John laughing] - He takes all the guff.

- That's how it always works.

You know that.

What happens at the newspaper?

Dodgeville Chronicle, right?

– Mike: Yeah.

– John: And it's been around for how long?

– Mike: Well, 1862 is-- - John: 1862?

– Mike: Is when it was founded.

Yeah, I wasn't there for the first issue, but I did make the second one, so.

– John: [laughing] That's good.

- Yep.

- It wasn't your family that started this newspaper.

- No, about 1930 is when our uncle bought the newspaper.

We took over in the '80s.

– John: In the '80s.

A weekly local paper.

Don't you think it's still really important to a community?

– Mike: The community newspaper is extremely important.

– John: Yeah.

– Mike: Yeah.

And we get compliments all the time.

– John: And what's your job there?

- Anything and nothing, is probably the best way to say it.

And Pat here, he's in charge of the news end of it.

– John: You write for the paper?

– Pat: Oh, yeah.

- So when's your copy due?

- Whenever I get done with it.

[John and Mike laughing] That's the benefit of being one of the owners.

- It's so nice, isn't it?

[all laughing] That's not my plane, no.

In fact, that's parked here all the time in front of the Don Q Inn.

That plane has an incredibly interesting story.

Don Quinn, the owner, he flew this plane, then he parked it here.

Why did he park a plane here?

Because he wanted something more eye-catching than a highway billboard.

And hats off to Don because can I tell you, he won, 'cause he caught my eye.

What?

It catches everybody's eye.

I have guests with me.

- You do?

- Take a look.

Hey, you guys.

[crowd laughing] How many of you have been here?

- Hey, John.

- See, look at that.

[crowd laughing] So they've all been to The House on the Rock.

– Nancy Schaf: So cool.

– John: Yeah.

If people don't know House on the Rock, what do they expect?

- That is interesting.

The house is what people expect, but there's so much more than the house.

– John: Let's talk about the history of this place.

– Nancy: So Alex Jordan started picnicking on the Rock in the 1940s.

He enjoyed the space so much that he started renting the Rock.

And then he started bringing friends out and they started building, and it kept developing until it had quite a presence.

His dad helped him buy the farm.

And finally, he started charging to see it, and the rest is history.

He opened the doors officially as a tourist attraction in 1960.

– John: So this is the actual house?

– Nancy: So we're in the house, we're on the Rock.

It's purported that he only spent four nights here.

- The whole time?

- Yes.

- Four nights?

- Four nights.

And this is the first room.

It's his studio workshop that he first built.

And then the rest came after that.

In any season, you have to see the Infinity Room.

– John: It's really clever, isn't it?

– Nancy: It is; it is ingenious.

– John: Where else is one of these?

– Nancy: There is no other.

So the buildings are not as fancy as the house, but what's inside is amazing.

- I've got the token; are we ready?

[coin dropping] [carnival music] - It's crazy.

- It's crazy.

It's really hard to believe.

[audience clapping] - John: They left nothing out, did they?

– Nancy: No.

– John: It's remarkable.

– Nancy: Even a harp.

– John: Three stories high.

– Nancy: Yes.

– John: Wow.

– Nancy: It's 80 feet in diameter, 10 years in the making.

– John: There can't be anything like this ever.

– Nancy: I don't think so.

– John: Like in the world.

– Nancy: It was built here.

– John: And how many pieces?

– Nancy: There's over 260 animals on it and none are horses.

– John: None are horses?

– Nancy: No.

– John: I'd love to be a fly on the wall for somebody's first visit.

– Nancy: They're just so amazed at the fun that's here.

They can't believe how big it is and how much there is to see.

And it's hard to explain to someone when you leave here.

- Yeah, I've often wondered if I collect too much stuff.

No.

I'm fine.

This is a Bismarck.

I already took a bite 'cause I couldn't wait.

These are the best Bismarcks in the world.

It's white cream in a really soft donut covered with chocolate.

People in Dodgeville live for these, yeah, mmm.

I would drive here for these, I swear.

[upbeat music] Dodgeville, Wisconsin.

There's something so attractive about it.

- And so comfortable.

- Yeah.

Why is it every place we go, we're like, "Oh my God, we love this, we would fit in here?"

- Because we would and we're all Midwest nice.

That's why.

- This entire season has been nice.

Thanks for joining us, Emmy.

- Thank you for letting me be a part of your show.

I've loved it.

There's nowhere else I'd rather be The heart and soul of community's right here - That wasn't hard.

- Yes, it was.

Can I redo it?

[laughing] - I'm in Dodgeville, which is in Iowa City.

Iowa City.

[groaning] - For the sake of good television.

[crunching] - Don Q ho, tan... Oh, go back.

[John laughing] Oh, is that all you wanted?

Okay.

– Producer: Right, Midwest nice.

Thank you, stop talking.

- Oh.

[laughing] - Announcer: John McGivern's Main Streets thanks the following underwriters: [gentle music] - Narrator: Greendale is proud to be the inspiration for John McGivern's Main Streets.

This historic village is a real place, where all are welcome to gather, to shop, to enjoy.

Charming.

Vibrant.

Joyful.

Welcoming.

You've just gotta see Greendale.

To the unknown I'm on my way Oh, it's time to hit the road I'm on my way This is the freedom I live for - Narrator: Remember when the American dream was being able to say, "I made that.

I built that."

Wouldn't it be great if your kids and grandkids chose a career that provides that kind of pride with good pay, but without a ton of student loan debt?

A four-year degree isn't the only path to success.

We need talented people to make and build on Main Streets everywhere.

Skilled work isn't a thing of the past.

It's a bright future.

– Announcer: Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Plum Media and the Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

Thanks, friends.

- Well, it's happened again.

It happened in Dodgeville.

I found a house I want.

It happens in every community.

Take a look at this one, okay.

I have no idea who owns it, I have no idea who lives there, but right now, I wished it were me.

Every community.

Thirteen of 'em this season.