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The following program is a PBS Wisconsin original production. - This week on "Wisconsin Life": we meet an archivist keeping history alive, an artist telling stories through sculpture, a researcher making cows more comfortable, and a synchronized ice skating team. It's all ahead on "Wisconsin Life."

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Announcer

"Wisconsin Life" is funded in part by, Alliant Energy, Lowell and Mary Peterson, American Transmission Company, Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programming, and Friends of PBS Wisconsin. Hello, this is "Wisconsin Life" and I'm Angela Fitzgerald. Today I visit the UW Madison's Marshfield Agricultural Research Station and cows are everywhere. This farm is located in Stratford and it's part of a collection of research stations located across the state,

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Announcer

each with its own research focus. Here at the North Campus, research is being conducted on crops as well as dairy herds. That research fulfills the station's mission to further agricultural development and natural research conservation, in an area of the state where soil can be hard to manage.

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Announcer

The origin of this station dates back to 1912. Researchers are credited with implementing dairy standards that are used in farms around the world. Today, the farm maintains high-quality animal care standards while conducting studies on pasture grazing, feed supplements, and enrichment. I'll learn what it takes to manage this station later on.

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Announcer

But first, we meet a Beloit archivist preserving a college's vibrant history for today and the future.

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Announcer

Beloit College is a place students come to learn. Recognize that? - Yeah. I'm gonna have to actually wear the white gloves for that one. So this is the "Nuremberg Chronicle." It was printed in 1493. Published in Germany. It's also a place Fred Burwell never left. I was a student here between '83 and '86. I love these kinds of things. Even these sorts of things just give you a real picture of the time period. It's never dull in the sense you're always gonna find something new. There are mysteries I'm still trying to solve after 30 years.

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Angela

Finding something new in something old is Fred's job as the Beloit College archivist. A journey that started at the library back in his college days. I went through this mysterious cage door near the map area, walked into the space where there were piles and piles of photographs, boxes of stuff higgledy-piggledy on shelves, and I went back downstairs to my boss at the circulation desk and I just said, "What is that place? I like it, I wanna know more about it." As Fred grew older, the job of organizing chaos in the college archive never grew old. I fell in love with work and next thing I know, years passed. Today, Fred is a walking, talking, encyclopedia on all things related to Beloit College.

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Angela

We have a letter written to President Irving Maurer, who was president here from 1924 to 1942. From Helen Keller, it's hand-signed by her in kind of large block letters and pencil. In addition, Fred can tell you about the college connection to the "Indiana Jones" movies. Roy Chapman Andrews grew up in Beloit. Went to Beloit College, class of 1906, became a famous explorer. George Lucas, the filmmaker, has been cagey about who Indiana Jones was based upon. At the very end of the book, there's an Afterword, which talks about it being inspired by the expeditions of Roy Chapman Andrews to outer Mongolia in the 1920s.

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Angela

Fred's also an explorer of sorts, on his own expedition. On top of that, I guess I love that whole puzzle-solving thing, the detective work. There's so much hiding back there that I haven't even turned over myself after 30 years. The volume of work Fred handles is limitless. The piles of records, documents, and memorabilia are never-ending. I've learned to live with piles everywhere. Just the nature of the beast. Some people can't stand it. Other people walk in the door and go, "Ah!" like that, 'cause they like that. I don't mind it. Some people will joke that it's job security or whatever. This is a nice glimpse into a time period. It's a job that still excites Fred even after all these years. If you wanna work with old stuff this is one of those collections that could be pretty fascinating.

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Angela

The thing that I discovered that I loved so much about the archives was actually working with students. So, Claire, what have you found today? Seeing the light bulb go over their head, suddenly they're turned on to history. Whoohoo, monsoon! - You've done it all? Yay! I'm so excited to leave behind the full collection. That will be your legacy. - Yeah, I guess so. You get some students who think, "Oh, I don't like history. I'm not interested at all." I say "Oh, what sport do you play?" "Baseball." This is the 1898 baseball team. This team had some fascinating characters, among them Ginger Beaumont. Five years later, and... the first batter in the First World Series. Fred will also tell you that same Beloit baseball team produced a player for the Baltimore Orioles and a future governor of South Dakota. There's something different about having that physical experience with the actual materials, than seeing it online.

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Angela

It connects you to history in a way that nothing else would. And speaking of that time period, do you recognize who that is? This is Richard Nixon. No way. - Yes. This was his visit in the early '50s. And he came back in 1968 as part of the campaign for President.

Girl

That is so great.

Angela

Connecting future generations to history is key to his work. I call myself the campus pack rat, in a way. Something that seems mundane and recyclable now, I can see that it could be valuable in 50 years, or more, or less! I like stories, and the archives are full of them.

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Angela

Next up, we visit an Algoma sculptor who is carving lifelike art out of clay.

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Bren Sibilsky

I like to say, "I make my living playing with mud." My name is Bren Sibilsky, and I am a sculptor. I live in Algoma, Wisconsin. I've worked in commercial art for many years. And after I burned out from working around the clock putting a lot of hours, I decided this is it, I'm gonna go back to what my true passion was, what I wanted to do all along. So I went back to sculpture.

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Bren Sibilsky

I make sculptures in clay, bronze. Most of my sculptures are representational, and they deal with the human form. The Native American piece that I'm working on today has a lot of different symbolism to it. I met a very interesting historian from the area who took me to see a tribe, the Potawatomi of Hannahville. And I got to speak with the spiritual leader of the tribe and learn a little bit about their ways and feel the atmosphere of that in the story of their tribe. And I wanted his take on what I should bring to the sculpture. And he told me that it was important that it come from the heart, to use my heart when creating, and that was just perfect because that's where I like to create from.

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Bren Sibilsky

Clay would be my favorite material. It's quick, it's tactile, you can put it in right away and it's adjustable. You get lost in it. You can almost start to feel your subject matter's feelings, and you can feel it going into the work. That piece is all about change; change being forced onto a tribe of people. It really is their story. It's not my story. In a way, I'm illustrating, from my own heart, how I felt reading the story. We're all here for a short time, really, when you look at the big scope of things, and I sometimes feel like I'm a recorder more than anything else. I'm just recording what I feel and see in this world. How many people on this planet get to play with mud for a living? I'm drawn to do it. It's icing on the cake if the world accepts you and buys into what you're doing. But if you're an artist, you have to do it.

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Bren Sibilsky

I'm at UW's research station in North Central Wisconsin, learning all about crops and dairy herd management.

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Bren Sibilsky

Marshfield Agricultural Research Station has a strong legacy of conducting research that directly impacts local farmers and communities. The research station is over 100 years old. We were established in March of 1912. The original site is in the city of Marshfield. Fast forward to 1999. The site that we're standing on now in Stratford, Wisconsin, was acquired through an effort to propel the Marshfield Agricultural Research Station into a site that more accurately reflected where the dairy industry was going. So, tell us about some of the current research efforts that are underway here. The focus is primarily on the growth and development of dairy heifers. The USDA component of our facility is looking at nutrient management, the application of nutrients to the field, and my colleague Jason Cavadini, he is managing the agronomy program of our-- of what we do here.

Angela

To learn more, I found Jason where I'd expect to find an agronomist, out in the fields. In this area in Central Wisconsin an agronomist, especially, is focused on producing forages for feeding livestock. So, tell us how does that connect to cow grazing? So, grazing, we say, is a soil and water conservation practice, like the gold standard of all conservation practices, because its foundation is perennial crops. So when we talk about cover crops, we're talking about keeping that land covered with green living material between harvest and planting, so it's constantly feeding the soil. Now more than ever, we're focusing on the societal aspect of our decisions on the farm. The responsibility of us, the responsibility of the farmers, to farm in a way that society sees as acceptable, that communities see as acceptable.

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Angela

It's time for me to leave the field and head to the milk parlor to try milking for the first time.

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Angela

Oh, oh, there you go! From dairy production to cover crops, Nancy Esser says the work here is important. I think what's most special about the research station is that we are part of the University of Wisconsin. We're Madison, we're campus. We all work for Bucky.

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Angela

We're right here in Central Wisconsin. We have a lot of foot traffic. We not only fulfill the research needs of scientists, but we're an outreach facility. We're owned by the public. We work for the public. We work to advance agricultural knowledge, and science, and the industry. A lot of research is being done here to help farmers now and in the future.

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Angela

Now we head to Watertown to catch up with the professor using science to help cows find a bit more comfort.

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Angela

Hi. Jennifer Van Os is at home in a Wisconsin dairy barn. Being here is really a dream come true. It's not where she expected her scientific research career would take her. But it's almost a dream I didn't realize I had. I never thought that this would be possible. So, a decade ago, I hadn't even heard of animal welfare science. I started working with cows. And I realized how fascinating they really are. They're very inquisitive. They're fun to work with, and I love working with them. Jennifer's specialty at the University of Wisconsin is animal welfare. So if you break down the word wel/fare, we're really asking, "How 'well' is she 'faring'?" Animal welfare is a growing academic field, as consumers demand more information about where their food comes from and how it's handled. So, that's something people often ask. If they've seen certain marketing campaigns, they ask how do you know if a cow is happy? Is that even "a thing?" And that's part of my job, is to try to assess how a cow is feeling. So, what is her affective status? Is she feeling positive emotions or negative emotions? But really, it is a scientific discipline and we try to be quite rigorous. That rigorous scientific discipline has Jennifer in the barn taking precise measurements of airflow. We thought that air speeds might be too low and so what you'll notice is towards the edges of the barn, we see high-speed air at the cow height, whereas, in the middle, it drops off. Airflow is crucial because controlling a cow's temperature is one key to comfort. The idyllic image of a cow out in pasture on a sunny day, isn't always what the cow wants.

Jordan Matthews

We give a lot of tours at our dairy in the summertime. We'll be standing outside of our barn. We get a question a lot of the times if people ask, "Why aren't your cows on a pasture?" The ones at the far end are a little bit older. So we'll have visitors in T-shirts and shorts and we're about ready to go into our cross-ventilated facility, and we'll say, "Now, just imagine if you had a black leather coat on." There has been research looking at, do cows prefer to be inside a barn or outside? And the answer is 'both.'

Angela

At the University of Wisconsin Dairy Research Farm, the herd has free access to the pasture. It's part of animal welfare to give livestock freedom of choice. Like being able to scratch an itch, when needed, on a rotating brush. Jennifer's job is to research these ideas and spread the word about what works to improve welfare.

Jennifer Van Os

I serve the State of Wisconsin. I'm here to bring objective scientific evidence. She's one of the best hires in last 20 years at UW-Madison. She brings a fresh perspective and has a real good way with people. Yeah. Remember, I was here on Tuesday, yeah. The value of taking care of your animals and making sure that they're productive and profitable.

Angela

Jennifer likes the human connection and knowing her scientific research has practical applications. I get to work with producers, see cows on a regular basis, and I find that really rewarding to know that our research really is going to be applied in the industry to help these animals. What I really found reflected in working with our local industry is the embodiment of the Wisconsin Idea. Jennifer's career with the university is just getting started.

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Angela

We're not freezing the calves, whereas down in Texas... But she is already doing her part to train the next generation. Went down the line and made sure all of them are at the same height and are the same distance away. Jennifer's graduate students are researching best practices for raising calves and learning how to communicate their findings. Because I feel like there's always this gap, kind of, between science and just the general population. Even going home and explaining my research to my family is really, like, it's easier now, 'cause I see Jennifer do it on a daily basis with her work. She can bring high-level complex topics down to simple terms that everyone at our dairy can understand. We did beef up our ventilation system as a result of that project.

Jennifer

Though, I think it's really been a dream come true to form research collaborations and to see positive changes occur.

Angela

Ultimately, it's the cows who may benefit the most from Jennifer's work. I really wanna thank the cows that produce dairy products and make sure that their lives are as good as possible, because I'm really thankful for what they do to enrich our lives.

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Angela

For our last story, we travel to Fond du Lac, where a team is representing the United States on the world stage.

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Angela

Sixteen skaters, one goal, and three minutes to prove it.

"Moonlight Dance" by Ben Sumner

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Angela

For those who've never seen synchronized skating, It's kind of like synchronized swimming. It's the only team discipline in figure skating. Precision and perfection take practice.

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Jenny McMahon

One, two, three, four, turn, one, two, turn, one, two, three, turn. Getting all the girls on the same foot, at the same time, with the same expression, and the same arm movement.

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Jenny McMahon

All right, let's go, from the beginning.

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Angela

The Fond du Lac Blades are Wisconsin's premiere synchro team, attracting skaters from Green Bay, Madison, and Milwaukee.

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Turn right on to Fond du Lac Avenue.

Angela

Macy Bania commutes three times a week from Green Bay in all kinds of weather. That's not including extra practices which happen quite frequently. It's very challenging, and most of the time, I do homework in the car because it can be a difficulty to keep up with school.

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Angela

For these athletes, the team's become a second family. And for one skater, the coach 'is' family. My mom, she's the coach. Molly watch that you don't get ahead on the first twizzle right off the gate. For us, it has just worked, it has very much clicked. Jenny McMahon and Heather Pagel share coaching duties. Both had been around the Blades for more than 30 years. I actually started on the very first synchronized skating team that we had. Back then, it was called Precision. It was up to 32 skaters, and it was very different from what we do now. The speed has increased, the difficulty has increased, and it's amazing the things between the jumps and the lifts that the skaters are doing.

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Angela

The difficulty had to change for the Fondy Blades to remain on the cutting edge and competitive with the world's best. We get to compete at the Zagreb Snowflakes Trophy. We're going to Croatia as Team USA. And it's a privilege that not many skaters get to experience through figure skating.

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Angela

Last-minute improvements to their routine caught the judges' attention in Fond du Lac.

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The total score for the Fond du Lac Blades is 58.67.

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Announcer on PA

I'm really proud of the short program. We did a great job bringing the score up today.

Angela

One performance down, one more to go.

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Angela

Let's go, Blades! The hours of practice are paying off. On this day, the team posts its highest score to date, putting them in good shape before their international competition in Croatia. It was a big breakthrough for us and our team. I felt really good and I was doing all my arms to the max and expressing. I was just having a really good time out there. I'm really excited for them to head overseas and see what we can do in Croatia.

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Angela

Travel time is also bonding time and the Blades take Croatia by storm. They're all my best friends and I just have so much fun traveling with them. Team bonding is really important in getting all of the skaters to click. Well, the girls are like a family to me. I love it.

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All

U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A! It's amazing to hear the words, "Representing the United States of America." And, in fact, I get choked up. I get choked up when we're there and we hear it.

Announcer

Representing the United States of America, Fond du Lac Blades.

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Angela

Now it's time for Jenny to play the role of both coach and proud parent. There's a little bit of stress where you're just like, you take a deep breath and go, "Okay, I hope we've given them all the tools we possibly can to have them look great."

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blades scratching

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Angela

Oh, my gosh, I think every parent's just like, "Please don't fall down."

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Angela

Nervous parents, American flags, and home video,

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Angela

provide memories of a lifetime.

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Angela

We competed against teams from Hungary, Croatia, Italy, Finland, Russia, and another United States team. We ended up third so we're really excited that we came home with the Bronze medal. Home to Fond du Lac, where the Blades represent Wisconsin on the world stage. It's to do your very best and do your best for your country. I think synchronized skating has allowed them to have an opportunity that most kids will never get.

All

Happy day, U-S-A.

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All

This is my first time on a dairy farm and it's an experience that will stay with me forever.

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All

If you'd like to learn more about the stories you've seen today, or the Marshfield Agricultural Research Station, visit WisconsinLife.org. We'd love to hear from you. If you know someone with a story to share, email us at [email protected]. I'll see you again when the cows come home. I'm Angela Fitzgerald, and this is our "Wisconsin Life." Bye! Ahh... Oh, my goodness!

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Announcer

"Wisconsin Life" is funded in part by, Alliant Energy, Lowell and Mary Peterson, American Transmission Company, Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programming, and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.