Wisconsin Stories

WISCONSIN STORIES IS A PARTNERSHIP OF THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN AND WISCONSIN PUBLIC TELEVISION.

Tracy Will

EVER SINCE THE GLACIERS ROLLED OVER WISCONSIN WE'VE HAD A RELATIONSHIP WITH ICE-- FOR FUN FOR PROFIT EVEN FOR GOLD AND GLORY. SO, TONIGHT, A LOOK AT THE STATE'S FROZEN ASSET ON WISCONSIN STORIES. MAJOR FUNDING FOR WISCONSIN STORIES IS PROVIDED BY THE MEAD WITTER FOUNDATION, INC. WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WISCONSIN. ADDITIONAL FUNDING IS PROVIDED BY THE HALBERT AND ALICE KADISH FOUNDATION PHILIP J. AND ELIZABETH B. HENDRICKSON AND AN ADVISED FUND OF THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN WISCONSIN.

"Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice

Tracy Will

DO YOU THINK IT'S SAFE TO WALK ON THE LAKE? IT COULD BE. BUT THE WEATHER'S BEEN KIND OF WARM. WISCONSIN'S GOT GREAT ICE. YOU KNOW, OUR ICE MADE WISCONSIN FAMOUS AT DIFFERENT POINTS IN HISTORY. HAVE WE'VE SAID ENOUGH TO INTRODUCE THIS PROGRAM? LET'S GIVE IT A TRY. I'M TRACY WILL, OF WISCONSIN PUBLIC TELEVISION. I'M DEBBIE KMETZ, OF THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN. AS YOU MIGHT HAVE GUESSED WE'RE HERE TO INTRODUCE THE TOPIC OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM-- ICE. WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT WISCONSIN ICE? WELL, NOT EVERYONE HAS SUCH SMOOTH, CLEAN, CLEAR ICE AS WISCONSIN. AND GOOD ICE HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN ASSET. YOU CAN SKATE ON IT, CURL ON IT, BOAT ON IT-- ALL THINGS WE STILL DO TODAY. IN HISTORY, PEOPLE ALSO MADE A LIVING FROM IT. IT WASN'T UNTIL THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20th CENTURY THAT MODERN REFRIGERATION CAME INTO COMMON USAGE. BEFORE THAT, IF YOU WANTED TO KEEP SOMETHING COLD YOU NEEDED ICE. GOOD, CLEAN ICE YOU CAN HARVEST IN THE WINTER AND USE IN THE SUMMER. AND ALL OVER WISCONSIN PEOPLE WERE CARVING UP POND AND LAKE ICE AND SELLING IT FOR USE IN HOMES AND BUSINESSES. IT WAS A BIG INDUSTRY NOT SO LONG AGO. QUITE A FEW PEOPLE STILL REMEMBER ICE BOXES. AND ICE DELIVERIES. AND THE LONG DAYS OF ICE HARVEST.

Gaylord Moser

THERE USED TO BE A LITTLE TOWN CALLED FLORENCE. AT ONE TIME, THERE WAS A SAW MILL AND A BLACKSMITH A CHEESE FACTORY. IT SURVIVED QUITE A WHILE. OF COURSE, THE STORE IS GONE AND THE CHEESE FACTORY, AND THE SAW MILL AND EVERYTHING IS GONE NOW.

Will

WILMER AND GAYLORD MOSER ARE COUSINS WHO GREW UP ON NEIGHBORING FARMS NEAR THE SMALL TOWN OF FLORENCE, WISCONSIN NEAR RICHLAND CENTER. THE MOSER FAMILY RAN SEVERAL BUSINESSES INCLUDING A MAPLE SAP AND ICE HARVESTING OPERATION. THEY CUT ICE FROM THE MILL POND NEAR THE GRAIN MILL AT FLORENCE. THIS MUST HAVE BEEN A GREAT PLACE TO PLAY. DID YOU GO FISHING IN THE POND?

Gaylord Moser

OH, YES. WHAT DID YOU CATCH? WELL, IN THE WINTER, THIS POND WOULD FREEZE OVER. THE MOSER BROTHERS HAD AN ICE RAFT AND ICE HOUSE HERE. SO, EVERY WINTER THEY'D COME OUT HERE WITH A TRUCK AND WOODEN PLOW AND PLOW OFF THE SNOW. PLOW OFF HE SNOW.

Will

WILL MOSER'S FATHER LOVED PHOTOGRAPHY. AND IN 1933 BOUGHT A 16-MILLIMETER MOVIE CAMERA AT THE CHICAGO WORLD'S FAIR. HE FILMED MANY LOCAL EVENTS AROUND RICHLAND CENTER INCLUDING THEIR ANNUAL ICE HARVEST. HIS FILMS REVEALED THE HARD WORK AND INGENUITY NEEDED TO PACK A WAREHOUSE FULL OF ICE TO SUPPLY LOCAL ICE BOXES EVERY SUMMER.

Will Moser

THEY WOULD PLOW THE SNOW OFF FROM THE ICE FIRST. THEN, THEY WOULD HAVE A SAW, A HAND-DRAWN SAW AND A MOTOR. I GUESS IT WAS A TRUCK ENGINE, OR A CAR ENGINE. YOU WOULD PULL IT ALONG AND SAW THE ICE. AND CUT IT INTO BLOCKS. THEY'D GO UP A CONVEYOR BELT AND DOWN THE OTHER SIDE. MEN WOULD BE DOWN BELOW TO CATCH THE ICE.

Gaylord Moser

THE CONVEYOR THAT WOULD TAKE THE ICE UP A BLOCK WOULD JAM MIGHT JAM AND THE REST OF THEM WOULD POP OFF, FALL OFF. SO, IT WAS DANGEROUS IF THERE HAPPENED TO BE SOMEBODY DOWN IN UNDER THERE AT THE TIME THAT BIG BLOCKS OF ICE WOULD FALL. THE ICE WOULD COME DOWN THE CHUTE. THEY'D CATCH IT WITH ICE TONGS AND SWING IT INTO PLACE. AND SOMETIMES, THEY WOULD MISS THOSE CHUNKS OF ICE. THEIR FEET WERE IN THE LINE OF THAT CHUNK OF ICE. THERE HAD BEEN FELLOWS THAT WOULD GET A CRUSHED ANKLE ONCE IN A WHILE.

Will

AT THAT TIME, CHILLING ICE BOXES WITH 80-POUND BLOCKS OF ICE WAS THE ONLY WAY TO KEEP FOOD COLD DURING WISCONSIN'S HOT SUMMER MONTHS. AND IN LATE WINTER THE MOSER BROTHERS' ICE BUSINESS SUPPLIED WAGES FOR LOCAL WORKERS DURING THE DEPRESSION YEARS. ALSO AT THAT TIME, ELECTRIFICATION PROJECTS BROUGHT POWER TO RURAL WISCONSIN. AND MODERN ELECTRIC REFRIGERATORS CAME INTO USE. ICE BOXES SOON WERE DISCARDED AND THE MOSER ICE HOUSE WAS EVENTUALLY TORN DOWN. THE POND DRIED UP. AND EVEN THE SMALL TOWN OF FLORENCE SLOWLY BEGAN TO DISAPPEAR. BUT WILL AND GAYLORD MOSER WILL ALWAYS HAVE FOND SUMMER MEMORIES OF COOLING OFF IN THE ICE HOUSE AFTER A LONG DAY OF FARM WORK. KIDS WOULD GO IN THERE AND PLAY. OR, ON A HOT DAY WE'D DIG THE SAWDUST OFF FROM THE TOP LAYER AND LAY DOWN ON THE ICE. AND IT WAS SO NICE AND COOL. AND WILL HAS SPECIAL MEMORIES OF TRIPS WITH HIS DAD WHEN THEY DELIVERED ICE TOGETHER TO FARMS AND TOWNS ALONG THE LOWER WISCONSIN RIVER.

Will Moser

WE'D ALWAYS TAKE A LUNCH OR BUY SOME SANDWICH MEAT OR SANDWICHES AND EAT LUNCH AWAY FROM HOME. AND I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT WAS A BIG TREAT TO EAT WITH MY DAD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY.

Kmetz

WARM MEMORIES OF THE COLD ICE BUSINESS CAN ALSO BE FOUND AT HOME. RUBY LARSON HAS BEEN A LONGTIME MEMBER OF THE McFARLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY, SOUTH OF MADISON. RUBY, WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR EARLIEST MEMORIES OF ICE? SEEING THE TRUCK ON THE STREET WITH YOUNGSTERS FOLLOWING IT. THEY LIKED TO PICK UP THE PIECES OF ICE AND CHEW ON THEM OR SUCK ON THEM. THEY DIDN'T WORRY ABOUT IT BEING LAKE ICE. OF COURSE, THEY HAD TO RINSE THE STRAW OFF OF IT. THE ICE WAS KEPT IN ICE HOUSES AND THEY WERE COVERED WITH STRAW. WERE YOU ONE OF THE KIDS THAT RAN AFTER THE TRUCK? NO. ( laughs ) RUBY MAY NEVER HAVE RUN AFTER THE ICE TRUCK SHE HAS KEPT SOME WARM MEMORIES ESPECIALLY, THE ICE CARD. TELL ME ABOUT THIS, WOULD YOU? WELL, YOU WOULD DECIDE WHAT SIZE ICE YOU WANTED AND YOU WOULD PUT IT IN YOUR WINDOW WHERE THE TRUCK DRIVER COULD SEE IT. THAT'S THE AMOUNT OF ICE HE WOULD MEASURE AND BRING IN. THE ICE MAN NEEDED PICKS AND CHISELS BUT THE TOOL HE USED AT EVERY STOP WAS A PAIR OF TONGS THAT HELPED HIM CARRY THE BLOCK OF ICE INTO THE HOUSE. THERE WE GO, SOME ICE, HUH? YES, ONLY THAT ONE DOESN'T MELT. THAT'S NOT REAL? NO. SO, THIS IS WHERE THE ICE WENT. THE ICE MAN PUT IT IN HIMSELF? MM-HMM. HE TRIMMED IT TO FIT. AND OF COURSE, THERE WAS A PAN UNDERNEATH UNDERNEATH THE WHOLE... UNDER HERE IS A PAN. YES. AND IF YOU DIDN'T REMEMBER TO EMPTY THAT YOU HAD TO MOP YOUR FLOOR. OH! ( both laugh ) THAT WASN'T TOO HANDY. HOW WELL DID IT KEEP FOOD, DO YOU THINK, THESE ICE BOXES? THAT WOULD DEPEND A LOT ON THE WEATHER, TOO. BECAUSE, IF IT WAS REAL HOT, THE ICE WOULD MELT FASTER. SO, IT WASN'T A PERFECT SOLUTION. EVEN THOUGH IT WASN'T PERFECT THE ICE BOX WAS QUITE AN INNOVATION KEEPING MOST FOOD COOL AND CLOSE TO THE KITCHEN BY HARNESSING THE LAKE'S FROZEN ASSET. BACK IN THE DAYS OF ICE BOXES THE STATE SET STANDARDS FOR ICE QUALITY. BUT WHEN PEOPLE WANTED TO CHECK FOR CLEAN ICE THEY SMELLED IT. IF IT SMELLED BAD, IT WAS PROBABLY SOMETHING YOU DIDN'T WANT NEXT TO YOUR FOOD. AT THE TURN OF THE LAST CENTURY PEOPLE HAD BEEN DUMPING GARBAGE AND SEWAGE INTO WATERWAYS. AND SOME OF THE ICE SMELLED BAD. SO, WHEN THE BIG CITIES NEEDED ICE THEY TURNED TO INLAND LAKES, LIKE LAKE MENDOTA, HERE. AND THEY NEEDED LOTS OF ICE FOR CITIES LIKE MILWAUKEE AND CHICAGO. SO, FOR A WHILE WISCONSIN LAKE ICE WAS A REALLY BIG BUSINESS. HI, WE'RE HERE AT MILLER BREWING COMPANY AND I'M DOING HISTORY RESEARCH. REALLY, I AM! MANY PEOPLE HAVE HEARD THAT IT'S BEER THAT'S MADE MILWAUKEE FAMOUS BUT NOT MANY PEOPLE KNOW THAT IT WAS ICE THAT MADE THAT POSSIBLE. WE'VE COME HERE TO FIND OUT WHY. TO CONTINUE OUR RESEARCH WE HAVE TO GO UNDERGROUND, LITERALLY. WE'RE GOING TO GO TO THE ICE CAVES WHERE BEER WAS STORED SO IT WOULDN'T SPOIL BEFORE THERE WAS MECHANICAL REFRIGERATION. HERE WE ARE IN THE ICE CAVES. AND THIS IS AMAZING. CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT IT? YEAH, I SURE CAN. WHEN FREDERICK J. MILLER ARRIVED IN MILWAUKEE IN THE 1850s HE BROUGHT WITH HIM A GERMAN TRADITION OF BREWING LAGER BEER. AND HE USED THESE CAVES TO BOTH BREW AND STORE HIS BEER. NOW, WHY WOULD YOU NEED THE ICE CAVES TO MAKE BEER? THE KIND OF BEER THEY WERE MAKING WAS LAGER BEER, WHICH WAS A BAVARIAN. AND LAGER BEER REQUIRES COOLER TEMPERATURE IN ORDER TO FERMENT. EVEN THOUGH THE TEMPERATURE IS COOLER DOWN HERE, UNDERGROUND IT'S NOT COOL ENOUGH TO FERMENT THE BEER. SO, THEY WOULD HAVE HAD TO USE ICE TO LOWER THE TEMPERATURE AND THEN, TO ALSO PACK AROUND THE KEGS TO KEEP THE BEER FROM SPOILING. AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, IT TOOK MANY TONS OF ICE TO SUPPLY THIS THIRSTY BUSINESS. IN 1880, BREWERIES CONSUMED A TOTAL OF THREE MILLION TONS OF ICE MORE THAN ANOTHER OTHER INDUSTRY IN THE COUNTRY. BUT, BEFORE LONG THE SOURCE OF ICE NEAR THE MILWAUKEE BREWERIES HAD BECOME SO POLLUTED THAT THEY HAD TO SEARCH INLAND. ICE WAS HARVESTED AT MANY SPOTS IN THE STATE BUT WASHINGTON, DANE AND WAUKESHA COUNTIES WERE IDEAL AND PEWAUKEE LAKE PROVED TO BE ONE OF THE BEST. PEWAUKEE, THOUGH WAS THE SECOND LARGEST IN WISCONSIN. MADISON WAS THE LARGEST BUT WE LIKE TO THINK THAT THIS WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT. BEST BREWERY, LATER KNOWN AS PABST WAS THE FIRST TO SET UP SHOP ON PEWAUKEE LAKE, IN 1878 FOLLOWED BY FOUR MORE COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS MOSTLY BUILT BY CHICAGO MEAT PACKERS. AMOUR COMPANY, THE MEAT-PACKING GIANT SOON BOUGHT OUT THE PABST ICE HOUSE. AND WITH THEIR OTHER ICE HARVESTING OPERATIONS BECAME THE LARGEST IN THE NATION.

Ken Steele

ONE OF REASONS THAT THIS DEVELOPED SO WELL WAS THAT THE RAILROAD WAS RIGHT ADJACENT TO THE LAKE. THE RAILROAD WAS VERY IMPORTANT.

Chuck Wescott

I DON'T THINK MOST PEOPLE THINK ABOUT ICE. IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT YOU PUSH A BUTTON ON THE REFRIGERATOR AND IT DROPS INTO YOUR GLASSES. A LOT OF WORK WENT INTO THE ICE BUSINESS.

Kmetz

THE WORK OF ICE HARVESTING WAS SEASONAL. EVEN THOUGH LOCAL FARMERS WELCOMED WINTER EMPLOYMENT THERE WEREN'T ENOUGH PEOPLE IN THE PEWAUKEE AREA TO HANDLE THE HARVEST.

Wescott

THEY HIRED AS MANY AS 600 PEOPLE TO WORK THE ICE DURING HARVEST SEASON. A NUMBER OF PEOPLE CAME OUT FROM MILWAUKEE. I EVEN REMEMBER READING SOMEWHERE THAT THE RESCUE MISSION WOULD HAVE PEOPLE COME FROM MILWAUKEE.

Kmetz

LAURETTA LARSON-WYELAND THE DAUGHTER OF AN ICE HARVESTER,

WROTE

BURLAP SACKS WERE VERY MUCH IN DEMAND FOR FIVE CENTS FROM LOCAL FEED DEALERS TO BE WRAPPED 'ROUND THE FEET OF TRANSIENTS AS THEY WORKED ON THE ICE." IT WAS ONLY ONE OF THE DISCOMFORTS FOUND IN THIS HARSH LINE OF WORK.

Steele

IT WAS REASONABLY COMMON THAT PEOPLE WOULD FALL IN. THEY'D YELL "MAN IN THE WATER" OR "HORSE IN WATER." AND WE'D COME RUNNING, GET THE PERSON OUT AND WRAP HIM UP IN BLANKETS, TAKE HIM INTO LODGE HOUSE AND GIVE HIM A SHOT OF WHISKEY.

Kmetz

LAURETTA LARSON-WYELAND REMEMBERS WHAT HER FATHER WORE TO WORK AS AN ICE HARVESTER A DAUNTING THOUGHT, CONSIDERING THE WEIGHT OF WOOL AFTER A DUNK IN THE LAKE. "MY FATHER WORE WOOLEN UNDERGARMENTS, A WOOL SHIRT TWO PAIRS OF TROUSERS, A SHEEPSKIN JACKET A LINED CORDUROY JACKET AND CAP TWO PAIR OF WOOLEN SOCKS KNEE-HIGH BOOTS WITH ICE CREEPERS ATTACHED A PAIR OF WOOLEN GLOVES INSIDE A PAIR OF FLEECE-LINED MITTS AND A WOOLEN SCARF. WHEN HE WAS TIRED AT THE END OF THE DAY WE CHILDREN HELPED HIM PULL THE OUTER LAYERS APART AND OFF."

Wescott

I WOULD IMAGINE IT COULD HAVE BEEN VERY DANGEROUS. AND I DON'T THINK THAT OSHA WOULD APPROVE MANY OF THESE THINGS NOW.

Kmetz

ADDING INSULT TO INJURY, THE PAY WAS MISERLY. THE FIRST 30 YEARS, IN PEWAUKEE THEY EARNED JUST A DOLLAR A DAY. AND A CHILD WHO WOULD HELP THAT CHILD WOULD BE PAID SEVEN CENTS AN HOUR. THAT WAS A TEN OR 12-HOUR DAY. HARD WORK, TOO. BUT FOR THE OWNERS, ICE HELPED BUILD THEIR FORTUNES THE NATURAL ICE BOOM ON PEWAUKEE LAKE LASTED ALMOST 40 YEARS UNTIL THE VAGARIES OF WINTER WEATHER AND THE INCREASING RELIABILITY OF ARTIFICIAL REFRIGERATION CONSPIRED TO CREATE IT'S DEMISE. THE END OF THE ICE HOUSES THEMSELVES PROVIDES AN IRONIC CONCLUSION TO OUR STORY.

Wescott

MOST OF THEM BURNT DOWN, BECAUSE THERE WAS LOT OF HAY. THE HAY WAS A MAJOR INSULATOR. THE WALLS WERE VERY THICK-- CARELESS SMOKING, LIGHTNING-- AND ONCE THEY STARTED ON FIRE THERE WAS NOTHING MUCH YOU COULD DO ABOUT IT.

Kmetz

THE ARMOUR ICE HOUSE ON PEWAUKEE LAKE BURNED IN JULY OF 1905. FROM THAT POINT, UNTIL ABOUT THE END OF WORLD WAR I NATURAL ICE WAS USED LESS AND LESS BY THE MEAT PACKING INDUSTRY AND BREWERIES, LIKE MILLER. THE ICE INDUSTRY PROVIDED A CONSIDERABLE ECONOMIC BOOST TO THE SMALL RURAL TOWN OF PEWAUKEE. AND EVEN AFTER IT'S DEMISE, IT HAD A POSITIVE EFFECT. A NUMBER OF SUMMER RESORTS HAD SPRUNG UP ALONG THE LAKESHORE AND THE RAILROAD THAT ONCE TOOK ICE TO CHICAGO AND MILWAUKEE NOW BROUGHT TOURISTS INTO TOWN. AND AS FOR THE CITY WITH THE REPUTATION AS "THE BEER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD" WELL, NOW YOU KNOW THAT IT WAS ICE THAT MADE THE BEER THAT MADE MILWAUKEE FAMOUS. AND NOW, BACK TO MY RESEARCH. PROSIT!

Will

SKATING HAS A LONG, COMPETITIVE HISTORY IN WISCONSIN SPORTS AS WE HAVE REASON TO BE PROUD OF OUR MANY ICE ATHLETES. BUT IT WAS THE 1980 OLYMPIC HOCKEY TEAM STARRING TWO OF MADISON'S FINEST THAT BROUGHT THE ENTIRE NATION TO ITS FEET. WITH YOUNG BOB SUTER PLAYING DEFENSE AND MARK JOHNSON ON OFFENSE THE TEAM SKATED AGAINST NONE OTHER THAN THE SOVIET UNION'S PREMIER PLAYERS. IN AN EMOTIONAL SEESAWING BATTLE JOHNSON SLAPPED IN TWO GOALS ADDING TO A SPECTACULAR 4-3 UPSET WHICH WAS THEN FOLLOWED BY HIS GAME-WINNING GOAL AGAINST FINLAND AND OLYMPIC GOLD. THE WORLD WAS STUNNED. BUT THAT WASN'T THE LAST OF THAT YEAR'S WISCONSIN WINNERS. A YOUNG SOCCER PLAYER FROM MADISON WOULD BECOME AN OLYMPIC LEGEND IN 1980 AFTER HE AND HIS SISTER, BETH BEGAN TRAINING FOR SPEEDSKATING COMPETITION. ERIC HEIDEN'S RIGOROUS EFFORTS GAVE HIM A STRENGTH AND POWER THAT QUICKLY PUT HIS NAME IN THE RECORD BOOKS-- AND ON THE LIPS OF A GROWING NUMBER OF SUPPORTERS. SO, IT WAS OFF TO LAKE PLACID WITH HIGH EXPECTATIONS. BETH HEIDEN SKATED WELL AND EARNED A BRONZE MEDAL. TEAMMATE LEAH PAULOS-MUELLER, ALSO GAINED A SILVER. BUT IT WAS ERIC HEIDEN WHO'D WIN NOT JUST ONE AND TWO GOLD MEDALS SMASHING THE WORLD AND OLYMPIC RECORDS NOT ONLY THREE OR FOUR LEAVING OTHER RECORD-HOLDERS IN HIS WAKE BUT ERIC HEIDEN WON FIVE GOLD SPEEDSKATING MEDALS-- THE FIRST TIME ANYONE, IN ANY SPORT, IN ANY OLYMPICS HAD WON FIVE INDIVIDUAL MEDALS AS WELL AS ACCOLADES FROM AROUND THE WORLD. BUT NO PLACE ELSE WERE THE CHEERS LOUDER THAN AT MADISON'S CAMP RANDALL STADIUM WHEN THE ATHLETES RETURNED HOME TO A HERO'S WELCOME. 1980, A BANNER YEAR FOR WISCONSIN'S ICE OLYMPIANS. BUT IT WOULDN'T BE THE LAST. THE WORLD WOULD AGAIN LOOK TO WISCONSIN SKATERS IN 1988 WHEN BONNIE BLAIR STRUCK GOLD-- AND THEN AGAIN, IN 1992, AND AGAIN, IN 1994. ORIGINALLY FROM CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS BONNIED TRAINED AT THE PETIT ICE CENTER TO BECOME THE FIRST FEMALE ATHLETE EVER TO WIN SIX MEDALS ONE SILVER AND FIVE GOLD, BREAKING SPEED RECORDS ALMOST EVERY TIME SHE STEPPED ON THE ICE. AND IT WAS IN 1994 WHEN TEAMMATE DAN JANSEN TOUCHED THE WORLD. AFTER A HEARTBREAKING FALL IN '92 GREENFIELD'S FAVORITE SON BECAME THE REAL COMEBACK KID WINNING THE GOLD IN THE 1000-METER RACE.

LEAVING ONLY ONE QUESTION

WILL THERE BE MORE ICE HEROES FROM WISCONSIN? THE ANSWER CAN ONLY BE YES. UP AND COMING CASEY FITZRANDOLPH, FROM VERONA SHOWS HE HAS HIS EYE ON BOTH INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM EVENTS. AND A NEW OLYMPIC SPORT MAY BRING WISCONSIN MORE FAME. CURLING WAS FIRST ACCEPTED FOR OLYMPIC COMPETITION IN 1988 BUT IT MAY BE THE MADISON WOMEN'S CLUB WHO WILL PUT US IN THE RECORD BOOKS AS THEY SET THEIR SIGHTS ON THE 2002 WINTER GAMES. GOOD LUCK AND MANY THANKS TO ALL WISCONSIN'S OLYMPIANS ON ICE.

Man

FL AG IS UP! GO!

Will

ON A CRISP WINTER DAY YOU MAY CATCH A GLIMPSE OF ONE OF THE OLDEST COMPETITIVE SPORTS STILL PRACTICED IN WISCONSIN. ICEBOATS HAVE FLOWN ACROSS WISCONSIN LAKES SINCE THE 1800s. AND THE RACING FERVOR IS AS STRONG TODAY AS EVER. SLEEK, MODERN BOATS SCREAM ALONG AT SPEEDS OF 100 MILES PER HOUR, AND MORE. THEY'RE THE RESULT OF GENERATIONS OF DESIGNERS BUILDERS AND RACERS, LIKE BILL MATTISON WHO'S BEEN SAILING ACROSS WISCONSIN ICE SINCE THE 1930s.

Bill Mattison

IT'S THE MOST FICKLE SPORT IN THE WHOLE WORLD. FIRST OF ALL, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE TEMPERATURE. YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE LACK OF SNOW. AND THEN, YOU NEED THE WIND. THEN, IF IT'S UNREASONABLY COLD, YOU CAN'T GO BECAUSE YOU CAN'T EVEN BREATHE GOING 100 MILES AN HOUR. THEN, YOU NEED THE ICE AFTER ALL THAT.

Will

AND WISCONSIN HAS THE ICE. LAKES HERE USUALLY FREEZE EARLY, STAY FROZEN ALL WINTER AND IN AREAS HAVE LITTLE SNOW COVER. THIS MAKES MEDIUM-SIZED LAKES IN PLACES LIKE PEWAUKEE LAKE GENEVA, OSHKOSH AND MADISON IDEAL FOR THE SPORT. BROUGHT TO THE U.S. BY THE DUTCH WHO SETTLED IN THE HUDSON RIVER VALLEY OF NEW YORK STATE ICEBOATING QUICKLY BECAME A SPORT OF THE WEALTHY. IT THEN SPREAD TO THE MIDWEST AND CANADA. BY THE 1870s, THE FOUR LAKES AT MADISON BECAME A MECCA FOR ICEBOATERS. WHILE MANY SMALLER BOATS DOTTED THE ICE IT WAS THE MAJESTIC STERN STEERERS THAT DOMINATED THE RACING SCENE. GRACEFUL AND MASSIVE, THESE THOROUGHBREDS OF THE ICE NEEDED A CREW OF TWO OR THREE TO SAIL THEM. THE BIGGER, COMPETITIVE BOATS THEY COULD GO AS HIGH AS $50,000 OR $60,000. SOME OF THEM WERE HUMONGOUS. IT TOOK FREIGHT CARS TO MOVE THEM. BUILT FOR SPEED THESE ICE YACHTS RAN IN NUMEROUS RACES AND REGATTAS. ICE YACHT CLUBS SPRANG UP THROUGHOUT THE STATE AND WITH THEM, FIERCE RIVALRIES THAT CONTINUE TO THIS DAY. IN THE QUEST FOR FASTER BOATS, NEW DESIGNS BEGAN TO APPEAR.

Mattison

CARL BERNARD WAS VERY INSTRUMENTAL IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MADISON STYLE BOATS. THERE WERE TONS OF THOSE HERE. THEY WERE MADE OUT OF, BASICALLY, TIMBERS-- SOLID TIMBERS. THEY HAD BRIDGE PLANKS ACROSS 'EM WHICH WAS ANOTHER PLANK THAT WENT OVER THE RUNNER PLANK SO IT DIDN'T BOTTOM OUT. AND THEN, IT HAD A BASKET IN THE BACK WHERE YOU SAT WITH THE TILLER. THE GUY USUALLY THREW HIS LEG UP OVER THE TILLER TO STEER THE THING SO HE WOULDN'T GET EJECTED TOO QUICK. SOME OF THEM WEIGHED LIKE TWO TONS. THAT WAS BASICALLY MY FIRST RIDE ON ONE. THE BIG OLD GUYS THEY NEEDED BALLAST ON THE RUNNER PLANK. YOU'D STAND ON THE END OF IT AND HOLD ONTO THE STAY. OH, YEAH? DID YOU EVER FALL OFF? MORE THAN ONCE. DIDN'T THINK MUCH OF IT. IT DIDN'T STOP YOU? NO, NO. IN FACT, YOU FORGET ABOUT IT 'CAUSE YOU'RE BACK ICEBOATING TWO MINUTES AFTER.

Will

BUT THE STERN STEERERS WEREN'T ALONE. THEY SHARED THE ICE WITH MANY SMALLER, HOMEMADE BOATS.

Mattison

ALMOST EVERY HOUSE HAD ONE OF THEM IN THEIR BACK YARD THAT LIVED ON THE LAKES OR THEREABOUTS. I MEAN, I REMEMBER GROWING UP AND THERE'D BE 20 BOATS PARKED OUT AT THE END OF THE STREET WHERE I LIVED. YOU COULD NEVER AFFORD TO BUY ONE. IN YOUR YOUNGER DAYS, YOU'D BUILD TWO AND THREE A DAY. THEY WERE TWO-BY-FOURS AND CLAMP SKATES. AS THEY GOT SOPHISTICATED AND AS WE GOT A LITTLE BETTER AT IT THEY JUST EVOLVED. EVERY YEAR, YOU'D COME UP WITH A NEW LITTLE WRINKLE.

Will

"NEW LITTLE WRINKLES" INCLUDED CHANGES IN DESIGN. AND AFTER WORLD WAR II NEW SYNTHETIC MATERIALS ALLOWED BUILDERS, LIKE MATTISON TO CREATE BOATS THAT WERE LIGHTER, SMALLER AND MOST IMPORTANT, FASTER. THESE NEW STREAMLINED RACERS SOON REPLACED THE STERN STEERERS AS THE CHAMPIONS OF SPEED. MANY STERN STEERERS TOOK ON NEW LIVES AS PLEASURE BOATS LIKE THE ONE PURCHASED BY PENNY AND WALLY WILLIAMS OF PEWAUKEE. I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN MILWAUKEE AND DIDN'T HAVE THE FOGGIEST IDEA OF WHAT AN ICEBOAT WAS. MY HUSBAND WAS VERY FAMILIAR WITH ICEBOATS AND WAS VERY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THEM. I GOT MARRIED IN JANUARY, 1949. AND WHEN I CAME OUT HERE, I THOUGHT "OH, THAT'S WHAT AN ICEBOAT IS!" OUR BOAT WAS NAMED THE TUSKAROWA. THE BOAT ITSELF WAS 34-FEET LONG. THE MAIN MAST WAS 19-FEET HIGH. IT HAD CLOSE TO 300-SQUARE-FEET OF SAIL. I THINK WE PAID ONLY $35 FOR IT. IT LOOKED LIKE FUN. AND I WAS IN LOVE, AND I TRUSTED HIM. I DIDN'T THINK HE WOULD DO ANYTHING THAT WOULD WRACK ME UP TOO BADLY. I PUT MY TRUST IN HIM AND WENT OUT. AFTER THAT HAPPENED, I WAS COMPLETELY HOOKED. IT IS THE MOST THRILLING THING THAT I CAN IMAGINE. YOU GO FOUR TIMES THE SPEED OF THE WIND. WHAT YOU DO, HERE IS THE RUNNER IS CUTTING THROUGH THE ICE. THE RUNNER PLANK THROWS UP ICE AND YOU GET LITTLE ICE CHIPS IN YOUR FACE. AND YOU FEEL SOMETHING LIKE A BIRD. YOU FEEL SO FREE THAT IT'S JUST THE THRILL OF A LIFETIME. PENNY LAST REPEATED THIS THRILL IN THE LATE 1990s WHEN SHE WENT OUT ON ANOTHER RIDE ACROSS ICY PEWAUKEE LAKE. BILL MATTISON CONTINUES TO BUILD AND RACE HIS SERIES OF BOATS NAMED HONEYBUCKET AND HAS WON MULTIPLE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS AND UNTOLD INDIVIDUAL RACES. BUT BOTH AGREE, RIDE ONCE IN AN ICEBOAT AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU WILL NEVER FORGET.

Mattison

IT'S WORTH IT. ONE RIDE-- YOU ASK ANY ICEBOATER AND THEY'LL SAY ONE RIDE, AND IT'S WORTH ALL OF THE EFFORT THAT YOU PUT INTO IT. MAKING THE BOAT AND THE EXPENSE OF THE BOAT-- IT'S JUST THAT TYPE OF SPORT.

Williams

I THINK EVERYBODY SHOULD TRY IT ONCE IN THEIR LIFE.

Will

WISCONSIN LAKE ICE OFFERS LOTS OF WINTER RECREATION.

Kmetz

IT'S A LITTLE CHANCY OUT THERE FOR ICE FISHING TODAY WHAT WITH THE WEATHER WARMING UP.

Will

WHEN THAT ICE GETS SOFT, THAT'S A SURE SIGN OF CHANGING SEASONS IN WISCONSIN. SO, FOR A CHANGE WE THOUGHT WE'D END TODAY'S ICE SAGA WITH AN ICE BREAKER, SO TO SPEAK. A PHOTO ESSAY FROM UP NORTH WHERE THE FERRY RUNS BETWEEN THE VILLAGE OF BAYFIELD AND MADELINE ISLAND. WHEN THE ICE STARTS TO SOFTEN A FERRYBOAT WITH A REINFORCED HULL PLOWS ITS WAY THROUGH THE CHANNEL A SURE SIGN OF SPRING. AND A WELCOME ONE AFTER A WISCONSIN WINTER. SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO. WE HOPE YOU LOOK FORWARD TO NEXT WEEK'S WISCONSIN STORIES. SEE YOU THEN.

Phil Schneeberger

THIS IS MY 32nd YEAR AS A CAPTAIN. THIS BOAT, THE ISLAND QUEEN IS THE BEST BOAT THAT WE HAVE FOR BREAKING ICE. THE HULL IS DESIGNED THAT IT WILL CLIMB UP ON TOP OF THE ICE AND CRUSH THE ICE DOWN. IT'S A SLOW PROCESS, BUT IT SLOWLY AND EVENTUALLY GETS ACROSS THE THREE MILES THAT IT HAS TO TRAVEL. THIS BOAT IS MADE OUT OF STEEL SO IT'S EASIER FOR IT TO GO THROUGH THE ICE WITHOUT GETTING HURT. JUST ABOUT EVERY TRIP IS DIFFERENT. YOU MEET DIFFERENT PEOPLE. YOU HAVE DIFFERENT CONDITIONS. I KIND OF RELATE IT TO ANOTHER CHAPTER IN A BOOK-- EVERY CHAPTER IS INTERESTING. MAJOR FUNDING FOR WISCONSIN STORIES IS PROVIDED BY THE MEAD WITTER FOUNDATION, INC. WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WISCONSIN. ADDITIONAL FUNDING IS PROVIDED BY THE HALBERT AND ALICE KADISH FOUNDATION PHILIP J. AND ELIZABETH B. HENDRICKSON AND AN ADVISED FUND OF THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN WISCONSIN.