Welcome, Wisconsin!

By DPLA, August 4, 2016.

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We are thrilled to announce that the collections of Recollection Wisconsin, are now ‘live’ in DPLA! As our newest Service Hub, Recollection Wisconsin has made some 400,000 new records representing photographs, books, maps, artifacts and other historical resources from more than 200 Wisconsin collections accessible in DPLA. Like all of our Service Hubs, Recollection Wisconsin represents a collaborative effort among a wide range of institutions, large and small. We want to send a special shout out and welcome to the Recollection Wisconsin governing partners: Wisconsin Library Services, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Wisconsin Historical Society, Milwaukee Public Library, The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Marquette University.

So what exactly can you find in Wisconsin’s collections?

We know what you’re thinking… cheese and beer! Or, try mixing both for a tasty appetizer as the recipe below for Beer-Cheese Bites from the Historic Recipe File at Milwaukee Public Library suggests.

: “Beer-Cheese Bites,” Milwaukee Sentinel, December 20, 1979, from Milwaukee Public Library’s Historic Recipe File.

: “Cheese with a Made in Wisconsin Trademark” from UW-Madison Archives via University of Wisconsin Digital Collections.

: “Fred Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, U.S.A.” ca. 1895, from Turning Points in Wisconsin History via Wisconsin Historical Society.

: The first class in cheesemaking, Wisconsin Dairy School, 1907, from UW-Madison Archives via University of Wisconsin Digital Collections.

Find some of the best local highlights from Wisconsin in the State of Wisconsin Collection, from University of Wisconsin Digital Collections, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s postcard collection, the Exploring Cultural History Online collection from Winding Rivers Library System; the Ozaukee and Sheboygan Memories community archive from Eastern Shores Library System.

In addition to highlighting Wisconsin’s local specialties, the collections from the new Wisconsin Hub will help tell the local stories that bring to life broad ideas and landmark events in our nation’s history. For example, Francis Deleglise’s letters, from the collection of Langlade County Historical Society, capture his experience on the front lines of the Civil War as a member of Wisconsin’s famous Iron Brigade. The Great Lakes Maritime History Project reflects the rich history of maritime trade and travel on the Great Lakes and other Wisconsin waterways, while The Home Front: Manitowoc County in World War II collection adds to DPLA’s body of resources on the impact of World War II on the lives of men, women, children, and families on the home front across the country. Finally, the College of Menominee Nation’s Termination and Restoration collection documents the Menominee Nation’s successful grassroots effort to restore their status as a federally recognized tribe after the government’s termination of that status in 1954, speaking to crucial struggles for Native American sovereignty and rights during the twentieth century.

: The first page of a letter in French from Civil War soldier Francis Deleglise to his father from Baltimore describing treatment for his injuries sustained at the Battle of Gettysburg, August 14, 1863, from the collections of Langlade County Historical Society.

: Invitation to the second annual DRUMS (Determination of Rights and Unity for Menominee Shareholders) Convention and Pow Wow, 1972, from College of Menominee Nation S. Verna Fowler Academic Library/Menominee Public Library.

: Advertisement of the Diamond Jo Line Steamers and the St. Louis and St. Paul Packet Co., from University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, Murphy Library Special Collections.

: A special wartime edition of The Ship, a school newspaper at Manitowoc Vocational School in honor of Citizenship Day, from Manitowoc Historical Society via University of Wisconsin Digital Collections.

: Women employees of Globe Shipbuilding Company, 1942, from University of Wisconsin-Superior via University of Wisconsin Digital Collections.

Our newest hub also makes important contributions to our coverage of LGBT History and the Civil Rights Movement. Wisconsin’s LGBT History collections, including the Gay People’s Union Collection, ACT UP Milwaukee Videos, Milwaukee Gay/Lesbian Cable Network Programs, and the Milwaukee Transgender Oral History Project represent the experiences and activism of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Milwaukee. As part of DPLA, these collections can now be explored alongside the rich LGBT history collections of other hubs such as Minnesota Digital Library, New York Public Library, and Digital Library of Georgia.

: Cover of the Gay Liberation Organization Manifesto, a handbook describing the Gay Liberation Organization’s mission and purpose, part of the Gay People’s Union Collection, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries via University of Wisconsin Digital Collections.

: “GPU Band Poster” advertising “Liberated Together,” 1973, part of the Gay People’s Union Collection, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries via University of Wisconsin Digital Collections.

: Screenshot from “Queer Program,” April 1994, part of ACT UP Milwaukee Records, 1990-1996, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries.

: Screenshot from “Brand New Queer Program,” October 5, 1993, part of ACT UP Milwaukee Records, 1990-1996, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries.

Wisconsin also adds to the rich field of materials documenting the Civil Rights Movement. The Freedom Summer Digital Collection from Wisconsin Historical Society adds hundreds of manuscript documents and photographs detailing the diverse civil rights campaigns organized by SNCC, CORE, and other groups in Mississippi during the summer of 1964 and beyond. The March on Milwaukee collection brings together resources from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Wisconsin Historical Society and highlights the important role of Milwaukee, “the Selma of the North,” as a battlefield of the Civil Rights Movement. In DPLA, these collections now join such collections as the Civil Rights Digital Library contributed by the Digital Library of Georgia, Washington University of St. Louis’ Eyes on the Prize interview collection, the Freedom Riders 40th Anniversary Oral History Project, North Carolina Digital Heritage Center’s civil rights collections, and PA Digital’s civil rights collections also documenting the Civil Rights Movement beyond the American South.

: Fair Housing Demonstration, Milwaukee, 1967, from the collection of Wisconsin Historical Society, part of March on Milwaukee – Civil Rights History Project.

: Freedom Day School Poster, May 18, 1964, from the collections of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, part of March on Milwaukee – Civil Rights History Project.

: Children coloring during Freedom Summer, 1964, from the Freedom Summer Digital Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society.

: Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party fundraising letter to Freedom Summer participants’ parents, signed by Annie Devine, Victoria Gray, and Fannie Lou Hamer, 1964, Freedom Summer Digital Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society.

: Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) volunteer Richard Gould reflects on nonviolence during Freedom Summer trainings, 1964, part of the Freedom Summer Digital Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society. Richard N. Gould Papers, 1963-1965.

As you begin your exploration of all things from and about Wisconsin, remember we have only scratched the surface here! Recollection Wisconsin also makes new archaeological artifacts, maps and atlases, photos documenting twentieth century Native American communities, and audio recordings of Wisconsin’s folksongs available in DPLA, to name a few more highlights.

Join us in sending a warm welcome to Wisconsin and look for more highlights from our newest hub on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!