Don’t be left out! We’ve heard talk that much of Madison, or at least several close relatives, are reading our article, Ten Views of Lake Wingra, in the current (June) issue of Madison Magazine. The online magazine also has four of our audio stories about Lake Wingra. Soon you can listen to them here, too.
Archive for the ‘news’ Category
Read us in Madison Magazine
May 17, 2012Photo challenge summer vacation
May 10, 2010
For photo challengers, the sundial by Michael Burns in last week’s photo is in Olbrich botanical gardens. Olbrich is worth a visit in all seasons, though the Bolz conservatory is a perfect winter infusion of warmth and tropical vegetation.
We can’t mention Olbrich gardens without talking about Michael Olbrich. From a threadbare childhood on an Illinois farm, Olbrich became a respected lawyer, UW regent, and key member of the Madison Park and Pleasure Drive Association, which created Madison’s great early parks. (Until 1931 city officials regarded parks as luxuries it couldn’t afford. The MPPDA was run—and largely funded—by familiarly named people: John Olin, Edward Owen, William Vilas, Daniel Tenney, Thomas Brittingham, Frank Hoyt, Ernest Warner.)
In the 1920s Michael Olbrich pushed to develop a UW arboretum. He also bought up and donated land for an eastside park on Lake Monona. Olbrich Park was named for him after he committed suicide in 1929, at 48. Many obituaries speculated that he was driven to it by the stress of a lawsuit, financial pressure, and illness.
With a busy summer ahead, we’re turning to new projects and breaking from weekly photo challenges. Look for more audio and video in 2011!
What’s happening now
September 25, 2009:: Gordon attends a dedication for the Effigy Tree sculpture in Hudson Park on Saturday, Sept. 26 (details here). Next week we’ll play some of his audio clips from the event.
:: New quiz for October coming soon: look at photos and guess locations of local effigy mounds. We’ll award either two hours in the field with us or a copy of Indian Mounds of Wisconsin. Your choice!
:: We have a September quiz winner. Word is she’s looking forward to two hours with us, even though the book is the ultimate guide to the state’s effigy mounds and possibly signed by co-author Bob Birmingham. (OK, you may be better off with the book, but we are available.)
:: Follow Jeff or Gordon on Twitter. We don’t tweet often, but when we do you can be sure you’re getting your 140 characters’ worth.
:: We swear that our first Unseen Madison podcast is almost done. The highlight of our outtakes: a Richard Nixon Watergate clip!
Unseen Madison 