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Was it because it's cold in Wisconsin that the state commissioned architecture of the mid-century is for the most part windowless, cinderblock inside and monolithic. While students at UW Madison, the word on the street was that buildings were designed to make sniper attacks on protesters easier or penetration into the building more difficult in case of insurrection.

The Grand Opening of Plaza 8, according to the nearby Mead Public Library, was July 8-10, 1976 with 250 trees, 350 flowering bushes, and 5,000 flowers funded with a $5.9 million federal grant with $1.9 million from the city of Sheboygan. The cost of construction was $1.55 million.

This was our holiday card mailed out to 350 beautiful people December 2012.

A wet heavy snow fell on Thursday, December 20 covering everything in white 

just in time for the Winter Solstice.

Anyone searching for consumer utopia unlike the old downtown streets of Wisconsin circa early 20th century? Three views of Mayfair circa 1959 when it was a shopping center--recently opened with 70 stores (Gimbels and Marshall Field and Company were the original "anchors") and not a mall like today with a blog--show a clean, tree-filled, uncongested, wide-open pedestrian space for shopping. Photographer Brian Ulrich has examined the demise and/or evolution of such places in the 21st century in his most excellent book: Is This Place Great or What (Aperture, 2011).

The moonlight, water and stars combine to create enigmatic images of Milwaukee, Wisconsin located on Lake Michigan and along significant rivers in these early 20th century post cards.

We met Hildegarde (1904 - 2005) when she was 85. The New York Times credited her with starting the "single-name vogue among entertainers." Think Liberace, Melanie, Madonna, Lady Gaga, et. al. The equivalent of MAC Lady Gaga Viva Glam lipstick was Revlon's shade of pink lipstick and nail polish inspired by Hildegarde. She was climbing the cabaret chanteuse circuit in American and Europe at the time. She lived to be 99 and died of natural causes according to The New York Times obituary dated August 1, 2005.

We knew little about Hildegarde until our friend Lars Kvam, a big fan of Wisconsin bands and music, told us about her. She resonated with us -- she was born in Adell in Sheboygan County not far from where we grew up in rural Wisconsin and aspired to national fame. Lars gifted us a copy of her "souvenir" 45 My Milwaukee/Wisconsinland performed with Jerry Blake's Orchestra.  My Milwaukee can be read as an "audio postcard" beckoning listeners to share and visit "her town."  She had lived and worked in Milwaukee while establishing herself as the "first lady of the supper clubs"and unlike Liberace who felt bitter about Milwaukee, she felt gratitude.

When we heard she was coming to the elegant red velvet Riverside Theater in Milwaukee in 1986, we got our tickets right away. We talked to media people and figured out a way to meet her at the Marc  Plaza, a classy downtown hotel where she was staying. At the Riverside, she accompanied herself on the piano wearing her signature over the elbow white gloves as she sang songs from her 78s through her 1976 LP, What I did for Love...  We wrote a piece on her for Art Muscle magazine (then published and edited by Debra Brehmer) and included her portrait in an exhibition of ours titled, The Elders in 1988.

Hildegarde, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1986, 15x15 gelatin silver print "I always promised God that if I was successful I would set a good example and be an inspiration. I think I have done that."  © J. Shimon & J. Lindemann

Letter received by J. Shimon & J. Lindemann from Hildegarde, September 1987 on her pink stationery.

 Hildegarde smelled of roses and pressed face powder and carried a white lace hanky and rosary in a small case she kept tucked in her black marabou jacket. She told us one of her secrets: as you prepare to go out to a meeting or what have you, leave everything you need by the door as you think of it, that way you won't forget anything. After we met her, we corresponded regularly sending copies of our article and the brochure from our exhibition. Her hand written letters arrived on signature pink stationery from her room at the Plaza Hotel in New York. In a letter dated September 17, 1987, she wrote us that she was proud to know us saying that we "have class and know how to do things right." What a vote of confidence! Thanks to amazon.com, we found a her 1963 book Over 50, So What at a reasonable price and have amassed a number of 78s and from a stash found in San Francisco a few of her later LPs.

Times they are a changing as illustrated by these postcards and song. Wisconsin technically lost its place as "America's Dairyland" to California based on milk production a decade or so ago. The state's "factory farms" super charge the "Dairy Air" to toxic odor levels wafting for miles beyond the pasture but may be helping to win back the "America's Dairyland" label. Here's an ode to Wisconsin sung by the incomparable Hildegarde (1906-2005), born in Adell, Wisconsin. Hildegarde memorializes a poetic list of the state's attributes in her souvenir record album circa 1960s:

"Wisconsin's northern lights twinkling, sparkling streams, rolling hills, daffodils, nature's wonderland, running deer, birds on high, sunlight bays, summer days, carefree dreaming in the sky, "She is blessed and caressed, this Wisconsinland I love...."

Wisconsin elected Tammy Baldwin over former governor Tommy Thompson to the U.S. Sentate 2012 despite this colorful postcard mailer turning Tammy Baldwin into a lava lamp. Was our neighborhood in Appleton, the only one to receive this eye catching postcard?

We've been photographing Lake Michigan for years -- the horizon is always the water touching sky. ILake Winnebago reveals a shoreline from some vantage points even though it is the largest inland lakes in the Wisconsin and one of the largest in the US. We could see a wind farm and trees and the lake was tumultuous the rainy day we photographed in October 2012. The Lake contains sturgeon sometimes said to be more than a hundred years old. Spearfishing sturgeon from ice shanties in February is allowed by the DNR but limited as the creatures are on the verge of extinction from poaching and over fishing. The below video documents the culture, ritual, and history of spearfishing the primal sturgeon.

In Wisconsin, streets are named for their association with native tribes that once inhabited the land. Street names like Calumet (a north American peace pipe) are abundant while town names like Manitowoc (dwelling of the great spirit or evil spirit) or Lake Tomahawk (named for the shape of a nearby lake) in Oneida County) are unique to the history of specific locations. Written as they are on state and federal signs appearing along the highways and byways, these words becomes further abstracted and distanced from their meaning. Back in the 1960s, farmers found arrow heads as they plowed their fields and would display the. Earlier generation remember "Indians" coming into town, attending school, or existing on the periphery. Institutions like reservations and casinos have reshaped the 21st century landscape in Wisconsin while a young generation seeks to reclaim native identity and traditions as they raise consciousness about a history so important to America.