County ZZ, Wrightstown, WI

County ZZ, Wrightstown, Wisconsin, June 30, 2012
Found: "Highway Scene, U.S. 16 and 12, Camp Douglas, Wisconsin" by Wayne Paper Box & Printing, Fort Wayne, Indiana, circa 1950s
Found: "River Drive, Cornell, Wis." on DOPS paper, circa 1938
Found: "Highway 130, Lone Rock, Wisconsin, on EKKP paper, circa 1930
Found: "Scene at Minocqua, Wis." on DOPS paper, circa 1941
Found: "A Pleasant Drive Near Rio, Wisconsin," circa 1910
Found: "James Street, Columbus, Wisconsin" by E. A Bishop Publishing, Racine, Wis., circa 1930
Found: "'At the Turn of the Road'" Potowatomi State Park, Door County, Wisconsin" by E. A. Bishop Publishing, Racine, Wis., postmarked July 3, 1944
Found: "Prairie Avenue, Kenosha, Wisconsin," by E. A. Bishop Publishing,  Racine, Wis., postmarked May 7, 1909
Found: "Driveway, Humboldt Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin," by M.L. Anneberg Publisher, Milwaukee, postmarked December 31, 1911
Found: "A Pleasant Drive, Omro, Wisconsin, by National Colortype Co, circa 1950
Found: "The Drive, Lake Side Park, Fond Du Lac, Wis." published by the Acmegraph Co, Chicago, circa 1920
Found: "Grand Dad's Bluff, La Crosse, Wis." published by Spencer-McCord Drug Co., La Cross, Wis., circa 1940
Found: "One of many Beautiful Drives near Baraboo, Wis." by Baraboo News Agency, Baraboo, Wis, circa 1930
Found: "Road Scene, Trail 3, Near La Crosse, Wis." published by Spence-McCord Drug Co., La Crosse, Wis, circa 1940
Found: "Road to the Lake: At the end of this birch lined lane are
the invited waters of an inland lake, Vacationland Scwne"
copyright The L.L. Cook Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1954
Found: "Opposite Prairie du Chien, Wisc., this colorful rugged bluff
bordering the Mississippi River is in the Effigy Mounds National Monument
above Marquette and McGregor,  Iowa" Ektachrome by Margery Goergen
published by Goergen Studio, McGregor, Iowa, circa 1954
Found: "Greetings from Eagle River, Wis., Colorful autumn in the Vactionland of Wisconsin: Magnificent Autumn!...comes like a warrior with the stain of blood on his brazen mail...Longfellow" published by Wyman Photo Center, Wausau, Wisconsin, postmarked November 26, 1952
Found: "A Modern Super-Highway thru the Grandeur of Autumn" photo by Free Lance Photographers Guild, Inc. published by C. R. Brown Co., Eau Claire, Wis,  circa 1960
Found: "Greetings from Rhinelander, Wisconsin, Lookout," published by Wyman Post Card Co, Wausau, Wis, circa 1960
    
Duane Hall confessing his psychopathic driving urges, scene from Annie Hall

Driving the rural back roads of 21st century Wisconsin isn't as romantic as the vintage postcards we've posted once portrayed it when gawking at the landscape was the only concern. Now there are texting teens, liquid manure spills, and farm implements wider than the road. The "picturesque" mid-century roadways depicted on postcards invited folks to jump in their cars with family and friends to motor to destinations throughout the state. Fall colors, rivers, scenic bluffs, and parks peppered the landscape. Being an attentive driver or "keeping your eyes on the road" seemed beside the point. A perfectly neurotic Wisconsin night driving movie scene is a highlight of Woody Allen's 1977 film Annie Hall.  New York City comic Alvy Singer (played by Woody Allen) and night club chanteuse Annie Hall (played by Diane Keaton) visit her home town of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Singer's Manhattan aversion to driving plays out in a scene with Annie Hall's brother Duane (played by Christoper Walken) confessing his psychopathic driving urges in his dimly lit bedroom: "Sometimes when I'm driving on the road at night and I see two headlights coming toward me fast, I have this sudden impulse to turn the wheel quickly head-on into the oncoming car. I can anticipate the explosion, the sound of shattering glas, the flames rising out of the flying gasoline..." Modern Super-Highways with their smooth curves, reinforced dividers, and fenced-off roadbeds eliminate many rural hazards as drivers zoom between cities and suburbs. Still, the back roads remain the most intriguing Wisconsin driving as they weave through the glacial Wisconsin landscape, small towns, and woods with lush trees arching overhead.
Found: Antigo by Curteichcolor® 3-D Natural Color Reproduction and Antigo Card Service, Antigo, Wisconsin, circa 1960

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