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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.