I imagine it would be possible to write close to a year of blogs about things seen inside the State Capitol.
Some items that were quite memorable...
The Bald Eagle standing above the Wisconsin Assembly Chambers isn't the original Old Abe. The original Old Abe went into more than 30 Civil War Battles with a Regiment gathered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
We were told a Confederate general asked his men to shoot the bird - but the bird returned to it's home state and lived 17 more years. After death, it was stuffed and mounted above the Wisconsin Assembly chamber. When the building burned to the ground in 1904 - it was lost - but a recently deceased Bald Eagle replaced it and still stands regally above the fray.
The Badger now outside the Governor's Office once stood guard on the first U.S.S. Wisconsin before eventually coming home. It wasn't put aboard the second ship bearing the state's name because of fear it would create a lot of shrapnel if hit, so here it stands.
By the way, we're Badgers because when settlers started lead mines in the southwest section of the state - they lived inside the mine entrance. When they came out, by-standers insulted them for looking like badgers. Like the intended insult of "Cheeseheads" many years later, in true Wisconsin fashion - we made the title a badge(r) of honor!
Throughout the building, if you look closely or have a guide, you will see fossils in the stone. There are snails in the rock in the official Meeting Room and Supreme Court and a perfect Starfish preserved thousands of miles from where it was found, resting now on a grand staircase.
All around us are are many little things that escape our notice as we scurry from place to place - take a minute and rediscover your surroundings and the little known stories that might go with them. It's amazing how the sometimes trivial details last longer than the big picture items we see each day.
Look around, you just might see something!
Some items that were quite memorable...
The Bald Eagle standing above the Wisconsin Assembly Chambers isn't the original Old Abe. The original Old Abe went into more than 30 Civil War Battles with a Regiment gathered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
By the way, we're Badgers because when settlers started lead mines in the southwest section of the state - they lived inside the mine entrance. When they came out, by-standers insulted them for looking like badgers. Like the intended insult of "Cheeseheads" many years later, in true Wisconsin fashion - we made the title a badge(r) of honor!
All around us are are many little things that escape our notice as we scurry from place to place - take a minute and rediscover your surroundings and the little known stories that might go with them. It's amazing how the sometimes trivial details last longer than the big picture items we see each day.
Look around, you just might see something!
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