Breweries, History

The Day Beer Returned to Milwaukee

Imagine a Unites States where beer and liquor are illegal. Your favorite brewery has been forced to close down or switch to making sodas, chocolates or other products. The only hard liquor you could wet your whistle with was made in a homemade still and you had to go into a secret bar called a speakeasy to… Continue reading The Day Beer Returned to Milwaukee

History

“This Flag Dips To No Earthly King!”

I am sure a lot of us are glued to our televisions watching our countries at the XXX Olympics. The modern Olympics started in 1896 in Athens, Greece. The original Olympics date back to ancient Greece when the city-states competed against each other. The games were revived in the late 19th century and commenced in the ancient… Continue reading “This Flag Dips To No Earthly King!”

Allis-Chalmers

Allis-Chalmers Acquisitions & Growth

Here is a list of the factories and firms across the world that made up Allis-Chalmers and the vast amount products they made. This can be found in Norm Swinford's book Allis-Chalmers Construction Machinery & Industrial  Equipment. I think there might be a couple more that should be added, but these are the ones that… Continue reading Allis-Chalmers Acquisitions & Growth

Breweries

The Peoples Brewing Company: America’s First Black Owned Brewery

In one of my earlier posts I talked about the Oshkosh Brewing Company, but there was another great brewery in my college town that last a few years longer than Oshkosh Brewing Company. The Peoples Brewing Company made history when it became the first brewery in the country to be owned by a Black man, an… Continue reading The Peoples Brewing Company: America’s First Black Owned Brewery

Allis-Chalmers

The IV Series of the Allis-Chalmers D-17

A common question/problem people have with the Allis-Chalmers D-17 is identifying the differences between the 4 production series that were made. There are certain cosmetic and operational features that switched between each production. While cosmetic details can betray the untrained eye, the mechanical features don't lie. Let's take a look at the differences so that… Continue reading The IV Series of the Allis-Chalmers D-17

Allis-Chalmers

#4 Pittsburgh Works

The Pittsburgh Company was founded in 1897 by Frederick C. Sutter in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1910, the Pittsburgh Transformer Company was officially incorporated and boomed during World War 1. In 1927, the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company acquired the firm for $4.5 million and began investing money into renovations and additional buildings. In 1928, the firm was officially part of… Continue reading #4 Pittsburgh Works

Allis-Chalmers

Allis-Chalmers Tractor Plant

Ever wonder what the Allis-Chalmers tractor assembly line looked like? Bet you wish you could have taken a tour of it when the plant was humming with activity and churning out the beautiful Persian Orange tractors they were known for. Let's take a tour back in time..   We will begin our tour with a… Continue reading Allis-Chalmers Tractor Plant

Uncategorized

Revitalizing Markesan

Markesan,Wisconsin is quaint little town in central Green Lake County. This past year I had the pleasure of working with the Markesan Historical Society to put a book together, Images of America:Markesan, to depict the history of our town through pictures. The reader can travel back in time to see what Markesan looked like in its… Continue reading Revitalizing Markesan

Breweries

Oshkosh Brewing Company

Oshkosh Brewing CompanyThe Oshkosh Brewing Company was a brewery formally headquartered in my college town of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It was only until recently that I learned of this brewery and began to uncover some of the company's history. Sadly, the old brewery fell victim to the wrecking ball in 1986 destroying the physical evidence of the company's existence. Only one of the… Continue reading Oshkosh Brewing Company