University of Wisconsin - Extension

Wisconsin Public Television (WPT) prides itself on creating and airing programs about the state that enrich viewers¿ lives. On New Year¿s Eve and New Year¿s Day, WPT presents a potpourri of riches about Wisconsin: significant people, moving history and, in the 2001 University of Wisconsin-Madison band concert, just plain fun.

Many of these programs are among those viewers have praised and requested the most. Here¿s the two-day schedule.

Monday, Dec. 31

9 a.m. and 2 p.m.: Ojibwe Music. Traditionalist Eddie Benton-Benai details the cultural and spiritual significance of music to the Ojibwe people. Viewers learn the roles that instruments such as the shaker, the flute and the drum play in Ojibwe life, and tribal members perform traditional music in the program, shot in the north woods along the shores of Lake Superior.

9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.: Ojibwe History. Benton-Benai shares the legacy of his people. He speaks of events such as the prophecies that led the Ojibwe from the East Coast to Wisconsin and the importance of the lodge, where the original teachings are kept.

10 a.m. and 3 p.m.: Hooked on Fishing. Richard Sleight, a guide who has been fishing and guiding anglers in northern Wisconsin for more than 60 years, is a fishing legend. Hooked tells the story of his life as a fishing guide in search of an even more legendary fish ¿ the muskie.

11 a.m. and 4 p.m.: Uncommon Places: The Architecture Of Frank Lloyd Wright. The life and work of Frank Lloyd Wright are explored in this hour-long documentary focusing on the Wisconsin native's architectural accomplishments from the late 1890s until the early 1950s. Some of Wright's best-known designs are shown. Wisconsin buildings include the Johnson Wax building in Racine, the Herbert Jacobs house in Madison and Wright's own home, Taliesin, near Spring Green.

1 p.m.: Wisconsin Stories ¿Really Big Stuff.¿ See how Wisconsin earned a longstanding reputation for making huge, one-of-a-kind industrial machinery. Home to a concentration of skilled craft workers, Wisconsin has produced such ¿really big stuff¿ as turbines for massive dams, steam engines for ships, huge gears and drive trains, paper-making machinery, mammoth mining draglines and giant boilers and cranes.

1:30 p.m.: Wisconsin Stories ¿Native Journeys.¿ Wisconsin¿s ¿Rosetta Stone¿ is a manuscript in the Wisconsin Historical Society archives that dates back to the 1860s and documents the concerns of the Ojibwe in both their native language and English. The Sandy Lake tragedy of 1850 saw thousands of Ojibwe forced to travel from Wisconsin to Minnesota to receive government allotments. The history and evolution of lacrosse is detailed.

5 p.m. and 8 p.m.: Wisconsin: An American Portrait. Travel the back roads of Wisconsin and discover the state's diversity and little-known gems such as Amnicon Falls, Sand Island, the Kickapoo Valley and even the Dane County Farmers¿ Market.

7 p.m. and 11:15 p.m.: 2001, A Band Odyssey. The UW Varsity Band and director Mike Leckrone have made their spring concert one of the toughest tickets to get in Wisconsin. Let WPT bring the best of this year¿s high-energy production right into your living room.

9 p.m.: Sate Parks, State Treasures. This hour takes viewers on a grand tour through many of the diverse and beautiful state parks in each of the four seasons. Preserved for people of all ages, the parks are places of serenity, retreat and renewal.

Tuesday, Jan. 1

9 a.m.: Wisconsin Stories, ¿Making History.¿ Meet hosts Tracy Will and Debbie Kmetz in the first program of the partnership between WPT and the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS). Stories include the 1940 state cornhusking championships, which drew 28,000 in Richland County; an 1878 experiment with steam-driven carriages that may have been the world¿s first car race; how hops went through a boom and bust in the 1860s; and a profile of state-born country music star Pee Wee King.

9:30 a.m.: Wisconsin Stories ¿The H.H. Bennett Studio.¿ The story of Bennett, the photographer who helped make the Wisconsin Dells an international tourist destination. The show uses WHS¿ restoration of the Bennett studio and creation of an adjoining museum in Wisconsin Dells as the framework for telling the photographer¿s tale.

10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.: Wisconsin Stories ¿Coping With Cold.¿ Learn about the record storms, the deepest snows and the coldest temperatures in state history. ¿News From the Past,¿ a historical ¿newscast,¿ will bring viewers up to date on Wisconsin¿s cold-weather history: the worst, the coldest, the iciest and the deadliest.

10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.: Wisconsin Stories ¿The Civil War at Home.¿ Experience Civil War action at the Wade House historic site near Fond du Lac, hear about Madison¿s Camp Randall, surgeon Chandler Chapman, Wisconsin¿s material contributions and the Confederate POWs brought to Madison.

11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.: Wisconsin Stories ¿Ports of Call.¿ See some of Wisconsin¿s rich maritime history, dating to the days of building wooden ships.

11:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.: Wisconsin Stories ¿We¿re Rockin¿.¿ Visit the Native American stone-working site Silver Mound near Osseo. Hear about Vinnie Ream Hoxie, a sculptor whose works grace Madison and Washington, D.C. Contrast Iowa County¿s House on the Rock with The Rock in the House in Fountain City. See how Wisconsin¿s brownstone was quarried for urban brownstones. And travel to Waukesha, where Les Paul was inspired in his contributions to rock music.

Noon and 5:30 p.m.: Wisconsin Stories ¿In the Mail.¿ See the history of mail delivery in Wisconsin, a task that has never been easy.

10 p.m.: The Best of Wisconsin Stories. The Wisconsin Stories collaboration between WPT and the WHS has generated a lot of excitement and praise. Here are some of the best-loved stories from the first season: from a 1940 cornhusking competition that drew thousands to a postmasters¿ ¿battle¿ over Limburger cheese.

WPT is a service of the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and University of Wisconsin-Extension.

Wisconsin Public Television is a place to grow through learning on WHA-TV/Madison, WPNE-TV/Green Bay, WHRM-TV/Wausau, WLEF-TV/Park Falls, WHLA-TV/La Crosse and WHWC-TV/Menomonie-Eau Claire.