IN%
COULD
IF
AN ABORTION WAS
STABILIZE HER,
THAT TO PROVIDE
WHAT
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS
ESSENTIALLY SAYING IS WE ARE RESCINDING THAT LETTER
AND OPEN
TO
NOT
CERTAIN EMERGENCY NDITIONS MEET THEIR
ND. GEOFF:
WHAT STATE WOULD BE MOST
THIS? SARAH:
THERE IS CERTAIN STATES
THERE NO EXCEPTIONS FOR HEALTH OF
THE PREGNANT
WOMAN P.R.
ARKANSAS, IDAHO,
MISSISSIPPI, OKLAHOMA, AND SOUTH
PLACES
WHERE A PREGNANT
PERSON COULD GO INTO ERGENCY
ROOM AND THERE SOME
DEBATE ABOUT
NOT THEY
COULD HAVE IF
THAT WAS LIZE THEIR
HEALTH .
JUST AN EXAMPLE, FOR
INSTANCE, HEY RELEASED A
REPORT LAST YEAR THAT SHOWED
THERE WERE,
ACCORDING TO
THEIR RECORDS
COMMAND ZERO ABORTIONS
THAT HAPPENED IN SOUTH
PITALS IN 2023. OULD THIS AFFECT A
OMAN IN A RED STATE BLUE STATE?
THE BIDEN , THERE HAS
IFICANT THE TYPES OF
GNANT WOMEN HAVE TATES WITH ABORTION
STATES WITHOUT
PEER THE ID AN
INVESTIGATION THAT FOUND DOZENS
OF WOMEN WHO
WERE TURNED AWAY ENCY
ROOMS INCLUDING
N ABORTION TO R HEALTH
CARE. REPUBLICANS
HAVE DONE
EXTRAORDINARY INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING, FINDING
WOMEN HAVE TURNED AWAY FROM EMERGENCY
ROOM''S AND HAVE NOT RECEIVED
THE THEY WERE EITHER
ARMED OR
IN CASES, THEY
DIED. HAVE
ALREADY SEEN THIS DIVIDE
K OF
CARE ITED
F: HOW
ARE ANTIABORTION RESPONDING TO THIS
MENT? THEY
ARE CELEBRATING THE
THIS BIDEN
ERA THEY
SAY EXACTLY
NOT NECESSARY.
THEY POINT TO THESE
INDUCED ANCY
REPORTS IONING
ABOUT ES
LIKE TEXAS WHERE YOU HAD 14
ABORTIONS
LOOSELY DUE TO EMERGENCY
S IN JANUARY OF
2025 SO THE ANTIABORTION OUPS AND LAWMAKERS,
TION LAWMAKERS SAY THAT E LAWS ARE WORKING AS THEY
RE INTENDED AND THAT WOMEN CAN IN FACT GET EMERGENCY ROOM CARE
WHEN IT IS NECESSARY.GEOFF: AS
I UNDERSTAND IT,
THIS WAS OUTLINED IN
PROJECT 2025, THAT
CONSERVATIVE FOR
A SECOND TRUMP TELL US MORE ABOUT THAT.
SARAH: IT WAS
INCLUDED IN PROJECT 2025 SO
WE ARE
SEEING OFF
THE LIST AND IT
HE ADMINISTRATION
TO STOP DEFENDING EXISTING
LAWSUITS THAT WERE HELD
N ADMINISTRATION AND
THEN THERE''S
PROJECT 2025 THAT WITH
ABORTION OR
A NATIONAL LANCE
PROGRAM SO
ONAL FOR
-- ABOUT THE NUMBER OF
ABORTIONS THAT ARE
HAPPENING IN
IT CALLS
FOR THE REVERSAL
OF FDA TION
PILL T
OF THE
ACT WHICH WOULD
CEASE THE MAILING OF
L''S AROUND THE
SARAH, THANKS AGAIN FOR TIME THIS EVENING.
HANK YOU. GEOFF:
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
ON EMENT
ONS.
GERS
THE RECENT ARREST OF AN
ON
CE
TORY EORGIA
SED FROM
LAST MONTH
IN DALTON,
GEORGIA, A 19-YEAR-OLD COLLEGE
STUDENT BECAME THE
LATEST TARGET TRUMP''S
AGENDA AFTER BEING
OVER FOR A TRAFFIC
-- SHE
DID NOT DED OVER
TO
ICE AGENTS AND
DETAINED FOR 17
DAYS. HER ARREST SPARKED
PROTEST IN FROM THE
COMMUNITY AND
CHARGES WERE ULTIMATELY PED.
SHE WAS BROUGHT
TO THE U.S.
ILLEGALLY AND WAS RELEASED
ON AND
FACES DEPORTATION TO .
SHE JOINS
ME NOW TO
SHARE HER
STORY. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TALKING TO
US.ING ME.
HAT DAY. D OVER FOR A
THEN YOU WERE IMMIGRATION
WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOURMIND?
F WHAT MY
FUTURE MAY HOLD BECAUSE
I KNOW
RIGHT NOW
BEING
IN COLLEGE, A
T HAS LIVED HERE
THAT DID
NOT MEAN I WAS
ALSO VERY FEARFUL BECAUSE
I KNEW THAT MY FATHER WAS
ALREADY BEING DETAINED
IN A
SAME ME A COUPLE WEEKS
BEFORE I
WAS TAKEN. AINED
FOR A
WEEKS .
FROM YOUR
HOME IN
WAS THE EXPERIENCE LIKE IN
>> IT WAS
VERY DIFFICULT AND
THE
WAY YOU
ARE TREATED IN THERE E LIKE YOU ARE IN
A PRISON THAN
A DETENTION
CENTER. YOU
AWAY FROM A LOT AN
BASIC RIGHTS AND
IT IS VERY
DIFFICULT TO
STAY AMNA:
YOUR FATHER IS ALSO FACING DEPORTATION AND HE WASN''T
DETAINED AS YOU SAID AT THE SAMEFACILITY THAT YOU WERE DETAINED
ATUS OF HIS CASE
OUR FAMILY COPING OSSIBILITY THAT BOTH
YOUR FATHER COULD BE ED?
>> RIGHT NOW IN MY
DAD''S CASE, Y HOPEFUL
THAT HE
WILL GETTING HIS PERMIT
THE NEXT COUPLE OF
FAMILY IS GOING TO
RE TRYING TO
DO OUR
BEST TO
COPE WITH EVERYTHING THAT IS HAPPENING
AND PROCESS THE PAST
WEEKS. >> SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN
RELEASED, CHANGED
ANY OF
YOUR THE
PICALLY DO?
AND IS THERE AN ENVIRONMENT OF
FEAR IN THE COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW?
DEFINITE -- >>
MY
LIFE HAS CHANGED. CAN''T GO BACK TO MY USUAL
LIFESTYLE.I
RUN AND I ALSO
WAS A VERY PERSON
, VERY SOCIAL.
WOULD GO OUT
WITH MY FRIENDS SOMETHING I CANNOT
ANYMORE BECAUSE OF THAT SAME
FEAR IMMIGRANTS HAVE
TO LIVE
NOW EVEN
THOUGH I''M ALREADY ON
BOND AND
I''M STARTING MY
DOESN''T MEAN THAT I CAN
BE SAFE AND
NOT GO BACK TO
CENTER. ERE''S A LOT
AND THEY THINK BEING SUPER AWARE
PRECAUTIONS. EOPLE ARE GOING
W. FEAR
AND BEING
MORE CAUTIOUS ABOUT GO ABOUT THEIR EVERYDAY
. --
LAURA: YOUR
COMMUNITY D YOU DURING
UDING LOCAL
IVES
THAT YOU
THE TYPE OF PERSON WHO
ETED BY ICE
. HAS IT BEEN LIKE TO SEE THE
COMMUNITY COME OUT AND SUPPORT
>> IT
IS OVERWHELMING. I
MEAN, THE SUPPORT I AM GETTING
IS ABSOLUTELY
AMAZING. IT''S
PART OF THE REASON WHY
I AM Y''ALL
AND SPREAD
AWARENESS AND
HAVE A OF PEOPLE
>>
THANK YOU SO MUCH
FOR SHARING
THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. AMNA:
IN 2018, AN ANONYMOUS ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL
VERED A STARK WARNING ABOUT THE THREAT HE SAID DONALD TRUMP
POSED WITH HIS ERRATIC.IT SENT SHOCK WAVES THROUGH
WASHINGTON AND DREW THE IRE OF THE PRESIDENT.
F THAT WAS LATER BE MILES TAYLOR
STAFF AT THE HOMELAND SECURITY.
RED
ACTIONS
ED
AND
DHS AND OTHER GOVERNMENT
THIS WEEK, TAYLOR AND HIS LEGAL
GATE
W.
WELCOME TO THE NEWS HOUR. I JUST WANT TO PUT TO
YOU WHAT R FROM THE
SAID IN
REVOKING YOUR ANCE AND HE
ABANDONED YOUR
SACRED OATH
BY DISCLOSING
ATION, ACCUSE POTENTIALLY
COMMITTING N ORDERED
THOSE
. I
JUST WANT TO GET YOUR
RESPONSE .
IT''S IMPORTANT TO STATE
OBVIOUS ABOUT
THAT WHICH IS
AMERICA, DENT IS NOT
BOUT E TO
HE LIMITS RE BUT THE
RDER TO ME
WAS ORWELLIAN IN ITS
NATURE TO
EVEN SHOCK I THINK
THE OF OTHER
FOLKS THAT O CLAIM
THAT
ONAL THREAT AND
NOT JUST THAT
IN A PRESS
RELEASE OR
SOCIAL BUT TO LAUNCH A
REVIEW TO PUNISH
THAT HAD CRITICIZED HIM.
CONCERNING TO
ME BUT I WOULD SAY THERE IS A
IRONY AND WHO
IS MAKING
KNOW WITH
CERTAINTY I HAVE ED CLASSIFIED
AND --
OUTSIDE ELS BUT I
PERSON MAKING THIS
ALLEGATION AGAINST ME
WAS TO
HAVE LEFT
THE WHITE WITH
STACKS OF CLASSIFIED NTS SO IN SOME WAYS, WE
RT OF SEE THIS AS A PROJECTION
WAS
PURSUED FOR
UNLAWFULLY REMOVING CLASSIFIED INFORMATION AFTER HE
WAS --
AFTER HE HAD LEFT
OFFICE THE
NTS TO SAY,
WELL, HIS CRITICS HAVE DONE THE
SAME, AND THAT
IS PART OF
REASON WHY
HE IS TRYING
TO
SOME SORT CLAIM
OF SENSITIVE
THAT EXECUTIVE ORDER WAS
PRIL 9. ILES: GOOD
THERE''S BEEN A LOT OF TIME SINCE
LY
T TO LLY
A LOT OF FOLKS
IN YOUR
LIFE, WELL-INTENTIONED PEOPLE, WILL
COME TO
YOU, FRIENDS AND
FAMILY, AND SAY,
LOOKS, IT''S WRONG THAT HE
DID THAT. IT''S CLEAR HE''S DOING THIS TO
YOU
FOR FIRST AMENDMENT D SPEECH BUT IF
YOU BACK, IF
TO TAKE LEGAL ACTION
AGAINST THEM, THEY ARE JUST GOING TO COME AT YOU
HARDER, HIT
HARDER, SO DON''T DO IT.
AND MAYBE IT WILL BLOW .
I WOULD BE LYING IF
I SAID MY WIFE AND I
DID NOT THINK
ABOUT HONESTLY,
IT CAME BACK TO
A VERY SIMPLE ANSWER .
THIS IS JUST WRONG.
WE THINK THIS IS WRONG FOR A
T OF THE UNITED STATES E ABLE TO
WITH THE STROKE
OF PEN,
BLOW UP SOMEONE''S LIFE,
RAME THEM --
DEFAME THEM
AND WITH
IT AND DO IT
THAT
IS OUR WORRY.
WE STAY QUIET, THIS
IS GOING
LE. THIS
IS BIGGER THAN
ME AND MY
THIS IS AN ATTACK ON FREE SPEECH
THERE''S NO LIMIT TO IT
IF WE
THERE''S A NUMBER
OF PEOPLE TARGETED
INDIVIDUALLY WHO HAVE SUED THE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
COUNTS 200 LAWSUITS JUST CHALLENGING HIS
EXECUTIVE ORDERS. A DIFFERENT ROUTE
AS WE HE
WENT TO THE INSPECTORS
AT TWO AGENCIES AND SAID WANT YOU TO LOOK INTO THIS.
WHY NOT SUE? M NAIVE BECAUSE
NORMAL TIMES, THIS AN AVENUE THAT WOULD BE
AILABLE TO SOMEONE WHO IS A WHISTLE
AND I SUPPOSE
WE WANT TO
WHETHER THAT
GUARDRAIL IS
THERE. THESE INSPECTORS
GENERAL, THESE
WATCHDOGS EXIST
IN DEPARTMENTS AGENCIES
FOR A REASON, TO
MEASURE SURE NOT ONLY THAT THOSE
AGENCIES
DON''T COMMIT WASTE,
FRAUD, AND ABUSE,
BUT THAT THEY VIOLATE
THE CONSTITUTIONAL
AMERICANS. AS
A FIRST
DEPTH, THOSE INSPECTORS
GENERAL THERE
ARE OFFICIALS MP
ADMINISTRATION
T OBVIOUSLY
AN N ITS
TO PUNISH A
CRITIC FOR PROTECTED
IF IT DOESN''T
WORK, IF THEY ARE
RESIDENT, THEN WE LOOK
AT OTHER OPTIONS.
EEN THE PRESIDENT
THOUGH AFTER MORE THAN A DOZEN
IG''S IN HIS FIRST WEEK OF
DO YOU HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE
SYSTEM? I DON''T
KNOW. EASON TO
BELIEVE THOSE SPECIFIC
WANT TO THE RIGHT THING
BUT THERE''S A LOT OF
FEAR
THERE IS AN EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNT
OF FEAR AND IF THEY DON''T TAKE
UP THIS CASE, WHICH IN ANY OTHER ADMINISTRATION WOULD BE SUCH AN
AT G
TY MAY AMNA: YOU WROTE IN YOUR
LETTER
THAT THE
MEMORANDUM, REFERRING EXECUTIVE
ORDER, THE
OLL
YOU MENTIONED IT
WAS A TOUGH AND
YOUR WIFE. YOUNG
DAUGHTER AT HOME,
TOO.
IT CAN BE EMBARRASSING TO
OUT AND TALK ABOUT THOSE
THAT IS WHY A LOT OF
A SITUATION LIKE THIS D PREFER NOT TO TALK ABOUT
BUT I THINK IT
IS IMPORTANT
TO SAY WHEN
SOMETHING LIKE THIS
NOT JUST A PRESS
CE OF PAPER
. IT
HAS A REAL
FINANCIAL AND TOLL
ON PEOPLE. SOON
AS THIS
ME
MY WIFE
HAS STAYED HOME WITH OUR BABY AND
WE REALIZED SHE WOULD
GO BACK TO WORK AS
I ABLE TO STAY IN
MY JOB WHILE
BEING ON THIS
THE FIRST QUESTION ASKED ME
WAS, HONEY,
ARE WE ABLE
TO KEEP OUR
HOME? WE
KNOW HOW MUCH LAWYERS COST
ARE LUCKY IN OUR
CASE. HAD AN
ORGANIZATION COME D THEY
LODGED A LEGAL A LEGAL DEFENSE FUND
RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR RY GRATEFUL FOR THE
HO HAVE HELPED US CROWD CED OUR DEFENSE.
THE 30TH PERSON THIS S TO END
THE 50TH, IF THE
HIS
ATTACK LAW
FIRMS MEDIA ORG
ANIZATIONS AND THOSE
PEOPLE MIGHT NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES.
MIGHT NOT
HAVE THE ABILITY PPORT NARROW
IT AND
IS WHAT WE WANT TO HELP
TO MAKE SURE THAT
IF UP
IN THIS SITUATION,
THEY HAVE THE T THEY NEED.
AMNA: YOU WORKED
FOR THIS FIRST
TERM. THAT
HE WAS
ANTIDEMOCRATIC, ADVERSARIAL,
PETTY, AND INEFFECTIVE, AND HE
WAS DULY REELECTED
IN 2024.
THE MA JORITY OF
AMERICANS DON''T E DEMOCRACY IS UNDER
ATTACK SO
WHY DO YOU BELIEVE AMERICANS
DON''T SEE WHAT
MILES:
UNTIL IT
AFFECTS YOU 'S REALLY
EASY TO
OTHER WAY GIVE
YOU A VERY
THERE ARE VERY CLOSE
FRIENDS AND
MEMBERS THAT HAVE
WATCHED WE
HAVE GONE AST FEW
YEARS SPEAK THE TRUTH
PRESIDENT AND
EVEN OF
THEM HAVE COME TO US AND SAID
, HEY, LISTEN, MAYBE YOU
R PROFILE 'T WANT TO GET
O THE CROSSHAIRS. HIS VERY BUILT IN SELF
REST OF FOLKS TO TRY TO LOOK THE OTHER WAY BECAUSE THEY DON''T
T
DO, ONCE YOU
ARE
IT''S TOUGH TO
TURN I''M SURE A
FEW WEEKS AGO,
THE VARD HAD
INTEREST IN
GOING TO WAR
SIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES BUT NOW, THE
OF THE
INSTITUTION IS AND
THEIR -- THEY
ARE FORCED INTO IT SO I THINK
AKE UP
TO THE
ON THEIR
HOPE IS WE CAN DRAW A
LINE FROM
HAPPENING, WHETHER IT IS
MISALIGNED TARIFFS
NS AGAINST
NS THEY DAY
, EVENTUALLY, IF
THIS ISN''T
STOPPED, IT
WILL AFFECT EVERY AMERICAN
BUT BY THEN,
IN SOME WAYS,
IT IS TOO AMNA:
DO YOU
EVER REGRET
WRITING THAT ANONYMOUS OP-ED?
>> I DON''T REGRET WRITING THE
PIECE
BUT I
REGRET NOT UNMASKING EVEN
SOONER BECAUSE ANY
DAY I
THINK WOULD HAVE
THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONVINCE ONE MORE
PERSON, DON''T
WEAR A
MASK. NAME, OWN
FIT I HAVE BEEN
SAYING I DON''T THINK DONALD
P IS THE BIGGEST THREAT TO EE
SPEECH IN THIS COUNTRY. YMITY AND SELF-CENSORSHIP
. AND
WHAT IS NA: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR
ING HERE. O FOLLOW YOUR
MILES: THANK YOU.
EOFF:
ON MAY 3, THE NATIONAL
TLY
ALLY
G,
AND
ALING MORE THAN
LEFT ORGANIZATIONS
PS
RESIGNATION OF SEVERAL SENIOR
NEA STAFFERS.CORRESPONDENT
HAS MORE FOR OUR IN ACTION",
TERSECTION OF ACY AS PART OF OUR
THE HARLEM
THEATRE COMPANY ARTISTS IN
THEIR COMMUNITIES
IN URBAN ST. PAUL FERGUS PAULS,
AND A SAN FRANCISCO NONPROFIT
THAT PROMOTES EQUITABLE ACCESSTO SKILLS AND SUPPLIES TO MAKE
ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE ART.
S AD.
I GOT AN EMAIL AT 10:00 ON
NIGHT .
>> SAYING THAT OUR POTENTIAL
WAS
BEING WITHDRAWN.
THIS GRANTS
NO LONGER MEETS PRIORITIES
OF THE FEDERAL
THEM
RECIPIENTS WHO MONTH
HAD GRANTS TERMINATED NEA
WAS UPDATING ITS
LICY PRIORITIES. THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF
RINGBOARD FOR THE ARTS IN MINNESOTA, FOUNDED
IN 1991.
SPRINGBOARD HELPS WORKING ARTISTS MAKE A LIVING BY
NIZING EVENTS LIKE
POP WORK
AND FACILITATING
DELIVERY OF ARTS
LOCAL SPRINGBOARD WAS AWARDED
ITS GRANT
TO PAY
FOR A
NEW AT
AIMS TO
COUNTER THE MENTAL HEALTH AND ISOLATION
CRISIS IN
URBAN AND
IT FEELS VERY URGENT RIGHT NOW
F THE
S AND ALL D
HOW PEOPLE
ARE FEELING
SO DISCONNECTED.
ER TAKING OFFICE, TRUMP
SIGNED AN STABLISHING
A FORCE TO PLAN
FOR THE 250TH
RICAN INDEPENDENCE
. LATER, THE NBA ALIGNED
GRANTMAKING GUIDELINES
WITH TOWARDS THE CELEBRATIONS
IT WAS A
SURPRISE WHEN
THE SENT THREE
LATER, ALSO IDENTIFIED 11
NEW FUNDING
PRIORITIES. A LITTLE BIT ODD,
HONESTLY .
THE 250TH EARTH DAY CELEBRATION
OF THE UNITED STATES
, WHICH IS
LOVELY, BUT YOU KNOW, AI
SUPPORT LIKE
SUPPORTING BLACK AND HISPANIC
IONS AND
ASIAN IT
WAS REALLY AN INTERESTING MIX
PRIORITIES. >>
TERRY IS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
OF CENTER FOR REUSABLE ART
PARTS
FRANCISCO. IT
PROVIDES EQUITABLE
ACCESS TO STAINABLE ART
MAKING TO
OVER 33,000 COMMUNITY S A YEAR.
PERATES A 5000 NTER THAT SELLS
RECYCLED ART SE DESTINED FOR
S WELL AS EDUCATIONAL MS AND WORKSHOPS.
THEIR LETTER TERMINATED
A $25,000
GRANT TO EXPAND FASHION
DESIGN , ONE
AFTER SCHOOL
PROGRAMS FOR
TEENAGERS. LS AND ONE IS
TO TEACH CHILDREN
ABOUT THE FACT THE
TEXTILE INDUSTRY IS
THE NUMBER TWO POLLUTER
IN THE
BUT
MOSTLY, IT IS TO SUPPORT
STUDENTS AND
THEM JOB SKILLS
AND TRAINING.
>> IN
ADDITION TO
FINANCIAL THE
AWARDS WERE A BADGE
OF HONOR. >>
THIS IS
A BRAND-NEW
GRANT. N
TRYING AND
REE YEARS
TO HAVE A GRANT WHICH IS
QUITE PROCEDURES
AND OTHERS COME
HAT GRANT. IT MEANT A TON TO US.
E CELEBRATING BECAUSE WE MET THAT LEVEL OF
ENCE. IS PRODUCING
TOR AT THE
CLASSICAL THEATER OF HARLEM.
LETTER INFORMED HIM A
EEDS LOST
A 60,000 ON THE GRANT THAT FOR THE LAST
12 YEARS
HELPED FUND
PRODUCTION THE
ANNUAL OUTDOOR UPTOWN
IN THE PARK SERIES. >>
GETTING THE $60,000 PULLED
A MONTH BEFORE OULD FORCE ME
TO GO WITHIN
THEN OF
COURSE, THERE IS
A CASCADE WOULD NEED
TO FIND THAT WHICH
I PULLED
FROM THOSE OTHER
>> ACCORDING TO THE
ADVOCACY
OR ARTS,
ARTS AND CULTURE CONTRIBUTE
$1.2 CONOMY
ANNUALLY AND
SUPPORT 5.4 MILLION JOBS.
THE ROUGHLY 200
MILLION DOLLAR T MAKES
UP A TINY
NUMBERS BUT
FEDERAL DOLLARS
ROLE .
JUST A
SHOW ITSELF.
IT''S ALSO A LOSS OF
EMPLOYMENT. PLAY 150
PEOPLE DURING THE
S A LOSS OF
REVENUE INCLUDING
THE BRICK-AND-MORTAR PLACES.
AFTER RECEIVING ITS
TERMINATION LETTER, THEY DECIDED NOT TO APPEAL THE DECISION AS
THE NEW PRIORITIES SEEM SO FAR
WAS
I DID NOT WANT TO SIT SILENT. MY
ORGANIZATION AND OUR
BOARD THAT THIS
PROGRAM ABSOLUTELY IMPACTS
THAT THE
ADMINISTRATION HAT THEY
ARE TRYING
PEOPLE OF COLOR IN
UNDER --
UNDER RESOURCE S SO I WANTED TO
NGTON THAT
IS HOW
ELT. >> THEY
ARE TAKING
A DIFFERENT
>> WE HAD SEVEN DAYS
TO RESPOND
IN ONE
COMPANY GOING UP
AGAINST NT
WASN''T A
ED TO READ
-- REACH OUT TO OUR
D A WAY
TO COVER
THAT $60,000. FORTUNATELY,
THE COMMUNITY UP
SO I BELIEVE
THAT BY THE
TIME WE
START REHEARSAL, THE
$60,000 GAP
WILL BE FILLED. STOPGAP
ACTS IS MUCH
HARDER FOR THOSE WORKING IN RURAL COMMUNITIES.
CALLY, IT HAS HAD HAS GONE TO EVERY
NAL DISTRICT IN THE AND THAT IS VERY UNUSUAL
THERE ARE NOT OTHER S WHO CARE THAT MUCH
ABOUT REACHING
THAT BREATH OF
MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE
AND CREATIVE
EXIST IN EVERY
COMMUNITY IN AMERICA.
>> HAS SERIOUS IS
IT? >> MUSING
THIS GRANT WILL
NOT USINESS
TODAY BUT
I THINK COLLECTIVELY,
THE TERMINATION OF
THIS SCALE OF
GRANTS AND THE COMMUNICATION OF
MESSAGE THAT WE CANNOT COUNT
GOVERNMENT TO FULFILL THE COMMITMENTS THAT IT
MADE AND
T THAT VALUE
CREATIVITY AND AND
FREEDOM OF
RE KIND OF
LARGE-SCALE EXISTENTIAL ATS FOR ALL OF US.
>> FOR
TY JONES AT
LEAST, HISTORY
OF PAST
SOME HOPE NOW.
THROUGH THIS
I DON''T THINK THAT
THIS IS A TO
PANIC BY ANY
STRETCH OF
I THINK WHAT YOU DO IS YOU
WE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT THAT THIS IS
EXACTLY
THE DIRECTION THAT ONE S TO
GO IN
THE FACE OF
ANY SORT
OF ADVERSITY. THINKS MORE
HIGHLY OF
A MERE MORTAL DOWN OF HIS UNTRY.
A GREAT Y.
I AM
MNA: AND WE''LL BE BACK SHORTLY
ERED
ST,
OUR
-- LOCAL PBS STATION.
YOUR
P THE
>> Hi, I'm Jon
Miskowski,director of PBS Wisconsin.
We're a couple of
weeks away
from our new
fiscal year,
so we're taking a
few days this
week to encourage
you tojoin us to
be an active,
ongoing member
as we begin
our new fiscal
year. Thephone
number to call
is (800)2
363636. We have some
thank you gifts
to offer you,
but mostly, of course,
a thank you is the great
programing, the great sations, the
context and
the story
we've just seen
of like really
traveling the
country to geta
perspective, a wide
perspective on this
story. That's
what the NewsHour is
known for.
We understand
we all know
that public
television and public
radio are
in the news
this week.And a
very specific
way . And
but all that
, it just
underlines , again, the
value of your
support. Your
support is
the largest
single source of
revenue for
PBS Wisconsin. And we
inviteyou to give us a call
at(800)2 363636 with
your pledge
.>> Hi, I'm
Linda Berman,
a volunteer
here at PBSWisconsin. And
to me, PBSWisconsin is
the programingthat we
watch. My husband
and I, we raised our
kids towatch
it. And
now as agrandparent,
I depend upon
it. So my
grandson gets
tosee quality
programing. I'm
encouraging you with your financial
support to callyour
pledge. And
now we have some very
wonderful thank you
gifts. If you do, call
us $15 a
month, we have the
PBS Wisconsin mug, which
is an
insulated mug, and it
has PBS Wisconsin
on one side,
and it has our
native plantbee
design on the
other. You have an
option at
$15 amonth.
You could also get
the PBS tote, which is
a crossbody
tote. Or
you canuse it just
on yourshoulder. Many pockets, manyzippers.
Great to carry
everything $24
a month. Youget
both of them.
But the most
important thing
isyou're getting quality
programing and it's
very easy
to see you're watching
now because you
depend on us.
So I'm
encouraging you
to give us your financial
support right now
with your
pledge at one (800)2
363636. >>
For a long time,
viewers of the
NewsHour, you'll
remember, as I do, the
Mcneil-lehrer report,
and it probably
had experience thatI
had when I first
discovered that there was
something different
about this,
something was
considered. It was thoughtful.
It was
engaging .And
that tradition
continues for so many
years, the
NewsHour has done
a wonderful
job. I think in
the last few years
of reinventing
itself in more
engaging ways.
But it
stillis this
national treasure.
And we
invite you to support
the NewsHour , support
PBSWisconsin and the
work thatwe do
in Wisconsin with your
pledge at
(800)2 363636.
Inyour pledge,
no matter what
level is so
important, we
encourage you, if
you can,
$100 a month,
join us at
the Director's
Circle level.
Ifyou choose
another level,
remember every level will
get our
"Airwaves" magazine
so you can
plan your
TV viewing.
But if you
choosethe $15 a
month, you get the
PBS Wisconsin mug or
the PBStote, which
is great
for all
around town. $24
a month,you get
both of them.
The tote,
as well as
thisinsulated PBS Wisconsin
mug. I'd like
to say that it is
. The programing
is why youare
watching us. And that
is true. We have
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GEOFF: AS
WE CELEBRATE THE END
THE ACADEMIC YEAR
AND THE
A NEW JOURNEY
FOR THOUSANDS
OF COLLEGE
GRADUATES, LEADERS,
DIGNITARIES,
AND NEWS HOUR
ANCHORS HAVE
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MANY HAVE INCLUDED POWERFUL COST
ACTION, OTHERS MORE
PERSONAL IN
NATURE, SOME WITH
A TOUCH
OF HUMOR. HERE NOW
ARE SOME OF
THE THAT
YOU MIGHT HAVE
INCLUDING PART OF THE
WAS HONORED TO
DELIVER SCHOOL OF
ADVANCED INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
OF 2025. >> AND
GREW UP IN NEW YORK CITY
WEST SIDE AND I GREW UP
ABOUT BEING AN
ACTOR. I
DON''T KNOW HOW IT
CAME INTO MY
DON''T KNOW
HOW IT CAME INTO MY
WERE BORN TO SOMETHING
, I WAS
BORN TO
TRY. DETERRED.
LISTEN TO YOUR INSTINCT.
ALL OF YOU
ARE SO SMART. W SO MUCH.
INED SO MUCH BUT YOUR TUMMY,
T KNOWS EVERYTHING OUR INSTINCT TO TALK
, YOU LISTEN. MY PERMISSION TO
A WHILE NOW BECAUSE
IT .
ES. SO WHAT I AM
SAYING IS GIVE
WEEKEND. YOU
KNOW, THAT MAY BE THE SUMMER
I
MEAN , I
MEAN, LABOR DAY,
IT''S, KNOW, BASICALLY
. AND
THEN AFTER THAT,
IT''S LIDAYS.
SO YOU KNOW
, YOU MIGHT WAIT
W YEAR TO REALLY,
KNOW , LOCK IN.
YES. >> ONE
OF THE BEST
WAYS MY MOM WISDOM
WAS IN A SET
PRINCIPLES SHE TOOK
TIME TO
SHE CALLED IT HER TOP 10 LIST
OF
DON''T FEAR FAILURE.
YES, IT IS INEVITABLE. T IS HOW YOU GROW, BUT
IS ANOTHER REASON MY MOM D US TO DO THIS.
AR FAILURE, SHE SAID, BECAUSE
SUCCESS IS
FAR MORE HUMAN
WHAT EXACTLY DID SHE MEAN BY THAT?
SHE KNEW THAT SUCCESS WITHOUT
GRATITUDE COULD
MAKE US TOO
AND THAT SUCCESS WITHOUT FORTITUDE
COULD MAKE
US >> I
DID NOT KNOW WHAT I
WANTED CHOOL BUT THE
WORLD THAT
I INHERITED DEMANDED N THINGS OF
ME SO
WHEN I VED TO
DO
WORK THAT I WAS
GOOD AT,
WORK THAT MADE ME
FEEL LIKE
I
DIFFERENCE , I
LEANED IN
AND I NEVER
LOOKED BACK.
WORLD THAT
I IT WAS
THE ONE THAT I GOT
AND THIS MAY
THAT YOU EXPECTED
TO STEP INTO, GRADS,
THE ONE THAT YOU HAVE GOT
AND IT''S THE ONE
THAT NEEDS
THE SAME HOPE,
THE SAME
COURAGE BROUGHT YOU TO THIS DAY, IT
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TO CARRY YOU
WILL BE ENOUGH TO
LIFT YOUR
F CYNICS
. IT WILL BE
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O STIFFEN SPINE
WHEN ALL SEEMS LOST. >> GROW YOURSELF A DEEP, SOLID
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HER''S BACKS, CHECK N EACH OTHER
REGULARLY ,
AND S.
YOU KNOW,
IN THESE UNCERTAIN
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TO OUR COLLEAGUES,
OUR FRIENDS,
OUR
BECAUSE MORE AND
MORE, NEED THE
SUPPORT
R LOVE, FOR
HELP ,
FUN .
LET''S NOT
FORGET FUN, AND FOR
>> THIS WORLD
DOESN''T NEED
MORE FOLLOWERS.
NEEDS FEARLESS ARCHITECTS OF OUR
FUTURE AND
THAT IS EXACTLY
BE A DREAMER.
IMAGINING .
FIGHT FOR A BETTER LIFE.
LD. THE
GOAL IS BEYOND OUR
REACH BUT REACH AS
LONG AS WE TRY. FURTHERMORE, WE WILL SUCCEED
BECAUSE WE DO
. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS
OF 2025.
NOW, GO OUT
THERE AND LET''S MAKE
AMNA: THERE''S ALWAYS A LOT MORE
DO THAT AT THE WEBSITE. F:
THAT IS THE NEWS HOUR FOR
T. ON BEHALF OF
THE ENTIRE THANK
YOU FOR
>> MAJOR
FUNDING FOR THE PBS
EN PROVIDED BY.
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ROBERT AND
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YOU ARE WATCHING PBS.
- Announcer: The following prog
ram
is an encore presentation.
To give your support, call us at
1-800-236-3636
or visit us at pbswisconsin.org.
[peaceful music]
[birds chirping]
- When a person opens themselv
es to learning
from the natural world,
what they discover is that the
world is a teacher.
[peaceful music]
- My name is Ben Albert.
I'm a 20-year-old filmmaker ma
king my first documentary.
This is my grandparents' backya
rd,
a 1,000-acre wetland preserve
that has remained relatively und
eveloped.
[peaceful music]
Only 20 minutes from the state Ca
pitol of Wisconsin,
it's one of the most thriving
and diverse wetlands left in the
area.
- I often use the word "an invi
tation to wonder."
I love to invite people to won
der.
[singer vocalizing]
[insects chirping]
- Ben: Nestled in on the southern
side of the marsh
live my grandparents.
You and Grandma moved here, li
ke, 40ish years ago?
- Yeah, we moved here on Janua
ry 1--
Well, let me, I'll start over.
[laughing]
I'm Cal DeWitt, Calvin B. DeWitt
.
My family and I moved here early
in 1972,
and in May of that year, we came
to live here on Oak Knoll.
[gentle piano music]
And around us here, mainly out o
ur backyard,
is Waubesa Wetlands.
And over many years,
I've worked with my neighbors
to develop it into a preserve,
which is now well over 1,000 ac
res.
- Ben: They have lived here fo
r over 50 years,
and they are completely immersed
in this world.
Their home sits on a small mound
protruding from the wetland.
It's a glacial drumlin,
formed and shaped by the movemen
t of glaciers
over 12,000 years ago.
My grandpa is a wetlands scien
tist.
[projector clicking]
And he spent over half his life
studying
and exploring this system out th
eir back door.
He's also a teacher.
He's used Waubesa Wetlands as h
is outdoor laboratory,
where he's taught hundreds of g
raduate students.
He and his students
made a number of fascinating di
scoveries about this place.
It became his lifelong passion.
And both of my grandparents
passed on that passion to their
grandkids.
- Cal: This is a rookery on what
we think is
Long Island in the middle of Man
istique Lake.
[birds squawking]
What are your reflections on thi
s event here, Naomi?
- Um, it's very interesting to
see the entire lake.
- Cal: Oh, great.
I think we better start the en
gine
and see what else we can discover.
- Ben: My grandma would take us
backpacking almost every year.
- Naomi: We are walking along th
e trail.
Hey, Ben.
- Ben: And she was over 70 year
s old,
but she would carry more than any
of us in her pack.
They didn't always take us on t
hese far-off adventures.
There was so much to learn
right in my grandparents' backyard
.
- When the grandchildren will be
here tomorrow,
but she gets all the nets together
and some trays,
and they all go down to the cre
ek.
- Ben: And that was such a specia
l time to us as kids.
- Ruth: Oh, Naomi, did you go r
ight in?
- Naomi: Yeah. - Ruth: All righ
t!
Are you trying by some of those
weeds over there?
And then how about right next
to the culvert here?
- They just "ooh" and "ahh" ab
out what they find.
They do that almost every Frida
y.
- Oh, whoa! - Got a fish.
I got, like, I got one of those
huge ones.
- Oh, look at all the stuff yo
u've got.
- Look at me, yeah!
- Ben: There was all this life
around us.
- Naomi: And we don't want them.
- Ben: All of these things that
you never even knew were there,
never even knew existed.
[sandhill cranes calling]
- And then you just put the
magnifier up and down,
because you have to focus it your
self.
- Ben: It was like this glimpse
into a hidden world
that I haven't been a part of
for over a decade.
It's spring of 2020,
and I'm taking some time away
from school.
I don't know what I'm doing nex
t,
but something drew me back to t
his place.
My grandparents taught me that the
only way
to really learn from the wetland
s
is just to spend the time out here
.
This entire summer,
I decided I would go out almost eve
ry single day.
[peaceful music]
[birds chirping]
At first, I didn't see a whole lot
.
[water splashing]
It's probably my third week, th
ird or fourth week out here.
And, as you can tell, I'm gettin
g the full experience.
Smells great.
And I'm just kind of learning as
I go.
[birds chirping]
The wetland is not a place for
humans,
and I discovered that in many
different ways.
[mosquito buzzing]
- When people first come here, es
pecially if it's near evening,
the first thing they mention are
the mosquitoes.
[mosquitoes buzzing]
[buzzing continues]
- Ben: Holy-- [inaudible].
[buzzing stops]
- But during the day, it's pre
tty much mosquito-free.
- All right, here we go.
[gentle music]
[water splashing]
[sighing]
I'm about to cross over the third
beaver dam today.
Did not pack a lunch.
Did not sleep very much.
[yawning] I'm getting sunburnt.
There's, like, a jelly inside o
f a cattail.
There's, like, literal jelly.
That's gnarly.
- It's a very pleasant place to
be,
at least when you finally get yo
ur marsh legs.
- Ben: Oh, I'm sinking.
- It takes a while to learn ho
w to walk on a water bed.
[water splashing]
Pretty much, it's safe if you're
really careful
about where you walk.
[mud squelching]
- This is all very loose.
Tsssh!
- But you can also sink into ho
les and go in over your head.
And, occasionally, in peat deposi
ts,
we find human beings that are s
till over their heads
and have been so for the last
several thousand years.
- I was just walking back there
and I took one step.
Instantly sank, like, all the
way up to my waist.
And I stopped my-- I don't know
how deep it is.
I really don't.
It could just be a hole going
down and down and down, like...
[sighing] So that was, like, ac
tually a little bit scary.
- And the key is, jump in, and..
.
But be cautious, because you could
jump in
and go down and down and down.
[laughing]
[birds chirping]
When you live here for now 48 yea
rs,
you learn far more than you can
in any other way.
[peaceful music]
That's one of the reasons why I'
m a very good student,
because the wetland teaches me.
But it's also the thing that m
akes me a good teacher.
This is a goldenrod.
An insect has laid its egg in t
he stem of this goldenrod.
Produces a chemical that stimulat
es the growth hormones,
cause this sphere to form rather
than the normal stem.
One thing that you learn in be
ing a student of the wetland
is patience, persistence,
and that often will open the book
to you
so that you can read the real bea
uty.
[insects chirping]
[ducks quacking]
[tent flap zipping]
[peaceful music]
- First time out here.
I feel like there's nothing ve
ry,
nothing really stands out to you
,
but I think there is a lot
of kind of mysterious things go
ing on around here.
[peaceful music]
A big snapping turtle, I think
it's a snapping turtle.
It was just right here.
And perhaps it laid eggs.
[sandhill cranes calling] Mm.
Some cranes flying, like, righ
t over me.
Right over me.
[calling continues]
- I call it beholding.
I don't just look.
Sit there and behold,
and that means let the beauty o
f it all sink in.
- Where'd they land?
They may land right next to me.
They're still flying over.
[calling continues]
[gentle cello music]
- And the beauty is not only th
e appearance,
but it's also what's happening,
what they're doing,
and what other things are doing
to it.
[gentle cello music]
- Ben: It took me a while before
I really started
to notice anything special, an
d a lot of the things
I started to notice I had no u
nderstanding of.
[bright string music]
This bright green dragonfly
and this blue dragonfly circling ar
ound it in this sort of dance.
[bright string music]
It would smack its tail multiple
, multiple times
and then...
At the time, I had no idea what I
had just captured.
Later, talking to my grandfathe
r,
I discovered the green dragonfly wa
s actually laying eggs
into the water.
I had witnessed this vital momen
t
in this species' life cycle.
[peaceful music]
Everything here
is supported by a constant supp
ly of fresh water.
This network of meandering stream
s...
created by springwater welling
up from deep underground...
pumping over 10,000 gallons of
water per minute.
The springs are like the heart of
this whole ecosystem.
[singer vocalizing]
- The most difficult thing
to get people to admire is the h
ydrology.
[gentle cello music]
A wetland is literally wet land
.
[peaceful music]
And the land is not soil in the s
ense of mineral soil,
but it's soil as peat.
And that interacts with the wa
ter, and it's symphonic.
The rains fall.
[thunder rumbling]
[grass rustling]
[peaceful music]
The water percolates into the s
oil,
raises the water table around the
marsh,
and that feeds the springs.
[bright music]
And in those places, there are
unusual creatures.
In one of our springs here call
ed Deep Spring,
there's a bacterium that grew
on Earth
before there were green plants o
n Earth,
and it uses sulfur rather than
oxygen as an electron acceptor.
[gentle music]
That bacterium preexists the time
we had oxygen available on Ear
th anywhere.
[gentle music]
- Ben: This organism has been ar
ound for over 2 billion years,
and it still lives on,
hidden in these small, little p
ools in the wetland.
And it's not alone.
When you peer into these pools,
especially with a macro lens,
it turns into this alien world.
[gentle music]
These microorganisms too small
to see with your naked eye.
Translucent and fluid.
They're so tiny,
it appears as though they're cr
awling through the water.
As if the water is jelly, which
they push themselves through.
There still is very little know
n about these spring areas,
what organisms live here,
and the mysteries that they hold
.
I started to realize the wetland
isn't uniform at all.
This place has so much diversit
y.
It's not one wetland.
It's all of these separate ecosy
stems,
each with its own uniquely adap
ted plants and animals.
[peaceful music]
[croaking]
I began to wonder how it all for
med.
- In time, as you live in a pla
ce like this,
you can come, eventually, to thi
nk of it historically.
Here is the peat,
and that's partially decomposed
plant material formed
by previous generations of those
very same plants
that are growing here.
It very soon runs out of oxygen
and build up all sorts of toxic
gases.
These poison the process of decompo
sition.
So this is what gives us this great
history book.
[gentle music]
[grunting]
Here's what it looks like.
You can see roots at the top.
And then, as we go farther down,
it gets more pasty,
a few more roots, and now hardly a
ny roots at all.
And we're down here at least a
few hundred years already.
When I take a sample of peat,
and all of a sudden, I realize
this was on Earth live
when the pyramids were being built
,
and I'm holding it in my hand
and think it was then.
Only a meter down, and I can go
many more meters down,
and it's astounding.
[reeds rustling]
I had occasional experiences of
a fear of falling.
Because I knew there were 20 fee
t of peat beneath me,
30 feet, and there were some ar
eas that were really loose.
[singer vocalizing]
- Ben: [sighing]
It's definitely a bit scary.
Definitely feel like I could ju
st fall straight through.
[eerie music]
- My graduate student and I ar
ranged
to make 10 12-foot-long rods.
We brought them out to the deep
est spot in the wetland,
which would be right at the lake
edge.
We added one rod to the other
to the other,
12, 24, 36, 48, and down and d
own and down.
And finally,
we just added the rod that would
have brought us to 96 feet.
And it stopped one foot from t
he top.
The peat there was 95 feet thic
k.
- Ben: I was walking on a thin
layer of vegetation
on the surface of an ancient land
scape.
And what my grandpa and his stud
ents
discovered is that all of this us
ed to be water
in what was once a bay of Lake Wa
ubesa.
- Cal: We know we go back about
12,000 years.
Picture the glacial bay and glac
ial Lake Waubesa.
In quiet water, algae and aqua
tic life settles.
That peat builds up
and provides a new base for we
tland plants.
They die down.
They form a little particulate
matter.
Then the next batch the next y
ear grows.
Every year, it gets deeper and
deeper,
layer after layer after layer.
Gradually, the peat moves out,
the peat builds up from the botto
m,
and the edge moves out toward L
ake Waubesa.
[gentle music]
Perhaps the most astounding re
alization is that we live
on the edge of a great history
book
with 6,000 pages, and they tell
us things about the climate,
the chemistry, the vegetation, th
e animal life,
the history of the earth.
What a history book.
[gentle music]
This system builds itself and it
builds its own soil,
and it increases its own depth.
And so it has the feeling of a
n organism.
[bright string music]
[mosquitoes buzzing]
- Ben: Once you get beyond thi
s initial terror
of the mosquitoes,
and once you start paddling do
wn the streams at night,
it turns into this mystical lan
dscape.
[gentle music]
Even at night, the marsh is ver
y much alive.
[frogs croaking]
These bullfrogs, which had seem
ed dormant during the day,
reveal a whole different side
of themselves.
[croaking]
The males mark their territory
while also trying to impress cur
ious onlookers.
[croaking continues]
[splashing]
[birds squawking]
I just saw something right ther
e.
[splashing]
I just saw it over there.
I think there's a lot of them.
[splashing]
[loud splash] [Ben sighing]
Marsh at night is just, like,
it feels very surreal.
It feels like a place you're n
ot supposed to be in.
[chuckling]
And the way, like, that splas
h was massive,
and that sound was so loud.
And just, like, the feeling it g
ives you
is so strong of just, like,
this is such a wild place and I do
n't belong here.
- It was kind of like
becoming acquainted with a beaut
iful creature
that absolutely over
er
in terms of its size, in terms
of its age,
in terms of its dynamics.
So the wetland quickly reclaims
what you have stepped on,
and you always feel like a guest
rather than as the master.
[laughing]
[gentle string music]
[Ben exhaling deeply]
[gentle string music]
>> Hi. I'm
Jon Miskowski, director of
PBS Wisconsin. We have
been in the
news this
week, and I think
youhave the context for that.We are
here as
we've done
many years
in advance, acouple of
weeks in advanceof our
new fiscal year
to invite you
to be an active,
ongoing member as
we start
that new
fiscal year.
So oneof the
things that you
watch tonight
is this
program,Invitation to Wonder,
whichis a really
good example
ofwhat makes
public television
different. This
wonderful production.
And congratulations
to Ben, who
you'll meet in
a fewmoments.
We'll talk to Ben
alittle bit. I'll
have a chance to share
some of his thoughts
on the creation
of his
film. But this
focus that we
bring to on
Wisconsin is not
duplicated anywhere
else. And
that's because
of your
support ,allows
us to make
investments and
take the
time to present
programsthat aren't that are
about mission and
about story
and about
learning. That's
possible because of your
support. So the
phone numberto call is (800)2
363636. This is a
great time
to call to be
an active member.
We have
heard from lots of
folks sharing
their storiesand their
enthusiasm for
PBSWisconsin over the last
few weeks,
especially this
week. And
so we
invite you
to put that
passion, that appreciation, into
action right
now with
calling and
updating your membership
with the phone number
on the screen. You can go
onlineand give, but we have
volunteers here
tonight totake your
call so you
can join
us at
800 2363636.
Thank you for that
call.Thank you for your call. Andthank
you for your s
>> Hi, I'm Jon Miskowski,
director of
PBS Wisconsin. We're
enjoying this
wonderful film
from filmmaker
Ben Albert.
An invitation
to Wander. Right
now, I'd like
to make an invitation
that you supportPBS. And this
is a
reallygood reason. One.
First of all, this
really extraordinary show is
reallya great time
for you to showyour
support for this kind
of work. And
then secondly,
this is a challenge
break, which
means that
when you call
and pledge,
new members
are doubled
by contributionsfrom current
members of
PBSWisconsin, those members
have made gifts
above and beyond their
annual support
to match your gift
rightnow, to encourage
you tojoin them
in supporting PBSWisconsin. Phone
number tocall is
(800) 236-3636. Asyou
probably heard in thelast
break, we have thiswonderful
book to exploreWisconsin for a gift of
$15a month. I'd
encourage youto do that and
get out into the Into
nature. So
thank you
for this wonderful
work .Can you tell
us a little bit
more about the
value of the of
the of wetlands and
thatword that you used
that your
grandfather uses as
guest ?
>> Yeah. Guest
. In this
environment, you know, sometimes
people think
that we
are kind of
like we have
ownership over the naturalworld in
a sense. But when
you go out there
and youspend the time
in the wetland,
you start
to feel kind of
small in comparison.
And, you know, my
grandpa has
lived here
for over 50 years.
And after
allthose times,
all those yearsand
time spent
studying, he feels like
he's just
scratched the surface ofthis place.
So wetlands are
extremely complex
ecosystems. There's allthese different
processes happening.
All of this
life. One statistic
is, although
wetlands only cover
6% ofthe
Earth's surface,
40% of all plant
and animal
specieslive or breed in wetlands.
So they're
crucial.>> So the phone number
foryou to call is
(800) 236-3636. >> Rolled
em over
here.>> And I'll tell you, this
film really inspires us toget
out and enjoy
Wisconsin. And you
can do that.
Youknow, will have
thisfantastic hat for you
at $10a
month. We
will send
this to you
. And then
at $15 a
month, we'll
send you this
travel wild
. Wisconsin. The
author , Candace
Andrews, isa
native Wisconsin,
and she
takes us on
a journey. It's
a scavenger
hunt for you
toget out and really
explore everything that we
have tooffer
all across Wisconsin.And
at $20 a
month, don't forget, we'll
send you
that 12 month
annual pass
to allthe parks
across Wisconsin
so you can
grab your binoculars and
get out there.
And then
at $30 amonth,
we'll send you
allthree. So we'll
send you
the cap, the
book, and
that park
pass so you can get out
there, give us a call.
It's (800) 236-3636. Thanks
foryour support.
>> And hello
again, David
Hoffert, volunteer here
at PBS Wisconsin. First thing I
want to remind
you that thisis a challenge
break . During
this break,
only of this
program, when you
call , your
contribution can be
doubledby current members.
Our goal
during this
break is 30
calls, three zero,
and youcan
be a part
of helping usmeet that
match. There's a phone call right now, so
please keep those coming to in support. You
know thisincredible program that thatreally just
grounds you inthe
serenity of
being partof
something larger than
yourself, right.
And almost
like the, the,
the peace
that brings
to know thatyou're part of something
much larger in its own
way. PBS Wisconsin is
like that, right?
We all come
together.We all make our
small contribution to bring
this to this
service, to the
entire state. And now is
your chance to do thatduring a
challenge break.When you
call, you can
ask to become a sustaining
member, giving
those monthly
amounts that
Regina was talking
about so that your
support keeps on going
further and further. One(800) 236-3636.
s for that call. And
this is a challenge break a
great time to call 30
is like way too low.
But let'sget to 3030 first
before we go
beyond that. But pleasecall
us with your pledge
at (800) 236-3636. I'm here
th filmmaker Ben
Albert .Your
grandfather talks
about beholding.
And one thing
I noticed
in the film
is that that's
really , you
know, a visible to the
viewerbecause the, the, the
quietness, the
chance tolook
at things. And
it's not frenetic.
So how do you
howdid you how did you feellike
you wanted to express that idea
through the film?>> Right. Yeah. I mean, alot
of films and even filmson nature and
the environment
are fast paced.You
know, they're cutting,they're cutting
to theaction of
the animal chaseor
whatever it is.
And we
wanted to make a film
thatgenuinely portrays the
experience of being
out innature and
how to really
see, you know, a
place likea wetland on a
deeper level
and understand the
value of it.
It does
require you togo
out day after
day. I spent
three months consistently
filming sixmonths
total, so it
was like going out
day after
day and just being
present and
observing things. And
it's my
grandpa's favorite word,
you know, is, is beholding.
It's been
it's kind of
having that childlike
wonder, wonder and
curiosity and just
sitting there
andobserving and being
in that moment.
So go out and
explore our
natural world.
Yeah. >> So
we have a
production in the
works maybe a
waysaway yet
a continuation
ofour scenic Treasures
series, which kind of
takes thatsame approach of just
lookat the beauty and
really slowly
come to a
toappreciate it. Thank
you foryour
calls. It's reallygreat to
hear the greatresponse. Why don't you
join us with your pledge
at (800) 236-3636?
>> PBS Wisconsin
brings the
wonders of
our great
state right
into your living
room, and
now you
can go out and
explore. We hope that this
really inspires you,
and wewant
to continue to be
able to bring you
fantastic films like the
ones we're watching now.
So with your
gift of
$10 a month,
we will sendyou this
fantastic PBSWisconsin
hat. And
for $15 a month,
we'll send you thisgreat
travel wild
Wisconsin book.
So there's great
notes about different
birds that you'll
find across the
state. Lots of
really wonderful
information inhere
. At $20
a month, we
will provide you
with a oneyear
annual state
park pass.
So you
really can get
out toexplore
everything that
Wisconsin has. And then
for$30 a month,
as a reminder,
we will
send you all of
these wonderful gifts. The cap, the
book , and
that state
pass. And don't
forget when you become
a sustainer,we'll
also send
you our monthly
"Airwaves" programguide
so you can go
ahead and
choose any of
the showsthat you're looking
forwardto watching the upcoming
month. Join us.
Give us acall
(800) 236-3636. >> We
are at
12 calls
going for 30
during this
break.The numbers there on
your screen
one (800)2 363636Ithink
what I love most aboutthis film
is of
course , it's
a film about nature and
being a part of nature, but
it's also a film aboutfamily, right? And
you hearBen in the
show, you hearhim in the studio talking
about the relationship he s with his
grandfather that
archival
footage.I forgot to ask you how oldyou are
in that. But about 20 years ago,
maybe I
have a son
about the same
age asBen is
in that footage, and
that really hit me hard,
youknow? What
am I doing
togive my
son that
kind of
connection to the
broader world?
That Ben got and
clearly affected him hout
his life?
That's what
programs on
PBSWisconsin can do for us.They inspire
us to be better versions of
ourselves, and that
comes because of
support from
viewers likeyou. Again,
that number is
one 800. 2363636. We're
at 13
calls going
for 30. Give us
a call right now.
>> Thanks for that thought.It
makes me mindful of
mythree year old granddaughter.
These kind of
experiences of going toparks,
of going to the national parks.
How manyhave you
talked to? Youpeople like
my parents took
me to the national parks andthey remember
that for their whole
lives. And you
hadthis really wonderful
ongoing experience
to share,but you
also had a team thatput this together.
You wantto recognize some of
thefolks who work with you.>> I would love to. Yeah.
Imean, this film has
been ongoing
for, you know,
since 2020.
So it's been quite, aquite a
process. And filmmaking
takes a team
. And I had
some amazing
peoplehelp me. My producer
in inMilwaukee
, Moss Heggie,
also co-wrote and
helped with the
story and
animation. Ibelieve you
just saw the beautiful animation done
by Renee Walz
Waubesa. Hopefully
she's watching as
well. And a
big thank
you toalso my grandparents.
Youknow, I just have to thankthem
again for,
as everyone
was saying, instilling thatthat
love for nature when I
was really a young
kid, itwas so important.>> Well, I'll
tell you, asI've been talking to folks
about this film and encouraging people
to tunein tonight as I've traveledthe
state, this
is really
inspiring and
something we
need and
always need. And
tothink of a young
person inmaking this
connection, this family
and environmental
connection is just really
powerful and a great thingto share.
So I know a
lot ofour viewers are going towant
to share that someone
share this great
work by contributing as well
withyour pledge
to(800) 236-3636. We're a little past
halfway towards our goal,
so we got
a littlework to do. Please call us
right now and join ustowards
that goal .>> How
wonderful is this? I
love hearing
everyone here
tonight. Their
connectionsand stories and
what thisfilm has
brought to themjust here right now. And
Ican only imagine
what it's like
for you at
home as youwatch. I
hope it's inspiringyou to get
out and
exploreand appreciate
the amazing
nature that is here, right
here in Wisconsin.
So join
us as a
sustainer at $10 a
month. We have thisfantastic
PBS Wisconsin hat
to offer you. Don't
forgetit is adjustable.
So we have
that great
gift at $15 a
month. I am
fascinated by this
travel wild Wisconsin
book . Again,
so many
neat things in there.
Lots of
wonderful treasures. And
at $20 a
month you can
you really
can get out there
with your loved ones and
explore everything
Wisconsinhas to offer. With an
annual park
pass. So if
you haven'tgiven
us a call tonight,maybe you'll
join us at the $30 a
month level
whereyou'll get all
three. Thehat, the book,
and that park
pass. You
can give us a call
at (800) 236-3636.
>> Obviously, I've made
itpretty clear tonight
how how strongly I feel about this
film. And I hope you're
enjoying it as much as Ihave. But
I think the otherkey point to make
here is
,while this film
is amazing,I wasn't
one bit surprised
to see it on
PBS Wisconsin because
it kind of
aligns with my expectations
of the kind
of programing
thatyou're going to see
when you
tune in to PBS Wisconsin,
whether you're looking at
"Airwaves" magazine and
planning out your
monthly viewing,
or whether you'regoing on
PBS, Passport and
on demand,
watching all the shows
that are so meaningfulto you.
This is
the kind of
experience that you're not
going to get
anywhere else.And
that's why
it mattersthat you
call and make that
pledge of support. We're
at22. We just need
eight more calls to get to
our goal.Give us a call right
now, one (800) 236-3636.
>> Yeah. The phone number.This
wonderful book is just,you know, it's such a
great companion
to this experienceof watching the
film becausethis
is a,
like a map
toplaces to go out to. So
,Ben, we
hope that you share these
wonderful all thesephone calls. It's real
lygreat to share that with
your grandparents, I hope.
And tell them
just a little
bit about what did he
teach, what was his
area in?>> He
taught wetland
ecology and
environmental science.
>> Okay, so we'll hear
more from Ben and
we hope we hearfrom
you with your call andyour
pledge. Thanks. [MUSIC]
>> For.
[reeds rustling]
[ducks quacking]
- Cal: It's a peaceful place.
There's not a whole lot of dis
ruption.
And then, of course, one of the t
hings
that gives it pulses are migrat
ions.
[gentle piano music]
[birds chirping]
- Ben: Migratory birds flock in
in the thousands...
[geese honking]
...using the marsh as a refuge
on their long journey south.
[gentle piano music]
The more permanent residents stoc
k up on food
for the long winter.
Insects emerge from the shallow
waters and stagnant pools,
providing a feast for the migrator
y birds.
- Every once in a while,
something just bursts out with t
remendous excitement.
[cedar waxwing chirping]
[gentle cello music]
- Ben: All of this activity at
tracts new visitors.
[gentle cello music continues]
With populations declining,
these common nighthawks have b
ecome
a rare sight in Wisconsin.
The wetland provides a brief sa
nctuary for them
on their migration over 4,000 m
iles away
to South America.
[red-winged blackbirds calling]
Okay.
What is it today?
I think it's November, it's Novem
ber 2.
We probably only have a few week
s left to film
before it gets, like, way too
cold
and before the animals migrate.
[blackbirds chirping]
[gentle cello music]
Right now, we're kind of focusing o
n blackbird migration.
[chirping continues]
They're so loud.
Like, just incredibly loud.
[chirping continues]
Being surrounded by so much life,
it's just, like, a really inspiri
ng
and really awe-inspiring, I gues
s I would say, moment.
Especially when you have a sun
set like this.
It's really cool.
- What you learn from listening
is there is a community there
that is way, way beyond what y
ou've usually
even experienced in human communi
ty.
There's a harmony.
It speaks to you.
[gentle cello music]
[blackbirds chirping]
I often think of it as a symph
ony.
[bird squawking]
There are all these different
instruments playing.
[fly buzzing]
If you'd look narrowly,
you'd just look at this partic
ular instrument and say,
"I wonder what it sounds like as a
solo,"
but it's not playing a solo.
It's never playing a solo.
It's always in a symphony.
[blackbirds chirping]
[grass rustling]
[gentle string music]
[sandhill cranes calling]
[blackbirds chirping]
[gentle string music]
Then there's the beautiful quiet
of it all.
And if you try to understand it,
you'll discover that you have
entered a system
which always requires more kno
wledge.
It doesn't stop at the bottom
of the peat.
[laughing] It doesn't stop, perio
d.
[sandhill crane calling]
The cranes, of course, have bee
n coming here
for thousands and thousands of y
ears.
This area has been inhabited for
a good 12,000 years.
And so we're not the first ones h
ere.
And we don't want to be the la
st ones here.
Not everything on Earth is some
thing that you can exploit.
There are some things on Earth
that are there only so that yo
u can learn.
They're teachers.
- Ben: The more I explored the
wetland,
the more questions I had.
It was this realization of som
ething much older
and more complex than my own unde
rstanding.
But there's so much beauty in
simply wondering about it all.
I started to feel this childlike
curiosity again.
[Ruth laughing]
- Oh, look. - Oh, yeah, mm-hmm
.
- And Benny, who was five, said
,
"I know what I'm gonna be when I g
row up."
He's such an observant person.
- Oh, Grandma, I know a way how
to get the crayfish.
- What?
- We're gonna go under here...
- Aha!
- And then I,
you know, I said something like
"scuba diver,"
you know, and so on.
And he says, "No, Grandpa.
"A scientist!
I'm gonna be a scientist." [chu
ckling]
- Ben: They taught us that ther
e's always more to learn,
more than what immediately meet
s your eye,
even in your own backyard.
- Ruth: The claws?
- Young Ben: Wow!
[gentle piano music]
- Good. - Ben: Nice.
- Man alive, what a treat.
What a treat. [laughing]
- Ben: When was the last time
you were out here?
- Oh, a long time ago.
I don't know how long.
[laughing]
Man, isn't this something?
This is really something.
[laughing] Wow.
Great pleasure canoeing throug
h Waubesa Marsh.
[gentle piano music]
Sandhill cranes coming up there.
That's a nice thing.
[sandhill cranes calling]
[calling continues]
Lovely.
Wow.
They called right above our he
ads.
Wow, how wonderful.
[gentle string music]
Hi, I'm Jon Miskowski,
director of PBS Wisconsin.
These few days
in springthat we come
to you and
ask you
to join and
become anactive
contributor to
PBSWisconsin before
our fiscal year
begins again
in a few weeks
from now, we inviteyou
to call (800)2
363636. As
you know
, public television and public
radio are part
of a national
conversation. Especially
this week.
And we have been
encouraged by
the participation,
the stories
that folks have
s hared
about the
value that they
find inpublic
television. So
we invite
you to contribute
tosupport this
work. We
are watching
this wonderful
documentary , Invitation
toWander, and we'll
have a
chance to talk a little bit
more with Ben
Albert, the
producer. This wonderful
piece of work
celebratingthe work,
the vision,
the teaching
of his grandfather.It's
really a wonderfulshow. We're
happy to bringit
to you. And again,
it's a reminder of
our special focus
on Wisconsin
unlike anything
else, anywhere
online or on
air. We have
this focus on
Wisconsin bringing
you the news.
Documentaries like this, exploring
Wisconsin. John
McGivern Wisconsin Foodiethat
celebrate our state.
And the entrepreneurs of our
state. This is a
wonderful service that we
have. Your
dollars, your
calls, your support
sustains this
more than
100 year
tradition of public media
in Wisconsin, beginning
with the
Wisconsin Public
Radio, which
is the invented
public broadcasting
. Continue
that legacy.
Continue support
with your
call on
your pledge
to(800)2 363636.
Thanks. Yes
>> Coming here
to. >> Hi.
I'm Jon Miskowski of PBS Wisconsin.
You've just watched
an invitation
towander from
Ben Albert
Young ,filmmaker
sharing his
first film.
And we're inviting
you to support
PBS Wisconsin.This kind of work
with your
volunteer contributions,
you can
call or go
online for a
gift of
$15 a month. We
havethis wonderful
book, Travel
Wild Wisconsin.
Thanks tothe
great work
of Universityof
Wisconsin Press
and the author
Candace Andrews.
It has
a really interesting
approach in that it takes
sort of creatures,
creatures in the
wild, whooping
cranes, elk,
monarch butterflies,
loons , and
kindof maps
that for us inWisconsin
to show us
where to go
to find those places.
So your grandfather
is justreally
wonderful and it'sreally
great to think about.
I think all of
us, when wefirst saw it, thought it'd
be wonderful to introduce m to new audiences
and newpeople. And
he talks aboutsort of
that appreciation.But how do
you how do how
does he how does he what didhe
do to kind of extend thatappreciation
that he had
forthe wetlands?
>> Yeah, I mean,
you saw
him in that
last scene
going out into the
wetland after he
hadn't been there for a
while. And it's even thoughhe's been there
100 times,thousands of times, it'sstill so
special to him. And
one of the biggest lessonshe taught
me was
that inorder
for people to care
forand protect
something, they
need to fall in
love with it
themselves on a
very on a
very personal level.
And that comes
from actually
going out
and seeing these
places for yourself.
So he
actually, with the
help of his neighbors,
was able
topermanently preserve
Waubesa wetlands
through literallyfield
trips, bringing the
community to the
marsh,showing them this place
firsthand. >> Thank you.
So reallygreat
to share this story.And you know, I
willencourage you to give I
think about what you give toin your
community. I'mgiving
to something, makesyou feel more
connected and even
better about
that. Your
relationship with
it andwhether that's
public television,
your local library,
whatever you give
to it, you
know that
feeling. And we're encouraging
you to join
usat PBS with
this call and this
beautiful film, (800) 236-3636 is the
number .
>> When you
make a gift
to PBS Wisconsin right now,
you really
are helping
us make
connections all across the
state. So
I hope this
program has helped
you, helped
you feel
inspired toget out
and explore and
support your
community across
Wisconsin. So
whenyou give us
a call and decide
to become a sustainer
at $10 a month,
we will sendyou
this fantastic hat.
So again, a
great little
conversation starter. I think I
mentioned before,
right. So get
out there, letother
people see
your support
for PBS Wisconsinand
inspire them
to give as well.
At that $15 a
month level,
we will
give you that
wild Wisconsin
book. So
I noticed
a page in here
thattalked about sandhill cranes,
and we talked
somuch about education
tonight, and my little fouryear old
asked me aboutthose sandhill c ranes just
yesterday. So there's
so many
different ways that
this film can
inspire us. And these
books can
inspire us.
So whether you're
in La Crosse or
Madison, whateverit might be,
don't forget when you
become a sustainerat $20 a
month, we'll sendyou that annual
park pass
so you can
get out and
explore all over the
state. Don'tforget
, at that $30
a month,we
will send you
all three. The cap, the
book, and
that park pass.
So give us a
call and support us
now at
(800) 236-3636. >> I'm
David Hoffert,
volunteer here at
PBSWisconsin. And
if I'm being
really honest with you,
whenI, when I
watched this film,
especially that last
scene, the
person I thought
of first
was my stepfather,
aman who
worked hard
in a medical
practice every
day and
came home to a
120 acre
farm that he was
restoring to Wild
Prairie . And
just the, the,
the, the
groundedness that that must have
given him,
much like I
assume, Ben's
grandfather has been able
to experienceover the years
, my stepfather would
haveabsolutely loved this film.Unfortunately, he passed
away several years
ago. But,
you know, he
was a sustaining
member of PBSWisconsin. He
loved this
station and
talk about legacies that are passed
on. I
do this
now because of
the PBS Wisconsin
relationship that
my stepfather broughtinto our
home every night
when I was a
kid. I
want you to be a
part of
that, just like we
all should be a part
of the
natural wild here
inWisconsin. Give us a call
one (800) 236-3636. >> At
PBS Wisconsin. When we produce a
film content
, wedon't think
of that as the
end point. It is
a startingpoint. There's a
lot ofwork, as Ben will attest
to, to getting a
film like this
done, but it
is for
ouraudience as a starting
point because
it presents
some opportunities of
learning, of
being engaged, about
making connections,
about convening
conversations inyour
community. This
project isn't
over. You want to tellfolks
about some of the things that
continue and howthey
might engage in this.In
your project
further. >> Yeah,
yeah, definitely.
We are.
Right now we're
offering the film
tocommunities. If you want to bring it
to your community
screen, the film
, and wewill
soon have other
viewing opportunities,
and you will.
All of that is
through ourwebsite, which is Waubesa
.Film.com. That's
w e s a
film. Com.
We also have a
newsletter there
if you wantto
stay updated on the
project. So one of
those tabs up there is
you'll seethe newsletter. So if youwant
to follow us that'd
begreat. >> That's great. And Ben
erybody is thinking
aboutand asking
like what are you
going to do next. But youhave some
projects thatyou're in
in the works right now.
been working. I want
to stay in the
documentary space and
continue with
environmentally themed
work. I
think now that's
more important
than it ever
has been.
So working with
some local
organizations here inWisconsin
for now might takea break
from a
feature documentary
for a while.We'll
see. But I'd
love tocontinue
with with this typeof work.
>> Thank you for joining us,and thanks
for thiswonderful work. You listen
to these phone calls,
listento these phone calls and a llthat talking back.
There is
someone who's making a
commitment to
PBS Wisconsinand appreciating
your film
and the wonderful
work we find
here. You can
join them with your
call to(800) 236-3636.
>> Now is a great time
tojoin us so
you can give us
a call
and become a
member. And
maybe you're already a
member and
you'll consider
increasing your gift
for $10a month.
We'll send you
thisfantastic hat
. And at
$15 a month
again, we'll
send you
this great
travel Wisconsin
book. So
in here, there are
so many
wonderful stories totake
you on
that treasure hunt
across the state.
So consider
making that gift at
$15 a
month . At
$20 a month,
you'll get
that one year
annual state
pass. So
to allof the
state parks and
what what
more can you
ask for?So
travel all across the
state north
up to northern
Wisconsin or out tolacrosse, whatever that
might be. At $30 a
month.Again, you get
all of thosewonderful thank you
gifts.The cap, the
book , and
that park
pass. So
please support
us today and give
us a call at
(800) 236-3636. >> Well,
thank you for folks
calling the number
again for
you to join in
thesewonderful thank you giftsthat
can inspire you
to getout. So
Ben shared
his website
where you can learn
more about
this project. ButI
like the inspiration.
Hereis one is I think
people aregoing to be
very interestedin your your grandfather's
work, but
also to get
out.It's spring.
>> It's spring is
around the corner.
So other
places inthe state
that you
have been inspired
to go to,
toexplore. mean, I
love Horicon
Marsh. I don't
know if
you've been there, but
it's actually the,
the biggest
freshwater wetland
in the country
is Horicon. It's
just a few hours
away from us.
And it just goes
to showyou don't need to travel far
away. We have
all theseamazing
places right here inWisconsin that
we should goout
and.>> See. These places
don'thave to have big fancy signsand national
parks and allthat.
It's a wonderful
celebration of Wisconsin. Thank
you. And
thank you foryour
calls and
support. >> Please.
>> Yeah .
[MUSIC] [singers vocalizing]
- Announcer: The following prog
ram
is an encore presentation.
To give your support, call us at
1-800-236-3636
or visit us at pbswisconsin.org.
[inspirational music]
- This program is brought to you
by the combined resources
of the Wisconsin Historical Soc
iety
and PBS Wisconsin.
[waves crashing]
[delicate piano]
[seagulls calling]
- Brendon Baillod: Lighthouses oc
cupy that sort of wistful part of our
imagination.
- Kevin Osgood: There's a myst
ique about them.
There's an aura about them.
- Neil Howk: A magical place.
- Narrator: Soaring towers.
Rugged landscapes.
Wisconsin lighthouses stan
d watch
over Lake Michigan and Lake
Superior.
- Kevin Osgood: The Great Lakes ar
e inland seas.
They are massive.
- Monumental beacons.
Shining light on a bygone er
a.
From the first people to v
enture the lakes
to the dedicated keepers will
ing to risk their all.
- Neil Howk: The aspect of dang
er.
The aspect of sacrifice.
- Ken Wardius: People depended
on them day in and day out.
- Icons of Wisconsin's rich
maritime past.
- Cathy Green: Lighthouses are
inseparable
from the history of the state
- Brendon Baillod: Without ligh
thouses,
Wisconsin doesn't happen.
- Marvelous construction.
Breathtaking views.
- Barb Wardius: They're really
something to behold.
- Kevin Osgood: There's nothin
g else like them.
- Wisconsin Lighthouses.
[waves breaking]
♪
- Announcer: Funding for Wiscon
sin Lighthouses
is provided by
the David L. and Rita E. Nelson
Family Fund,
Dr. Henry Anderson and Shirley
Levine,
the Ruth St. John and John Dunham
West Foundation,
Jan Botz and Tom Lippert,
the Dwight and Linda Davis Foun
dation,
A.C.V. and Mary Elston Family,
Slater Family Fund,
Barb and Mike Madden,
Obrodovich Family Foundation,
The Great Lakes Foundation,
Ruder Ware,
the Fund for Lake Michigan,
Trust Point,
Wisconsin Coastal Management Pro
gram,
and the National Oceanic and Atmo
spheric Administration,
donors to the Focus Fund for Wisc
onsin Programs,
and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
[waves brushing shore]
[pensive piano music]
N- Narrator: The crashing watersnof
Lake Michigan
surround a small, forested isla
nd
with steep dolomite cliffs.
Deep within the rustic lan
dscape
lives a pioneernof Wisconsin's m
aritime history.
- Tina Jacoby: You're walking
through the woods on the trail.
You come right over that last cr
est,
and you see this picture-perfect
lighthouse standing there.
It's pretty amazing to see.
♪
- The Pottawatomie Lighthouse,
located at the tip of the Doorn
County Peninsula on Rock Island.
Built in 1836nand then replace
d 20 years later
with the existing structure
seen today:
a 41-foot towernwith attached ke
eper's quarters.
- Tina Jacoby: As it stands tod
ay,
the house is set up around 191
0.
So, you can kind of picture the
lighthouse keepers at that point
living there.
As you're walking through the ho
use,
you get to see the kitchen, the
parlor, the bedrooms.
You kind of feel like you're at
home, which is kind of fun.
And then, the best part is goin
g up to the lantern room.
- A view of the water reac
hing beyond the horizon.
A summer day.
Whitecaps flashing on the sur
face.
♪
An idyllic location,
Nhome to Pottawatomie Lighthouse.
Chosen not for its grand view
but for its utter necessity.
- Mark Kuehn: It was a matter o
f life and death.
[waves breaking, ominous music]
[ring-billed gull makes high-p
itched squeals]
- Ted Karamanski: Well, it'd b
e a big mistake
to underestimate the Great Lakes.
[waves blast lighthouse]
- Cathy Green: These are just
as treacherous as the oceans.
- Brendon Baillod: Violent st
orms blow up, and, you know,
if you don't run for your life,
you're gonna be in trouble.
- Surging waters and rocky fo
rmations
make the Great Lakes
a perilous force of nature.
- Katrina Phillips: Unless you've
been there
or you've lived there,
you don't really understand
the power that these lakes have.
[strings and percussion build
in intensity]
- Cathy Green: It's estimated t
hat there are
well over 6,000 shipwrecks in t
he Great Lakes
- Brendon Baillod: The Great La
kes
are really a nautical graveyard
compared to anyplace else in t
he world.
[intense strings and percussion]
[bubbles in water column]
[waves brushing shore]
- A tiny, secluded island
in that nautical graveyard
would become pivotal to the
story of Wisconsin
and home to the state's very
first lighthouse,
Pottawatomie.
- Kevin Osgood: In the early 1
800s,
before Wisconsin was even a state,
the stone that was coming out of
the quarries here,
the lumber that was coming out o
f the forest,
all of that needed to go other pl
aces on the Great Lakes
for the construction of cities.
The schooners
moving the stone and timber ar
ound the Great Lakes
would have to go through Death's
Door.
- Death's Door Passage is a
narrow channel
of shallow waters and stro
ng currents
between the mainland peninsula
of Door County
and Washington Island.
A notorious waterway that
lived up to its ominous name.
[foreboding strings]
- Kevin Osgood: The shipping i
ndustry was losing too many ships,
and it was costing 'em money.
So, it was critical to get a lig
hthouse built
in this particular location.
- Tina Jacoby: In 1834,
the mariners had requested and
petitioned
the federal government
to build the Pottawatomie Lighthou
se on Rock Island
that would mark the safe passage
.
That safe passage became known as
"Rock Island Passage."
- Situated just northeast
of Washington Island,
the deep waters off Rock Islan
d
Nheld the potential for ansafe route
around Death's Door.
However, in the early 1800s,
Nthis region was still considered
America's frontier.
NBuilding Pottawatomie Lighthouse
would be a venture into the
unknown.
[dire piano music]
- Ted Karamanski: This was a t
ime when
there was absolutely no charts of
Lake Michigan.
- Kevin Osgood: Captains had to na
vigate without the lighthouses.
And they're carrying the materials
to these remote places
to build lighthouses.
It was absolutely no easy task.
- Tina Jacoby: The stones were qu
arried from the island itself.
They would haul them up to the
site.
They used wood from the island.
And just with manpower,
they put that lighthouse together.
- Kevin Osgood: That human sp
irit of just pushing forward
and knocking down the darkness an
d moving ahead.
[fast, tense piano]
[water lapping shore]
[pensive music]
- Inaugurated in 1836,
Pottawatomie Lighthouse was
a trailblazer.
The very first lighthouse on
all of Lake Michigan.
Remaining in operation unti
l 1988.
- Tina Jacoby: The Pottawatomie
name
comes from the Native Americans
that were living in the area.
Pottawatomie means "keepers of
the fire."
The mariners would connect with
that light
as they were going through the
passage
and relying on that to be there
every night.
- Waiting just on the horizon
was a golden eranof Wisconsin's m
aritime history.
- Kevin Osgood: Pottawatomie L
ighthouse
lit a way to growth and developm
ent.
It would provide that beacon into
the future,
for the entire state of Wiscons
in.
[plucky guitar and banjo]
- Brendon Baillod: Lighthouses had
opened up the state for settlement,
and people began to bring their f
amilies west.
You had to come by boat.
There was no other way.
- Ted Karamanski: Schooners were l
iterally
the covered wagons of the Great
Lakes frontier.
- The Great Lakes were th
e superhighways of the past.
Forming one of the highest
concentrations of lighthouses
anywhere in the world.
- Brendon Baillod: In the 1800s
,
the volume of vessel traffic on
the Great Lakes
was easily 20, 30 times what it
is today.
[waves lapping gently]
- Most Wisconsin lighthouses
began service between 1850
and 1900.
From Lake Michigan's Southp
ort Lighthouse
in bustling Kenosha
to Wisconsin's northernmost
point --
Devils Island Lighthouse on L
ake Superior.
These beacons lit the way fo
r mariners
for nearly 150 years.
Burning brightly due to a tec
hnological leap
in the 19th century.
- Ken Wardius: Fresnel lenses
revolutionized lighthouses
throughout the world.
Engineering marvels.
- Barb Wardius: It's a series
of polished glass prisms
that bend and refract the light
in and then out onto the body
of water.
- The Fresnel lens projecte
d further and brighter
than ever before.
The powerful beam was instru
mental
Nin the creation of an integrated
network of lighthouses
along Lake Michigan,
linking them like a chain.
- Mark Kuehn: All lighthouses
on Lake Michigan
are all within sight of each ot
her.
Each beam crosses over,
so you never lose sight of a l
ighthouse
as you're coming down the lake.
- Tasked with keeping this
innovation working smoothly
was the lighthouse keeper --
Nan employee of the United States
Lighthouse Service.
- Barb Wardius: Early lighthouse
keepers were called "wickies."
- Ken Wardius: They trimmed a
wick in the lantern
to keep the flame the right height
so that it would burn evenly and br
ightly.
- The wick and lantern were
fueled by oil,
Nwhich the keeper repeatedlyncarrie
d to the top of the tower
in buckets.
NA counterweight mechanism wouldnth
en rotate the Fresnel lens
around the burning wick.
- Barb Wardius: It was a giant
cuckoo clock mechanism
that would have to be wound ev
ery three to four hours.
So, you would never get a full
night's sleep.
- Mark Kuehn: You were busy al
l day long.
You just weren't working at night.
The lens had to be spotless to t
he touch of a glove.
They would have to record the we
ather.
They'd have to record ship pas
sings.
And then do any kind of maintenan
ce
on the house or the grounds.
- Tina Jacoby: The lighthouse k
eepers had
an ingrained sense of service
because that's what it was.
It was the lighthouse service.
They were in service to the feder
al government
and to keep the mariners safe.
- The keeper and the mariner
shared a sacred trust --
Nthe light would remain steadfast
in its duty.
Beacons of hope in a raging
storm.
And treasured works of art
decorating the shoreline.
- Bob Mackreth: The leading
American historian of lighthouses
in the 20th century,
F. Ross Holland, wrote,
"Nation's largest and finest col
lection
"of historic lighthouses is conta
ined within
the boundaries of the Apostle
Islands National Lakeshore."
Absolutely.
- Off Wisconsin's north shore
in Lake Superior
Nlies a group of islands adorned
with otherworldly beauty.
The Apostle Islands Nation
al Lakeshore.
Twenty-one islands, eight
lighthouses
surrounded by deep forests
and natural wonders.
- Neil Howk: The Apostle Islands,
they are remote.
You are definitely away from th
e hubbub of everyday life.
- Brendon Baillod: They're no
t little port town lighthouses, right
?
They tend to have to be tall.
They have to be, you know, pret
ty conspicuous
because they have to be seen from
a distance.
- Punctuating the horizon,
Nthe Apostle Islands lighthouses
historically guided large v
essels
along the shipping lanes of L
ake Superior.
Today, they keep watch over a
public treasure.
- Neil Howk: The best place to
view the islands from
is the top of a lighthouse towe
r.
Places like Devils Island and Ra
spberry Island
and the north end of Outer Island,
those give us a look at what pe
rhaps
northern Wisconsin looked like
300 years ago.
A pristine area.
On someplace like Raspberry Isl
and,
you can easily be the only pers
on that's on that island,
surrounded by acres of wildern
ess.
[gentle waves]
♪
- In the late 1800s, a keep
er named Francis Jacker
lived alonenat Raspberry Islan
d Lighthouse.
- Bob Mackreth: He liked it.
I mean, it gave him plenty of
time
to pursue his artistic interests
.
He was a talented artist.
He was a composer.
- Jacker, a German immigrant,
married an Ojibwe woman named "I
kwesens,"
who later went by "Catherine."
A committed partner,
Catherine stayed back on the mai
nland with their sons,
while Jacker lived on Raspberry I
sland
to tend the light.
- Bob Mackreth: He also wrote
articles on Ojibwe folklore
that were published in anthrop
ological journals
over in Germany.
He was absolutely a Renaissance
man.
But the one thing he wasn't very
good at was operating a boat.
[thunder crashing]
- Neil Howk: In September of 1887,
a storm blew up.
And he had left the boat tied up
to the dock.
He hadn't put it away in the boa
thouse.
So, he jumped out of bed, runs d
own to the dock,
and he jumps into the boat
with the intention of sailing i
t to the boathouse.
The problem is that
he got pushed a little bit too
far offshore.
- Bob Mackreth: He loses contr
ol of the boat.
Next thing you know, he's washed
up on the beach at Oak Island.
- Neil Howk: The wind wrapped a
round
and it swamped the boat on the
beach
and filled it up with sand.
It was unusable.
- Marooned on nearby Oak Is
land,
Jacker was surrounded by a
n uninhabited,
densely wooded no-man's land.
- Bob Mackreth: So, he's out t
here all by himself,
wet and cold in his jammies.
- Neil Howk: He had no shoes. He h
ad no shirt.
He had no food. He was in a pi
ckle.
- The storm raged for three
days.
- Neil Howk: Meanwhile, his wi
fe and one of his sons
made an unexpected visit to Raspb
erry Island
to see their father.
It's a real fluke
because she only did this, like
, once or twice a year.
And they get there, and there's
nobody there.
- With a darkened tower lo
oming over her,
Catherine had no time
to contemplate her husband'
s disappearance.
She knew she had to act fast.
- Bob Mackreth: She took charge.
She went up the tower stairs
and figured out how to light t
he lamp.
Even there, in the dire distre
ss
of thinking her husband is lost
somewhere on the lake,
her first thought is really,
"We need to get the light goin
g again
for the safety of the mariners."
- Neil Howk: By day three, Fran
cis is figuring out
that if he was going to be seen,
he needed to get to a differen
t part of the island.
- Jacker bound up his feet,
bushwacked across the island,
and tied what was left of t
he sail high in a tree.
Desperate, alone...
Jacker's last bit of hope
was fluttering in the storm.
[thunder roars]
NBut in that dark, tempest night,
hope prevailed.
Jacker's signal was spotted.
♪
NTaken back to Raspberry Island,
Nthe warm glow of the lighthousenwe
lcomed the ragged Jacker home.
nWaiting for him with open arms,
the ever-vigilant Catherine.
[tender piano]
- Neil Howk: Must have been a magic
al moment.
A really lucky break.
The lighthouse keepers were out
there
in order to prevent accidents.
Catherine, she understood the im
portance of the light,
and she did what she could
in order to, you know, to make it
right.
- Bob Mackreth: I think that s
hows the level of dedication
that was fostered in the culture
.
The keepers and their families
,
the wife came in, stepped in, an
d says,
"That's my responsibility,"
even right there with the prospec
t of, suddenly, widowhood.
So, it's a reason I admire these
people.
N- Entrustednto protectNa treasure
,
Wisconsin lighthouse keepers
would soon build a legacy
of stewardship,
pride,
and family.
Hi, I'm Jon Miskowski,
director of
PBS Wisconsin. We're
enjoying this
wonderful program.
WisconsinLighthouses celebrating this
part of the
important maritime
history and traditions
of Wisconsin.
And this
life of
service and
innovation and
wonderful part of
our history.
And happy
to share that
with you.
Public television,
public radio,
as you know,
especially in the news this
week . And
we want
to remind you
that your support
has always
been a critical
part of
how we
fund this
service. And do we invite
you tocontribute?
We invite you
to join us at
(800)2 363636.
And a couple of
weeks, we will start
a new fiscalyear, and we'd love to
startthat with you. As
an activecontributor to PBSWisconsin, with
a gift of
$15 a month,
we have the
DVD.This has both the
DVD and
the Blu ray
of the lighthouses
documentary. This
is a companion
documentary to the book
published by
the Historical
Society Press.
A wonderful
resource that
we'll tell youabout as
another option
fora thank you gift
. But celebrate
Wisconsin with
us with
your phone call and
your contribution
to (800)2 363636.
>> Hi, I'm Linda Berman,
avolunteer here
at PBSWisconsin, and this
programis amazing. It
really it'slike
a voyage, like we're
on the ship
watching the
lighthouses into our past.
And we have
very special
thank you gifts.
If you call in
and pledge your support
now at
$15 a month, we
canget t he
program DVD and
Blu ray
together in one. You
also have the
opportunity ofgetting this
amazing lighthouse
book WisconsinLighthouses, which is
a photographic
and historical
guide throughout
the state.
Or you have an
option to getthis
incredible, beautiful
tote bag.
It's illuminating.Can
Island Door
County youget
the f
ront during the
dayand in the back you
can seethat at
night lit up at $25a
month, you can get
all ofthem. The program DVD with
the Blu
ray, The
Lighthouse Book,
and the tote. The
most important
thing is
you are supporting
quality programing
that
shines the
light for you. We
educate, entertain
as wellas inform
you and this
is our
time to talk
to youthrough our
airwaves and
say, give
us a call,
give us a call
to pledge yoursupport
right now at
one(800)2 363636.
>> Thanks for folks
forcalling. I want
to remindyou, with
that gift of $25
amonth, we have
the DVD that
can include
the DVD and
Blu ray and the
same package,
the Lighthouses
Book, which
is a wonderful
thing to have
as you
travel the
state tofind these wonderful
places and
understand their history and the
background, and
also this
tote of
Cana Island
Lighthouse is a
custom made. You
won't find it
on Amazon
or something
else. This is a
illustrator who
custom didthis
design for us and
didsome work that
we used
with the
with an online
interactive media
projectthat was part of this
larger lighthouses project,
including the documentarywe're enjoying.
So that
tote bag, you're not
going tofind it anywhere else
as custom,
as wonderful
celebration of WisconsinLighthouses, especially
the Canal
Island Lighthouse.
As this
wonderful place
andDoor County and a
wonderful celebration
of these wonderful lives
and contributions
that the keepers
made to our
lives.The phone number
to call tosupport is
(800) 236-3636. >> I
just want to review
that these
lighthouses are
Lake Superior,
Lake Michigan
and Lake
Winnebago and the
Cana Island
in Door County
is what we have on
the totebag.
That's one of the
wonderful thank you gifts.Starting
with our programDVD and
Blu ray
in one. That's
one package, as
wellas you have
a choice of that
or the Lighthouse book, which
is absolutely
amazing. It's
historical images
as well
as maps and
directionsof how
to get there,
which I think is
fantastic. And youhave a
choice of that or
this Cana
Island tote
bag,which I think is so
beautiful. As John wastalking
about, specifically
designed for us,
where you have the
front and the
daylight illuminating
it,and on
the back side you
actually can look in and see
inside the
incredible lighthouse,
$25 a month
atthe pledge
level, you can
get the program DVD and
Blu ray.
The Lighthouse
Book, as
well as the
tote bag. And
Iwant to remind
you that with
every pledge,
including our
$35 senior
level, you
willget our
"Airwaves" magazine
to find out
what you
can see
on our
airwaves day
to day on all of
our channels.
Thisis a great
opportunity forus
to say thank
you to you
for your pledge
of support. Starts with your
call one800
2363636. >> Thank you
for joining us, and
thank you for watching
the news over
the last
monthor so. And
especially this
week as public
televisionand public radio
are in the news,
as we often say,
welike to cover the news.We're not
too keen aboutbeing in the
news, but we'vereally
been heartened
by the
response, by the
enthusiasm, by
the storytelling
thatpeople have shared
about the
value of
public broadcasting.
So thank you
for that and
thank you
forcalling with
your support,
as I mentioned,
the bag is
a custom by
Sophie. Sophie
Blackall . It's
extraordinary .Children's illustrator.
We're so
fortunate to get
her and
ask her tocontribute to our
largerproject around lighthouses.
And so you're
seeing some of
her artwork
there in this
beautiful bag. It
looks perfect
for taking to the
beach or taking to lighthouses, of course,
but thank you
for your call.
Thanks for folks paying
attention to what's
happening in the news.
We appreciate
that . And
we appreciate
if you call
right now
with your pledge
at (800)2
363636. >> Well,
also consider
the opportunity
to get a
unique Father's
Day gift
forpeople. The fathers
in your life,
whether it's the
DVD or
the Lighthouse
book or
the amazing
tote bag thatwill carry
food , beach
towels, whatever you
want, and
especially books
. You can get
that at $15 a
month.At $25 a month,
you have the program DVD
with the Or
and the Blu
ray and the
lighthouse book
and the tote
bag. This is
a way
to say PBS Wisconsin is taking
youto places you couldn't get
to normally. Our programing
does that
for you, so this
is a great time for you
tocall in to say, you
know,it's your programing that I'm
supporting and we're
here for that. You can do it
online at pbswisconsin.org
or give us a
call. Ourvolunteers are sitting herewaiting
to talk to you
at one (800)2
363636. >> Thanks, Sarah.
Folks, itwas
really nice
to see theresponse for current
contributors to
PBSWisconsin, you
w ill
have received an
email today.
Ifwe have your email address
today. In the days
ahead, a
little bit of
context of
what's going
on , folks,
certainly asking
what they can
do. That email is areally
good way to say whatwhat
f or you
to do, what
we're asking you
to do rightnow
is join
us. If you
haven't contributed in a
while. This
is a great opportunity to great thank
you gifts.
A great way tocelebrate Wisconsin
and our maritime
history by
making your
contribution to
PBSWisconsin at
(800) 236-3636. And
the additional
benefitsare, of
course, number one,the
programing. But numbertwo,
as I've
said, "Airwaves"
magazine. So you
can plan what
you want tosee, what you
want torecord. And of
course, the third
thing is our
Passport,where you can
watch programs,
things you mayhave
missed, find
out the background
stories. This is
because you
are a supporter.It's
very easy
to do that.We
have thank you gifts
inaddition to "Airwaves"
andPassport such
as the
programDVD and
Blu ray
or the
Lighthouse Book or
the totebag at
$15 a month,
at $25
amonth, you can
get the DVDand
Blu ray
and the
Lighthouse Book
and the tote
bag. It's
all here for
you.But the most important thing
is pledging
your financial
support. Now,
we thank
youso much, but
it starts withyour call
at one (800)2
363636. >> As you're
watching thisprogram, I
think you can
think about the work that'sinvolved. The beauty
of the
photography, if you will.
The research
that's put
in. Thanks
again. And
special credit
to the Wisconsin
Historical Society
Press, whose
book really
was a guide
to us, to find
andtell these really
wonderful stories
of Wisconsin.
Andthat's what we're about.
Wisconsin stories. And
we appreciate
your support. We
appreciate your
pledges.It's great
to see the
phoneslight up. Thank
you for your
support. .[MUSIC]
[peaceful, flowing piano]
- Narrator: Intricate la
yers of sandstone. [bird calling]
Rough pine and birch trees
blanket rocky bays.
Sea caves smoothednby centuries
of rippling waters.
- Barb Wardius: Sand Island is
on the western edge of the Apostles
.
So, it's way out there.
If the weather conditions aren't
right, you aren't landing.
And if you need to get off the
island, you're not getting off.
The lake is the boss, definite
ly.
- Bob Mackreth: The lighthou
se at Sand Island
was there primarily to give warn
ing to ships
to stay off the Apostles.
- Built in 1881, the Sand Isl
and Lighthouse
stands on a red jagged shore
line.
Walled in by a fortress of s
tone.
- Bob Mackreth: Sand Island Li
ghthouse
was fashioned from the fabric
of the island.
It's a beautiful building,
which was built from the rock
where it sits.
And I can't think of a more i
ntimate way or profound way
that a building can be connected
to its environment.
- Made of brownstone
in the style of Norman Goth
ic architecture,
Sand Island Lighthouse prov
ided a picturesque setting
for a keeper's quiet life of
solitude.
[evocative harp]
- Bob Mackreth: The second keep
er at Sand Island
I find an interesting fellow for
a number of reasons.
His name was Emmanuel Luick.
He came there for the 1892 sea
son,
and then stayed 28 years
until the lighthouse was automa
ted in 1920.
- Barb Wardius: Mr. Luick enjo
yed lighthouse keeping.
- Bob Mackreth: Loved it; he t
hrived in the lighthouse life.
He spent his first couple of years
out at Sand Island all by himse
lf.
Then, in 1896,
he married a young woman named El
la Gertrude Richardson.
She was from Providence, Rhode Is
land.
N- Ella wasn16 years old
Nwhen she marriednthe 29-year-oldN
Emmanuel.
NJoining him to livenat Sand Island
.
- Bob Mackreth: She was enrapt
ured
by his promises to live in a lig
hthouse.
And I'm sure it sounded very roma
ntic.
- Neil Howk: Being in a beauti
ful setting,
in a lovely building, it's gre
at.
But solitude can be a double-e
dged sword.
- Bob Mackreth: Guess what?
She wasbored out of her skull
.
♪
- Barb Wardius: All lighthouse
keepers
were required to keep a daily lo
g book,
and it was supposed to be one line
of what the weather was,
ships that had passed.
Perhaps what they did that day,
if there was painting or garde
ning going on.
- Bob Mackreth: Ella, on the o
ther hand,
used it basically as a personal
diary.
We have a very complete pictur
e
of the Luicks' marriage fallin
g apart.
- In one entry, Ella wrote,
"Mr. Luick hasn't anything
to do,
and so he can help me do n
othing."
- Barb Wardius: But again, she
was 16 years old.
She just found lighthouse life
very lonely.
- After ten years, Ella mov
ed on.
Heading back east,
she became a nurse and late
r remarried.
Leaving behind Sand Island
Lighthouse and Emmanuel Luick.
- Bob Mackreth: Emmanuel is no
t Mr. Charm. [chuckles]
It appears he was hard to get a
long with.
He went through assistant keeper
s at a fairly rapid clip.
And he didn't have a really good
reputation.
But on the other hand,
he was an incredibly talented
photographer.
Several years ago we discovered
a treasure trove of photos
that Luick took.
They'd been sitting in a barn.
And this would be the first time
anyone had eyes on those photos
in decades.
- Neil Howk: Several hundred im
ages.
Some of the images are from th
e lighthouse on Sand Island
and what it was like to be a li
ghthouse keeper.
- Bob Mackreth: Excellent shots of
the lighthouse and the surroundings,
which are quite artistic.
- Luick also explored near
by communities.
Capturing photos of neighborh
oods,
family farms,
and fishermen repairing th
eir nets.
He meticulously documented
life along Lake Superior.
- Bob Mackreth: He had a very
good eye
for catching a personality.
And they are so sharp and vivid
.
- Luick was able to evoke
a sense of beauty
and convey emotion in a sin
gle image.
Capturing vibrant lives,
inhabiting a rich world from
a bygone era.
- Bob Mackreth: They provided
excellent detail
about what daily life was like
around the turn of the 20th ce
ntury.
- Through his photography,
Emmanuel Luick preserved a
moment in time
in a unique and personal w
ay.
- Bob Mackreth: This man definitely
was an artist.
Life is not all black and whit
e.
There are shades of gray.
- Shades of gray, in a wor
ld full of color,
resided inside the Wisconsi
n lighthouse.
- Neil Howk: What is a lighthou
se?
Well, on the one hand, it's the
light,
and it's all of the aspects
that go into keeping the light
lit.
But it was also a home.
People lived there.
- Linda Faust: Our Great Lakes
lighthouses,
most of them were really family h
omes.
You can really see that
as you walk through the lighth
ouse.
- A bedroom adorned with chi
ldhood memories.
Lighthouse-issued chinaware
still waiting on the dinne
r table
for the keeper and their ki
n.
Family homes brimming with
the presence of the past.
- Linda Faust: A lot of people th
ink, "Oh, it was a easy life,"
but it was a difficult life.
The families were actually farm
ers.
When you think about growing yo
ur own food,
canning it, storing it, and prep
aring it,
they had to be self-sufficient.
- Barb Wardius: Mom's taking c
are of the kids.
There's the cooking, the cleaning
, the sewing.
It was constant work, which amaz
es me.
- Linda Faust: People had to
survive and fight the elements.
All of those things are true,
but not all of them were in is
olation.
Especially up here in Door Coun
ty.
[hopeful, reflective cello]
- Life at the lighthouse was
a family affair.
No truer than in Door County.
[energetic violin, bird calling
]
Often referred to as the "C
ape Cod of the Midwest,"
Wisconsin's eastern peninsula
is notable for its scenic s
horeline,
towering bluffs,
and 11 historic lighthouses.
- Kevin Osgood: Door County ha
s the largest concentration of light
houses
per mile of shoreline than a
nywhere else in the United States.
- Beacons such as Sherwood P
oint,
Baileys Harbor Upper Range,
and Pottawatomie
all served as homes to gen
erations of families.
Today, in Peninsula State Par
k,
people flock to the popular
Eagle Bluff Lighthouse.
Built in 1868 to light up
busy Strawberry Channel,
Nthe lighthouse sits 76 feet high
upon the bluff.
There, visitors walk in the
footsteps
of Eagle Bluff's most memorab
le inhabitants,
the Duclon family.
- Linda Faust: The Duclons, Wi
lliam and Julia, lived here,
but they weren't alone.
They had seven sons!
- The family of ninenmoved to E
agle Bluff Lighthouse
in 1883.
Keeper William Duclon, a ve
teran of the Union Army,
oversaw its daily operation.
His sons pitched in,
helping to maintain the buil
dings,
grow food, and assist in re
scues.
A tightly-run operation,
the family was awarded seve
ral commendations
for thenbest-looking lighthouse
grounds
in the Great Lakes area.
- Linda Faust: The home today,
it still looks pretty much how it
looked
when our Duclon family was living
here.
It was full of life and full o
f laughter,
full of music.
- The music room was the heart
of the Duclon home.
[phonograph starting up, old-timey
piano]
- Linda Faust: When they move here
to Eagle Bluff,
William surprised the family wi
th a piano.
Julia grew up playing piano.
And she wanted a piano for her
seven boys.
All seven boys learned how to p
lay piano.
They also played violin, cello, b
ass fiddle,
accordion, harmonica, and guit
ar.
They were extremely talented.
- The Duclon boysntook their t
alents on the road,
performing around Door Countyn
in dance halls and at weddings.
They also played in some roug
h venues,
holding their own in the occ
asional fight,
Neven brawling once with the sonsnof
a rival lighthouse family
over a group of young ladies.
- Linda Faust: One of the Duclo
n boys
threw the first punch.
[joyful chortle]
A big scandal back then!
- At Eagle Bluff, the family
bond
was tied to their love of
music.
Opening their home to enter
tain anyone who would come.
- Linda Faust: People were livi
ng in little log cabins
or little shanties by the water
if they were fishermen.
So, to your neighbors, this place
was a mansion.
And, of course, they were all in
terested in this home.
- At times, 40 people wo
uld huddle together
for a potluck and a musica
l melody.
- Linda Faust: For the Duclons,
the piano was an important piece
in their lives; it was.
It connected them, really, with
the rest of the families
living in the area.
This was quite the party house ba
ck in the day!
N- The sound of the piano filled
the air at Eagle Bluff
for decades.
Bringing friends and neighbors
together at the lighthouse.
[warm, uplifting strings]
- Linda Faust: The Duclon famil
y was here for 35 years.
This was a gathering place for
these communities.
- Though not Door County's
oldest or tallest lighthouse,
Eagle Bluff was perhaps th
e liveliest --
Nthanks to the spirited Duclons;
their family home still we
lcoming people today.
- Ken Wardius: We call the li
ghthouse "the heart."
But the soul of the lighthouse
are the people that tended it,
the families that spent decade
s of their lives
making sure that mariners out on
the lake were safe.
Dedicated, hardworking people.
♪
- On the eastern edge of t
he Door Peninsula,
a trek across a limestone
causeway
leads to the nearly nine-acren
island in Lake Michigan.
The tiny isle is home to a
giant
among the Door County beacons,
and one of Wisconsin's most c
elebrated:
Cana Island Lighthouse.
- Kevin Osgood: It's one of
the jewels of the Door County lightho
uses.
- Ken Wardius: Cana Island is i
conic.
It has the tall white tower.
It's got the attached house ne
xt to it.
It stands for security.
It stands for safety.
- Barb Wardius: Cana is a beau
tiful lighthouse.
- Surrounded by shallow reefs
and rugged shoreline,
Cana Island Lighthouse
has stood as a sentinel over
Lake Michigan
for more than 150 years.
A witness to daring rescues
and numerous shipwrecks
along the lake's dangerous sh
oals.
- Kevin Osgood: Probably the
most memorable shipwreck at Cana Is
land
would be theBartelmein 1928.
TheBartelmewas a steamer lo
aded with coal
that ran aground
just a few hundred yards from the C
ana Island Lighthouse.
- Stuck in shallow water an
d thick fog,
Neveryone on the ship was brough
t safely back to shore.
The ship itself was damaged
beyond repair
and would remain there for
nearly two years
as it was cut into scrap.
Though salvaged long ago,
theBartelmestill makes
her presence known today.
- Kevin Osgood: Depending on ho
w the waves are coming in,
you can still find some coal on
the beach
from the wreck of theBartelme.
♪
- Cana Island Lighthouse
was constructed to be a tita
n
among the Door County ligh
thouses.
Its tower reaches 89 feet
into the sky,
with its walls nearly 4 fe
et thick at the base.
Built from Milwaukee Cream
City brick,
the lighthouse stood firm
on the exposed island
while repeatedly put to the tes
t
by fierce and unpredictabl
e storms.
- Barb Wardius: Ten years into
the life of the lighthouse,
they noticed it was weathering
much faster than was anticipat
ed.
In the early 1900s, they put th
e metal cladding around it
to protect it.
And it's still there today, so
it worked.
- The powerful structure rema
ins a distinctive landmark
along the Door Peninsula,
making it one of the area's
most popular attractions.
Its historic and scenic app
eal
calling visitors to take a jo
urney back through time.
- Kevin Osgood: Cana is a special
place,
and if you walk out there, then y
ou feel it.
- Barb Wardius: People go inside
and realize this is a piece of
history.
- At the base of the tower
,
a doorway beckons into the
past.
A climb up the spiral staircas
e.
Step by step,
102 cast-iron stairs
stretch toward the top of t
he tower.
- Kevin Osgood: Feel that ache
in your calves
as you climb those steps in the l
ighthouse,
and think about what those ligh
thouse keepers had to do
to keep that lamp lit.
Wow!
- Marching upward,
the open stairwell allows air
to flow through the tower.
Portholes mark the progress
of the ascent.
Waiting above, a treasure of
Wisconsin's maritime history.
- Barb Wardius: As you get into
the actual lantern room area,
you can look up and see the Fres
nel lens.
It's still there today.
- Still in operation,nthe Fr
esnel lens at Cana Island
is one of a select few
to remain lit in all the Gre
at Lakes.
- Kevin Osgood: The fact that it
is still a navigation beacon today
speaks volumes about it.
It's well over 150 years old and
still guiding ships.
- Barb Wardius: It's phenomenal.
- Finally, step outside onto
the gallery deck.
A breathtaking panoramic view
of Lake Michigan and the Door
Peninsula awaits.
[thoughtful strings and horns]
- Kevin Osgood: You look at th
at vastness of Lake Michigan
from the top of the tower
and imagine it's at night, and it
's a dark, moonless night.
And the only light you see is t
his one.
- Ken Wardius: You see the ligh
t.
You have a sense of, "We're going
to be okay."
The lighthouse is a beacon to h
istory.
It's a monument
to bravery, to stability, to s
ecurity.
If you close your eyes
and you dream about this perfe
ct lighthouse --
Cana Island is, to me, that pla
ce.
[crickets chirping]
Hi, I'm Jon Miskowski,
director of PBS Wisconsin.
Now, we'd
rather cover the
news than be
in the news,
but we
are in the news
and. And I
think you have the
context for that.
We havethese
few days
each spring where
we invite you
tobecome a
member just
alittle bit before
our new
fiscal year starts. In
acouple of weeks from now. Sowe
invite you to contribute
,and it's
really important
asyou think about what
makes us
different, is
the programthat
we're enjoying
tonight. Wisconsin Lighthouses.
There's nobody
else is going
to produce a
program likethis. Nobody else
with the
care and
the research
and the
commitment tobringing
you history
on information
that celebrates
our state.
So that's why
so many people
across the
state contribute
year after
year. That's
why we invite
you tojoin us
in support. So
tonight we have this wonderful
trip back
all over Wisconsin.
Obviously, Lake Michigan,
Lake Superior,these
wonderful stories
about the
forming of our
state. The
stories of families of
Wisconsin thatare
connected to those
wonderful lighthouses
andthe waterways
of Wisconsin.
This is possible
because ofyour
support. This is
possible because
of enthusiastic
funding. And
so enjoy the
lighthouses. Enjoy
this trip
around Wisconsin. But also
think about this is possible
because of your
support. Not every
public television
station can
bring you
the kind
of content
from their area
like we
do. And that's
because of this
great support,
the great membership support we
receive. So
enjoy the lighthouses. Give us a
callwith your pledge
as we count
down. As we about
to begin anew
fiscal year with your
call to pledge
is (800)2
>> Hi. I'm James Steinbach. I'm a volunteer here at PBS
Wisconsin. We're taking just a quick break. Well, actually,
this might be a little bit longer break, because it's a
challenge break. This extraordinary program that
you're watching now, made here at the station, made here in
Wisconsin, made for you. And this is the premiere. So this is
really something to see. And this is a critical time to call
us at 1-800-236-3636. And make your pledge of support
because it's a challenge break and your pledge will be doubled.
Call us now. 1-(800) 236-3636 and is a reason to call us now,
partly because it's a challenge break, but also because this
program, I hope, is really inviting you to explore
Wisconsin in ways you may not have thought of. You've probably
driven by lighthouses. You've probably maybe even seen a book
about lighthouses. Maybe you've visited 1 or 2. But to be able
to see so many in this one program is really an
extraordinary opportunity. And that's why we're asking you to
call 1-(800) 236-3636. >> Well, hello, I'm Kerman Eckes
and I'm on the staff here at PBS Wisconsin. And now is the
perfect time as James mentioned, for you to call and become a
member of PBS Wisconsin because your pledge, your donation will
be matched dollar for dollar. It's a great time for you to
call and really, really have a wonderful impact. And show your
support for us here at PBS Wisconsin. And of course, when
you do, we have some thank you gifts that we'd like to send
your way at a $15 level. That's $15 a month. You have your
choice of three different items. You can decide to choose a copy
either in DVD or Blu ray of Wisconsin Lighthouses. The show
that we've been watching as James mentioned, that's a PBS
Wisconsin production. Wonderful people from the station here
have worked on this show. It's a really beautiful show that's
been put together and again, that's at $15 a month or you can
choose a copy of the book that the show is based on. Wisconsin
Lighthouses. That's by Ken and Barb Wardius, a beautiful book
with wonderful illustrations. It's really more much more in
depth information about the lighthouses. A great thing for
you to add to your library or for your third choice, you can
choose this huge tote that we have right here. It's got the
Cana Island Lighthouse in the daytime, and then on the other
side, the Cane Island Lighthouse at night. So those are all
fantastic. If you can't choose between those, go ahead and join
us at $25 a month and we will send you both the DVD, the book
and the tote. So we have many, many ways to say thank you when
you join us here at PBS Wisconsin. Now go to those
phones and call us at 1-(800) 236-3636.
>> Hi, I'm David Hoffert, a volunteer here at PBS Wisconsin,
and I don't think we've actually said this yet. We've said it's a
challenge break, but our goal is 50 calls during this break. Now,
that's that's a pretty audacious goal, right. But we have that
goal because we know that a program like this means so much
to so many people in this state, because it's personal. This is
our story brought to your airwaves because of our
collective work together now, now, Kerman was just talking
about those gift levels, and you and you noticed she kept saying,
$20 per month or $25 per month. That's because the best way that
you can support programing like this is to become a sustaining
member of PBS Wisconsin. Give on that monthly basis. So that your
support doesn't run out. Just like this incredible programing
won't ever run out. Give us a call 1-(800) 236-3636.
>> Helping you explore Wisconsin is really at the heart of our
mission. It's built into what PBS Wisconsin is about. And
always has been from the beginning. And if you think
about that, not every PBS station is able to do this kind
of work. Everyone would like to. But not everyone is able to. And
the reason that we're able to is because we have your support.
And for generations, people have supported PBS Wisconsin and
that's what makes the difference. That's what makes it
possible for us to do this program and all the programs
that you enjoy. Some are national that we bring in, but
many of them are local programs, whether they're documentaries or
histories or news and public affairs, like Here and Now.
This is something which every week you can count on programs
from PBS Wisconsin that will take you places you may not have
been. We'll reveal things you may not have thought about.
That's really worth something, especially during this challenge
break. We want 50 calls. We're at 11. We can do better than
that. Give us a call 1-800-236-3636.
>> Well, thank you James. And don't forget when you do call
and join us as a member of PBS Wisconsin this evening. We have
some. Thank you gifts that we can send you your way at. If you
join us at that $15 a month level, you have your choice of
three different items. You can take a copy either in DVD or Blu
ray of the show that we've been watching. So a great way to go
back and visit the visit those lighthouses once again. Or you
can take a copy of the book by Ken and Barb Wardius. Wisconsin
Lighthouses. And this is the book that everything is based
on. So much more in depth. Writing about the different
lighthouses. There's some great historical and current day
pictures of the lighthouses. So that's a wonderful addition to
your library. Or you can choose this beautiful tote. It's a nice
large sized tote, a heavy canvas and it's a great way to show
your support. So talk to one of our volunteers about that and
they can help you on your way to becoming a member. In the
meantime, we're going to go back and see some more of the
interview with Ken and Barb Wardius. They have some
great more great information about the creation of their book
Wisconsin Lighthouses. So here's Ken and Barb.
>> Hi, I'm Eric Greiling, director of friends of PBS
Wisconsin. We're back in the studio with Ken and Barb. Your
book was really important to our research, to make this
documentary Wisconsin Lighthouses, and it really is a
companion to the documentary. Can you give us a bit of an
overview of your book? >> Oh, it's broken down
geographically to different sections of Wisconsin: Lake
Superior, Lake Winnebago. We had no idea there were lighthouses
on Lake Winnebago when we began our research. And then all the
rest of the lighthouses are on some portion of Lake Michigan.
One one portion is called the Bay of Green Bay, and then the
rest of the coastline all the way down to the state line in
Lake Michigan. >> Are there some highlights of the book you'd
like to call out? Any special features?
>> One of our favorite stories involves the Lueck family at
Sand Island Lighthouse. Emmanuel Luke was the keeper there, and
he brought his bride, Miss Ella, at 16 years of age, to live on
the island with him. Well, lighthouse life was difficult.
She lasted about ten years and left Mr. Lueck went out east,
remarried and became a registered nurse. But don't
despair, Mr. Luke found love and did remarry and have two
children on sand Island. >> And that's not the only story
about a woman being in a lighthouse or a lighthouse
keeper, is it? >> No, no, it's not. Barb
and I grew up in Milwaukee. There's a lighthouse in Lake
Park, Milwaukee, North Point Light. When we went there to do
research, we learned of a lady by the name of Georgia Stebbins.
Once we learned a little bit of her story, fascinating woman, a
head lighthouse keeper for over 30 years at Milwaukee North
Point. That was very, very rare during that era. Just a fabulous
hard working mother, wife and lighthouse keeper.
>>And we're going to hear more about Georgia Stebbins
in this next segment. So let's go back to the program.
We'll come back to Barb and Ken later. And if you want
to have a copy of Wisconsin Lighthouses as your thank you
gift, please give us a call at 1-800-236-3636.
>> And again, this is a challenge break. Our goal is 50
calls. We're at 31. But I bet we're actually at more than that
because the phone lines are busy. If you are currently
waiting to get through please stay on the line. You can also
go to pbswisconsin.org, but your call will be answered and it
will count towards that challenge break. We just need a
little patience because there is a great response, which of
course is incredible. We just heard a bunch of information
about the stories in this book. I want to point out. It's also
just a great like road trip guide, right? My wife and I have
hosted exchange students for a few years, and we've planned
these epic road trips and we've been saying we should do more in
Wisconsin. What a great opportunity to kind of have a
have ideas planted of where we should go and what we should
explore right in our own backyard. But whatever your
motivation, maybe it's the book, maybe it's supporting a program
like this. We are now up to 36 calls going for 50. Give us a
call 1-800-236-3636. >> I'm a member of
PBS Wisconsin and I like to think that when I do that, I'm
helping to bring all of these shows to people all across the
state. And to me, that's something that's very important.
So if that's something that's important to you, call us right
now during this challenge break and we will put your your pledge
of support to work immediately. And we'll also send you some
wonderful thank you gifts. You can have a copy of the DVD
or Blu ray of the show that we've been watching. Or you can
have a copy of the book, which again, is this fabulous book.
Wisconsin Lighthouses by Ken and Barb Wardius. We've been hearing
from them. And the book, it could be a road guide for you
as you're touring Wisconsin and looking at lighthouses, but no
matter how you use it, it's a fabulous book and it's something
you'll want in your library. Or you can choose to take this
beautiful canvas tote. It's a nice large sized tote. On one
side side it has the Cana Island Lighthouse at night and
on the other side is the Cane Island Lighthouse. At daytime.
So these are all great. Or you can take all three of these if
you call and become a member at the $25 a month level.
Then we also have one special level that I'd like to
talk to you about. And this is for $20 a month. And we're
calling it kind of the children's level because it
includes a fabulous book called Hello Lighthouse with
illustrations by Sophie Sophie Blackall and the illustrations
are absolutely beautiful, but the story is beautiful too. It
tells about a lighthouse keeper that comes. It talks about the
day to day life in the lighthouse, the lighthouse
keeper's family comes. There are good things that happen and bad
things that happen. So this is a fabulous book. But we also
include this wonderful nightlight and the nightlight is
in the daytime. It's a lighthouse in the daytime. And
then when the lights go out, the lights come up on the on the
lighthouse in the in the nightlight. So I think it's
absolutely any child would love this. I would love to have this
nightlight at my house. I just think it's absolutely wonderful.
But you would get that that book and the and the nightlight
for $20 a month. >> So we're going to be back to
the next segment of the lighthouses show Wisconsin
Lighthouses in just a minute. But one thing that you may not
know is that even after the program is done, there's an
opportunity to explore in depth. If you go to the PBS Wisconsin
website, you'll be able to see a virtual tour of the Cana light,
which lets you inside the light, and also you can walk up the
stairs without actually walking up the stairs, which is kind of
cool, especially if you're not going to be able to get there.
Maybe tomorrow. So you can go and check that out. This is the
kind of thing that is important to us at PBS Wisconsin. The
program is important, but the program is a way for us to give
you something of value. And when there are things in addition
that we can do, like that, like this virtual tour or the
educational programs that we that we provide for schools and
teachers, whether it's homeschool or public schools or
private schools or parents at home, these are really important
pieces of what PBS Wisconsin does. It's not it's not just TV
anymore. It's pretty broad, but at the heart of it, at the heart
of it are these extraordinary programs and right now, during
this challenge break, and we're at 63 on our way to 70, keep on
calling. If you get if you don't get through right away, stick
with it. Call us at 1-800-236-3636.
>> And when you do call us and become a member here at PBS
Wisconsin, we have some fabulous thank you gifts. Let me very
quickly run through these for you. If you call and become a
member at the $15 a month level, you have your choice of three
different items. You can take a copy of either a DVD or Blu ray
of Wisconsin Lighthouses. The wonderful program that we're
watching this evening, or you can take a copy of the book
Wisconsin Lighthouses by Ken and Barb Wardius. This is where
everything came from. This is the inspiration for the program
that we've been watching or you can also have this wonderful
canvas tote, and it's a nice heavyweight canvas tote. But
what really makes it stand out are these beautiful
illustrations. These are also by Sophie Blackall, the wonderful
artist that has done so much for us here at PBS Wisconsin.
If you would like all three of those items, call and
become a member at the $25 a month level and we will send you
the DVD. The book, and the tote. And don't forget, we have that
special children's level as well that features the copy of the
book. Hello Lighthouse. Again with those by Sophie Blackall,
and that nightlight. So many, many thank you gifts. Our
volunteers can go over those again with you. So give them a
call at one (800) 236-3636. >> We are about to go back
to the program to the to the final segment of the program
tonight we just hit our goal of 70 calls. But keep calling as
long as you are waiting to talk to a volunteer. When the program
resumes, your gift will be doubled. Making a program like
this is a risk, right? What if people don't want it? Well,
clearly you do. That's really important to know. Give us a
call 1-(800) 236-3636. And thank you.
[MUSIC]
[playful, rhythmic strings]
- Ken Wardius: The thing that s
trikes me about Wisconsin lighthouse
s is
the variety.
Different sizes, shapes, colors.
There's a lot of really unique
lighthouses.
[bird calling]
- Narrator: Stationed in q
uaint port towns.
On breakwaters marking harbor
s,
like Kewaunee
and Sturgeon Bay.
And along the shoreline
like the state's tallest ligh
thouse,
Rawley Point, at 113 feet.
These aids to navigation are
connected
to a legacy of travel alon
g the Great Lakes.
Starting with the earliest
travelers to mark the way,
the First Nations people.
- Katrina Phillips: If you thi
nk about how people
look at landmarks when you're on t
he road,
they had landmarks on the lake.
- Kevin Osgood: They would cli
mb trees
and they would cut maybe half t
he branches off
from the ground up.
Those are known as "lob trees.
"
Each of those meant something:
either turn left here or turn
right there.
Go east, go west, go north.
- Katrina Phillips: These tree
s are, essentially, their lighthouse
s.
[fire crackling] - Fires were u
tilized for travel at night,
often lit on large tree stumps
near the shoreline
or placed high on a hillto
p.
Mirroring these signal fir
es,
the region's early lighthou
ses
were positioned on elevated
points.
Their design was short in s
tature
yet built for function.
Paving the way for a more s
tylistic approach
to lighthouse architecture
on the Great Lakes.
- Barb Wardius: They finally e
volved
to the tall brick and metal st
ructures
we know today with Fresnel len
ses in them.
[birds chirping]
- Bob Mackreth: Some of them are
magnificent works of the archite
ct's art.
They're beautiful.
- A giant sentinel
stretches 108 feet into the
sky.
Its stark white tapered towe
r,
prominent against the shor
eline.
Wind Point Lighthouse,
located near Racine in sou
theastern Wisconsin.
[warm, mellow melody]
- Ken Wardius: Wind Point reall
y is a gorgeous work of art.
- Barb Wardius: It's strong, i
t's majestic.
It's very graceful.
It's just simply beautiful.
- Michael Gasperi: Pretty much
the defition of picturesque,
Wind Point Lighthouse.
- Built in 1880,
Wind Point's architectural
design
is known as the Poe-style lig
hthouse.
A style attributed to Orlando
Metcalfe Poe,
a veteran of the Civil War
who served under General Wi
lliam Shern.
After the war,
Poe was the Chief Engineer
of the Upper Great Lakes Ligh
thouse District
and oversaw the construction
of numeroubeacons along th
e Great Lakes.
- Michael Gasperi: What Poe rea
lly brought was
a much more substantial, brighter
, taller structure
than what had been here before.
- The soaring tower at Win
d Point
is indicative of Poe-style
lighthouses,
which are recognizable
by their distinct cylinder sh
apes.
And it h just the right taper
to really make a hundred-foot tow
er look right.
[playful, dreamy melody]
- Barb Wardius: At Wind Point,
you can stand at the base and look
up,
and it just seems to go onforeve
r!
- Near the top of the tower
,
an ornate detailnaccents the base
of the balcony.
Corbels, or brackets,
designed in the Florentine-i
nspired Italianate style.
- Michael Gasperi: They could have
just been
straight pieces of triangle,
but they're actuallylightly sh
aped.
It's unexpectedly simple,
but yet it's beautiful and it h
as an elegance to it.
N- A callback to the Renaissance,
a rebirth.
Wind Point Lighthouse
marked a timenof progress and
hope in America
post-Civil War.
- Barb Wardius: The time that Wind
Point
was built in the 1880s and put
into service
was a boom time for Wisconsin.
- Brendon Baillod: On the Great
Lakes,
there were more vessels per sq
uare mile
than any place else in the wor
ld.
- Lake Michigan was filled w
ith steamships
and enormous straight-deck
freighters.
They were overflowing with
a new export:
grain.
- Brendon Baillod: "Prairie Gol
d," as they called it.
That was where the money was.
Almost all grain that was being co
nsumed on the East Coast
was coming out of Wisconsin.
Lighthouses were just essential
to protect those investments.
- Wind Point was chosen fo
r its strategic location
between Milwaukee and Chicag
o.
The rapidly developing region
was attracting more than just
commerce.
It was welcoming scores of new
residents.
- Brendon Baillod: Lake Michi
gan was an early target
for immigrants from Europe.
- Albert Muchka: You had ships full
of immigrants
coming from Buffalo, New York.
They arrived on paddlewheel sh
ips and steamers.
You know, the immigrant story of
the late 19th century.
They would come to Wisconsin.
- Seeking freedom and opport
unity,
the journey to Wisconsin was ch
allenging.
After a harrowing trip acro
ss the Atlantic,
many immigrants still had to
brave
the crowded and dangerous
Great Lakes.
- Brendon Baillod: With that vo
lume of vessel density,
you're going to have accidents.
- Ted Karamanski: Some ships d
idn't make it.
- Ships like thePhoenix,
considered one of the worst
disasters on the Great Lakes.
[flames burning] About 200 Dutc
h immigrants
lost their lives
when thePhoenixsank of
f Sheboygan in 1847.
[blowing ship horn]
But for the many immigrants
who did find safe passage,
a lighthouse meant reassurance
in a new land.
- Albert Muchka: The lighthou
se was that feeling of safety.
[uplifting piano]
- Ted Karamanski: When you saw
the lighthouse
at Manitowoc or Sheboygan,
you had reached your destination
,
and there had to be a sigh of re
lief.
- Albert Muchka: The idea that the
ship captain
knew where he was going.
In a storm, you knew there was
land here.
And as an immigrant coming in
on one of those boats,
being afraid and having the crew
s then tell you,
"Don't worry, the shore's over
there.
See the light."
- Waiting on the shoreline ou
tside Racine,
Wind Point Light.
Classic Old World design in a n
ew world.
- Barb Wardius: Your first gli
mpse is this majestic tower
leading you to your new home.
I think it would stop your heart
just because you think, "I'm f
inally here.
I've made it."
[waves crashing against the sh
ore]
[tender piano, water current]
- In nearby Milwaukee,
on a wooded bluff 107 feet
above Lake Michigan,
sits the city's famed Lake
Park.
NA hundred and thirty-eight acres
of winding paths, deep rav
ines,
and panoramic views of the
water.
The park's centerpiece: a be
acon like no other --
North Point Lighthouse.
- Ken Wardius: North Point Ligh
thouse
is actually a compilation
of parts of three different light
houses.
- Originally constructed in 185
5,
severe erosion to the bluff i
t stood on
Njeopardized the brick structure.
In 1888, a new cast-iron towern
was built a hundred feet inland,
Nwith the lantern of the original
lighthouse placed on top.
But by the turn of the 20th
century,
North Point needed yet ano
ther upgrade.
- Mark Kuehn: What do you do wh
en you design a park?
You plant trees.
Well, by 1911, the treeline's too
high.
You can't see the lighthouse a
nymore.
- The solution was a third
tower
built in the same location,
with the previous tower an
d lantern
fitted on top of it.
- Ken Wardius: If you look at
the current lighthouse
at North Point today,
there's actually a seam in the mi
ddle
that differentiates the new ba
se,
which has circular windows,
from the top half,
which has rectangular windows
from the tower built in 1888.
- The unconventional history
of North Point Lighthouse
made it a fitting home
for its most famous resident
.
A keeper who would challenge
the social norms of her era.
A keeper named Georgia Stebbins
.
- Mark Kuehn: In 1873, Georgia
was living in New York.
She gave birth to two daughters,
but she lost them in childbirth
and illness.
Then, she was informed that she
had tuberculosis.
The doctor said, "The only chance y
ou have
"is to get out of New York
and get some fresh air."
- Georgia Stebbins' father
was the lighthouse keeper
at North Point in Milwaukee.
The fresh breeze off Lake Mic
higan
was just what the doctor o
rdered.
- Mark Kuehn: She decided that s
he would go out there
to recuperate and hopefully get
better.
Her husband, Lemuel, who was a
watchmaker,
she left him back in New York.
She didn't realize how long sh
e was gonna be out there.
- Barb Wardius: Just for someone to
leave your home state
where you were born and where
you know everything,
and to come alone to the wild, w
ild West
that was Wisconsin even then.
[chuckling] I can't imagine!
- In Milwaukee, Georgia St
ebbins' aging father
was declining in health.
The family feared
he was unable to continue
his duty to the lighthouse,
risking his job and their li
velihood.
Georgia stepped up and took
over
as the unofficial keeper at N
orth Point Light.
- Barb Wardius: She freely
was willing to learn
all the trade of the lighthouse-k
eeping duties,
and she just stepped in, and she
just did it.
- Mark Kuehn: She was active,
she had to climb stairs, she was
outside, she was busy.
In those days, you're talking
long Victorian dresses, pettic
oats, button-up shoes.
- Barb Wardius: I'm picturing
her holding up the skirt,
and then, having some fuel in her
other hand
to go up the stairs and tend t
o her light.
Don't forget Georgia had tubercul
osis.
Just her will must have propel
led her up those stairs.
- Georgia Stebbins's health i
mproved.
Reinvigorated, she embarked
on a new life for herself
at North Point Lighthouse.
She had found her purpose.
- Ken Wardius: She took the job
seriously.
Did the job exemplary
and was just a dedicated person
.
Steadfast, like the lighthouse
itself.
- Mark Kuehn: There was times
when she would see a ship that
ran aground below the bluffs.
She would go down there, get out
in a rowboat,
and row out and rescue the cre
w.
- Barb Wardius: The lighthouse
and tending to it
seemed to be her life.
She was always here, always on
duty.
- Committed to North Point Li
ghthouse,
Georgia Stebbins built her
life around it,
rarely leaving its grounds,
even with her responsibili
ties growing
as she welcomed a son, Albert
.
- Mark Kuehn: Her son was born
at the lighthouse.
She gave birth at home
because she had to keep up her
duties.
There was no such thing as mate
rnity leave in those days.
You just gave birth and got ri
ght back to work.
N- With her beloved bullmastiff,
Tappan, by her side,
Georgia raised her son alone
at the lighthouse.
- Barb Wardius: She was just a
really, really strong woman.
Georgia Stebbins was definitely
a portrait of dedication.
- In 1881, her dedication pai
d off.
After seven years of serving
in an unofficial capacity,
the U.S. Lighthouse Service
named her the official head
keeper
of North Point Lighthouse.
- Ken Wardius: For a woman in that
era,
it was not common at all
to have the official head keep
er title.
Officially, she was head keeper
for more than 20 years,
but with helping her father,
she was here for almost three dec
ades.
- Mark Kuehn: It was amazing.
She retired before women had the
right to vote.
- Georgia Stebbins retired in
1907
as the longest-serving ligh
thouse keeper
in North Point's history.
- Barb Wardius: She was a woma
n definitely before her time
working in a man's world,
running the entire show for al
l these years
as a lighthouse keeper.
[pensive piano, crickets chirp
ing]
[slow, tranquil piano]
- Ken Wardius: It's important
for people to know
the stories of the people
that ran these lighthouses, for
many times, decades.
They had pride in their job.
They had pride in their familie
s.
They had pride being a lighthou
se keeper.
[wind blowing]
- Though beginning in the 1
920s,
the winds of change
Nstarted to descend upon the role
of the lighthouse keeper.
- Ken Wardius: In their wildest dre
ams, they had no idea
what the future might bring with
technology.
- The innovation of electri
c-powered beacons,
followed by radar and radio
communication,
would transform the state's
maritime landscape forever.
- Neil Howk: Over the years,
the advances of technology
allowed the lighthouse service
to automate the lights
and did away with the need for
having keepers.
- Ken Wardius: These advances
in technology
really put the lighthouse keeper
s and the lighthouses
out of business.
The 1940s and '50s would have bee
n the time
when most lighthouses were sta
rting to be phased out.
♪
- Often abandoned,
lighthouses quickly fell i
nto disrepair.
- Ken Wardius: There are many l
ighthouses
that do not have a happy ending.
Some lighthouses were intentional
ly demolished,
never to return again.
The Racine Reef Lighthouse
was a unique light on the Great
Lakes.
One of a kind.
Victorian style.
Gorgeous.
Gone.
- Today, very few lighthouses
remain in operation.
Their sweeping beamsnreplaced b
y flashing LED lights,
new cost-effective steel-fr
amed towers,
and GPS navigation.
Often reduced to lonely la
ndmarks,
lighthouses remain in vario
us stages of ruin
in a test against time.
- Kevin Osgood: Preserving a 150-
year-old lighthouse
has its challenges.
- Ken Wardius: Lighthouse prese
rvation today
is a difficult job.
It takes tremendous resources --
people, time, money --
to refurbish a light that has not
been in good repair
for, many times, decades.
[ripping tape off]
N- In 2006, the sound of pounding
hammers and buzzing saws
reverberated throughout
a tranquil island in Lake
Superior.
Wind, weather, and time
had all taken their toll on R
aspberry Island Lighthouse
in the Apostle Islands Nati
onal Lakeshore.
- Neil Howk: Anybody who owns a hou
se
knows just how much maintenanc
e
goes into keeping a house livable.
We had to refinish the floors,
fix all the plaster walls,
fix the windows, fix the doors,
put a new roof on,
refurnish the kitchen.
- From painters to plasterer
s,
over 50 different types of tra
despeople
plied their talents to this
complex and exacting project.
A rehab a hundred years in t
he making.
- Bob Krumenaker: Raspberry's
been gradually falling down.
The last time it had a major re
novation, a lot of work done,
was 1906.
- A federal grant awarded
to the National Park Service
assured that Raspberry Islandn
Lighthouse would not go extinct.
- Bob Krumenaker: These places
don't just survive on their own,
they require, in this case, le
gislation,
they require committed people,
they require a fair amount
of public money and private mo
ney --
and the dedication of hundreds
of people.
- After two years of hard
work and dedication...
- Tour Guide: Welcome to Raspb
erry Island!
- Raspberry Island Lighthouse
was ready for its grand reopen
ing.
- Bob Krumenaker: Okay, three,
two, one, cut!
- Crowd: Yay! [cheers and appl
ause]
- Bob Krumenaker: Raspberry in
a lot of ways
is the showcase of the Apostle
Islands.
It's not the biggest lighthouse.
It's not the most dramatic settin
g,
but it has a human side of it,
I think, that really resonates
with people.
[uplifting synthesizer]
- Today, boatloads of visitorsn
still ferry across Lake Superior
to explore Raspberry Island
.
- Tour Guide: Welcome to Raspb
erry!
- The quaint charm of the l
ighthouse
drawing them in.
- Neil Howk: The white building
, the red roof,
the blue sky, the blue water.
It's just a beautiful location.
- Ken Wardius: It's one of th
e best-restored lighthouses in the s
tate.
It's gorgeous.
- Barb Wardius: You walk in
the lighthouse.
It's like you've been transferre
d back in time
to the 1920s.
- The lighthouse is preserved a
nd curated
to reflect the year 1924.
Chosen to honornRaspberry's keep
er, Lee Benton,
who kept vivid notes
Ndetailing his family's lifenat the
lighthouse in the 1920s.
A roadmap outlining Raspbe
rry's rich history.
- Neil Howk: We reestablished the
dining room,
dining room chairs, dining room
table, pictures for the walls,
the sewing machine that Lee Ben
ton used to use.
- Tour Guide: This is the keeper o
f this light.
- Neil Howk: The fun part abou
t taking people on tours
is a lot of the older folks,
it kind of reminds them of what
they saw
when they went to visit their
grandmother growing up.
Just reminds them of their youth
.
- Even outside, the lighthou
se grounds
are authentic to the past.
- Fred Schlichting: We have a
vegetable garden.
We also have flower gardens.
They're in the exact same locat
ion
and are the exact same species
that were here back in the '20s.
- Barb Wardius: When Lee Benton
and his family were there,
they would have taken great pr
ide
in keeping the grounds and the
home neat and tidy.
- Ken Wardius: They were working
every single day
at some sort of maintenance, pa
inting, cleaning.
- Their hard work would no
t be in vain.
The pride of placenthe Bentons
imbued in Raspberry
is a legacy that continues
today.
- Barb Wardius: Raspberry Isla
nd is a tribute
to the keepers that came before.
They were stewards of the ligh
t, the tower, the home.
So, I think they would be pleased
to know that
it's been well taken care of,
it's been restored,
and company is welcome 'cause the
re's something to see.
- Given a new purpose, a se
cond life,
lighthouses themselves
have now become keepers of h
istory.
- Ken Wardius: It's important t
o preserve
that maritime legacy and herit
age.
It gives you a connection to the
history, the people.
Really takes you back in time.
♪
Ken Wardius: Lighthouses have a
connection
to an era that is long gone,
but it's important to keep that
history alive.
- Cathy Green: Whether it's indivi
duals or the Park Service,
there are custodians of these l
ights
who continue to maintain them
for the historic resources they a
re.
- Neil Howk: Being able to see
this span of a century and a ha
lf
of the history of Wisconsin
all encompassed in the buildings
.
- Barb Wardius: Those people a
re gone,
but the stories still remain.
- Stories of courage, duty,
and family.
NLighthouses continue to inspirenan
d capture the imagination.
- Mark Kuehn: I think what draws p
eople to lighthouses
is their uniqueness and what the
y stood for.
They're monumental in a way.
- Bob Mackreth: A lighthouse
is a guiding post.
A lighthouse is a beacon to show
people the true path.
It's become ingrained in our c
ulture.
- Brendon Baillod: Probably for
a hundred years,
that maritime culture was a hu
ge part of our state,
and it molded our character as
a people.
- Cathy Green: It's really at the h
eart
of who we are here in Wisconsi
n.
- Pillars of strength.
Guardians of history.
The power and appeal of the
Wisconsin lighthouse endures.
The spirit of the state
embodied in these iconic stru
ctures.
- Ken Wardius: They stand today
still
as symbols of dedication, hard wo
rk.
They are a beacon of hope.
A beacon of security.
That's the essence of what a ligh
thouse is.
Hi, I'm Jon Miskowski,
director of PBS Wisconsin.
Now, we'd
much rather
cover the news
than be
in the news,
but we are in
the news .And I
think you
understand what's
happening, especially
what's happening this
week. What has
been really
heartening has
been the response, the
stories that we're getting
from folksabout how
important this
service is to families
across Wisconsin
. Right
now, we'd like
to invite you
tocontribute, as we
always do at this
time of the
year. We are a few
weeks from a newfiscal
year, and we'd love to have you as
an active,contributing donor.
We starta new
fiscal year. As
Isaid, in a couple of weeks.Member support
is our largest
single source of
revenue .
That will continue
to be the case.
And we will continue
to rely on
you and
your support
and your enthusiasm.
Just as we
are this
week and the
weeksahead and the years
ahead.So please
take an opportunity to give us a
ll at
(800)2 363636.
Iknow you're attentive
topublic television. We're
really encouraged
by the
outpouring of
support andthe
contributions that
we've
been receiving
overthis short
spring drive.
Again, is another
indicationof the
enthusiasm, the support
, really people,
allof us recognizing what this
service has
meant to our
lives, lives
of learning,
preparing our
children forschool.
Thinking about
important ideas
and learning
and learning and
learning and
learning. That's what
we're about.
And that's whatso
many families across
Wisconsin have
supported. Now,
for 108 years.
We'vebeen through some
challenges, but your
support has
always pulled
us through
and made us better
andbetter. And so
we're relyingon you
with your
call, withyour
support. Thank
>> Hi, I'm James Steinbach. I'm a volunteer here at PBS
Wisconsin. And this extraordinary program, which I
know. I know you're enjoying because here you are at the end
of it and you're still listening to us ask you for money, which
is a good thing to do because it isn't just about the money we
need that. Absolutely need that. That's why we ask. But it's also
about the support, the most important thing you can do as a
person in Wisconsin is to watch PBS Wisconsin and to share that
with other folks, to tell them about the show you watched, to
sit down with other folks and watch it. That's really what
we're about. It's community. It's about Wisconsin. We are
here because of you. We are here because you and I support PBS
Wisconsin and we support it with our dollars. We support it with
our thoughts. We support it with our eyeballs. It's all an
important part of PBS Wisconsin. So keep on doing those things.
Keep on, keep on sending the money, keep on sending
yourselves. Keep on sharing with your kids and call us at
1-(800) 236-3636. >> Well thank you James.
I'm Kerman Eckes on the staff here at PBS Wisconsin. And if
you've already called us this evening, thank you so much. If
it's something you've been thinking about doing, now's the
perfect time to go to those phones and talk to one of our
volunteers. And of course, don't forget, when you do join us here
at PBS Wisconsin this evening. We have some fabulous thank you
gifts that, and I'll run through these briefly for you right now.
If you call and become a member at the $15 a month level, you
have your choice of one of three items you can take a copy of on
either DVD or Blu ray: Wisconsin Lighthouses. The fabulous show
that we've just finished watching, so you can go through
that again. Or you can get a copy of Wisconsin Lighthouses
the book by Ken and Barb Wardius. So a great way to go
back and get some more in-depth information about those
lighthouses. And finally, for your third choice, we have this
absolutely fabulous tote and I love this tote. It's a nice
heavyweight canvas tote. But what really makes it stand out
is the artwork. That's on the tote itself. The artwork is done
by artist Sophie Blackall and she has done a beautiful
illustration of Cana Island Lighthouse in the daytime on one
side, and then on the other side is the Cana Island Lighthouse
at night. So absolutely beautiful tote a great way if
you're into lighthouses. This is something that you're going to
want to add to your collection. Or you can get all three of
these with a commitment at $25 a month here for PBS Wisconsin. So
it all starts with you going to your phone and dialing
1-(800) 236-3636. >> And I'm David Hoffert. I'm a
volunteer here at PBS Wisconsin, and I get to say, but wait,
there's more because there's another gift level that Kerman
didn't have time to talk about. right in between the two. At $20
a month, where you get more of that. Sophie Blackall art. So
this is a children's book. Hello Lighthouse, with a lot of her
illustrations and also a nightlight. And this is the this
is the same artwork that was on the tote bag that Kerman was
just showing you. This one's pretty cool though, because it's
the daytime artwork now, and if it got dark, it
would be the nighttime artwork on that same bag. And this is
art that that Sophie Blackall made for PBS Wisconsin for this,