Wisconsin Life 401 Broadcast Transcript
2WLI0401HD

- Coming up next, on Wisconsin Life...
- A lot of people wonder how someone who could have spent 18 years in the accounting field could get into bee keeping.
- Once you get in the chair, there's nothing different about each other. You make a connection with everybody.
- I grew up in that golden era of video arcade games.

- Every day, it's something new, it's something interesting.  
§§ 

- Funding for Wisconsin Life is provided in part by Alliant Energy, Lowell and Mary Peterson, and Friends of Wisconsin Public Television.

- Hi, my name is Sue Dompke. I'm a Russian bee breeder. And this is my Wisconsin Life.

- Heading into the woods...
- I get stung at least a dozen times a year.
- Sue Dompke and her son are dressed for hazard duty.
- Most people are of the mind that if they get stung, they're going to die. We're going to just smoke them a little bit.
- The smoker helps mask the alarm response and calms the bees.
- I always have one available, in case I would happen to get swarmed or if I drop a box.
- When you open up a hive, the guard bees will come out first, and you have to give guard bees space. 
[bees buzzing]
 As the bees get more agitated towards the end of an inspection it might be 'H-m-m-m-m-m.' Then it goes 'M-m-m-m-m-m.' The guard bees will come and they'll just start bouncing off your helmet. You know it's time to close up. Let' em alone. So, as long as I'm calm, that hive is going to be calm.
- Sue is surrounded by 65 hives and nearly three million bees. Even more amazing... At one time, she was terrified of bugs.
- So much so that it bordered on "entomophobia." If I saw a fly in the window, I would be screaming throughout the house.
- As an adult, she still harbored that fear...
- I was 35, and I decided, "Enough is enough."
- But even then, Sue couldn't imagine all of this...
- Last time I opened this up, the queen was right on the lid. Oh, there she is. See how her abdomen is quite a bit longer. A lot of people wonder how someone who spent 18 years in the accounting field could get into bee keeping. I grew up a city slicker because my parents were city people and I married a city slicker who never wanted to be on the farm. And just like that... life can change. My husband died. And I had two little girls. And I knew they would soon be teenagers and I couldn't face raising them in the city. That year, my niece gave me a bee hive as a Christmas gift and what was a hobby, I turned into a career.

- Sue says, in crisis she landed here on Washington Island.
- I had a business plan and I had the buy-in from my girls that this is a place that they would want to live.

- Sue purchased an 18-acre patch of island paradise... and turned it into a honey haven.
- She now builds her own bee boxes and cultivates colonies of Russian honey bees.
- There's a very limited supply in the United States with only 15 Russian bee breeders. So that's what makes us unique. Russian bees are built to survive harsh winters and island life. They're perfectly suited for Wisconsin, especially Washington Island because we're at the 48th longitudinal parallel, replicating that indigenous area from the Primorsky region of Russia.

- Sue hopes the Russian honey bees are the answer to the collapse of the American honey bee population decimated by mites.
- Oh, they're mite-resistant. They're cold-hardy. They're hygienic and they effectively manage their resources.  They say Russians swarm more. I don't believe so.
- Sue now shares her knowledge and experimental techniques with other bee keepers.
- Usually bee keepers will align all of the entrances facing south. And I started to experiment with putting them in a circle, based on research that was originally done for space exploration by Russian astronauts.  And it goes into quantum theory. And the pattern of life is a circle. So I'm just trying to create that out in my bee yard. It sounds bizarre, doesn't it? 
[laughing]

- Besides breeding bees, it's the honey that drives her business at Sweet Mountain Farm. Honey has to be capped. Then, I'll come in with a hot knife and skim off the top of the wax cappings. And I'll stick it in my extractor. And that's all there is to it.  Sweet Mountain Farm is one of only two honey producers in the state of Wisconsin that have done the due diligence to prove to the public that our honey is pure.
- Through the years, Sue has learned to turn "honey" into "money" and live in a world surrounded by bees. And it has turned out wonderfully.  
§ §

- Hi, I'm Laura Vacek, and this is my Wisconsin Life.

- What is it about sports that inspire us?  Is it the story of the underdog? The home team pride?  Or maybe our desire to believe that miracles really do come true?
- Do you believe in miracles?
- Yes!
- Unbelievable! 
[crowd cheers wildly]
  But for Laura Vacek, playing sports isn't inspirational. It's just another day on the court.  
[basketballs thump and bounce]
  Laura is one of six players on the women's wheelchair basketball team at the University of Wisconsin
- Whitewater. A program that's won three national championships in the last seven years. Head Coach Dan Price and his players believe it's about more than a winning tradition.
- We're all there for one another. Some have a team. We have a family.

- And every family has that one member that likes to tell it like it is. That's where Laura fits in.
- One of the things that she brings is a bit of sass. I think every team has to have a bit of sass.
- It's what motivated Coach Price to recruit Laura while she was still in high school.
- She had a lot of raw talent. And we knew that she could be a great player going forward and she had great character. She always has a smile on her face.
- Laura didn't always have something to smile about. 
§§  When she was seven years old, Laura began experiencing what she and her parents first thought were growing pains.
- I would be staying up all night crying about it, watching movies with my mom, taking Advil all the time. So we went to the doctor, our family doctor. He checked it out. He noticed something on the x-ray and he sent us to Children's Hospital in Milwaukee.
- That something turned out to be Ewing Sarcoma. A rare form of bone cancer located in her right femur.
- It was the size of a banana, that's how he described it. And immediately after that I did eight rounds of chemo and then they did a big surgery to replace my femur bone with a metal rod.
- Eight rounds of chemo would turn into sixteen, but by 8th grade Laura was cancer-free. However, a second surgery to replace the metal rod in her right leg led to further complications.
- During that surgery they accidentally cut my sciatic nerve. When I woke up, I had drop foot and a lot of nerve damage from that surgery. So I had to have another surgery to repair that. That's where I got my nerve damage.
- Each surgery required Laura to learn to walk all over again.
- As a kid I didn't really remember any of it and I didn't really care personally. But getting into high school where I just wanted to be normal, it was very frustrating.
- That frustration led to confidence issues for Laura. Although she could still walk, she could no longer fully run or jump. She needed an outlet. 
[crowd murmurs, basketballs thump]
 That's when the idea of wheelchair basketball came up.
- I wasn't very open to the idea immediately 'cuz I can walk so, why would I do wheelchair basketball? But I watched a practice and then I was like, "Okay, maybe I'll try it." "It's not as bad as it looks." So I tried it and I really, really liked it. Yeah.
- She was hooked.
- It was nice coming from school and knowing I had something to look forward to afterwards. I was so tired of being in a chair, you know, reading or something. It was nice to get out and actually be active with people.
- But learning the game didn't come easy for her.
- I couldn't push the chair at all. Dribbling? I couldn't do dribbling. I had to keep it on my lap for a while. Shooting? Couldn't make it in the basket. Couldn't even make it to the rim.
- There you go.
- Eventually, Laura got better. So good that she would receive an athletic scholarship from UW-Whitewater and a chance to share her experience with a second family of fellow teammates.
- You make a connection with everybody. Once you get in the chair, there's nothing different about each other. You're all in the same boat. You can talk to them about anything, whenever you want. They're your family away from home.
§ §

- Some may hear Laura's story and call it inspirational, but that's the last thing she wants.
- We're not inspirational. We're just living life like everybody else. We just grew up with it. Just like you grew up with normal legs and everything else is fine. Just 'cuz we had a hard time doesn't mean anyone else didn't have a hard time. It's two different things.
- An outlook that Laura shares with the rest of her teammates.
- We don't want somebody to come to our game and it's like, "Aww. "There's a bunch of people in wheelchairs. "Good for them." We want them to come to our game like they would any other sporting event and recognize that these are ten athletes out on the court working their tails off. Wheelchair basketball is just a ball and there happens to be a wheelchair there, too. We might not be able to jump, but we're going to do some pretty cool other things.
- Being diagnosed with cancer, you can't change that. Nothing's gonna change that. So, from that, you just have to move forward and live life the way you want to live it and make the best of it. 
[swoosh, thump]

- Still to come on Wisconsin Life... Bill Walkner's life-long love of music was born from making a deal with his older brother...
- He needed some money, so I give him $30. So that was my first guitar.
- Find out how Bill and his guitar have created a sound track to his life in Two Rivers later on Wisconsin Life.

- My name is Bryan Berenson, and this is my Wisconsin Life.  It's an interesting story. When I was studying in Austria, my teacher was what's called "roughing out" a mask. He told me, "This mask is going to America," and I said, "Really, where?" And he told me, "Milwaukee," and then I thought he was kidding me. It's just... It's fate I guess. 
[chopping]
 My name is Bryan Berenson, and I am a master sculptor. My shop is located in Hartland, Wisconsin. Every day, it's something new, it's something interesting; It's never the same thing. I typically have two to three projects going at one time. There's a local Austrian Mardi Gras club here in Milwaukee. It's called The Muller Fasching Verein. I carve their masks.

- I'm looking for something that has a lot of character in the face. So, this kind of helps me out. I just kind of sketch it out a little bit.

- At first, it's great to be really beating on it and letting chips fly. It's a lot of fun, but there's also a lot of enjoyment that comes from seeing the character coming out of the wood. 
[chipping wood]
  I was diagnosed with arthritis when I was 21 years old. I was a diesel mechanic and I just couldn't do it anymore. I was literally crawling on my knees. And so my wife and I decided to take a vacation over in Austria to check out this school that we read about in a magazine. A woodcarving school. And so, I learned how to do this over in Austria, and brought it with me here to America.  If I was a perfectly healthy person, I could probably just go at it all day long. I can't stand too long and I can't sit too long. So I do a combination of the two, and it seems to work out. 
[chainsaw buzzing]
  When I have to carve the backside of the mask, that's always a little hair-raising because you don't want to carve through the thing.  The Muller Fasching Verein, their masks, they all have a different character. They're typically very creepy, very scary masks, but there's a lot of character in them.  Really, all it's doing is it's supposed to be scaring away winter. They want to do away with winter and welcome spring. 
[traditional accordion music]
  We do everything identical to what they do in Austria.  Everybody comes out, and they all come out in a specific order.  And then they do a dance.  After that dance is over with, then everybody goes and picks a partner out of the audience and dances with them.  Bryan: I'm a member of the group and I'm a witch.  It's just fun to watch the different masks that I've created doing their different dances and just taking on their own characters. The adrenaline is always running and it's just a blast, it really is. I'm completely blessed, not only to be carving the masks, but to be in the club. To be having fun watching all my creation taking place. It's just-
- I don't know what to say, I'm just a really lucky, blessed human being.
§ §
- Bravo!
§ §

- Hello, I'm Bill Walkner.  This is my Wisconsin Life.

- This is autobiographical in nature. 
[plucking guitar]

- Bill Walkner has spent the last five decades of his life living in the city of Two Rivers.
- 
[Bill singing]
§ I'm just a small frog in a puddle of rain

- He's retired now, but he was a working man. He raised a family on his paycheck from the factory or the boatyard. All the while, he played the guitar and wrote songs about life.
- 
[singing]
§ Yes I'm just a back porch flat picker§ My vocals I've sang to the stars

- Like that small frog in his song, Bill says he's comfortable in his puddle.
- I don't have no big ambitions or whatever.

- He got his first guitar in high school, when his older brother came home from college.
- He needed some money. So, I give him $30. So, that was my first guitar. I remember just getting terribly bloody fingers from playing it.

- He started writing his own songs, filled with his observations on life.
-§ Sitting here making up tunes§ Making up melodies § Most might say I'm only wasting time § But music took the time to get to know me § Help me sweep the cobwebs from my mind

- After high school, Bill went to work at Hamilton Manufacturing, joining his father and two of his brothers at the massive factory along the river.

- Smart kids went away to school, you know. Us dumb kids, we went to work in the factory. Two Rivers was a humming factory town, and Bill had plenty of venues for his music.
- Just in this little area, there must have been a dozen different places we could play live music.  Now there's only one left. § §
- Over time, Hamilton shut down.  And the factory was torn down.

- 
[singing]
§ The old factory is coming down§ One bite at a time§ And the dust§ Blows away with the wind

- After a while, all that was left was the Hamilton smokestack.
- That's just a picture of the tower when it was there.
- A symbol of industry visible for miles. I was kind of sentimental about the old place because I worked there and pa worked there and stuff. The city held an event to celebrate the demolition of the stack, and Bill was asked to sing his song.
- 
[singing]
§ When the dust blows the wind§ And the dust blows away§ And the dust blows away§ With the wind
- 
[crowd exclaims with surprise]
 There it goes!
- Then, he joined the crowd to watch the tower come down.

- Uh, that's weird! I was sad to see it go, but once you realize  that it's just an old carcass of a building and there's nothing going on there, you know, it has a ghostly appearance. 
[singing]
§ Now the landfill is digesting§ And the people are protesting§ But our factories§ Are gone with the wind

- Bill says writing a song about the factory is cathartic.
- I don't go to a therapist; I just make up a goofy song.
- Whether goofy or serious, you can't separate the songs from the songwriter.
- Sort of like a diary of your life. 
[singing]
§ Some songs§ Just make you feel more lonesome § Some songs§ Take your pain away§ Some songs make you cry§ Some songs get you high § But without the song§ Life is just another day 
[strumming closing notes]
 § §

- My name is Bradley Czech, and this is my Wisconsin Life. 
§§ 

I grew up in that golden era of video arcade games. 
[coin clinks in slot]
 
[1980s pop music]
  I remember going to the arcades years ago and seeing some of these new titles that are coming out.
- Child: Got' em!
- I remember going to the arcades and seeing these elaborate cabinets with incredible artwork on them. And hearing these new sounds.
- 
[Pac-Man repeats an ambulance siren]

- And seeing the graphics. And, really, that's kind of what comes to mind when I think about the old memories of, "What do I remember growing up about arcade games?" 
[tires skid]
 
[percussion music]
 I got my first arcade game at the age of 13. And I ended up spending $60 to buy an Asteroids game. That's what started it. And it just sort of happened that I just started acquiring more and more games over the years. 
[electronic arcade sounds]
  I would say probably just over 200 games. It's hard to say exactly because I'm always adding things in. And once in a while, I'll let something go.  But I would say probably 200, 225 games. 
[points scored sound]
  Well, storage is always an issue. I do have quite a few games in my house and my basement. 
[garage door creaks open]
  And then I have a lot in my garage that are stored there. And then, I also have a warehouse location that I store many games at.  
[garage door slides up track]
 Right now, we're at one of my storage locations where I keep all my overflow parts. With them being as old as they are, they need repairs all the time. Those parts take up a lot of space so I keep a lot of them here.  
[computerized voice says "I can fix it."]
 Restoration is far more extensive than most people would realize. You're talking about going to the absolute basic foundation of these games. Stripping them down to the bare wood a lot of times and starting over. The process can take months and months. Actually, just recently, I finished up three titles that I started a year ago.  I got to thinking, "How can I show these to people again so that they can appreciate and enjoy them?" So then I started approaching some different museums about the idea of actually bringing arcades to be shown off to the public. 
[1980s pop music]
  The games bring me back to a time of the 1980s, where life is very simple. Today, I love the conveniences that we have with the Internet and all that. But there was a simplicity to that time where people were just enjoying these games and having fun with that. And to me, having these, and seeing people play them, and seeing people enjoy them, it kind of brings me back to that time. 
[computerized voice and electronic music]

- Curious to know more about the people featured in this week's stories? Go to WisconsinLife.org to learn more about Sue Dompke, Laura Vacek, Bryan Berenson, Bill Walkner and Bradley Czech. And remember, we want to know: what's your Wisconsin Life? So send your ideas to us at WisconsinLife@wpt.org.  

Finally, we leave you this week in Dane County, with some scenes from the county fair, part of our Wisconsin Life. 
§§ 

- Funding for Wisconsin Life is provided in part by Alliant Energy, Lowell and Mary Peterson, and Friends of Wisconsin Public Television.