Wisconsin Life 611

- This week on Wisconsin Life: Meet a young musher in the Northwoods, a coffin artist from Ghana, a polo player who rides into victory, and an animated story of a Wisconsin expat. It's all ahead on Wisconsin Life! 
§ § 

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

- Hello, and welcome to Wisconsin Life. I'm your host, Angela Fitzgerald. Today, we're in Glendale at the Lincoln Park Golf Course in Milwaukee County where these rescue pups of the Door County Sled Dogs are going to show me what dog-powered sports are all about. This active group of Huskies travels each winter from their training facility in Door County to the Milwaukee area, where they hold educational events around southeastern Wisconsin. We'll learn more about this group's work in a bit. Northern Wisconsin is also a hotspot for dog sledding. We meet a young woman in Brule who's leading the pack. 
§ § 
 
[chorus of barking dogs]

- Winter in northern Wisconsin is for the dogs. 
[dogs panting]

Sled dogs, that is. 
[sled blades scraping along snow]

- Gee. Gee. 

- For Talia Martens, dog sledding is a family affair. 

- I was born into it. My mom has been doing it for 40 years. So, I've mainly been doing it all my life. 
[urgent and excited barking]

 Hello, Bandit.

- The 17-year-old loves to run her Alaskan Huskies. 

- Birk, you wanna run lead?

- The dogs love it, too.

- Who's a good girl? When we hook up, they get really excited. 
[fast, high-pitched barking]

Come on. Ready! And once we take off, they just go. Full blast. 
§ § 

- During the winter months, she does daily training runs on her family's property in Brule. 

- When we first start training, we do five-mile runs and those are normally fast.

- Building up the dogs' endurance to prepare them for long-distance racing.

- I do, like, 20 miles, then two-hour rest. Then another 20 miles, and then a two-hour rest, then 15. And then, I just up the miles as the training goes on. They enjoy it a ton.

- Talia's raised these dogs from birth and trained them to listen to her commands.

- This one right here, Radar. He's my youngest out of the bunch. For me, being the boss, I have to be firm, so they know who's the boss.

- Most of the time, they listen.

- Ready! Up, up, up, up! Good dogs!

- They respect me and know who the boss is. And they don't test me. Well, they do, but... Gee. Gee! 
[pleading] Gee. 
[exasperated] Fine.

- And sometimes, it's like herding... dogs.

- Ho, no. Ho. Gee. Gee. Yes!

- Talia and her huskies have run races across the upper Midwest. In 2018, she signed up for a new challenge. She spent a month and a half in Alaska training for the Junior Iditarod.

- Somebody mentioned it to me and I was like, "Oh, that sounds pretty cool. I've always wanted to run dogs in Alaska. Here we go.

- It's a 150-mile race across the Alaskan wilderness over two days. A grueling adventure.

- It really was hard mentally. It wasn't actually that bad. I thought it was going to be, like, really hard, but it actually wasn't. But I think the races before really helped me prepare myself for it.

- Talia finished ninth, in 19 hours and 24 minutes. 

- I was so happy. I was ready for a new set of clothes and a warm bed. 

- She enjoyed her first trip to Alaska so much, it might not be her last. 

- It just really upped my confidence. I want to go up there again and do it over again. It was a lot of fun.

- There's one catch. Talia turns 18 this year, meaning she's no longer eligible for the Junior Iditarod. Next time, she'll have to race against the adults in the world-famous Iditarod, a 1,000-mile race. 
[sled swooshes]

- Honestly, yeah, I could see myself doing it. 
§ § 

- Until then, Talia and her dogs will be here, out on the trails, mushing their way through another Wisconsin winter. 
[dogs panting, their collars jingling]

- But once I get out there, I relax and it's just... It's very fun. 

- Up next, we head to Madison where an artist-in-residence crafts beautiful coffins honoring those who have passed. 
[sawing friction]

[pounding nail in]
 
[planer scraping]

- The sounds of a carpenter. 
[pencil scratches against wood]

Listen closer and you hear a family legacy. 
[scrape, scrape]

Eric Adjetey Anang is a third-generation craftsman and his art is to die for. 
[rich laughter]

- Usually, first thing, they will be like, "What are you building?" So, I start by answering them. "I'm building a coffin and they'll be like, 'Oh?'" 

- Eric's coffins are one of Ghana's most unique cultural exports. A business his grandfather started when he merged carpentry and art. 

- They were building the Kotoka International Airport in 1951. So, it was during that time this old woman was like, "Oh, I would love to travel in one of those planes." But she never got to do it until she passed away so he built her a coffin in the form of an airplane. 

- That woman was Eric's grandmother. 
[scrape, scrape]

 As a little boy, he remembers his curiosity around the family business. 

- Growing up as a kid in the backyard of the house, when you point, you know, the cemetery or the coffins, we would have to bite our fingertips. It was something very scary to us.

- Honoring his birthright, Eric took up the tools of the trade. In Ghana, his design coffins can sell for $500 to $1,000 and are steeped in a rich tradition.

- Eric Adjetey Anang: So, in Ghana, when somebody dies, we have a period of three weeks to one month or more for the ceremony. 

- Sending loved ones out in style is a fashionable way to celebrate life and is growing in popularity.

- So, on Saturday, when you have a crowd of between 500 to 2,000 people, that is how the coffin becomes so important. Because everybody wants to have a glimpse of it and take a photo of it. 
- [speaking in a Ghanaian language]

- People would also start to ask, "Oh, who did that? Who was the artist? Where was that coffin built?" So that is where we get our praises.

- Behind each design coffin, there's a story. 

- The bumblebee also goes with the story of the disappearance of bees. The corncob was a piece I built during my five days’ workshop in Iowa State University.

- The coffins can also symbolize a hobby, a favorite item, or a person's importance to her community.

- A coffin of that shape would be made for a chief. 

- The Chazen Museum of Art in Madison is home to Eric's eagle coffin. It's a design reserved for people of prominence.

- Anang: Something like the eagle we have behind us, they are symbolic coffins: the eagle, the tiger, this tool, the chief's status. When I see a piece like that, I, kind of, want to see the inside. Sometimes people look at it and they will say, "Oh, this is not big enough. This cannot contain the body." But anytime I build a piece, I build it to my size. And the reason I do that is I consider myself as an average human being. 

- In 2018, Eric took on a project at the Madison Public Library Bubbler. 
[scrape, scrape]

 In a creative space where the smell of fresh-cut pine fills the air.

- That's knotty white pine. I think it is the best wood I've ever used here. 

- This time, his saw and hammer are pounding out a dinosaur, bringing awareness to endangered and extinct animals.

- It's easy for me but with this, I always have to carry the model with me and, you know, be thinking of how I want the shape to look like because sometimes you might get to a point where you need to stop and think about it. 
[exhales loudly]
 
[taps wood]

I'm also figuring out how slope it is here on the back. 
[murmuring to himself] 
So four, two. Think out this slopes. But as soon as you get it, and it is flowing, that is when you kind of work really fast. 

- And if you're wondering, Eric has already decided on the coffin design for his journey into the afterlife.

- I do have my coffin already. I have it in the shape of my wooden hand plane that I keep with me all the time. That's the plane I've been working with for a very long time. 

- Design coffins are one of the most celebrated forms of African art and he is fiercely proud of his grandfather's legacy.

- The reason I built the airplane was that was how he started. I would say the airplane was his first coffin he built for the grandmom. So, I sort of built it too. This is really a dream to be here, to share with people the story of my family and what we do. I mean, that's what has made me who I am today. 
[wood board clacks]

- I'm here with a special member of the Door County Sled Dog Team. This is Sebastian. He was up for adoption for years at the Humane Society before being rescued by sled dog volunteers. He went through training and now pulls sleds and is great with kids, doing educational activities. On top of that, he's a super-cute addition to their team. The Door County Sled Dogs are dedicated to saving rescues, but also educating the public. Musher Dan tells us more. Can you tell me about the work of this group?

- Yeah, the Door County Sled Dogs is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit group. 
[high-pitched barking]

All our dogs are rescues. They're indoor pets; never chained, never kenneled. Our primary focus is education. The group was started by two retired Milwaukee Public Schools teachers that people kept asking them questions. They'd see them out and ask them questions about the dogs and they thought this was a great way to continue educating people and teaching people about dogs and dog-powered sports.

- Very nice. And so what do you all do during the offseason?

- The offseason, we don't do the pulling because of their thick coats. They tend to overheat so they get a nice break, but we do have an education center up in Ephraim, Wisconsin in Door County where the public can come and see the team in the summers. It's air-conditioned so it's not weather dependent. And we have a fenced-in backyard so they can actually see how the dogs really live their life.

- Dog sledding seems like a lot of work. Do the dogs actually enjoy it?

- They love to do it. The command for us to stop is "whoa." We always joke and say, "The dogs love to go, not so much on the whoa."

- The dogs clearly love the ride, but who wouldn't?

[fun happy-go-lucky music, with a fast beat]

- Good job, everybody. Good job. There we go. 
[scratching records]
- DJ: Get creative! 

- It may be cold outside. But with company like this, it's worth it.

- Good job. 

[musician playing mouth harp]

Good dogs! 

- Whoo! That was fun. Thank you. 
[high-pitched excited barking]

[scratching records]
- DJ: Get creative! 

- We now leave the dogs to catch up with a Verona woman who swings into action as the captain of her polo team. 
[birds chirping]

- Alyssa Daniels is a student-athlete playing a sport new to the University of Wisconsin. 

- I came to UW and I was like, "Okay, this is awesome. Like it's a really beautiful campus and everything." 

- It got even better when horses entered the picture. 

- A friend of mine on Facebook posted a status: "I'm so excited to join the polo team, blah, blah, blah..." 

I was like, "Oh, my gosh, what?!?" 

I literally sent her this message on Facebook, like, "Oh, my gosh! There's a polo team here?" 

I called my mom. I was like, "Mom, you won't believe this!" 

- This is Alyssa in action when she played polo on a national championship high school team. 
[screaming full-throttle "Whooooooooooooooo!"]

 And soon she would be prepping ponies at the college level. 

- Then we'll wrap their legs with the polo wraps. We'll put the other boots on top. Just more protection. They get whacked in the leg sometimes and it's just to keep them safe. Then we'll put the tack on, which is a lot. Lots of tack. Then we have to get ourselves ready. 

- Put boots on and just try and stay calm. 
[laughs]

 All right.

- Today's test will come against the University of Kentucky.

- Before big games, I'm always like butterflies-in-my-stomach. I definitely feel the nerves sometimes. We had played them the year before and we honestly weren't sure which players were going to come up and play.

- With fans watching from bleachers made of hay bales...

- Referee: Play!

- The game gets off to a fast start. 

- There's a lot of times where you either get the ball and you score right away or the other team does the exact same things.

- In this case, the other team scores first. 
[applause]

- Crowd: Whoo! 
[regal music]

- I think the speed, the high level of contact that people don't necessarily expect, I think that's probably what amazes the most. 

The first thing you learn in polo: The ball creates an imaginary line, and if you cross the line, that's a foul. 
[whistle]

- A foul that results in a penalty shot.

- Play! 
[ball hits wall, applause]

- And just like that, Wisconsin is down by two. To beat Kentucky, they need to mount a strong comeback in a sport where the horses can be unpredictable.

- They're the ones stopping, turning, going, galloping. And so they're just a huge part of the sport. There's one horse that we have that's-- She's just all over the place. You kind of just have to be like, "Okay, I'm going to ignore what's down here "and I'm just going to focus on playing and communicating with my teammates." 
[whistle]

 Being able to ride the horse that you're on is, is huge.

- Once she settles her bucking bronco, Alyssa swings into action and is off to the races on a horse named "Breeze."

- People are normally shocked. Like, "I did not know you're so fast and so fierce and everything."

- As the captain, and wearing number one, Alyssa takes charge.

- If you know your teammates and know them inside and out, that's going to be the best way to succeed.

- On this play, she does it all connecting her mallet to the ball, not once, but twice. 
[fans cheering]

 She shoots and scores. 
[horn for 30 seconds left in chukker]

[whistle]

Wisconsin is on the move. 
[ball hits wall, crowd cheers]

- Nice one! 
[horn for end of chukker]
 
[cheering]

- That's the end of the first chucker or quarter. The Badgers jump out to a 5-3 lead. The horses take a break and so do the players. 

- It's a workout.

- In between polo practice, classes, and homework, Alyssa escapes to a farm south of Madison, tending to her own horse named "Owen." 
[Owen snorts]

- He's a lot of fun. He is, obviously, a cranky old man, but he brings me a lot of joy, especially when I'm, like, stressed out with school. I just come out here, just brush him. 

- The cadence here is a lot slower paced. 
[horse hooves clip, clop]

- It's really nice to come out here and just be able to go ride and just forget other things. 
[horse hooves clip, clop]

 I'm studying animal science and hoping to go to vet school. I'm doing everything I can to set myself up for the life that I want. I have to keep telling myself that when I'm up at four in the morning studying and just-- It's going to be worth it.

- And things seem to be working out for the UW Polo Club which started in 2014. 

- Everyone's been really shocked at how fast we've grown as a program. It's been really amazing, I think. I mean, we've only been a team for three years and every year we've gone straight to regionals. 
[whistle]

 It's definitely more contact than I think people realize. 

- Nice!

- Get outta there.

- Concussions are common. The helmets that we use are pretty protective and all the protective stuff we wear is helpful. 
[crowd gasping]

- After this tumble both horse and player are okay. And on this day, Alyssa goes on to lead Wisconsin over Kentucky [ref blows chukker horn] 28 to 7. 

- A sport that I love so much at a school that I love so much. It's really made everything come together for my college experience. 
[ref blows chukker horn, whistle]

- Our last story comes from author Patrick Somerville, who reflects on his own conflicted relationship with Illinois in this animated tale. 

- You've all heard the term. You know what it means. You've muttered it with disdain after some shiny car fails to signal properly, honks unnecessarily, or passes you on the right doing 90. All you can do is shake your head. 
[video game jumping sound "bloooiiii!"]
FIBs. 
[video game achievement sound]

As most Wisconsinites know, this little acronym is the placeholder for buckets of history, frustration, derision, and maybe even a little envy. I haven't traced the etymology of the term because it's meaning for a boy growing up at the gates of Door County was self-evident. How about the time in the Boundary Waters when the two dudes from Arlington Heights stole my hat and my fishing pole while I was portaging my canoe? Or the time that that Bears fan took my Jim McMahon voodoo doll that was attached to my father's bumper and ran away with it? "FIBs," I could only say, shaking my head. 

I've met Wisconsinites all over the country, from New York to San Francisco. And if the conversation ever drifts to that unruly, big-shouldered metropolis to the south, as it usually does, since I now make my home in Chicago. I hear some variation of, "Wait, you're a FIB now?" 
[video game leveling up sound]

That's right, dear listener. This is a FIB talking to you right now. I have been turned. I first realized my purity had been compromised when I replaced my Dairyland plates with the dreaded cursive of Illinois. 

I imagined the shame I would feel driving up “43” for a visit home. Had I fundamentally betrayed my origins? 
[video game beep]

Was it enough to be also wearing a Packers hat while driving? 

What if I very carefully mouthed the words, "I'm not actually from Illinois" to anyone driving alongside me? 
[video game beeps]

Would they get that I wasn't really a FIB despite my plates and even though I was doing 90 in the right lane? Would they understand that I was some other special category, like a NIV, a Nice Illinois Visitor? 

Or a WIWHATOBLII, a Wisconsinite Who Happens To Be Living In Illinois? Maybe I could buy an extra vehicle and register it at my father's house and only use it to drive up? 

Is this how zombies felt, moaning and trundling up to a group of old friends trying to fit in once again? 

It amazes me that this anxiety can still send such strong jolts down to the core of my being. After all, I am many things now. I'm a husband, a father, a son, a teacher, a writer. We are all multi-faceted creatures. No one trait can define a person, right? 
[old school video game earn-a-coin "ga-ling!" sound]

These are the thoughts I hold close anyway, as I cross the state line heading north. We are all multi-faceted creatures, I think to myself. We are all multi-faceted creatures. I believe this. I really do.

But in case you don't, do me a favor. If you see me-- and to be clear, I am the FIB who just cut you off for no reason-- and if you happen to catch a glimpse of me as I went by, you saw consternation and conflict on my face as I did it. 

Remember this plea. Please remember, even as you curse my Illinois plates, please remember, dear Wisconsinite, I was once like you. 
[video game “Game Over” sound]

- Well, the dogs are back resting on their bus which means our time here has come to an end. I had so much fun dog sledding and spending time with these adorable animals. If you'd like to learn more about the Door County Sled Dogs, or any of the stories you've seen today, visit WisconsinLife.org. We'd love to hear from you and many of the stories you share make it in the show, including a story of a man who captures and shares his grandson's moves on the court. 
[basketball bouncing]

- We have a little camera and I thought, "Well, "why not take it and just shoot some footage of him playing so he can look at himself? I make one for every player and one for every coach."

- A Green Bay teen who takes on the Braille Challenge.

- I was diagnosed with cancer and, well, a brain tumor, which destroyed my optic nerves so I was totally blind by the time I was four. 
[keys clicking on Braille writing machine]

- Who can forget the high school rock band "Orange Crush?"

- One official, we were playing a game and it was a blowout and he ran by both benches and said, "Somebody call a timeout. I want to hear the band play." 
[loud guitar note]

[hard rock guitar chord]
- Kick it! 
[Beastie Boys "{You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)"]

- In all the trial and error. You come up with some pretty cool, unique items and, you know, I can say, "I built that with my father."

- And the owner of an Appleton oddity shop. 

Share your story with us at WisconsinLife@wpt.org. 

Until we meet again, I'm Angela Fitzgerald and this is our Wisconsin Life. See you on the trail!
[excited high-pitch barking "Harr-ruff"]
 
[quick low-pitched barks]
[whining "Hrrrr-mrrrrr"]
[howling "Aaroooooo"]

High five, doggie. High five-- OK. 
-	Off camera: He’s gonna give you a kiss.

[laughing]
-	It's like "Mm..." Like, "I can't do it." 
[laughing]

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