- Angela Fitzgerald: Coming up on Wisconsin Life :
a teen who gives everyone
the chance to ski,
a sawmill with its own sign language,
a guitar collector in La Crosse,
and a fashion designer
who brings vintage art to life.
It's all ahead on Wisconsin Life !
*
- Wisconsin Life
is funded in part by
Alliant Energy,
Lowell and Mary Peterson,
American Transmission Company,
the Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programming,
and Friends of Wisconsin Public Television.
- Hello, and welcome to Wisconsin Life.
I'm Angela Fitzgerald.
Hit it, ladies!
[splash]
With so many lakes,
water skiing is a popular sport in Wisconsin.
That's why we're joining
the Plum Ski-ters Water Ski Show Team.
This non-profit group performs weekly
every summer
right here on Plum Lake in Sayner.
This beautiful lake is a perfect setting
for an entertaining evening of gravity-defying stunts,
from one-person routines to large group pyramids.
The Plum Ski-ters was originally formed in 1960
and welcomes new members each year.
Today the group participates in ski competitions
around the state
that allow them to show off their talents.
They also hold educational ski events
for all ages.
[splash]
But first, we'll meet a woman making it her mission
to get everyone skiing and out on the water.
As we head to learn about
how the non-profit
Graceful Wakes
got its start.
*
- Grace Petzold: I love absolutely everything about water skiing.
My name is Grace Petzold and I'm 18 years old.
I'm the founder of the Graceful Wakes,
and I compete with
the Rock Aqua Jay Water Ski Show Team
and the USA Water Ski Show Team.
I love the idea of performing in front of people
and getting to put on a show.
- Announcer: Right side, give it up for...
How about a nice hand for Grace?
[cheers and applause]
- Wendy Petzold: Once Grace started water skiing,
I remember Dennis, a friend of ours,
came up to me and said, "So, do you water ski?"
I'm like, " No. "
My name is Wendy, and I'm Grace's mom.
- Grace Petzold: If I were to describe my mom,
I would definitely say she's a fighter.
She's been through a lot in her life,
but she's shown me that she has the strength necessary
to keep pushing through
all the obstacles she's been through.
- It was two days before my 17th birthday
that I was injured in a car accident,
that damaged my spinal cord
resulting in my paralysis.
- Being able to ski with her,
that was something I never thought I'd be able to do.
- Grace and I and our family
had the opportunity to participate
in an adaptive clinic in Florida.
It was a feeling of freedom
and something so different
than what I had ever experienced before.
To be out of your wheelchair and gliding across the water,
it was just an amazing feeling.
- Grace: So, that was, like, one of the highlights of my life:
being able to share something that I love so much
and be able to participate in it with my mom.
After that experience, I realized that I wanted
to provide that same opportunity
and ability to water ski
to other individuals
with physical and cognitive disabilities.
And so, therefore, with the help from my parents,
we founded the non-profit organization Graceful Wakes.
[laughter]
- Wendy: Ready? One, two, three. [click]
- Traditional water skis do not really necessarily fit
the abilities of every skier.
- Wendy: The adaptive water ski
is different than the traditional water ski
and also costs a lot more.
- A ski that essentially has a little sling or seat
that the participant can sit in if they can't stand.
And the rope can, kind of,
be hooked up to the ski too
so if the person is unable to hold a rope,
the ski can essentially hold it for them.
We can find
an adaptation for anyone,
no matter their ability.
- It's like you're flying.
I never thought I would water ski again after my accident
but this is amazing.
- Then, these things adjust down here.
So, do you want to put your leg here?
- Sure. - Perfect.
- This ski helps many people be able to learn how to ski
and have the ability to water ski.
When an adaptive water skier
tries water skiing for the first time,
it's just the joy and smiles that come across their face.
It just melts my heart, kind of,
and makes all the hard work worth it.
- Grace has seen a pattern in our family's life
of giving back.
We believe in giving back to the community
and supporting the community.
I also think that having a mother with a disability
helped to make her in tune
to the needs of other people
and to look beyond herself.
That the world doesn't revolve around her
and that there are others that need help.
- Grace: I would say you're never too young
to make a change in the world.
That if you work hard at it
and dedicate a lot of your time and energy to it,
that you can pretty much accomplish anything.
Even a small act of kindness
can really make someone's day or change their day
and just better the world.
- Our next story takes us
to a sawmill in Neopit
that has a special language
all its own.
[machinery whirring]
- At Menominee Tribal Enterprises,
[psssh] every day
is a sawmill symphony.
[symphonic music punctuated with bangs, clanks]
These machines process
millions of feet of lumber each year.
[clank]
Leroy Shawanokasic is the conductor.
He's the sawmill supervisor.
- Leroy: I started in August of 1970.
It's, kind of, more or less
of a family thing.
My family, kind of, all worked here:
brothers, dad, uncles.
[metal assembly gears clinking]
- Leroy makes sure the entire operation
is humming along smoothly.
[clang, crink, squeak]
That's not an easy job.
It's a big mill, and the machines are loud.
[click]
[saw blade whirrs and whines]
[clank]
Talking across the mill floor
is nearly impossible
because of the noise.
[clank, thud, clank, thud, squeak]
That's why, for more than a century,
the workers in this mill
carry on conversations in a different way.
They created their own sign language.
*
It's not based on
American Sign Language or Menominee language.
It's an entirely unique system
used only by people in this sawmill.
Joe Besaw started at the mill in the 1980s
before moving into the sales department.
He says sign language is crucial
to communicate on the floor.
- Joe Besaw: If you didn't know that sign language,
I mean, you know,
you'd have a hard time up there.
So, the guys learn fast.
- Leroy makes sure that quality and safety standards
are being met.
He tells the machine operators
adjustments they need to be making,
so the lumber is cut correctly.
- When you go like that,
that means you're cutting shaky lumber.
Or thick and thin.
Scratchy lumber.
Wedging lumber.
And they'll know what to do.
- It's believed that this sign language has been around
since the mill's inception in 1908.
[psssh]
It was created for work,
but it's evolved into something more.
*
- Joe Besaw: You can talk about
what you did last night.
You can talk about
what you're going to do this weekend.
- I'm going to stay home and watch a movie with the kids.
- You can ask somebody to go fishing or hunting.
And everything is,
Yep, yep, yep,
what time?
Then they tell you, 11:00 tonight.
It's just that quick, you know.
And guys,
All right, we're there.
- There's always a little humor involved in it,
but I don't think-- a lot of it,
I don't think I can say on camera.
[chuckles]
- Angela: Or show on camera.
*
- Okay, the numbers.
You know, we talk about our numbers.
We got
1, 2,
1, 2, 3, 4,
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
And 5 shook is a 10.
- You can go from there.
This is 11.
This is 12.
They could say any time,
like 10 o'clock.
This is 10 o'clock.
- So, when you see a guy in there,
you can think about the gestures.
And this is a number.
Nope, when you do that down there,
nobody sees it as an obscene gesture.
What they see is the number eight, truly.
[control switches click]
- Still, the workers have fun with it.
Joe remembers one time early in his career
where the mill was closed due to a snowstorm.
[chuckles] - Me and my friend,
first thing we did was went riding around.
You know, joy riding, enjoying the day.
We got into Keshena, and his wife comes riding by.
And this was after probably five o'clock in the afternoon.
His wife rides by.
She puts her finger up on her window like this.
And I go, "Oh, no!"
He leans over; He said,
"That means be home by 8:00."
[chuckles heartily]
[clank, clank]
*
- Joe says it shows how this sign language
is part of everyday life at the mill.
- If you talk with some of the guys on the reservation here
who have worked in the sawmill over the years,
you'll notice that
their hand gestures as they're telling a story sometimes,
they kind of do it unconsciously.
They're talking, "I shot at that deer.
He went down, and we ran."
You see their hands going all over.
A lot of that came right from our sawmill here.
- Leroy says if someone wants to work at the mill,
it's not too difficult.
- It's just like any other... like going to school,
and going to science, math, or whatever.
But eventually, you work in a mill for a while,
then you will pick it up.
- Angela: Just follow the signs.
- Joe: I see this going on forever.
I really, really do.
It's neat, funny, educating.
[chuckles]
[machinery whirring]
- I'm making waves in Sayner, Wisconsin
with a local water ski team
as they practice for their weekly show.
[playful energetic surf rock]
[motorboat engine accelerating]
The Plum Ski-ters Water Ski Show Team
has been a staple of the Plum Lake community
for a number of years.
So, I met with one of the original members,
who now is on the team's board,
to learn more about how the organization got its start.
So, I was 12 at the time.
There was a group of maybe 15 of us
around the lake here
and some of the surrounding lakes
that decided to do something a little more organized
than just getting together
every day and skiing.
And so, we started fooling around
with acts like
a three-person pyramid... Whoa!
[both laugh]
Maybe three of us doing ballet.
Just kind of fooling around.
And then, some of the older people we were skiing with
decided to take it to the parents
and see if there might be some financial support there
for putting boats together
and actually doing a show.
And that was back in 1960,
so it's been a long time.
- Wow, it's been going on ever since.
- It has, it has.
- Cheryl: Frequently, they have a Learn to Ski day
where anybody can come down and learn to ski.
So, really trying to get the community involved.
Maybe some of the kids that don't have an opportunity
to ski behind their own family boat.
So, we're seeing a lot of that
where families that wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity
now do.
- So, it's creating access literally to this water sport.
- It is, absolutely, yeah. - That's amazing.
From Learn to Ski events
to weekly shows, it takes a lot
to put on engaging performances each night.
No one knows that better than Carolyn,
who's been on the team for a number of years.
- So, what can people who come to your shows expect to see?
- You can expect to see
pyramids, barefooting, jumping, ballet line, swivel girls.
We put 13 acts on the water every night.
- How did you get started as a water skier?
- I learned how to ski when I was five.
I used to come up here when I was little.
Coming, watching the shows,
I always dreamed of one day being a skier.
I always wanted to be like the big girls. [Angela laughs]
And so, one day we decided to join,
and it's been fun ride since then.
- You've been doing it for a while now?
- Yes, I've been on the team since 2012.
- So, what do you need to do to prepare
for those sorts of stunts
or whatever you call them? [both laugh]
- There's lots of practice, actually, on land.
We practice on the off days.
We have four practices a week,
and we just get it all organized.
- That's a pretty serious commitment then.
- Yes, it is.
It's-- I'm always here, so...
- The boat just pulls you right up.
- After learning about what it takes to be a member,
it was time to give water skiing a try.
- Ready?
- Hold on! - Hang on tight!
Resist the water.
[bubbles burbling underwater]
[tough stealthy surf rock] - Okay, ready?
[detective drama surf rock]
[motorboat engine "barroom"]
- Several tries actually...
[Angela squeals 'Whaah']
[Angela squeals 'Whaaah!']
[underwater gurgling "Bbbbbbb"]
[sploosh]
With a few failed attempts to get up on the skis,
I realize it's better to leave skiing up to the professionals.
- Whoo! - Yeah!
[applause]
- Ah-ha!
- The team is bringing great performances
and learning opportunities
to north-central Wisconsin.
We now head to La Crosse
to meet a collector
whose love for guitars
is strumming all the right chords.
*
- For guitar players,
visiting Dave's Guitar Shop
is an awe-inspiring experience.
Upstairs, owner Dave Rogers' collection of vintage guitars
grew to become a museum
of electric guitar history.
- Dave Rogers: Fenders, Gibsons,
Rickenbackers, Gretsch,
Paul Reed Smith.
I have personal favorites
like Fender Stratocasters,
Fender Telecasters,
Gibson Les Pauls,
Gibson ES-335s.
I mean the stuff that, you know, everybody wants.
- Though worth a fortune,
the guitars in Dave's collection
are not for sale.
- We try to save like the best example
of whatever of those versions there are.
Like, on the Fenders,
the desirable years are
from about 1950 up to about 1965.
We try to have one of every year
of the best example of that.
So, starting over there, you've got a '54 Strat,
'55 Strat, just continuing on.
And some of 'em are custom colors.
Some of 'em have odd features about 'em.
Then, over here, we've got the Telecasters.
[strumming electric guitar]
This is a 1953 Telecaster.
Again, considered, like, the best year for Telecasters.
My older brother played guitar in a band.
You always look up to your older brother
and everything like that.
I'd go follow him around.
Watch him play at the teen youth center in Marshfield.
[strumming electric guitar]
Probably actually started picking it up
a little more seriously, 10, 11 years old.
With my brother playing,
he had a great album collection in the house.
I remember looking at Derek and the Dominoes ,
the Eric Clapton album.
His Strat was laid out there
with a bunch of dominoes laying all over it.
I was going,
"If I could ever get a '50s Strat in sunburst," that,
you know, "I'd never need another guitar
the rest of my life," or whatever.
Now that I own some, I'm going,
"This is like a dream come true for me."
You know, "Pinch me." You know, "Wake me up."
[electric guitar]
I never made a living in a band.
You know, I was never good enough for that.
I tried to make a living playing guitar,
and that was a rough living.
You know, lived on a lot of Campbell's Soup, I guess.
- Dave scaled back his musical ambitions
and opened his guitar shop in 1982.
- I can still play and have fun, but I'd be working with guitars,
the thing I really love.
I had 15 guitars of my own, and I just put 'em all out for sale
just to get the business going.
That was hard to do 'cause that was my lifeblood.
You know, that was everything I had collected
up until that point.
Every dime I took in at the shop,
I just reinvested in the shop
just to build inventory.
- Dave didn't start rebuilding his own collection
until years later, when a business deal went wrong.
- A friend of mine wanted this guitar
that was down at a shop in Iowa that I knew of.
It was a very rare color, '57 Strat.
[playing electric guitar]
He said, "Get that for me, and I'll buy it from 'ya."
So, I bought it, and I had to beg, borrow, and steal
to get the money to buy this guitar.
The guitar came in and the guy came and looked at it.
He says, "Oh, it's not clean enough.
I don't want it."
I was like, "Oh no," you know, "What am I going to do here?"
But I was like going, "Well, this guitar is
just the coolest guitar ever."
So, you can see that it's definitely gotten some use.
And that was the first guitar of the collection now.
I ended up keeping that one.
[twanging on electric guitar]
- It turned out that the turquoise Stratocaster
was exceedingly rare and highly sought-after.
- There's a picture of Eric Clapton playing it up there.
At the time, he was interested in buying it.
Unfortunately, I had to say no, so.
Money has never really meant a whole, whole lot to me.
There's been a lot of times where I'll be like going,
"Oh, boy, should I eat
or should I buy this guitar?" or whatever.
I always opt for buying the guitar.
There's been a lot of times where we've been offered
exorbitant money for some of these guitars that, you know,
it's never tempted me, really.
I almost feel like they're not my guitars.
I'm just kind of tending 'em for the next generation.
So, it's just like I never feel like I own this stuff.
It's not a possession thing.
It's just like I'm taking care of 'em.
And to me, to not share 'em with the people that'd come in,
it'd be like a greedy thing or something like that.
Like, "Oh, no, no, no!
These are my guitars," or whatever.
They're not my guitars.
I'm just taking care of them right now.
- Our last story
takes us to the Pfister Hotel
in Milwaukee
to meet a fashion designer
who brings vintage art to life.
[light, bouncy instrumental]
- There's a common thread to Stephanie Schultz's work...
[rotary cutter tearing fabric]
...a passion for fashion.
- Stephanie Schultz: It's important for me
to be able to express myself creatively.
And sometimes it's not fun
because it's hard and it's challenging,
but it's important.
- Stephanie is a fashion designer
and the tenth artist-in-residence
at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee.
The year-long program
gives a local artist a stipend
and studio space on the Pfister's first floor.
*
In return,
the artist incorporates the historic hotel
into their work.
[classical violin music]
- Schultz: I'm working on
high-fashion garments
inspired by the Victorian paintings
that are here at the hotel.
- The Pfister opened in 1893.
They claim to have the largest Victorian art collection
of any hotel in the world.
- I often think about if these paintings
could tell us all these different stories
of everything that they've seen
throughout the years.
Just think about all the different stories
that are here at the hotel.
- Stephanie is bringing those stories to life.
[sewing machine whirring]
It requires an eye for design,
pattern making, and precision.
- If the fabric is really expensive,
and you're about to cut into it, and just be like,
[whispering] "Oh, I hope this works.
I hope this works!"
My personal motto is that I always
want to be in a state of chronic discomfort.
And the reason for that is if I'm becoming complacent,
that means that I'm not growing and I'm not learning.
- She's creating garments for a fashion show
to mark the end of her residency.
*
- Ah, yeah, so putting together a fashion show
is an unbelievable amount of work.
[overlapping conversations] - You can just run in.
- Stephanie meticulously plans every detail of the show.
It's not just designing the garments.
It's also finding a team of models and artists
to make her vision a reality.
- I want to create a unique experience
for people who want to come to this show
and give them something
that they've never seen before.
- At 7:30, it's showtime.
[light-hearted piano and string orchestra]
The culmination of 12 months of work.
- I think about
the entire scope
of when a person walks into this event,
are they having this full
immersive experience?
- The answer is a resounding 'yes.'
[cheers and applause]
- I cry, usually.
[chuckles]
It's an overwhelming feeling
that it's extremely stressful,
and it's just all these emotions
kind of converging.
And the only way that I can handle it
is just by crying
because it's so wonderful to...
to experience something like that.
[audience chatters excitedly, cameras click]
- Stephanie's show is a smashing success.
For one night,
the history of the Pfister has come alive.
- That satisfaction that you get
from working on something for so long,
and seeing it come to fruition,
and knowing that you can do it.
You know?
That's what I enjoy about it.
- It's been a blast getting to know this local ski group
and even getting into the water.
If you want more information
on the Plum Lake Ski-ters Water Ski Show Team
or any of the stories we've shared today,
visit us at WisconsinLife.org .
Send us your stories or ideas
to WisconsinLife@wpt.org .
Join us next week on Wisconsin Life :
Meet a milwaukee DJ mixing it up!
- My DJ name is DJ Loop: L - double-O - P.
A pair bringing goats to pasture.
[goats bleeting]
A teen who's hitting the target.
And a talented puppetmaker.
- It's been close to fifty years now
that I've been working on puppets.
- That's next time on Wisconsin Life .
'Til next time,
I'm Angela Fitzgerald and this is our Wisconsin Life .
Bye.
Ready back there?
Okay. [laughing]
[outboard motor revs and accelerates]
[splashing]
[smacking water surface]
[water ski show announcer on PA]
[cheers and applause]
- Here they go!
[splosh] [crowd cheering]
- Wisconsin Life
is funded in part by
Alliant Energy,
Lowell and Mary Peterson,
American Transmission Company,
the Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programming,
and Friends of Wisconsin Public Television.