𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆, 𝘀𝗲𝘁, 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵! The Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles are hitting the track this Friday ahead of the Indianapolis 500 for the sizzling “Wienie 500” race! Six iconic hot dog–shaped vehicles will go bun-to-bun, each representing a unique regional hot dog style from across the U.S. Oscar Mayer first came to Madison in 1919. Madison became the corporate headquarters of Oscar Mayer in 1957 and closed its Madison plant in 2017. We have a 1969 Wienermobile in our collections here at the Wisconsin Historical Society. Did you or someone you know work at Oscar Mayer here in Madison? Learn more about this race in this Car and Driver article. (fb)

May is Historic Preservation and Archaeology Month in Wisconsin! This year we can celebrate with a new shipwreck discovery! Last week, a wreck believed to be the tugboat 𝙅.𝘾. 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙨 was rediscovered in Lake Michigan off the coast of Manitowoc. Christopher Thuss, grandson of “Shipwreck Suzze” Johnson (who has discovered and reported several shipwrecks to the Wisconsin Historical Society), was fishing on a foggy day when he noticed wreckage north of the Manitowoc breakwater on his sonar just nine feet below the water’s surface. Thuss reported his discovery to the Wisconsin Historical Society. The Society worked in collaboration with maritime historian Brendon Baillod to identify the wreck as 𝙅.𝘾. 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙨. 𝙅.𝘾. 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙨 was originally built as J. C. Perrett at the shipyard of Rand & Burger in Manitowoc in 1881. With its 670 hp fore-and-aft compound steam engine and 160-foot length, the J. C. was one of the largest and most powerful tugboats ever built on the Great Lakes. The tugboat was used in the lumber trade, hauling as many of five barges worth of lumber to port. In 1895, J. C. Perrett was sold to the Lake Michigan Car Ferry Transportation Company of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, where it was used to haul railroad barges between Chicago and Peshtigo. In 1896, the tug was overhauled and renamed𝙅.𝘾. 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙨. The tug was sold again to George C. Nau of the Nau Tug Line where it was used to haul pulpwood out of Green Bay. After a long career, 𝙅.𝘾. 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙨 was dismantled in Manitowoc in 1923. Its remaining hull was towed outside of Manitowoc in Maritime Bay and set on fire for the enjoyment of spectators.𝙅.𝘾. 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙨 burned to the waterline and sank into nine feet of water. Thuss’s discovery of 𝙅.𝘾. 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙨 is captivating but stretches into the extraordinary given his grandmother’s legacy of locating lost shipwrecks. Longtime followers will remember “Shipwreck Suzze” Johnson as the woman who discovered three shipwrecks in three days off Point Beach State Forest in 2015. Finding shipwrecks must be a family affair! The 𝙅.𝘾. 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙨 is located within the boundaries of the NOAA's Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary, which was designated in 2021 and is co-managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the State of Wisconsin. Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association - WUAA Learn more Wisconsin Shipwreck 𝙅.𝘾. 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙨: https://wihist.org/4kz9Jdw Read article on the discovery of𝙅.𝘾. 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙨 in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: https://wihist.org/4kaz5hS Learn more about Shipwreck Suzze and the Shipwreck 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙖: https://wihist.org/4jaKbC7 📸: Diver Hovers over the Propeller of J. C. Ames | Wisconsin Historical Society Maritime Preservation and Archaeology Program 📸: 𝙅.𝘾. 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙨 in the Nau Line. C. Patrick Labadie Collection 📸: 𝙅.𝘾. 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙨 docked | Wisconsin Historical Society 📸: 𝙅.𝘾. 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙨 Passing Underneath the Walnut Street Bridge (Bart Starr Memorial Bridge) in Green Bay, circa 1910 | Wisconsin Historical Society 📸: Frames of 𝙅.𝘾. 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙨 | Wisconsin Historical Society Maritime Preservation and Archaeology Program 📸: Propeller Shaft Coupling of 𝙅.𝘾. 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙨 | Wisconsin Historical Society Maritime Preservation and Archaeology Program (fb)