Good morning.

Today’s forecast predicts a sunny Thursday with a high of sixty-nine.

May 10th is a fine anniversary in Wisconsin history, as the Wisconsin Historical Society recalls:

1865 – Wisconsin Troops Capture Jefferson Davis

Just after dawn on May 10, 1865, Col. Henry Harnden of Madison and his squad of 30 volunteers from the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry captured Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy. After Robert E. Lee surrendered on April 9, Davis fled south with his family and cabinet. Col. Harnden, commanding the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry at Macon, Ga., was ordered to scour the countryside for him. After four days they caught up with Davis and his entourage in the woods near Irwinville.

As they approached, Col. Harnden’s troops were attacked by soldiers in the brush. They returned fire, killing two adversaries before discovering they were U.S. soldiers who had converged on Davis from a different direction. Upon hearing the friendly fire, Davis attempted to escape. But Harnden “rode up, dismounted and saluted, and I asked if this was Mr. Davis. ‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘I am President Davis.’ At this the soldiers set up a shout that Jeff. Davis was captured.” [Source: Wisconsin Local History & Biography Articles]

A good day’s work.

Google’s daily puzzle has a bit of charm and wordplay to it: “What piazza were you standing in if you saw a Giraffe win a horse race last August 16th?”

Good morning.

It’s a partly cloudy Wednesday, with a high of sixty-one, ahead for Whitewater.

Today at 2:30 PM Whitewater’s Community Development Authority will meet, in closed session, to conduct interviews for the now-vacant CDA director’s position. Whitewater has been ill-served by the practice these past few years of relying on her city manager to play a director’s role. One has no idea what sort of candidates the search has found, but this is the second effort in recent months at finding someone.

(It says much about how far the CDA has drifted from conventional standards that the search has not been more public, with candidates properly announced and biographies offered. Nonetheless, ending the use of a city manager as a makeshift CDA director is the right decision.)

Astonishingly, the History Channel’s highlight for 5.9. is the publication of L. Ron Hubbard’s Dianetics:

Today’s mention gives hope to crackpot hucksters everywhere.

Google’s daily puzzle offers a clue in a given name: “The famous tourist attraction named after Sir Benjamin Hall is not the largest of its kind in its city. Where will you find the one with that distinction?” more >>

Good morning.

It’s a mild day ahead for Whitewater, with a high of sixty-six, and a slight chance of rain in the afternoon.

All America watches Wisconsin’s election day, and awaits the contest ahead in the next month. A day on which people vote always feels better than a day otherwise.

After Germany signed a surrender the previous day, this day in 1945 was celebrated across Europe as VE Day.

Google’s daily puzzle offers a question about Prohibition: “If a man lives in the city that lifted prohibition on March 1st of 1989, and he was born the year it banned beer, how old is he?”

Note: A connectivity glitch of some sort this morning at FW, but easy enough to bounce back. more >>

Good morning.

Whitewater’s Monday will see a day of scattered showers and a high of sixty-seven.

On this day in 1945, Nazi Germany  “signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Rheims, France, to take effect the following day, ending the European conflict of World War II. ”  The New York Times story on that surrender reported that “The War in Europe is Ended! Surrender Is Unconditional; V-E Will Be Proclaimed Today; Our Troops on Okinawa Gain.”

How adaptable is Wisconsin agriculture?  Very.  Over at the Wisconsin Happy Farm, they’ve a picture of crop-dusting by helicopter.

The Wisconsin Historical Society recalls that  on this day in 1956,

35th Million Vehicle Produced at GM Plant

On this date General Motor’s Chevrolet Division produced its 35th million vehicle, a gold ’57 Bel Air sport coupe, or “hardtop,” at the Janesville plant. For photos and stories about Wisconsin’s automotive industry, visit the page devoted to Automobile Culture at Turning Points in Wisconsin History. [Source: Janesville Gazette]

Google asks a question about distance and travel times in their daily puzzle: “How many days would it take you to walk from SJC to STL?”