Good morning, Whitewater.

Tuesday brings a likelihood of afternoon thunderstorms and a high of seventy-eight.

Whitewater’s Urban Forestry Commission meets today at 4:30 PM.

Friday’s FW poll asked readers about their most anticipated summer-blockbuster films.  Of the choices available, Godzilla (15.79%), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (14.04%), and X-Men: Days of Future Past (14.04%) led the responses.

On this day in 1844, a socialist community near Ripon begins its short life:

1844 – Utopian Community Founded Near Ripon
On this date the first settler moved to the Fourierite utopian community in what is now Ripon. This communal society was based upon the teachings of Charles Fourier, a French Socialist, who urged the rebuilding of society from its foundation as the only cure for economic hardship. This especially appealed to those suffering from the 1837 Depression. The communal village was named Ceresco after the goddess of agriculture, Ceres. Also known as the Wisconsin Phalanx, the community thrived for six years, with membership reaching 180 in 1845. The community officially disbanded in 1850 after many members decided to farm for their own profit. Families gradually left the commune to work and live on their own property. The center of the commune, the “Long House,” remained vacant until the 1930s when people suffering from the Great Depression found shelter and comfort there. Community founder Warren Chase said of the failed community “It was prematurely born, and tried to live before its proper time, and of course, must die and be born again. So it did and here it lies.” [Source: Wisconsin Saints and Sinners by Fred L. Holmes, pg. 94-104]

Puzzability has a new series entitled, Out of State. Here’s Tuesday’s game:

This Week’s Game — May 26-30

Out of State

We’re taking a road trip for the unofficial start to summer. For each day this week, we started with the single word that completes a state’s nickname in the phrase “The ___ State.” Then we hid it in a sentence, with spaces added as necessary. The answer spans at least two words in the sentence and starts and ends in the middle of words. The day’s clue gives the sentence with an interstate sign in place of the nickname.

Example:

We learned that younger members of the local Native American triaged just a few years living on the reservation once they became adults.

Answer:

Beaver (tribe averaged)

What to Submit:

Submit the nickname (as “Beaver” in the example) for your answer.

Tuesday, May 27

We were amazed at the skill of the cowboys at the rodeo, who could lasaging bull after another.

Good morning, Whitewater.

Memorial Day in Whitewater will be partly sunny, with a high of eighty-two, and a probability of afternoon and evening thunderstorms. Sunrise today is 5:23 am and sunset 8:22 pm. The moon is a waning crescent with 5% of its visible disk illuminated.

New York City is renowned for its beauty, and on a sunny day it’s lovely from the air —

On this day in 1868, Pres. Andrew Johnson survives conviction and removal from office after being impeached that February.

On this day in 1884, a future senator is born:

1884 – Alexander Wiley Born
On this date Alexander Wiley was born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Wiley obtained his law degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, practiced in Chippewa Falls and served as district attorney of Chippewa County from 1909 to 1915. Wiley was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1938 and was reelected in 1944, 1950, and again in 1956. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1962. While a Senator, Wiley served as chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary (Eightieth Congress) and the Committee on Foreign Relations (Eighty-third Congress). Wiley resided in Washington, D.C. until a few days before his death on May 26, 1967. He is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. [Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]

Good morning, Whitewater.

Sunday in town will be sunny, with a high of eighty and light southeast winds of five to ten mph. Sunrise today is 5:23 am and sunset is 8:21 pm. The moon is a waning crescent with ten percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Google often adds clever, dynamic features to its maps, and one of them is its depiction of the Washington monument: On Google Maps, the Washington Monument Is a Sundial:

Look up the Washington Monument in Google Maps, and the software will show you the obelisk’s shadow. The shadow even moves to reflect the position of the sun….

It’s a fun accent, possible only with the kind of live, dynamic map that Google deploys. (The digital-ness of Google’s maps allows the company to edit its own maps at will, to add previously unknown features or to erase previously known ones.)

Google didn’t need to add the monument’s shadow, but it did, as a kind of homage to the world’s hidden-in-plain-sight details. Of course, Google’s unknown mapmaker wasn’t the first to notice the monument’s shadow.

Link to Google Maps:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Washington+Monument/
@38.889463,-77.035237,19z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xe97346828ed0bfb8

On this day in 1926, Miles Davis is born.

“So What” – Miles Davis from Sabzian on Vimeo.

On this day in 1889, a future Wisconsin governor is born:

1889 – Governor Oscar Rennebohm born
On this day Oscar Rennebohm was born in Leeds, Columbia County, Wisconsin. Rennebohm was elected lieutenant governor under Walter S. Goodland and took over as governor when Goodland died in 1947. Oscar Rennebohm served as Wisconsin’s governor from 1947 to 1951. He died on October 15, 1968. [Source: First Ladies of Wisconsin, The Governors’ Wives by Nancy G. Williams]

Good morning, Whitewater.

It’s a pretty Saturday ahead: sunny, with a high of around seventy-four, and calm winds becoming southeast at five 5 mph.

On this day in 1883, an engineering marvel opens to the public:

After 14 years and 27 deaths while being constructed, the Brooklyn Bridge over the East River is opened, connecting the great cities of New York and Brooklyn for the first time in history. Thousands of residents of Brooklyn and Manhattan Island turned out to witness the dedication ceremony, which was presided over by President Chester A. Arthur and New York Governor Grover Cleveland. Designed by the late John A. Roebling, the Brooklyn Bridge was the largest suspension bridge ever built to that date.

In our own state’s history on this day in 1864, Union soldiers from our state see action in Northern Virginia:

1864 – (Civil War) Second Day of the Battle of North Anna, Virginia
On the second day of fighting at Hanover Junction, Virginia, Union troops crossed the North Anna River but were turned back. The 2nd, 6th, 7th, and 36th Wisconsin Infantry regiments participated in this battle.