Large La Crosse Legends

We're currently on a cross country road trip from New Hampshire to Oregon and posting about sites along the way. This post is about a stop in La Crosse, WI.

Towering 25 feet high and weighing 20 tons, Hiawatha serves as guardian of the sacred place where three rivers meet — the Mississippi, Black and La Crosse Rivers and is quite an imposing figure.

Hiawatha, which became known as the "Big Indian," was created by Anthony Zimmerhakl, an art teacher in the La Crosse schools, who with the help of his sons, worked on it for four years, layering cement on wire mesh in the back yard of his home. The statue made its debut in October 1961 as part of the first La Crosse, WI Oktoberfest. 

When it was unveiled, local Native Americans, Winnebagoes (now Ho-Chunk Nation), wanted it renamed Decorah after one of their great chiefs. Zimmerhakl objected and said he based the sculpture on Hiawatha, the 16th century chief credited with bringing together the Iroquois Nation. (You can figure out who won that argument.)

The statue cuts an imposing figure as its stands near the entry point where the La Crosse Queen paddleboat docks and near the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. 

Aside from the naming issue, Hiawatha has raised quite a bit of controversy over the years. In 2000, when the city council debated if it should restore Hiawatha, protectors said the statute perpetuated Native American stereotypes. The statue was showing signs of age. Who wouldn’t after 39 years of being outdoors, especially in Wisconsin? In the end, $35,000 was spent to refurbish and repaint the statue. Of that amount, $16,935 was raised from private funding and $18,605 was allocated from the city's budget. To ensure authenticity, representatives of the Ho-Chunk Nation were consulted about the colors used to repaint the statue.

The 20-ton statue is not the biggest Hiawatha statue, only the largest one in WI. The largest statue honor belongs to a 1964, 52-foot high Hiawatha that stands in Ironwood, MI.

In the late 1960s, the G. Heileman Brewing Company built six large storage tanks at its La Crosse, WI plant. These tanks were painted to resemble cans of Heileman's Old Style Lager beer, and the sextet was quickly dubbed as the World's Largest Six Pack. Images of the six-pack where seen worldwide courtesy of postcards sold in the Heileman gift shop, which quite naturally was included in a brewery tour.

After 30 years, the brewery was sold and shut down operation but the tanks remained in place. In 2000, the empty tanks were painted white, but the Old Style Lager labels were still visible. In 2003, new brewery owners brought back the World's Largest Six Pack, to advertise a new brand of beer, La Crosse Lager. Today, the 6-pack is aging badly as the new labels were wallpapered onto the existing tanks and not painted on them. Unlike its brewery predecessor, the current plant produces not only beer, but tea, soda, and energy drinks.

Standing directly across the street and, perhaps watching over the World’s Largest Six Pack, is quite appropriately another statue which is named Gambrinus, “King of Beer.” This 15-foot, 1-ton painted sculpture has one foot propped up on a keg and one hand is hoisting a goblet of presumably of beer. An accompanying plaque (bearing the logo of Heileman's Old Style Lager), labels Gambrinus, "a valiant soldier of the 15th century" and credits him with the invention of beer. 

The Gambrinus legend originated in Holland and Belgium, where Gambrinus (whose real name was Jan Primus) was a 13th century soldier, duke. He was also an honorary member of the Brussels Brewers Guild.

In 1939, the Heileman Company purchased the sculpture for $100 from a New Orleans brewery that went out of business during Prohibition. The status stood on a pedestal in front of City Brewery until March 2015, when its sword arm was torn off by three late night photo-seeking drunks. The statue was removed in April 2015, and parts used to create an exact fiberglass replica. The new Gambrinus was returned to its original spot in July 2017. 

Another much less colorful statue of King Gambrinus stands at the corner of State and Harborview Plaza, across from Riverside Park. It's within view of the Hiawatha statue described earlier.

This bronze statue is an exact replica of one that stood nearby and outside the former Heileman Brewing Company offices. A local sculptor, who built the first statue in 1980, also created this new one.

Mustard and Swiss

We're currently on a cross country road trip from New Hampshire to Oregon and posting about sites along the way. This post is about a stop in WI.

Did you know there’s an entire museum dedicated to one of the best-known condiments?
(A condiment is described as something that adds flavor to food and isn't eaten by itself.)

Don't worry about not knowing that. We didn't either until we traveled to Middleton, Wisconsin which was not far from where we were staying in the state. 

We read about this place in a guide book and decided to seek out the National Mustard Museum which bills itself as home to the “World’s Largest Collection of Mustards and Mustard Memorabilia.” 

Who would have known?

Not only that, but as improbable as it sounds we learned that there’s a New England connection. According to museum founder and curator Barry Levenson (at left), it's because his favorite baseball team, the Boston Red Sox, lost the world series in October 1986. Levenson claims that he was wandering in an all night-supermarket and passing the mustard section, heard: If you collect us, they will come. 

Who could make this up? (Perhaps Levenson did embellish a bit lot.)

Supposedly, he bought a dozen jars of the condiment to start the largest collection of prepared mustards. Meanwhile, he continued his day job as Wisconsin’s attorney general. Five years later, In 1991, he resigned to devote full-time to his growing collection.

We’re not sure if he has the largest collection, as we've never seen others. But there's a lot of mustards in this place — more than 6,000 from all 50 states and over 70 countries and the collection continues according to Levenson who's at the museum most days. 

State mustards on exhibit

There’s also a lot of mustard-related memorabilia, such as vintage mustard cans and magazine advertisements that feature mustard.

Vintage mustard cans

Vintage magazine ads for mustard 

The former "Mustard Museum" opened to the public in Mt Horeb, WI, in April 1992 and then again when the collection outgrew that space. It's been in its present location moved to its current Middleton location in 1992 and was renamed the “National Mustard Museum.” It's open daily, 7 days a week with the exception of Christmas, New Year's, Easter, Thanksgiving). There's also a mustard festival which is usually in August.

Museum founder Barry Levenson in pop art ads

According to several local guides, this unusual museum has grown to become one of Wisconsin’s most popular museums. Best of all it’s FREE and no admission is charged, although there’s a suggested donation of $2.

Not sure if you like a displayed mustard, there's free mustard sampling. Purchases are also encouraged as the museum has a large variety of mustards for sale. Yes, we bought several varieties.

Mustard samples at National Mustard Museum

According to several sources, this museum, which is open daily, is one of the state’s most popular tourist stops. There was a large group there on the day we visited and Levenson himself talked about his mustard passion.

The National Mustard Museum has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Food Network, HGTV’s The Good Life, and in the pages of dozens of national magazines & newspapers. And, it was the subject of a Jeopardy question in 2012.

We learned that the phrase "cutting the mustard" originates from mustard’s harvesting process. Before the invention of modern machinery, field workers had to harvest mustard seeds by hand. The woody 1-inch stems were cut with a hand sickle 14 days before the plant ripened. If harvesters delayed too long, the pods would split and scatter the seeds over the fields. It was a very laborious process.

Incidentally mustard is not the favorite condiment in the U.S. That honor formerly belonged to ketchup (or catsup). Recent surveys now proclaim that mayonnaise is No. 1. The ranking for the most commonly used condiments in the world: ketchup, mayonnaise and then mustard.

Condiment favorites are also regional. In New England, maple syrup is one of the most popular condiments for just about anything. In the Deep South, it's barbecue sauce. In New Orleans, it's Tabasco pepper vinegar or hot sauce.

Finally, the mustard museum is not the only condiment-focused museum. Ketchup is featured in an exhibit at the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, PA. Mayonnaise is so popular in Japan where it's put on many foods that there's a mayonnaise museum in Tokyo. 

We're not sure that we'll get to the mayo museum, but the ketchup one may be on a future road trip.

Now about the Swiss reference in this post title.

A short drive from Middleton we came across the village of New Glarus, WI, which is known as “America’s Little Switzerland.” Swiss flags fly next to the American flag at many businesses and homes.

The village, and the town that surrounds it, were named after the canton of Glarus in eastern Switzerland. The community was founded in 1845 by immigrants who left the Canton of Glarus in Switzerland during an economic crisis. it was incorporated in 1901.  Since then, succeeding generations have kept up the community's Swiss-German language, folk traditions, and music.

It's now a popular destination and the day we visited parking spaces were at a premium. It’s maintained much of its Swiss heritage and old world traditions.

Throughout the village, there are buildings with architecture resembling Swiss-style chalets. There’s a butcher shop, restaurants, hotel and Swiss bakery and shops selling Swiss-themed items. Streets have names like Bahnhoff Strasse and Rüti Strasse.

New Glarus is where Swiss cheese got a start in the U.S. In the 1860s when the wheat market collapsed, the dairy farmers hired a cheesemaker and formed a cooperative where they could deliver their milk. Cheese was a durable product that could be shipped East.

Today, Green County, WI, location of New Glarus, is the "Swiss Cheese Capital of America." Swiss cheese factories are on the outskirts of the town and scattered throughout the county. 

Eats & Treats IN to WI

While on a cross country road trip from New Hampshire to Oregon, we're sampling foods along the way. (Eating out while traveling is calorie-free, isn't it?)  Here's a sampling of places we've tried from from IN to WI.

If you're a breakfast fan, like us, the American Pancake House is in South Bend, IN is a must-try place. Because unlike IHOP or Perkins that’s the only place you will find this eatery. And unlike those two chain eateries, the APH is only open for breakfast and lunch, offering daily and senior specials. Breakfast, of course, is served all day.

It's a family-owned restaurant with three restaurants in the South Bend area, which is now managed by the second generation. Many of the folks we met there at breakfast were "regulars."

Complimentary fresh fruit is served after you're seated. The coffee is good and bottomless. My breakfast was a Denver Omelette (below) which came with very crisp hash browns and a side order of toast or pancakes. It was a no-brainer to choose the pancakes (it's a pancake house).

Grenville ordered the Luck of the Irish Skillet which included eggs, corned beef hash and Monterey Jack cheese. 

It was listed with 2 eggs, but came with 4. Our waitress explained that wasn’t a mistake, but that 2 Eggs Benedict dishes are 4-egg dishes there (who knew?) It was delicious, but Grenville couldn’t make it past the second egg. 

Legends of Notre Dame was a welcome stop after a morning spent exploring and walking around the (very) extensive campus of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN. 

We were ready to find a lunch stop and as luck would have it (no pun intended) this restaurant is right on campus. It's operated and owned by the University and located on close by to Notre Dame Stadium.

We ordered sandwiches, but first selected the the Irish Nachos appetizer. This dish would could have been a lunch in itself. Potato skins replaced the usual nacho chips and were loaded with cheese and bacon.

The food is basically “pub” style with a selection of American and Irish menu items. Naturally, most of the decor highlights the Fighting Irish football history.

The South Bend Chocolate Company Factory in South Bend, IN is the place to go if you have a sweet tooth and favor all things chocolate (who doesn't?). The 58,000-square-foot factory and museum is open Monday through Saturday. There’s a free factory tour, but we arrived too late and missed the last Saturday tour.

We still enjoyed a self-guided tour of the FREE chocolate museum. The museum houses one of the largest collections of chocolate memorabilia in the world, including a 1,300-year-old Mayan chocolate pot (sorry no photo).

The extensive collection features American chocolate companies and tins, containers and chocolate boxes of all shapes and sizes. There’s information about the history of candy, as well nostalgic displays of candy packaging in South Bend and other parts of the country.

The name of Doc Pierce’s, a local eatery on N. Main Street in Mishawaka, IN, was inspired by a sign on the side of the building. A furniture store located next door burnt down and when the remains were cleared, the sign was discovered.

An article explained that Doctor Ray Vaughn Pierce was a traveling medicine man at the turn of the century. He’s credited with creating the “Golden Discovery” a licorice-flavored tonic that reportedly contained quinine, opium and alcohol and was advertised as giving men “an appetite like a cowboy’s and the digestion of an ostrich.”

This is definitely a local pub and when traveling, we try to frequent such places. The onion rings appetizer was really good and we are aficionados of these.  We ordered the small size and the donut-sized rings were crispy and delicious with a glass of beer. Unfortunately, the dinners we ordered: fish and chicken were not outstanding and don’t merit further mention.

Culver's is where to go for custard treats and shakes. If you’re traveling through one of the 24 states in which they're located, keep an eye out for the blue and white sign. Forget about Dairy Queen or Carvel. Unfortunately, the only states without a Culver’s are in New England, the mid-Atlantic and the West Coast. So, that explains WHY we’ve never stopped at one, but no longer.

This fast-food eatery is known for butter burgers, frozen custard and cheese curds, Culver's is based in Prairie du Sac, WI, and has been owned primarily by the Culver family since its 1984 start. The first location opened in Sauk City in 1984 when Craig and Lea Culver renovated an old A&W restaurant; although the restaurant grew rapidly after that. In 1995, the first location outside of Wisconsin opened. Culver’s is found in the USA’s heartland, the South and the West. 

Culver's “Signature Combination” is butter burgers (exactly what it sounds like, a burger served on a bun toasted in butter) and frozen custard which is served in cones, sundaes of thick milkshakes.

The thickest shakes are called “Concrete Mixers” and, of course, we had to try one.

Schubert’s Bakery & Diner is an unassuming restaurant with the original tin ceilings, cozy wood booths, checkered floor, and old-fashioned soda fountain. And, it's practically an institution on E. Main St in Mt Horeb, WI. 

We had coffee and a shared, but very large, cinnamon bun during our visit. Both were very good. Interestingly, the coffee and cinnamon bun were priced the same.

Folks come to Schubert’s for a meal and for their famous Swedish rye bread, rosettes, fry-cakes and other traditional favorites. It’s a place where everything is made the old fashioned way, from scratch.  Breads and bakery items are hand-crafted here.

Fayze’s Restaurant & Bakery is located in the heart of historic downtown La Crosse WI, in the Tausche Hardware Building, one of the city’s well-known historic structures. This is a very casual local favorite serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And, you never know who you might see dining there.

The Friday night we visited the special was unlimited fish night, but after one serving we didn’t have the appetite for more. The fish was cod and very lightly breaded and fried.

Fayze's has good service, good meal values and friendly waiters. It’s like favorite place you visit often with friends and family. Everything about it from the classic family restaurant menu and the La Crosse, WI memorabilia and pictures decorating the walls–is like a hometown diner right downtown. And, as we found out, you never know who might be dining there the night you are.

The Pearl in La Crosse, WI is where you will hear music ranging from Tommy Dorsey to the blues of Billie Holiday filling this authentic 1930’s soda fountain and confectionery. One half of the store is filled with chocolates and various other sweet treats. Hand-dipped chocolates are sold by the piece or the pound. 

But it's the other side that features ice cream that's handmade daily and where thick, rich malts are mixed in classic Hamilton Beach mixers.  Waffle cones are fresh baked on-site. We highly recommend the sundaes if you're ever in La Crosse.

Tom Sawyer’s Bar & Grill in La Crosse, WI, is where we had our first taste of a local favorite called cheese curds. Honestly, they’re not bad at all. Cheese curds are fresh pieces of cheese that haven’t fully hardened yet and are usually from cheddar cheese. They have a milder taste with a rubbery texture.

The curds are what cheddar is before being formed into blocks and aged. Cheddar cheese is typically aged from 60 days to 4 years before being sold, whereas cheese curds are eaten straight away. It’s possible to find mozzarella cheese or other types of cheese curds, but cheddar is what you should try.

Deep fried cheese curds are served as an appetizer in many midwest restaurants. They’re usually served with a dipping sauce, usually ranch dressing.

These were some highlights of eateries we enjoyed during the second week of our cross country travels. There's (lots) more to come . . .

Rollin' on the River

We're currently on a cross country road trip from New Hampshire to Oregon and posting about sites along the way. This post is about a stop in La Crosse, WI.

One of the items on our "bucket list" is taking a riverboat ride on the Mississippi River someplace in the southern U.S. What we didn’t expect was that we'd take a (shortened) version in the midwestern state of Wisconsin. (We still plan to take the longer one.)

Riverboat rides conjure up images of traveling on the Mississippi in the South (thanks to movies). Our Mississippi River ride was on the La Crosse Queen VII, a modern day replica of a Mississippi River boat that cruises from its home port in La Crosse. It docks at the waterfront near a barge designed to resemble an old side wheel style showboat; it's the ticket office and gift shop.

The boat was built in 2008 in WI and is similar to Mississippi River boats from the early 1900’s. It's one of the few authentic paddle wheel river boats still operating in the U.S.

In keeping with tradition, the boat was built with stern wheels that are its only means of propulsion. It has a split stern wheel and each half is run by a twin diesel engine which turn the paddles and give it better maneuverability. By comparison, most Mississippi River paddle wheelers operating today have a "free wheeling" paddle wheel at the stern of the boat for visual effect and hidden engines are used for the real operating power. 

Our excursion was a 75-minute sightseeing excursion with on-board narration. h\Here's some of the sights along the route which was a loop up and down part of the river.

These twin bridges that cross the Mississippi in La Crosse WI are called the "Big Blue Bridges." One connects La Crosse, WI to La Crescent, MN; the other connects downtown La Crosse to Barron Island.

The La Crosse Rail Bridge is a swing bridge that spans the Mississippi River between La Crescent, MN and La Crosse, WI. The original bridge was one of the first 15 bridges across the Mississippi River and was designed and built in 1876 by Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.

We were advised to be on the lookout for eagles which are known to frequent the area. While several were spotted flying overhead, most of my zoom-in attempts were poorly focused. However, here's a shot of what appears to beca golden eagle.

There were multiple sightings of turtles sunning on downed trees along the river. It seemed the perfect way to spend a very warm afternoon.

While we were on the river boat, these song lyrics came to mind:

You know that big wheel keep on turnin'

Proud Mary keep on burnin'

And we're rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river 

“Proud Mary” is a the title of a rock song written by John Fogarty and recorded in 1968 by his band, Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was recorded twice in 1969 by Solomon Burke as well as the Checkmates Ltd. Then, in 1970 Ike and Tina Turner recorded a version that became a classic hit.

Go ahead and sing it (you know you want to) but it may become a (musical) earworm.