October 12, 2026- Hana holds her own. When her Dad needles her about something he thinks should be obvious, she talks right back. She then gives him a knowing smile. This is something I noticed, over the years, from both my mother and my wife. Nothing gets past an attentive lady.

We got in a morning walk, and spent the rest of the day indoors, as AUGtober has returned for a few days and I don’t take Hana outside if the temperature clears 90F. More seasonal temperatures are forecast, from Thursday onward. Hana was happy to walk around the first floor several times, stopping here and there to take in a book she had overlooked or to savour the softness and scent of one of her mother’s blankets, or to visit Yunhee in her office.

HANA’ NOTE- I like to go in my mommy’s office, except when Papa says she looks busy. It’s okay, when she looks up and calls me to come in.

EXPANDING CIRCLES: Wisconsin- I have been through the Badger State, solo. four times, each time when traveling between Illinois and Minnesota. The basic decency of the people and the serenity of countryside have cemented fond impressions of the state. I was quite impressed with the layout of Madison and the State Capitol, in particular. On my second visit, in 1987, the three of us were welcomed to a Christmas dinner in Milwaukee. Our only other visit as a family was in the course of passing from South Dakota towards Michigan. We stopped briefly in Wisconsin Dells.

The turf- All of Wisconsin, save a section of the southwest, was covered by glaciers, in the lat Ice Age. The state’s prime recreational feature on land is the Ice Age Trail, which follows the glacial moraines. The west is generally upland, as is the north, except for a coastal plain along Lake Superior. There is a Central Plain and the eastern part of Wisconsin is upland (along Lake Michigan).

Wisconsin is drained by the Mississippi, Chippewa, Wisconsin, Rock, Black, Milwaukee and Fox Rivers, along with their tributaries. It is bounded by Lakes Superior and Michigan, along with the latter’s large inlet: Green Bay. Lake Winnebago is a large glacial lake in south central Wisconsin.

First Nations- Wisconsin is the ancestral home of the Ojibwe, Dakota Sioux,Pottawatomi,Winnebago(Ho-Chunk), Menominee, Fox & Sauk peoples. In time, the European settlement of neighbouring regions pushed the Cheyenne, Huron, Illini, Stockbridge-Munsee, and Oneida peoples into Wisconsin as well. In 1804, a treaty was signed between the Governor of Indiana, who controlled Illinois and Wisconsin at the time, and the chiefs of the Sac and Fox tribes. In 1820, lead was discovered on Sac and Fox land, and settlers moved in to take advantage of that mineral. When Sac Chief Black Hawk and his men returned from a winter hunt, in 1829, they found settlers living on their land. This sparked the Black Hawk War, which ran from 1830-1832. The Battle of Bad Axe (1832) was the major battle fought in Wisconsin during that was. It was a major defeat for Black Hawk and his forces, largely because of Dakota and Menominee warriors fighting on the side of the U.S. Army. Several hundred Sac & Fox warriors, along with their tribal allies, were killed in the battle. Black Hawk and his ally, White Cloud, eventually surrendered to the U.S. Army in August, 1832, at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.

In 1975, Menominee in northern Wisconsin were angered by the termination of their tribal status, by the Federal government. Militants took over a semi-abandoned property in Gresham, known as the Alexian Brothers Novitiate. The Menominee Warrior Society and members of the American Indian Movement at first tok the caretaker and his family hostage, then released them. A group of white vigilantes tried to storm the Novitiate, but the Wisconsin National Guard was deployed to keep the peace. Some shots were fired by both the Gresham whites and the Menominee, but in the end, the commander of the National Guard negotiated a truce, the Menominee leaders were arrested, tried and convicted. The property was purchased by the Tribe for $1, but was relinquished after the Tribe was re-instated as Federally-recognized. in December, 1975. (This incident drew the presence and support of the actor Marlon Brando).

Where I feel most at home- Milwaukee, Madison, Hudson, Mauston

Where I feel most at peace- Capitol grounds, Madison

Future Five- Apostle Islands, Door Peninsula, Ice Age Trail, Kenosha, Peshtigo Memorial

NEXT-Iowa