A LETTER FROM THE CHANCELLOR:

I was born in Milwaukee and raised in Nashotah, outside of Oconomowoc on Pine Lake to be specific.  The simplicity of the times contributed I am sure to my memories, but there is more to it.  The majority of the people in Wisconsin are "Salt of the Earth."  The memories of my home are so fond, that I am now, at age thirty-nine, returning there despite higher property values, taxes, and infamous winters.  You see, there is something in Wisconsin that can not be put into words or web pages.  It is a feeling based on life adventures.  Let me share one:

I was eighteen in 1984.  I had acquired one ticket to a Packer's game in Green Bay.  I had been there before, but this time I was going by myself.  I was right out of High School and living in a rented room near Stone Bank. It was all I could do to scrounge gas money together to get to Lambeau.  I arrived by myself five hours before the game and was shocked to find it was hard to find parking.  The parking lot was a sea of green, gold and blaze orange tailgaters.  It was snowing and the temperature was just above zero. To avoid getting cold I thought I would walk around the parking lot and observe my people. 

I wandered into the heart of the crowd with exactly two dollars and a game ticket in my pocket. Within sixty seconds I was handed a Point beer by some random fan. "Here yah go buddy!"  (sidenote: The drinking age in Wisconsin in 1984 was 18.) I was still trying to comprehend what I did to deserve the beer, when a heavy set woman in a Packers jacket called me over from about fifty yards away. "Hey der, you look like you need a brat!" Before I knew what was happening I was drinking my free Point beer and eating a perfectly cooked beer brat, while her husband rummaged for some German potato salad.  I spent the next three hours with a hundred people I had never met before, but who treated me as though I was their best friend.  They were constantly handing me food, beer and shots of liquor. I was not alone.  We were playing the Bears, and their fans were embraced with nearly the same love.  They got razzed a bit, but they drank, ate and laughed with the group like we were all at a family reunion.

In the fourth and fifth hour it got really wild.  There was an energy building as game time grew closer. I was quite tipsy when a five man polka band appeared from nowhere and set up in the middle of the cars. Seconds later they began playing "Beer Barrel Polka."  I was pretty drunk when I realized I was shirtless dancing a polka with a heavy set Catholic Nun, who seemed to speak German and had a slight mustache.  I wish I could say I was delusional, but it all happened just the way I am now describing it! Sometime later I woke up in a snow bank next to one of the party vans with someone's sleeping bag wrapped around me and my face painted green and gold.  The crowd was really cheering, and as I emerged from my snow bank bed, I saw about thirty folks gathered around a television, set up on a folding table.  The snow was really coming down and as I got closer I realized the game was well into the 2nd quarter!  I pulled my ticket out and asked the group where I should go. "Holy smokes, this guy has a ticket!" The group seemed completely perplexed and apparently the guy who wrapped me in his sleeping bag grabbed me and led me to the closest staduim entrance. I could hear them all cheering me off. 

The game was magical. There is no other way to describe it.  My seat was next to a sweet old man that seemed compelled to keep me drunk, as he had at least four flasks of Schnapps tucked into his hunting jacket.  People were hugging me and patting me and handing me things to eat and drink throughout the game.  When it all ended, the Packers had won and after another forty minutes of cheering, I wandered back to the group in the parking lot. I was greeted like a returning veteran from the war.  I stayed on with the group until around midnight there in the parking lot.  A local family from within the herd insisted I come stay at their home rather than try to drive home.  They drove me back to get my car the following morning after feeding me a hearty breakfast.  To this day, whenever I recall the experience I swell up a bit.  It was one of many experiences of the love that is commonly shared in Wisconsin.  It is that love that has me starting this site and longing to spread the love I have for her.

A woman named Janice C. in Oconomowoc once told me, "You can move away Craig, but don't ever forget where you come from." Wise words. I dedicate this site to all my fellow Cheeseheads.    

This is my beautiful wife.  Let it be said, she is a Texan, which may be her one small flaw.  She is the best woman I have ever known in every facet.  She is a pharmaceutical sales rep. and there's never been a person that has met her and not adored her. In 1998  we were married. She seemed confused with my insistance on a Groom/Packer's cake, in addition to her Bride's cake, but she endured it trusting that it fulfilled something within me.(you can't have enough cake) Where most brides get to go to a tropical islands for their honeymoon, she went to a Packers/Vikings game in Minneapolis!  She painted her face with me and wore Packer's regalia. We lost and had to walk to our hotel through the crowd! (baptism by fire!) We then went on to Wisconsin for a week where she would tour Radloff Cheese and experience true cold.  She could write a book on unconditional love. She is the love of my life and I wish you each find a love like this.

FAMILY 

I was very fortunate as I was able to live in many great places in Wisconsin. For the majority of my life I lived on Pine Lake in Nashotah.  It was an awesome place.  My Father, worked very hard as an orthopedic surgeon. My mother had been a nurse and teacher in Milwaukee when they met. The picture here on the right is a great shot of them on Pine Lake. They were obviously hamming it up, but they were playing croquet, which remains to this day a very serious and competitive game in our family.  My Mother has been known to knock competitor's ball into the lake, intentionally! The  property was in our family long before me but got sold.  My Father would end up buying it back later in life and we would tear down the old white house (pictured below center) and build a tudor style home. I am forever happier for it. It was sold in the 90's, but it remains my proverbial "Happy Place." I swim like a fish and owe it to my years on Pine Lake.  I spent 4-6 hours a day in the lake, and the rest of the day trying to fish out of it.

Both sides of my family grew up, for the most part, in Milwaukee.  Like many Wisconsin families my Grandparents came from Europe.  These are some random shots I found here, on short notice, but I thought some of them were great.  I love the shot of my Dad on the left here!  He is probably about 17 or 18 and I would bet this was taken at Oktoberfest. My mother on the right has, what may be the cutest and undoubtedly the smartest child I have ever seen in her arms.

My sister Christen is now married to another fine Cheesehead named Jerry.  They live in Lannon and are raising two young cheese babies. (Calvin and Chloe) Like most brother's and sister's, I enjoyed beating the tar out of her on a regular basis.  We had many strange adventures.  I once put a rope around her waste and sent her out on thin ice to get a dead duck. I am lucky to still have a sister.  I like to take credit for making her so tough.

As are most children, our Wisconsin pride and love were instilled as was our love and devotion for the Packers. The picture on the left was our family shot from 1986? In any event, as you can see, there is pride!

It is not uncommon at all to see snow in Wisconsin family albums.  Our "Snow Page" here on the site should define some of it.  I love that as I go through old family pictures of my parents when they were kids, I see many snow filled images. 

The shot (below left) is of my Father's parents. Note my Grandfather in the car for extra effect and the snow! A fine Wisconsin tradition. The quicker they teach you to shovel snow, the quicker they avoid it!

The picture on the right is of my Mother's Father. Grandpa often walked me in the park on a harness and leash!

My Mother always got caught on the other end of the camera! 

My Sister and Brother in Law are true Cheeseheads coming from good stock.  They exemplify the Wisconsin spirit in all ways and instill those cheese virtues in their kids.

This is My Brother in Law's Father.  He is one of those guys that just makes you smile.  He seems content in all circumstances. He and his wife live out near Baraboo. See the "Attractions Page."

I think we have an obligation to scare the tar out of children.  It makes them stronger and less apt to be intimidated later in life. This is the son of my good friend in Texas. He is encountering the "Mud Lake Monster" known as the destroyer of dreams and a child's good night sleep. I just love this picture!

GIVE ME SNOW

GIVE ME COLD

 GIVE ME WISCONSIN

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Loves: My Wife, God, Country, Wisconsin, Packers, Our Military, Brats, Cheese, anything with frosting  on it,  My Family, Cold Weather, My Jewish Friends (Sup Kootsik?)

Hates: Cranberry Sauce, Tampa Bay Bucs  & Their Fans (Hear me Scotty "D"?)  & of course The Viking's & Their Fans 

Neutral: Chicago Bears and their Fans. If we are not playing them I love em.  They are a lot like us, except that they allowed their stadium to be desecrated, and we can drink circles around them on our worst day.  We have a good rivalry and I enjoy most of them.  Now if we could teach em to drive and shower!  LOL!   "Da Bears!"