Meet Me at the Corner

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to work at the "Between Fences" exhibit at the Stahl-Conrad Homestead in Hales Corners, 9724 W. Forest Home Ave. This free traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian Institute will be open Thursdays through Sundays until December 15 when it's packed up and taken to another Wisconsin community. 

You don't want to miss it, so note the open hours on your calendar: 5 - 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 12 - 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays (though it is closed on Thanksgiving Day).   The exhibit is held in both buildings at the Homestead -- beginning at the farmhouse and ending at the barn.  Both buildings are heated.  Before telling you more about this exhibit, I've devised a short quiz, based on what I learned at the exhibit.  See if you can answer any of these questions before you go and, if not, look for the answers there.  (Later in the week I'll post the answers in the "Comments" section of this blog.)

1.  Which French philosopher made this statement?

"The first man who, having enclosed a piece of land, thought of saying, 'This is mine,' and found people simple enough to believe him, was the true founder of civil society."

2.  What led to the "fence crisis" of the mid-1800s?  What was the solution?

3.  What is a "worm fence"?

4.  What is a "spite fence"?

5.  "Good fences make good neighbors."  This quotation is from a poem by which famous American poet?

6.  Why is an obelisk part of the exhibit on "Fences"?

7.  What do farmers mean when they refer to a "forty"?  Why is land measured that way?

8.  True or false:  In 18th century America, only landowners held the right to vote. 

9.  What were the "range wars," which were prevalent from 1870 to 1920?

10.  Which Hales Corners school has a display of artwork related to "Between Fences"at the Stahl-Conrad Homestead?

A wall of old photographs of the Stahl-Conrad can be found in the barn, at the end of the exhibit.  At Village Hall, the Hales Corners Historical Society and the Milwaukee Area Land Conservancy have both organized other photographic displays, open for public viewing through December 15. On Wednesday, November 28, at 7 p.m. Rob Nurre will present a program of historical interest: "Crossbucks on the Corners - a History of Milwaukee's rapid Transit."  All programs are free and open to the public.

"Between Fences" is a "Museum on Main Street" exhibition, developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.  To learn more about this program, visit www.museumonmainstreet.org.

The Wisconsin Humanities Council, working in partnership with the Museum on Main Street, has made it possible for the national exhibit to travel to six Wisconsin communities, in the following order: Waupaca, Hales Corners, LaFarge, Sauk Prairie, Clear Lake and Cable.

 Other websites about the Stahl-Conrad Homestead and the "Between Fences" exhibit of interest to Hales Corners area readers can be found at:

http://www.historichalescorners.org/stahl10.html