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com 1

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 1 11/22/10 9:51 AM

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 CURB
Fall 2010

CONTENTS
17

Lifestyle
Meet Heather Aldrich

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, her pro-
vocative ads are changing the
game

21

Lifestyle
Back to Basics
Going green and glamorous in
Racine

34

Features
A Singer with Soul
Karri Daley adds a splash of
color to Madison’s music scene

52

Spotlight
Dirty Politics
Where did all the women go in
Wisconsin state government?

56

Spotlight
Recycling Revelation
How Milly Zantow helped
empty Wisconsin’s landfills

59

Spotlight
Put a Ring on It?
Why some couples opt for an
early “I do”

On the Cover
Urban Exploring 10
Etsy Style 12
Best Damn Meal 14
Modern Storks 24
Queens of Rock 28
1 is Too Many 36
Is Monogamy Dead? 42
Divine Design 46

At left: Madison artist Juliette

Crane at work in her backyard.

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 3 11/22/10 9:51 AM

 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
CURB
the magazine with moxie

ALL ABOUT MOXIE.

CAILLEY HAMMEL
Editor

SARAH KARON
Managing Editor

I once met a guy from Ireland who JONAH BRAUN

thought that because I’m from Wiscon- Lead Writer
sin, I must carry cheese in my pocket LIZA BURKIN
wherever I go. Lead Writer

He’s wrong – I keep it in my purse. KELSEY NELSON

Lead Writer
That’s a slight exaggeration, but I won’t KATHI GADOW
lie - I love cheese. I also love a good Copy Editor
brew with said cheese. I have a slight
Wisconsin accent (as the aforemen- ANN RIVALL
Copy Editor
tioned guy from Ireland often reminded me), and it comes out the most when I say
“Wisconsin” and anything with a strong “O.” SAMMY GANZ
Marketing Director
I think cows are great. I used to live half-a-block from a farm, until that farm turned into
KATIE DETTMAN
a Walgreens. And I am well aware of how cold it gets here. Not to say I don’t complain
Public Relations Manager
about it, though.
LAURA TAUBMAN
These are all true statements about me, and these are all things people commonly think Marketing Representative
of when they hear about Wisconsin women. However, I’m a lot more than that, as are my
AMANDA VOYE
fellow Wisconsin ladies. That idea led to the magazine you are now reading.
Marketing Representative

Wisconsin women list many accomplishments. We’re not afraid to take things to the next LEIA FERRARI
level, like the mothers in our story about inclusive education. And we’re not afraid to take Web Editor
things to a national level, like Milly Zantow, who helped kickstart the recycling move-
NATE GESSNER
ment. We go where our curiosity takes us, are endlessly creative and can rock like you Online Associate
wouldn’t believe. Basically, Wisconsin women keep good company.
JOSH HILGENDORF
But if you want to know the one thing that really sets us apart, it’s just one word - moxie. Online Associate

JESSE KOEHLER
Wisconsin women are witty, sharp and bold - if you get in our way, watch out. Indepen- Online Associate
dent but also fiercely loyal to those who deserve it, we do whatever it takes to get things
done. CASEY CHRISTIAN
Art Director
Being a Wisconsin woman is a title I tout with pride, and I am glad we have the chance LUKAS KEAPPROTH
to show what that really means with this year’s edition of Curb. Photo Editor

So make fun of me all you want for being a Wisconsinite. The joke’s on you if you think ALEXANDRA BREAM
we’re all about cheese. Even if we do enjoy it from time to time. Production Editor

JULIA BRENNER
Production Associate
Curb magazine is published through generous KASSIE MCLAUGHLIN
alumni donations administered by the UW
CAILLEY HAMMEL Foundation and in partnership with Production Associate
EDITOR, CURB MAGAZINE Royle Printing, Sun Prairie, Wis.
KATY CULVER
© Copyright 2010 Curb Magazine Publisher

4 CURB | 2010

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 4 11/22/10 9:51 AM Cur

 Proud print partner of Curb Magazine

745 S. Bird Street

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
800.728.7768
www.royle.com

curbonline.com 5

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Curb.indd 2 5 11/22/10 9:51
8:57:55
AMAM
 6 CURB | 2010

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 curbonline.com 7

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 7 11/22/10 9:51 AM

 TV Dinners We invited our favorite TV
characters to a potluck. Here's
what they're bringing:
{ kelseynelson }

Gloria Delgado Pritchett (Modern Family) * Chocolate milk and salt. And a
chicken that’s been well slapped

|
r
creepe

Dexter Morgan (Dexter) * He said he was bringing Saran

Wrap for any “leftovers”...

Liz Lemon (30 Rock) * A bag of Sabor de Soledad. It’s the

taste of loneliness, Lemon!
Nancy Botwin (Weeds) * Any kind of “infused” dessert
(brownies, anyone?)

Sue Sylvester (Glee) * Cheerios and Slushies of all colors

|
Jim Halpert (The Office) * Jell O with a stapler inside

~ oops! not her

...

Snooki Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood) * Tru Blood, just in case any
vampires show up. We don’t want to discriminate now, do we?

|Don Draper (Mad Men) * Lucky Strikes, Canadian Club and a secretary

$$$!!!
Stewie Griffin (Family Guy) * Cool Hwhip
8 CURB | 2010

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 8 11/22/10 9:51 AM

}
Quick Sips Everything (or almost everything) you didn't
know about Wisconsin's favorite beverage.
Beer - it’s a way of life.
And in Wisconsin, we have – and make –
a lot of it. According to a 2008 survey by the
Brewer’s Association, Wisconsin is ranked
10th in the nation for breweries per capita.
But how much do you really know about
the beer in your glass? Or Wisconsin beer
culture in general?
Well, you could write a book about all
that. So we spoke with Robin Shepard, a guy
who did indeed write a book about that ti-
tled, “Wisconsin’s Best Breweries and Brew-
pubs: Searching for the Perfect Pint.” We
also chatted with Deb Carey, founder and
president of New Glarus Brewing Company,
to get her inside perspective.
Read on to see what you know about
Wisconsin beer - you may learn a thing or
two, and be encouraged to think, or drink,
outside the box.
Ales and lagers are only the beginning.
In addition to the main division that is
ales and lagers, there are a slew of styles, or
labels, given to a beer to characterize its fla-
vors and origin. According to Shepard, there
are upwards of 75 accepted styles of beer.
BeerAdvocate is a little more liberal with
styles, currently listing 101 different styles of
beer, hybrids not included. And Shepard says
those numbers will grow as brewers around
the world continue to experiment.
Yes, the glass matters.
“Every place you go has that same, heavy,
glass, 16 oz. tapered cylinder,” Shepard says.
“And that is the worst glass for beer, abso-
lutely, hands down.”
BeerAdvocate lists 10 kinds of glasses,
each suitable for a long list of beers. Exam-
ples include the pilsner glass, the stein, the
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 9
{ cailleyhammel }
flute and the tulip. If you’re serious about
beer, visit a bar that features a slew of differ-
ent glassware behind the counter - you’ll be
treated well there.
Another great tidbit from BeerAdvocate:
those chilled glasses that give beer that oh-
so-appealing frosted look? Not so good for
your beer. As the brew hits the glass, the ice
condenses into your drink and dilutes your
beer.
Thinking about a brewery of your own? It’s
pretty competitive.
According to Deb Carey, Wisconsin sells
more than 100 brands of beer. That means
cutthroat competition. Before New Glarus
opened in 1993, a major domestic brewery
purchased all of the brown glass on the mar-
ket, leaving none for New Glarus or other
small breweries. There are plenty of day-to-
day tricks as well.
“You put up signs, someone takes them
down. You stack your beer in a store, some-
one stacks their beer around it or kind of
tries to slide in on it,” she says.
In other words, “more money, more
problems.”
You’re damn lucky to live in Wisconsin.
Not only does Wisconsin boast a reputa-
tion as the beer state, we also have a few beers
that are legendary outside state lines.
“(New Glarus’) Belgian Red is like cur-
rency anywhere beyond Wisconsin,” Shepa-
rd says. “Brewers are enamored by that beer.
It’s won all kinds of international awards.
When I travel, I guarantee you 80 percent
of the brewers I run into will ask me about,
‘When’s the last time you’ve had Wisconsin
Belgian Red?’” 
For more beer facts, visit curbonline.com
curbonline.com 9
11/22/10 9:51 AM
 LIFESTYLE

Take only
photos,
leave only
footprints

Exploring the secret playgrounds within our cities.

{ caseychristian | photos by davidkettinger }

S
he slips off her sleek, gem-stud-
ded suede flats and pulls on her
thick-soled, waterproof boots.
She purposely doesn’t change
out of her skinny jeans, trendy scarf or
high-cut leather jacket. Rule number
one: don’t look suspicious.
She stuffs her pepper spray, camera
and flashlight into the pockets of her
jeans and we walk toward the trail. It’s 3
p.m. on a Saturday afternoon in Madi-
son, and we’re searching for the spot in
the fence where the barbed wire is cut.
As we look, we hear sounds of children
playing and bikes whizzing down the
trail. After finding the spot - our en-
trance - we take one last look behind us,
take note of the red no trespassing sign,
and hop the fence.
Half an hour later I’m flat on my
back, shimmying my way through a 1 by
2 foot opening in the building’s rusted
exterior. As I get to my feet after clearing
the jagged metal, I get my first glimpse.
Beams of light shine through the large
holes in the tin wall, partially illuminating
the enormous, desolate factory. Even the
graffiti on the walls is starting to decay.
Today, I’m observing. Melanie is urban
exploring. Urban explorers, or “urbexers,”
make up a vibrant underground movement
- sometimes literally - and are united
by their passion for discovering deserted
buildings and areas within a city. Urban ex-
ploring has been gaining steady popularity
over the last decade, largely due to the prev-
alence of online community websites and
the recent documentary “Urban Explorers:
Into the Darkness.”
Today’s exploration was organized on
a popular urban exploring forum, and
aside from a pair of friends, we’re complete
strangers to one another. Since the sum-
mer of 2009, Melanie has been exploring
Wisconsin’s forgotten factories, churches,
homesteads, laboratories and hotels, and
her curiosity has taken her as far as Cali-
fornia.
“Take only photos, leave only foot-
prints” is the mantra of the urban explorer.
Urbexers are adventurous thrill-seekers
with one goal in mind: to photograph the
unseen. By sharing their photographs, they
share a unique understanding of our man-
made past. However, acquiring these pho-
tographs can come with serious legal and
physical risks. This is something Melanie
knows all too well.
“The building actually collapsed par-
tially while we were inside,” Melanie says.
She was exploring a 50-year-old paint
factory in Milwaukee, which has been
empty after operations shut down in 1999.
The total factory site is composed of six
buildings of 34,000 barren square feet - a
concrete playground for any urbexer.

10 CURB | 2010

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 10 11/22/10 9:52 AM

 Then it happened. Melanie and her fel-
low explorers heard a strange noise. Think-
ing it was the police or a homeless person,
they paused until reassured no one was
there. They journeyed on. As they made
their way back to the entrance, however,
the atmosphere immediately tensed. The
entire second floor had collapsed over the
first floor - over their entrance.
A moment of panicking followed by
some quick, smart decisions by Melanie’s
exploring friend allowed them to escape
safely. “I was crying a little bit from relief
and I threw down my respirator and said
‘never again,’” says Melanie. “‘I’m never go-
ing to explore again.’”
She couldn’t stay away long. Just a few
weeks later, Melanie leads the way as she
wiggles through the opening in the barbed
wire, covered in the white dirt. The ten of
us begin our exploration. Only the sounds
of our careful footsteps and cameras can be
heard. Melanie already has a few new holes
in her jeans, courtesy of the barbed wire.
But it doesn’t bother her at all as she pulls
out her camera and boldly takes off down
the long hallway. It also doesn’t bother her
that she’s the only woman on this explora-
tion.
“I think that a lot of people assume
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 11
that women shouldn’t be urban explorers
because it’s sort of a dirty thing,” Melanie
says. “You get really muddy. You get rusty.
And you have to take the right precau-
tions.” Precautions for Melanie include
pepper spray, a respirator, thick-soled boots
and a friend who accompanies her on most
of her expeditions.
I pull out my video camera and try to
copy the others, but it’s clear I’m a first-
timer. I try to hold my camera steady in my
outstretched arm, but I’m paying far more
attention to what’s going on around me
than what’s in my viewfinder. The beams
of sunlight reveal swirls of dust particles.
Although captivating, the dust is irritating
my eyes.
I stay far away from staircases or unsta-
ble-looking platforms, and I’m constantly
looking over my shoulder at the entrance to
see if the police have shown up yet. Mela-
nie’s words of encouragement run through
my head: “Stay safe, don’t do stupid things,
and appreciate the place you’re in - be-
cause it might be gone next week.”
Adrenaline pumps throughout the fac-
tory. For the explorers, it’s because of the
thrill of adventure, the excitement of cap-
turing a fantastic photograph. For me, it’s
the uneasy feeling of being somewhere I
don’t belong. But that’s something expe-
rienced explorers learn to put out of their
mind - they focus on being in the mo-
ment. “You are indeed breaking the law,
but it’s not in an immoral sense. You’re still
paying tribute to what has been and what
is,” says Melanie.
We make our way down a long hallway,
past the aged graffiti, and travel deeper and
deeper into the factory’s core. We decide to
take the path to the right, down a narrow
walkway surrounded by walls that threaten
to collapse. We finally enter a small room
with a half-opened door inviting us to
explore the basement. In a matter of mo-
ments, we’re swallowed by the darkness.
With only Melanie’s flashlight guiding us,
we explore Madison’s forgotten past.
An hour later, we’re hopping the same
spot in the fence where the barbed wire is
cut. Exhaustion immediately replaces the
adrenaline throughout my body. My ad-
venture is over, but for the urbexers, this
was only the beginning. They’re already
planning their next exploration that same
day and will eventually visit four more
sites. But for now, they disappear in the op-
posite direction, leaving behind only white,
dusty footprints and maybe a small scrap of
denim. 
Urban explorers like
Melanie (upper left)
photograph the
concrete jungles of
our past.
An abandoned
Milwaukee build-
ing (below), ripe for
urban exploring.
curbonline.com 11
11/22/10 9:52 AM
 Original Wisconsin Your guide to handmade and
vintage items on Etsy.com, an
online marketplace where
creativity meets consumption

Glasses are so in.

5
Why not try
a vintage
dress?
1

Teardrop earrings
complete any outfit.

And pair it with

cowboy boots.
Not every bird
2 flies south for 3
the winter.

12 CURB | 2010

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 12 11/22/10 9:52 AM

 Wear this super soft shirt...
7
6

Don’t forget a headband.

with a beaded cuff

8

10
or a leather cuff.
Gold accents 9
are a must.
11
12

These
earrings
and
this
cowl.

14

In the mood for

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Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 13 11/22/10 9:52 AM

 LIFESTYLE
The Best
Damn Meal
I’ve Ever
Had
Meritage Chef Jan Kelly gets fresh with Milwaukee cuisine
A
s I sit down at my table
at Meritage, Jan Kelly’s
3-year-old restaurant on
Milwaukee’s west side, the
group adjacent to me parts with a single
recommendation. “Get the chocolate
cake,” a woman says. “It’s almost orgas-
mic.”
When I asked my server, Marie, about
the dessert, she responds without blinking
an eye. “It’s our specialty. It has three lay-
ers, with flourless chocolate cake on the
bottom, chocolate mousse in the middle,
and it’s finished with a chocolate ganache
on top.” I don’t really have a choice.
For people who take food seriously,
Kelly doesn’t disappoint. Aside from her
mouth-watering desserts, her menu fea-
tures among the best produce and meats
of all Milwaukee restaurants, and she
brings out the flavors of those ingredients
without overwhelming spices and sauces.
She says the secret to her success doesn’t
lie in her ability to cook, but rather in the
freshness of the food she serves.
Unlike most restaurants in Milwaukee
14 CURB | 2010
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 14
(or in the U.S. for that matter), Meritage’s
menu changes with the seasons to accom-
modate seasonal ingredients. “There were a
lot of customers at the beginning who were
like, ‘No, what do you mean you’re going
to change the menu?’ But it’s kind of a fun
thing. They’ve embraced it,” she explains.
Not surprisingly, the first course legiti-
mizes her reasoning: thick-cut fries with
truffle aioli and crumbled lamb chorizo.
The aromas are entirely autumnal, in par-
ticular, the scent of freshly cooked potatoes
with a slight kick turns an ordinary dish
into something extraordinary. In fact, Kelly
believes all of her dishes do just that: take
a fresh product and allow its own flavor
to stand out without the help of sauces or
spices.
Michael Engel, a longtime friend of Kel-
ly’s as well as chef and owner of Pastiche Bis-
tro in Milwaukee, has been tasting Kelly’s
creations for the past 15 years - and went
as far as to call her “one of the best chefs”
he’s ever known. “She has a really wonderful
palette,” he says. “Her food is always very
balanced in flavors and all the little tastes
{ jonahbraun }
and everything [go] together.”
Kelly has been preaching freshness for
years. A California native and daughter of
restaurant owners, she has known good food
her entire life. She also understands that
seasonal food doesn’t just provide flavors
and smells — it allows people to enjoy their
seasonal favorites while broadening their
palettes with new tastes. “I love that big
change,” Kelly explains. “The subtle change
is fun, but it’s that big season change where
it gets really cool. Now we get to cook stew,
now you’re back into going hearty dishes,
braised things. Then in the summer, we get
to grill again.”
Speaking of “braised things,” the entrée
couldn’t have come at a better time. My
dish: braised lamb shank with ricotta gnoc-
chi, kale, caramelized onions and roasted
garlic, paired with a Stephen Vincent zin-
fandel from California. On a chilly and
windy November night, there might not be
a more appropriate dish. The kale soaks up
the flavors from the meat, which is so tender
it could be eaten with a spoon. Not a single
flavor competes with another; instead, they
11/22/10 9:52 AM
 blend together to create a hearty, warm and
delicate dish. “These dishes aren’t different
just for the sake of being different – it’s
harmonious flavors,” explains Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel dining critic Carol Dep-
tolla. “Delicious food is universal.”
Like the balance of flavors found in
each dish, Meritage itself combines mul-
tiple influences to create a remarkable din-
ing experience. The name of the restaurant,
for example, comes from a term coined by
California winemakers that categorizes
wines blended in the Bordeaux style. How-
ever, it holds a more important meaning to
Kelly. Though her love of wine played a role
in choosing the name, she says she wanted
to emphasize the relationship between the
food, the wine, and most importantly, the
customers’ overall culinary experience.
To do this, Kelly often leaves her post
in the kitchen to recommend wine pair-
ings to customers, welcome new guests and
even offer some of her inside techniques to
those who ask. At the end of the evening,
she might spend as long as 25 minutes just
chatting with patrons-turned-friends.
“Some of our regular customers are like
family, they’re like friends, so if I hadn’t
come out from the kitchen to talk to them,
I would have never had the opportunity to
meet them and hear their stories and hear
where they go to eat,” she explains.
But before she reaches my table to chat,
I smile, because I see Marie.
Holding my three layer chocolate cake.
The woman from the other table was
right - it is almost orgasmic. Without
any impeding filler flavors like syrup or
caramel, each layer of chocolate acts as an
anchor to the next. That, combined with
the fluffiness of the mousse and the rich-
ness of the ganache, creates a dish that is
both delicious and sophisticatedly simple.
But its straightforwardness is not surpris-
ing. “That’s probably what I’ve learned
from Jan the most,” says Kelly’s sous chef,
Clayton Cass. “For the most part, it’s just
basic simplicity.”
While she often credits the freshness of
her ingredients for her dish’s fantastic taste,
there is no denying Kelly is as talented as
she is modest. Engel says that delicate bal-
ance is a requirement for the successful res-
taurateur - and is something many chefs
lack.
“She’s very humble, but beneath that,
I think in our profession, we have to have
a balance of so many different things,” he
says. “There’s certainly an artistic creativity,
but there’s certainly the business side and
the nuts and bolts of technique. She has
all of that, and that’s really rare in a chef.”
Eating at Meritage is a fresh awakening
— pun intended. Unlike most restaurants,
it lives up to its hype and its chef ’s cre-
ations are sure to lure you back for more.
As first-time patron Steve Lawrence says as
he walks out the door, “That was the best
meal I’ve ever had in my life.”
Ditto.

lasagna sheet down in the pan, Ingredients

Two of Chef followed by a layer of ricotta
cheese mixture (about ½ cup).
1 pound fingerling potatoes
olive oil

HUNGRY? Jan Kelly’s

Then layer parsnips, carrots, ruta- ½ medium onion, diced
baga, and turnips. Sprinkle with 8ounces chorizo (fresh or Span-
salt and pepper. Finish each layer ish)
favorite recipes with a small amount of béchamel
sauce and Parmesan cheese. Re-
1cup shredded Chihuahua cheese
salt and pepper
peat multiple times, and finish by flour tortillas (optional)
pouring béchamel sauce over top
ROOT VEGETABLE LASAGNA along with Parmesan cheese. Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut
Cover and bake until vegetables fingerling potatoes into ¼-inch
Ingredients Béchamel sauce are easily pierced with a knife (ap- slices. Toss in oil to coat surfaces
6 ounces butter Melt butter in saucepan. Add prox. 45 minutes to an hour). Re- and season with salt and pepper.
6 ounces flour shallots and cook until soft. Add move cover and allow lasagna to Roast in oven until browned and
½ cup diced shallots thyme, then flour to make a roué. brown on top. soft on the inside.
5 cups milk Cook for a few minutes, and add
¼ teaspoon thyme milk while stirring to prevent Cool for 15 minutes before serv- While potatoes cook, slice onion.
cayenne pepper lumps. Cook until thick (if too ing. In sauté pan, add a little oil and
nutmeg thick, add more milk), season heat until hot, but not smoking.
salt and pepper with a pinch of nutmeg, cayenne, Yield: 4 to 6 servings Add onion and cook until lightly
6 large parsnips salt and pepper. Keep warm. brown. Add chorizo (if fresh, re-
4 carrots move from casing first) and cook
4 large turnips Preparation until well-browned and cooked
1 rutabaga For lasagna, prepare a 9 x 13 pan ROASTED FINGER- through. Add potatoes to chorizo
5 lasagna sheets with pan spray or olive oil and
4 cups ricotta cheese preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel LING POTATOES and onions. Top with Chihuahua
cheese and place back in oven
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Parmesan cheese
and thinly slice all vegetables.
Mix ricotta with 1 tablespoon
WITH CHORIZO until cheese is melted. Serve with
tortillas.
garlic, salt and pepper. Begin to AND CHEESE Visit curbonline.com for garlic
assemble lasagna by placing one aioli recipe

curbonline.com 15

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 15 11/22/10 9:52 AM

 LIFESTYLE
Home Sweet Cedarburg
A guide to one fine day in Wisconsin’s Pleasantville.
{ kassiemclaughlin }
Asking for a table for one
was awkward enough. I had
never been to a sit-down res-
taurant by myself, let alone in a
town where everyone might not
necessarily know your name.
But the locals sure know you’re
“not from around here.” Feel
free to repeat the last line with
an appropriate, sarcastic twang.
I may have been by myself
(and it might have been awk-
ward at first) but that didn’t
stop me from the task at hand:
Spend a day in Cedarburg,
Wis., and see what it’s all about.
With great places to eat, drink,
be entertained and relax, a day
in Cedarburg provides peaceful
enjoyment for travelers of all
ages. But for those of us who
want a sure-fire travel experi-
ence, here’s a cheat sheet to help
you out:
16 CURB | 2010
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 16
Where to get breakfast:
Make a stop at Boulange-
rie Du Monde, which means
“Bakery of the World.” It’s a
simple, Paris-inspired bakery
owned by head baker Brad
Brandolino and known for its
exceptional croissants, fresh
breads and homemade pastries.
Caffeine break:
The Roastery is right across
the street from Boulangerie Du
Monde, and boasts a wide se-
lection of coffee beans roasted
in a giant vat in the center of
the floor. But if you’ve got a
pooch in tow, try Java House.
There’s a chalkboard full of
drink options for you and a
bowl of water outside for your
pup.
Best novelty shop:
Hands down, it’s Amy’s
Candy Kitchen. You know it’s
a great day when the hardest
decision you have to make is
between 20 types of candied
apples. And while you con-
sider your options, take time
to watch the chocolatiers make
sweets in the mirror hung on
the ceiling. A must try: it’s
between their award-winning
fudge or the light and airy fairy
food.
Best natural landmark:
Take a quick drive north to
Covered Bridge Park. Cedar-
burg boasts the last remaining
original covered bridge in Wis-
consin, which deserves a walk
through. The park itself is a
great place for a relaxing picnic
along the creek.
When you need a drink:
One of Cedarburg’s main
Go dawgs: local
shops rally behind
Cedarburg’s high
school teams.
attractions is the Cedar Creek
Winery. With a history dating
back to the 1860s, it crafts 12
nationally and internation-
ally awarded fruit wines and a
few special varieties during the
town’s seasonal festivals. For $3
and 45 minutes of a mediocre
tour, you can probably get a de-
cent buzz.
What makes Cedarburg, Ce-
darburg:
At 7 p.m., catch that movie
you “meant to see in theaters”
at the Rivoli Theatre. Every
night, the Rivoli shows second-
hand movies for only $3.50.
On Tuesdays, it’s a whopping
$2. Saturdays and Sundays of-
fer a 3:30 p.m. matinee as well.
Try even renting a movie at that
price – you just can’t beat it. 
11/22/10 9:52 AM
 Meet
Heather Aldrich
The mind behind Wisconsin’s provocative ad campaigns.
{ leiaferrari | photos by adam ryanmorris }

It’s a late night in Milwaukee.
While taking a cab ride home, the police
chief suddenly asks the driver to stop. He
sees a homeless teen sleeping next to the
Hi Hat Lounge, a popular restaurant on
the East Side. As he gets out of the car and
approaches the teen, dread washes over
him. How will he explain this to the driver,
to his co-workers?
He fell for one of Milwaukee’s biggest
stories in 2008 - a bold campaign to raise
awareness for Pathfinders, a shelter and
counseling center for at-risk youth. The
campaign, brazenly titled “How Can You
Sleep?,” involved carefully placing life-like
stickers of sleeping homeless teens at bus
stops, on billboards and at storefronts across
the city.
The campaign was a success, contributing
to a 21 percent increase in annual funding
for Pathfinders.
The company behind the campaign is
Serve Marketing, and the woman behind
Serve is Heather Aldrich. With a soft voice
and loud hair, she is known for changing
the way non-profit organizations attract
attention. And within Milwaukee, she’s
also known for her “I don’t take no for an
answer” attitude.
According to Aldrich, Serve is the only
non-profit advocacy advertising firm in the
country. While they don’t charge for their
services, it’s surprising how often Aldrich’s
services are turned down - at least at first.
“Almost every campaign that Serve has
done, people initially said no,” says Aldrich.
But Serve wouldn’t exist if Aldrich left
it at that.
“If I had to point to my most important

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 Serve Marketing has
received hundreds
lesson learned, it’s that rejection is an of thank-you notes
opportunity. for their campaigns
“It’s an opportunity,” she says, to
approach the situation “in a way that turns
the rejection into approval.”
Campaigns like “How Can You Sleep?”
require a bit of patience, which Aldrich
believes is key to her success at Serve. It
takes time for a campaign to take hold, and
it also takes time to “educate anyone who
has a say in the campaign,” as Aldrich does.
“We’re not shocking just to be
shocking…We want the shock to turn into
action,” she says.
And “How Can You Sleep?” did indeed
lead to action across Milwaukee. In 2008,
Pathfinders saw a 47 percent increase in
its donor base. In addition, the Milwaukee
police department threatened to fine local
restaurant Trocadero after police were
continually dispatched to confirm there
weren’t actually homeless teens sleeping
outside.
Gary Mueller is the executive creative
director at BVK, a Milwaukee ad firm,
and Serve is around today thanks to him.
He traded a partnership and pay raise to
make his dream of a non-profit ad agency a
reality, but he says Aldrich has made all the
difference in getting Serve campaigns to see
the light of day.
“She takes people that say no to us,
explains the importance of what we do, and
she changes people’s opinions,” Mueller says
of his prize hire. “That’s very difficult to do, and raise awareness of teen pregnancy. The you get around them.
I’ve only seen a handful of people do that.” innovative ads gained national attention, “Heather has changed everything about
Because Serve doesn’t charge for its and more importantly, got teens across the how we operate,” Mueller says. “Every time
creative services - the only bill the client city talking about the issue. we have a problem where someone tries to
pays is to cover production costs - it’s often Aldrich herself went out to gather stop us, she overcomes all of the obstacles,
considered by nonprofits with minimal opinions from Milwaukee teens about a lobbies the right people, and the campaigns
budgets as a means of reaching the masses. particular bus shelter ad. The results would succeed.”
The United Way of Greater Milwaukee be both surprising and gratifying. Aldrich says it’s true. “I feel like I’m
has no shortage of community support, but “As we were filming them, that ad part lobbyist,” she says, explaining that all
the wide variety of causes it endorses means triggered memories of our other ads. That’s outdoor advertising - a main component
funds are quickly spread thin. In 2006, the exactly what we set out to accomplish. It of many Serve campaigns - in the city
organization released a landmark report, “If was awesome to see it happen in their heads of Milwaukee needs approval from the
Truth Be Told,” regarding the rising teen and then start a conversation about it right Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors’
pregnancy rate in Milwaukee. As a result there.” transit committee. And when looking at
of the report, a Teen Pregnancy Oversight Getting through to teens is tough some of Serve’s ads, it’s clear that her path
Committee formed to begin making enough for parents, but for advertisers, to success is riddled with adversity.
concentrated efforts toward lowering the getting through to the skeptical Gen Y set For Aldrich, the first step to winning
Milwaukee teen pregnancy rate - and they is nearly impossible. Luckily, Aldrich is not people over is to meet with the right people.
reached out to Serve for help. concerned about obstacles that stand in her Before Serve’s teen pregnancy campaigns
A major component of the efforts that way. It comes back to her philosophy - it’s began, Aldrich landed meetings with
followed were Serve campaigns to combat not about the obstacles themselves, but how committee members by saying she was a

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citizen concerned about the rising teen
pregnancy rates in the city.
And several years later, despite some
controversy and initially reluctant board
members, the campaigns can be considered
a success: Recent data from public health
officials shows that Milwaukee’s teen
pregnancy rates are dropping, even in the
face of a bleak economy.
Some critics say Serve’s ads are too
much, but Aldrich disagrees.
“It’s worth the risk of offending,” she
says. “We’re not talking about making less
money. We’re talking about saving lives.
Isn’t that worth it?”
Dan Magnuson, president and CEO
of Pathfinders, agrees. “In order to get
people’s attention, you need to make them
uncomfortable,” he says.
In commercial advertising, the last
thing you hope to do is make people
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 19
“If I had to point to my most
important lesson learned, it’s
that rejection is an opportunity.”
uncomfortable enough to avoid your
campaign. But Serve is confident that
their tactics, when applied to non profit
campaigns, will move viewers enough to
take a second look and reconsider. In the
world of non-profit advertising, in which
soft music and sepia-toned video footage
previously dominated, Serve’s in-your-face
tactics changed the game.
Take the “How Can You Sleep?”
campaign mentioned earlier. Pathfinders
had been struggling to make Milwaukee
residents care not only about homelessness,
but homeless teens specifically.
Thanks to the campaign that turned
heads - including that of the police chief -
Milwaukeeans were forced to wonder how
they could ignore a freezing teen sleeping at
their feet. It was a provocative campaign not
because of the images, but because it made
people recognize the comfortable lifestyles
they take for granted - and all because they
were confronted by something that could
not be overlooked.
This is certainly a powerful technique.
However, it’s the personal stories real people
share that really pack a punch. When
Aldrich is able to convince someone to
share his or her story, sometimes a small,
but meaningful gesture will follow - and
that’s when Aldrich knows she helped make
a difference.
In 2009, a mother who had spoken
publicly about the tragic story of her shaken
baby contacted Aldrich. The woman’s
neighbor recognized her and stopped her to
say she thought of the campaign every time
she was at a breaking point with her infant.
“I forwarded that to everyone who
volunteered on that campaign,” Aldrich
says.
And while small gestures do bring her
great joy, and while her campaigns regularly
meet and exceed the expectations of Serve’s
clients, Aldrich does not consider herself
impervious to criticism. Considering the
gravity of some of the causes she works with,
Aldrich faces a daily battle maintaining
an attitude of professionalism, energy
and creativity that seems to be just the
right combination for clients. Despite her
success, she still battles the same insecurities
many women struggle with deep down.
“I am no stranger to self doubt,” she
confesses. “That’s where working for a cause
every day helps…It’s bigger than me and
my self-doubt.” She also has some advice to
share with women who don’t have the same
good fortune of finding their dream jobs.
“Hold on to each accomplishment. Even
if it’s just a successful birthday party for
your kid,” she says. “We allow ourselves to
feel bad about our mistakes [but we need]
to hold on to … the smaller successes and
let them fuel future success.” 
curbonline.com 19
11/22/10 9:52 AM
 Name: Heather Aldrich
Nickname: I always wish I had one. I’m open to
ideas!
One cause I’d love the chance to work with: Adult
literacy
When I’m stressed I listen to: 70’s funk (Rick James,
Funkadelic, Parliament)
The thing I miss most about Milwaukee when I’m
away from home: Family
If I weren’t executive director of Serve, I would:
a. be a roller derby girl
b. move to New York and start my own business
c. spend more time on my trampoline
work for a neighborhood organization
d. ________________________________
for at risk youth ________________
________________
20 CURB | 2010
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 20
The Curb Quiz
One thing I could not live without is my:
a. iPhone
b. Betsey Johnson purses
c. Veuve Clicquot Champange
all the above!!
d. ________________________________
the Marchesa Luisa casati in a
I’d love to play ___________________________
movie.
The accomplishment I’m most proud of is:
My two kids Meghan and Drew
The best advice I ever got: “If you tell the truth you
don’t have to remember anything.” Mark Twain
My favorite place in Wisconsin is: My family’s estate
nestled in the blue hills of Northern Wisconsin
In five years I want to be: Well traveled
11/22/10 9:52 AM
 Back to
Basics
Racine-based beauty retailer Upurea
is making green glamorous
{ cailleyhammel | photos by lukaskeapproth }

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 T
hey say beauty is only skin deep - but the cosmetics
women use are not. As a matter of fact, some say the
average woman who uses makeup on a daily basis ab-
sorbs about 5 pounds of chemicals every year, includ-
ing sodium lauryl and steralkonium, among others. Compound-
ing the potential danger: a study in the U.K. also found that many
women use more than 20 beauty products a day, and nine out of
10 apply makeup beyond its expiration. And another study found
that between all of the cosmetic products a woman uses, she applies
515 different synthetic chemicals every day.
If that makes you feel a little like a test tube, you’re not alone.
Sales of natural beauty products – that is, products that contain
no synthetic chemical ingredients – have increased in recent years,
thanks, in part, to consumers’ growing interest in all things green.
One company leading the charge is Upurea, a Racine-based retailer
specializing in all-natural beauty and personal care products. The
4-year-old company is campaigning on two fronts: helping
to spread the green gospel and prove that an eco-
lifestyle doesn’t have to be granola.
Why go green?
According to Upurea CEO and
co-founder Michael Hefferon, the
skin absorbs more than 65 per-
cent of what is applied to it, so
it’s important to know what’s
in your beauty products. In
the case of Upurea, every in-
gredient is 100 percent natu-
ral and in most cases organic,
as well.
“Your skin is really absorb-
ing what nature intended,” says
Bradley Cuttress, Upurea’s vice
president of operations and co-
founder.
Hefferon and Cuttress say potential
long-term consequences of mainstream
cosmetics and personal care products can include
22 CURB | 2010
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 22
rashes and irritations, among other conditions. It’s also hotly con-
tested whether such chemicals have connections to cancer.
If you’re curious about what’s lurking in your lipstick or mois-
turizer, you can call Upurea or bring the product into the store.
Upurea staff will assess the product’s ingredients and tell you if they
pose any risk. However, Cuttress said people typically don’t need
much convincing before making the switch.
“Once people start using the natural products, the organic prod-
ucts, they really do see a big difference,” he says.
To add to the all-natural argument - all products carried by
Upurea are cruelty free.
From Europe to the World Wide Web
Upurea was born in 2006 when life partners Hefferon and Cut-
tress returned from a 4-year-long stay in Berlin working in the me-
dia industry. While overseas, the two fell for the European lifestyle
- and the natural products that were popular there.
“We really saw how trends and things evolved over there before
coming over here typically a few years ahead of time,” Cuttress says.
After returning to Toronto to be closer to family, Hefferon and
Cuttress discovered North American stores lagged behind their Eu-
ropean counterparts - the personal care products they were hooked
on were nowhere to be found.
“If we’re having a hard time, then potential consumers were fac-
ing the same obstacles,” Hefferon says.
They converted the 800-square-foot building toward the back
of their Toronto property into offices and launched the Upurea
website. Initially the company sold 12 lines of personal care prod-
ucts, including Trilogy, a New Zealand-based natural skin care line,
and Kimberly Sayer, a botanical-based line of skin care products.
Makeup would hit the website the following year. Currently, Tril-
ogy and Kimberly Sayer are the top two lines both at Upurea.com
and at the Racine location.
While Hefferon and Cuttress were a little nervous about div-
ing into a new enterprise, they were confident the green cosmetics
movement would catch on in the states. It didn’t hurt that they had
previous business experience while working together at the televi-
sion and film production company Hefferon founded in Berlin.
To get the ball rolling, Hefferon and Cuttress spoke to family
and friends about the benefits of the all-natural products they used
in Europe. By the time they moved back, people were beginning to
think green.
“It was a lifestyle decision we had made and kind of touted to
friends and family even before we did move back, so that shift or
transition here was already taking place before we started a com-
11/22/10 9:52 AM
 pany - just on a much smaller scale than what it’s become now.”
Little did they know how in demand they would become.

European flair - in Racine

After a year, Upurea’s sales soared by 600 percent, and the cus-
tomer base shifted as well. Sales were initially 100 percent Cana-
dian, but by the second year, 75 percent of sales were from U.S.
customers. Looking to broaden their presence in the States, Hef-
feron and Cuttress expanded their offerings to include 35 brands
before moving operations to a retail location - in Racine.
Admittedly, part of the motivation was personal. Hefferon, a Ra-
cine native, needed to be closer to his mother to care for her.
However, Racine had a few advantages as well. Operational costs
are substantially lower in Racine than in cities like Chicago, or even
Milwaukee. In addition, Racine’s geographical location in the Mid-
west makes it easy for Upurea staff to send purchases to each coast
in a matter of days.
Regardless of where the shop was located, Hefferon and Cuttress provide a similar tool for other natural care companies.
were a little nervous. A brick-and-mortar location gave them the “We just felt like if we could help some of these smaller startups
opportunity to define the Upurea experience – a tall order for any become more known and get their product out there a little more,
company moving from web-based operations to a physical store. we’d probably have a lot more great products on the market than
The goal, Hefferon says, was to give shoppers “something that what are available today,” Cuttress says.
our website itself can’t convey: What is Upurea? What is the experi- Also slated for 2011 is a green beauty network, an interactive site
ence?” for Upurea customers and green beauty lovers to read up on the lat-
That experience, they decided, needed to be green. They in- est trends, learn tips for leading a green life and connect with other
stalled bamboo floors, energy-efficient lighting and shelves made users. The goal, Hefferon says, is to share knowledge about green
from reclaimed materials. Walls were painted with low-emissions beauty products and promote the idea that “green beauty can be as
paint. The finishing touch? A garage-door at the front of the space glamorous and sexy as its conventional counterparts.”
that, during Wisconsin’s warmer months, leaves the entire store The duo is also looking into expanding Upurea’s retail holdings.
open to curious passersby. They envision corporate offices in major cities like New York, Los
“It’s one of those environments that people come in and go, ‘I Angeles and Chicago, and retail stores in the suburbs.
came in because I felt like I needed to be in there,’” Hefferon says. While Hefferon and Cuttress may have a lot on their plate right
To many, the store’s modern ap- now, they are thrilled by the success of Upurea and are excited to
pearance was enough to fool see where it can go. But for now, Racine has been treating them
them into thinking they were well.
somewhere else entirely. “Well, the Kringle is really good here, I will say that,” Cuttress
“A lot of people, when says.
they come into our store,
say, ‘Well, this feels like I’m
in New York, it feels like I’m
in San Francisco, it feels like
I’m in Toronto or London, it
doesn’t feel like I’m in Racine,”
Hefferon says with a laugh.

Going green, globally

Upurea may only be 4 years old, but Hefferon
and Cuttress are preparing for some major addi-
tions to the Upurea family in 2011.
First is an online green beauty marketplace in the
vein of Etsy.com, the website that allows users to buy and
sell handmade and vintage items. Hefferon and Cuttress want to

23
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 24 CURB | 2010

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 24 11/22/10 9:52 AM

 modern day
storks
When two people love each other and decide they want to
have a baby, a stork safely delivers their bundle of joy into
their arms. For some parents, there is truth to this fable.

{ jessekoehler | photo by jenaschleis }

Lori picked up the home pregnancy test Saturday night, but
knew she shouldn’t take it until Sunday morning, just to be sure.
The next day, she took the test, and waited. After two minutes, the
word “pregnant” appeared in the window. Lori was thrilled.
Her husband was excited, too, if a bit bemused.
“Congratulations?” he said. “Is that what I’m supposed to say?”
The pregnancy was a new experience for both of them. It wasn’t
because Lori had never been pregnant; in fact, she and her husband
have two beautiful sons. But this time was different. Still full of
elation, Lori grabbed the phone to share her morning news. She
didn’t call her parents, or her best friend. She called the two people
she knew would be even more excited than she was: the newly
conceived child’s biological mother and father.
… trying not to get pregnant. Then when you do want to get pregnant,
For many people who lived during the 1980s, the term
“surrogacy” recalls news coverage of Mary Beth Whitehead and the
bitter battle over “Baby M.” Whitehead, who was the biological
mother of the child, contractually agreed to carry the baby for
another couple but later sought custody of the child. More recently,
surrogacy has cropped up in a spate of TV shows and movies,
including the 2008 comedy “Baby Mama,” which pairs Tina Fey, a
successful businesswoman in her late 30s who desperately wants a
child, with Amy Poehler, a woman she meets through a professional
surrogacy service.
Surrogacy services play matchmaker between surrogate mothers
and intended parents. Mary Murphey, program director of the
Surrogacy Center in Madison, has worked with women and men
from all over the world to help them realize their dreams of being
parents. For Murphey, intended parents looking to use a surrogate
are victims of a sad paradox.
“You spend most of your reproductive life – think about this –
you think it should be easy,” she explains. “Sex becomes a job, and
it’s not fun anymore.”
Founded in 2002, the Surrogacy Center follows strict vetting
procedures. Before being matched, intended parents, surrogates

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 and their partners take personality tests and undergo psychological
evaluations to determine if they are emotionally stable enough to
shoulder the challenges of surrogacy and pregnancy. The center
also uses these tests to match intended parents with surrogates who
share similar views on sensitive issues such as abortion.
“The ideal surrogate comes in here and says, ‘This is not my baby.
I don’t have to raise it, so I will agree with whatever the intended
parents want,’” explains Murphey. “Ultimately it’s the surrogate’s
choice because it’s her body. If there is any risk to her whatsoever,
they will terminate the pregnancy.”
The center also requires all potential surrogates have children
of their own. This ensures they have a healthy track record for
pregnancy and will not be at risk; it also plays a psychosocial role
in detaching surrogates from the children they carry. Surrogates do
not have to be married but must provide evidence of a supportive
home environment.
According to Murphey, using a surrogacy service has several
advantages. It gives intended parents access to lawyers, medical
professionals and psychiatrists to ease the process and prevent
custody disputes. The Surrogacy Center also has a high success rate:
85 percent of surrogates become pregnant when two embryos are
used in the implantation process.
Because Wisconsin is one of the most surrogacy-friendly states
in the country, the center attracts hopeful parents from all over
the world. This is largely due to what attorneys Carol Gapen and
Lynn Bodi, co-owners of the Surrogacy Center and founders of
the Law Center for Children & Families call a “lack of law.” Only
Lori, a hairstylist and mother of two, is
pregnant with her first surrogate child.
Photo by Lukas Keapproth
26 CURB | 2010
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 26
one Wisconsin statute mentions surrogacy, mandating that the
surrogate’s name appear on the child’s birth certificate pending legal
action by the intended parents. Once the child is born, the surrogate
and the intended parents appear in court to have the intended
parents deemed the legal parents. Gapen and Bodi then use the
existing law of paternity to argue that the intended parents are the
legal parents of the child based on their biology (if applicable) and
intent – hence the term “intended parents.” After this is done, the
child is issued a new birth certificate with the parents’ names on
it, and the old birth certificate with the surrogate’s name on it is
destroyed.
Many states and various countries have completely illegalized
paid surrogacy because of cases like Whitehead’s. As a result,
women and men travel thousands of miles to take advantage of the
openness of Wisconsin’s law. Margaret Klein and her husband live
in New York City, but their hopes of having a child brought them
to Wisconsin and the Surrogacy Center’s doorstep.
...
Klein, 51, discovered she was infertile during her first
marriage. When she married her second husband, the couple
began considering adoption. This halted after they came across a
Newsweek article about surrogacy.
“We read about surrogacy and decided that if it was really a
viable option that it was way more appealing than adoption,” Klein
explains. “Simply because we could utilize my husband’s biology –
his genetics. So we could have at least half of the equation a little
bit more in our control.”
11/22/10 9:52 AM
 Within a few months, Klein and her husband found themselves
in Wisconsin standing face-to-face with a surrogate couple with
whom they had been matched. At first hearing about the process,
Klein says, she found the whole thing rather bizarre, and fretted
over meeting her surrogate. The meeting, however, relieved
Klein because she realized the surrogate and her husband were
normal individuals who wanted to help others build a family. The
culmination of this giving, of course, takes place at the birth of the
child.
“All of the sudden we were the parents. So it would be the exact
same thing if I had given birth. The baby was in the hospital room
with us and we learned all about how to take care of him.”
...
Kristina, 36, of Stoughton, Wis., is currently in the process
of becoming a surrogate for the third time. During her second
surrogate pregnancy, she carried a child for a couple that had faced
seven failed in vitro fertilizations of their own, as well as a failed
adoption. They were looking for a win.
“They’d been through a lot,” says Kristina, who asked that her
last name be withheld. “When I got the positive result with their
little boy, I was so happy for them. I called them up, and they were
just elated. That was a really great feeling.”
When asked about her choice to be a surrogate, Kristina says she
was drawn to the process after hearing stories of women’s willingness
to help others in such a personal way. As a veteran surrogate, she
now has her own heartwarming tales, including giving birth to
twins.
But Kristina’s choice to be a surrogate hasn’t always been easy for
her two biological daughters, now ages 9 and 12.
“I remember my younger daughter going to school and saying,
‘My mommy’s having a baby but she’s giving it away,’” she recalls
about her first surrogacy. “That was hard, but now they understand,
they enjoy seeing the couples… I wouldn’t have continued on if it
would have upset them.”
...
Thirty-nine-year-old Lori, the Lodi, Wis., woman who
discovered she was pregnant in August, decided to become
a surrogate for many of the same reasons Kristina did. She also
enjoyed being pregnant with her two biological sons, and wanted
to help other women who had not had the same opportunities. “To
me, being pregnant, that’s the easy part,” she says.
Lori’s current pregnancy is her first time acting as a surrogate,
and while she won’t give birth until May, she’s already considering
doing it again. Two family members, however, do not share her
excitement, and have told her they don’t understand how she can
“give up the baby.”
To this, Lori says, “But this is not my baby.”
This detached mentality allows her to stay excited, not for herself,
but for the Michigan couple she is helping. Besides questions from
family members, Lori also fields queries from friends, who want to
know how much she’s getting paid.
“That is the guilty bonus of this all, because it didn’t cost me a
dime to have my children,” she says. “But it’s a win-win. I can help
them get the child they want and it’s like a part-time job for me. I
can help my family out without working nights or weekends; I can
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 27
“Surrogacy is definitely
reshaping and helping to
form the modern version
of what is considered to
be a family.
We are a family.”
still get them off to school and get them in bed at night.”
There is a common misconception that money plays a big role in
a woman’s choice to become a surrogate, but that is usually not the
case. Surrogacy through the Surrogacy Center costs about $75,000,
which is split, roughly, three ways: $25,000 covers medical costs,
$25,000 covers legal services as well as the center’s services, and
$25,000 covers the surrogate’s fee (although the surrogate sets her
own fee, which the intended parents must then agree to cover).
Murphey says a woman who wanted to become a surrogate
solely for monetary reasons would not be accepted into the program
because she wouldn’t possess the healthy, stable mindset needed to
take part in the process. Surrogates are not compensated for the
baby; their fee is given in exchange for the risk they incur while
carrying someone else’s child.
“What they are doing is priceless,” she says.
Every intended parent who comes to the Surrogacy Center
carries with them a different story, such as uteruses lost in childbirth,
complications due to cancer, or numerous failed adoptions. The
center also works with same-sex couples who wish to have children,
since some adoption agencies in the U.S. and elsewhere do not
allow gay and lesbian couples to adopt children.
“Sébastien” and “Matt” have been together for more than six
years and knew that they wanted to start a family. As a gay couple
living in France, their options were limited. Both 41, the couple
was nearing the French legal age limit for adoption. French law
also penalizes paid surrogacy with fines of up to 250,000 Euros and
three years in prison – thus their need for anonymity. The couple
heard about the Surrogacy Center through word-of-mouth and
began the process.
“When it doesn’t work, it’s just crushing,” Matt says about two
initial failed pregnancy attempts with a surrogate. “It was a real
emotional rollercoaster until we were finally pregnant on our third
attempt.”
In August of this year, the couple’s surrogate gave birth to twins.
Both men recognize the important role that surrogacy played in
giving them a family that they couldn’t have had otherwise.
“There are so many configurations [of family],” Matt says.
“Surrogacy is definitely reshaping and helping to form the modern
version of what is considered to be a family. We are a family.” 
curbonline.com 27
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 28 CURB | 2010

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 { nategessner | photos by lukaskeapproth }

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 Rock 'n' roll isn’t a boys' club anymore. know, others had the same desire.
Beth Kille is no stranger to the Madison
Women and girls are flocking to new rock camps, music scene. She was the front woman for
the energetic Midwestern rock band Clear
validating their riffs and beats and proving you’re Blue Betty for six years and three albums,
never too young – or too old – to rock. and received a Wisconsin Area Music In-
dustry award in 2008, along with seven
Madison Area Music Awards. Kille spent a
brief stint in Houston between 2008 and
2009, working on her solo career, and then

B
ehind the door of a sound-
dampened room, the five
members of Wicked Edge
smooth the rough edges of
their first song. They’ve been
a band for less than 48 hours, and they are
nonchalant but sharply focused. They hone
er each other and bring out the confidence
in us. It’s awesome to see women bring out
their inner diva.”
Ladies Rock Camp may be all about
women rocking out, but it all started with a
little girl who wanted to drum.
returned to Madison, recorded a six-song
EP and won four more MAMA awards.
Then she stopped to take a breath or two.
Soon after, Kille realized breathing
would have to wait. She had an idea to start
a Girls Rock Camp, which she mentioned
to Scott Meskin, lead guitarist in Madison-
based Bonobo Secret Handshake (Kille’s

I
in on the song they’ve written to perform
at the High Noon Saloon the next day, on n 2007, Wisconsinite Halle Pollay
instruments two of them had never touched tried to send her daughter, Sarah
before they met one day earlier. Corbin, who was then 9, to Girls
“It’s got balls. No, it doesn’t have balls. Rock! Chicago. To her dismay, the
It’s got ovaries.” camp was full and Corbin was put
In between practice takes of their brand- on the waitlist. The following year, Pol-
new single “Turn Away,” vocalist Sarah lay sent in another application. Waitlisted
Whitt jumps up and down, unable to con- again. She tried a third time, to no avail.
tain her excitement. The 36-year-old dis- Undiscouraged, Pollay started thinking
plays the animation of a rocker half her age, outside the box and inside the borders of
absolutely delighted to unleash her words her state.
and voice to the universe. Unapologetic. “My whole
“Rock ’n’ roll is a lot of fun,” she says. family has a musi-
“It’s sort of like this reckless abandon thing, cal background,”
and I thought it’d be really neat.”
Whitt and her bandmates are at day two
of the first Ladies Rock Camp Madison, a
Pollay says. “And
I’m a musician
and songwriter,
“It’s got balls.
grown-up, weekend edition of Girls Rock
Camp Madison. Open to women ages 19
so I thought,
‘Why am I not
No, it doesn’t
and older with a desire to rock, the camp is
designed to give neophyte rockers the op-
doing this here?’”
Pollay con-
have balls. It’s
portunity to try something new.
With the instruction and direction of
tacted the inter-
national Girls got ovaries.”
an enthusiastic group of local female musi- Rock Camp Al-
cians, the campers take instrument lessons, liance and began
form a band, write an original song and organizing her
perform it live for their friends and families own Girls Rock
at the High Noon Saloon, a 400-capacity Camp in the Madison area. The first week-
venue on Madison’s east side. Along the long camp was held the summer of 2009
way, they make new friends and build self- in Viroqua at Pollay’s home. Thirteen girls
confidence. ages 9 to 13, applied and all were accepted.
“Music, a lot of the time when you think They formed three bands with the help of
about it, it’s really male-driven,” says Dani- five instructors and 10 volunteers. Deemed
elle Brittany, a local singer-songwriter and a success by all those involved, Pollay and
LRCM instructor. “This allows women to friends had gotten the Girls Rock Camp
be women, be around women and empow- Madison drumbeat rolling. Little did she
husband plays percussion in the band).
Kille and Meskin contacted the national
Girls Rock Camp Alliance, who told them
there was already a Girls Rock Camp in
Madison. They were surprised – pleasantly
surprised. Soon Kille joined forces with Pol-
lay, a move Pollay says cemented GRCM’s
future success.
“She’s a force of nature in music in this
town,” Pollay says. “Between the two of us
– my skills from the administrative side and
her skills from the
musical side – have
made the camp, re-
ally, I think one of
the best in the coun-
try.”
Pollay and Kille
garnered the atten-
tion and support of
friends, family and
businesses. Pollay
attended the GRCA
meeting in San
Francisco, and was
asked to teach at
Girls Rock! Chicago
(since Pollay was
now teaching, they got Corbin off the wait-
list). Kille contacted High Noon Saloon
owner/manager Cathy Dethmers about
holding the end-of-the-week showcase at
her venue. It was the first time Dethmers
had heard of Girls Rock Camp, but she says
the partnership was a no-brainer.
“Now that music programs are being
cut so drastically in schools, it’s even more

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 important that there is some other kind of
musical outlet for kids,” Dethmers says.
“Especially for girls, who I think a lot of
times – by their families or peers – aren’t
necessarily directed toward more rock in-
struments.”
The second Madison-area Girls Rock
Camp was held in June 2010 in a former
music store. The rented space was the per-
fect place for girls to let loose – a large,
empty retail floor with 10 soundproof prac-
tice rooms.
It was a huge success with 32 girls, seven
bands, about 25 instructors and more than
10 volunteers. Pollay and Kille were thrilled
– the camp had potential for phenomenal
growth.
1 And during the one-week-long girls’
camp, the women noticed something: The
campers’ moms wanted to rock, too.
“So many people were dropping their
kids off, saying, ‘I wish I had this when I
was young,’” Krista Rasmussen, a GRCM
instructor, recalls.
Those parents got their wish.
Pollay teamed up with the Madison
Music Foundry, a recording and rehearsal
studio, to host the inaugural Ladies Rock
Camp Madison in October 2010. Now,
young girls wouldn’t be the only ones chan-
neling their inner Bikini Kill.

I

nside the Madison Music Foundry
is a maze-like warren of practice
rooms. On this particular Saturday
afternoon, each door opens to a
2 room of women, grabbing the rock
world by the cojones and refusing to let go,
twisting them like volume knobs cranked
to 11.
Behind door number one, seven camp-
ers stand in a circle. Their attention is fo-

1. A recent $10,000 grant helped

GRCM obtain the gear they need.
In the past, Pollay and other instruc-
tors used their own instruments and
amps.
2. Campers rank their three top in-
struments and are guaranteed one
of these picks.
3. Some instructors perform with
bands, filling in missing positions and
lending support so campers can be
in the spotlight.

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3

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cused on Anna Vogelzang, a Madison
singer-songwriter, who balances a keyboard
on a wooden stool. Vogelzang leads a vocal
warm-up. Ten women practicing lip trills
sound like a chorus of mermaids – notes
bubbling up from pursed, pulsating lips of
otherworldly women of the sea.
Down the hall, seven bassists huddle to-
gether for a lesson from instructors Laura
Detert and Connie Jordan. Seven bass play-
ers in one room seems like a recipe for di-
saster, but through the patience of Detert
and Jordan and the determination of the
campers, these women will become masters
of disaster – picking and plucking, creating
a low-toned thunderstorm.
Behind door number three, Kille sits
front and center, surrounded by three
campers with guitars. Her ebony acoustic-
electric shines, illuminated by studio lights.
Behind her beautiful guitar peeks a five-
months-pregnant belly, a pale blue t-shirt
stretched taut over the swell of her stomach.
She is the image of patience and grace—al-
most saintly, if a saint could strum a mean
32 CURB | 2010
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 32
A major seven while belting out a powerful
vocal melody. Nothing slows Kille down.
Heading down the hall, it’s a shame this
isn’t a game show – it’s easy to guess what’s
behind door number four. Instructor Nicky
Sund leads the beat on her own drum set
while Rasmussen keeps time with a cow-
bell. A couple of the women with sticks
seem more confident than others, but that
may be due to the intruders in the room.
Camper Cathleen Dohrn says to the pho-
tographer over the sound of the skins, “This
is a lot harder than it looks.” Before leav-
ing the room, Dohrn playfully throws in a
drum fill. Sund smiles.
Everyone breaks between instruction
and practice. Beth Dohrn, Cathleen’s sister,
sits with her daughter, Kira Dohrn Jones,
who is 14 and a GRCM camper. Beth
Dohrn is master of ceremonies and board
president of GRCM and LRCM, but today
she plays the role of camper. Dohrn says the
whole family is somewhat musical now, jok-
ingly suggesting the idea of a family band.
Kira is not amused.
The Dohrn sisters
and their band-
mates celebrate
victory at the High
Noon showcase.
“It seems like a weird idea to me,” she
says, making a face.
Despite Kira’s hesitation to rock with
her mom, she admires what her mother is
doing. And Dohrn is glad to be in a band
with her sister, finally taking time to do
something for herself.
“Driving my children from one place to
the other, laundry, grocery shopping,” Beth
says. “None of those things, I don’t miss any
of them today.”
T
he first Ladies Rock Camp
Madison comes to a close
with a spectacular showcase
at the High Noon Saloon.
All the bands take the stage
triumphantly – their sons, daughters, sig-
nificant others, co-workers, friends and in-
structors screaming like teenage girls seeing
the Beatles at Candlestick Park. After all the
women are done rocking, they’re positively
glowing – and not just because of the stage
lights.
11/22/10 9:53 AM
 Q&A
Emily Jones, bassist of Wicked Edge, re-
flects on the experience. She is certain she
will do it again.
“The women who are running it are all
excellent,” Jones says. “There really is a good
feeling of ‘We want you to come in and take
where you are and go as far as you can with
it. We’re gonna give you some tools to put
together a simple but rockin’ song.”
A live show fanatic and now the key-
boardist in Wicked Edge, Kris Huehne is
also convinced she’ll revisit LRCM.
“It was the most fun thing I’ve ever
done,” she says. “It’s just the experience of
a lifetime.”
Cathleen Dohrn, Now or Never’s drum-
mer, has a similar idea as her sister about the
family band.
“I went to my kids and said ‘Dude, we
gotta start a band,’” she says. “It was incred-

On the road
ible fun, not only being with my sister and
niece, but with this great group of women.
I have a newfound appreciation for the
drums.”
with Anna Vogelzang

T
he likelihood of a “Dohrn
Family Band” remains un-
{ lizaburkin | photos by erikaholmquist }
clear, but the world may not

be ready for a hard rock ver-
sion of the Partridge Family,
anyway. Teenagers will al-
ways find a way to be embarrassed by their
parents, no matter how rockin’ they may be.
Sharing the stage with your mother could
mean the kiss of death for a high schooler.
Although the daughters of rock camp
moms might not want to share the spotlight
with their parents, one thing is for certain –
these grown-up campers have gotten a taste
of rock ‘n’ roll and want a second helping.
Many of the women say they’ll return next
year and nearly all want to switch to drums.
Halle Pollay, meanwhile, has quit her
job as an accountant to pursue GRCM full-
time.
“It was probably the best career move
I’ve ever made,” she says. “Maybe not finan-
cially, but definitely spirit-wise.” 
A
nna Vogelzang is a cliché, and she knows it. Her gorgeously emo-
tive folk songs are inspired by her Kerouac-esque lifestyle on the
road as well as love lost and found. But just five seconds of hear-
ing her full-bodied, emphatic alto lilting over Americana string ar-
rangements will have you captivated. She’s not trying to be Kimya
Dawson or Dar Williams. She’s just Anna.
Since graduating from Carnegie Mellon University in 2007, the Massachusetts
native has been building a steady following in the Midwest music scene. After
spending a year and a half in Chicago, she relocated to Madison in 2008 and signed
with local record label, Slothtrop Music.
Taking a rare time-out from her month-long tour of the Northeast - during
which she is performing every night while also recording songs for her newest al-
bum - Anna discusses her travels, her music and, of course, her feelings.
CURB: How did you get your start in music?
VOGELZANG: I was born! My whole family is in music – my mom is an opera
singer. I grew up singing and I started playing guitar at 14. In college I ended up
creating my own major in the school of music. It was called Creative Music Pro-
duction, which basically gave me the excuse to take a bunch of jazz classes. I got to
learn jazz guitar and do sound engineering. I ended up doing two projects where
I made my first two real albums in the studio lab at school and they counted for
credit. I kind of made the singer-songwriter degree.

Visit www.grcmadison.org for info

CURB: You have a really impressive discography. Four full-length albums and three
on the next Ladies Rock Camp EPs in five years is incredibly prolific. How often do you write?
Madison VOGELZANG: As much as I can … being on the road fuels a lot of it for me. It’s

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 sort of a double-edged sword
because being on the road is
where the experiences come
from and they make you want
to write, and yet you’re on the
road and so busy so there’s no
time to write. It’s a weirdly hard
question. I’m always writing,
but I sit down and write songs
either when they come natu-
rally, or when I decided I need
to give myself a project to do,
which is quite often. I signed
with Slothtrop Music in Octo-
ber of last year, and that lit a fire
under my ass.
CURB: On 2007’s The Things
That Airplanes Do you have
two songs called “Pittsburgh”
and “Philly.” Are you particular-
ly inspired by places you visit?
VOGELZANG: Yeah, for sure.
Traveling has been so helpful
for me, particularly on that al-
bum. Since then, I’ve still done
a lot with travel. After Airplanes
there was an EP called Nesting
that was basically about liv-
which destroyed the railway
system in the States. But it cre-
ated, I think, a very American
experience, which is the road
trip – the idea that you can
drive across the country and get
to another ocean … it’s such a
romantic way to see the coun-
try. I’ve been to so many cities
that I would never have seen
and there are still so many left I
would love to play in.
CURB: Your songs are also self-
described as “songs about feel-
ings.” Are you a very emotional
person, or do you get all the
emotion out while writing and
then chill?
VOGELZANG: It’s a little of
both. For example, last night
was our last night as a trio be-
cause my fiddle player had to
leave today, so it’s just gonna be
me and my cello player. And I
was getting really weepy on the
train. The whole idea behind
“songs about feelings” is that so

A Rocker with Soul

ing in Chicago and moving to
Madison. And the next record
after that was Paper Boats, and
even though there’s a lot of ship
and sea references, it also ended
up being very inspired by spe-
cific places.
CURB: I love the map of the
much of folk music is kind of a
joke, right? It’s all people sing-
ing about their feelings and it’s
like, how many more people
(and blue hair)
can we listen to singing that
song about losing someone? So { lizaburkin }
for me, even on the really seri-
ous songs, there’s a lot of hu-
mor. The songs are emotional.

U.S. you have as the back-
ground for your website and
MySpace. You also categorize
your music as “Americana.” I
know this sounds strange, but
are you very patriotic?
VOGELZANG: I really love
being able to see the country
the way I do. It’s tiresome …
especially because I’m on the
road right now, I’m right in it.
But the cool thing about this
job is that you’re on a constant
road trip. I was actually hav-
ing a conversation the other
day with someone about how
we put in all these highways,
They get a lot out and it is super
cathartic for me, but I am emo-
tional beyond the songs too.
But it’s usually in a funny way.
CURB: The “Bad Romance”
cover on your MySpace is pretty
hilarious. If you could have one
artist cover one of your songs,
who would it be?
VOGELZANG: Ooh, that’s
hard. I guess it’d have to be the
Mountain Goats. It would be
great if it was a dude, especially
because so much of my music is
lady-centric, it’d be great. 
K
arri Daley is a Madison staple. For the past
three years, the 27-year-old singer has lit up
the Madison music scene with her shows at
Funky Mondays at the Frequency. Perform-
ing as part of the Clyde Stubblefield Show
- Clyde Stubblefield being known for his years with James
Brown in the late ’60s - she wows her audience with her wild,
soulful voice and commanding stage presence. And the elec-
tric blue hair doesn’t hurt, either.
But if you saw her three years ago, you’d see an entirely
different woman.
“I got to the point when I was 25 going on 25 that I real-
ized that anything that I ever wanted was slipping through my
fingers because I was too afraid to take it,” she says. “I was too
afraid of criticism, too afraid of what other people thought,
too afraid of being booed off stage.”

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It’s not as if Daley wasn’t talented - it’s
quite the opposite. Daley first started sing-
ing at age 3 when her mom, a writer, played
guitar for Karri and her sister, Aryn, to sing
them to sleep. Despite no formal training,
Daley set herself on the path toward a ca-
reer in music. But something set her back -
her shyness. While Daley performed in bars
and coffeehouses, she had no stage presence
and went entirely unnoticed.
When she was 20, Daley met her sound
engineer fiancé Jaimie Doering, who for-
tuitously began working for Stubblefield.
Daley took on lighting. It wasn’t too long
before Stubblefield himself noticed her.
“When I first met Clyde, he said,
‘Who’re you little girl? I hear you can sing,’”
she says. “I decided to get up and sing a
blues song with him all nervous and shaky,
but they thought I was cute and they let me
do it every now and then.”
As time passed, Daley pushed herself
to open up more on stage. After about
three years, Stubblefield offered her a deal.
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 35
Karri Daley rocks out at the
Frequency in Madison
“Clyde said, ‘Hey, you know you’re get-
tin’ real good. I wanna give you a chance. I
wanna hire you. Would you like that?’ And
I said, ‘Yeah! Are you kidding me?’”
And thus a performer was born - al-
most. When shedding her shy way of life
three years ago, Daley wanted to change in
a big way. That’s when the blue hair became
part of her life and an integral part to her
identity.
“People would like my voice but
wouldn’t remember my name. I was just
another blonde girl, brunette girl, black-
haired girl – even if I dyed it bright pink
or bright red it didn’t matter, it was all the
same,” she says.
That’s when she settled on blue. “I knew
it was very unusual-looking, which is ex-
actly what I wanted. Not only because it’s
fun and I like it - and I really do like blue
-but I really was doing it for marketing,”
she says, giving her neon locks a twist. “So
now if people don’t remember my name,
they sure as hell remember I have blue hair.”
“People would
like my voice
but wouldn’t
remember my
name. I was just
another blonde
girl, brunette
girl, black-
haired girl”
With blue hair and a newfound confi-
dence, Daley took the stage with the Clyde
Stubblefield Show and never looked back.
She not only won over her new bandmates,
but also the audiences she entertained. “She
has a way of connecting with the audi-
ence. People just love her,” says guitarist Joe
Wickham. “And women too. Usually they
get jealous because she’s the hot girl singer,
but she just wins everybody over.”
And now, she’s hoping to win everyone
over with her own original album, set for
release in early 2011. “They’re songs that I
didn’t just come up with out of my head
just for the sake of writing a song, they’re
all genuinely from the heart,” she says. “I
strongly believe it’s therapeutic.”
None of Daley’s success would have
happened were it not for the epiphany she
had at 24. Not only does she believe in it,
but also she espouses to everyone she meets,
“Life is too short to be shy so get out there
and just take it.” 
curbonline.com 35
11/22/10 9:53 AM
1
is too many
One family, one life and
the devastating toll of drunk driving
Motherhood can be a game of numbers.
How many children do you have? How old
are they? How many miles did you drive
this week between practice, piano and play-
dates?
On the evening of Sept. 2, Mary Kilar,
mother of four, faced her numbers. “I had
four of my family members going in differ-
ent ambulances, and I had to choose which
one to go in ... Thinking about your entire
family being wiped out, one of the things
that is horrific about it is choosing.”
...
Eileen Jaskolski, commonly referred to
as “Grandma J,” counts her blessings, num-
bering three children and seven grandchil-
dren whom she talks about constantly. On
the evening of Sept. 2, she watched televi-
sion at her Sussex, Wis., home when the
phone rang. Eileen answered to hear her
daughter, Mary, uttering the words she now
hears over and over. “Mom, I need you to
be strong. Mike was hit by a drunk driver.
I’m in an ambulance and Treyton is fighting
for his life.”
...
{ sammyganz | photos by lukaskeapproth }
36 CURB | 2010
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 36
Brittany Kilar, 17, the oldest of the Ki-
lar children, saw her numbers in miles. On
the evening of Sept. 2, she was in Elkhorn,
Wis., with her swim team. As they filed
into the locker room, her coach’s husband
approached her and said she had to leave
with him immediately. While packing her
things, she received a call from her mother.
“She was yelling, ‘There was a car accident!
Trey is fighting for his life! Be strong and
pray hard.’”
After traveling 52.6 miles, Brittany felt
her heart race upon arrival at Waukesha
Memorial Hospital. Nurses escorted her to
a “quiet room” where she would wait to hear
more. A social worker entered the room and
began to explain what happened but was
interrupted. “My mom came in crying and
was saying, ‘He took my baby!’ When I saw
her and heard her say that, I just started
crying even harder. Because I knew that my
6-year-old brother was dead.”
...
For each of these women, the numbers
come down to one thing: one less son, one
less grandchild, one less brother. They are
11/22/10 9:53 AM
 Mary Kilar at Treyton’s grave, days after what
would have been her son’s seventh birthday.

curbonline.com 37

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 not alone in their grief. Last year in
Wisconsin, 238 people died and nearly
4,000 were injured in alcohol-related
crashes. To those who knew Treyton
Kilar, the numbers don’t matter. One is
too many. For his family, what matters is
a choice, the choice authorities say one
man made to drink and drive.
On Sept. 2, Mike Kilar watched
volleyball at East Troy High School,
cheering for Whitewater’s teams with
“I often struggle with what he must be going through
because I know that he didn’t intend to kill a little boy.”
his two youngest children, Treyton, 6,
and Kindyl, 5. On the court, his wife,
Mary, assistant-coached the Whitewater
varsity team, and Rosie, his 16-year-old,
played with the JV team. When both
games ended, Mike rounded up Rosie,
Trey and Kindyl to head home while
Mary stayed behind to finish collecting
stats from the game.
Mike and Rosie sat in the front of
their minivan, with Treyton and Kin-
dyl directly behind them. At 8:10 p.m.,
Mike crossed the intersection between
State Highway 20 and County High-
way N. At that second, police say Scott
Dragotta came down Highway N in
a full-sized Chevrolet Suburban and
plowed into the driver’s side of the Ki-
lar’s vehicle. Officials say Mike could
never have seen Dragotta coming.
The impact sent the car flying into a
telephone pole and onto a nearby lawn.
According to the police report, Dragotta
said he drank three or four beers – his
blood alcohol concentration registered
at 0.191, more than double Wisconsin’s
legal limit of 0.08.
“The whole car just exploded from
the inside. My first sense of smell was
that the car was on fire. I was talking
to Rosie, saying, ‘We gotta get the kids
out of the car,’” Mike recalls. They des-
perately tried to free Treyton and Kin-
dyl but could not open the back doors.
38 CURB | 2010
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 38
Rosie found a way to get Kindyl out of her
seat, but they could not reach Treyton, who
sat slumped over, as if he were sleeping.
“Kindyl was screaming, and Rosie was
screaming, her leg hurt. I was trying to
comfort them, trying to talk to Trey. I was
overcome from what I had been hit with
and started to pass out.” Mike signaled to
Brian Bilitz, the man whose property they
landed on, for help. Brian led Mike to a
clear place on the ground to lie down. As
soon as a police officer arrived, Mike called
out to him, “You need to get to my son, he
needs help.”
...
Ten minutes after her family left the vol-
leyball game, Mary headed to her car and
started driving home. Noticing an accident
on the road ahead, she pulled over on High-
way 20 to contact her family. After several
calls and texts went unanswered, she parked
to walk over to the scene. As she closed the
car door, her phone rang to confirm what
she already suspected, “Your family has
been in a terrible accident.”
“I walked across the street to find Mike
lying on the ground with Kindyl. He said,
‘Go to Trey, he needs you.’” Mary jumped
through the car window to reach Trey, his
door still too damaged to open. A police
officer had Trey’s blonde-haired head stabi-
lized in his hands. She talked to Treyton, as-
suring him that Mom is here and loves him.
Finally, the officers and paramedics took
Treyton out of the vehicle through the back
hatch, the rest of it too crushed to find a
clear opening.
Four ambulances waited at the scene,
ready to transport the Kilars 17.7 miles to
the nearest hospital. Still not knowing the
extent of the injuries her family members
endured, Mary had to choose which to go
in. One ambulance held her terrified, but
fully conscious, 5-year-old. Another held
her 6-year-old, who had not responded
since the crash. Luckily, friends driving
back from the game stopped to offer help.
“I went into director mode. I asked that
one go in an ambulance with Kindyl, that
the paramedics keep Mike and Rosie to-
gether and then I rode with Treyton because
he was most serious.”
Treyton never responded – at 9:42 p.m.,
the hospital pronounced him dead. Mike –
immobilized from the accident with broken
neck bones in vertebrae C6 and C7, a bro-
ken collarbone, and a fractured sternum –
had to say goodbye to his only son through
a mirror held up by his friends. Grandma
J held a phone to Treyton’s ear so Mike’s
parents in Illinois could tell him they loved
him. She remembers saying her own good-
byes to Treyton. “He had no visible marks
on his face. He did have a tube in, but no
bruises on his face. It was like we could just
pick him up and take him home.”
The hospital generously let the Kilars
spend as much time as they wanted with
Treyton before taking him to the coroner.
“Finally at about 5 in the morning, I went
to [the hospital staff] and said it will never
be enough for [Mary], she’ll never want to
leave him, so I think you’re going to have to
tell her it’s time,” says Grandma J. “He was
starting to be so cold … She had crawled
into the bed with him and held him.”
When she left that bed, Mary’s numbers
changed forever. She lives each day focusing
on her three living children and preserving
Treyton’s memory. Her 5-year-old daughter
asks questions of a teenager, “Is your car
safe? Does it have airbags?” and sometimes
isn’t accepting of the answers. “Well, the air-
bags didn’t keep my brother safe.”
“That’s hard as a mom, trying to put
that safety net back on your children and
make them feel safe when something out of
my control happened to them,” Mary says.
“Our children who are living need us right
now. What we are doing right now is going
11/22/10 9:53 AM

to affect them for the rest of their lives and
to be frank, we could really mess that up.”
Mary’s three daughters are not her only
kids – she has a whole school of them. As
the principal of St. John the Baptist School
in Jefferson, Wis., Mary is a role model to
children in preschool through eighth grade.
In the aftermath of this tragedy, she says the
students have helped her heal. “They know
what they can do right now is to show each
other kindness and caring and love.”
They have gone far beyond that to honor
Trey. The school council came together, in-
spired by how Treyton taught them to treat
one another, and had each student write a
“caring card” with something Trey would
have done. One card is read over the an-
nouncements each morning.
These anecdotes, and the hundreds of
notes they’ve received about Trey, empower
the Kilars. “We aren’t going to disappoint
him. We want to stay true to him. We want
to stay true to our other kids and protect
them for what their future holds.”
Part of this involves staying true to the
cause of Treyton’s death. Mary struggles
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 39
with how people characterize what hap-
pened to Trey. To her it was not an “acci-
dent” but a decision that could have been
avoided.
Rosie felt at fault for Treyton’s death
because they would not have been at that
spot in the road if they hadn’t gone back for
something she left behind.
“We have so many ‘what ifs’ in this,”
Mary said in response. “What if we had left
early? What if we had left later? What if we
hadn’t come tonight? Who is at fault?”
“That man,” Rosie said.
“Yes,” Mary said, “for the choices he
made.”
That choice is a number itself, totaling
44,000 convicted in Wisconsin last year for
having made the decision to drive drunk.
That figure pales in comparison to the 26.4
percent of Wisconsinites who admitted in
the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use
and Health that they drove under the influ-
ence in the last 12 months – a number that
dwarfs the survey’s national average of 15.1.
...
The Kilar crash is just one of 367 drunk
Mike Kilar touches his son’s recently
dug grave. In the background, his wife
and youngest daughter draw a smiley
face in the dirt for Trey.
driving cases prosecuted in Walworth
County this year. At an initial hear-
ing, Scott Dragotta walked in without
once taking his eyes off the ground.
Shame filled his face and his shoulders
hunched into his body under a loose,
beige jail jumpsuit. This is the first time
the Kilars have seen Dragotta since that
night.
With each step he took, Mary’s heart
raced faster. As he sat down next to his
attorney, she raised her hands to cover
her face and sobs burst out. At her side,
Mike sat, tears steadily streaming down
his face. Behind them, rows of friends
and family wept audibly.
After a few short minutes, the hear-
ing was over, but the impact lingered.
Walking out of the courtroom, every-
one was silent. Only after descending
two flights of stairs, rounding a corner
and coming out of the door did some-
one finally speak.
curbonline.com 39
11/22/10 9:53 AM
 “That was so surreal to see him.”
“Seeing him, the thing that struck
me was it looked like somebody I could
be standing behind at the grocery store
or being at some event with,” Grandma
J recalls. “I often struggle with what he
must be going through because I know
that he didn’t intend to kill a little boy.”
Dragotta, 44, faces six charges, in-
cluding one count of homicide by in-
toxicated use of a vehicle and two counts
of hit-and-run causing injury. Police be-
lieve Dragotta hit another vehicle min-
utes before crashing into the Kilars.
Over the next year, he will be tried
and could be sentenced to up to 41
years in prison. The Kilar family wants
consequences, but they’re not focused
on counting his years behind bars.
“If we have any emotion left after we
are drained and beaten, it’s not going
to be spent on hatred,” Mary says. “We
have to turn that back into loving each
other and staying strong in our faith and
strong in our family. If there is anything
left, give it back to your family, give it
back to Treyton up in heaven.”
Believing he is looking down on
them, they strive to be the best they can
40 CURB | 2010
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 40
be for him. They have a goal: to spread a
message about drunk driving and to honor
Treyton’s memory. That goal is being met
every day through plans to build “The Trey-
ton Kilar Field of Dreams.”
Treyton lived and breathed baseball.
Since he was 4 weeks old, he was rarely
found without a ball in his hand. While
most children cling to a security blanket or
stuffed animal, Treyton found comfort in a
plush ball with an elastic band around it.
Treyton’s love for baseball inspired many,
and Mary and Mike hope to carry on his
legacy with the field. “Our dream is to build
something in his honor where thousands of
kids are going to be able to come and really
believe in dreaming big and achieving those
dreams,” Mary says.
The proposal for “The Treyton Ki-
lar Field of Dreams” is estimated to cost
$450,000 and involves a completely fenced
in 225- to 250-foot youth field equipped
with concrete block dugouts, bleachers and
a scoreboard.
If funding allows, the field also will have
a restroom, a concession building and light-
ing. Construction for the field began in Oc-
tober at Starin Park in Whitewater.
“Play for Trey” has come to represent
the Kilars’ efforts to raise awareness of
the destruction and devastation that
comes from driving drunk. Several com-
munities and schools have held sporting
events, concerts and fundraisers to spread
this message and generate donations for
the field. His story even motivated a high
school student to create a local chapter of
Students Against Destructive Decisions
– 89 students attended the first meeting.
...
Drunk driving demands that Wis-
consin examine the numbers. With the
highest drunk driving rates in the nation,
Wisconsin endured 6,429 alcohol-relat-
ed car crashes last year, more than half of
which caused injury.
Treyton never lost his first tooth, and
he never made it to his third day of sec-
ond grade.
“There are all these nevers that he nev-
er had a chance at,” Mary says. “When
people make these kinds of destructive
decisions, you are not just taking a life.
You are taking the future of that life.” 
Mike Kilar holds a photograph of
Treyton fishing. The boy was so eager
to cast that he hadn’t even changed out
of his pajamas.
11/22/10 9:53 AM
 John Stauffer and Myron Backus

Countless lives were saved by penicillin during World

War II, and thanks to University of Wisconsin research,
a method was developed to mass produce the antibiotic.
By the end of the war, the cost of the drug dropped
from $20 to three cents.

University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists continue to

lead the way in improving our health. Here, researchers
are studying how we may prevent birth defects and
manage cancer treatments.

FORWARD. THINKING. www.wisconsinidea.wisc.edu

Gabriela Cezar, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

curbonline.com 41

Image_Ad_Health_CURB.indd 1 11/11/10 11:36 AM

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 41 11/22/10 9:53 AM
 Redefining
Love

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 42 11/22/10 9:53 AM


A
bout five years ago, Ashe and Boone
Dryden decided they wanted
more out of their relationship.
The love life that once propelled
the two to marry had become
virtually nonexistent. Monogamy
just wasn’t working, so the couple
searched the Milwaukee area for
discussion groups about open
relationships.
But instead of finding a community for discussion and support,
the mid-20s couple ended up at swingers’ parties, filled with
45-year-olds cruising for sex. “It made us really uncomfortable,”
Boone says. “I wanted to have a place to educate folks about how to
[enjoy] more open, trusting, communicative relationship[s].”
Boone and Ashe didn’t want to sleep around. They wanted to
be polyamorous. Polyamory – not to be confused with polygamy
– essentially means having more than one steady, romantic
relationship at any given time. A polyamorous individual might
have a primary partner, as well as secondary and tertiary partners.
According to a study conducted in September 2009 and cited in
Newsweek, there are 500,000 polyamorous households in the U.S.
...
Boone and Ashe abandoned the swingers’ parties, and soon
Boone began seeing Lyndzi Miller, a writer and call center worker.
Shortly thereafter, Ashe found a boyfriend. But Ashe, Boone and
Miller were still frustrated by what they perceived as a lack of
resources for polyamorous people in Wisconsin. They wanted to
find a group where they felt safe expressing their feelings about
open relationships and experiences dating multiple people. “We
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 43
pol•y •am•or•y noun \pä-lē-a-m -rē\ e
1. the state or practice of having more than
one open romantic relationship at a time.
2. Non-monogamy is shunned in America
because of its association with polygamy
and swinging. But in a world where some
social standards don’t change, polyamorists
are challenging preconceptions about
relationships and love.
{ jonahbraun }
wanted something that would be relevant to us and people our
age; we wanted a community for discussions and support, not for
finding partners,” Boone says.
So, in January 2008, Ashe, Boone and Miller started their
own group, Coming Out Poly, which is geared toward their own
demographic but open to anyone who is interested in or currently
living a polyamorous lifestyle.
“We wanted to start a group specifically for younger individuals
and couples that were going through the really hard parts of being
polyamorous that usually go along with being new to it,” Miller
says. “If people are honest with themselves, they probably have an
inkling of an interest in the community.”
T
...
he group, which began as discussion group, has
transformed into a full-fledged support resource with
weekly meetings, mailing lists, social events and additional
support online that enables ongoing discussions. Coming Out
Poly attracts polyamorists who have been in the community for
years as well as people who have never been in a non-monogamous
relationship before. Miller believes the group allows those who have
little experience in the poly community to connect with and ask
questions of people who can offer them guidance. “It’s a safe, open
space for people to bring up issues and get advice from others that
have gone through the same situation,” she says.
For people like Julie Richardson, a 33-year-old sex educator
from Milwaukee, being a part of the poly community allows her to
be more honest with her husband, as well as herself. Before joining
the group, Richardson struggled to find happiness in her marriage.
“I felt like I could possibly cheat to find some happiness,” she
says. “I told him that something wasn’t right, and in discussions we
curbonline.com 43
11/22/10 9:53 AM
 “I think we
experience the
same issues, the
same troubles and
the same joys.”
realized that monogamy might just not be for us.”
Like many in the poly community, Richardson also struggled
to find the right support group for her husband and herself. She,
too, experimented with swinging, which she described as “a bad
fit.” It wasn’t until she had an actual relationship with another man
that she really feel a sense of fulfillment in her love life. Ironically,
Richardson believes having the opportunity to have a relationship
with another person helped save her relationship with her husband,
who is also actively dating in the poly community.
“I think my husband feels less pressure,” she says, explaining
that whatever she finds lacking in their marriage – be it emotional
or sexual – she can find with her second partner. “It takes some
stress off our relationship in general,” she says.
...
E
very path to non-monogamy is different, explains Dr.
Meg Barker, a polyamory expert based in the U.K.
and co-editor of “Understanding Non-monogamies,” a
collection of essays on polyamory. In her research conducted in
2005 on 20 polyamorous women and 10 polyamorous men living
in the U.K., she concluded that about half of polyamorous people
between ages 20 and 60 thought they were born that way. Others
use polyamory as a means to invigorate their love lives or retain
personal freedoms within committed relationships.
“Everyone draws lines about what emotional connections it
is OK to have outside their main relationship, and what physical
contact it is OK to have,” Barker explains.
Whatever the reason, Barker argues, people are polyamorous
because they not only feel capable of loving more than one partner,
but more often than not, they need to love more than one person to
feel a sense of fulfillment in their lives. But in a world where fidelity
to one person is the rule, Barker says the media present “polyamory
as something rather ‘out there’ that normal people wouldn’t be able
to do.”
F
...
or those who practice polyamory, however, having multiple
partners is, well, normal. Aside from loving more than one
person, Ashe, Boone and Miller say they all want the same
thing: to take care of their families, have a good job and
live a normal life. In that respect, monogamy and polyamory have
much in common, Ashe explains.
44 CURB | 2010
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 44
“To me, polyamory has the same values as monogamy,” she
says. “We just make the conscious choice to have more than one
relationship at a time. We still treat our partners the same, we don’t
do anything that is much different from monogamous people. We
still have to pay rent and go grocery shopping and deal with jobs
and taking care of a family.”
While that may be the case, many polyamorists don’t feel
comfortable being open with others about their lifestyle. Richardson
says she doesn’t tell people about her second partner to protect
herself from discrimination. She feels she is unfairly grouped with
polygamists and swingers, and she argues the polyamorous lifestyle
is misunderstood, leading to marginalization.
“I feel like I have to live a double life,” she says.
...
M
any people who practice polyamory maintain it isn’t so
different from monogamy – it just involves more people.
“I think we experience the same issues, the same troubles,
and the same joys [as monogamous people],” Boone explains.
“We just have to deal with them with more than one person and
work to communicate about a lot of things.” Communication is
essential for all healthy relationships, he says, noting that the lack
of trust that can exist among monogamous couples doesn’t occur in
polyamorous relationships because there is no reason to lie to your
partner. “Everyone knows what everyone is doing.”
Coming Out Poly currently meets once every week. And while
the group doesn’t go as far as to offer counseling to those confused
about their relationship preferences, Miller says the organization
gives people opportunities for self-discovery, whether they choose
to be polyamorous or not. Ashe, Boone and Miller think Coming
Out Poly meetings fill a niche, offering support to younger people
who are interested in pursuing more than one romantic relationship
– not just sleeping around.
“There’s a lot of misconceptions about what polyamory is, and
some people might stop by thinking we’re swingers, or that we’re all
kinksters, or just sex addicts or something,” Miller says. “In reality,
that’s not true — we’re all just very normal people that just happen
to have more than one love in their life.” 
•
love noun \'l e v\
1. strong affection for another person, or
more than one, arising out of personal
preference or a feeling of desire for
more emotional connection beyond one
monogamous relationship
11/22/10 9:53 AM
 Because every dream job
needs a champion.
www.DreamChamps.com

@dreamchamps

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 45 11/22/10 9:53 AM

 d

C two.
Chele Isaac might have a church fetish. After all, she’s owned

“I’m a little embarrassed about that,” she tells me.

But it was a need for studio space, not religious fervor, that led
Isaac – a former speed skater and sky-diving instructor – to buy her
first church in Illinois over 20 years ago. After moving to Madison
and selling her graphic design business in the late 1990s, she began
hunting for a similar space.
“I was thinking, ideally, of a factory,” says Isaac, an installation
artist who has shown work in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylva-
nia. “But then I got a call about a church.”
More than a decade later, she and her husband, John Neis, are
happily settled in a former Swedish Lutheran church on the east
side of Madison. They’ve filled the cavernous Gothic Revival struc-
ture with a cheery mix of thrift shop finds, mid-century modern
pieces and works by Isaac and the artists she admires.

46 CURB | 2010

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 46
Is there a third church in her future?
“I still get calls from real estate agents about churches,” she says.
“And I’m like no, never, ever, ever again.”

Location: Madison, Wis.

Size: 10,800 square feet
Year built: 1922
Lived there since: 1999

It’s not often you find a trapeze in a church.

I have a friend in Cycropia, the aerial dance troupe, who prac-
tices here… It seems ridiculous to have nearly 11,000 square feet
for two people and a dog, and I find myself constantly trying to jus-
tify it, karmically. I want to make it a creative space for others, not
just me… I want other people to feel at home here. So we host a lot
of events: film screenings, dinners, weddings. We’ve had fundraisers

11/22/10 9:53 AM
 divine design
1. Isaac and Neis
left the sanctuary
largely intact, using
it to host fundrais-
ers, film screenings
and other events.
2. Isaac found the
Thonet chairs at the
UW-SWAP.
3. The church has
two downstairs
bedrooms, but
Isaac and Neis pre-
fer to sleep in the
upstairs loft.

{ sarahkaron | photos by lukaskeapproth }

for Tammy Baldwin, Jim Doyle and the Urban League.
What have you changed about the space?
Everything. I worked really hard on this place for the first few
years after we moved in. I did a ton of demolition, building, paint-
ing and plastering… The kitchen was a disaster. The windows were
boarded up, and you’d open the lower cabinets and the inside went
down to dirt. There was drywall, but it only went up eight feet …
We found a giant crack in the wall and had to excavate the entire
side yard.
What’s your advice for people who are remodeling?
Live in a space before you change anything. Ed Linville, the
architect who designed all the Food Fight restaurants in Madison,
told us that. He came into the kitchen when it was a mess ... The
walls were black, the previous tenants had painted the ceiling purple
and I’d already started tearing down the drywall, which was lime
green … And Ed comes in and says, “I wouldn’t do anything to this
kitchen for a year.” And I was like, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
But he was right … He wanted us to figure out how we used
the space before we did anything. And I’m so happy we waited. We
lived with it for a year, and where we were in the beginning and
where we ended up is completely different.
What’s been the biggest challenge about living here, from a de-
sign perspective?
Figuring out how to bring things down to a human scale. We’ve
tried to find ways to make it comfortable, cozy and bright. Paint
helps—painting a wall to delineate a room, for example...
[But] I hesitate to call what I do “design”… And that’s why it’s
hard to pull something out, because I see this weird boatful of stuff
as one thing… but anyone else who walks in here probably sees it

curbonline.com 47

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 47 11/22/10 9:53 AM

 48 CURB | 2010

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 48 11/22/10 9:53 AM

 “Chele Isaac
might have a
church fetish.”
as a bunch of little things… I hope it doesn’t seem like just
a bomb of objects went off in this building.

Do you and your husband have similar taste? Whose aes-

thetic is more represented here?
I don’t want to say this is all me, because it’s not… I
think he’s got really great taste. I would say I definitely bring
the eclecticism; I bring to the mix everything that’s asym-
metrical. Like when I put [a pair of matching] lamps at
different heights, it almost blew his mind apart ... He’s defi-
nitely got a sense of order…[but] he’s weird, too… I mean,
John came up with red rhinoceros [in the living room].
For me, objects are all about the connections between
them, so I think that’s why our space tends to be more eclec-
tic and a weird amalgam of things that all seem to hover in
the same temperature of use and patina and humor… Ev-
erything operates at a similar vibration, if that makes sense.

Has your taste changed?

I’m sort of the same person I was as a kid… [I’m] really
intrigued by the serendipity of like, ‘Oh my God, that’s the
seventh red enameled thing I’ve seen today, this is crazy’ …
There’s something about objects that map histories for me,
and it’s rare when I look at something and I can’t remember
where I got it, or the story behind it ...
I’ve often thought, what would happen if there was a
massive fire, everything gone, then what would I do? Would
I just have a room that looks like a page torn out of the West
Elm catalog? Like, a little vase with one sprig in it? I will say
this: I think I’m collecting a lot less stuff now than I used to.

How did your parents influence your design sense?

There was a mix of [antiques] amongst modern pieces
[in my parents’ home], so I’m definitely a product of them.
My parents were both artists… [and] taught us how to use
our hands, early on… When I got in trouble and was sent
to my room, I was always glad, because that’s where my art
stuff was. It was never really a punishment.

1. Isaac and Neis gutted the kitchen, and now it’s one of their
favorite rooms in the house. Isaac used acid to etch designs into
the backsplash. 2. A sunny corner in Isaac’s studio. 3. The studio
bathroom is decorated with 1970s tiles from Buenos Aires.

curbonline.com 49

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 49 11/22/10 9:53 AM


What’s your favorite place in the house?
Places where I do a lot of reading, [like] the troll corner. And I
do love the loft. Oh, but the kitchen. I like the kitchen when there
are lots of people [here], but it’s great on Sunday mornings in the
winter, when we’ll sit with a pot of coffee and two newspapers. You
know what I mean? It’s a ritual. 
The downstairs living room: The mid-century modern
chairs, on the left, were Isaac’s first reupholstery proj-
ect. She bought the chairs for $5 each. She found the
blue Hans Wegner Papa Bear chair at a sample sale at
Modernica, in Chicago. The black couches are Eames
Lounges. The harlequin lamps are vintage.

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 W I S C O N S I N
ALUMNI
ASSOCIATION

15 0 Y E A R S

THIRD
EDITION

W I S C O N S I N
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15 0 Y E A R S

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 51 11/22/10 9:53 AM

 WISCONSIN’S DIRTY SECRET
The truth behind women leaving state politics
{ joshhilgendorf | photo by jamesbream}

This is an excerpt from the full article, most gender diverse cabinet in the history Democratic Rep. Donna Seidel sits
available on curbonline.com. of Wisconsin. next to Pasch in her office, surrounded by
But now, Wisconsin has a secret - one campaign photos and pictures of her fam-

B
that permeates county boards and the state ily. Like old friends reminiscing about days
y now, Sandy Pasch was used
legislature. A secret that clouds city councils gone by, the two state representatives re-
to it.
and circuit courts; a secret that’s not easy to count the challenges they have faced when
She walked up another cement
keep. And surprisingly enough, it’s available running for office in Wisconsin.
sidewalk. Rang another door-
for all to see. “The question is, ‘How will this impact
bell. Gave another smile and
According to the Wisconsin Women’s your family?’ As primary caregivers, gen-
another handshake. And then she had to
Council, women currently hold 25 percent erally, that is a question that not only we
answer the questions she’s heard time and
of elected offices in Wisconsin, the lowest ask ourselves, but the public asks that of us
time again.
number in more than two decades. as well,” Seidel says. “They don’t ask men,
“Who will watch your kids?” they ask.
‘Well how many kids do you have? How
“Who will cook your family dinner?”
But Who Will Take Care of the Kids? old are they? How are you going to handle
Wisconsin has a rich tradition of wom-
Seated at a table in one of her colleague’s this?’”
en and politics. In 1919, the state became
offices, it has been two years since Demo- It’s this double standard that is inherent
the first to ratify the 19th Amendment, giv-
cratic Rep. Pasch was on the campaign trail. in politics. But it’s not all political - Pasch
ing women the right to vote. Vel Phillips
However, the time spent knocking on doors says that in general, the public has different
became the first African American woman
and talking to strangers is fresh in her mind. expectations of women.
in the U.S. elected to a statewide office
And of course, she cannot forget the ques- “The reaction to a woman performing
when she won her campaign for secretary
tions about her role as a mother, wife and the same behavior as a man is, ‘Well, she is
of state in 1979. As recently as 2002, Gov.
politician. But she’s not the only one to face so nasty,’” Pasch says. “Some of that may be
Jim Doyle was recognized for having the
such questions. more tolerated with men.”
52 CURB | 2010

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 52 11/22/10 9:53 AM

 DON’T
MESS
WITH
MY
KID
BY ANN RIVALL
PHOTOS BY LUKAS KEAPPROTH
MOTHERS FIGHT TO
INCLUDE CHILDREN
WITH DISABILITIES

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 53 11/22/10 9:53 AM

 B
eth Moss sits in a coffee shop,
wearing a dark blue Special
Olympics windbreaker,
clutching a coffee cup between
her hands. No makeup, just
a clear blue stopwatch adorns
her wrist. Save for her short
red pixie cut, her appearance is noticeably
plain, fatigued even, despite the tiny jolt of
caffeine she’s delicately sipping on.
Moss occasionally glances at her
stopwatch, seeing the digital numbers
dissolve into themselves as the time
between her current meeting and her
next appointment slowly collide. Every
phrase she utters is punctuated with a light
molasses-like Southern drawl that adds a
sense of warmth to whatever she says. Then
again, whenever she talks about Garner,
you can’t help but feel a mother’s warmth.
The first day she brought her son,
Garner, who has autism, to kindergarten
at their neighborhood school in Oakridge,
Tenn., she felt the familiar helplessness any
mother leaving her child feels. She dropped
him off at the classroom, which opened
up to an outside courtyard. As she walked
away, leaving her nearly non-verbal son
behind, the teacher swung the classroom
door open and yelled across the courtyard,
“Beth, come and get him – I can’t get
anything done with him in this classroom.”
Horrified, she took Garner’s hand in
hers and led her son away from his first
day of school, through the crowd of other
parents, with her head held high. Instead of
letting anger and frustration force Garner to
attend a nearby segregated school for other
children with disabilities, Moss continued
to fight to put him in the school’s general
education classroom.
“I literally had stomach aches when I
walked into the school,” Moss says. “The
principal made me feel like they were going
way over and above what they needed
to do, but they didn’t have any kind of
professional development. We paid for all
the professional development for the staff.”
“He [the principal] had a two-drawer
file cabinet next to his desk and the bottom
file was labeled ‘Garner,’” she says. “And he
would pull it out and say, ‘this is what we
do for him,’ and I would say, ‘but it’s not
working.’”
After Garner finished third grade, Moss
and her husband decided they couldn’t stay
in a school system that wouldn’t willingly
54 CURB | 2010
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 54
provide support for their son. However,
they weren’t going to forfeit the fight ¾
they were going to try tackling the problem
from another angle.
Moss heard about the progressive nature
of Madison school districts at an autism
conference, and kept the location in mind
when she searched for a school district that
would nurture an inclusive environment
for Garner not only in elementary school,
but throughout high school and beyond.
Disability simply means difference
Segregated schools and separate
classrooms used to be the norm for children
with disabilities. There were whispers
that were never heard – a population
neglected and sequestered to workshops or
institutions.
Families in the Madison school district,
though, decided this quarantine effect
wasn’t good enough for their children. They
began advocating for inclusive education, a
learning opportunity that allows children
with mild and severe disabilities to be
taught in general education classrooms.
“Disability simply means difference, a
difference in learning styles, a difference
in the way in which you may move, the
way you think, the way you may speak or
the way you may communicate,” says Dr.
Alice Udvari-Solner, a faculty associate
and researcher in the Department of
Curriculum and Instruction and also a
national consultant in the area of inclusive
education. “The only way for people to
learn to interact in positive ways is to have
the opportunity to interact,”
Though the intent is to include all
children who fall on each end of the
disability spectrum, students who have
severe disabilities still tend to receive the
majority of their instruction in the special
education setting, according to Udvari-
Solner.
With the help of grassroots advocacy,
Madison is now nationally recognized for its
inclusive education practices and is a model
district for implementing the practice
of inclusion for other districts across the
country. And with such a reputation, it’s
no surprise that more and more families
­– like Beth Moss’ family – are coming to
Madison.
I envision a world
Eight years ago in Madison, a group of
mothers met at a coffee shop.
Wanting to do more for their disabled
children’s education, they created the
Madison Partners for Inclusive Education,
and set out to harness the district’s resources
and to spur the school administrators
to invest in their children’s educations
differently.
“We were kind of beating our heads
against the wall because we were all
running into the same problems, just at
different times and maybe in different
schools,” says Lisa Pugh (pictured above),
one of the founding members. Pugh and
her family moved from Wichita, Kan., so
her daughter, Erika, who has autism, could
begin her education in an inclusive setting
by the time she was old enough to attend
school. “Madison definitely has a different
value base for students with disabilities.”
Pugh’s drive to improve Erika’s education
has translated to the rest of her children,
especially her eldest daughter, McKenna.
11/22/10 9:53 AM
 When she was 11, McKenna testified at
a Madison School Board meeting, urging
members to reconsider the possibility
of cutting special education funding.
She participated in panel discussions
with other siblings about the effect of
their sisters and brothers, and she won a
national competition for a commercial she
created for Assistive Technology, which are
devices that help people with disabilities
communicate.
“People listen to me more when I talk
about [disabilities] because Erika is my
sister,” McKenna, now 13, says.
In her winning video, images of Erika
swimming and jumping on the family’s
trampoline are accompanied by McKenna’s
small-yet-confident voice describing Erica’s
personality and their unique relationship.
The 30-second commercial ends with
McKenna saying, “I envision a world in
which people with disabilities have a voice,
just like you and me. Assistive Technology
can make that happen.”
McKenna is just one in the choir of
voices that is the Madison Partners for
Inclusive Education. While the collective
voice fights for rights for their disabled
children, each member also has his or her
own motivations.
For Beth Swedeen, Madison Partners
for Inclusive Education isn’t just about
advocating for her daughter, Cara, a high
school senior at Madison West with a
significant intellectual disability. It’s about
making sure every student can benefit from
inclusive education.
“How can we ensure that every child in
Madison schools – regardless of how much
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 55
their family can advocate, regardless of what
the level of their disability is, regardless of
what school they are able to attend because
of where they live – gets a high-quality
inclusive educational experience and that
they’re equipped for adulthood when they
leave the Madison schools?” Swedeen says.
According to John Harper, the executive
director for educational services in the
Madison school district, Madison schools
only have a 5 percent separation rate,
meaning students with disabilities are only
separated if they provide a serious detriment
to the classroom, with nearly 90 percent of
disability students at the elementary level
included.
The good fight
For Beth Moss and her son, life is
entirely different. Beth now serves as the
vice president for the Madison School
Board. Garner is a three-season athlete at
James Madison Memorial High School,
and the benefits of his inclusive education
clearly show.
When Garner talks to his mom, he
touches her shoulder or taps her hand, and
looks her straight in the eye while leaning
forward to get her attention. When there
is a lull in the conversation, he fills it with
quiet descriptions of Schindler elevators.
Sometimes, he cups his hand over his right
ear to hear the sound of his voice.
“Now he’s used to functioning with
support, so much more than he ever could
have without support,” Moss says. “Now
he’ll be able to have a job, and he’s planning
to go to college for a couple years… He’ll
have support but he will live in a dorm, he’ll
go to classes, and he’ll be perfectly capable
of doing that because he’s been trained to
do that, he’s used to it and he knows what
to do. But if that had never happened for
him, he’d have to have someone following
him around for the rest of his life.”
“Mom, I want to be a garbage truck
man when I grow up,” Garner says.
And a few minutes later, “Mom, I want
to be a bus driver for the Madison Metro
when I grow up.”
“So many options,” Moss says, smiling
at her son.
Although successful inclusion stories
like Garner’s exist throughout the district,
inclusive education is not met without
opposition. In particular, some parents
argue that including children with
disabilities in general education classrooms
hinders their child’s learning. To combat
the naysayers, Udvari-Solner nods to her
research findings that suggest this teaching
method truly assists all students involved.
“There are beneficial effects such as
increased self esteem ¾ students have the
opportunity to be generous, altruistic, to
gain a level of understanding of somebody
else’s learning style…tolerance toward
differences,” Udvari-Solner says. “These
social measures are really critical in terms of
the way we behave as human beings.”
Though Swedeen describes herself
as a “rabid inclusionist,” she shies away
from relying on this defense. Instead, she
references studies like Udvari-Solner's.
“I do point to some of the research that
shows that when kids are equipped well
and the instruction is high-quality, that
when kids with and without disabilities are
paired together… that all kids’ grades go
up,” Swedeen says. “I think that is probably
more of a salient argument to present to
families who think it’s one group of kids
against another group of kids than to say,
‘well your child will learn compassion and
understanding, and they’ll say, ‘Well, that
won’t get my kid into Harvard.’”
Beth Moss, Lisa Pugh, Beth Swedeen
and all the other mothers of disabled
children definitely know how to put up
a fight. But for them that comes with the
territory of being a mother.
“Moms, we have this ‘don’t mess with
my kid’ kind of attitude,” Pugh says. “I will
fight to the death for my children in terms
of helping them to get what I feel is fair and
their right.” 
curbonline.com 55
11/22/10 9:53 AM
 SPOTLIGHT
Reduce, Reuse, Revolutionize
The story of Milly Zantow, the Wisconsin woman who helped push the
recycling movement to the national level. { laurataubman }
J
ohn Muir. Aldo Leopold. Gaylord
Nelson. When it comes to envi-
ronmental leaders, Wisconsin can
drop some names.
But chances are you haven’t heard
of Milly Zantow.
“I see Milly as really one of the un-
sung environmental heroes of Wiscon-
sin,” says Gregg Mitman, director of the
Nelson Institute of Environmental Stud-
ies at UW-Madison.
Zantow, 87, isn’t an ecologist, a poli-
tician or a professor of environmental
studies. She has no background in public
policy or science. But the North Free-
dom resident knew a problem when she
saw one.
In 1978, the Sauk County landfill was
overflowing, 10 years ahead of schedule.
Zantow recalls visiting the facility one
day, and watching, depressed, as plastic
bottles whipped in the wind.
“I thought, ‘This is ridiculous,’” Zan-
56 CURB | 2010
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 56
tow says. “‘We can’t have this.’”
Her refusal to accept an ever-expanding
heap of trash sparked a national revolution.
One woman changed the way America
looked at garbage. In fact, she changed the
very definition of “garbage.”
“I just knew it had to happen. Down
deep in my heart, I knew.”
Getting started
Zantow knew recycling plastic was pos-
sible. On a recent trip to Japan, she had
seen bins on city streets and curbsides that
separated plastic, glass and metal from gar-
bage.
If she were going to solve the Sauk
County landfill crisis, Zantow knew she
needed to learn about the plastics industry.
She read the plastics encyclopedia, spoke to
experts and contacted companies specializ-
ing in the material.
She called the Borden Milk Company
in Milwaukee. “What do you do when you
have a flawed jug come through that you
can’t use?” she asked.
The reply: “We put it back and run it
through again.”
A light bulb went off.
“Aha! That was my answer,” she says. “If
they could recycle it in the very beginning,
why couldn’t we recycle post-consumer
material?”
But convincing companies to use re-
cycled plastic and politicians to enact recy-
cling laws was no easy task. Wisconsin leg-
islators laughed in her face. They told her
the concept was 20 years ahead of its time.
Zantow didn’t back down. She eventu-
ally convinced Flambeau Plastic, a com-
pany in Baraboo, to experiment with recy-
cling the material. But there was a catch:
The recycled plastic needed to be ground
before they would use it.
“Well, where am I going to get a grind-
er?” Zantow recalls thinking after she hung
up the phone.
11/22/10 9:53 AM
 She contacted a manufacturer that spe- telling a group of legislators that laughed
cialized in commercial plastics grinding. at her idea. Undeterred, she met with the

Green Your
When she inquired about purchasing a UW-Baraboo science department to learn
machine to recycle post-consumer plastics, how to distinguish different types of plas-
her request was met with laughter. tic using burn tests, smoke tests and water
“Oh, they thought that was the funniest weight tests.
thing they ever heard,” Zantow says. “He “I don’t think until I got mixed up in
Garbage
said, ‘I just can’t imagine doing that.’ But [recycling]… that any [companies] were re- If you’ve ever bought something in a
he said, ‘I’ll do it. If you get the $5,000, cycling plastic,” Zantow recalls in “Plastics plastic bottle, you’ve probably noticed
I’ll do it.’” One Through Seven,” a 2009 documentary a little number inside a triangle on the
That mountain of money seemed even by Liese Dart. bottom of the container. Ever wonder
bigger than the landfill at the time. Zantow Soon Zantow received calls from com- what that means?
called a friend, Jenny Ehl, to propose they panies around the country, wanting to
both cash in their life insurance policies to know if certain types of plastic were recy- 1. PETE or PET
buy the grinder. She figured they wouldn’t clable. “That’s how I kept going,” she says. (polyethylene terephthalate)
need the insurance for years while the plas- As the recycling movement caught on, Typically seen on soda and water
tic bottles were immediate. Zantow realized people needed a system to bottles, food containers and
With their policies liquidated and the distinguish different types of plastic. mouthwash bottles.
plastic grinder paid for in full, Zantow and “We came up with the idea of a little
Ehl started a recycling program in 1979, imprint on the bottom of every container, 2. HDPE (high-density
known as E-Z Recycling. a little triangle emblem, with a number in- polyethylene)
“[We] felt like throwing a party when serted in it,” Zantow says in “Plastics One Found on milk jugs, detergent
we threw the first jug Through Seven.” bottles, toys and household cleaning
in,” Zantow says. The Society of the products.
E-Z Recycling was “I see Milly as Plastics Industry stan-
one of the first centers
in the U.S. – if not the
really one of the dardized the now-
iconic triangle codes
3. PVC or V (polyvinyl
chloride)
only center – to recy- kind of unsung in 1988. Today they’re Used on shampoo containers,
cle plastic, newspaper, used around the world detergent bottles, pipes and outdoor
cardboard, glass, alumi- environmental to separate plastics. furniture.
num and tin. Mitman says the
Initially, the plastic
heroes of symbols “helped trans- 4. LDPE (low-density
recycling program only Wisconsin” form the way we think polyethylene)
included milk jugs. about and practice re- Typically seen on dry cleaning bags,
With the help of lo- cycling in the U.S.” food storage containers and produce
cal markets and community centers, Zan- Shortly after recycling codes were stan- bags.
tow and Ehl established drop-off locations dardized, Zantow celebrated another vic-
where people could leave old milk contain- tory: Wisconsin passed a recycling law, 5. PP (polypropylene)
ers. They told their families and friends, requiring paper, metal, glass and plastic Found on bottle tops, yogurt
and soon milk jugs piled up.“They began be collected and kept out of landfills. The containers, videocassette cases, straws
getting so full, so we knew people were as legislation came after years of lobbying by and medicine bottles.
worried as we were,” Zantow says. “But Zantow and other recycling activists.
they didn’t know what to do about it.” Zantow’s years of advocacy did not 6. PS (polystyrene)
bring her fame or fortune. Outside the en- Used on throwaway cups and plates,
A recycling revolution is born vironmental movement, her name is virtu- disposable eating utensils, rulers and
As E-Z Recycling grew, Zantow was de- ally unknown. But those familiar with her CD cases.
termined to expand the program to include story insist that she is a role model, not just
detergent bottles, shampoo bottles and for environmental advocates, but for any- 7. Other
other types of plastic. Once again, plastics one seeking to incite change. A plastic classified as seven represents
experts discouraged her, saying her project “I think what we learn is that it’s really all plastics other than the six listed
would be too labor-intensive given the va- true that one person can make a difference,” above. This may include reusable
riety of plastics involved. Zantow refused Mitman says. “This is somebody that had water bottles, sunglasses, iPod and
to give up. a real passion and commitment, and per- computer cases and bulletproof
“They’re just a different type… of plas- severed and as a result helped changed the material.
tic, and they’re recyclable,” Zantow recalls world.” 

curbonline.com 57

Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 57 11/22/10 9:53 AM

 SPOTLIGHT
The Dangers of
Cardiovascular Disease
{ kelseynelson }
Cardiovascular disease, including stroke, has long been
thought of as a “man’s disease.” In fact, the American Heart
Association has found that only 55 percent of women re-
alize heart disease is their No. 1 killer. Every year since
1984, more women have died from cardiovascular dis-
ease than men.
By making easy lifestyle changes like increasing physical
activity, quitting smoking and improving diet, your
cardiovascular risk of can dwindle. Read one
woman’s story of surviving a stroke at www.cur-
bonline.com.
The Heart
The role of the human heart is to pump
blood to the rest of the body. It cycles
through a network of veins and arteries that
carry oxygen and other nutrients to the bil-
lions of cells in the body and carries waste to
the lungs, kidneys and digestive system to be
removed.
What is Cardiovascular Disease?
Cardiovascular disease includes any type of
disease related to the heart or blood vessels.
Blood vessels transport blood to and from
the heart through a network of arteries, veins
and capillaries.
The blood carried to the body is rich with ox-
ygen and nutrients. The blood returning to
the heart carries carbon dioxide and other
waste for disposal.
Problems can develop gradually as the
blood vessels build up plaque, which can
rupture and cause blood clots to form.
If a clot forms, it can either cause a
blockage at that particular site or trav-
el through the artery to other parts
of the body. A clot that travels to the
heart can cause a heart attack; a clot
that travels to the brain can result in
a stroke.
58 CURB | 2010
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 58
The Brain
When the blood is not flowing cor-
rectly, like when a blood vessel bursts
(“hemorrhagic”) or becomes clogged
(“ischemic”), a stroke occurs. In both
scenarios, the blood is unable to carry
oxygen to the brain, causing cells to
die and the brain to become dam-
aged.
The Arteries
The arteries carry blood away from
the heart to the body.
Hypertension, one of the most-easily
reduced risk factors for cardiovascu-
lar disease, results when there is an
increase in pressure in the arter-
ies throughout the whole body.
The Veins and Capillaries
The veins carry blood to the
heart. They have a lower pressure
than arteries. Capillaries are the
center of exchange for nutrients and
waste. They give cells necessary oxy-
gen and nutrients and also take away
carbon dioxide and other waste.
Symptoms of a Heart Attack
- Chest or upper body discomfort
- Shortness of breath
-Nausea, lightheadedness or cold
sweat.
While many symptoms of a heart at-
tack are the same for both men and
women, women are slightly more
likely than men to experience back
or jaw pain, shortness of breath and
nausea.
Symptoms of a Stroke
- Sudden numbness or weakness of
face, arm or leg, especially on one
side of the body
- Sudden confusion
- Sudden trouble seeing
- Sudden dizziness or trouble walking
- Sudden severe headache with no
known cause
11/22/10 9:53 AM
 Put a ring on it?
How do you know when it's the "right time" to get married?
O
n a recent episode of the
AMC television series
“Mad Men,” Peggy
Olson, a bright young
copywriter at an ad agency, looks at her
co-worker and sighs.
“I signed the first new business since
Lucky Strike left,” she says. “But it’s not
as important as getting married.”
Peggy is 26, and in the ’60s, that was
pretty much over the hill. In 1960, the
average age of marriage for women in the
U.S. was about 20 years old. For men, it
was just under 23.
Nowadays, of course, Peggy’s mid-
20s singlehood wouldn’t raise an
eyebrow. The most common trend in
relationships is “the increasing delay of
the age of marriage,” says Professor John
DeLamater, a relationship expert at UW-
Madison. In 2009, women in Wisconsin
entered their first marriage at an average
age of 25.5, while men were just over
27 years old, according to a Wisconsin
Department of Health study.
Many reasons account for this trend.
People now spend more of their young
adulthood experimenting with love and
careers. Social norms have relaxed, too;
it’s no longer taboo to shack up before
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 59
getting hitched.
In fact, one could argue that things have
moved so much in the opposite direction
that young married couples are now the
outliers. When a 22-year-old couple
announces their engagement, there comes
the inevitable, “Why so fast?”
“We know what we want to do with
our lives,” Kayla Kaiser, a UW senior, says.
Kaiser, 22, is engaged to Kyle Terpstra, 23,
also a senior at the university. The couple
met about five years ago, during their senior
year of high school, and plan to marry next
summer.
Neither is worried about relationship
trends or marriage statistics. What’s
most important, they say, is that they’re
in love and feel ready to make what
Kaiser acknowledges is an “enormous
commitment.”
The couple plans to meet with a
financial advisor, and has already begun
budgeting for the wedding, Kaiser says. She
is confident that with open communication
and financial planning, she and Terpstra
will effectively manage their money. And,
she adds, the success of a marriage depends
less on the age of the couple, and more on
their maturity.
“I feel that Kyle and I are very mature
{ amandavoye }
for our age,” Kaiser says.
While that may be true, age does have
something to do with it. Studies have
shown that duration of marriage is linked
to a woman’s age at her first marriage—the
older she is, the less likely she is to divorce.
It is perhaps surprising, however, that
couples who marry at age 20 or older are
less likely to separate than those who marry
under 18. A 2001 Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention study found that
59 percent of women who marry under
the age of 18 separate from their partners
or divorce within 15 years. For women
who married at age 20 or older, however,
the 15-year-divorce rate dropped to 36
percent. The findings were based on a 1995
study of 10,847 women aged 15 to 44.
A more recent study, conducted by
the Pew Research Center, also found a
correlation between a woman’s age at
marriage and the duration of her marriage.
The 2009 study was based on findings drawn
from a 2008 survey sponsored by the U.S.
Census Bureau, which examined marriage
and divorce statistics at the state level. The
study found that states like Arkansas and
Oklahoma, where half of all brides were
age 24 or younger on their wedding day,
also had an above-average share of divorced
curbonline.com 59
11/22/10 9:53 AM
 women. States where people marry young
also tend to have larger shares of people
who have married three times or more.
Of course, many young marriages do
succeed, and not just because the couple is
hopelessly in love. Chris Quinn, a licensed
marriage and family therapist in Madison,
says constant, open communication is
essential to the success of any marriage,
particularly a young couple’s. It’s crucial, he
says, for both partners to be able to express
needs and desires without fear.
Quinn recommends young couples
meet with a counselor to discuss potential
issues before they arise. The relationship
may have underlying problems the couple
isn’t aware of, and pre-marital counseling
can help couples learn how to resolve
conflict before it happens. Unfortunately,
Quinn says, most couples skip pre-marital
counseling and wait until the wedding
bliss has worn off. That’s when many
people notice characteristics about their
partners they didn’t see before, Quinn says.
Disagreements come up, and couples may
question their compatibility.
“This doesn’t mean that they can’t
reconcile that, but it certainly means they
60 CURB | 2010
Curb.Magazine.Final.indd 60
have to talk about it,” Quinn says.
When Falicia Hines and her fiancé
planned their wedding, they purposely
chose an officiant who required pre-marital
counseling. One reason the counseling
sessions were valuable, Hines says, is
because they allowed her and her now-
husband to discuss their expectations for
communication.
“Open communication was a big topic,
and we spent a lot of time talking about
what our ideas of ‘open’ were,” Hines,
27, says. “We were surprised that we had
differing opinions on what open even
meant.”
The Madison couple married in
September 2010, after dating for four
years. Although Hines says she fell in love
with her husband soon after meeting him,
she wasn’t ready to get married at 23.
“I was impulsive, impatient, and a
little selfish,” she recalls. “Figuring out
who I was and transitioning from college
student to self-sufficient adult was an
experience I wasn’t really prepared for when
I graduated.”
Waiting to wed, Hines says, gave her and
her husband time to gain life experience,
understand their finances, and learn more
about each other and themselves, all of
which deepened their bond.
“I learned so much about myself after
college, and those things really helped me
feel grounded and independent,” she says.
“I am a better wife because of that.”
Not everyone has a timeline for marriage
– or plans to get married at all. In the era of
“Mad Men,” about 80 percent of U.S. men
and women ages 25 to 34 were married.
Today, that number is 45 percent. And the
marriage rate continues to fall; between
2000 and 2009, it dropped a precipitous
10 percent. Currently there are nearly 60
million U.S. residents 18 or older who have
never been married.
Michael Gonzalez, a 23-year-old living
in Madison, is one of them. His relationship
status changes daily. “Sometimes I’m single,
sometimes I’m tied down,” he says. “It all
depends on the day and time of the week.”
Will he ever get married? Maybe, maybe
not.
“Let’s be honest, it’s a lot of work,
and I’m a simple person,” he says. “Not to
mention, I can’t deal with the same people
for a prolonged period of time.” 
11/22/10 9:53 AM
 Know your milk.
Organic Valley milk comes from
The Holm Family Farm family farms near you. That means
Dunn County, WI
less shipping and more farm-fresh
taste. It’s all part of our cooperative
philosophy: work in harmony with
nature for the common good. No
antibiotics, no synthetic hormones
or persistent pesticides. You see, as
Organic Valley farmers we take a lot
of pride in putting food on your table
that is both healthy and delicious.
© Organic Valley 2010-12055

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517 Wisconsin family farms strong. curbonline.com 61

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 Women
They shaped Wisconsin’s history.
On
Top
Anna Gibbons’ tattoo-covered body made her one
of Wisconsin’s most popular circus sideshow performers.
Gibbons earned a good living from her ink, but she also
did it for love – her husband was a tattoo artist.
Dickey Chapelle’s passion for photojournalism took
her around the world. She captured some of the most
outstanding war photos and stories of all time – and she
did it without a flipcam.
Lavinia Goodell became Wisconsin’s first female law-
yer in 1874. Her legacy paved the way for thousands of
women to make the same career mistake.
Sun Prairie native Georgia O’Keefe was one of the
most influential American artists of the 20th century. Of
her famous abstract paintings, she is quoted to have
said, “I hate flowers. I only paint them because they’re
cheaper than models and they don’t move.”
Golda Meir, who would grow up to become Israel’s
first female prime minister, immigrated to Milwaukee from
Russia when she was 8. If she were alive today, would
she nosh on knishes and kugel at Benji’s, or Jake’s?
Wisconsin legend Laura Ingalls Wilder’s masterpiece,
“Little House on the Prairie,” tells of her life in the Midwest
in the late 1800s. Unfortunately for Wisconsin, the prairie
was in Kansas. 

62 CURB
CURB | | 2010
2010

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 Santa wishes he could sing
like these guys.

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at uwmadhatters.com today!
curbonline.com 63

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 CURB MAGAZINE
School of Journalism & Mass Communication
University of Wisconsin-Madison
5115 Vilas Hall
821 University Ave.
Madison, WI 53706

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