We all know Wisconsin has its share of the quirky. And we don’t mind celebrating it. Whether or not we’d want someone from south of the state line to do it, is questionable.
But when Chicago writer Jerome Pohlen does it – in the new second edition of his book "Oddball Wisconsin: A Guide to 400 Really Strange Places" – it’s OK, because, well...
"The very first ‘oddball road trip’ I ever took was to Wisconsin. I had to get away from Cubs fans who had invaded my Chicago neighborhood for a day game, and headed north looking for weirdness," he says.
We can relate, buddy.
Pohlen’s book, published in paperback by Chicago Review Press ($16.95), first appeared in 2001 and is part of a series that also includes "Oddball Illinois" and "Oddball Indiana."
"I had a long-out-of-print book that gave me some pretty crummy leads, and I thought, I could do a lot better than this.’ That was 20 years ago," he recalls. "At first I just did this for my own amusement, but the more information I gathered, the more I wanted to share it with other weirdoes."
When Pohlen began to see many oddball sites shuttered – among them the Pyramid Supper Club in Beaver Dam, Al Capone's Hideout in Couderay, the World of Miniature Buildings in Pardeeville and the Wax World of the Stars in the Dells – he decided it was time for a new edition of the book.
"There's always new weirdness to fill the vacuum," he reassures.
So, what makes a place strange?
"It's very subjective," says Pohlen. "Basically anything I personally find amusing, odd or interesting. I try to stick to sites that don't make it into most travel guides, or if they do, talk about an odd angle. For example, I don't review the menu at Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant & Butik, but I do write about the goats that live on the sod roof."
Across 300-plus pages, Pohlen checks out the remains of the world’s largest badger in Birnamwood, explains how Winneconne attempted to secede in 1967, noshes at Burlington’s Sci-Fi Cafe and marvels at Waunakee’s Bavarian Goat Tower.
Four hundred is a lot of strange places, but Pohlen says they jump right out at you, if you’re of the right frame of mind.
"It’s not hard at all – Wisconsin is very strange, and I mean that in the best way," he says. "Anyone with a twisted mind can spot it."
With so many strange places under his belt – across three states – you’d think it would be hard for Pohlen to pick the absolute weirdest. But not so.
"(That’s) quite easy," he says. "Top Secret, the Upside Down White House in the Dells. It's got presidents and their dogs standing on the ceiling – or is it the floor? – while your tour walks through on the floor – or is it the ceiling? – drapes hang up, plants grow down, toilets overflow, and an unseen scientist builds a robotic President Obama ... I still have no idea what this place is all about."
How about a personal favorite?
"My favorite site in the book is the Big Ball of Twine in Lake Nebagamon. James Frank Kotera – "The Real JFK" – has been winding this twine ball since April 3, 1975. That's the day he gave up drinking and decided to put his energy into something more creative. The ball is almost 20,000 pounds, and most days you'll find him out under his twine shed, still winding away."
Pohlen spends nearly 30 pages detailing the weirdness to be had in Milwaukee and environs. There is the expected: The Bronze Fonz, Mary Nohl’s quirky house, Holler House, Koz’s Mini Bowl.
He digs a bit deeper, too, showcasing the fun sculptures in the Cass Street Playground and digging up history in the form of the childhood homes of Golda Meir and Spencer Tracy. But Pohlen has no plan to do an entire book focusing on Milwaukee.
Don’t feel bad, though. Pohlen knows oddness and when it comes to strange-ness, we’re at the epicenter, he says. Weirder even than Illinois and Indiana.
"Per capita, definitely Wisconsin," he says. "I tell people the new book is like Oddball Illinois, only cheesier."
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
