Living

As many do this time of year, The Wisconsin 100 team is reflecting on the past year. From our inaugural issue in January focused on debuts to our Thankful Issue in November, we have enjoyed chronicling life and business around the state.

One Word 365 says by choosing your word, it becomes the compass that directs your decisions and guides your steps.

Showing gratitude can take countless forms, particularly when we thank members of the United States military.

Less than a decade ago, a man named Todd Bol held a rummage sale outside his western Wisconsin home. After using garage door remnants to construct a miniature schoolhouse, he filled it with books and stationed it at the end of his driveway, garnering attention from visitor after visitor.

Plan on giving back this holiday season? There’s an app for that:

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has long printed a weekly publication called The Union, and it was this name that would inspire the satirical newspaper, The Onion.

“I think on early shifts, it’s all about learning to function in a perpetual state of physical and mental fatigue,” said Vince Vitrano, WTMJ-TV news anchor and reporter.

Paul Henschel is a confirmed night owl. A machinist for Milwaukee Forge, he works third shift, clocking in from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., Sunday through Thursday.

When the snow flies, Wisconsin residents still expect a smooth and safe morning commute. They rely on people like Tyler Steffen, a Waukesha public works employee who has been clearing snowy roads for 20 years.

TEMPO Milwaukee President and CEO Jennifer Dirks typically starts her workday with 7 a.m. coffee meetings.

As an English teacher at Hartford Union High School, Jennifer Rodig is accustomed to rising early. Her day starts with lesson planning even before students arrive, but getting students’ attention when class starts at 7:25 a.m. proves to be challenging.

Farming is a family tradition for dairy farmer Rick Roden of Roden Echo Valley, LLC.

Studies show that working out first thing in the morning increases your productivity throughout the day. If that’s the case, Kerri Schanowski is as productive as they come.

With one of the largest trauma surgeon teams in the state, the Medical College of Wisconsin is prepared to save lives day and night. Working around the clock sometimes means shifts of 35 hours or more.

An iced Americano aficionado with a knack for perfecting the craft of coffee making, Chris Johnston, barista trainer at Valentine Coffee Co., wakes up around 4 a.m. daily. After a comedy sketch and a bowl of oatmeal, he’s on his way to foster the talent of Valentine’s employees and provide quality assurance to wholesale clients.

Morning routines among Branigan staffers vary by personality:

Some people like haunted houses. Others relish an exploration into uncharted areas of the brain’s most inexplicable fears. If that’s more your speed, add these hair-raising haunts to your October bucket list.

“We do everything possible to make the haunted house feel genuinely unique,” said Jacob Eugster, founder of Screamin’ Acres Haunted Houses Inc. and a UW-Madison business student.

What has green fur, the head of a frog, the face of an elephant, stubby legs and jagged spikes along its backside? Wisconsin’s infamous, 200-pound monster, the hodag.

Picking a Halloween costume takes effort and creativity and most of us end up leaving it until the very last minute. This means each year there are a dozens of women in cat ears or men in Superman shirts at any given Halloween party.

You’ve got the carving knife, a stencil (that you’ll never tell the neighbors you used) and a trash bag for all the seeds. Now, you just need the pumpkin to turn into a jack-o’-lantern.

Cities from Seattle to St. Petersburg are banning single-use plastics like plastic straws, utensils and stirrers to limit the amount of plastic waste in the oceans.

Summer is a time for relaxing with family and close friends. Although many individuals remain hard at work, there is almost nothing better than retreating to the family cottage or finding some spot of sun-kissed sand.

Our end-of-summer staff picks:

Just outside of Milwaukee you’ll find a one-stop shop for all your seasonal and traditional fall activities. Apple Holler, a family-run business since 1987, offers 78 acres of orchards for exploration, 40 different varieties of fruit to taste, a restaurant serving home-style cooking and a bakery offering fresh pastries.

We’ve all heard that in order to reduce stress, we should “reconnect with nature.” However, science suggests that we may not be taking this advice literally enough.

Along with enjoying the outdoors during our summers in Wisconsin, the season is also busy in the world of home renovations, remodeling and working to cross tasks off the do-it-yourself project lists we all have.

Where is the best location to own a home in Wisconsin? Matt Stone, licensed Realtor and Door County resident, will tell you: northern Wisconsin. Where else can one find shopping strips, expansive woods, growing neighborhoods, clean beaches and cozy taverns all in the same roughly 10-mile radius?

Our favorite rooms include:

My master bathroom. It was recently remodeled. – Marlo

Nothing beats sipping morning coffee on my porch during the summertime. – Grace

While picking through heaps of geological wonders for a recent project, I came across a collection of petrified wood. From the Greek root meaning, literally, “wood turned into stone,” this is a plant that fossilizes in the Earth. Without oxygen, the wood is replaced by opal, calcite, pyrite and silica.