Wisconsin Death Trip
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| + | "About 11 o'clock Tuesday forenoon, David C. Hodge, a resident of '[[Hardscrabble]],' took a large dose of [[morphine]] which resulted in his death about 12 o'clock that night ... The deceased left a note saying that no one but himself was to blame for the act. He leaves a wife and 4 little girls in destitute circumstances. He was a sober and industrious workman, quite well known and generally respected ."--obituary from ''[[Wisconsin Death Trip]]'' (1973) by Michael Lesy | ||
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| + | "Lesy noticed [[Van Schaick]]'s many pictures of [[dead infants and children]], dressed in their [[christening gown]]s, now placed in tiny coffins. As he looked for the story behind these photos, he found a tale of [[plague]]s: of [[murder]], [[suicide]], [[farm and business failures]], [[madness]], [[addiction]], [[tramp armies]], and the ruin of childhood and the [[desolation]] of families by [[epidemics]] of [[diptheria]], [[typhoid]], [[smallpox]] and [[flu]]. Lesy made a montage, using items from the local paper, contemporaneous regional fiction and poetry, asylum records and the photographs left by Van Schaick, who in Lesy's pages emerges as Arbus's unknown ancestor. In words, the story was almost too much to take in, the accumulation of awful facts nearly mute in their cacophony. But the pictures spoke. From Van Schaick's archive Lesy made a tableau of disassociation, terror and insanity passing for everyday life. It was all in the blank eyes, the frozen mouths in family portraits: those were the ghosts James Marsh saw."--"[['Wisconsin Death Trip': A Record of Despair Born of a Single Image]]" (1999) by Greil Marcus | ||
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| + | "Michael Lesy’s ''Wisconsin Death Trip'' (1973), which also constructs, with the aid of photographs, a portrait of a rural county—but the time is the past, between 1890 and 1910, years of severe recession and economic hardship, and [[Jackson County]] is reconstructed by means of [[found object]]s dating from those decades. These consist of a selection of photographs taken by [[Charles Van Schaick]], the county seat’s leading commercial photographer, some three thousand of whose glass negatives are stored in the State Historical Society of Wisconsin; and [[quotations]] from period sources, mainly local [[newspapers]] and the records of the county [[insane asylum]], and fiction about the Midwest."--''[[On Photography]]'' (1977) by Susan Sontag | ||
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| + | "''[[Wisconsin Death Trip]]'' charts a myriad of numerous grim and bizarre occurrences that took place in and around [[Jackson County, Wisconsin]]—in particular, the city of [[Black River Falls, Wisconsin|Black River Falls]]—between 1885 and 1910. In addition to a disintegration of the local economy after the closure of several industrial mines, the populace is plagued by a [[diphtheria]] epidemic that claims the lives of numerous children, as well as a series of violent crimes, murders, suicides, arsons, [[religious delusion]]s, mental illness, and superstitions. The vandalism crimes of [[Mary Sweeny]] are also showcased throughout."--Sholem Stein | ||
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| + | "The genuine man, I mean that mass of faculties and feelings which are produced by the inner man. We have reached a new world, which is infinite, because every action which we see involves an infinite association of reasonings, emotions, sensations new and old, which have served to bring it to light, and which, like great rocks deep- seated in. the ground, find in it their end and their level. This [[underworld]] is a new subject-matter, proper to the historian."--''[[History of English Literature]]'' by Taine, epigraph | ||
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| + | "In the training of certain [[idiots]], one of the great impediments in ameliorating their condition is found in the [[sexual orgasm]]s to which they are addicted, [and which] perpetuate their idiocy."--''[[The Jukes: A Study in Crime, Pauperism, Disease and Heredity]]'' (1877) by Richard Louis Dugdale | ||
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| + | '''''Wisconsin Death Trip''''' (1973) is a book by [[Michael Lesy]] based on a collection of [[photograph|photographs]] of the period 1890-1910 by photographer [[Charles Van Schaick]] (1852-1946), mostly in the town of [[Black River Falls]] in Wisconsin, juxtaposed with and local [[news report]]s from the same period. It emphasizes the harsh aspects of [[Midwest]]ern rural life under the pressures of [[crime]], [[disease]], [[mental illness]], and [[urbanization]]. | ||
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| + | A film was directed by [[James Marsh (director)|James Marsh]] and starred [[Marcus Monroe]] and released in 2000. In a [[docudrama]] style, and shot entirely in [[black-and-white]] (except for contrasting sequences of modern life in the area, in color), it combined re-enactments of some of the events described in the book with a voice-over narration by [[Ian Holm]]. | ||
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| + | ==Overview== | ||
| + | ''Wisconsin Death Trip'' charts a myriad of numerous grim and bizarre occurrences that took place in and around [[Jackson County, Wisconsin]]—in particular, the city of [[Black River Falls, Wisconsin|Black River Falls]]—between 1885 and 1910. In addition to a disintegration of the local economy after the closure of several industrial mines, the populace is plagued by a [[diphtheria]] epidemic that claims the lives of numerous children, as well as a series of violent crimes, murders, suicides, arsons, [[religious delusion]]s, mental illness, and superstitions. The vandalism crimes of [[Mary Sweeny]] are also showcased throughout. | ||
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| + | The book is divided in five sections, with the opening and closing chapters focusing primarily on births, children, and [[Child mortality|child death]]; the middle three chapters focus on an array of incidents involving adults. The various occurrences are relayed via actual articles originally published in the local newspaper, the ''Badger State Banner'', by editor Frank Cooper and his son George, as well as written documents from a medical records keeper from [[Mendota State Hospital]], a town historian, and a town gossip. Lesy's own narration is also incorporated, along with selections from writings by [[Hamlin Garland]], [[Sinclair Lewis]], and [[Glenway Wescott]]. | ||
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| + | Accompanying the text are approximately 200 photographs and portraits by Charles Van Schaick, a [[German Americans|German]] immigrant who served as the Justice of Peace and town photographer for Black River Falls. The book emphasizes the harsh elements of [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]]ern rural life during the expansion of the [[American Frontier]] and imminent urbanization, and their role in sordid incidents that unfolded in and around the community. | ||
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| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | *[[Death]] | ||
| + | *[[Trip]] | ||
| + | *''[[The Grandmothers]]'' (1927) by Glenway Wescott | ||
| + | *[[Richard Louis Dugdale ]] | ||
| + | *[[Liberty Hyde Bailey]] | ||
| + | *[[The Smoky Pilgrims]] | ||
| + | *''[[American Nervousness]]'' () by George Beard | ||
| + | *[[Country life movement]] | ||
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"About 11 o'clock Tuesday forenoon, David C. Hodge, a resident of 'Hardscrabble,' took a large dose of morphine which resulted in his death about 12 o'clock that night ... The deceased left a note saying that no one but himself was to blame for the act. He leaves a wife and 4 little girls in destitute circumstances. He was a sober and industrious workman, quite well known and generally respected ."--obituary from Wisconsin Death Trip (1973) by Michael Lesy "Lesy noticed Van Schaick's many pictures of dead infants and children, dressed in their christening gowns, now placed in tiny coffins. As he looked for the story behind these photos, he found a tale of plagues: of murder, suicide, farm and business failures, madness, addiction, tramp armies, and the ruin of childhood and the desolation of families by epidemics of diptheria, typhoid, smallpox and flu. Lesy made a montage, using items from the local paper, contemporaneous regional fiction and poetry, asylum records and the photographs left by Van Schaick, who in Lesy's pages emerges as Arbus's unknown ancestor. In words, the story was almost too much to take in, the accumulation of awful facts nearly mute in their cacophony. But the pictures spoke. From Van Schaick's archive Lesy made a tableau of disassociation, terror and insanity passing for everyday life. It was all in the blank eyes, the frozen mouths in family portraits: those were the ghosts James Marsh saw."--"'Wisconsin Death Trip': A Record of Despair Born of a Single Image" (1999) by Greil Marcus "Michael Lesy’s Wisconsin Death Trip (1973), which also constructs, with the aid of photographs, a portrait of a rural county—but the time is the past, between 1890 and 1910, years of severe recession and economic hardship, and Jackson County is reconstructed by means of found objects dating from those decades. These consist of a selection of photographs taken by Charles Van Schaick, the county seat’s leading commercial photographer, some three thousand of whose glass negatives are stored in the State Historical Society of Wisconsin; and quotations from period sources, mainly local newspapers and the records of the county insane asylum, and fiction about the Midwest."--On Photography (1977) by Susan Sontag "Wisconsin Death Trip charts a myriad of numerous grim and bizarre occurrences that took place in and around Jackson County, Wisconsin—in particular, the city of Black River Falls—between 1885 and 1910. In addition to a disintegration of the local economy after the closure of several industrial mines, the populace is plagued by a diphtheria epidemic that claims the lives of numerous children, as well as a series of violent crimes, murders, suicides, arsons, religious delusions, mental illness, and superstitions. The vandalism crimes of Mary Sweeny are also showcased throughout."--Sholem Stein "The genuine man, I mean that mass of faculties and feelings which are produced by the inner man. We have reached a new world, which is infinite, because every action which we see involves an infinite association of reasonings, emotions, sensations new and old, which have served to bring it to light, and which, like great rocks deep- seated in. the ground, find in it their end and their level. This underworld is a new subject-matter, proper to the historian."--History of English Literature by Taine, epigraph "In the training of certain idiots, one of the great impediments in ameliorating their condition is found in the sexual orgasms to which they are addicted, [and which] perpetuate their idiocy."--The Jukes: A Study in Crime, Pauperism, Disease and Heredity (1877) by Richard Louis Dugdale |
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Wisconsin Death Trip (1973) is a book by Michael Lesy based on a collection of photographs of the period 1890-1910 by photographer Charles Van Schaick (1852-1946), mostly in the town of Black River Falls in Wisconsin, juxtaposed with and local news reports from the same period. It emphasizes the harsh aspects of Midwestern rural life under the pressures of crime, disease, mental illness, and urbanization.
A film was directed by James Marsh and starred Marcus Monroe and released in 2000. In a docudrama style, and shot entirely in black-and-white (except for contrasting sequences of modern life in the area, in color), it combined re-enactments of some of the events described in the book with a voice-over narration by Ian Holm.
Overview
Wisconsin Death Trip charts a myriad of numerous grim and bizarre occurrences that took place in and around Jackson County, Wisconsin—in particular, the city of Black River Falls—between 1885 and 1910. In addition to a disintegration of the local economy after the closure of several industrial mines, the populace is plagued by a diphtheria epidemic that claims the lives of numerous children, as well as a series of violent crimes, murders, suicides, arsons, religious delusions, mental illness, and superstitions. The vandalism crimes of Mary Sweeny are also showcased throughout.
The book is divided in five sections, with the opening and closing chapters focusing primarily on births, children, and child death; the middle three chapters focus on an array of incidents involving adults. The various occurrences are relayed via actual articles originally published in the local newspaper, the Badger State Banner, by editor Frank Cooper and his son George, as well as written documents from a medical records keeper from Mendota State Hospital, a town historian, and a town gossip. Lesy's own narration is also incorporated, along with selections from writings by Hamlin Garland, Sinclair Lewis, and Glenway Wescott.
Accompanying the text are approximately 200 photographs and portraits by Charles Van Schaick, a German immigrant who served as the Justice of Peace and town photographer for Black River Falls. The book emphasizes the harsh elements of Midwestern rural life during the expansion of the American Frontier and imminent urbanization, and their role in sordid incidents that unfolded in and around the community.
See also
- Death
- Trip
- The Grandmothers (1927) by Glenway Wescott
- Richard Louis Dugdale
- Liberty Hyde Bailey
- The Smoky Pilgrims
- American Nervousness () by George Beard
- Country life movement
