University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse -- Students -- Research -- Periodicals
College students -- Research -- United States -- Periodicals
Journals
History

Amlaw, Patrick

Contested Memories: G. Heileman Brewery, Working Class Leisure, and the Origins of Oktoberfest in La Crosse investigates the origins of Oktoberfest in La Crosse as a working-class leisure festival that G. Heileman Brewery management created for its employees. It analyzes the involvement of the La Crosse Chamber of Commerce, and how the Chamber and the Brewery combined a working-class leisure festival with a commercialized tourist event to showcase local businesses and products at a national level. This paper also investigates how the festival affected employee unity, solidarity, and class-consciousness. I conducted oral history interviews with past G. Heileman Brewery shop employees to determine how they utilized the festival as a leisure opportunity, as well as their feelings, impressions, and memories of Oktoberfest and the Brewery during this time. Interviews reveal that brewery workers came to regard Oktoberfest primarily as a family celebration, contributing little to worker unity, solidarity, or consciousness. Their experiences, memories, and interpretations paint a complex and intriguing picture of the La Crosse Oktoberfest and its origins.
Published as part of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Journal of Undergraduate Research, Volume 8 (2005)

G. Heileman Brewing Company -- History
Breweries -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Brewing industry -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse

Meisner, Tracy
Waldron, Terri

A UWL student paper.
Old Style! Special Export! Blatz! These are all beers that are brewed at G. Heileman Brewing Company in La Crosse. The Heileman Brewing Company is quite different today than when it started in 1858. The Brewery and its employees have undergone many changes over the years.

Breweries -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse

Baier, Steven Michael

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Oral History Program

Gilbertson, John P. -- Interviews
Oral history
Oral history -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Interviews -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
La Crosse (Wis.) -- History
Postal service -- Employees
Postal service -- History
Letter carriers -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Postmasters -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Recreation -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
La Crosse (Wis.) -- Social life and customs

John P. Gilbertson begins his interview by discussing his Norwegian family history. His interview largely focuses on La Crosse social life and recreation, as well as his career as a letter carrier. Topics include but are not limited to: saw mills, railroads, Coon Valley, family working-class occupations, the Great Depression, history of the La Crosse Post Office, steamboats, La Crosse Inter-State Fair, farm technology, newspaper and press industry, education in La Crosse, Wisconsin Business University, the circus, segregation from Ho-Chunk community and community racism, Bartl Brewery, anti-Black racism and interracial marriage, river and lumber industries, Goosetown, gambling houses and City policies, anti-German discrimination, WWI, automobiles, federal government, development of the La Crosse Normal School (now UW-L), Hoeschler family, medical history, Adolf Gundersen, early Ho-Chunk community members, early Black American community members, La Crosse Historical Society, Nathan Myrick, local politics, Wisconsin Progressive Movement, corruption in La Crosse Police Department, personal sentiments towards communities with different identities than his own (Indigenous, Black American, and Jewish).
Note: This interview has sections of poor audio quality.
Tape 2
Tape 3
Tape 4

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Oral History Program

Lange, Norman -- Interviews
Breweries -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
Labor unions -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse
La Crosse (Wis.) -- Social life and customs
United States -- History -- 1945-1953
United States -- History -- 1953-1961
Fraternal organizations -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse

Lange discusses returning to La Crosse, Wisconsin, following service in World War II. He details his work history and union involvement, describing the brewing industry and his work for Peerless Brewery and his career with the La Crosse Cooler Company. He also discusses his membership in fraternal organizations.