Othelia Winger was only doing what young women her age have done for generations: trying out different shades of lipstick. Through a combination of unfortunate circumstances, her cosmetic choice on one November day in 1930 would prove deadly. Tillie was planning to attend a party near her family’s farm in the Town of Bern, just … More Germs From Lipstick Sample Kill Young Woman
Last week I watched a film called The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. It tells the story of the friendship that develops across the barbed wire of a German concentration camp between a captive Jewish boy and the son of the camp commandant. For me, the film’s stunning ending brought tears and a fresh reminder … More From the Liberation of Auschwitz Comes a Cry: Remember
By Joe Hanneman MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin —Lillian G. Graef’s infectious smile and carefree demeanor belied the troubles she’d seen in her 19 years. Her 47-year-old mother, Mary, died of tuberculosis in January 1922 when Lillian was just 14. Her sister, Adeline, died in July 1921 of the same disease. The family’s oldest girl, Marie, became a … More 1927 Lillian Graef Killing Still Haunts Milwaukee
This week back in 1927, a high school freshman named Helen Leng was brutally murdered in Portage, Wisconsin. She had been walking home from a friend’s house after seeing the matinee at the local theater. She walked through a tunnel that ran under the Milwaukee Road rail tracks around 6 p.m. and was shot in … More Of Helen Leng’s Murder and Investigative History
Treasured Lives 