Wisconsin Dates & Holidays

Wisconsinites tended to buy more practical items this Valentine’s rather than traditional romantic items, according to a recent study.

Sortprice.com compiled search information from Feb. 2 through Feb. 10 and found Wisconsin shoppers tended to purchase or search for information on such items as cameras and GPS units.

Part of this could be attributed to Valentine’s Day falling on a Sunday. Sales typically drop as much as 20% when the holiday falls on a weekend. Keep in mind though the rankings are derived from internet searches and not actual sales.

From: www.wkowtv.com

Long the dream of Milwaukee scientist Increase Lapham, on this date in 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a joint resolution authorizing a National Weather Service. Lapham had proposed such a service after he had mapped data contributed over telegraph lines in the Upper Midwest and realized that weather might be predicted in advance.

Concerned about avoiding potential disasters on the  Great Lakes and to Wisconsin farming, Lapham’s proposal was approved by Congress and authorized on this date, February 9, 1870.

For more information, see the link below:

Increase Lapham (wikipedia)

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter proclaimed that National Grandparents Day would be celebrated every year on the first Sunday after Labor Day. This year, celebrate National Grandparents Day and honor your grandparents this Sunday, September 13th.

Marian McQuade, a housewife in Fayette County, West Virginia, originated Grandparents Day to champion the elderly in nursing homes. She also hoped others would see these elderly as an untapped resource of experience and wisdom.

This year, Martha Babis was named 2009 National Grandparent of the Year Forget-Me-Not Volunteer. Martha developed a program at her local church where church member “adopt” a grandparent in a nursing home and pledge to visit them at least once a week.

For more about Grandparents Day, see this article.