Wisconsin Life

Everyone likes a good ghost story, especially around this time of year. Dorothy Malone of Milwaukee shared a childhood encounter with the supernatural at Ex Fabula’s StorySlam ‘Identity’ event held in March 2020. She talks about seeing ghosts as a little girl and how it shaped her interactions and gifts later in life.

Fifty years after it first terrified — and amused — audiences, “The Giant Spider Invasion” is crawling back onto the screen. The cult classic about extraterrestrial, blood thirty spiders was filmed in the Gleason, Wisconsin area and is beloved by campy horror fans. It even got the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment.

Now, “The Giant Spider Invasion” is being reimagined for its 50th anniversary, with new scenes filmed in northern Wisconsin and a theater release around Halloween. Dan Davies is a Wisconsin native himself who has been cast as the lead actor in the new footage. He talked with WPR’s Shereen Siewert about the film.

Lilies of the valley are often considered a beautiful, yet high-maintenance plant. For writer Nancy Jorgenson, they will forever connect her to her beloved grandmother, who found virtue in caring for them. Caregiving was deeply rooted in her grandmother, who dreamed of being a nurse. But, society had different plans for a woman of her era. Jorgenson reflects on her grandmother’s devotion to her family, dreams, and flowers.

Members of the walking group get to know their city while also learning about each other

It was fifty years ago that the city of Saigon was captured by the North Vietnamese, marking the end of the Vietnam War. Just days before, 12-year-old Tan Pham escaped the city, along with his parents and three siblings. Pham shared the story of his family’s extraordinary journey to La Crosse with WPR’s Ezra Wall.

How do you travel halfway around the world and still feel connected to home? For WPR’s Carina Abrego-Koch of Green Bay, she listened to the sound of her own voice — and the voice of someone she loves — while on a trip to London.

She shares her story as part of the “Home Is Here” project, which amplifies the voices of the growing number of Black, Asian, Native American and Hispanic residents who call northeastern Wisconsin home. The project is part of the NEW News Lab – a local news collaboration in northeastern Wisconsin made up of six news organizations.

The Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin offers hundreds of field trips each year that bring members face-to-face with some of the state’s natural wonders. WPR’s Beatrice Lawrence went along on a recent trip to Nelson Dewey State Park along the Mississippi River to witness a swarm of 3,000 bats put on a show as they returned to their homes at dawn.

Each year, the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin organizes hundreds of trips to get people in touch with the natural world and show them conservation projects — like bat monitoring — in action.

People working through addictions or tough times in their life often turn to things that bring comfort and support. Some turn to religion or a recovery coin or books. For writer Stacy Parish of Appleton, she held onto something much more organic.

Appleton writer reflects on the strength of the stone