Page [71]

WISCONSIN         IN   1958
        Introduction
                 Although literally thousands of
articles have been written describ-
ing the social, economic and polit-
ical life of Wisconsin, there are
few items which have been pro-
duced in such quantity that they
are readily accessible to the con-
tinuing parade of people, both
young and old, who seek such
data. Each year a new crop of
Wisconsin youngsters reaches the
age at which their formal edu-
cational program dictates or their
  ... . 4-VV .- . -.. .. . . . . -&U ý. 4- 4. 7.' 1 r__ .. . .
                                  curiosity urges tuiuitnLyiy eaLrL
something about the environment in which they live. To this must
be added thousands of youngsters of other states who also seek
information about this and other states. Many adults likewise seek
such data for a variety of purposes ranging from the determination
of whether Wisconsin would be a good place to live to finding the
answers to TV and radio quiz questions. There is an ever-present
need for a broad and readily accessible source of some substantial
data on Wisconsin to meet the recurring requests for information
about the state.
   Some efforts to solve this problem have been made in the past
by agencies of the state. The 1942 Blue Book contained an article
"Your State - Wisconsin" which sought to provide some basic data
in a few pages. The distribution of this article was facilitated by
reprinting. The second over-all view of Wisconsin prepared in re-
cent years was "A Picture of Wisconsin" published in 1945 by the
State Planning Board. Its purpose was "to present what Wisconsin
possesses in basic physical resources, show the use that is being
made of them, and indicate the principal activities through which
Wisconsin people obtain their livelihood. It is in the nature of an
appraisal of Wisconsin's production capacity, as indicated by its
late prewar record, and the resources, both native and imported,
that are the foundation of that record . . .". In 1951 the State
Planning Board issued a pamphlet entitled "Wisconsin, the Badger
State" which purported to be "a brief presentation of facts regard-
ing its population, geography, agriculture, industry and resources."
This pamphlet likewise went through several reprints and was dis-
tributed widely to schools.