WI State Journal artcile

My first source is an article from the Wisconsin State Journal. The article, “It wouldn’t be Wisconsin without fish fries and boils” was publish in 2000. Even though the article is quite short, I know it is a credible source because it was published in one of Wisconsins most purchased daily papers. I chose this newspaper article to start with because it simply states a few key reasons as to why fish fries became and still are so popular to Wisconsinites. The article swiftly states that German heritage and the Roman Catholic faith have a large influence to why fish fries stayed throughout restaurants even outside of the lent time period (Martell).  The article also includes what most traditional and modern fish fries are served with: “chunks of breaded or batter-fried fish, usually had- dock or cod, with coleslaw, rye bread, french fries and, in the German tradition, potatopan- cakes (Martell).

This source gave me a great introduction to my topic and also to historical background that I was unsure about. This source will help me grow my knowledge about fish fries because now I know the simple information and growing off from this article will be useful due to some questions I have: What did German heritage have to do with influencing the fish fry to begin? Also, Why is this tradition so regional prominent? I am ready to further explore my topic now that I have a basic understanding of some important historical information. I am so curious to see if I will lean more towards the cultural or religious background of my topic. One thing that really bothered me about this article was that is was short and simple and did not include any direct examples other than places you can go for fish fries today.

Overall, I am really happy I picked this article because now I know where to base my further research. I feel that this article will lead in me to the right direction.

Works Cited:

Martell, Chris. “It wouldn’t be Wisconsin without fish fries and boils.” Wisconsin State  Journal, Sunday, Febuary 27. 2000. #7G. Access NewspaperArchive.com.web. 29 Oct. 2013.

My research question relates to why and how Wisconsin Friday night fish fries are so important to Wisconsinites and to our states culture. I am very interested in this topic because I grew up in a community near a lake where fishing was always a popular hobby. I also worked at a restaurant where Friday fish fries were a huge deal so this adds to why I am so interested in the historic side to Friday fish fries. I think this is a good topic for me to explore because I have traveled to Germany twice and I know that German influence in Wisconsin has a connection to fish fries as well as religious factors of the Catholic faith. I currently have a little background on this topic but I am excited to learn more about how small and large communities have been affected by this Wisconsin tradition.