Happy August! 😮 😀

I’ve lived in Wisconsin all my life, and I just LOVE this BEAUTIFUL state! ❤ I enjoy learning fun facts about Wisconsin whenever I can. 😉

This week, I learned a fun fact about Wisconsin, music, and August thanks to the Wisconsin Historical Museum’s “This Day in Wisconsin History.” (If you haven’t checked out my post about the Wisconsin Historical Museum, you can do so, here.)

I learned that on August 1st, 1893, Ethwell “Eddy” Hanson was born in Waupaca, Wisconsin. (Check out my post about Waupaca, Wisconsin, here.)

Eddy Hanson Courtesy of Neenah Historical Society

Why is Eddy Hanson important to Wisconsin history? Well, he created “The Wisconsin Waltz.” Until this week, I was unfamiliar with Eddy Hanson, but I was very impressed to learn about him.

According to Wisconsin Public Radio’s article, “Father Of Wisconsin Waltz Born This Week In 1893”, Hanson was a multi-instrumentalist who played the saxophone, the piano, and the organ and wrote over three hundred songs! 😮 He even performed across the United States and Europe with John Philip Sousa’s band!

If you haven’t heard “The Wisconsin Waltz” before, you can listen to it here:

Prior to this week, I was not aware of Wisconsin’s official waltz, but I was very happy to learn about Eddy Hanson and listen to my state’s official waltz for the first time. 🙂