Wisconsin Tartan

[Sherry]

Alas! No pics!

Bill for state tartan wraps Badger clan in special plaid


It's not an official state kilt, but it's close.

Today the Assembly's Committee on State Affairs will take up a bill that names a state tartan - a plaid of Scottish origin used to designate a particular clan. Bill supporter Robert McWilliam of Whitefish Bay said 36 states have tartans, but this isn't just an attempt to keep up with the McGregors.

"This is something that the state deserves and anyone could wear" as part of a tie or fabric, said McWilliam, a past president of the St. Andrew's Society in Milwaukee.


Wisconsin's growing list of 21 symbols has drawn criticism from some as unnecessary, but the bill's author, state Rep. Suzanne Jeskewitz, R-Menomonee Falls, said the cost would be only a new picture in the state Blue Book.

"Sometimes you do things like this because ... you don't see a reason not to."

AB 815 calls for a tartan with "44 threads of muted blue, followed by 6 threads of scarlet, 4 threads of muted blue, 6 threads of gray" and so on through black and dark green, yellow and brown.

McWilliam said supporters tried to make the tartan representative of the whole state, not just the 1 percent of Scottish descent, by making the colors symbolic, such as blue for Great Lakes shipping.

"I think ours is less frivolous than the (state) polka dance," McWilliam said, "but maybe not."

- Jason Stein


http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/loca...php?ntid=68339

[macwilkin]

Sherry (and all):

Here is a picture from the St. Andrew's Society of Milwaukee's web site:

http://standrewssocietymilwaukee.org/page2.html

And from Matt's site on district tartans:

http://www.district-tartans.com/wisconsin.htm

And, just for fun, a very nicely done "Wisconsin Scottish" badge complete with kilted badger:

http://www.wisconsinscottish.org/store.html

Cheers,

Todd

[Wulfestieg]

Okay, the kilted badger is just plain cool.

I may currently live in Minnesota, but I'm a born and bred 'Sconnie boy, and it's good to see the old state catching up to the others who have declared a state tartan. It's not a bad tartan, either. Though I must say, I'm a tad surprised they didn't just use the UW in Scotland tartan.

[macwilkin]

Okay, the kilted badger is just plain cool.

I may currently live in Minnesota, but I'm a born and bred 'Sconnie boy, and it's good to see the old state catching up to the others who have declared a state tartan. It's not a bad tartan, either. Though I must say, I'm a tad surprised they didn't just use the UW in Scotland tartan.

It appears that the Wisconsin in Scotland tartan is a corporate/university tartan for UW extension campus in Dalkeith:

http://www.tartans.scotland.net/tart...tartan_id=1473

Maybe the university wouldn't allow it? Or perhaps the various Scottish organisations in WI liked this one better? Usually several designs are submitted and then voted upon by members or a committee representing the state's Scottish community.

Cheers,

Todd

[bubba]

I'm not going to expect a great deal from this. Heck, the newspaper here won't even mention Tartan Day. Instead they say running political ads is more important.

[GMan]

Somehow Bubba, I think that you could single handedly change that. Shoot maybe they will run you for office and you could really shake things up!