Date in History: 20th Century
In 1948 the Wisconsin State Fair had a special exhibit to celebrate the state’s centennial. The dairy industry’s contribution was a display using the theme of Alice in Wonderland. The display was so well received that the annual “Dairy Queen” title was changed to “Alice in Dairyland” and the display continued for several years with an animated likeness of each year’s Alice in the center of the exhibit.
Three women from Jefferson County have won the Alice in Dairyland title – Nancy Trewyn of Cold Springs in 1957, Marilyn Draeger of Fort Atkinson in 1963 and Barbara Ward of Fort Atkinson in 1983.
These days Alice is a full-time public relations professional traveling the state, nation and world to promote Wisconsin products and receiving a salary of $35,000 a year.
This historic document aired on the radio as an Historic Minute on 06/07/2004.