Bruce's Smorsasborg

 By Bruce Shawkey This is a story illustrating how so many lives can intersect and what a small world it is. This is a story of my dad, a high school classmate of mine and his grandfather, and a former mayor of Mineral Point, a city in iowa County, Wisconsin. John "Ben" Bolerud was of Norwegian descent and was elected mayor of Mineral Point in the 1950s and '60s. He road around town on a mule, presumably because of the hilly terrain of this former lead mining town with a history dating back to the civil war (lead shot for rifles). This is how a local paper remembered him: Tuesday evening, Benjamin Bollerud, former Mineral Point mayor, area historian, and traveler passed away at his home on Meeker Street. Bollerud's death marks the end of an era. In Mineral Point history. Bollerud's colorful dress, speech, actions and style was of another era that some may remember but few have lived. This week, the Democrat-Tribune has gone back into previous issues to give our re...

The History of M&Ms Forrest E. Mars, Sr. introduced the plain chocolate candies in 1941. During the start of the Second World War, sugar was in short supply in the U.S. and was therefore rationed. However, there was one company that got away with endless supplies of sugar: Hershey. Hershey was able to lobby with the government to allow them to have access to sugar for production. In turn, The Hershey Corporation supplied chocolate to the troops and prisoners of war (a delicacy and morale booster). Mars got wind of this and struck an 80-20 deal with the son of Hershey executive William Murrie, allowing Hershey to supply chocolate, capital, and technology to make the new candy that would be called “M&M’s” from both of their last names: Mars and Murrie. That's right! M&M's are made with Hershey's chocolate, a fact that Mars does not like to admit or publicize. M&M's were eventually supplied to soldiers.  Their patented colored candy coating became a hit for...