'Mrs. Griggs' Returns to Milwaukee -- and the Green Sheet Is Back in Town, Too
Watch for more excerpts from columns in the Journal Sentinel every few weeks, after today's debut of the feature here and here.
Good work, Chris Foran, another lifelong Milwaukeean who grew up with the Green Sheet. Mrs. Griggs would be proud of you.
Watch for more excerpts from columns in the Journal Sentinel every few weeks, after today's debut of the feature here and here.
Good work, Chris Foran, another lifelong Milwaukeean who grew up with the Green Sheet. Mrs. Griggs would be proud of you.
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'Mrs. Griggs' Returns to TV . . . to MPTV's 'I Remember,' Now Viewable Online
If you missed the show (and good work by Jim Peck, Jane Bieterman, and MATC students), both episodes now are online here.
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'Mrs. Griggs' Returns to Journal [Sentinel], 80 Years Since Her Start in Milwaukee
See more by current JS columnist Jim Stingl at "Media," above. Next, the return of the "Green Sheet"? We wish. . . .
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'Mrs. Griggs' Returns to TV . . . to MPTV's 'I Remember,' Now Viewable Online
If you missed the show (and good work by Jim Peck, Jane Bieterman, and MATC students), both episodes now are online here.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
'Mrs. Griggs' Returns to Journal [Sentinel], 80 Years Since Her Start in Milwaukee
See more by current JS columnist Jim Stingl at "Media," above. Next, the return of the "Green Sheet"? We wish. . . .
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In Her Own, Hilarious Words: How 'Mrs. Griggs'
Introduced Her Column to Readers, 80 Years Ago "Ione Quinby Griggs . . . has listened to the sad stories of many women whose lives have been broken because they had no one to turn to in hours of trial. . . . Love problems have led to murder, many times. And most of those murders could have been prevented, had the hotheaded killer asked for advice. "In her capacity of reporter, she has loaned her powder puff to several women who had killed for love or lack of understanding of their love problems . . . women in the shadow of the noose . . . . She knows present-day problems must be fought with modern methods. The old idea that civilized ladies never think of throwing things or shooting has long since been exploded. "Ladies accepted in the best drawing rooms have achieved headline fame by the homicide route--and some have gone to the chair. . . . Wives have poured out their hearts about unpunctual husbands, sarcastic husbands, domineering husbands and philandering husbands. Mothers-in-law have cried on her shoulder. . . . Daughters-in-law have slapped mothers-in-law in front of her. . . . Girls have cried out their hearts to her in delinquent courts and police stations. "Do you want help? Write to Mrs. Griggs." -- Milwaukee Journal, November 6, 1934 Her readers, however, had more than men on their minds. They remade the column for their agenda of far more than "love problems" for more than five decades in a remarkable collaboration by a columnist and her readers. In 'Dear Mrs. Griggs': Women Readers Pour Out Their Hearts from the Heartland, read their replies to the age-old question of men and media: "What do women want?" Of course, had editors more closely read the goings-on in the column on the back page of the paper, they could have found the answer--and many a front-page headline missed on goings-on in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and points beyond. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
Hot Off the Press:
Sex in the City . . . of Milwaukee? . . . yes, and gender in the city, too, as told by generations of women--as well as sex, gender, "spiked kaffeeklatsches," and more in the suburbs that, as the first decade of the column ended, soon would replace farms--and farmwomen among readers--as the metropolitan Milwaukee area grew during more than five decades of a column called "Dear Mrs. Griggs."
On their page of the newspaper--the most popular page of the most popular newspaper in the state, the Milwaukee Journal--readers debated serious issues of their eras, from the Great Depression into war, peace, prosperity, and more. The column was a unique collaboration --a more "sociable media" than modern "social media"--written not only by the columnist but also by readers, by the millions, for more than half a century. More than fifteen thousand columns, all told--as told to "Mrs. Griggs"--remain a remarkable mother lode for research into her readers' history, in their own words. The stories of their lives--and, at times, their loves--now are retold in 'Dear Mrs. Griggs': Women Readers Pour Out Their Hearts from the Heartland, available at • UWM Union Bookstore, East Side • Boswell Books, East Side (see below) • Little Read Book, Tosa Village . . . because Mrs. Griggs would advise us to support our local bookstores that support local authors and local history. But if your bookstore doesn't stock Dear Mrs. Griggs, please encourage it to do so (send it to this site for the ISBN and other information, at right--and tell staff to please tell us to add it to this list). Or, you can order from the publisher (click here) or Amazon (click here). _________________________________ Note: Another local bookstore was on this list but has been removed, because potential buyers report that calls to the bookstore's staff to reserve a copy result in contradictory replies as to stocking it. Update: After the Journal Sentinel story (and after calls for weeks about publicity on the way, and after also asking the publisher to call), we now have word that Boswell Books will order . . . books. Update 2: It's not in Boswell's catalog, but the store has copies of the book. Update redux: Boswell's is almost sold out, so you may wish to call first (and please suggest that the store order more). |
'Dear Mrs. Griggs':
Women Readers Pour Out Their Hearts from the Heartland Published by Marquette University Press in the Diederich Studies in Communication and Media under series editor Dr. Bonnie Brennen, the Lucius William Nieman* Professor of Journalism
370 pages (including an index) ISBN-13: 978-0-87462- 038-2 ISBN-10: 0-87462-038-4 $29 * Who was Lucius W. Nieman? He founded the Milwaukee Journal --and was its publisher and editor-in-chief, who picked his favorite hue for the favorite section of his newspaper, for many years, for Milwaukeeans. Yes, Lucius W. Nieman was the man who made the "Green Sheet" . . . well, green. Read more about Lucius W. "Lute" Nieman here. Credit: Mel Kolstad of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, for her fascination with print artifacts and for her artistry in--and her permission for use of-- the montage of "Green Sheets” above, from her blog,“Ephemeraology.” |
In memory of Mrs. Griggs: Wear a hat to win a door prize on Oct. 6
Adapted from the Shorewood Historical Society newsletter: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ For 51 years, Ione Quinby Griggs answered readers’ personal questions in her column in the Milwaukee Journal’s popular "Green Sheet." Readers sought her advice on everything from love and marriage to religion and youthful rebellion, enabling her to produce six columns a week until she was more than 90 years old. 'Dear Mrs. Griggs': Women Readers Pour Out Their Hearts from the Heartland, by Genevieve G. McBride and Stephen R. Byers, traces the career of Mrs. Griggs, from brash “girl reporter” in Chicago through an astounding career as an advice columnist. The authors will present a program based on their book at the Shorewood Village Center (3920 N. Murray). On Monday, Oct. 6, coffee and dessert will be served starting at 6:30 p.m.; program to follow at 7 p.m. The program is co-sponsored by the Shorewood Historical Society, Friends of the Library, and Women’s Club. Boswell Books will have copies of the book for sale. As Mrs. Griggs always wore a hat, everyone who wears a hat to the program will be entered in the door prize drawing. |
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