Mills Music Library in Wisconsin Hometown Stories: Sauk Prairie

Why is Mills Music Library in a Wisconsin Public Television program about Sauk Prairie? Because of our Cuca Records Collection!

Wisconsin Hometown Stories: Sauk Prairie premiered on Wisconsin Public Television, Tuesday, October 29, 2019. One segment focuses on Jim Kirchstein, founder of Cuca Records, and the thousands of recordings he made of musicians from the area and across Wisconsin throughout the 1960s in Sauk City. The segment includes appearances by Mills Music Library staff members Nate Gibson, Ethnic American Music Curator, and Matt Appleby, Music Technical Services Librarian, as well as images of titles from our Cuca Records Collection. A list of all the air times for Wisconsin Hometown Stories: Sauk Prairie is available on the Wisconsin Public Television site. The segment about Cuca Records is also available to view online at that page. It is titled Sauk Prairie: The Sound of Wisconsin.

⁣ The most recent addition to our Cuca Records Collection is a puppet of Jim Kirchstein, made by Madison puppet maker Ken Vogel and donated to us as a surprise gift from Mr. Kirchstein, who has been collecting Vogel’s creations and commissioning more for over 30 years. We are thrilled Mr. Kirchstein chose us to preserve and provide access to his collection of materials pertaining to Cuca Records as part of our Wisconsin Music Archives.