Drinking in Wisconsin: The Timmay/White Cocoa Edition

Some of you know that our friend Timmay grew up in Wisconsin. I read This Article in the New York Times which gave me some more insight into why Mr. Rogers is the way that he is. Could it be because minors are allowed to drink in bars?

EDGERTON, Wis. — When a 15-year-old comes into Wile-e’s bar looking for a cold beer, the bartender, Mike Whaley, is happy to serve it up — as long as a parent is there to give permission. “If they’re 15, 16, 17, it’s fine if they want to sit down and have a few beers,” said Mr. Whaley, who owns the tavern in this small town in southern Wisconsin.

Does his disdain for authority stem from the lenient drinking and driving laws that Wisconsin offers?

Drunken drivers in Wisconsin are not charged with a felony until they have been arrested a fifth time. Wisconsin law prohibits sobriety checks by the police, a common practice in other states.



I went to church with Tim once and he brought in a 12er. I thought he was crazy but now his actions make a little more sense.

In Wisconsin, people often say, there is always a bar around the next corner. But drinking is scarcely limited to taverns. A Friday fish fry at a Wisconsin church will almost surely include beer. The state counts some 5,000 holders of liquor licenses, the most per capita of any state, said Peter Madland, the executive director of the Tavern League of Wisconsin.

I hope we all feel like we now know a fellow Nextian just a little bit better. And that is a good thing.