Appleton's Famous Son:
Harry Houdini

August 31, 2006

Harry Houdini (1874-1926) claimed to have been born in Appleton, Wisconsin. That turned out to be false. He was born Ehrich Weiss in Budapest, Hungary. Two cities that would be hard to confuse! Obviously he was interested in presenting himself as an American. Upon immigration to the United States his family had come to Appleton, where his father worked as a rabbi for a Reformed Jewish congregation. That employment lasted only a few years, but it was enough to make Appleton "home" for Houdini.

Appleton (and Outagamie County) returns the favor by its maintenance and promotion of a permanent exhibit dedicated to Houdini at the local museum on College Avenue. If Houdini claimed Appleton, then I suppose Appleton has every right to claim Houdini.

Cameras were banned from the museum, and I deposited mine in a special locker. At the entrance to the Houdini exhibit there was a short note addressing complaints from magicians that they are duty bound to keep their tricks secret. The museum countered (eloquently, I think) that they are duty bound to interpret the world for visitors, and in the case of Harry Houdini that will mean explaining his tricks. Perhaps someone came up with a compromise that included disallowing photographs that could reveal these secrets to an even broader audience.

There is disappointment in learning a little about Houdini's escapes. They are so ordinary and follow the recognized laws of physics. He hid lock-picks in his clothing, in his hair, between his toes.. or even in his rectum. There was nothing "magic" about those escapes.. but he made it seem like it by re-locking all the locks after he escaped. He trained himself to hold his breath under water and practiced his escapes relentlessly. The position of the museum seemed to be that the real "wonder" of his escapes was the way he controlled his fear response, lowering his heart rate and keeping calm. As you can imagine, it does no good to panic when thrown into an icy river wearing a straight-jacket.

The museum also has a temporary exhibit on the topic of the Sixties. I had feared some traveling exhibit that displayed the expected political buttons and the signs of cultural upheaval, but this exhibit would have a hard time traveling anywhere, since it traces the period through local references. Who would have thought? Lawrence University had a concert/event back then in which Allen Ginsberg and the Fugs participated, attempting to exorcise the spirit of Senator Joseph McCarthy (buried here in Appleton). The Packers were big news then too, and played in National Football League Championships (note: not in the Super Bowl, which came later). One terrific find by the museum was a pair of cabinet doors hand painted by a Packers fan back in this time. The exhibit could have been entitled "the Sixties in Appleton."

I think the exhibit stands as a reminder of the types of things that will be interesting in the future.. the posters, the performances, the controversies.. This blog is dedicated to capturing what is of lasting interest in the local world.