Brad Quarberg on when Oktoberfest La Crosse featured a paddle wheeler race and the medallion was held hostage

Just a few days before Oktoberfest and Brad Quarberg, an expert historian on the event, in studio telling some interesting stories from years passed, including the year they raced the big paddle wheelers down the Mississippi River or when the medallion was held hostage. Quarberg, who was the 2016 Maple Leaf Parade Marshall and the 2001 Oktoberfest president, was also a co-author of the book, The Fest of Times — a history of La Crosse’s Oktoberfest from 1961-2009. Some other topics we looked at included the history of the tapping of the golden keg and the golden can, the year they didn’t serve beer and when Oktoberfest was 10 days and burned everyone out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.