Racine, Wisconsin

My hometown.  I was actually born in Kenosha, Wisconsin but spent my childhood in Racine.  Racine has a proud history of being a hardworking town.  Technically I grew up in Mt. Pleasant, a town outside of Racine.  The Racine area has a long history of heavy manufacturing and honest, hard working people.  My Dad worked at (what was then) the J.I. Case Company, manufactuer of agricultural implents (aka tractors).  He worked on the shop floor as a step-up man and machine operator.  My Mom was, and still is an office administrator.

Racine hit hard economic times in the 1970's and '80's and has had a difficult time bouncing back ever since.  It was during these hard economic times that my interest (and love) of economics was formed.  The inflation of the 1970's worried me greatly, as did the recession of 1981-82.  When I went off to college in the early 1980's I was intent on figuring out what happened to Racine.  To this day, I am still working with people in Racine to help bring its economy back to life.

July 2, 2006 New York Times article on how Racine is making a comeback.

Racine is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, with Milwaukee to the north, and Chicago to the south.

Racine Links:

Racine Journal Times (the local newspaper) On-line.