WEBVTT - A Museum Dedicated To...Mustard?

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<v Speaker 1>This is our American stories, and our next story is

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<v Speaker 1>about a condiment all of us know and use, mustard.

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<v Speaker 1>In Middleton, Wisconsin, there's a museum dedicated to this stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>Here to tell the story is the founder of that museum,

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<v Speaker 1>Barry Levinson. Take it away, Barry.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know if you know. According to the National

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<v Speaker 2>Continent Research Council annual report, ketchup is now the leading

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<v Speaker 2>cause of childhood stupidity in America. Just telling you hi,

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<v Speaker 2>my name is Barry Levinson, and I am the founder

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<v Speaker 2>and curator of the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, Wisconsin.

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<v Speaker 2>And this was not what I planned on doing when

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<v Speaker 2>I was much younger. I actually was a lawyer. At

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<v Speaker 2>one time. I was head of the Criminal Appeals Division

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<v Speaker 2>for the state of Wisconsin. But the curse that I

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<v Speaker 2>had upon me was that I'm originally from Massachusetts, which means,

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<v Speaker 2>of course, I am a diehard Red Sox fan. I

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<v Speaker 2>grew up having my heart broken year after year. Nineteen

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<v Speaker 2>sixty seven they made it to the World Series. I

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<v Speaker 2>remember it clearly. They lost in seven games. Nineteen seventy five,

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<v Speaker 2>they also went to the World Series, lost in seven games.

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<v Speaker 2>Then came nineteen eighty six, and at the time I

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<v Speaker 2>was here in Wisconsin doing criminal appellate work, and the

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<v Speaker 2>Red Sox were in the World Series, and I told

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<v Speaker 2>my friends, this is the year. There's no doubt that

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<v Speaker 2>they had Roger Clemens. They had Oh my gosh, I

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<v Speaker 2>think they must have had. They had some great players.

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<v Speaker 2>Then and there was Game six. The Red Sox were

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<v Speaker 2>ahead by two runs. Victory steamed assured, but of course

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<v Speaker 2>they lost one thing led to another. I was devastated,

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<v Speaker 2>but there was still game seven, and Game seven came,

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<v Speaker 2>and of course they lost me. I was so depressed

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<v Speaker 2>I couldn't sleep. So I went to an all night

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<v Speaker 2>grocery store, an all night supermarket, just to walk. And

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<v Speaker 2>I had no idea why I was there. It was

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<v Speaker 2>two thirty in the morning, and I was pushing an

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<v Speaker 2>empty cart up and down the aisles. Suddenly I was

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<v Speaker 2>in front of the condiments. I remember going past the

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<v Speaker 2>pickles and the olives, that relishes, the mayonnaises, the ketchups. Nothing.

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<v Speaker 2>I was in front of the mustards, and I heard

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<v Speaker 2>a voice that said, if you collect us, they will come.

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<v Speaker 2>That's how I began my journey collecting jars of mustard.

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<v Speaker 2>I think that night or that morning. I think I

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<v Speaker 2>bought about ten or eleven different mustards. I remember, I

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<v Speaker 2>think I bought Frenches mustard. I definitely, I think the

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<v Speaker 2>first one was Plockman's mustard. There were, you know, maybe

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<v Speaker 2>ten or eleven that I got, and I said, I'll

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<v Speaker 2>never be lonely again, because I will meet up with

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<v Speaker 2>all the other mustard collectors in the world. Little did

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<v Speaker 2>I know there weren't any, but that didn't deter me.

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<v Speaker 2>So that's when I began collecting jars of mustard. It

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<v Speaker 2>was nineteen eighty six, but I still had a little

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<v Speaker 2>bit of common sense, so I didn't quit my job

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<v Speaker 2>because I figured I needed another sign, and I got it.

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<v Speaker 2>I got another sign about six months later. It was

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<v Speaker 2>actually April twentieth, nineteen eighty seven. I was arguing a

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<v Speaker 2>case at the United States Supreme Court. You could look

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<v Speaker 2>it up, Griffin versus Wisconsin. And on the way over

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<v Speaker 2>to the court, leaving my room at the Hyatt, I

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<v Speaker 2>saw a discarded room service tray and on it was

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<v Speaker 2>a little jar of mustard and it was unopened. And

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<v Speaker 2>I saw it. I said, Aha, I don't recognize it,

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<v Speaker 2>and I'm thinking, okay, would it be that for me

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<v Speaker 2>to take this jar of mustard that could be reused

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<v Speaker 2>by the hotel, but one which the hotel was not

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<v Speaker 2>really expecting to get back. So I think I did

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<v Speaker 2>what every good lawyer would have done. I took it right,

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<v Speaker 2>and I brought it with me to the United States

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<v Speaker 2>Supreme Court and argued that case with that jar of

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<v Speaker 2>mustard in my left hants pocket. This was a case

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<v Speaker 2>that all of my colleagues said, there's no way you're

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<v Speaker 2>going to win this. Well, I won five to four.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm sure there was the mustard that made a difference.

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<v Speaker 2>And it was at that time that I knew I

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<v Speaker 2>needed to plot and plan my exit from law, and

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<v Speaker 2>one day I would found the National Mustard Museum, which

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<v Speaker 2>I did, and it opened in let's see, it would

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<v Speaker 2>have been April of nineteen ninety two, and it's been

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<v Speaker 2>growing ever since, and we have over six thousand different mustards.

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<v Speaker 2>We have a lot of I think, pieces of great

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<v Speaker 2>mustard art, old mustard tins, old mustard pots, old mustard advertisements,

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<v Speaker 2>because mustard goes back centuries and if you know that

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<v Speaker 2>mustard before antibiotics and aspirin was probably the most popular

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<v Speaker 2>prescribed medicine that doctors used. And I think if you're

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<v Speaker 2>looking for the origin of what we know as mustard,

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<v Speaker 2>go back to about the twelfth or thirteenth century, where

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<v Speaker 2>you will find the monks of the old Burgundian town

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<v Speaker 2>of Dijon. Get it Dijon, but the monks were making

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<v Speaker 2>what we know as mustard. Curiously, there are no Dijon

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<v Speaker 2>factories within the city limits of dijonre One of the

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<v Speaker 2>things we do at the Mustard Museum is we coordinate

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<v Speaker 2>the International Worldwide Mustard Competition, and it's held every year.

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<v Speaker 2>We've been doing it for about twenty years, and mustards

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<v Speaker 2>arrive from all over the world, because you know, mustard

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<v Speaker 2>is universal. It's something that almost every culture knows about

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<v Speaker 2>and uses. And every year you're about three hundred different

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<v Speaker 2>mustards that are judge blind in seventeen different categories. Because

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<v Speaker 2>that's the beauty of mustard. There's sweet mustards, there's Dijon mustards,

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<v Speaker 2>there's grainy mustards, there's herb mustards, there's fruit mustards, there's

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<v Speaker 2>exotic mustards. There's a specific category for deli mustards and

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<v Speaker 2>we taste those with the pastrami. There's so many different flavors,

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<v Speaker 2>curry mustards. We have tasted chocolate mustards. That's I think

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<v Speaker 2>the beauty of it. And you can find different uses,

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<v Speaker 2>of course, for all of them. Now, one of the things, though,

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<v Speaker 2>that we have found here in the US is that

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<v Speaker 2>it's sometimes difficult to get children to eat mustard. And

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<v Speaker 2>you know, in France it has never been a problem.

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<v Speaker 2>Children grow up eating you know, good strong mustard. But

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know if it's this thing about people just

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<v Speaker 2>like sweet, mild things. That's a real problem. And probably

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<v Speaker 2>the number one selling condiment is salsa. Ketchup I think

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<v Speaker 2>comes in number two mustard, and of course you have

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<v Speaker 2>to remember it's a serving of mustard. It doesn't take

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of mustard to give a lot of flavors,

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<v Speaker 2>so you're not gonna need as much. I mean, you

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<v Speaker 2>need a lot more ketchup. And I don't understand why

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<v Speaker 2>here in this country people insist on dipping French fries

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<v Speaker 2>in ketchup. It's just it makes no sense. And there

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<v Speaker 2>are people who, believe it or not, will put mayonnaise

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<v Speaker 2>on a corn beef or pastrami sandwich, you know, and

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<v Speaker 2>that I mean that to me should be illegal. Also,

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<v Speaker 2>people who put ketchup on hot dogs and brought worse. No,

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<v Speaker 2>you just don't do that. You know, For example, in Chicago,

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<v Speaker 2>you know which is famous for the Chicago hot dog,

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<v Speaker 2>which has yellow mustard, not brown mustard, neon, green, relish,

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<v Speaker 2>sport peppers, celery, salt, maybe a little wedge of tomato,

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<v Speaker 2>a pickle. It's really one of the great taste treats

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<v Speaker 2>of Chicago. There are many hot dog stands in Chicago.

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<v Speaker 2>If you go into them and you ask for ketchup,

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<v Speaker 2>they will refuse to serve you. Good for them, Good

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<v Speaker 2>for them. One of the things that we've done that

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<v Speaker 2>I've done is I've written a children's book called Mustard

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<v Speaker 2>on a Pickle, and it's about a little boy who

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<v Speaker 2>loves mustard so much that he puts it on everything.

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<v Speaker 2>I'll give you a little taste of it. Is that.

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<v Speaker 3>Okay, okay. I like mustard on my toast. I like

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<v Speaker 3>mustard on a roast. But what I really like the

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<v Speaker 3>most is mustard dribbled on a ghost. Can you be

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<v Speaker 3>trusted without mustard?

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<v Speaker 2>I don't think so. Oh you would stink. So don't

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<v Speaker 2>get flustered. Eat your mustard. I like mustard on a pickle.

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<v Speaker 2>I would even pay a nickel for just a teeny

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<v Speaker 2>tiny squirt of mustard on my uncle's shirt. Everything tastes

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<v Speaker 2>good with mustard, even plums and frozen custard. I like

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<v Speaker 2>mustard in the air and mustard at the county fair.

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<v Speaker 2>Putting dijon on a bond, slurping yellow in the sun.

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<v Speaker 2>That's mustard on a pickle. So this is what I do.

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<v Speaker 2>It's just kind of an exciting thing to do. And

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<v Speaker 2>I love just being at the museum with all my mustards.

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<v Speaker 1>And what a great piece of work by Monty Montgomery

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<v Speaker 1>are our producer from Hillsdale College, by the way, a

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<v Speaker 1>graduate of Hillsdale College, and find such great quirky stories

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<v Speaker 1>for us. My goodness, this was a really good one.

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<v Speaker 1>From going and arguing cases in the US Supreme Court

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<v Speaker 1>and by the way, attributing a winning argument to the

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<v Speaker 1>mustard in his pocket, to founding the National Mustard Museum

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<v Speaker 1>in Middleton, Wisconsin. We're talking about Barry Levinton and we

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<v Speaker 1>thank him or telling his story about his love affair

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<v Speaker 1>with mustard. By the way, my mom was a huge

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<v Speaker 1>collector of these old purses made of metal, and they

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<v Speaker 1>were beautiful, and she collected thousands of them. And we've

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<v Speaker 1>done the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum, a mother and

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<v Speaker 1>daughter combo who went around the country finding salt and

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<v Speaker 1>pepper shaker combos. Also, we've done the Mascot Hall of Fame,

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<v Speaker 1>the story of the National Mustard Museum. Here on our

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<v Speaker 1>American Stories.