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.

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<v Speaker 2>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 2>Here to tell the story is.

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<v Speaker 1>The founder of that museum, Barry Levinson.

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<v Speaker 2>Take it away, Barry.

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<v Speaker 3>I don't know if you know. According to the National

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<v Speaker 3>Continent Research Council annual report, ketchup is now the leading

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<v Speaker 3>cause of childhood stupidity in America. Just telling you hi,

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<v Speaker 3>my name is Barry Levinson, and I am the founder

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<v Speaker 3>and curator of the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, Wisconsin.

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<v Speaker 3>And this was not what I planned on doing when

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<v Speaker 3>I was much younger. I actually was a lawyer at

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<v Speaker 3>one time, head of the Criminal Appeals Division for the

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<v Speaker 3>state of Wisconsin. But the curse that I had upon

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<v Speaker 3>me was that I'm originally from Massachusetts, which means, of course,

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<v Speaker 3>I am a diehard Red Sox fan. I grew up

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<v Speaker 3>having my heart broken year after year. Nineteen sixty seven

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<v Speaker 3>they made it to the World Series. I remember it clearly.

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<v Speaker 3>They lost in seven games. Nineteen seventy five, they also

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<v Speaker 3>went to the World Series, lost in seven games. Then

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<v Speaker 3>came nineteen eighty six, and at the time I was

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<v Speaker 3>here in Wisconsin doing criminal appellate work, and the Red

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<v Speaker 3>Sox were in the World Series, and I told my friends,

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<v Speaker 3>this is the year. There's no doubt that they had

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<v Speaker 3>Roger Clemens. They had oh my gosh, I think they

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<v Speaker 3>must have had. They had some great players. Then and

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<v Speaker 3>there was Game six. The Red Sox were ahead by

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<v Speaker 3>two runs. Victory steamed assured, but of course they lost

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<v Speaker 3>one thing led to another. I was devastated. But there

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<v Speaker 3>was still game seven, and Game seven came, and of

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<v Speaker 3>course they lost me. I was so depressed I couldn't sleep.

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<v Speaker 3>So I went to an all night grocery store at

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<v Speaker 3>all night supermarket, just to walk. And I had no

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<v Speaker 3>idea why I was there. It was two thirty in

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<v Speaker 3>the morning, and I was pushing an empty cart up

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<v Speaker 3>and down the aisle. Suddenly I was in front of

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<v Speaker 3>the condiments. I remember going past the pickles and the olives,

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<v Speaker 3>that relishes, the mayonnaises, the ketchups, nothing. I was in

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<v Speaker 3>front of the mustards, and I heard a voice that said,

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<v Speaker 3>if you collect us, they will come. That's how I

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<v Speaker 3>began my journey collecting jars of mustard. I think that

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<v Speaker 3>night that morning. I think I bought about ten or

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<v Speaker 3>eleven different mustards. I remember, I think I bought Frenches mustard.

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<v Speaker 3>I definitely, I think the first one was Plockman's mustard.

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<v Speaker 3>There were, you know, maybe ten or eleven that I got,

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<v Speaker 3>and I said, I'll never be lonely again, because I

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<v Speaker 3>will meet up with all the other mustard collectors in

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<v Speaker 3>the world. Little did I know there weren't any, but

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<v Speaker 3>that didn't deter me. So that's when I began collecting

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<v Speaker 3>jars of mustard. It was nineteen eighty six, but I

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<v Speaker 3>still had a little bit of common sense, so I

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<v Speaker 3>didn't quit my job because I figured I needed another sign,

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<v Speaker 3>and I got it. I got another sign about six

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<v Speaker 3>months later. It was actually April twentieth, nineteen eighty seven.

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<v Speaker 3>I was arguing a case at the United States Supreme Court.

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<v Speaker 3>You could look it up, Griffin versus Wisconsin. And on

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<v Speaker 3>the way over to the court, leaving my room at

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<v Speaker 3>the Hyatt, I saw a discarded room service tray and

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<v Speaker 3>on it was a little jar of mustard and it

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<v Speaker 3>was unopened. And I saw it and I said, Aha,

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<v Speaker 3>I don't recognize it. And I'm thinking, okay, would it

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<v Speaker 3>be theft? For me to take this jar of mustard

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<v Speaker 3>that could be reused by the hotel, but one which

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<v Speaker 3>the hotel was not really expecting to get back. So

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<v Speaker 3>I think I did what every good lawyer would have done.

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<v Speaker 3>I took it right, and I brought it with me

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<v Speaker 3>to the United States Supreme Court and argued that case

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<v Speaker 3>with that jar of mustard in my left hants pocket.

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<v Speaker 3>This was a case that all of my colleagues said,

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<v Speaker 3>there's no way you're going to win this. Well, I

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<v Speaker 3>won five to four. I'm sure there was the mustard

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<v Speaker 3>that made a difference. And it was at that time

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<v Speaker 3>that I knew I needed to plot and plan my

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<v Speaker 3>exit from law, and one day I would found the

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<v Speaker 3>National Mustard Museum, which I did, and it opened in

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<v Speaker 3>let's see, it would have been April of nineteen ninety two,

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<v Speaker 3>and it's been growing ever since, and we have over

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<v Speaker 3>six thousand different mustards. We have a lot of I think,

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<v Speaker 3>pieces of great mustard art, old mustard tins, old mustard pots,

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<v Speaker 3>old mustard advertisements, because mustard goes back centuries. And if

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<v Speaker 3>you know that mustard before antibiotics and aspirin was probably

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<v Speaker 3>the most popular prescribed medicine that doctors used, and I

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<v Speaker 3>think if you're looking for the origin of what we

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<v Speaker 3>know as mustard, go back to about the twelfth or

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<v Speaker 3>thirteenth century, where you will find the monks of the

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<v Speaker 3>old Burgundian town of Dijon. Get it Dijon, but the

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<v Speaker 3>monks were making what we know as mustard. Curiously, there

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<v Speaker 3>are no Dijon factories within the city limits of dijonre

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<v Speaker 3>One of the things we do at the Mustard Museum

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<v Speaker 3>is we coordinate the International Worldwide Mustard Competition. It's held

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<v Speaker 3>every year. We've been doing it for about twenty years,

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<v Speaker 3>and mustards arrive from all over the world. Because you

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<v Speaker 3>mustard is universal. It's something that almost every culture knows

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<v Speaker 3>about and uses. And every year you're about three hundred

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<v Speaker 3>different mustards that are judge blind in seventeen different categories,

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<v Speaker 3>because that's the beauty of mustard. There's sweet mustards, there's

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<v Speaker 3>Dijon mustards, there's grainy mustards, there's herb mustards, there's fruit mustards,

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<v Speaker 3>there's exotic mustards. There's a specific category for deli mustards

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<v Speaker 3>and we taste those with the pastrami. There's so many

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<v Speaker 3>different flavors, curry mustards, we have tasted chocolate mustards. That's

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<v Speaker 3>I think the beauty of it. And you can find

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<v Speaker 3>different uses, of course for all of them. Now, one

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<v Speaker 3>of the things though that we have found here in

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<v Speaker 3>the US is that it's sometimes difficult to get children

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<v Speaker 3>to eat mustard. And you know, in France it has

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<v Speaker 3>never been a problem. Children grow up eating you know,

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<v Speaker 3>good strong mustard. But I don't know if it's this

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<v Speaker 3>thing about people just like sweet, mild things. That's a

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<v Speaker 3>real problem. And probably the number one selling condiment is salsa.

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<v Speaker 3>Ketchup I think comes in number two mustard, and of

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<v Speaker 3>course you have to remember a serving of mustard. It

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<v Speaker 3>doesn't take a lot of mustard to give a lot

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<v Speaker 3>of flavors, so you're not gonna need as much. I mean,

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<v Speaker 3>you need a lot more ketchup. And I don't understand

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<v Speaker 3>why here in this country people insist on dipping French

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<v Speaker 3>fries in ketchup. It's just it makes no sense. And

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<v Speaker 3>there are people who, believe it or not, will put

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<v Speaker 3>mayonnaise on a corn beef or pastrami sandwich, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>And I mean that to me should be illegal. Also,

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<v Speaker 3>people who put ketchup on hot dogs and brought worset. No,

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<v Speaker 3>you just don't do that. You know, for example, in Chicago,

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<v Speaker 3>you know which is famous for the Chicago hot dog,

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<v Speaker 3>which has yellow mustard, not brown mustard, neon, green, relish,

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<v Speaker 3>sport peppers, celery, salt, maybe a little wedge of tomato,

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<v Speaker 3>a pickle. It's really one of the great taste treats

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<v Speaker 3>of Chicago. There are many hot dog stands in Chicago.

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<v Speaker 3>If you go into them and you ask for ketchup,

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<v Speaker 3>they will refuse to serve you. Good for them, Good

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<v Speaker 3>for them. One of the things that we've done that

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<v Speaker 3>I've done is I've written a children's book called Mustard

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<v Speaker 3>on a Pickle, and it's about a little boy who

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<v Speaker 3>loves mustard so much that he puts it on everything.

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<v Speaker 3>I'll give you a little taste of it. Is that. Okay, okay,

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

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<v Speaker 3>a roast. But what I really like the most is

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<v Speaker 3>mustard dribbled on a ghost. Can you be trusted without mustard?

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<v Speaker 3>I don't think so. Oh you would stink, So don't

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<v Speaker 3>get flustered. Eat your mustard. I like mustard on a pickle.

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<v Speaker 3>I would even pay a nickel for just a teeny

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<v Speaker 3>tiny squirt of mustard on my uncle's shirt. Everything tastes

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<v Speaker 3>good with mustard, even plums and frozen custard. I like

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<v Speaker 3>mustard in the air, and mustard at the county fair.

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<v Speaker 3>Putting dijon on a bond, slurping yellow in the sun.

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<v Speaker 3>That's mustard on a pickle. So this is what I do.

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<v Speaker 3>It's just kind of an exciting thing to do. And

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<v Speaker 3>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>our producer from Hillsdale College, by the way, a graduate

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<v Speaker 1>of Hillsdale College, and find such great quirky stories for us.

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<v Speaker 1>My goodness, this was a really good one. From going

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

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<v Speaker 1>the way, attributing a winning argument to the mustard in

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<v Speaker 1>his pocket, to founding the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, Wisconsin.

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<v Speaker 1>We're talking about Barry Levinton and we thank him or

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<v Speaker 1>telling his story.

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<v Speaker 2>About his love affair with mustard.

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<v Speaker 1>By the way, my mom was a huge collector of

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

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<v Speaker 1>and she collected thousands of them. And we've done the

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<v Speaker 1>salt and Pepper Shaker Museum, a mother and daughter combo

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<v Speaker 1>who went around the country finding salt and pepper Shaker combos. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>we've done the Mascot Hall of Fame, the story of

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<v Speaker 1>the National Mustard Museum.

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<v Speaker 2>Here on our American Stories.