Menomonie

Over the past couple of years I have been with a group on Facebook called “Photo Challenge.” The first time I was introduced to the group was when I was looking at my brother-in law’s blog and saw he had posted a photo on their page. I joined the group and started taking up the challenge each week. Some of the weeks- its a snap! Other weeks- I have to wave the white flag. But each week I try to keep a open mind and look for a the opportunity to photograph a subject to represent the challenge of the week.

There are weeks when I outburst with a comment like “Do they know where I live?” Try looking for a leaf in the dead of winter or a bud on a tree with snow still covering the ground. Why not ask for “colored foliage” in the spring? Seems to be the perfect challenge for us in North America. So I clean off my glasses and start observing the world around me and to my amazement, the photo opportunity are right there in front of me.

This past week, the challenge was “Numbers- Prime Number”. Each week they give us a mini syllabus with photos on the challenge of the week. They asked us to incorporate a prime number into a photo. Not a photo of a number, but the number would be in the photo. They also gave us a web link to the first 1000 prime numbers. I opened the link and printed the list. The list was a page and a half long. It started with the number 2 and ended with 7919. Now it was time to start looking over the list and find something meaningful.

I took the sheets and a pen and started circling numbers on the sheets of paper. That same week I was entering my son-in-law’s ancestors into my Family Tree program. I started looking at the prime numbers as birth years, marriage years, and death years. I focused on the numbers from 1600- 2000. That’s where most of my genealogy information is dated. There are 54 prime numbers between 1601 and 2011. I started asking myself if a person was born in a prime number year and died in in a prime number year, what would be the greatest age a person could be and still have a prime age. Without manipulating the numbers, it looks like 3 years of age. A case could be made if a person was born late in a prime year and died early in a prime year they could have a prime number age. But that is working too hard to make the figures work.

1901 is a Prime Number

The next thing I started thinking about was home address. I looked my own address and quickly realized it wouldn’t be a prime number because it ends in a 4. As I dove up and down the country roads of Dunn County I spotted many prime numbered addresses. With careful observation, I noticed all the even numbered homes were on the South or East of the road. Being they were even numbered they would be devisable by 2 and thus not a prime number. Now my eyes could stay focused on the North and West sides of the roads.

3299 is a Prime Number

The road numbering system used in Dunn County makes most of our roads ending in a zero. Again not a prime number. But I did spot 2 Wisconsin State Highways in our county at are prime numbers. Highway 79 is a short drive consisting of 17 miles. It starts at the intersection of US Highway 12 on the south and ending in the small town if Connersville on the North. Then there is another State highway crossing Dunn County, Highway 29. Highway 29 is a much longer road crossing the entire state of Wisconsin. Starting in Prescott on the west side of the state, on banks of the confluence of the Mississippi and the St Croix rivers, the road travels eastward for almost 300 miles ending in Kewaunee on the shores of Lake Michigan. Highway 29 is flanked by the dairy industry along its pathway across the Dairy State. There are two other towns that highlight another industry here in Wisconsin, Paper, and they are Wausau and Green Bay.

79 is a Prime Number

29 is a Prime Number

Wisconsin is filled with Rustic Roads. There are 117 roads spanning more than 669 miles. These are the back roads of the state. These roads are to be traveled at a slower pace and to enjoy the beauty of Wisconsin. There is a Rustic Road right here in Menomonie. Rustic Road 89. The road parallels the Red Cedar river for 5 miles. Showing off dairy farming, the small town of Irvington and overlooks of the Red Cedar River.

89 and 5 are Prime Numbers

What about downtown Menomonie. The grand gem of Menomonie is the Mabel Tainter Theater. This is one of the top 15 most beautiful theaters in the world. The theater was built as a memorial to Mabel who died at the age of 18. The date on the front doorway is 1889. Again another prime number. The theater hosts many performances by artists both locally and regionally.

1889 is a Prime Number

Then I expanded my thoughts. What about the postal zip code of Menomonie. Back to the internet for a little more help. Sure enough! 54751 is a prime number.

54751 is a Prime Number

This is a brief look at the Prime Numbers here in Menomonie. I was fascinated by all the prime numbers around me every day. Take a look in your world and see how many prime numbers are around you each day.