Author: fernandt

Feb. 17, 2025

The most unsettling true-crime cases … 

Lawrence Bernard Singleton

Trigger warning: Mention of violence and sexual assault.

When asked about the most unsettling true-crime cases, most people tend to think of the more infamous ones like Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, and Ed Gein. While these are each disturbing in their own right, they’re unmatched in comparison to the case of Lawrence Bernard Singleton. Singleton was an American criminal who, in 1978, picked up 15-year-old hitchhiker, Mary Vincent from a freeway in Modesto, California. Once inside his van, Mary introduced herself, and the two began engaging in small talk before she eventually asked Singleton if it’d be alright if she “dozed off” as he continued to drive, to which he agreed.

Some time later, Mary awoke to see that Singleton pulled off the main highway and parked the van on the side of a desolate stretch of road surrounded by trees and woods. She confronted him about this, and he said that it was because he needed to relieve himself. At this point, Mary had a bad feeling about Singleton and knew she had
to escape, so she began thinking of a plan to get away. Just then, she looked down and noticed that her shoe was untied. At that moment, Mary decided that she’d get out and tie her shoe once Singleton got out of the van. So, when he stepped out, Mary did just that. … However, as she bent down, Singleton hit her in the back of the head with a small sledgehammer, causing her to lose consciousness. After coming to, she found herself tied up and pleading to be set free as Singleton repeatedly assaulted her inside the van.

Following the assault, Singleton exited the vehicle with Mary, who was still tied up, and led her to the back of the van before walking back to retrieve a hatchet he’d had with him. Quickly re-emerging behind Mary, he then came back, cut the rope restraining her, and grabbed her arm. Singleton raised the hatchet and, in one swift motion, brought it down hard on Mary’s left arm, severing it completely from her body. He then repeated the process with her right arm before throwing her body down a 30-foot culvert nearby and fleeing the scene. Now free, Mary forced herself to climb back up the culvert and was eventually able to flag down a passing vehicle after walking along the interstate for nearly three miles. The driver was then able to get to a phone and call 911.

Mary was transported by helicopter to the hospital where she was treated for severe blood loss and blood toxicity. Following this, she received two prosthetic arms, and from her hospital bed, began working tirelessly with police to help identify and locate Singleton. A composite sketch was released based on the description Mary gave to police, and ten days later, Singleton was identified and arrested at his home.

The rest of Mary’s heroic story told in great detail can be found in season 3, episode 1 of the television series I Survived, available free on Tubi, SlingTV and Pluto TV. 

Feb. 17, 2025

The Joy of Thifting

“Reduce, reuse, recycle” is an old slogan and one you’re probably familiar with. It’s a go-to for any book or textbook that is trying to teach its readers how to lower their impact on the environment. For me there are few things that are a better fulfillment of this slogan than thrifting.

Thrifting is a way to reduce consumption of newly manufactured items and reuse things that others have no more use for in one fell swoop. Thrifting has become more popular recently as people become more aware of our effect on the environment, but I think it has also gained in popularity for the same reasons I fell in love with it when I was a child.

Thrifting is a treasure hunt. You can never guarantee what you will find at a location at any point in time. Nothing is perfectly organized in a thrift store, so you can walk past the same thing twice and only see it on the third go round. Thrifting is something that you can do with as many people as you’d like and know that you will all find something to interest you. And if you buy something to cut up or repurpose, you don’t have to worry much about ruining it because it probably wasn’t expensive to start with.

For me, thrifting is the perfect way to find jeans, so I don’t have to feel bad about wearing holes in them when I walk the dog — and also to find books. I love the library in my town, but I first discovered several of my favorite authors by finding one of their books in a thrift store. There have been plenty of times when I’ve walked out of a thrift store empty handed, yet the thrill of finding something that I really love always outweighs the times when I find nothing at all.

My favorite thrift stores where I live in Sheboygan are Saint Vincent DePaul, Goodwill, and Inkling Books, which is a used bookstore and not technically a thrift store, but I love it, so I’m including it. If you live closer to Green Bay, Manna for Life and the Unity Resale Shoppe (pictured above) are both highly rated on Yelp — I’ve never been, so if you go, feel free to send me a review!

March 29, 2024

April Fools’ Day Facts

• Perhaps the biggest April Fools’ Day joke of all is that most countries celebrate the holiday, but nobody knows the actual origins of what started the traditional day of tricks. All we know for sure is that now the date of April 1st is a day to celebrate spring and sunshine after the bleakness of winter with harmless pranks.
• A widespread belief is that April Fools’ Day began in 16th-century France when they switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. This switch changed the first day of the new year to January 1st instead of the previous April 1st. Any person that was still celebrating the new year as April 1st was called a fool.
• Historians also speculate that April Fools’ Day origins are connected to the vernal equinox, when the sun is directly above the equator, making day and night the exact same length. This is considered the beginning of spring, which is when Mother Nature’s unpredictable weather makes fools of us all.
• France celebrates Poisson d’Avril, which translates to “April fish.” The most common prank includes sticking a picture of a fish to someone’s back. If you happen to find a fish on your back, someone thinks you were easily caught or gullible.
• Scotland celebrates April 1st as Huntigowk Day where people are sent on fake errands as pranks. The prankster tasks an unsuspecting person with a deceptive mission—think sending someone for “blinker fluid”—and if they do the task, they are the gowk.
• Although many countries post fake news stories to celebrate, Sweden newspapers and news outlets will traditionally post one fake story mixed with the actual news. The citizens will have to figure out which is fake and what is the real news.
• Canada, Australia, and England celebrate the day with traditional pranks with a slight twist to the rules. The prank needs to be completed by noon. If you prank someone after noon, then you are considered a fool. In England, if you successfully prank someone before noon, you are called a noodle.
• Greek tradition says that if you fool someone on April Fools’ Day, their misfortune becomes your good luck. Also, if Mother Nature provides a rain shower on April 1st, collect as much water as you can because it has healing powers.
• Saudi Arabia also celebrates April Fools’ Day with pranks, but make sure you do not post them on social media. Under the anti-cyber crime law, any prank posted with or without consent is a crime that is punishable with hefty fines and/or imprisonment.
• Many countries around the world observe some form of April Fools’ Day, but no country has made the tradition of April 1st pranks an officially recognized holiday

March 8, 2024

Easter Facts

• Easter does not have a set date because the church never recorded the exact date of Jesus’s resurrection. In 325 A.D., the celebration for Easter was set as the first Sunday after the first full moon of the Spring equinox by the council of Nicaea. This is the reason that Easter day ends up anywhere between March 22 and April 25th.
• The church forbade eating eggs during Lent (the 40 days before Easter) until the 16th century. The eggs represent new life and rebirth, so people saved all eggs laid during Lent and painted them to serve as decoration until the fast was over. On Easter Sunday, the family would have a feast that included the eggs in celebration of the rebirth of Jesus.
• A lost tradition in churches is egg-tossing during the Easter Vigil which takes place on the night of Holy Saturday. The priest would throw an egg to a choirboy, and the choirboys would toss it to each other around the church. Whoever was still holding it at midnight would get to keep it.
• During the 16th century, children in Scotland and Northern England would go door to door reciting rhymes for eggs, cheese, and bacon to add to their family’s Easter feasts.
• Cascarones are an alternative to the popular dyed hard-boiled eggs. Originating in China, cascarones are believed to have been brought by Marco Polo to Spain and then to the Americas. In the lower United States and Mexico, the insides of the eggs are removed from the shell by making and then blowing through a small hole in the bottom. Once cleaned, the eggshell is painted, filled with confetti, and sealed with tissue paper. On Easter day, it is tradition to smash the cascarones over people’s heads to give them luck, and it is also considered a sign of affection.
• An old superstition stated that you needed to wear new clothes on Easter to have good luck for the rest of the year. New Yorkers would walk along the streets to show off their new clothes after mass. This is believed to be the beginning of the New York Easter parade.
• Each year, 90 million chocolate bunnies are produced in a variety of flavors. No matter the flavor, 89% of Americans eat their bunnies’ ears first. Only 9% will go for the tails or feet first.
• The world’s largest chocolate egg was made in Italy measuring 34 ft high and 15,873 lbs., but the most expensive chocolate bunny ever made cost $49,000.00. Besides the 548,000 calories of chocolate, the bunny had a pair of 1.07 carat diamonds for eyes. This hare stood about a foot tall and weighed about 11 lbs.
• American’s each Easter buy more than 700 million Peeps. In 1953, this would have been impossible to keep up with demand because it took 27 hours to make one Peep, but now they have the process down to just six minutes a Peep.
• Although people may say that Peeps last forever, they have been scientifically proven to only have a two-year shelf life.
• Jellybeans became a popular Easter candy around 1914 because World War I made eggs harder to get. The chewy candies were a great substitute on the Easter table because of their resemblance to colorful Easter eggs. Americans consume roughly 16 billion jellybeans each Easter, with cherry being the most popular flavor among children.

March 1, 2024

Fun St. Patrick’s Day Facts

• St. Patrick was not born in Ireland and Patrick was not his given name. His birth name was Maewyn Succat, and his home country was Britannia (Roman Britain).
• St. Patrick was kidnapped by Irish raiders when he was 16 years old and sold into slavery. It took six years before he was able to escape back to Britain. St. Patrick credited the years spent in slavery with restoring his faith in Christianity.
• St. Patrick is credited with banishing all the snakes from Ireland, but scientific evidence (fossils found on the island, and the inability of snakes to swim to the shores) shows that snakes never inhabited Ireland. Instead, there is a common belief that the snakes in Irish lore are meant to symbolize banishing the Pagans and spreading Christianity.
• St. Patrick’s Day was originally a religious holiday to acknowledge the spread of Christianity in Ireland. After the emigration of nearly two million Irish to America, the holiday became more a celebration of Irish pride then Christianity.
• St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated in Ireland with a feast of ham or pork with cabbage instead of the American traditional feast of corned beef and cabbage. The potato famine of 1845, an outbreak of mold that crippled potato crops leading to almost a million Irish dying of starvation, caused about a million Irish natives to come to America. They were extremely poor and could only afford the cheaper substitute of corned beef, which had to be boiled twice on its own before the final third time with cabbage to combat the briny taste of the meat.
• St. Patrick was originally represented not by green but by blue, more specifically the color known as “St. Patrick’s blue.” The blue was to honor the royal crown as well as ancient Irish flags. Green did not become the official color of St. Patrick’s Day until 1798.
• St. Patrick’s Day is symbolized with shamrocks because people believe that St. Patrick used the shamrock to teach about the Holy Trinity.
• St. Patrick’s Day is honored with parades across many countries. In the United States, an estimated 100 parades take place, including one in Arkansas that holds the world record for the shortest parade being only 98 feet long.
• St. Patrick’s Day is not observed on March 17th if the Holy Week (the week before Easter) lands on the 17th. The holiday was celebrated on April 3rd when this happened in 1940. In 2008, St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated on March 15th. The holiday will not fall on Holy Week again until the year 2160.
• St. Patrick’s Day and Leprechauns have been said to go hand in hand. The leprechaun is a fairy that is part of Tuatha Dé Danann, a group of magical beings who served the goddess Danu, believed to have lived in Ireland long before it was inhabited by humans. Early accounts describe them as wearing red coats (not green), and a variety of hats that were three cornered (instead of the top hat). They are also thought to be tricky, grouchy, and above all solitary.

March 1, 2024

March Madness: What You Need to Know

March Madness is coming around the corner. We should check and see how these college teams are doing.

What is March Madness?

March Madness is the yearly college basketball tournament held by the NCAA that spans from mid-March to early April. The tournament began with eight teams playing against one another in 1939, where Oregon beat Ohio State to take home the first tournament title. Over the years, it grew from an eight-team event to 16 in 1951. In 1975, it doubled to 32 before doubling again to 64 in 1985. Currently, 68 teams make it into the tournament with eight teams participating in play-in games to make the official first-round field of 64. (Play-in games are games you must win to get to the tournament and have to keep winning to move on. If a team loses two in a row, they’re out of the running) Learn more about the history of March Madness here. 

College Sports Scores For the Big Ten Conference (includes Madison)

Wed, Feb 7th
– Michigan beat Wisconsin 72 – 68
– Northwestern beat Nebraska 80 – 68

Thu, Feb 8th
– Penn State beat Iowa 89 – 79

Sat, Feb 10th
– Purdue beat Indiana 79 – 59
– Michigan State beat Illinois 88 – 80
– Rutgers beat Wisconsin 78 – 56
– Ohio State beat Maryland in double overtime 79 – 75
– Nebraska beat Michigan 79 – 59

Sun, Feb 11th
– Iowa beat Minnesota 90 – 85
– Northwestern beat Penn State 68 – 63

Tue, Feb 13th
– Michigan beat Illinois. 97 – 68
– Wisconsin beat Ohio State 62 – 54

Wed, Feb 14th
– Maryland beat Iowa. 78 – 66
– Michigan State beat Penn State 80 – 72

Thu, Feb 15th
– Purdue beat Minnesota 84 – 76
– Rutgers beat Northwestern 63 – 60

How Teams Qualify for March Madness

College basketball teams can qualify for the March Madness Tournament by earning the automatic qualifying bid that is given to each conference. The winner of the conference tournament earns a right to the NCAA Tournament. After all the automatic bids are handed out, a selection committee fills out the rest of the field with deserving teams. After 32 teams earn automatic spots by winning conference tournaments, the NCAA Tournament selection committee convenes on Selection Sunday to decide on 36 teams that will earn at- large berths to round out the field of 68.

2024 March Madness Predictions for Big Ten Teams

The Purdue Boilermakers are locked to reach the NCAA Tournament and could wind up with the No. 1 overall seed. The No. 2-ranked Boilermakers have a 23-3 record, including 12-3 in Big Ten play. The Illinois Fighting Illini and the Wisconsin Badgers also appear to be locks to reach March Madness. The No. 14-ranked Fighting Illini are 19-6 and 10-4 in conference play, while the No. 20-ranked Badgers are 17-9 and 9-6 in Big Ten play. While the Michigan State Spartans have not entered the AP Top 25 Poll since November, they should once again reach the postseason, as they are 17-9 and 9-6 in the conference. The Northwestern Wildcats and Nebraska Cornhuskers also seem highly likely to qualify for March Madness. While both teams are 18-8, the Wildcats are 9-6 in Big Ten Play, while the Cornhuskers are 8-7.

To see more scores and updates on the Big Ten, click here.

The Driftwood is our student-centered e-newsletter for the Marinette campus. We’ll bring you tips for navigating life as an on-campus or online student, as well as entertainment suggestions.

February 9, 2024 Contents

• Anime Picks: Trigun
• Bingeable TV: You are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment
• The Book Bachelor: Edward Cullen
• Campus News: Library Services Still Available
• College Cooking: Fit Men Cook
• February Horoscopes
• Fun Facts #1: Easter Facts
  Fun Facts #2: Fun Linguistic Facts
• Good Advice: Dear LIFE
• Local Favorites #1: Golden House and Rainbow House
• Local Favorites #2: Finding Community: February Events
• Local Music: Three Young Bands
• Movie Recs: Nicolas Cage Films
• Music Reviews: Mood Music
• Nature Feature: Brown County Reforestation Camp
• Podcast Picks: Informational Podcasts
• Poetry Prompt: Write an Ae Freislighe Poem
• Recommended Reads: Books with Darker Themes
• Self-Care Corner: Avoiding Burnout; 5 Products for Self-Care
• Sports Center: Professional and Local Sports to Watch; Influential Athlete: Patrick Mahomes
• The Trash Vortex: Movies That Should Talk to the Hand
• Video Games: Warframe
• Wandering Wikipedia: 10 Things I Hate About Life
• YouTube Rabbit Hole: Stay on Task and Get Clean

The Driftwood is published by UWGB’s ENG 224: Practicum in Literary Publishing class.

Sasha Bouyear: Trash Vortex Editor
Kayu Brooks: Music and TV Editor
Kana Coonce: Wandering Wikipedia Editor
Mackenzie Hebert: Sports Editor
Tiffany Jablonowski:  Local Events Editor
Ginger Knauer: Horoscopes Editor
Logan Meek: Nature and Podcasts Editor
Jalaine Olks: Books Editor
Payton Rhyner: Movies Editor
Cheyenne Schreiner: Self-Care Editor
Kelsey Vanderpool: YouTube Rabbit Hole Editor
Gage Wilson: Anime and Video Games Editor

Driftwood Advisor: Tracy Fernandez Rysavy

Interested in being on the Driftwood and Northern Lights staff? Enroll in ENG 224: Practicum in Literary Publishing, available every spring. (Provides a Fine Arts general education credit.)

Questions or News Items? Contact The Driftwood‘s advisor, Tracy Fernandez Rysavy.

February 9, 2024

Library Services Still Available for Marinette Students

Even though our campus library has closed, students are still able to access library services–and you won’t have to drive to the Green Bay campus to do so. Here’s a brief list of what you can get through the UWGB library:

• Research help: To access research assistance, visit the online Library Research Guide or call the research desk at 920/465-2540. You can also use the “Chat with a Librarian” e-chat feature. Just click on the chat pop-up on any library website page.
• E-books and digital articles: 88% of the library’s collection is available digitally. Log into the library website and click the “Available online” checkbox in the Search@UW field, and enter your search terms to see what’s available.
• Laptop and mobile hotspot checkout: If you need a laptop or a signal-boosting mobile hotspot for the semester, you may still check one out from the library. E-mail the circulation department (circdept@uwgb.edu) or call 920/465-2540, and the librarians will make arrangements to get one to you here in Marinette. You may also pick them up at the Green Bay or Sheboygan campus libraries if you’re nearby.
• Citation help: Need help citing your sources in MLA or APA format? The library’s citation guide can help! You might also try the NoodleTools online tool, free through the library with your UWGB login.
• Other questions: If you need help with any other library-related question, contact the Green Bay campus librarians via chat on the website, e-mail, or phone (920/465-2540).

February 9, 2024

Fun Valentine’s Day Facts

• Valentine’s Day came from the ancient Roman celebration of Lupercalia that went from February 13 – 15, which is thought to have honored the Roman fertility god Lupercus. Many rituals were performed throughout the festival, such as animal sacrifice and whipping women with strips of goat hide.
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• Red and white are the chosen colors of Valentine’s Day because they represent the blood sacrifice of the animals (red) and the milk used to cleanse the blood (white), from the festival of Lupercalia.
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• “Wearing your heart on your sleeve” means something different from the phrase’s original connotation. In the third century, Roman Emperor Claudius II didn’t want his soldiers weakened by romantic relationships, so they would draw a name of a woman at the festival Juno, who would be their partner for the year. Soldiers would then wear the name of the woman on the sleeve of their shirt to show their bond until a new woman was selected at the next festival.
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• Saint Valentine was beheaded on February 14, 270 A.D for performing marriages in secret. Even though marriage was against the law, he would still marry couples who were in love. After his imprisonment, Claudius told Valentine to renounce his faith or die. Valentine refused to reject Christianity and was sentenced to death by Claudius.
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• Based on discovered texts, there were three saints named Valentine who died or were executed on February 14th. The one celebrated on Valentine’s Day is St. Valentine of Rome.
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• An estimated six-million proposals happen annually on Valentine’s Day. Although the reasons that people want to get engaged on such a cliché day seem to vary, millions take the leap each year.
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• Within the weeks surrounding Valentine’s Day, there is an almost 40% increase in divorces. Many couples tend to wait until after the holidays to investigate what is needed for filing or to actually file for divorce because they don’t want to disappoint families. Some couples also seem to look at Valentine’s Day as a last chance to save their marriage.
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• Almost half of Americans (48%) feel that Valentine’s Day is an overrated holiday. Married couples and singles make up the majority of the group that feels this way.
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• Singles Awareness Day is celebrated on February 15th to rejoice in the love you have for yourself, your family, and your friends. The origins trace back to high-school student Dustin Barnes and a group of friends who in 2001 celebrated being single and their friendship, with discounted Valentine’s candy the day after the holiday. They called it Singles Awareness Day to ironically take advangage of the acronym SAD, which single people on Valentine’s Day were thought to be. Dustin carried on the tradition at college, even getting the copyright in 2005, and his made-up holiday has continued to grow.
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• On average one out of four Americans buy presents for their pets on Valentine’s Day. 27% of people buying Valentine gifts included their pet in the list of recipients. This increase is said to be linked to Valentine’s Day becoming less about couple love and more about celebrating all the love in your life.