George Hesselberg, a longtime reporter and columnist best known for his “Dead Lines” column in the Wisconsin State Journal, has published a book of the same name, The Cap Times reports.
“Dead Lines: Slices of Life from the Obit Beat” was published Sept. 28 by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press. The book is a collection of obituaries Hesselberg wrote for the State Journal between 1977 and 2017.
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Among those included in the book, according to The Cap Times, are stories about the unofficial “mayor” of the nude beach at Mazomanie, an old-time radio actor known for playing villains, and even a few animals. Hesselberg describes the book as the “history of the ordinary people of Wisconsin.”
Former Cap Times columnist Doug Moe discussed the book with Hesselberg during a Mystery to Me event at the Monroe Street Arts Center. A replay of the event livestream is available here.
