The Story of the Steins
The walls of Memorial Union can’t talk-but the Steins do. A signature of both der Stiftskeller and der Rathskeller is the eclectic stein collection lining the muraled walls. Generations of Badgers and Union members have donated their own steins to the collection, and some even slipped notes in, commemorating their time at the Union.
During renovations of Memorial Union, the Steins were washed, tagged, organized and stored, giving employees the chance to get an up-close look at each stein–and the personal notes left inside.
Over 300 steins make up the collection, and many have already returned to their prized shelves of der Stiftskeller and der Rathskeller’s walls, with the rest soon joining them. Below we noted some of our favorite steins, and the notes tucked inside them. Check out our collection below:
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- A small portion of the collection of over 300 steins.
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- One note inside a stein listed handwritten lyrics to the Beatles’ “In My Life.”
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- A receipt tucked away in one of the steins-totaling $549.40.
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- One of the employees tasked with cleaning and organizing the steins reads a long letter tucked in a stein.
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- A portion of the stein collection was already set back up in der Stiftskeller and der Rathskeller.
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- A note translated from French reads “Big Jean, Happy sixty-ninth, or, as we say in french…bottoms up; position is everything in life! Cheers to you, Big Jacques.”
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- A collection of inside jokes and phrases dated July 27, 1990. One line reads “Sodas cost 90 cents!” Some of the names listed include Rick “the Deli Hama” Burris, Ken Navarro, Paula Smith, Mitchell McGregor and more.
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- The note reads “Der Rath-So…I’m leaving. I’m going to miss this place and everyone in it. EVERYTHING I EVER NEEDED TO KNOW I LEARNED AT THE BRATSTAND.”
