Chris Gardner, USACE New York District Public Affairs

The UW is connected to its fair share of miracles. For one, the “Miracle on Ice.” And we have Jeff Skiles ’84 to thank for his role in the “Miracle on the Hudson.” On January 15, 2009, disaster struck US Airways Flight 1549 in the form of geese, which flew into the plane’s engines. Skiles, the copilot, helped guide the failing plane onto the Hudson River. Everyone survived. “It’s not like I had any oh-my-God-this-is-the-end moment. I just thought: river. Okay, we can do the river,” Skiles told On Wisconsin in 2009.

July 2, 2010 || July 6, 1937

This poster uses the “time portal” technique to compare how the campus looked nearly seventy-five years ago with how it looks today. Created by the Wisconsin State Cartographer’s Office, it blends a modern color photograph from July 2, 2010, with a historic black-and-white shot from July 6, 1937, using GIS (geographic information system) software.

The poster highlights the dramatic changes that have taken place on campus and the surrounding community during this time period (although current visitors will note that even more changes have occurred since 2010).

You can find the entire image of the 1937 photo and links to other historical images from the State Cartographer’s Office. The “Then and Now” poster is available for $10 from the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (608-263-7389).