Senate Joint Resolution 71 honors Jerry Apps for his extraordinary contributions as an author, broadcaster, educator, and rural historian.
“Jerry Apps is one of Wisconsin’s most beloved storytellers,” says Christian Overland, CEO of the Wisconsin Historical Society. “(His) work has profoundly shaped how we understand and remember rural life in our state.”
As an author, educator, and historian, Apps has preserved the stories of Wisconsin’s farms, families, and communities.
“His decades of work—through books, teaching, and public television—have inspired generations to value the land, traditions, and the people who define our shared history,” Overland says.
About Apps
Born and raised on a central Wisconsin farm, Apps is a former county extension agent. He’s a professor emeritus at the UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, where he taught for 30 years. Apps has written over 50 titles over the decades. This includes more than 20 published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press, his most recent being “Lunkers, Keepers, and Ones that Got Away.”
The Society Press is publishing a brand-new title by Apps in fall 2026 entitled “Old Farm Country Christmas.” It’ll come with a companion documentary by PBS Wisconsin.
In addition to this new documentary, the award-winning author has made many other outstanding contributions to public media. Apps took part in many PBS Wisconsin documentaries, including this year’s “Meet Us at the Fair,” a nostalgic collection of stories celebrating the sights, sounds, people, and memories of Wisconsin’s county and state fairs.
Apps received a regional Emmy Award for the TV documentary “A Farm Winter.” His television productions have been broadcast in Wisconsin and across the country, sharing the experiences of rural life, agricultural traditions, and communities from across the state.
Senate Joint Resolution 71, adopted unanimously in both legislative chambers, formally recognizes his lifetime of service in preserving Wisconsin’s rural identity. It also commends his impact through both the printed word and public media.
