Doug Chaussée was born and raised in Racine. He is the eldest son of Dr. Charles and Joan Chaussée. Doug graduated from Wm. Horlick High School in 1972 and attended UW-Parkside, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1977. Shortly after graduating he accepted a position with the Mt. Pleasant Police Department and was promoted to Investigator in 1981. After a distinguished career of 27 years, he retired. He garnered numerous awards and commendations from local, State and Federal agencies for his work which included many high-profile criminal cases. Shortly after he retired, he and three friends started Hot Shop Glass, LLC in downtown Racine which was a huge success. Doug sold his half of the studio in 2015, concentrating his free time on his many hobbies which include Racine history, antiques, paleontology, fishing and writing. He helped to establish a 501 c3 Friends organization supporting the Aurora Fossil Museum in Aurora, NC. Doug served several terms on their Board of Directors. His antique collecting passion led to an appearance on American Pickers in 2020 which featured his Racine area workshop. After being given a vast collection of artwork from Elmer and Charles Lange in the late 1990’s, he started a 25-year search for information on the two brothers, strongly driven to document and preserve their legacy. The pandemic confinement of 2020 allowed him to concentrate on that goal and resulted in the new book, Lost and Found in Racine, which was released in March of 2023. This is his first published work, but he hints that it may not be his last. He continues to reside in the area with his wife of 45 years, Bonnie. He firmly believes that local history must be preserved, and the stories must be told.
[From back cover of Last and Found in Racine] Elmer and Charles Lange were born into a blue-collar family in Racine, Wisconsin. Both aspired to become famous artists and writers, following in the footsteps of their best friend, Theodore Czebotar. They left Racine for greener pastures, hopping trains, hitchhiking and biking across America in search of steady work and paychecks. Elmer honed his craft, far surpassing Charles in artistic ability. He continued drawing and painting until his suspicious death in 1942. Elmer’s vast accumulation of art was held by his brother Leo and sister Ida until their deaths. At that point the collection took a strange journey, ultimately ending up in the hands of the author [Doug Chaussee]. This started his 25-year journey to unravel the mystery of these two talented brothers and bring their artwork into the light for all to enjoy.