Table of Contents
Introduction xv
The Personal Past-Early
Sitting on Top of the World 3
1957 Braves Victory Was a Historic High Point
Marching with Father Groppi 8
Before Open Housing, It Was the Eagles Club
The Long Hot Summer of 1967 13
When Flower Power Met Black Power
Coming Unglued with America 18
A Personal Look Back at the Summer of 1968
My Life as a Barfly 22
Becoming a South Sider at Big John's Tap
Getting Around
The Slow Road Home 35
Getting Off the Freeway, Going Back in Time
Pedal Power 40
Bicycles Have Been Moving Milwaukee since 1876
From Steel Wheels to Skinny Tires 45
First TrainSj then Bicycles on Milwaukee's Lakefront
Blue-Collar Capital
Milwaukee the Innovator 53
Walker's Point Intersection Spawned Some Giants
End of the Line for A. O. Smith Plant 59
America Once Rode on Milwaukee-Made Frames
Hog Heaven 64
Harley-Davidson Makes the Most of Its History
Strong Spirits, Stronger Aroma 69
Red Star Yeast Was an Olfactory Landmark
Requiem for Local 1111 75
Shifting Paradigms on Greenfield Avenue
Putting the "Labor" in Labor Day 81
A Day for Workers, a Day for All of Us
In the Neighborhood
Witness to Change 89
Layton Park Neighborhood Tells an Urban Story
History on the Scrap Heap 94
Foreclosures Hit Sherman Park Hard
Before the Deer District 99
A New Milwaukee Neighborhood Rises from One of Its Oldest
New Life in an Old Square 104
Near North Neighborhoods Showcase Diversity
A Forest in the City 110
Havenwoods Demonstrates the Resilience of Nature
Siblings and Strangers 116
Chicago and Milwaukee Share a Regional "Neighborhood"
Landmarks and Landscapes
City Hall Reborn 125
$150 Million Project Saves a Civic Icon
From Bogart to Beethoven 130
Milwaukee Symphony Finds a New Home in an Old Movie Palace
The Mansion in the Trailer Park 136
Future of Nunnemacher Distillery Is in Doubt
Wrong Turn to the Past 142
Trucker Blundered onto Lake Park's Historic Lion Bridges
Civic Center or Civic Wasteland? 147
MacArthur Square Is Downtown's Dead Zone
A South Side Landmark Restored 153
St. Stanislaus Church Goes Back to the Past
Used Cars in the Parlor 159
Grand Avenue Mansion Has Survived, but Barely
A Bright Idea for an Overbuilt Bridge 164
Hoan Bridge Spans Decades of Controversy
A City Built on Water
Paddling through History 171
A Memorable Day on the Milwaukee River
Lost on the Lady Elgin 176
Remembering the Worst Disaster on the Great Lakes
In-Town Up North 182
Milwaukee River Was Our Ancestors' Wisconsin Dells
"Low Bridge, Everybody Down" 186
Erie Canal Carries Bicyclists Back to Milwaukee's Roots
Condo Canyon Echoes with History 192
A New Chapter in the Milwaukee River's Story
A Yuletide Tragedy 197
"Christmas Tree Ship" Is a Great Lakes Legend
Stream of Memories 203
Kinnickinnic River Is Ripe for Rebirth
Summertime
A "Breathing Place" for the Masses 211
National Park Offered Both Thrills and Quiet Close to Home
Generations of Oohs! and Aaahs! 216
Milwaukee Has Always Been Crazy about Fireworks
Where Have All the Odors Gone (Long Time Passing)? 221
Milwaukee's Air Is Thinner than It Used to Be
Summerfest's Prehistory 226
Lakefront Site Has Seen Trains, Planes, and Guided Missiles
Our Rocky Road to the Big Leagues 232
From Grays to Brewers to Braves to Brewers Again
Personalities
Hank, Meet Gertie 241
Milwaukee's First Community Pet Was a Duck
Beulah Brinton of Bay View 246
Neighborhood Activist of 1800s Is Still a Role Model
A Bouquet for Mr. Whitnall 251
Honoring the Father of Milwaukee County's Parks
Jay Scriba's Milwaukee 256
Remembering a Journalistic Legend
A Green Pantheon 261
Five Legendary Wisconsin Conservationists
City Hall, Northwoods Style 267
Mayor Dan Hoan's "Shack" Was His Summer Retreat
Frank P. Zeidler, 1912-2006 272
Former Mayor Was a Model Milwaukeean
The Common Good
Socialist Citadel 279
Milwaukee Was Land of the Free, Home of the Left
The Power of Work 285
CCC Crews Remade Milwaukee's Landscape
A Pioneering Approach to Poverty 290
Elizabeth Kander's Settlement Served "the Ghetto"
Turning on the "Lighted Schoolhouse" 295
Milwaukee Recreation Division Was America's Pioneer
A Healing Street 301
Regional Medical Care Began on North Fourth
The Other Pandemic 306
Spanish Flu Presaged COVID-19
The Missing Middle 312
American Politics Is Stuck at the Extremes
The Nature of Things
Saner Outside 319
Spring in the Time of Coronavirus
Robin Rudebreast 325
A Dyspeptic Take on Wisconsin's Official Bird
Epidemics in the Treetops 328
Emerald Ash Borer Picks Up Where Dutch Elm Beetle Left Off
Return of the Beaver 334
They're Redeveloping Downtown, One Tree at a Time
The Cost of Paper 339
Witnessing the Death of a Forest
Swimming Upstream 345
Lake Sturgeon Begin Their Long Trip Back
A Vote for Autumn 350
There's Something Bigger than an Election Going On Out There
A Milwaukeean Abroad
A Polish Pilgrimage 355
Search for Roots Has Unexpected Results
Luck of the Irish 361
It Was Better Here than in Ireland
Lost and Found 366
Hmong Refugees Reinvent Themselves in America
Neighbors and Strangers
Ein Prosit, Milwaukee! 375
German Traditions Shaped the City's Character
Latino Milwaukee 380
Los Primeros Left a Rich Legacy
"Why Can't They Be Like Us?" 386
An Old Question Is Still Being Asked
From Beaver Pelts to Poker Chips 391
Intertribal Disputes Reflect the Diversity of Wisconsin Indians
Chinese without a Chinatown 397
Small Community, Colossal Homeland
Most Segregated Metro Area? 402
It's Not That Simple
Birth Pangs of a New Understanding 409
A White Historian Reflects on Black Lives Matter
Wisconsin winters
In Praise of True Winter 417
Finding Cold Comfort in the Ice and Snow
Skating into the Past 421
A Memorable Trip to Thiensville
The End of Winter? 425
Our Ancestors Also Felt the Heat-Sometimes
The Personal Past-Late
Memory Lane 433
Sometimes It's a State Highway
Deep in the Heart of Dairyland 437
Holstein Sale Tells a Wisconsin Story
Owning the Past 443
Thoughts on Turning Seventy
The Generation Before 448
My Parents' Struggles Put COVID-19 in Perspective
Rest in Peace, Naturally 453
Green Burial Is One Way to Go
A Life in History 458
Fifty Years of 1099s
Index 467
