Support Bay View

 The Bay View Historical Society,  of 2590 S. Superior Street,  invites all interested people to attend their meetings.  The meetings start at 7 PM and are held at the Beulah Brinton Community Center, 2555 S. Bay St. The meetings are scheduled on the first Monday of February, April, June, October and December. Elections are held at the October meeting. There are usually guest speakers to talk on various subjects at the meetings.  Refreshments are served after the meeting is completed. Mark Nitka is the president of the society and runs the meetings. If you contact him via the Bay View Historical Society web site, he will gladly answer any questions you have about the group. There are people from various age groups attending the meetings. Your input is gladly accepted. Look in the newspaper or on the BVHS web site for the list of speakers at our meetings. The door is always open, you are welcome to come inside. If you have the time, please join us when we meet.

 In recent times we have been given mandates, like "No child left behind" by the federal government and various state mandates concerning education and our schools. The problem is that there is no money behind these programs, and local taxes are becoming too great for the people to handle. As a result, the quality of our schools is being strangled by these mandates without financial backing. If these programs are supposed to handled by the schools, why is there no money to back them up?  Our schools and teachers are starving for additional funding. Our schools are the life blood of our nation. Why can't we provide for them to keep up our good eduactional standards. Without funding, fine arts, physical education, and other programs that enrich our children are being tossed aside due to financial concerns. We should educate the whole child into the things of this world. A well educated child is an asset to us. Does the rest of the world laugh at us because we are providing educated children who have lacked the chance to learn the fine arts, sports and study of other languges in  one of the richest countries in the world. Please restore funding to our schools so that we can show the world that we care about our children. And to the state and federal governments, please do not mandate extra programs without the funding to go with them. Please protect and finance our public schools.

When it gets very cold outside, salt does not always melt the ice on sidewalks. Sand is sometimes better than salt at melting ice. Kitty litter can work and it will not hurt the soil composition. A mixture of salt and sand can work better than salt or sand alone. In the old days, we used the ashes from the kitchen stove and coal furnace to fight the ice. This material is no longer available to us in large quantities to use. The salt that we use will eventually effect our water supply that we drink. Somewhere out there we must have something that will not damage our water supply or soil composition. We should ask our universities to discover a better solution than salt to melt the ice on our streets and our sidewalks. Whatever they discover must be able to do the job without damaging our environment. Kitty litter is one solution, but it can confuse our cats. Sand can work, but it weakens our soil composition. I hope that somebody out there can suggest a  better solution to this problem, than I can. Please send in any of your suggestions to me at pmmanke@aol.com. I am curious to know if there is a good answer to my problem of not using salt to remove ice.

 From the beginning of American history,  we are told of a cash crop that was raised to help in the defense of our country and also to help farmers and industry.  Hemp was this cash crop.  We used it to make strong ropes for our ships and many other purposes. 

If you read history stories from the past,  you will find that hemp was grown in most places in the country.  Until after the Korean War,  this crop was very common.  It was discovered that hemp had another purpose besides being made into ropes.  It was made into a drug called marijuana.  Marijuana could be used for valid medical purposes.  It helps with glaucoma by relieving the pressure that would destroy the eyes and cause blindness.  If somebody has cancer,  it can be used to relieve the nausea that comes from chemotherapy. 

The ropes made from hemp-marijuana were always strong ropes.  Somebody came up with the idea of smoking the ropes and shortly thereafter cigarettes were made from marijuana.  If used for recreational drug purposes,  it can destroy brain cells.  A good thing can turn into a bad thing just by abuse of it.  Who wants to get dementia early?  If you get old and get dementia, it is understandable.  If you get dementia from smoking marijuana,  then it is a wasted life for you.  Why destroy your brain,  when you can do so many positive things with an educated brain?

Today you can find much marijuana growing wild in the country,  because it was leftover from cash crops,  whose farms ceased to operate any more.  Not all marijuana is grown by drug dealers,  but abuse of marijuana is caused by them. 

Decide for yourself what you want for your future;  dementia cause by illegal drugs or a fine mind that can develop into a great mind.  Your future is in your own hands. 

Decide for yourself.

 As we get older, we should take the time to visit and watch our children and grandchildren in their activities. As times go on they will get older and perhaps we will be gone by then. Now is the time to enjoy the kids while they are still beginning their life activities. Enjoy their smiles and joy as they participate in sports and other youth activities. Calm their fears when they have a hard time while do activities. Remember, you were young once yourself. When they join a church choir, take the time to watch them sing. If they play sports, take the time to cheer them on. When they get older, they will remember all of the times that you supported them in both good times and bad times. This your legacy. Enjoy the kids while you can. Your example will reflect on them in their future. Set a good example with your support of them. Every picture in your photo album is a moment frozen in time. Take pictures of the kids to remind them of their youth when they get older. Examine your old photos, and see what events happened in your past. Live each day as a gift of the Lord.
 

When it snows outside,  I think of that small snow storm that we had in 1947,  that crippled the City of Milwaukee. It seems that in 1947,  World War II was over,  but Milwaukee did not have enough snow plows to handle all of the snow that came down.  Streetcars were stranded due to unplowed streets.  Some people had to climb out upstairs windows to get out of their house.  The few cars that made it to the street were abandoned when their drivers became stuck in the snow.  Grocery stores ran short on food supplies.  It was
difficult for anybody to make it to a hospital.  I stated that it was a small snow storm,  because Milwaukee does not ever have any BIG problems,  or do they?  After the small storm,  the City of Milwaukee went out and purchased some snow plows and garbage trucks to prevent a small storm like that from crippling the city again.  

In Bay View,  the people helped out each other.  Neighbors were like family members to all.  As a team many
streets were taken care of with hard manual labor.  People checked on elderly people to see if they needed any assistance.  There were plenty of ashes and clinkers from coal furnaces to melt some of the snow and ice.  One by one,  cars were freed from their trapped locations. People shared food with their neighbors due to the food shortages at the local grocery stores.  It took a while for delivery trucks to resume bring needed supplies to the neighborhoods.  Now you have an idea why I like the Bay View area so much.  With people like these living in the area,  you knew that you were safe.  No area is perfect,  but I like the Bay View area.
By St. Lucas Evangelical Lutheran Church at 2605 S. Kinnickinnic Avenue,  many streetcars were unable to climb the steep hill nearby.  Now in the present time we use salt to clear the roads of ice and snow.  If we still had coal furnaces,  the coal ashes and clinkers would  do less environment damage than the salt does now.
A mixture of salt and sand is needed to really protect us from icey conditions.  Remember that if it snows outside,  we won't have to relive the "small" snow storm of 1947.  Take the time to visit your neighbor and try to work together as we did in the past.  Not all old things are bad.  

Whenever we participate in a hot dog and bratwurst sale,  I am asked to make the sauerkraut.  I learned my recipe from my dad.  Everybody seems to like to eat it.

Ingredients:

• One very large can of sauerkraut
• Caraway seed to mix into sauerkraut and neutralize it
• Sugar or other sweeteners.  ( I use one cup of regular sugar and a pinch of raw sugar)
• One slow cooker

Cook:

• Place contents of large can of sauerkraut into slow cooker
• Turn slow cooker to high
• Add caraway seed and sweeteners to sauerkraut.
• Cook slowly for  about two hours and turn down slow cooker to medium or warm
• Serve with either bratwurst of hot dog on a bun--some people eat the sauerkraut in a bowl

Enjoy and serve to your friends and neighbors.  Caraway seed seems to neutralize the sauerkraut and sugar seems to turn it into more like a vegetable and more tasty.

If you want to serve a fantastic meal,  serve the sauerkraut that is cooked with a pork roast with a bone inside,  pork hocks,  pork steak with a bone inside,  bratwurst,  kielbasa,  Italian sausage or any type of pork that you want to eat.  Pork hocks and sauerkraut is a meal that you normally only can have at restaurant.  A serving of small white potatoes and small cooked beets will fill out the meal.

Sauerkraut was developed by the Chinese when they built the Great China Wall to provide a food with large amounts of vitamin C and would not spoil easily.  Marco Polo brought this dish to Europe.  In later years, the Germans made good use of this food. 

Enjoy a food that is known around the world.

People should not be afraid to send a letter to the editor. Your input should be welcome at any newspaper. This is how you can express your thoughts to others in a public way. We need more local Bay View news to be printed. If your organization or club has something to announce, send a letter to the editor. If your school has special events happening, write about it. Let people know what is happening concerning your group. This is one of the best ways to get your mesage across to others. I know that many things are happening in your neighborhood. Let us know about it. You can help the flow of information concerning Bay View be more widespread. Please think about it. Please support the Bay View Community.

When we are in bad times, we tend to think of the funeral homes as an unpopular profession.  These people are dedicated to helping people in their time of need.  Most of these people have knowledge of medicine,  psychology,  finance and other skills.  When they do their job,  it is with total respect to the family of the person that they are working with. 

One of the first things that they do is to test for a hidden pulse, and if they find one,  notify the nearest medical center for help.  They then clean and disinfect the remains. They then use their skills to embalm the remains. They talk to the family about their needs and wants in this matter.  They then obtain a photograph and final clothing for the remains.  After all of the necessary work is done,  they dress the remains and present them in a lifelike appearance for presentation. 

Earlier, when they have made all of the arrangements with the family,  the choice of a place of presentation is made and also a location for time and place of memorial service.  All of this work is done on a 24/7 basis.  They have to be on
call at all times.  I think that this is thankless job.  They do a wonderful job of helping people out in their time of need.

There is an urban legend that comes to mind on this subject.  At a south side funeral home,  the owner had a young assistant to do minor jobs at the place.  One day when the owner was very busy,  he told his young assistant to do a small job for him.  He was told to place a toupee on a man's remains before the presentation was made.  At the end of the day the owner went to examine the remains and fired his young assistant. It seems that the assistant used a thumb tack to attach the toupee to the head of the deceased. Now this story has to be just an urban legend,  but it has been around for a long time.

Remember,  the job of the funeral home is one of respect and dignity.  An urban legend like this would not have occurred with the dedication of the people that I know in the profession.  Choose the place of your own choice at your time of need.  This is your decision to make.  You will have to live with the results.  If you have any doubts about who to choose,  see a member of your clergy for assistance. This is a once in your life job to do with anybody. Do not panic.  You will have these memories for all time.

Do you remember when cars had no heaters as standard equipment?  If you wanted to have a radio,  you had to have somebody install it for you.  Car heaters could be installed as extra equipment if you needed one.  Turn signals were unheard of then.  Some cars would have a small fan installed to cool off the car in summer.  Some of the really old cars had hand cranks on them for starting the car.  Most of the military vehicles were known for not having heaters in them.  Power steering was unheard of.  Automatic transmissions did not come until after World War II.  Many cars had solid rubber tires on the vehicle.  Cars of today were only a dream in those days.  The old cars were heavy and manuvered easily in snow and ice.

Going up a hill on ice was different matter.  Most of the windshields were made of  two sheets of glass. Rear view and side view mirrors were things of the future.  Cars were mostly used for family trips and for vacation use.  Mass transportation was used more than ordinary cars.  You had to have some money to own and keep up a car.

As companies moved out to the suburbs,  cars became a necessity as a means of getting to work.  Cars were becoming more common than earlier.  Stop signs,  speed limit signs and other signs were starting to make their debut.  Hand brakes or emergency brakes were becoming standard on most cars.  Police were now getting behind the wheel also.  Traffic laws had to be enforced.  The older cars were easy to repair as they were very basic in structure.  As new features came out,  mechanics had to learn more things in order to repair the cars.  Service stations and repair garages were starting to be more common now.  On the race track,  new features were developed that later ended up being installed on regular cars. 

While many of these features were safety oriented,  others were for increased power and beauty on the cars.  The first cars were mainly black in color.  Now cars were coming out in all colors that you can imagine.  Fancy seat cushions were a new fashion.  Standard radios were now in cars.  Hard tops and convertibles were being made to satisfy more customers.  Automatic transmissions were now being developed to make it easier to drive without shifting gears with the clutch.  Power steering was coming into play now.  Air conditioning was being developed to make life easier for the drivers and their passengers.

Piece by piece,  the new cars were being built with more new features,  each manufacturer trying to outdo the other.  As the cars became more and more alike,  many cars ceased to be manufactured.  Small companies like Willy's/Kaiser,  American Motors,  Studebaker,  Henry J,  Packard Motors,  Hudson Motors,  Desoto,  Plymouth,  Oldsmobile and others seemed to fade from sight.  There were more companies than these,  but I did not feel like listing any more.

Today we seem to be buying more foreign cars than domestic cars.  What happened to the automobile industry?  It seems that while we were rebuilding Germany and Japan,  the American companies did not retool their auto lines like the other countries did.  As a result,  vehicles from Germany and Japan and other countries had an advantage over their American counterparts.

While the Americans did things the old fashioned way,  the other countries figured out how to produce a quality product,  the way America used to do.  While the American quality went down,  the quality of other countries's cars improved.  This way we fell behind in our quality control concept. 

Now the American companies are waking up and trying to do what they should have done a long time ago.  Besides better quality control,  every car has some computerized parts that never existed in the past.  There are even tires that can be driven on after they go flat.  Door locks and ignitions that can be started by pushing a button on a remote control device.  Ignitions that can tell if somebody has been drinking and refuse to turn the engine on are available to drunk drivers to prevent them from driving and drinking alcohol.  Cars that can be driven without a driver inside are also available.

Most cars have a black box inside of the engine area that is computerized and can be read after an accident occurs.  Every day new things are being developed to improve our cars.  Now if only the drivers could also be improved to drive under adverse weather conditions like snow and ice.

The Lion's Club is holding a membership drive. They are looking for some civic minded citizens who are willing to donate some time and effort towars making the community a better place in which to live. Remember when you wanted to make a difference in the world. Help the Lion's Club rid the world of preventable blindness and make a difference in the world. Through membership, Lions not only help the people in need, but they have the chanct to make new friendships and to gain valuable leadership skills that can be used in their everyday work and life. Now you can be one of the largest volunteer groups in the world.

There are many Lion's Clubs in the Milwaukee area. You can join the close to your home or one that appeals to you. One of the goals of the Lion's Club is to help people with viion problems and to donate used eye glasses to needy people who can't afford to buy them. The Lions have supported this program since Helen Keller's call to the Lions in 1925 to be "Knights of the Blind". Today there are at least 60 Lions Eye Banks in 11 countries. The Club support of the Wisconsin Eye Bank and corneal transplant surgeries is one example of how Lions make a difference in the world.

Improving the quality of life in the Milwaukee area has long been a focus of the club. In the past the organization has purchased ambulances, funded civic improvements, supported the youth of the area through donations to the Scouts, the Junior Miss Program, the Honor Society, the Little League Program, AFS, student leadership groups, along with athletic scholarships. The Lions have supported the free diabetes screening clinic, run blood drives and volunteered many hours in the area. How about considering to become a member of the Lion's Club?  Your input will help the organization grow in the future. Support the Lion's Club in all of their programs offered to raise money to help other people. Your help will be gladly received. Most of the information in this story comes from the South Milwaukee Lion's Club.

Here is a story that my dad told me a long time ago. 

During the late 1920's or early 1930's,  a man shot two deer out in the woods.  He was trying to figure out how to get these deer out of the woods to his car. He then came up with a brilliant idea.  He drove to the the game warden's office and told him that he found two deer that were shot recently lying out in the woods.  He felt that the deer should not be left out like that and should be brought in to the game warden's  office and processed there. 

The game warden came with him to the woods to see the deer.  Both cars were parked near each other on the road.  The game warden hauled out one deer to his vehicle.  He then went back to get the second deer.  While he was gone,  the hunter picked up the first deer and transferred it to his own car.  He then hit the road leaving the game warden out in the woods with the second deer.  When the game warden came back to his car with the second deer,  he realized that he was duped by the hunter. 

Now,  that is how to haul a deer out from deep in the woods.  The hunter had a good idea,  didn't he?  Without modern communications like today,  the hunter was able to pull a fast one on the game warden.  If try to do that today,  you will be behind bars in a short time.

At this time of year, children want to build snow forts. If they are built too close to the curb, then they are in danger of being hit by a car or snow plow that is plowing the streets. Also, if the snow forts collapse, the children could smother in the snow. When we were kids, we used to build snow forts also. We were naive about the walls or ceiling collasping on us. Parents should always keep an eye on their kids to make sure that they are not in harm's way. When I hear about construction tunnels collasping on workers, I then think of children playing in the fields. Mine workers and construction workers build retaining walls to protect themselves. Kids do not do this. While we all like to play once in a while, we must be aware of the dangers that exist in the area that we are in. We can't replace our kids, therefore we must be careful with the ones we have. It is fun to play in the snow, but be aware of the dangers of strange areas. When going for a sled or tobaggan ride, be aware of any hidden rocks that could hurt riders or of streams of water that could cause a person to drown in some circumstances. If you hit a hidden rock, then you can get a dangerous head injury that needs immediate medical attention. Another thing to watch for is frost bite or getting too much of a chill while playing. Enjoy yourself this winter, but protect your children at all times and keep them safe from all dangers that can hurt them.  Be careful of traffic if you are near a road, because a car sliding out og control could cross the field of snow near you. If the snow on the curbs is too high to see any childen near the road, then drive slower to be able to stop in time if a child runs out in front of you. Have a fun winter and get closer with your own family. A close family is a loving family. Members of a loving family usually succeed in most things that they do together.  Please support the Bay View community.

Let us hope that this year will be great year for us all. There will be elections for many offices, including the President of the United States. This will be a good time to study all of the candidates for political office and decide which one you will vote for. Choose the person that you want, not just his party. Our candidates for office will have to serve the people who elect them. Every elgible voter should take the time and vote for the person that you want to be in each office. If every elgible voter uses the power of his vote, we could have some changes in who serves in each elected office. Durin election time, only a few people vote to decide all offices. Make this a year in which all elgible voters take the time to vote. You are the one who decides who should be elected. Use this power wisely and you will be proud of yourself. In some countries, not all of the people are allowed to vote. Be glad that you live in the United States of America.

Years ago, the Roman Catholic Church had its main home at St. Peter's Church downtown. As the building got to be too small to teach seminarians and hold services,  Bishop Henni and Father Salzman decided to build a larger seminary somewhere in Milwaukee. Both men went out to Europe and elsewhere to raise money and to secure first edition books for the new seminary. Father Heiss and Father Paulhuber stayed behind in Milwaukee to care for the church. Father Paulhuber had come from Austria to serve here. One day he went out and purchased land for about $56.00 that we now call Holy Hill. This land was located near Geldenstadt in the Town of Erin. He thought that this land resembled the hills of Austria, his old home. He felt that this land was perfect to build a new seminary on.  In the meantime, Father Heiss had obtained the land in which the seminary is now located. The two men had a huge fight over where to build the new seminary. They both agrred that Bishop Henni would decide on this matter. It was discovered that cream city clay was in the ground on the site near Lake Michigan. If a dock was built, then cream city bricks could be sold and shipped across Lake Michigan to other cities. The money raised from the sale of the bricks would help pay for archdiocese needs and also help pay for the new seminary buildings. The Seminary Woods was established to provide wood for the kilns to make the bricks. Therefore the Holy Hill site was not needed for the new seminary. Father Paulhuber returned to Austria in anger because of this issue of where to build the new seminary. In recent times, the old St. Peter's Church was first moved to the seminay grounds and later to Old World Wisconsin in Eagle, Wisconsin. Near the turn of the century, Bishop Heiss was called upon to dedicate the site of Holy Hill and bless it for the Roman Catholic Church. It is amazing, since he was the one who did not approve of this place as the site of the new seminary, and he was th one dedicating it. Father Jerry Hauser, retired priest, residing on the seminary grounds, is an expert on the history of the Major Seminary.

I am a member of the Trowbridge Street School Planning Committee. Trowbridge now has a brand new Great Lakes Fresh Water Studies program. A curriculum has been written for kindergarten thru eighth grade students.

Classes and activities have already begun. Staff members have had a tour of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewer District plant and a tour ofLake Michigan. Students have started studying the Great Lakes and the importance of water. Students have walked down to observe Lake Michigan at South Shore Park. Trowbridge has a partnership with UWM, MSSD and United Water for the Great Lakes Water Studies program.

There are many other opportunities for Trowbridge students. There are intramural teams for volleyball, basketball and football. There is a RIF (Reading is Fundamental) program where each student gets to choose and keep three books a year. The universal free lunch program is going to be made available for students.

Trowbridge has an active fine arts program in arts and music. Some of the students went to the Marcus Center to hear the Milwaukee Sympony Orchestra. This school year several classes will learn ballroom dancing and compete city wide. Trowbridge also has a partnership with Artists Working in Education (AWE), First Stage, Discovery World, SHAR Literacy, Inc, Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center, Milwaukee Children's Choir and Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.

Trowbridge has a dynamic principal, Tom Matthews, who has an enthusiastic staff who are very excited about the Great Lakes Fresh Water Studies program. Mr. Matthews has a fine arts backround. Call Tom Matthews at 294-1900, and come see for yourself all of the great opportunities for your children.  Trowbridge Strret School is located at 1943 E. Trowbridge Street, just one block east of S. Kinnickinnic Ave. and just west of S. Delaware Avenue.

 The first chapter begins with Pastor Otto Schmidt being a pastor of a large south side Lutheran Church. He was very close with his wife Erna Schmidt. One day Erna was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The story continues with his and her struggle with her illness.  After she passed away,  Pastor Otto was too depressed to continue as pastor of his church. He then went into Lutheran Social Services as a social worker.  One day
he decided to take a trip out into the country near Mauston, Wisconsin.  All of this took place during the 1950's.  While driving along on a small country road,  he spotted a beautiful old German Lutheran Church
that was built in the gothic style.  While exploring this unlocked church,  he found the church organ near the altar.  While trying to play some old German hymns that he and Erna loved,  he accidently triggered the outside loudspeaker system that broadcast his music to all of the nearby countryside.  The church was dark except near the altar,  so he never saw or heard people coming inside from the fields.  He wanted to see if he could still do the order of service as he did when he was pastor of his old church.  The leader of the congregation then came up to him.  He told Pastor Otto that their old pastor had passed away and they had no money to be able to call a new pastor.  Therefore they had to go to other churches about forty miles away.  He now knew that God had not forgotten him and also that Erna was still with him in spirit.  This could become his new church if the people would take him as there pastor.

 When Pastor Otto Schmidt got over the shock of being greeted in the church while trying to do the order of service, he seemed to welcome being a pastor again.  He told the church leaders that he was willing to be their pastor.  He did not need much pay.  It was like being back with his late wife Erna Schmidt again. Here were people who had a great need for a pastor,  and he was a pastor who needed to get back to his original
work.  When the church's late pastor died, it had left the congregation without a leader.  Otto had a good knowledge of German, so it was easy for him do the service that way. The younger members of the congregation had little care for the German service,  so Otto did an English service for them.  These people were farmers and had very little money.  The barter system was common out here.  If you did something for another person,  he would pay you back with his own services instead of using cash.

  After Otto was there for a while, he got lonely for company.  One of the people in his new congregation gave him a little puppy to care for.  While money was scarce,  food and labor was plentiful.  He never had to worry about getting food to eat or fuel for heating the pastor's residence.  All he had to do was to care for his congregation as  a shepherd would care for his flock.  Who ever would have thought that by entering a pretty empty church, that he would be back as a pastor again.  Erna must be there looking after him.  He was able to regain his strength and do a good job as pastor.  As time went on,  we lose track of Pastor Otto Schmidt.  He just seems to fade into the backround.  Perhaps one day you will meet a person like him. Follow your instincts and go where they take you.  The Lord will be your guide to your future. Do not be afraid to go forward.  Your future is not written in stone.  You alone will create it.  Please take the time to help other people as you go on your way.

Over the years,  I have met many firefighters.  At one time I ate in a firehouse as a guest for several years.  The one thing that I have noticed is that they do their job with dedication and dignity.  One movie that comes close to describing the firefighters's life is "Ladder 49".  These people work hard and become as a family.  When an emergency occurs,  the captain and lieutenant act as a mother hen to their people.  They always want and need to know where every person is at to determine if anyone is in harm's way.  When they
handle a medical emergency,  they do it with dignity.  Nobody can be embarrased by the way firefighters
handle your situation.  Every firefighter is an emergency medical technician  (EMT) and is trained like a medic
in the military to handle certain situations.

  Inside of the firehouse,  the firefighters live together as a closely knit group.  Sometimes practical jokes happen like a lieutenant finding five dead mice in his fireboots and the guilty party hitting his rack at night finding no bed springs in his bunk when he lies down.  Good humor comes with being closely knit.
Nothing serious ever happens in a practical joke,  like in the movie "Ladder 49".  When it comes down to life
and death situations,  you know that you can depend on your fellow firefighters at all times.  I would like to praise all of the firefighters everywhere for doing an outstanding job.  Some day one might save your life in an emergency.  Be glad that we have these people to protect us from all harm.  Many lives have been saved by firefighters at the scene of an auto accident.  The jaws of life that they use has pried many people from being trapped in their car after an accident.  Their medical skills have saved many peoples lives.  So if you ever meet a firefighter,  give them a salute for the great job that they do.

A man had come over here from the old country.  He was unaware of American fauna.  One day a guy told him that he could get a good price on a fur pelt that came from a black animal with a white stripe on its back.
He was also told it was easy to catch and there were plenty of these animals around.  One day while he was taking a walk after leaving work,  he saw the animal with the black and white stripe on it walking in the woods nearby.  The animal did not seem to be in a hurry to get away from him,  so he decided to approach it.  That was his big mistake.  The animal raised his tail and let loose of a large amount of smelly spray at him.  He could not understand why this animal reacted the way it did.  He had never heard of or seen a skunk before.  Now he knew that somebody was playing a mean joke on him.  He tried to get on a bus to go home,  since he did not drive a car.  The bus driver refused to let him on the bus because of his smell.  He later tried to get on other buses with the same result.  Then he tried to get a cab ride,  but no driver would allow him into his vehicle becuse of his smell.  Finally,   he had to call a friend to get a ride home.  He had a lot of explaining to do when he got home.  His wife did not appreciate the smell of her husband,  and had to work hard to remove it.  He also learned not to trust certain people in the future.  This was a lesson that he learned well.

   While I was taking a college speech class,  I had to write a sales speech.  It had to demonstrate a product,  show how it could be used,  show positive and negative facts about the product.  My choice of a topic was the product "O.S.".  I informed the class that this product could keep all of your possesions burgler proof.  If you appled to anything that you owned, that nobody would ever want to steal or take it.  Imagine making a fur coat unstealable or a new car the same.  You could put this product on your wallet or money and nobody would ever want to take it.  If they did take it , they would be easily caught.  These were the positive things about my product.  The negative things about my product would be that you yourself might not want to use the items that you protected with it.  You also might drive people away with the product.  As you guessed,  I got a low grade on my speech,  because the teacher thought that it was implausible to create such a product.  As you realize now,  "O.S." is Oil of Skunk.

  Many years ago somebody actually created a use for a product like mine.  They have created a capsule of skunk oil that is clipped on to a woman's bra.  If she is attacked by anybody,  all she has to do is press on the capsule of skunk oil and any attacker would flee the scene.  If he would continue his attack,  then the oil of skunk would spot him out anywhere he went and he would be easily caught by the police.  Maybe my idea was not so bad after all.  You be the judge.

The Bay View Centennial Walking Tour of 1979 was designed by John Utzat exclusively.  He also designed the Bay View walking tours.  He designed these tours in the 1970's with the goal of having them done for the centennial of the founding of the Village of Bay View.  This work was done before the Bay View Historical Society came into existance. The Bay View Centennial Walking Tour steering committee was chaired by Ray Ropel and had many members of the local community involved.  In 1979,  a steering committee to form a Bay View Historical society was established.  At the meeting,  John Utzat then a very popular historical columnist for the South Side Urban News,  "The Sun" proposed his idea for a centennial walking tour.  His suggestion was championed by Ray Bethke and became the goal of the steering committee.  A committee with members Ray Bethke,  Norene and James Veitch,  Hildegarde and Norm Hundt,  Vera and Lee Markussen,  Floyd Boyce,  Daisy Estes Tucker and John Utzat was formed.
  Ray Bethke, who had been a former director of the old Beulah Brinton Community Center in the heart of "Little Italy" served as chairman and spokesman of the walking tour committee.  The committee's function was to promote and coordinate the event which included 7 tour guides with voice guns, hand held loud speakers.  Sponsorship for the tour was provided by Ray Ropel,  who operated a Mobil  Service Station at
S. Clement and E. Oklahoma Avenues.
 

  Saturday,  August 25,  1979,  at South Shore Park Pavilion, at 5:30 PM,  assembled were Milwaukee County Executive Bill O'Donnell,  County Supervisor  Daniel Cupertino,  Alderman Clifford Draeger and Daniel Zilokowski along with a host of many other elected officials and dignitaries who accompanied the tour at its forefront.  The massive crowd  was greeted by John Utzat and Ray Bethke.  A plaque located in the park dedicated to the people of Bay View's past and its present residents.  Looking south from the top of the bluff at E. Russell Avenue across what is now Cupertino Park was a large mass of humanity.  At times sections of the tour were escorted by police department motorcycles with red lights.  At the triangle on S. St. Clair Street, the site of the original Beulah Brinton Community Center and the Puddler's Hall,  that was open to the centennial tour.  The triangle streets were filled by many people. The estimates of tour attendance came from the Milwaukee Police Department, and from Milwaukee County personnel.  The amounts of people were 8,000 at the tour and 5,000 at. the St. Clair  triangle.

  So successful was this tour that three more Bay View tours were created by John Utzat and embellished by Ray Bethke.  These were named the MID-TOWN WALK, THE K.K. LINK, and the WESTERN WALK,  all were conducted before 1984.  These very popular tours were well attended.  Of historical significance is that these tours provided about 90%  of what is known about the history of Bay View today.  It should be noted that the 3rd annual walk was solely designed by Walter Hirthe and took place on August 15,  1981. Sites as the Starkey home,  the Welsh Church,  the 1925 Gordon Bennett balloon landing location and a mystery home were featured.  John Utzat was a tour guide on this memorable walk.

  John Utzat:  is a 53 - year resident of Bay View.  He is a historical newspaper columnist who wrote for almost every South Side and Bay View newspaper in the past 34 years.  He is the author two local history books:  SOUTHSIDE IN THE SUN and RED SKIES OF BAY VIEW,  the latter which he hopes to make available soon.  SOUTHSIDE IN THE SUN is available at the Milwaukee Public Library.  In 1981,  Mr Utzat provided informational assistance and served as a tour leader of historical walking tours of Milwaukee's South Side.  These tours were prepared for the Libraries of Milwaukee Project and focused on the Forest Home Avenue and Mitchell Street areas.  Mr. Utzat was often a guest of the Milwaukee Public Libraries doing historical programs.  Several of which were held at the old LLewellyn Library and the new Bay View Library.  He was also a guest of countless organizations and churches making available his historical  programs to many people.  In 1983, he had the privilege of sharing his historical program with the late congressman Clement J. Zablocki,  said to be his last public appearance in Milwaukee at the Kosciusko Community Center,  Several days later in Washington, D.C.,  the legendary south side congressman had succumbed to a stroke.  Former Milwaukee Socialist Mayor Frank Zeidler, had a high regard for John Utzat and often used his historical  writings in his lectures.  Recently John brought the obscure existence of a Bay View area cemetery,  Stewart-
Allis Cemetery to the awareness of the public.

   John Utzat is a friend of mine who is very knowledgeable in local history.  He has supplied me with the material used in this story.  I have attended several of his lectures at the library and he is a good knowledgeable speaker.  He is very outstanding in his work.