Milwaukee’s Serbian community, numbering about 2,500 prior to World War I, gained in population after World War II. Serbian villagers and political refugees found shelter here through fraternal benevolent lodges formed to aid fellow countrymen. As early as 1912 a call went out in Milwaukee for...

Despite its central location in Milwaukee County, many locals aren’t aware of the historic and architectural treasure trove that is the National Soldiers Home Historic District. Situated in the shadow of Miller Park on the grounds of the Zablocki VA Medical Center, the district includes an impressive collection of 25 post-Civil War...

The domestic dog, a descendant of the gray wolf, has been the working and companion animal most closely tied to humans, a relationship that dates back 15,000 years. According to professor Jean Aigner, former chair of the University of Alaska anthropology department, there is firm archaeological evidence that Arctic natives harnessed dogs as draft and pack animals for at...

Wladziu Valentino Liberace’s entrance into the world foreshadowed a career renowned for dramatic entrances. On May 16, 1919, in West Allis, Frances Zuchowski, a Polish-speaking young woman from Menasha, and her husband, Salvatore Liberace, a professional...

In the era when Milwaukee was little more than a trading post in the wilderness, nearly everything and everyone traveled by water. The future belonged to settlements with good harbors, and Milwaukee, with the largest bay and...

When Columbia St. Mary’s debuted its new state-of-the-art hospital in October, it was a momentous step in its 160-year history of providing health care to the people of Milwaukee. When the hospital first began caring for patients, Milwaukee was a young frontier settlement, a place of opportunity for foreign immigrants seeking work and a better life...

If you ask, you’ll find that Milwaukee abounds with compelling immigrant histories. Many people are eager to share stories of how they or their ancestors came to live in Milwaukee, as well as what the city was like and how it treated them when they arrived. Strength...

If you’ve ever had to provide someone with employment that includes job security, a competitive salary, health insurance and a retirement plan, you have to appreciate that Northwestern Mutual has been providing jobs—really good jobs, with perks that extend way beyond the gourmet lunch in the cafeteria—to members of our community...

Milwaukee has been home to a number of trailblazing artists, but none of them walked the line between obscurity and worldwide acclaim that Amund Dietzel did. When he began tattooing in 1907 it was an art form that existed on the periphery of mainstream culture, the stuff of carnival sideshows. But within...

Cathedral Square, the green gathering space in the heart of Downtown Milwaukee, serves as a point of convergence for popular events like Bastille Days, the East Town Market and the city’s favorite Thursday night tradition, Jazz in the Park...

This year Milwaukee was one of five cities chosen by brewing behemoth MillerCoors as a test market for its new beer, Batch 19 Pre-Prohibition Style Lager. “Back in 2004 there was a small flood in our archives in the basement of the Coors Brewery in Golden,” explains Keith Villa...

Keeping a small, independent specialty store open for a year of business is commendable; keeping one open for 140 is extraordinary. George Watts & Son, purveyors of rare, valuable serving ware and home décor, has been in business since 1870, and plans to celebrate its impressive milestone by hosting a number of events at the store...

For a country that pledged to leave no child behind, America continues to do so at an alarming rate. According to Stanford University professor emeritus of psychology Philip Zimbardo, on average one child drops out of school every nine seconds. Among the shortcomings of elementary...

Saturday, Sept. 4, is the 46th anniversary of the day The Beatles performed their one and only show for Milwaukee. The Fab Four made it to our city because of Nick Topping, a local activist and promoter, who brought them...

Media is more accessible to us than ever with conveniences like Video on Demand, DVD rental-by-mail services and the sale of inexpensive movies at big-box stores, but in watching movies on our computers or even on a stunning 65-inch HD 1080p TV at home, we miss the communal experience of...

As the adage goes, there are two seasons in Wisconsin: winter and road construction. The noise, delays and labyrinthine detours can be inconvenient, but our road hassles are nothing compared to what our ancestors had to deal...

Popular culture is a fickle thing, and the relevance of its entertainers can peak and fade quicker than Snooki’s sobriety. That’s what makes Michael Feldman’s 25th anniversary as host of the “Whad’Ya Know?” radio program so...

The muskie may be Wisconsin’s official “state fish,” but it is the almighty sturgeon that is revered by the Menominee and other Wisconsin Indians and is at the heart of a number of time-honored Wisconsin traditions. To spot a sturgeon is to glimpse a fish born of the Mesozoic era, more than 150 million years ago...

Located on Lake Michigan like we are, Milwaukeeans have an excellent position from which to watch history unfold. We are sitting on the shore of the largest surface freshwater system on the planet, and that comes with a lot of activity. In addition to containing nearly 84% of North America’s surface fresh water...

Solomon Juneau, Milwaukee’s first mayor, scores pretty high as far as founding fathers go. Born in 1793 in Repentigny, Quebec Province, Canada, a small farming community near Montreal, Juneau signed up as a voyageur at the age of 15 or 16. Voyageurs were crew members hired to man canoes that carried trade goods...

A visit to the great Northwoods of Wisconsin is an annual summer trip for many locals, and no journey into the state’s sprawling forests would be complete without a sighting of Paul...

As we witness the BP oil hemorrhage devastate communities and ravage a precious natural resource, the past reminds us of a similar scenario that occurred in northeastern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (UP) 139 years ago...

Now that camping season has arrived, many of us will be tempted to buy our outdoor gear...

Of the 2.5 million dams in the United States, 3,800 are located right here in the state of Wisconsin. Most of the dams are small, privately owned...

The advantage of knowing history is the opportunity it offers to learn from past events, mistakes and victories alike. In 1935, the Milwaukee County Historical Society (MCHS) took on the responsibility of safeguarding...