News
MKE MEATBALL CHALLENGE: A TASTY, DELECTIBLE END TO HISTORICAL SOCIETY EXHIBIT!
Milwaukee, WI, 01/27/2012 – The Milwaukee County Historical Society is closing its year-long exhibition, FAITH FAMILY FESTA: Milwaukee’s Italians, with culinary excellence as the Historical Society hosts Milwaukee’s first ever Meatball Challenge!
On Saturday, March 24th, Milwaukee area restaurants, caterers, and private culinary experts are invited to compete against one another with their signature meatball recipes to see who will take home the honor of having Milwaukee’s best meatball! From Noon to 4:00, the public is welcome to taste each unique meatball recipe while enjoying FAITH FAMILY FESTA: Milwaukee’s Italians one last time. Using specific culinary criteria, a panel of judges will choose the grand prize winner who will receive two, round trip tickets to Rome! Prizes for second and third place will also be awarded, and Milwaukeeans will get their say by casting votes to decide a winner in the People’s Choice category.
All sponsorship and event proceeds support Historical Society programs and exhibits that help and enrich people’s lives through the power of history! Individuals and businesses that are interested in becoming an event contestant or sponsor, please contact Curator Michael Reuter at 414-273-8288, via email at mreuter@milwaukeehistory.net, or by filling out a contestant registration form at www.milwaukeehistory.net. Public admission to the event is $8.00, which includes four meatball tickets. Each meatball ticket purchased thereafter is $2.00. MCHS members gain admittance for FREE, so sign up for a membership today!
Billie the Brownie Returns to MCHS!
In recognition of Billie the Brownie’s 80th birthday, the Milwaukee County Historical Society unveils its holiday exhibition, Milwaukee of Christmas Past: Schuster’s & Billie the Brownie. Step back in time to follow the story of Billie the Brownie, Milwaukee’s very own Christmas icon.
Visitors of all ages can write letters to Santa, listen to vintage Billie the Brownie radio broadcasts, and challenge themselves to various games and puzzles.
Join the Society and meet Billie in person at a special screening of the exhibit from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, November 17th. Admission for this special event is just $8.00 for adults while children under 12 are free.
The exhibition will be open during the Society’s regular business hours through January 13th.
Share the spirit of Christmas by participating in the Historical Society’s food drive November 17th through January 13th. By bringing in five non-perishable food items*, visitors will receive a 50% discount on their museum admission. It’s a win-win proposition!
The mission of the Milwaukee County Historical Society is to collect, preserve, and make available materials relating to the history of the Milwaukee community. Through a broad range of activities, the Historical Society seeks to recognize and preserve our local history. For more information about this event, call (414)273-8288 or visit us online at www.milwaukeehistory.net.
*Only one coupon or discount per person.
MAJOR EXHIBIT ON MILWAUKEE’S ITALIANS TO OPEN AT HISTORICAL SOCIETY ON APR. 14
“Faith, Family, Festa: Milwaukee’s Italians,” an exhibit that presents a comprehensive story on the Italian experience in Milwaukee County, opens at the Milwaukee County Historical Society (MCHS) on Thursday, Apr. 14 with a public reception from 6 to 9 p.m.
The Historical Society is at 910 N. Old World Third St., Milwaukee.
“Faith, Family, Festa” is the first major exhibit at MCHS since the completion of a $10 million renovation project. The Italian exhibit will be available for public viewing through the end of 2011. Exhibit hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday; and 1 to 5 p.m., Sunday. MCHS is closed for major holidays.
Regular exhibit admission is $8 per person or free for members of MCHS.
For those wanting to attend the Apr. 14 opening reception, admission is $15 per person; $10 for MCHS members; and free for MCHS Historian’s Club members. To make reservations for the opening reception, call (414) 273-8288.
About the exhibit
“Faith, Family, Festa,” located on the second floor of the Historical Society, offers a rare opportunity to understand the traditions, triumphs and hardships of immigrant life for Milwaukee’s Italian community.
There are four sections to the exhibit. These are:
• “Voyage to a New Land,” which explores the conditions that forced Italians to leave Italy and what led them to Milwaukee.
• “A Benefit for All.” Visitors will learn about various social and religious groups who helped their fellow immigrants survive and prosper in Milwaukee’s Italian community. Many of these groups are still part of the social fabric that makes Italians one of the strongest and most visible of Milwaukee’s ethnic groups.
• “Church is Community.” The church was the center of the Italian community. Through artifacts and photos, visitors will get an understanding of the church’s dual role as a religious and social center.
• “A Brave New World.” Discover the successes and hardships of the Italian experience after their arrival that led to unique contributions of cuisine, the arts, and a work ethic that forever changed Milwaukee’s urban landscape.
Cultural treasures from the MCHS collections help to convey the Italian experience in Milwaukee. The single largest MCHS collection of Italian immigrant artifacts, photos and other memorabila was donated by Italian Community Center Historian Mario A. Carini on behalf of the ICC, its membership and the early Italian immigrants.
“This is a story that needs to be told,” said Randy Bryant, President of the MCHS Board of Directors. “Never before in the state have Italians been recognized to such a degree.”
Bryant added the exhibit tells “the story behind the story” through the use of artwork, photographs, documentation, other memorabilia and multi-media presentations.
Among these multi-media presentations is a video of the last procession of Our Lady of Pompeii, the Catholic church built by Milwaukee’s early Italians in the old Third Ward. The last procession occurred in 1967 before the demolition of the church under orders of an urban renewal project. Another video shows the Third Ward neighborhood of the mid 1930s.
Memorabilia from some of the 42 original Italian mutual aid societies, both secular and religious, and clubs including UNICO National, its Milwaukee Chapter and the Milwaukee Ladies of UNICO, Pompeii Men’s Club, Pompeii Women’s Club and the Garibaldi Society, is part of the exhibit.
“This exhibit is a wonderful tribute to those early immigrants who founded Milwaukee’s Italian community,” Carini said. “The Italian community can be proud that the Historical Society has chosen the Italian experience in Milwaukee as its first major exhibit after the completion of its $10 million renovation project.
“Personally, I feel that this exhibit, especially the display of the artifacts of the Pompeii Church, is a recognition of the tragedy of it being destroyed in favor of an expressway ramp. Moreover, an entire community was displaced by the destruction of the homes in the old Third Ward, bringing to an end an important chapter in the history of Milwaukee’s Italians and the city in general.”
Monthly lectures from historians and members of the Italian community will supplement the exhibit with its aim to delve deeper into the personal experiences of first, second and third generation immigrants.
While the vast majority of Italians who settled in Milwaukee were from the regions of Sicily and Abruzzo, the exhibit will include documents, artifacts, photos and other forms of memorabilia from those who came here from other regions of Italy, including Le Marches, Veneto, Lombardy, Piedmont, Tuscany and Trentino-Alto Adige.
The Italian exhibit is being underwritten by MCHS and its corporate sponsors. However, the MCHS staff is seeking private donations to offset the costs. Persons interested in making a tax-deductible donation should send them to MCHS.
“Donations in any dollar amount are welcome,” Bryant said. “Anyone who feels they can contribute is encouraged to do so.”