Böcker av Rick Petrie

Germans dominated Milwaukee like no other large American city. Their presence inhabits the city's neighborhoods, from its buildings and place names to its parklands and statuary. Their influence also lives in the memories shared by local residents. A small Milwaukee neighborhood south of Miller Valley was christened after a farmer's pigs, and a busboy turned beer baron built the famous Pabst Brewery in West Town. A ghost is said to haunt the old Blatz Brewing compound. And the remains of the early tanning industry can still be seen in Walker's Point. Compiling more than 1,200 interviews, authors Jill Florence Lackey and Richard Petrie share these ground-level perspectives of the lasting German influence on the Cream City.

The Old South Side has always welcomed ethnic groups. In the late 1800s, the area was developed by immigrant Poles, who became the dominant population for over 100 years. They celebrated their traditions, building churches, businesses, and service organizations and bringing over distinctive features from their homeland. While other Milwaukee ethnic neighborhoods gradually dissipated in the mid-20th century because of assimilation pressures, freeway building, or urban renewal programs, the Old South Side remained solidly Polish. Perhaps for this reason, the area became the destination of the fair housing marches. By the late 1960s, African Americans began demanding legislation that would allow them to live anywhere in the city, including the Old South Side. While African Americans never migrated to the area in great numbers, other populations did. A survey nearly a half century later revealed that people of 110 national backgrounds now lived on the Old South Side, with the three largest groups being Mexicans, Poles, and American Indians. Today, the neighborhood faith communities, businesses, sports, and celebrations strongly reflect the influence of these three communities.