Terminal Milwaukee Finale Recap

by Ex Fabula Blogger Steph Kilen

The goal of the Terminal Milwaukee series was to bring people from different Milwaukee communities together and to delve into the life and storytelling talent of Tom Crawford. Get the Billy Mitchell Drum and Pipe Band, accordionist Steve Meisner, punk band The Lubricants and gospel group, The Gill Singers all on stage with Tom at the helm, then throw in Milwaukee historian John Gurda, the Ex Fabula founders and an audience full of people wiping their own tears in singing “Loch Lomond,” and I say you’ve exceeded that goal by leaps and bounds.

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That’s how the final episode in our Terminal Milwaukee series ended. It began with the Billy Mitchell band playing Tom through the audience to the stage, a Scottish fanfare for the son of a Scottish immigrant who, along with his son, the audience got to know intimately by night’s end. Tom explained to us his devotion to Milwaukee and how it got him temporarily kicked out of his favorite coffee shop, though also applauded by other patrons.

Bagpipes, polka, punk and gospel may seem a random grouping, but the evening’s musicians not only delighted in their own right, but also served to illustrate the eclectic nature of Tom’s taste in music and his life’s experiences. As Tom told the story of his boyhood obsession with the banjo and how he was forced instead to play the accordion, Steve Meisner affably provided the soundtrack, leading the crowd in Milwaukee favorites, “Roll out the Barrel” and “Who Stole the Kishka.”

John Gurda, who had provided historical vignettes at every Terminal Milwaukee event in the series, including one earlier in the evening about Alverno, provided one final vignette recounting the history of the Terminal Milwaukee series. As he told of the series’ inception, the masterminds behind it (modesty, be damned), the neighborhoods we’ve visited and the characters we’ve met, the audience got a true sense of the profound history that Milwaukee is living and creating every day. As Ex Fabula founder Amy Schleicher puts it, “reclaiming Milwaukee’s narrative” and we feel that is indeed what it was.

The Lubricants raised quite a ruckus, much in the way Tom did in his youth. His second story told of his journey from middle school, um, “trouble maker” to a place where he was able to begin to find and embrace his true self. Though the chorus of the Lubricant’s hit “Hemorrhoids” was still ringing in the audience’s ears, the Gill Singers took the stage to raise everyone’s spirits and to usher in Tom’s last story of the deep, spiritual, if sometimes tumultuous connection between father and son. Moved as we all were by the Gill Singers’ sincere performance, there were few in the house not wiping tears as Tom showed photos of his father in his final days and told of the pain Hugh and his son caused each other again and again, and how they somehow found redemption in each other’s eyes.

We could not be more proud of Tom…the series, everyone who participated in every way and our city, Milwaukee, which in the end, made it all possible. At the end of the evening, one of our own, Justin Shoman said what we were all thinking; “There is no place in the world I would rather be tonight.”

We hope the spirit of this series – the communities, places and people of Milwaukee – will linger, so that you have many more nights feeling the same sense of overwhelming pride and sincere admiration about our hometown, the great city of Milwaukee.

Terminal Milwaukee: Frontier Radio Recap

by Ex Fabula blogger, Steph Kilen

Ex Fabula tackled a new frontier with a live, on-air radio event, the latest in theTerminal Milwaukee series on Thursday, March 29. About 25 people gathered in the WMSE studio lobby to listen to stories of “frontier radio” while what we believe to be the rest of Milwaukee and beyond tuned in to listen on their radios.

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All Photos: © Kathrine Schleicher 2012 – www.ellagraph.com

We’ve been all over Milwaukee with Tom Crawford, series centerpiece, and he welcomed us “back to the mothership” at the WMSE studio. Clearly in his element, Tom shared how he went from sometimes over zealous WMSE fan boy to station manager, while the other storytellers told stories of the magic of WMSE and radio in general.

Hal Rammel, host of the WMSE show Alternating Currents, told of the joy of playing or hearing “just the right song at just the right moment” on the radio as illustrated by a call from a listener. The woman had called when she just happened to hear an avant garde piano piece Hal was playing while running through her dial. It turns out she hadn’t heard the song in 60 years, the last time being when she wanted to play it for her piano recital but her teachers hadn’t allowed it.

Brent Ghode talked about hosting a metal show on WMSE on June 6, 2006 and the huge disappointment of the skip in Iron Maiden’s “Number of the Beast.”  Despite the photo, no props remains a part of the Ex Fabula rulebook, but hey, it was live radio – anything goes.

Paul Cebar delighted listeners by telling us about the particulars of tuning in a crystal radio as a child and the “thrill of pulling sound of the air.” And finally, Julie Cudahy, “den mother of WMSE” told of her journey through adolescence and music, across the country and to WMSE.

Throughout the broadcast, historian John Gurda, the glue of Terminal Milwaukee, gave historical perspective on radio in Milwaukee, the downtown and Cathedral Square area,  and Milwaukee School of Engineering.

You don’t have to take my word about what you missed, this time you can hear for yourself. The full show is available for download in the WMSE archives (you’ll want the 3/29 show).

Next up: The Terminal Milwaukee grand finale, Saturday, April 28, at Alverno’s Pitman Theater.

Terminal Milwaukee Recap: “Intersections”

by Ex Fabula Guest Blogger: Lane Burns

Sherman Perk  sits quietly at the corner of 49^th street, Roosevelt Drive, and Keefe avenue in a building that was once a 1939 gas station. It’s a cozy coffee shop that is a crossroads of past and present, as well as a meeting place for the wildly diverse community of Sherman Park neighborhood of Milwaukee.

And on November 5^th, Sherman Perk was the stage for the fourth Ex Fabula Terminal Milwaukee event with the fitting theme of “Intersections”.  Packed to the gills, stories of the culturally and religiously varied history of the area were framed by the aroma of fresh coffee prepared by Sherman Perk proprietor, Bob Olin.

John Gurda acquainted us with the history of Milwaukee’s largest neighborhood and the city’s first neighborhood park, drawing a connection between past and present; Sherman Park was an area that symbolized the achievement of the American dream –growth and a sense of arrival. Attendees heard history of the local architecture, the nationally recognized Jewish community and rise of Conservative Judaism, Washington High School, and the neighborhood’s ever-changing cultural mixture since the 1840’s.

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All Photos: © Kathrine Schleicher 2011 - www.ellagraph.com

Andre Bosseau began the night describing the choice to dedicate himself to keeping his family of ten children together and the sacrifices, along with overwhelming joy, that has brought him.  Andre spoke very frankly about his challenges encouraging others to have faith in their decisions, faith in their children and remember the fun in dysfunctional.

Alan Borsuk, a local Rabbi, dislikes coffee, but his story recognized the bitter brew’s power for facilitating connections between people. Describing his work as a journalist many years prior, a cup of coffee was the ticket to an inside scoop that he might not have otherwise been able to get. To this day, the coffee shop allows Rabbi Borsuk to intersect with people of varied backgrounds, a common connection shared.

Similarly, Harriet McKinney marked the passage from Chicago to Brookfield to the East Side and finally to Sherman Park, delineating how all the stops in her life were a part of a divine plan, connection to the blessings she felt her life had given her. Ultimately the journey led her to this neighborhood where she “could look out her window and see the fabric of humanity”.

Local colors were vibrant and ready to be woven into that fabric: Jerry McInnes enumerated the many intersections that had cropped up in his 71 years, and how each of those twists and turns had led him from being a Looper to being a welding trainer, to crossing the intersection to be at Sherman Perk and tell his story.  Sheldon Solochek detailed his connection to the neighborhood and how great it was to grow up in Sherman Park.  Michael Heider shared a perspective of the neighborhood from the window of the hospital room at St. Joe’s where his father was dying, a snapshot of 90% of his life surrounding him.

Russel Stamper II grew up in Sherman Park too, working at a Laundromat owned by a blind man with a very developed sense of his business – to the point where Russell decided to test whether he was truly blind.  Cindy Grover brought everyone to a crossroad in Costa Rica where she had to find a way to get back to town after missing the only bus. Marco Everett’s intersection was with love, beginning in New York, through the military, and into Wisconsin where he met a girl with whom he would reunite, marry and raise a family, years later.

Family was a prominent topic in a number of the stories. Bill Lange, another Sherman Park native, describes a day when his son, unaware of how late his father already was for work, had a provoking question –and a unique theory – regarding how each person’s culture and birthplace is determined. Mavis Roesch grew up at the intersection of Sherman and Center, attended Washington High School, and appreciated how easy it was to integrate both her school and faith in this neighborhood. Ryan Schleicher had a story only two hours in the past: while driving to pick up alcohol before the liquor stores closed, he saw the hospital where his first child would be born and was struck with profanity-laced awareness that he would be a father in six short weeks.

Tom Crawford closed the evening with a story as a series of vignettes that painted a picture of how an energetic, imaginative child was nurtured by his experiences in Sherman Park growing up, as well as how his connection to the neighborhood continues to enrich his life through music and amazing friends.

The next stop in Terminal Milwaukee is at Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall with the theme of “Generation Gap” on Saturday January 28 at 8 pm.

Bay View Extra

We have a confession: We’re a little obsessive about collecting stories. We even sometimes hoard them.

Tom Crawford, the central storyteller in our Terminal Milwaukee series is great, of course. And we love the storytellers we’ve asked to chime in on the neighborhoods and themes the series celebrates. Not sayin’ they’re not good enough, but we can’t help ourselves, we want to hear from audience members too, so we asks folks to come to the stage at events.  Still, we find ourselves going back to the story buffet for one more round and ask in our program for folks to share short written stories about the theme or neighborhood.  Now that we’ve been hoarding them for a couple of weeks, we’re feeling a little guilty and hope that if we share one here, you won’t call Dr. Phil for an intervention or sign us up for that hoarding reality TV show.

This story comes from an anonymous attendee of the July 23^rd Terminal Milwaukee event at Club Garibaldi in Bay View:

“I moved to Bay View after leaving an abusive marriage.  I took the upper flat studio apartment next door to Marino’s because when I came to look at the place, Marion Marino came out the back door of the bar and folded me in a huge hug.  We had never met before, but she obviously saw my vulnerability.  She said, “take the apartment, I’ll look after you.”  And she did – for a decade, until she and Dick sold the place and retired.  She saved my life.”

Come join our support group for story addicts at upcoming Ex Fabula events. Obsessively check our blog for details and more stories, if you dare.

Recap of Terminal Milwaukee – All in a Day’s Work

by Ex Fabula blogger Steph Kilen
photo by Kat Berger

Ex Fabula Terminal Milwaukee project’s first full-length event, “All in a Day’s Work” was not work, but pure joy. Held at Club Garibaldi in Bay View on Saturday July 23, the stories of the evening celebrated the neighborhood and detailed the odd, humorous and difficult experiences that can go along with occupation.

The evening began with a pre-event cookout at Groppi’s, during which John Gurda, John and Anne Nehring, and others shared the story of G. Groppi’s market, a Bay View institution.

Milwaukee historian John Gurda kicked off the evening at Club Garibaldi with the story of the founding of Bay View. Built around a growing iron industry in 1868, Bay View was Milwaukee’s first suburb, incorporating as a village in 1879 and joining the city of Milwaukee in 1887. John provided historical interludes throughout the evening telling of Bay View’s important role in the labor movement of the late 19th century, a once inhabited Jones Island and his own connections to Bay View – from childhood to the beginnings of his career as the man to put Milwaukee’s history on paper.

Bay View and Club Garibaldi were chosen as the setting for this event because Tom Crawford, the central storyteller in this series that follows his life in Milwaukee, frequented the club after working as a longshoreman, loading salt on the docks of Jones Island when he was young. Several other longshoremen shared their stories as well. “Poet, musician, longshoremen and free spirit,” Harvey Taylor admitted despite his years working on Jones Island, he is “more interested in the commerce of story than the moving of cargo.” Tom Tolan’s experience as a longshoreman was more that of “young working class heroes who grew up in the suburbs,” having started as a longshoreman in 1969 then leaving to go to Woodstock. He shared some of the “salty” language he heard during his stint and what passes for a koan in the world of longshoremen. Tom Schwark, the third former longshoreman to take the stage, told of a neighbor with a similar name and several more uncanny similarities.

The “All in a Day’s Work” theme inspired a wide range of stories. Ex Fabula co-founder Leah Delaney told of her “near death” experience as a duck boat tour guide in the South Shore Marina. Ex Fabula regular Conn Hagen shared yet another of his drinking mishaps as a bakery delivery guy with a severe hangover. Michael Heider lamented the time as a photojournalist he obeyed the police and didn’t take a photo of the man they were bringing out of a building after an arrest: Jeffrey Dahlmer.

First-time storyteller Beth Bojarski told a tale of artists in the corporate world and how a kitchy mascot they had adopted turned out to be a very expensive (and somewhat smuggled) piece of “art” owned by upper management, delivered to the wrong department. Steph Kilen shared adventures and disappointments of a cub reporter and why she now always wears sensible shoes to work. Patty Prichard Thompson delighted the audience with memories of her mother and the tools of her trade doing upholstery for Milwaukee airlines. Patty’s mom was “an industrial strength lady” who carried everything she could ever need in her huge purse, but everything important in her five-hook bra.

Folks gave Bay View its due at the event as well. Lisa Goldman explained how she sees the narrative of her life through the neighborhoods of Milwaukee. Dale Nook told of how having lived in Bay View for 30 years, he just recently is getting to know his neighbors through his involvement in the Bay View Neighborhood Association and other grassroots organizations on the south shore; an involvement possible now that he is retired. Meghan Koven said, “When you’re in Bay View, your neighbors always have your back, ” and then illustrated it with the tale of how she and some out of town friends were rescued on a cold winter night.

The terminal Milwaukeean himself, Tom Crawford, took the stage for the last story of the night. Tom’s varied vocational career started in December 1976 when he realized at 17-years old that he would need to go to school, go into the military or end up in the factory. His first choice was the military. He told the recruiters “I really wanna blow shit up,” took the test to be a combat engineer and got the highest score. On the day he was set to leave for basic training, he found out an old hip injury made him ineligible for service. His father having made the demand of a pay stub to be able to continue living at the house, Tom began his life as a workingman. After a couple false starts at Pizza Man and a factory, Tom ended up at a foundry. Just three hours on the job, he found himself holding up a man whose arm had gotten stuck in a machine. While desperate to quit after a tragic first day, he reluctantly stayed on at the foundry for two years, after which he discovered “the most romantic and amazing manly experience anyone could ever have” working the docks on Jones Island where he spent the next ten years. Tom’s story, like all Tom’s stories, like all good stories, was punctuated with laughs and gasps from the audience – the best of an Ex Fabula experience.

The ride through Tom’s life and the amazing diversity of experience and character in Milwaukee continues at Terminal Milwaukee’s next event: Friday, September 9th, 8 pm at Satin Wave Barbershop.

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