...from finalist Chris Haworth

Last week I attended an awards banquet in Austin, Texas for an organization, based in Colorado Springs, where I sit on their board. During the event they gave a farewell presentation to a long-time employee who was leaving the organization after 25 years of service.  The retiring employee was moving back home to Wisconsin to be closer to her family. I just had a sneaking suspicion that during the slide show honoring her they would somehow use the stereotypical symbols of Wisconsin, that being cheese, cows, beer, and the Packers.  Sure enough there it was on the final slide…a picture of her wearing a photoshopped cheese head, Brett Favre jersey, and text wishing her happiness in “the land of beer and cheese” all to the background music of Happy Days. This, of course, garnered a few requisite chuckles from the audience, but the joke was actually on them. Little did they realize how lucky the retiring employee was to be moving to Wisconsin. I guess I am reminded of how lucky Milwaukeeans, and Wisconsinites in general, are each time I travel to another part of the country.  The more I travel, the more I appreciate Milwaukee. I wish outsiders, namely those who liken our city and state with images that merely serve as a first course in a seven course meal, could experience Milwaukee in more than just a superficial level. Knowing the general kindness and generosity of Milwaukeeans would certainly begin to deconstruct these previously held notions. However, more importantly would be to see and experience it for yourself. While we proudly hold onto our cherished beer baron history as tightly as a weekly Friday night fish fry, we have come full circle culturally, socially, politically, and economically.  Gone are the days where the Pabst, Blatz, Miller, socialist mayors, and other powerful families decided the future of Milwaukee, they have been replaced with forward-thinking young professionals who have chosen to stay or move to Milwaukee to mold a new reality for our future and image.  Invariably whenever a visitor comes to our area they leave with the same collective thought: “surprise” Surprised about the pre-conceived stereotypes that have now been shattered by getting to know the new Milwaukee.  We’ve always been an underdog city since before the day when the New York Yankees called us “Bushville” during 1957 World Series.  Well guess what, “Bushville” surprised everyone back then by winning so now we’re repeating the feat nearly everyday, one visitor at a time.

Comments

[Joe Guff]

Very nice read. Being from Milwaukee, the outside view of our city is a little distressing. Though we do have a lot of cheese and beer there are many things that make our city great. With the newish art museum, an active theater community, improvements to the museum, our wonderful Zoo and much more we have so many things to offer visitors. I hope you are right and people begin to see these type of things as more enticing than beer and cheese... or at least AS enticing ;)

[tb]

maybe i'm alone in this, but i am not at all offended by the beer and cheese stereotype. i LOVE beer and cheese. they are truly the only two things i would never give up. i actually think our reputation for quality cheese and beer is something of which we should be proud! i also think the beer and cheese combo represents the milwaukee attitude: unpretentious and fun. i have lived in big cities, and i'll take eating cheese curds and drinking a lakefront brew over a snobby martini bar any day. of course there is more to milwaukee than beer and cheese, but in my opinion, if someone thinks that calling milwaukee "the city of beer and cheese" is insulting, then we don't really want them here anyway. they can keep their overpriced, snobby martini bars.

[Scott]

Nice read. I moved to Milwaukee for a job and was pleasantly surprised by the city. I imagined Milwaukee a cold, smoke stack laden, blue collar town with a large population of fat, bratwurst eating people. None of those perceptions were true, except for the cold part. With all the renovations to Milwaukee it's becoming a hidden little gem. Eventually, the rest of the country will discover it. Just like Austin, TX.

[Kaitlyn]

Travel grants good perspective. I like you already!

[Julia]

I also like beer and cheese, and also martinis and fois gras. As one of those young professionals shaping the city today, I think Milwaukeeans should embrace their roots - they are afterall what shaped this city. However, I also understand that there are a lot of sterotypes about the city that need to be broken!

[Michael]

I can tell you have a lot of Wisconsin and Milwaukee pride, much like myself. The one thing that was not captured here though is, why do we have pride? Because of beer and cheese? I think that's why a lot of places don't take us more seriously, too many people write about Milwaukee and their pride, but never express what the pride is in.
I travel all over the country and I would have to say that our pride comes in many shapes and forms, none of them having to do with beer or cheese. We have such a diverse ethnical background, people are constantly trying to keep our streets clean, restore and preserve the history of our buildings and on top of it, Wisconsin in general is VERY supportive of our sports teams, college or professional. We need someone that can send that out over the web, someone who can not only capture was is truly great about Milwaukee, but get others to understand it.

[Erin]

I'm with Julia - I love my brats and cheese and I'm proud of our city's heritage, but I also love that there's a lot of class to Milwaukee, too. I can find great dining and sleek nightlife in addition to the festivals and corner taverns. It's the perfect blend. :)

So ... I have a couple of questions for all three bloggers. (I assume you're all keeping up on the comments!)

1. If you get the blog gig, what are the first few activities you'd like to try, or the first places you'd like to check out and tell us about?

and 2. Who do you foresee being your main sidekick who will do fun blog stuff with you? A significant other, a best friend, a family member, all of the above? Or are you more the loner type?

[anonymous]

Even though it's great to reflect on Milwaukee, the blogs should probably take place IN MILWAUKEE. How does this help readers? Also, the line "they have been replaced with forward-thinking young professionals who have chosen to stay or move to Milwaukee to mold a new reality for our future and image" makes me think of a Business Journal story, not a blog with character.

[Mike]

I'm not sure what you mean by having the blog take place in Milwaukee. The blog is all about Milwaukee, it appears the writer only used a brief experience outside of Milwaukee to talk about his pride and ethusiasm about Milwaukee. To an outsider this would be a very useful blog to hopefully change perceptions about Milwaukee...maybe even some locals too. Talking about kite festivals and crab boils is great but I think a lot of people who may read this blog would be an outsider.

[Kaitlyn]

Yeah, anonymous. Don't you get it? The blog does take place in Milwaukee. Maybe you haven't read any of Erin's previous entries??

And as for this particular writer, I think a writer who can bring travel experiences from outside the state offers a much more interesting perspective on local events than someone who has never ventured beyond this land of beer and brats.

[tiffany]

uh, i'm pretty sure all 3 of the bloggers in this contest have "ventured beyond this land of beer and brats." karen went to WSU and molly references her UW-Eau Claire college buddies and says she was "raised a traveler of the world." it really would not have been relevant to this blog to mention all the cities in which they have lived or their world travels, so i wouldn't assume they never left milwaukee.

[Kaitlyn]

TIFFANY - Clearly, you're the one making assumptions. I never said anything about "assuming they never left Milwauke." I simply applauded an entry from a person who had traveled and felt inclined to bring that experience to bear on their entry.

[Julia]

I'll admit - I had to reread parts of the post to confirm that Chris was from Milwaukee. On an initial, quick reading it wasn't clear. Also, I'm local and used to follow Play in the City - it was interesting to see what others were doing to experience the culture and hot spots in the city and sparked ideas for activities I hadn't thought of or done yet.

I'm also still waiting for Chris to answer the two questions!

[Chris Haworth]

Thanks everyone for reading my blog entry, it's been a lot of fun to read the comments both positive and negative, I appreciate them both.

Just to make it clear, I do live in Milwaukee and have for nearly my entire life. My blog entry for the contest was based off a brief experience out of town that better put Milwaukee, as a whole, in perspective. I have traveled to China, Japan, Spain, France, England, and all over the U.S. during my years...which makes me appreciate Milwaukee all the more. :)

Now to answer the questions:

1) What event would I not want to cover in Milwaukee??? There's far too many events going on to dutifully cover them all! I'm definitely a fan of anything on the lakefront (which is our most UNDER-utilized asset), but I also love events like Jazz in the Park, Bastille Days, Summer Soulstice, Farmer's Market, River Rhythms, and the countless summer art festivals/events.

2) My "crew" would vary...friends, family, and solo. Undoubtedly I would tap my two young sisters (ages 9 and 6) for some family-style events but also my large circle of friends for others. But I also think its important to do some things solo because many people who visit Milwaukee on business trips come here alone so its key to bring that perspective.

Great questions! Thanks!