On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank everyone who helped make the 2019 Annual Dinner, “Celebrating 40 Year of History,” last weekend a great success! Despite a late spring snowstorm raging outside, the assembled group enjoyed great food and service by the South Shore Yacht Club, beautiful instrumental music by Michael Bootzin, lovely flower centerpieces and a blessing by Beulah Brinton’s descendent, Ellen Tucker, a fantastic array of goodies to bid on courtesy of our Silent Auction donors and a program featuring many honors.
The first – Milwaukee County Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic presented the Bay View Historical Society with a Commendation from the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors to recognize and congratulate the Society and its 40 years of contributing to the Bay View community. At some point in the near future, the Commendation will take a prominent place at the Beulah Brinton House for all of you to see.
Congratulations to Community Volunteer of the Year, Caleb Westphal, and to Volunteer of the Year, Kevin Petajan. Along with the Bay View Historical Society’s award and eternal thanks, they both received commendations presented by State Senator Chris Larson. Many thanks to Senator Larson, State Representative Christine Sinicki and State Representative Jonathan Brostoff for joining us in the festivities.
The evening was capped off by the documentary, “Celebrating 40 Years of History,” spearheaded and produced by Kevin Petajan and his team from Plum Media. The documentary was the culmination of a series of interviews Kevin conducted with Bay View Historical Society members and past and former Board members. It is a legacy – a “date stamp” to capture the memories of those who helped create and continue to contribute to the Society. Then, Brad Wiles, new Bay View resident and UWM Doctoral Candidate in Information Services, gave a talk on the ongoing Oral History interviews of Bay View residents he is working on with the Archives Committee to capture and preserve their stories for the present and future. The archival work continues! If you are interested in “telling your Bay View story,” let us know.
I personally would like to thank all those contributed to the evening’s success, especially Heather Taylor.
Jane Taugher, President
