Season’s Greetings from the Bay View Historical Society! As we wrap up 2023, it’s my pleasure to bring you the latest updates and highlights from our ongoing efforts.
Annual Meeting
In October we hosted our annual meeting, bringing together members to discuss the current status of the Society. Finances, membership, strategic direction, goals, etc. were all discussed. Thank you to those who attended and participated in the town hall style open floor discussion.
Also at the meeting, the membership approved three new board members: Nicola Ciurro, John Edquist, and Quinn Schwellinger. The three of them each have unique skillsets and bring many years of professional experience. The membership also re-elected Rebecca Schnabel, who filled a vacant seat in the 22-23 season and served as secretary. I’m thrilled to see what the new board accomplishes over the next year. A special thank you to Susan Ballje and Drew Formentini for recruiting our board nominees.
Trivia
We hosted our second trivia night at The Sugar Maple on September 27th. Dana Hansen and I hosted the event which was themed “Potpourri – a delightful mix of questions that’ll challenge your wits and keep you on your toes!”. We had a good turnout and are excited to host again on Nov. 29th, Jan. 31st and March 27th. Grab a group of friends and have a fun night with us!
Beet Street
On October 7th we participated in Beet Street, a block party hosted by Cactus Club, Goodkind and Palamino. The one day fall festival of music, food, art, and community was very well attended. We spent the day educating fellow neighbors about the BVHS and our mission. We sold a lot of merchandise and overall had a great time. Special thank you to Russ Grabczyk and Susan Herzfeld for helping me with the event.
Meet & Greet and Book Signing with Author Anna Passante
On November 4th, Anna Passante (Author and President of the St. Francis Historical Society) joined us at our monthly open house to sign and sell her latest book. “Milwaukee’s Historic Bay View Neighborhood, A compilation of stories published in the Bay View Compass newspaper” features 77 stories from the “Historic Bay View” and “Mystery Buildings” columns that were published in the Bay View Compass newspaper from 2007-2013 and 2020-2022. Anna was generous enough to donate 25% of the sales of her book to the BVHS. Thank you Anna!
Keep an eye out for our annual appeal letter that should be making its way to your home via mail and/or email. This is our largest fundraiser of the year and helps us to ensure the financial security of the Society and Beulah Brinton House. We sincerely appreciate all donations given as every bit helps.
Wishing you all a very happy holiday season!
Best,
Margaret Herzfeld