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(Photo by Wes Tank)
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Frank Schneiger (Photo provided by Frank Schneiger)
The recent headline, “Milwaukee Recreation earns national accreditation,” brought back memories of Milwaukee’s history that have been – but should not be – lost.
Ask someone, “Did you have a normal childhood?” and you get some funny answers. The reality is that we only have one childhood, and as a result, it is automatically “normal.”
For me, it was only later, when no longer living in Milwaukee, that I realized that childhood for working-class kids growing up in Milwaukee in the 1940s and into the 1960s was not “normal.” Without reservation, I believe that in those years, there could not have been a better city in this country for those working-class kids to grow up in.
In 1964, at age 22, I left small, conservative Milwaukee for big, liberal New York City. Many decades later, I’m still there but have maintained my ties to my hometown. As an anti-poverty and civil rights worker in the 1960s, mostly in the Bronx, I would regularly be told by colleagues of some great liberal reform that was being planned in New York. When I would inform them that Milwaukee had this or that program 30 years ago, disbelief and contempt were the standard responses. But it was all true.
Here is the best example. In the late 1960s, the New York City Board of Education announced one of its great reforms. It would create something called Beacon Schools. These were schools that would have after-school programs, a revolutionary innovation. There would be one Beacon School in each of the city’s 32 school districts several nights a week.
I informed my colleagues that in Milwaukee, every school was a “beacon school,” that they were open until 9 p.m. every night of the week and on Saturday afternoons. And, furthermore, that in summer, every school playground in the city was staffed with a range of educational, cultural and athletic programs from 9 a.m. in the morning until 8 p.m. at night. Needless to say, they were shocked. So, they would ask, where exactly was this Minneapolis, or Milwaukee, or whatever?
It was all true, and it should not be forgotten. Nor should it be lost as the basis for a vision of a better future for the city, the recognition of Milwaukee Recreation being a very positive sign. For kids whose families couldn’t afford summer vacations or “summer camp,” MPS summer playgrounds were a godsend. One that everyone took for granted, living in a city run by the now-scorned “socialists.” Sports, arts and crafts and cultural events were central to these programs, as were sportsmanship and teamwork. For example, there is a large – now aging – group of Milwaukeeans who all learned how to play chess on these playgrounds.
Then, there was the fact that, unlike a lot of places, Milwaukee did not have Little League, with its smaller diamonds, nice uniforms, coaches and lurking and annoying parents. Instead, under the leadership of Harold “Zip” Morgan, a true genius, the Recreation Division launched the Stars of Yesterday League, something also being lost to the mists of history. “Stars” teams were named after former Milwaukee baseball players, some famous others not. Games were played on regular-sized diamonds. For George McBride, our team’s home field was Merrill Park. There were no uniforms. The League supplied basic, mostly outdated equipment, and (sometimes) a shiny new baseball. The umpires were City Conference baseball players, paid $2.50 for a first game, $1.50 for a second. The long-time Major League umpire Bruce Froemming started out in Stars of Yesterday.
But here was the real – and most important – difference between Little League and Stars of Yesterday. Its most basic rule: There could be no adult involvement. Except for a two-day baseball camp before the season started, 12-14 year-olds were responsible for organizing a team and getting nine kids to games twice a week. Across the city, there were 15 eight-team leagues, and forfeits were rare. Most games were played with no fans present. Fathers were at work or asleep if they worked second or third shift, and moms coming to these games was not seen as being a cool thing. In the process, kids learned to organize and to solve their own problems. Lifelong lessons were learned in ways that are hard to find today.
In numerous areas, historic preservation of great architecture and, as NNS has reported, community gardens, people in Milwaukee tend to underestimate their city and their achievements. And, despite John Gurda’s great work, they have also lost sight of past achievements, which can, if not exactly replicated, serve as a source of pride and models for what is possible in building peaceful and healthy communities across the city.
Think of those now often-empty playgrounds as potential gardens, and even though raising humans is harder than rutabagas, the model works for both.
Frank Schneiger is the founder and president of Frank Schneiger and Associates, a planning and change management company serving the nonprofit and public service sectors.
Your reprimand is well deserved, but please recommend a public funding solution that is not dependent on philanthropy. Our public & city private schools have dismal records, no doubt declining as the Beacon School programming did and the MKE County parks lost funding as well. This city has flailed about with alternative programs for decades while young people’s talent and character have gone undeveloped.
I arrived in MKE from Long Island NY in 1974 and raised our children in the Enderis park neighborhood during the 80’s and 90’s, as the MPS programming on site came to an end (and the political balance devolved). The park itself has been revitalized through the efforts of a volunteer group, but the programming that once provided supervised play and excursions isn’t even a memory for parents living in the area today. Yet, real estate taxes on modest homes in the area can reach $8,000/ yr. Folks with the most progressive political viewpoints and solid employment still face financial pressure.
Thank you for staying connected to your home town. Please, point us to a improvement/change model that is practical, proven and publicly funded. I & others will lobby any and all of our elected reps to activate it.
I just found Mr. Schneider’s 2018 OpEd, Can “2nd Worst” Place for Blacks Improve? https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2018/12/05/op-ed-can-2nd-worst-place-for-blacks-improve/
“it is government… that should lead the way with money and planning. It has the greatest interest in these communities. And corporate “win-win” strategies, “impact investing,” “green bonds” and “business knows best” mantras are likely, at best, to amount to tinkering around the edges.”
It is so alarming that his six Assumptions are denied & denounced by the WI Legislature and ignored by the State Supreme Court when presented with a plan to at least reduce gerrymandering. Could it be that Wisconsinites generally don’t even want “tinkering around the edges”?
Dear Marguerite: Thanks for your great comments. The goal in writing this stuff is to start a conversation that actually leads to action. Here are some thoughts based on your comments. First, I believe that there is a need in Milwaukee to think big about big problems and challenges. Thinking small, which is kind of the pattern in recent decades, feeds self-fulfilling pessimism, and, in the worst instances, feeds a loss of hope among the most affected groups. In this sense, the kinds of programs for young people that I referenced should be part of a broader initiative to build healthy and peaceful communities for all age groups. And, I believe the starting point is a clear vision of what those communities would look like, rather than another list of problems. My sense is that the organization that comes closest to having that healthy communities vision in Milwaukee is Journey House.
Second, with respect to paying for these initiatives, here are a couple of assumptions that should be tested. I don’t believe that in the near future, there will be sufficient public money to fund initiatives on the scale that would produce real change. The notion of a 1% addition to the sales tax, specifically designated for measurable and achievable healthy communities would seem the most promising. At the same time, there are now national foundations, such as Walton, Ford, Robert Wood Johnson, that would be interested in funding large-scale, transformational, community focused initiatives. I would also try to get the local philanthropies to think on a larger, not-just-life support basis.
A friend used to use the following trick in situations like this. “You can either have a great three-course dinner or a Big Mac, what do you want?” “I want the great three-course dinner.” “You can’t have that, now what do you want?” Sometimes, the Big Mac is the best available choice.
Finally, your point about the period when these kinds of “wraparound” programs existed not even being a memory is a really big deal. It makes it harder to mobilize people around a concrete vision, and, at the same time, it helps avoid people taking a trip down memory lane to the “good old days.” Conditions have changed dramatically in these decades, and there are lots of great new models for things like after-school education, health and fitness, and, critical today, achieving community peace. For example, as a playground “director” on 21st and Center Streets many decades ago, gun violence and making the place safe weren’t anywhere near being on our agenda. Peace was a given. Making these community places safe and peaceful is a prerequisite to success.
What do you think?
Frank
I remember during the summer they would have a trailer visit play grounds and even have a puppet show.They had a small house and other activities would go on. I live across from Marcus Dee Beck playground. I do know that are alderman Mike Murphy did a lot of fundraising for remodeling a lot of playgrounds in the city of Milwaukee because of his experience growing up and playing at Marcus playground which used to be called I think Wright Street playground.When you talk to Mike Murphy he tells him stories of growing up and going to the playground for activities.