The Milwaukee County Historical Society, 910 N. King Dr., will host the first of a planned annual benefit event called the Conservation Circle Fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 1, from 1 to 3 p.m.
The event will spotlight six artifacts from the MCHS collection that help highlight the society's need for funding for the conservation of significant artifacts.
There are more than 75,000 objects and more than a million documents and photographs in the MCHS collection, both on-site and at its storage facility, that trace the history of Brew City.
At this debut event, six will be featured including a Billie the Brownie doll from Schuster's Department Store and one of the Stations of the Cross from the old Third Ward's Our Lady of Pompeii Church, demolished for freeway construction in 1967.
Curator Janean Van Beckum will share the stories of these artifacts and discuss the importance of preserving them for future generations of Milwaukeeans.
Other objects slated for conservation in 2025 include the incredible Aumueller Architecture Miniatures, daguerreotypes of Byron and Henrietta Kilbourn, and more.
In addition the in-person event, the talk will be streamed live beginning at 1:30 p.m.
“We’re thrilled to launch the Conservation Circle with this unique event,” said MCHS Executive Director Ben Barbera. “Preserving and sharing Milwaukee County’s history is core to our mission. With the community’s support we can fulfill our public trust to protect these local treasures so that they can be shared in perpetuity for all to enjoy.”
The event will also include a wine bar and a curator Q&A.
The goal of the event is to gather those interested in Milwaukee history into the Conservation Circle, which, according to MCHS, "provides critical resources to conserve and protect the most fragile and significant artifacts in the Historical Society’s collection."
Conservation Circle membership brings benefits like behind-the-scenes tours, private curator talks and special events.
Reservations, for both in-person and virtual attendance, are limited and available now at milwaukeehistory.net/conservation-circle.
In somewhat related news, stay tuned for details coming soon about an OnMilwaukee Squad member event with Ben Barbera and I at the Milwaukee County Historical Society in mid-February. To nab a free invitation to that event and others, join the Squad today!
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
