Category Archives: Milwaukee

Tosa All-City Read: Rocket Boys and October Sky

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

Wauwatosa, Wisconsin (an old-city inner-ring suburb of Milwaukee), is having its inaugural “all-city read” this month. Children ages 8-12 are reading a fantasy adventure, and people ages 13+ are reading Rocket Boys, the 1998 memoir by retired NASA engineer Homer Hickam, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and reading, History, Milwaukee, Movies and film, Popular culture, Teaching | Tagged "October Sky", "Rocket Boys", Home Depot, Homer Hickam, Little Free Library, Tosa All-City Read, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin | 2 Comments

Stovetop Hot Cocoa and Coal Furnaces

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

I’ve been thinking about my great-grandparents lately. Our microwave died not long ago, and with it the ability to heat up coffee and milk instantly . . . IN the cup we plan to drink from. Instead we have to add … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life, Milwaukee | Tagged coal delivery, coal furnace, Great Depresssion, great-grandparents, microwave, polar vortex, stovetop hot cocoa, winter | 7 Comments

Milwaukee Christmas Tree arrives at Red Arrow

Posted on November 9, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

Yesterday marked the 100th year that the City of Milwaukee has placed a pine tree downtown during the holiday season. Our longstanding tradition is supposedly second to New York City, but the first tree was not erected at Rockefeller Center … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life, Milwaukee, News | Tagged Christmas, Christmas Tree, City of Milwaukee, Downtown Milwaukee, longstanding tradition, Milwaukee, Milwaukee City Christmas Tree, Milwaukee City Hall, Milwaukee School of Engineering, pine tree, Red Arrow Park, Slice of Ice skating rink | 3 Comments

September Mint (and other photos of summer’s end)

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

September is here, and Mother Nature is wrapping up summer here in Milwaukee. After a busy August, I now am back in school (I teach at Milwaukee School of Engineering) and catching up on chores around the house whenever I … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Milwaukee | Tagged autumn, autumn leaves, baby birds, cardinals, leaving the nest, mint, mint plants, nature, outdoors, plants, seasons, September, silver maple tree | 8 Comments

A walking tour of the Milwaukee River’s bridge houses

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

Two weeks ago I posted about getting stopped at the Wisconsin Avenue drawbridge in downtown Milwaukee. I was able to illustrate that blog post with two photographs of bridge houses that I found online, but those were basically the ONLY photos I could … Continue reading →

Posted in Milwaukee | Tagged bascule bridges, bridge house, bridge houses, cherry street bridge, Cherry Street bridge house, Clybourn Street bridge house, Downtown Milwaukee, drawbridges, Juneau Avenue bridge house, Kilbourn Avenue bridge house, Michigan Street bridge house, Milwaukee, Milwaukee River, Milwaukee Riverwalk, State Street bridge house, Wells Street bridge house, Wisconsin Avenue bridge, Wisconsin Avenue bridge house | 9 Comments

A pause for river traffic at the Wisconsin Avenue drawbridge

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

One of the joys of living in a city with a navigable river is encountering its drawbridges. Around noon yesterday I happened to be two cars back when the Wisconsin Avenue bridge was raised to accommodate one of the larger … Continue reading →

Posted in Milwaukee | Tagged architecture, bridge houses, drawbridges, Gertie the Duck, Gimbels, Milwaukee, Milwaukee River, Pleasant Street bridge house, transportation, Wisconsin Avenue bridge, Wisconsin Avenue bridge house | 1 Comment

Slight chance of sunshine

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

Foggy morning in Milwaukee. You can barely make out the sun peeking over the corner of the building at center, a circle of light only a shade brighter than the surrounding mist. This is a color photo, by the way. No … Continue reading →

Posted in Milwaukee | Tagged light shining through fog, Milwaukee, photography | 4 Comments

Tight squeeze: a tree grows in Milwaukee (photo)

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

Seems like I’m always looking up. Does that make me an optimist? 🙂 Here’s what I saw during this morning’s coffee run. From this angle, doesn’t the tree remind you at least a little of Samson pulling down the temple?

Posted in Milwaukee, Uncategorized | Tagged downtown trees, optimist, Samson | 2 Comments

“Criss-cross” (photo)

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

Really liked the intersecting lines and distorted angles of the condensation trail, power lines, and downtown buildings. So I had to take a photo 🙂 Just finished teaching and am ready to call it a day. Happy Tuesday evening!

Posted in Milwaukee, Uncategorized | Tagged aviation, condensation trail, photography, vapor trail | 3 Comments

First Food Truck Friday!

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

I spotted the first food truck of the season in front of Red Arrow Park on Water Street shortly after 1:00 this afternoon. I didn’t notice any customers, so maybe it was just a practice run. Such a happy sight, … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Milwaukee | Tagged Food Truck Friday, Milwaukee, Red Arrow Park, spring | Leave a comment