Detail from Joe Szwaja's (left) campaign literature. Carmen Cruz (right), lived in Szwaja's district and was one of the people who was concerned about Arcato. Cruz worked hard with other activists to contact the US government and convince others to…
Joe Szwaja’s experience with the Madison-Arcatao Sister City Project in the 1980s has continued to have an influence on his life. For example, in Seattle, where he now lives, he helped to form a kind of grassroots sistering affiliation with Nuevo…
Joe Szwaja was elected to the City Council in a special election in 1986, and ran for reelection in April of 1987. While on the City Council, he continued his support of the Madison-Arcatao Sister City Project in new ways
Billy Feitlinger represented Madison's 6th district as an alder in the 1980s. He serve as council president in 1986, when the Common Council voted to formalize a sister city relationship with the town of Arcatao in Chalatenango, El Salvador
The Schwartz Pharmacy at the corner of South Park and Mound streets, around 1960, a few years before demolition as part of the urban renewal project. An addition to Meriter Hospital now occupies this site.
Libby Schwartz (front row far right) , with members of the women’s professional pharmacy fraternity, Kappa Epsilon at UW-Madison in 1960.. Although this organization had all female members, it is officially known as a fraternity. Libby graduated from…
Sam Schwartz (right) and Alex Swartz (left) sort through mail sent to the pharmacy by soldiers serving during WWII. The letters and postcards were then shared with the community who would stop by the store to learn first-hand news from the…
Interior view of Schwartz Pharmacy, around the time it opened in 1930.. Pictured left to right: Sam Schwartz (owner), Dr. A.E. Kuehn (physician), Ann McCorquodale (nurse), Rose Schwartz (spouse to Sam), and Norman Lempert (store clerk and stepbrother…
Abe Barash's original shoe repair storefront (right) at 1107 ½ Regent St. The adjacent barber shop space (left) was later annexed to enlarge the shoe repair operation.
The Agudas Achim synagogue, founded in 1904 at 827 Mound Street, served Madison’s Jewish Orthodox community. The main floor of the worship sanctuary was reserved for men, and the women occupied the balcony area. The community Hebrew School (Talmud…
The Milwaukee Bakery at 214 S. Murray Street was operated by the Moskowsky family from 1924-1952. The extended family lived in the apartment above the bakery. Each day the bakers prepared fresh breads on the wood fired hearth for sale all across the…
In 1938 the students performed the “Yiddish King Lear.” This production was not a translation of Shakespeare’s “King Lear,” but the title does acknowledge the play’s plot source. The play is set in Lithuania in 1890. Estelle Sweet (L) and Anita…
Every year the students staged a major theatrical performance, in Yiddish. Lawrence Weinstein and Betty (Blachman) Jacobs (photo right) performed in Shalom Aleichem’s “200,000/The Big Lottery” in 1939. Shalom Aleichem is perhaps best known for…
Every year the students staged a major theatrical performance, in Yiddish. Evelyn Dworetsky (Sylvia’s older sister, left photo) performed in Shalom Aleichem’s “200,000/The Big Lottery” in 1939. Shalom Aleichem is perhaps best know for writing the …
Elizabeth Heinrichs, Kara O'Connor, and Rae Rocca gather to tell the story of 1029 Chandler Street, a house that had been in Rae and Elizabeth's family from 1923-2015, when Kara's family purchased it. Standing left to right: Elizabeth Heinrichs…
Photo of tombstone of Roca Benedetto, or Benedict Rocca, an Italian immigrant to came to Madison, Wisconsin at the turn of the 20th century and passed away in in 1905. The tombstone was found in the basement of his wife's and family's Greenbush…
Photo of Greenbush Neighborhood matriarchs. Seated left to right: Olympia Viviani, Rachel Rocca, Mrs. Bormetti, Pieira Trameri. Standing left to right: Anna Lumina, Ceserina Trameri, Elvira Martinelli, Mrs. Odorico, Palmina Martinelli, Mrs. Bradanini
Newspaper clipping featuring Beatrice holding a doll that she sewed at the Blessed Martin House (now Multicultural Catholic Center). The dolls were sent to an orphanage in Japan.
Beatrice Chatman and churchgoers at Mt. Zion Baptist Church on Johnson St. in 1949. Beatrice is sitting in the front row, far left, and her sister (Jeanette) is sitting next to her on the right.
A promotional image from the City of Madison advertises curbside voting to help voters maintain social distancing (six feet apart) during Election Day on April 7, 2020. The image depicts two election workers wearing plastic face shields, standing in…
Firefighters from Madison Fire Department respond to a fire at Garver Feed Mill on Madison's east side on Tuesday, December 3, 1946. Fire Companies No. 1, 2, 3, and 5 responded to the two alarm fire. Aerial Truck No. 1 is visible on the far right…
Firefighters from Madison Fire Department respond to a fire at Garver Feed Mill on Madison's east side on Tuesday, December 3, 1946. Fire Companies No. 1, 2, 3, and 5 responded to the two alarm fire.
A photograph shows a close-up view of several firefighters standing at the base of two red ladder trucks as they respond to a fire at the Garver Feed Mill on Madison's east side.
A photograph shows members of the Madison Fire Department on the roof of the Garver Feed Mill. Ladders and hoses can be seen at the front of the building, reaching to the mill's second story windows.
A photograph shows a group of community members watching the Madison Fire Department's response to a fire at the Garver Feed Mill on Madison's east side. Two ladders are visible in the background, extending fire hoses up to the mill's second story…
A photograph shows a crowd of community members watching the Madison Fire Department's response to a fire at the Garver Feed Mill on Madison's east side.
A close-up photograph shows multiple Madison Fire Department trucks responding to a fire at the Garver Feed Mill. Firefighters work to pry open a closed door to the mill in the background, while a person in a white firefighting uniform with "CHIEF"…
A photograph shows the Madison Fire Department responding to a fire at Garver Feed Mill on Madison's east side. Firefighters gather around the base of a ladder truck, maneuvering one firefighter on the ladder holding a fire hose to spray into the…
A photograph shows a crowd gathered to watch the Madison Fire Department respond to a fire at Garver Feed Mill on Madison's east side. Ladders and fire hoses are positioned against the exterior of the building. Dark gray smoke emerges from the…
A photograph shows a crowd of community members gathered to watch the Madison Fire Department's response to a fire at the Garver Feed Mill on Madison's east side. People sit and stand on the grass in front of the mill building while firefighters…
A photograph of the Madison Fire Department responding to a fire at the Garver Feed Mill on Madison's east side. A young child watches as firefighters maneuver ladders and fire hoses to second story windows in the factory building.
A photograph shows activity on the ground during a fire at the Garver Feed Mill building on Madison's east side. Fire companies that responded were Engines-pumpers 3,5,8, Aerial Trucks 1,8, and Fire Chiefs' Car 30. Trucks responded to the fire at…
A photograph shows two red ladder trucks responding to a fire at Garver Feed Mill. A member of the fire department is seen in the foreground. Fire companies that responded were Engines-pumpers 3,5,8, Aerial Trucks 1,8, and Fire Chiefs' Car 30. …
A photograph shows a spray of water from a fire hose into a second story window of the Garver Feed Mill building on Madison's east side. Fire companies that responded were Engines-pumpers 3,5,8, Aerial Trucks 1,8, and Fire Chiefs' Car 30. Trucks…
A photograph of the board members of the Westmorland Neighborhood Association. Ronny Saeman, president of the board, is seated at the table in the front row.
A photograph shows the vacant lot where the Saeman family house would eventually be built, at 564 Gately Terrace in the Westmorland neighborhood of Madison, Wisconsin.
A photograph of the exterior of the residence located at 461 Westmorland Blvd in Madison, Wisconsin. This was the childhood home of Joanne (nee Jackson) Thuesen.
A photograph of Will and Mary Clare Murphy as young children, on bicycles, with hands on heads, participating in Fourth of July Parade in the Westmorland neighborhood.
A photograph shows siblings Jim Crawmer (left) and Bud Crawmer in front of their family's residence in the Westmorland neighborhood in Madison, Wisconsin.
Secretary of Agriculture Donald N. McDowell sits behind a desk. The American flag and Wisconsin state flag are visible in the background. A nameplate sits on the front of the desk.
A photograph of a youth baseball team. Eleven youth stand in two rows, wearing baseball uniforms and mitts. Kent Liska is in the 2nd row, 3rd from the left.
A photograph of two youth riding on ponies in an outdoor pen, taken at the Westmorland neighborhood Fourth of July celebration, in Madison, Wisconsin, ca. 1962.
Children in costume prepare for the Fourth of July parade in the Westmorland neighborhood in Madison, Wisconsin, ca. 1967. Mary Jo Schultz is in the blue dress, accompanied by friends.
Schultz children wear their costumes ahead of the Fourth of July parade in the Westmorland neighborhood in Madison, Wisconsin, ca. 1965. A bicycle is decorated with red, white, and blue bunting in the background.
A photograph taken during the "suitcase game" for adults at the Clifden Drive block party in Madison, Wisconsin, ca. 1968. A group of approximately twenty adults stands on a lawn. A man in a blue cardigan sweater carries two suitcases to where three…
A photograph of the kids' table at the Clifden Drive block party, ca. 1966, in Madison, Wisconsin. Several children are seated at two tables, while an older adult stands close by.
A photograph of a birthday party held for John Schultz's third birthday in 1961. Kathleen, John, and Virginia are pictured, with Grandpa Shea in the background.
A photograph of the exterior of the Schultz family residence at 453 Clifden Drive, in the Westmorland neighborhood in Madison, Wisconsin. The house and yard are covered in snow.
Text depicts a memory of someone finding a "half full bottle of dog wine" in their storage closet in the Madison Municipal Building. Accompanies the prompt "Share a memory about this building in 10 words or less."
An office plant with green leaves and purple buds accompanies the prompt, "Draw an office plant." Purple raindrops rain in the background. Purple "Love Symbol #2" is drawn in bottom right corner.
An album cover depicting members of the Wisconsin Singers from the mid-1970s. Members are shown outside of a university building in their red and white outfits.
Henry Esser stands on the step in front of Koltes & Esser Hardware in the 300 block of West Lakeside Street. Fencing, garbage cans, a hose reel and lawn mower are on display at the curb. The rear of the company truck can be seen parked on the left.…
Living History Project narrator Edith Hilliard is pictured with her son, Nimrod Hilliard III. A Family History quilt, made by Edith, hangs in the background.
Photograph of Di Salvo's Spaghetti House and Seafood, located at 810 Regent Street in Madison, Wisconsin. The exterior of the building is pictured, with "Di Salvo's" printed on window awnings to left and right of front entrance.
Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman, of Congregation Shaarei Shamayim in Madison, shares a story about what her work as a rabbi looks like in the time of social distance measures, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.This story was recorded as part of the Madison…
Yentsch received her both her Bachelors and Masters from the University of Wisconsin during the early part of the 1960s. She was involved with the early movements of the 60’s that focused on social justice, which influenced later anti-war protests.…
List of orchestral and choir music to be performed at the 1935 Workmen’s Circle annual concert. The classical orchestra musicians were drawn from the Madison Symphony and the UW-Madison School of Music.
At the bottom of the page is a list of songs…
Cover of the 1935 program (4th ed.) for the Workmen’s Circle annual concert. At the lower edge of the cover is a Yiddish transliteration for the location of the concert: “In university theater, Bascom Hall, Madison Wis.” Prior to 1938, when the…
Jayda Woods shares her experience as a high school student during the COVID-19 pandemic in Madison. She describes what it was like when school shut down, during her junior year, and shares some of the challenges of virtual learning as well as her…
Darian Wilson describes his early childhood love of music, and how during the social distancing efforts in Madison, Wisconsin, he is able to revisit that love of music and share it with his children. This story was originally recorded and shared as…
Ms. White describes an early encounter with the Municipal Building as a shortcut during cold winter months to the back of the Fess Hotel on King Street, where she would meet a young man with whom she was in a relationship. She describes getting…
Pierson White shares his experience during the COVID-19 pandemic in Madison. He describes the many ways in which his life changed, starting with his contact with what was possibly one of the earliest cases in Wisconsin. After his school shut down…
Rachel Werner talks about her experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Madison. Rachel talks about working remotely as a content marketing specialist for Taliesin in Spring Green as well as a writing instructor for Hugo House in Washington State.…
Ms. Webber recalls her memories of the Municipal Building, including participating in committee hearings as a community member and then as a City Council member from 2003-2009. She was especially involved in policies related to transportation and…
Amber C. Walker describes her experience starting a new job and moving from New York City to Washington, D.C. at the beginning of the stay-at-home mandate in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This story was recorded for the Madison podcast Inside…
Oral history interview with Chris Wagner. Chris is a retired librarian who had previously worked at Madison Public Library's South Madison neighborhood library starting in 1993. She shares her perspective on what drew her towards librarianship and to…
The Stage Coach and truck used for the Madison Youth Summer Theater drives past a playground. Students who watched the performance wave to the actors as they leave after the final play of the season.
Two teenage girls place garland on an artificial Christmas tree in front of a graphic depicting Santa in a sleigh holding a bag of presents. They are Carolyn Ames and Sharon Thompson and they are decorating at the Loft, a teen center.