Most people in the Hales Corners area know by now that the Smithsonian exhibit "Between Fences" is on public display at the Stahl-Conrad Homestead, 9724 W. Forest Home Avenue. It opened Saturday, Nov. 3rd, and will run through Dec. 15th.
Last week local historian John Gurda came to Village Hall to talk about the subject of "The Fences Between Us." Gurda, who grew up in Hales Corners, vividly remembers the Stahl-Conrad Homestead -- it was known as the Joseph Conrad farm then; he particularly remembers the holsteins.
Gurda is clearly the kind of man who likes to see people working together for the common good. His presence in Village Hall was a reminder to all of us that too often we let our differences come between us. His main topic was borders -- those "invisible fences. . .those artificial divisions, those lines we have imposed." If we were to take an airplane ride 30,000 feet above Hales Corners, we wouldn't see those borders, Gurda said.
Since we first settled this country, the subject of "getting along or not getting along" has usually involved border disputes. Before we formed states, those trying to determine borders connecting Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois were "elbowing each other for position," Gurda said. If Illinois hadn't won Chicago, we in Wisconsin would be cheering on the Bears and Cubs.
Gurda reminded his audience of the Great Bridges War in 1845 and ensuing problems with various sectors of Milwaukee. There were "more founding factions than founding fathers' in those early days, Gurda said. There were "constant bones of contention" over issues like where to put the courthouse. In 1892 to 1906 there was a growth of suburbs and more disputes. In 1934 people of this area favored a merger of the City of Milwaukee and the County of Milwaukee, but the State Legislature said no.
Milwaukee Mayor Henry Maier exacerbated the division between the city and the suburbs, as did John Norquist. In contrast, Tom Barrett, according to Gurda, is a "reasonable man." At least now the issue of reciprocal borrowing among libraries has been resolved. "If we can't get libraries to work together," the chances of resolving other disagreements between the city and the suburbs "are extremely remote."
"Are we doomed to another 155 years of useless bickering?" Gurda asked. As a historian, he believes we can learn from mistakes of the past and "fly on a higher plane. We're all in this together. . . .We share a common fate, and the sooner we realize that the better."
Gurda deplores the "hateful rhetoric" of talk show hosts, and the growing tendency to polarize everything. He is also concerned about the "increased attenuation" of the metropolitan areas from Madison to Milwaukee to Chicago. We're becoming a "region of strangers," afraid of going into the downtown areas and thus depriving our children of the opportunity to experience cultural centers there.
"We need a larger view," Gurda said. "No muncipality is bigger than the whole." This does not mean we need to surrender our interests, but rather that we learn to cooperate. "We're all in this together."
Two of the pressing concerns that call for unified, cooperative effort involve the Great Lakes and the Milwaukee County Park System. If we don't speak up and let our legislators know how we feel, the parks may not be there for the next generation.
The "Between Fences" exhibit at the Stahl-Conrad Homestead is free and open to the public from 5 - 8 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, through Dec. 15. It will be closed for Thanksgiving.
"Between Fences" is a "Museum on Main Street" exhibition developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. It has been made possible in Hales Corners by the Wisconsin Humanities Council.
