Every town has things that make it unique. Whether that be the local diner or bar everyone goes to, or the one person that everyone knows. There has to be something for every town. I come from a fairly small town in Wisconsin, South Milwaukee, and there are a few things that make it unique. You know you’re from South Milwaukee (SM) if you know all or most of these things.
1. The Rock
The rock has to be one of the most popular things dealing with the high school. We painted the rock so many times for various sporting events and other school events. I don’t think we actually know the true size of the rock because of all the paint on it, there has to be several hundred layers of spray paint on it. And we aren’t the only ones that use it. Every now and then we would get a rival’s artwork on it; granted, we didn’t let that stay for long. You can always count on the rock to have a different design on it when you pass it.
2. Suicide Hill
If you did not sled down this hill once in your life then you, my friend, are definitely missing out. It is probably the steepest sledding hill in SM and one of the funniest hills. It definitely lives up to its name too; countless people have seriously injured themselves on that hill. My mother being one of those people - it was probably her own fault trying to keep up with us young kids though.
3. Seven Bridges
Alright, I think we all know that there are more than seven bridges under the famous name but we still call them the “Seven Bridges." I think we also all know that they are one of the haunted places in town. Even the entrance says, “Enter this wild wood and view the haunts of nature,” maybe its foreshadowing something. But then again when exiting you see, “May the God given peace of this leafy solitude rest upon and abide with thee," either way.
4. The Tunnels
These are a hidden thing from most, but if you’re from here you definitely know about them. Some of them are harder to find but if you know where to look you’re golden. I first experienced the tunnels on the night of my senior party when a group of seniors were taken on the haunted high school tour and we were introduced to the tunnels. There is a set of tunnels underneath the swimming pool in the middle school/old high school. I personally was too freaked out to go into them but my friends told me all about them.
5. Home of the Rockets
We are Rockets through and through and we are proud of it. We can still recite the school song when we attend school functions or sporting events. I mean how could we not be proud to have Ronnie Rocket as our mascot?
6. The Lagoon
Mill Pond, or 'the lagoon,' as using SM natives call it, is another one of those things that you kind of just know about. You may have been one of those kids that grew up ice skating on the pond or one of those kids that grew up fishing at the pond. Either way, you know it exists and have done one thing at it in your life.
7. The Bridge
This one might be a little harder to know about if you have personally experienced it but most kids will know what bridge I’m taking about. This is the bridge that lies just west of the high school baseball field that connects 17th Avenue to the Oak Creek Parkway that runs alongside the high school. This bridge had always been a wood one that could basically fall down at any given time but kids still used it to cross the creek in order to get home. Well, recently this bridge got a facelift. It has a new metal frame that is a lot stronger and more reliable for kids to cross over.
8. War Mural
Although this mural isn’t there anymore, you still remember it because it was an eye-catcher. This is the mural that was painted on the side of the building that shared a parking lot with the public library in town. The mural went from black and white to color and it depicted different military men over the years. I loved this mural and I’m kind of sad to see it go. I hope whatever they put in its place will be just as good.
9. Rivalry with the Packers
Everyone knows that the Rockets hate the Packers. South Milwaukee has had a long-standing rivalry with the Cudahy Packers in sports throughout high school. Since Cudahy and SM share a border, it was bound to happen that the two schools would create some kind of rivalry.
10. You're from where?
And the last one, this is my favorite and if you’re from SM, you will know exactly what I’m talking about. For some reason South Milwaukee is an unknown city to outsiders because whenever I tell someone where I’m from they look at me weird and wonder why I live there. The reason they question where I’m from is because when they hear the words “South Milwaukee” they think of the south side of Milwaukee and don’t realize that South Milwaukee is its own city. That’s why I have started saying, “I’m from the city of South Milwaukee, its near Oak Creek,” and with that, they know what I’m talking about because apparently everyone knows where Oak Creek is but don’t pay much mind to little old South Milwaukee.
There are probably a lot more things that make us South Milwaukeeans, but this is a good start and the ones that truly ring home to me. I’m a younger South Milwaukeean, so I have not experienced as much as the older generations in town, but I have experienced enough to be proud to come from this smaller town. If you can think of other things that make South Milwaukee unique, I’d love to hear them.
