Winchester Academy hosts historian

Gurda

John Gurda will present “Irish Milwaukee” at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 23, at the Waupaca Area Public Library.

Sponsored by Winchester Academy, the program is free and open to the public.

Although Milwaukee is usually associated with Germans, the Irish were the city’s first major immigrant group.

Rising from roots in a ward so tough it was called the “Bloody Third,” Irish Milwaukeeans have scaled the city’s social and economic heights, becoming a fixture on the cultural scene and a perennial power in local politics.

Gurda will tell the group’s story through the lens of its neighborhoods, its tragedies, and its celebrations, filling out the the city’s Celtic dimension.

A Milwaukee-born writer and historian, Gurdao has studied his hometown since 1972. He is the author of 21 books, including histories of Milwaukee-area neighborhoods, industries and places of worship.

“The Making of Milwaukee” is Gurda’s most ambitious effort. With 450 pages and more than 500 illustrations, it is the first full-length history of the community published since 1948.

Gurda also served as scriptwriter and host of an Emmy Award-winning documentary series based on his book in 2006.

“Milwaukee: City of Neighborhoods,” a richly illustrated geographic companion to the general history, followed in 2015.

In addition to his work as an author, Gurda is a lecturer, tour guide, and local history columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Boston College, and he holds master’s degree in Cultural geography and an honorary doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Winchester Academy is funded through sponsors and tax-deductible donations.

Bank First is the sponsor of Gurda’s program.

For more information about Winchester Academy, visit winchesteracademywaupaca.org, follow the group on Facebook, or contact Executive Director Ann Buerger Linden at 715-258-2927 or [email protected]