Looking for Historical information (1980's) (Milwaukee, Madison: neighborhoods, high school, university)

[voltigeur]

I'm working on a hisorical novel about the end of the cold war. One of my main characters is from Racine WI working at a local Heavy Metal Bar. He has a background in electronics and sound when he gets recruited to the ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence).

I'm looking for information on neighborhoods that a working middle class kid would grow up in, high school and Community College he would likely attend. Also I would like to konw of Bars that were popular at that time (heavy metal or blues) hang outs and restaurants.

If you remember addresses it will allow me to map his word on google earth.

Thanks for yoru help!

[ranger17]

If you're talking 80's, i can remember seeing hard rock bands at a place on Hwy 100 in Milwaukee, believe it was called "Craig's". Hwy 100 was (and is) a cruise road as well.

It may not help for your location if you're trying to keep in the Racine area, but back in the 80's "Headliners" in Madison was a major rock club. I saw bands from Metallica, Wasp, and Anthrax to Pat Benatar to Cheap Trick to the Michael Stanley Band. Not to mention Wi groups that played their frequently such as Moxy Roxx, etc...


George Webb was a popular cheap eaterie in the Milwaukee area.

good luck!

[voltigeur]

First of all thank you for the help. I'm currently looking for work so I'm only working on this part time right now sorry for the delayed reply.

Thanks for the information. It would be totally plausible that he grows up in Racine and has connections there but drive to Madison or Milwaukee to work as a sound tech in a club. I'll have to look at Google Earth and get my miles right. I'll research Craigs and get more details. Thanks so much for the tip.

In the novel I actually pick him up while he is in college. His character background is he is an electrical engineering student at the time an ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence) guy recruits him.

You may have given me an out: What colleges or technical schools were in this area at the time. If there was a really good college with a good technical school in Milwaukee I can adjust his back story and put him there.

For anyone else who wants to help: This character is a working class kid who is very technically savy. He works as a sound and electronics roadie for local bands as he works his way through school. He gets the attention of navy intelligence when they realize because of his music background he understands both Radar, Sonar and how Anechoic sound dampening works.

I'm looking for an area of Racine that was a working middle class neighborhood; high school for back story and an appropriate college.

[ranger17]

i'll assume the main tech school there would have been (and is) Milwaukee Area Technical College. Should be easy to get a history on that one.

I cant help directly on Racine as that wasnt in my range for visiting/hanging out, closest i would have come is hitting the local track near there in the 70's/80's (Great Lakes Dragway, just down the road).
But perhaps search for the local paper there for it's archives. If they go back into the 80's, then reading thru local news and events can give you some tips on 'hoods, landmarks, etc

[voltigeur]

Thanks ranger17:

When I pick this character up he will already be in college so I have made some adjustments based on your information. I will research the Technical College and see if I can get a circa 80's map.

I have been trying to find a reference to Craig's but sounds like the kind of place my character would be working while in school.

Thank You!

[Ralph Shinners]

T.A. Verns was a popular venue for rock bands in the '80s in Milwaukee. It was located around HWY 100 and Silver Spring Road.

Racine is part of the Gateway Technical College district, not the Milwaukee Area Technical College district. I'm fairly sure that also would have been the case in the '80's.

[vintron69]

Racine Case High School, or Racine Horlick High School , M.S.O.E. Milwaukee School of Engineering would be more likely schools. but in Racine you have Gateway Tech , for electronics classes in nearby Kenosha county you have UW-Parkside ,and Carthage , in nearby Walworth county just to the west is UW-Whitewater in Whitewater,also in Williams Bay there is George Williams College a Division of Aurora University the most likely school the Government would recuit from would be MSOE which is in Milwaukee he would have had access to many rock clubs in the 1980`s around Milwaukee Teddy`s, Beneath the Street, later early `80s it was Fantasy`s, Stone Toad , T.A.Verns , Attic West, Nick`s Nicabob, Vnuk`s , Zivko`s Ballroom in Hartford, Mineshaft, in Hartford which is now about 1/2 of the block and has a stage for bands but is mostly a restaurant now with Wisconsin`s largest game room.there were many bars and clubs that would also have bands mostly Friday & Saturday nights and many clubs around Wisconsin