Each year, a group gathers at Russell and Superior in Bay View to commemmorate the loss of seven lives at the hands of the Wisconsin State Militia on May 5, 1886.

A group of marchers set out from St. Stanislaus on Mitchell Street and walked to the Rolling Mill in Bay View to protest for the eight-hour workday. Then-governor Jeremiah Rusk called in the State Militia -- giving them permission to shoot -- which fired on the crowd in Bay View, killing seven. A plaque marks the site. Ironically, and perhaps tragically, a nearby street was named in honor of Rusk.

This year's commemoration takes place at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 4, and Rep. Gwen Moore has been invited to attend. Folk singer Larry Penn (pictured above) will perform, Bay View historian John Utzat will speak and there will be a laying of a memorial wreath and a reading of the names of the dead.

A cash reception follows at Club Garibaldi. If you want to know more, call Ken Germanson at (414) 687-6954.