Try Gurda’s new book, “Cream City Chronicles: Stories of Milwaukee’s Past,” published in October by Wisconsin Historical Society Press. The hardcover book costs $26.95.
“It’s a collection of edited columns from the newspaper,” Gurda says. “It is 63 columns covering everything from beer gardens to the ice harvest to corrupt mayors to railroad bribery, kind of runs the gamut.”
It certainly does.
In 11 themed sections, with titles like “The Early Years,” “Making a Living” and A Heritage of Diversity,” Gurda looks at a wide range of historical topics, from the “Wedding of the Century: Mitchell-Mackie Nuptials of 1881 Raised the Bar” to “The Cost of the Eight-Hour Day: General Strike of 1886 Led to Bloodshed.”
Although all of these essays original ran in his weekly column, compiling the book wasn’t as easy as one might expect, according to the historian.
“I had to rewrite and it was a lot more work than I expected,” he says. “I had to rewrite almost every opening and every close, which is the hardest part.”
Gurda says not all of his columns are here and he let his editors in Madison pick their favorites for the book.
“The editors there, I gave them pretty much (freedom). I had some favorites,” he recalls. “They made the choices subject to my review. They were looking for diversity of topics of viewpoint and things that could be more evergreen. I generally try to do something that has a news hook. They were looking for things that had some timelessness.”
So, what are the author’s favorites?
“I like some of the set pieces, (especially) one about a blackout and Milwaukee kind of being moved back (in time). Walking around the Bay View neighborhood and thinking about the beginning of electricity in Milwaukee.
“Some of the columns are more factual, but the ones that are more in the nature of pure story are the ones that have a little more emotional impact for me.”
Gurda has been busy as a bee lately, but he says his life may slow down a bit in the new year.
“I’m working on a history of Northwestern Mutual for the 150th anniversary,” he notes. “But come about February, I don’t have any idea what I’m doing. It’s been too much for the last year and it may well become too little.”
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
