Milwaukee, WI

Writer Elaine Schmidt was an evangelist for music in Milwaukee

Published

12 months ago

December 31, 2024

Writer Elaine Schmidt was an evangelist for music in Milwaukee

An elbow injury disrupted the career that Elaine Schmidt might have had as a high-level flutist. Undaunted, Schmidt channeled her mellifluousness into writing about music.

For more than three decades, Schmidt wrote about classical music and the performing arts for Milwaukeeans in many contexts: freelance reviews for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, scripts for Milwaukee Public Television broadcasts, books for Hal Leonard and, in recent years, program notes for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

Schmidt died Dec. 19 after a short illness, according to her family. She was 66. Her death caught many who knew her here by surprise.

“Her passing is a loss for me personally, yes, and I’m heartbroken,” wrote MSO Communications Director Erin Kogler in a Facebook post. “But more important than my personal sadness, the arts community in Milwaukee needs people like Elaine — arts evangelists. People who truly understand how important the arts are in a community and will use whatever wonderful talent they have to keep the arts strong and thriving. Fellow Milwaukee arts lovers, we all have some big shoes to fill.”

Born June 18, 1958, Schmidt was raised in Milwaukee and graduated from Milwaukee Lutheran High School in 1976. After earlier study at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and Concordia University, Schmidt moved to New York to study flute and voice at The Julliard School, according to an obituary prepared by her friend Karen Herzog, a former Journal Sentinel reporter.

Schmidt worked as a musician and singer in New York until her elbow injury. She then earned a master’s degree in music criticism from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Returning to Milwaukee in 1993, she plunged into life as a freelancer or, as she wryly put it, “a gig pig,” teaching flute and voice and also writing for many customers. Her first review for the Milwaukee Sentinel, of a Master Singers Quartet concert, was published on Aug. 16, 1993. Her final review for the Journal Sentinel, of Florentine Opera’s “Maria de Buenos Aires,” was posted nearly 31 years later, on May 17, 2024.

Full disclosure: For many of those years, I was Schmidt’s assigning editor at the Journal Sentinel, commissioning and editing her reviews and articles. During hundreds of phone conversations (rarely short ones, because she liked to gab), I heard Elaine’s warm, cultured voice, often tinged with mock seriousness before unleashing a joke that could lead to boisterous laughter.

On her LinkedIn page, the proudly erudite and eclectic Schmidt wrote: “I am frighteningly well-versed in the trivial and arcane.” Here’s one example: She did a spot-on hilarious imitation of the nasal voice of Fran Drescher (star of “The Nanny”).

Schmidt revealed another facet of her creativity in 2013 when she published “The Travelers: Present in the Past,” a time-travel novel for young readers in which touching an antique quilt sent someone back in time. She followed that up a year later with “The Travelers Companion: Sharing Timeless Handwork Projects With a New Generation,” a guidebook in which she shared her passion for quilting.

Schmidt, who lived in Grafton, is survived by her husband, Mark Hoelscher; her sister Paula Schmidt, and her cat, Junior. Her family plans a celebration of her life in the spring. Memorials can be made to Lutheran Counseling and Family Services of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.

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Milwaukee, WI

Who Makes Milwaukee’s Socket Sets? Here’s What You Need To Know – SlashGear

Published

6 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Who Makes Milwaukee’s Socket Sets? Here’s What You Need To Know – SlashGear

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You’ve likely encountered Milwaukee socket sets if you’ve shopped for tools at Northern Tool, Ace Hardware, or The Home Depot. While the Milwaukee Tool brand may be more well-known for its M12 and M18 power tools and Pack Out tool storage options rather than its mechanic’s hand tools these days, Lowe’s doesn’t sell those Milwaukee tools either.

The Milwaukee Tool company was founded in Wisconsin in 1924. While the company was acquired by Techtronic Industries (TTI) in 2005, the Milwaukee Tool “Contact Us” page lists an address on West Lisbon Road in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

TTI was founded by a German entrepreneur in 1985 and now oversees a diverse line of product manufacturing that includes Milwaukee socket sets. As a publicly traded company listed on China’s Hong Kong Stock Exchange, TTI is a global entity with manufacturing interests in multiple countries, including the United States of America. While Milwaukee Tools proudly proclaims the Made in USA status for some of its pliers and screwdrivers, the company’s website is more cryptic about the origin of its socket sets. Some digging through the question and answer section of a few Milwaukee socket sets on Home Depot’s product pages reveals a response from “Milwaukee Tool” indicating the ratchets are made in Taiwan, while the sockets are made in China. Other Home Depot users say the packaging indicates similar information.

What you need to know about Milwaukee socket sets

In addition to the retailers listed above, Milwaukee socket sets are available at many outlets that carry other Milwaukee tools, such as Acme Tools, ToolUp, Zoro, Max Tool, and Grainger, to name several, according to the “Where to Buy” button on Milwaukee’s 98-piece Ratchet and Socket Set product page. Milwaukee tools may not be any cheaper at Ace Hardware since most retailers have similar prices, although sometimes the cost of certain tools can vary.

Milwaukee sockets have a distinctive feature not seen on other brands: four flat areas located around the perimeter of the sockets. In addition to setting them apart from other socket brands, there are useful reasons for the Milwaukee sockets’ square shape. Milwaukee says the shape of its sockets “deter rolling” and makes them “wrench compatible.”

While the option to turn a Milwaukee socket with a wrench can come in hand when working in spaces too tight to allow a ratchet, keep in mind that it works best with open-end wrenches. Closed-end wrenches, including ratcheting styles, won’t make contact with much of the socket’s square end.

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Jewish community to honor those killed in Australia terror attack at Hanukkah event

Published

18 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

Milwaukee Jewish community to honor those killed in Australia terror attack at Hanukkah event

MILWAUKEE — To honor those who were killed on Sunday in Sydney, Australia during a Hanukkah event, Chabad of Milwaukee will be honoring the memory of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was killed, and all those affected at the Hanukkah Festival and Gelt Drop event at Bayshore Mall in Glendale on Sunday evening, according to Rabbi Levi Stein.

“Acts of hate and violence are meant to spread darkness and fear,” Stein said in a statement. “Tonight we are choosing to respond with more light.”

Rabbi Schlanger was among the 16 victims killed during the terrorist attack that occurred at the “Hanukkah by the Sea” event held at Bondi Beach in Australia.

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

A Star of David is visible among the ornamentation at the Brodyer Synagogue at the ordination of new Rabbis Shlomo Afanasev and Moshe Baumel on August 30, 2010 in Leipzig, Germany.

To honor the memory of Rabbi Schlanger and those affected, Chabad of Milwaukee will be handing out electric tea lights to those in attendance, giving out coins for Tzedakah (Charity), as well as encouraging everyone to do additional good deeds throughout the evening.

CEO of Chabad Lubavitch of Wisconsin, Rabbi Mendel Shmotkin, urged the Milwaukee community, Jewish and not, in a statement, “to come together tonight, not only as an act of solidarity with the Jewish people, but as a declaration that all good people stand on the front lines of this moral struggle.”

“This is a moment for Jews and non-Jews alike to recognize that we are on the same side of history,” he said. “History has also shown that when good people stand together, evil loses.”

Chabad will also be increasing security, Stein said, and will also be working closely with local law enforcement to ensure that everyone remains safe and warm during the event.

Rabbi Schlanger’s wife, who was also shot but survived, was the roommate and classmate of Stein’s wife, Leah. “This tragedy hits painfully close to home,” Stein said.

“Tonight, we gather not just to celebrate Chanukah – but to reaffirm that light, goodness, and humanity will always outshine the darkness,” Stein added.

Southeast Wisconsin communities speak out

In a statement sent to TMJ4, Forward Latino, a local non-profit, non-partisan, service and advocacy organization in Franklin, called out to everyone to “join us in a moment of remembrance and prayer for those whose lives were lost, and then to recommit ourselves to standing against hate and bigotry in all their forms.”

“We are confronted with the painful reality that hate and antisemitism continue to be actively and passively promoted, while too few speak out with the urgency such moments demand,” the statement continued. “During this holiday season, a time of faith, reflection, and renewal, we must each look inward and ask ourselves, ‘What can I do to help eliminate hate?’”

The Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Whitefish Bay posted a statement on social media thanking the Wisconsin Jewish Security Network, local law enforcement and everyone who works to keep the Jewish communities safe.

“Hanukkah is a holiday rooted in resilience – a reminder that even in moments of darkness, light endures,” the JCC wrote. “At the JCC, we believe the antidote to antisemitism is Jewish Joy, Connection, and Community, and we will not allow hate to silence our traditions or our plans to celebrate Hanukkah with our community today and for all eight nights.”

“Tonight, as we light our candles, we do so with broken hearts and in defiance of hate everywhere,” Co-Chair of the WisDems Jewish Caucus said in a statement sent to TMJ4. “We are resilient, and our community has never, and will never, hide away in response to this sort of violence.”

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Admirals fall to Wolves, losing streak now 5 games

Published

1 day ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

Milwaukee Admirals fall to Wolves, losing streak now 5 games

article

(Courtesy: Milwaukee Admirals)

MILWAUKEE – Ryan Ufko and David Edstrom scored goals for the Admirals, but they dropped a 4-2 decision to the Chicago Wolves on Saturday night at historic Panther Arena.

Big picture view:

The loss extended the Ads losing streak to five games.

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By the numbers:

The Wolves grabbed an early lead when Bradley Nadeau potted his ninth goal of the season 8:21 into the game.

David Edstrom and the Admirals league-leading power-play knotted the score at one with just under seven minutes to play in the frame. With the penalty winding down, Cole Hara’s shot from between the wheels was deflected in by Edstrom for his fifth tally of the year.

However, the Wolves would score two more to close out the frame, including one by Domonic Fensore with just 0.7 seconds left in the first.

Milwaukee would get one back during the second period courtesy of a Ryan Ufko power-play marker. Stationed in the high slot, Ufko took a feed from Daniel Carr and ripped a one-timer over the shoulder of Chicago netminder Amir Miftakhov.

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The Ads pressed for the tying goal and had a 6-on-4 advantage late in the third period, but Chicago’s Justin Robidas scored an empty-netter to seal the deal for the Wolves.

What’s next:

The Admirals will hit the road for their final three games before the Christmas break, beginning Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. against the Wolves. The Ads’ next home contest will be on Saturday, Dec. 27 at 6 p.m. against the Grand Rapids Griffins.

The Source: The Milwaukee Admirals provided this report.

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