Thousands of photos taken over the last 50 years at Milwaukee’s oldest gay bar are now in the hands of the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project. And while 50 years may not seem like that long ago, photos of people inside gay bars at that time were incredibly rare.
That’s according to Michail Takach, chair of the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project.
“For most of the 20th Century, gay bars were technically illegal. They operated kind of underground,” he said. “It’s extraordinarily rare for there to be photos inside gay bars before the 90s because people were so uncomfortable with being seen in a gay space.”
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Takach said people feared blackmail or weren’t out in their everyday lives, so to have a collection from that time period is “almost unheard of.”
But the History Project is now processing thousands of photos taken at This Is It! bar, a staple in Milwaukee’s LGBTQ+ community since it was opened in 1968 by June Brehm.
“She was a married woman and a business owner in the Milwaukee suburbs who’d worked in the restaurant industry and had a lot of gay friends,” Takach recalled. “She couldn’t believe what they put up with just to be in a place where they could be themselves.”
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Milwaukee’s oldest gay bar This is It! photographed in the mid 1970s. The bar recently donated thousands of photos to the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project for preservation. Photo courtesy of the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project
When Brehm opened This Is It! she started taking photos of the people at her bar. The images depict everyday life. People posing, laughing and enjoying beers. They span decades — showing changing fashion as regulars age through the years.
Toward the end of June Brehm’s life, her son Joe Brehm took over management of the bar and continued the tradition. Slideshows of the photos from the 90s onward can be seen on monitors in the bar to this day.
June Brehm and her son Joe Brehm pose for a photo at This is It! bar in Milwaukee. June Brehm opened the bar in 1968 and began photographing patrons. Thousands of those photos were recently donated to the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project for preservation. Photo courtesy of the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project
This Is It! has since passed out of family ownership and is now owned and operated by George Schneider and Trixie Mattel. Schneider said when he came on board, he found shoe boxes full of old Polaroids and prints from the bar’s earliest days.
While he worked to digitize some of them, he decided the project needed help from the professionals.
“When I took the business over completely, I felt like I was the custodian of the history,” Schneider said. “It’s very important for me to educate — especially the younger generations that we have coming in — educate them on some of the history of the space itself, the queer community overall.”
A woman poses for a photo during a Halloween party at This is It! bar in Milwaukee. Thousands of photos of the city’s first gay bar were recently donated to the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project for preservation. Photo courtesy of the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project
So Takach stepped in. He proposed the History Project scan and archive all of the photos, put them on social media for people to see, while preserving them indefinitely. That work is ongoing.
“When you have a place that’s meant so much, and has been a spiritual center for the community as long as This Is It! has been … that’s really quite a powerful narrative to carry forward and quite a powerful legacy to have in our hands,” he said.
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Some batches of photos have already been posted to the History Project’s Facebook page, and more will be added in the coming weeks and months.
For now, Schneider is enjoying all of the activity online, as members of the community identify people in the photos and share memories from the bar.
Two men smile for a photo at This is It! bar in Milwaukee. Thousands of photos of the city’s first gay bar were recently donated to the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project for preservation. Photo courtesy of the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project
“Watching the feedback and the response on social media … the nostalgia, the memories that it evokes, and IDing people that maybe they haven’t thought of or seen in years, I think that’s the most rewarding next step,” he said.
Takach is just glad to see more people wanting to preserve this kind of history.
“So much of LGBT history was destroyed by people who were just ashamed of it and didn’t know what to do with it and didn’t want anyone to know about it,” he said. “And now we’re kind of seeing the reversal of that. And we’re seeing an evolution of this understanding that this content has value.”
Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project on the road this summer
People across the state can explore those photos and troves of other historical exhibits this summer as the History Project takes to the road.
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The organization will hit 20 communities in their Summer to be Seen tour, showcasing people, organizations and places key to Wisconsin LGBTQ+ history. They’ll also give people the chance to share their own stories — building the project’s archive.
Two men smile for a photo at This is It! bar in Milwaukee. Thousands of photos of the city’s first gay bar were recently donated to the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project for preservation. Photo courtesy of the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project
“We’re going to them because the new generations are telling us that they don’t want to have to travel to someone else’s town to have pride festivals,” Takach said. “So this year, we’re going places like Rhinelander and Ashland and Ripon and Platteville and Door County, Wausau — places that are not traditionally seen as gay epicenters — to really extend the value, the reach and the impact of our work.”
Those events run through early October, more details can be found on their website.
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard praises team’s maturity vs. Montana State
Greg Gard, the Badgers head coach, reflected on his team’s performance following a 79-67 victory Montana State Thursday at the Kohl Center.
It’s a Sunday morning tipoff for the Wisconsin basketball team as it takes on Appalachian State at the Kohl Center in Madison.
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The Badgers are shooting for a 3-0 start to the season after beating Holy Cross on Monday and Montana State on Thursday. The Mountaineers are 1-1 after losing to Miami of Ohio on Monday and beating NAIA school St. Andrews on Wednesday.
Here’s how to watch and listen to Sunday’s game:
What channel is Wisconsin vs Appalachian State today?
TV: BTN Plus
Stream: You can stream the game on the Big Ten Plus app but you need a subscription. A monthly pass is $12.99.
Announcers: Joey Bonadonna (play-by-play), Jadius McGee (analyst) and Krissy Birdsall (sidelines) will call the action from the Kohl Center in Madison.
Wisconsin vs Appalachian State time today
Date: Sunday, Nov. 10
Time: 11 a.m. CT
How can I listen to the Wisconsin vs Appalachian State game on the radio?
FM-97.3 in Milwaukee and AM-1310 and FM-101.5 in Madison and on the Varsity Network app.
Matt Lepay (play-by-play) and Brian Butch (analyst) will call the game.
Is the Wisconsin vs Appalachian State game on SiriusXM Radio?
Yes, the Wisconsin broadcast is on Channel 388.
Wisconsin vs Appalachian State betting odds
Odds courtesy of BetMGMas of Sunday
Spread: Wisconsin (-15.5)
Over/under: 136.5
2024-25 Wisconsin men’s basketball schedule
All times Central
Nov. 4: Wisconsin 85, Holy Cross 61 | Box score
Nov. 7: Wisconsin 79, Montana State 67 | Box score
Nov. 10: Appalachian State, 11 a.m.
Nov. 15: Arizona, 8 p.m.
Nov. 18: UT-Rio Grande Valley, 7 p.m.
Nov. 22: vs. UCF at Greenbrier Tipoff, 4 p.m.
Nov. 24: vs. LSU/Pittsburgh at Greenbrier Tipoff, 2 or 4:30 p.m.
Appalachian State Mountaineers (1-1) at Wisconsin Badgers (2-0)
Madison, Wisconsin; Sunday, 12 p.m. EST
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BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Badgers -12.5; over/under is 141.5
BOTTOM LINE: Wisconsin hosts Appalachian State after Max Klesmit scored 26 points in Wisconsin’s 79-67 victory over the Montana State Bobcats.
Wisconsin went 22-14 overall last season while going 14-3 at home. The Badgers gave up 70.0 points per game while committing 16.6 fouls last season.
Appalachian State finished 8-5 on the road and 27-7 overall last season. The Mountaineers averaged 78.4 points per game last season, 40.2 in the paint, 12.1 off of turnovers and 11.5 on fast breaks.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Wisconsin volleyball coach Sheffield praises team’s play Penn State
The Badgers coach spoke to reporters following his team’s sweep of Penn State Saturday at the UW Field House.
MADISON – The Wisconsin volleyball team had the eyes of the nation on it Saturday afternoon and put on a show.
The Badgers swept third-ranked Penn State in front of a packed house at the UW Field House and knocked the Nittany Lions out of first place in the Big Ten. The 25-23, 25-12, 25-13 victory took just 90 minutes to complete and snapped Penn State’s 15 match winning streak.
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The contest was shown on NBC, just one of two broadcast by the network this season.
The victory also kept UW alive in the Big Ten race. The Badgers (19-5, 13-2) remained in third place, but closed the gap on Penn State (23-2, 13-1). Nebraska (23-1, 13-0) sits in sole possession of first place thanks to the outcome. The Cornhuskers play at Washington tonight and still have matches with Penn State (Nov. 29) and Wisconsin (Nov. 23) on the schedule.
Seniors Anna Smrek and Sarah Franklin finished with 13 kills each while hitting .462 and .419, respectively. Julia Orzol, another senior, added 11 kills and a .526 hitting percentage.
Six Badgers had multiple kills and each hit at least .375. UW also had the rare distinction of not getting blocked once. Penn State entered play averaging a respectable 2.52 blocks per set.
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Freshman setter Charlie Fuerbringer (36 assists) played what Badgers coach Kelly Sheffield said was her best match of the season.
The UW defense, meanwhile, held Penn State to a .117 hitting percentage and had 11 blocks. The Nittany Lions entered play leading the Big Ten and ranking ninth in the nation in hitting percentage .295.
Nittany Lions All-American Jess Mruzik finished with nine kills and a .075 hitting percentage.
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