I have never visited the great City Of Milwaukee. But I sure drank plenty of their beer. I noticed in the early seasons of "Laverne & Shirley" there are a lot of sailors at the Pizza Bowl. Laverne dated a U.S. Navy sailor and he proposed to her. Were sailors in uniform a common site in Milwaukee in the '50s? Were they U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine or other?
shareIt's located on Lake Michigan which is one of the 5 Great lakes. They are more like inland seas and thus are protected, especially during eras of war such as in the 1950s, by the military.
I am aware of the geographic location of Milwaukee. Were there many sailors there in the '50s? I think the early seasons of "Laverne & Shirley" were somewhat accurate about life in the '50s.
shareThose of us most familiar with the Great Lakes area understand a bit better about their shipping values and thus need of protection.
The Korean conflict and occupation was in the 50s so yes, there would have been more sailors there since the shipping lanes are even more protected during times of threats.
I grew up ten miles west of New York City. That port is very busy. And I never noticed a lot of sailors there. I guess there are so many people and half of them are crazy so sailors don't stand out much.
shareNaval Station Great Lakes - Naval Station Great Lakes is the home of the United States Navy's only boot camp, located near the city of North Chicago, Illinois, in Lake County. Important tenant commands include the Recruit Training Command, Training Support Center and Navy Recruiting District Chicago. Naval Station Great Lakes is the second largest military installation in Illinois and the largest training station in the Navy. It's located between Milwaukee and Chicago, so I would say that would be a good reason they had sailors in Milwaukee.
I know where I've been shot, dammit, I'm a doctor!
Thanks for the information.
shareI have heard the Great Lakes called the Third Coast. I have also heard the Gulf Coast referred to as the Third Coast. Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett popularized the term "Fresh Coast". I like the sound of that.
I think that there were probably more military roaming around during the Laverne and Shirley time period in Milwaukee, the late 50's through the early 60's. Until 1973, physically eligible men between the ages of 18 and 26 were drafted and spent at least a year serving their country. The draft was disbanded in 1973 due to the controversy regarding the Vietnam War. During that time period, it was unusual not to have had some sort of military background. Even Lenny and Squiggy ended up in the Army reserves.
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I remember Lenny serving with the Army reserves on weekends. I don't remember Squiggy in the military. Was he in the reserves? It is hard to imagine Lenny or Squiggy doing anything alone. They shared the same brain.