Milwaukee
Sidney the Kidney is making his way across the United States! Now Sidney is visiting Milwaukee, WI knows as “A Genuine American City.” Milwaukee is the largest city in Wisconsin and the 23rd most populated city in the United States.
The first Europeans to pass through the area were French missionaries and fur traders. In 1818, the French-Canadian explorer Solomon Juneau settled in the area, and in 1846 Juneau's town combined with two neighboring towns to incorporate as the City of Milwaukee. Large numbers of German and other immigrants helped increase the city's population during the 1840s and the following decades.
The Milwaukee area was originally inhabited by the Menominee, Fox, Mascouten, Sauk, Potawatomi, Ojibwe and Ho-Chunk Native American tribes. The word "Milwaukee" comes from an Algonquian word Millioke which means, "Good/Beautiful/Pleasant Land."
Once known almost exclusively as a brewing and manufacturing powerhouse, Milwaukee has taken steps in recent years to reshape its image. In the past decade, major new additions to the city have included the Milwaukee Riverwalk, the Midwest Airlines Center, Miller Park, and an internationally renowned addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum.
It was a beautiful day in Milwaukee, so Sidney took a stroll through the Mitchell Park Horticulture Domes. There he experienced a desert oasis, a tropical jungle and special floral gardens, all in one afternoon. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. All these exotic flowers contained in temperature-controlled domes, he thought it was very cool.
After good old-fashion German lunch at the famous Historic Turner Restaurant, Sidney headed into the Milwaukee Public Museum where some friendly locals told him to check out the frog exhibit. A Chorus of Colors was the attraction. He saw more than 150 live frogs in self-contained custom habitats complete with live plants, rock ledges and waterfalls that provide lighting, humidity, temperature, and water quality control. He learned so much about these cute amphibian creatures.
Sidney couldn’t finish the day without visiting the famous Miller Brewery Company. A welcoming tour guide led him through a replica of the Plank Road Brewery, just one of the historic highlights in Milwaukee’s Miller Valley. He climbed 56 stairs to look down on a row of towering, shiny brew kettles where he witnessed “wort” a grain extract boiled & combined with hops. He learned they pack up to 200,000 cases of beer daily.
The next day Sidney visited the International Clown Hall of Fame, where he followed the timeline and traced the roots of clowning through the history of the museum and the Inductees into the museum. There he was giving special clowning lessens and a great clown costume. He learned how to honk his nose, juggle milk jugs, face paint, and make balloon animals! He decided to take all he had learned and run with his big, over-size clown shoes, straight to the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin
Since 1986 The Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin has been offering new hope for children with chronic kidney failure through the Kidney Transplant Program. Sidney came to spread some cheer. The children loved his clown costume and make-up. There he painted faces, made animal balloons and juggled the day away.
On his way out of town, Sidney strolled into the Midwest Dialysis Center. There he comforted patients, waiting for Kidney Transplants and undergoing Kidney Dialysis. He informed them that NKF of Wisconsin provides free support groups and urged them to check out the website.
