Reflections on the River

Woke up to a beautiful sunny day--still only in the 30's, but it's supposed to get up to around 56 today, so a bit more spring-like! We went downtown this morning, & walked around the river, & I loved the boats & buildings reflected in the water. You'll see Usinger's in the line of buildings--very plain looking from the river side, but very ornate in the front, complete with large black wrought iron gates. It has an interesting history. The original founder of the company was Fred Usinger, who came to Milwaukee in the late 1870's. He'd been an apprentice sausage maker in Wehen, Germany, & he arrived in the U.S. with $400 in his pocket, his favorite sausage recipes, & dreams of a better life. He began working for a widow, selling meat in her butcher shop, & in a little over a year, he'd bought the business, married her niece, & moved into lodgings above the store. He & his wife worked 16-18 hours a day making & selling his sausages. At the turn of the century, Milwaukee's "German Aristocracy" (read: Beer Barons) all shopped on 3rd. street, which is where the shop is located, & soon the store was one of the most popular on the street. As business boomed, Fred hired extra help, & gradually began shipping the sausages all over the country. Following his death in 1930, his son, Fred Jr. oversaw the business, & then Fred III took over in 1953, running the company until well into the 1990's. The 4th generation sibblings, Fritz & Debra then took over--Debra died of cancer in 2012, so Fritz now has sole ownership of the business. Interesting fact: In 2000, Usingers sent 20,000 hot dogs to the summer olympics in Sydney, Australia, & they were all eaten within the first few days. For the 2002 winter olympics in Salt Lake City they sent 500,000, all of which were gone in the first 5 days! They sent another 200,000, all of which were eaten!
Not only their hotdogs but also their brats are delicious, & having a large German influence here in Milwaukee, it makes sense then that a recent poll of the stadiums of our professional baseball teams showed that Milwaukee's Miller Park (home of the Milwaukee Brewer's) is the only baseball stadium in the U.S. that consumes more brats than hotdogs during the games. :)