Neighbor Spotlight – Page 39 – Riverwest Currents

Wayne Wallner

by EditorApril 2004December 2013

by Peter Schmidtke

A bicycle messenger and business owner, a dabbler in film and music, a building renovator — Wayne Wallner, for lack of a better phrase, is a modest jack of all trades.

Neighbor Spotlight

A Dalmatian, a file chock-full of Urban Ecology Center materials, a formidable pile of sociology books, and several hardwood shelves laden with scrap booking paraphernalia. These are what catches the eye as Lorraine Jacobs sits at her dining room table in her light-green, walk-up home on the 2400 block of Dousman and talks about her life after retiring this past September. She worked a combined 30 years with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) and Milwaukee Public Schools.

Neighbor Spotlight

George Martin

by EditorFebruary 2004December 2013

by Jan Christensen

“I’m in a time of my life when I can really make a difference.” George Martin has a face that settles naturally into a smile, but today his expression is serious. “My kids are grown up. I have a lot of support. And I have a chance to use what gifts I have.” For the last hour, George has been talking to me about his eight days in Baghdad early in January. He was one of a seven-person delegation from the largest coalition of peace groups in this country, United for Peace and Justice. He serves as a member of that group’s national steering committee.

Neighbor Spotlight

Amada Morales

by EditorJanuary 2004December 2013

by Peter Schmidtke

The orange Chuck E. Cheese balloon trapped against the high white ceiling of Amada Morales and Curtis Green’s one-bedroom apartment is too much for one-year-old Jordan. He peers up at it and giggles while his mother tickles the curls that form a natural mohawk atop his head, his face all eyes and smile.

Neighbor Spotlight

Shelly and Andy

by EditorDecember 2003December 2013

by Sonya Jongsma Knauss

I can’t think of a couple who better embody the punk “Do-It-Yourself” ethic than Shelly McClone and Andy Yeager. The first time I set foot in the Riverwest Co-op Shelly was working there. I remember being welcomed and greeted with a smile. She was cleaning the store, wearing a tight multi-striped polyester skirt and a t-shirt with “Chop the Onions, Mince the Garlic, Smash the State” printed on it. A snake tattoo, among others, caught my eye as it coiled around her arm.