The bar is a crossroads of humanity, said Abby Shaddox, who enjoyed an after-work drink last week with co-worker Rebecca Augustine, who both happen to be straight.
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Joe grieved customers lost to AIDS, and he was a comforting presence when the gay community struggled to heal after it was victimized by serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Paul Williams, co-president of the board of the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, put it this way, "It wasn't just a business. That's the way he lived his life," she said. "When he said he didn't judge people, it wasn't just a politically correct thing to say. He helped sponsor the history exhibit at PrideFest every year. She is an advocate in the community and said she could always count on him to support causes. "Lesbians, gay guys, drag queens, straight people, African-Americans, Hispanics - it was always pretty much everyone is welcome," said Stephanie Hume, a friend of Joe for many years. Now, there's a flag bearing the rainbow logo and bar name. Wells St., near Cathedral Square Park, though for years there was no sign out front, dating from the era when being gay meant exercising great caution. He and his mother before him created an effortless mixing pot here at 418 E. Joe, who lived in Franklin and had survived four kinds of cancer, was diagnosed last August with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. I will make sure it keeps on going for another 50."Ĭustomers and old friends packed This Is It! on Sunday to remember Joe as a great friend of Milwaukee's gay community and a welcome face behind the bar for many years. I'm the custodian of a huge amount of history and their legacy. "Joe and June had this bar for the first 50 years, or almost 50. "I put it this way anytime anybody asks me," said George Schneider, handpicked by Joe in 2012 to co-own the bar. The bar, or lounge as Joe liked to call it, will go on. Her son, Joe Brehm, who took over in 1981 and continued her commitment to friendly service and an inclusive atmosphere, died April 3. She opened This Is It! in downtown Milwaukee in 1968 and soon after welcomed a customer base made up mostly of gay men whose nearby tavern had closed. The bigger wonder might be that the bar was started by his mother.
You may be surprised that Wisconsin's oldest continuously operating gay bar was run by a guy with a wife and two kids who assembled for family dinner at home every night.