City History at My Feet….Maybe a Little Bit Obsessive!

When I walk the dog sometimes I spend a lot of time looking down at my feet. Actually I'm looking at the sidewalk as we go. Counting. For the first few year we lived here I was looking for the oldest section of sidewalk - so far I've found a few squares in my neighborhood dating back to 1926. Just think of all the people (feet) who trod on that pavement during the last 88 years.

Now I'm sort of keeping track of all the different paving companies that, over the years, were awarded the contract to create or replace our Bay View sidewalks.

I've noticed Snorek Inc., Milwaukee Concrete, Zenith, Bauman, Milwaukee General Construction, Bel-Aire, Sauve Concrete, Meade, Milwaukee Paving, Schneider…..and I'm sure there are many more. Sometimes the names are "un-readable"….too old or just worn off. But if I change my normal route I'll probably be able to add to my "collection".

I also notice the many different colors of concrete in our sidewalks. Some is almost white and smooth, other blocks are grey and pebbly….I like those the best. More interesting to look at. Different companies obviously used different mixtures. And that makes me wonder why some areas of neighborhood sidewalks seem to last longer than others.

I'm not sure when it started, but I've always had this sort-of-counting-things-obsession. I used to do it on Sunday mornings in church where I always counted the pipes in the organ (the same every week!) or the sections in the stained glass windows, or the beams in the ceiling. I guess my mind was wandering from the spoken word projecting from the pulpit. Maybe it's because I'm a visual person - I like to look at things, colors, textures, patterns.

Whatever - I think I'll go for another walk.