Born in South Bend, Blackwelder grew up in Nashville and went to college in Tampa. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia, Colombia and Uganda and comes to Milwaukee by way of California, Oregon and Washington. When Blackwelderwas considering the job in Milwaukee, he consulted two Peace Corps co-workers who had lived here about what to expect. One characterized the city as "gritty," the other simply said it was "great." "I was expecting kind of the grit," Blackwelder says.
Liberia RPCV Wayne Blackwelder, is clerk of court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bankruptcy Court
We heart Milwaukee
Area newcomers embrace the people and culture of their adopted home
By NAN BIALEK
October 7, 2009
Some of the Milwaukee area's newest fans are not just here for the beer. They're finding that genuine Milwaukee cuisine goes beyond brats, that summers here come wrapped in every shade of green and its people are warm even if its winters are glacial.
[Excerpt]
Real America'
Growing up in Tokyo, award-winning children's book illustrator Sachiko Yoshikawa knew Milwaukee was famous for its brew by watching Sapporo beer commercials on TV. When her husband, Wayne Blackwelder, accepted the position of clerk of court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bankruptcy Court last year, she expected Wisconsin to be a mountainous region like the landscape they were leaving in Seattle.
She was pleasantly surprised: "I really enjoy driving the straight country roads with the open fields in front of me. I was telling all my friends, if you want to experience the real America that you see in the movies, come to Milwaukee."
Living in an East Side condo, the couple and their 5-year-old daughter, Kinu, have been splashing around area pools, treating themselves to Pizza Man pizza and bicycling along the lakefront.
Kinu was enchanted by her first snowfall last winter, and the family discovered the joy of making angels in the snow.
Blackwelder and Yoshikawa enjoy dining out in Third Ward hot spots and exploring the neighborhood's unique shops.
"And we've been to all the Japanese restaurants in town," Blackwelder says.
Born in South Bend, Blackwelder grew up in Nashville and went to college in Tampa. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia, Colombia and Uganda and comes to Milwaukee by way of California, Oregon and Washington.
When Blackwelderwas considering the job in Milwaukee, he consulted two Peace Corps co-workers who had lived here about what to expect. One characterized the city as "gritty," the other simply said it was "great."
"I was expecting kind of the grit," Blackwelder says.
A Realtor took the family on a tour of Milwaukee's hip spots near UW-Milwaukee and Lake Michigan, "which we thought was an ocean," Wayne adds.
Milwaukee's architectural gems left an impression on the couple, particularly Santiago Calatrava's Burke Brise Soleil at the art museum and the meticulously restored Federal Courthouse.
Blackwelder's colleagues at the courthouse made sure the family received a warm welcome when they arrived in the city. A series of parties helped "introduce us to the community, and that's never happened to me before," Blackwelder says.
"That was almost tear-dropping," Yoshikawa says, "the thoughtful welcome, the words and gestures. That was the first time I experienced it in the States."
