In 1887 William Bramwell Sizer went to Milwaukee to work with the Kunkel Furniture Company. Two years later he was accepted on the Milwaukee Police force in which capacity he remained for 23 years.

I was born at midnight March 13, 1888, My father always gave my birth date as March 14th but the birth records show March 13. My parents were Minnie R. Maechtle Sizer and William Bramwell Sizer. My mother was baptised Rosina Wilhelmina but always was known as Minnie. My father was named after a noted preacher as his parents were very religious people..

The house where I was born still stands on the south east corner of 23rd & Galena St. We lived in an upper flat. From there we moved to 19th Street between Walnut and Vine. My earliest recollections are when we lived in a cottage on 24 _ Street a few doors north of Brown Street. Lightening struck the house and left Mothe and I dazed a bit, but being a cold stroke no harm was done to us.

I was always very fearful of dogs and it is said that I came running to home crying " The dog across the street was just a bitten me". The next move was to 622 18th Street (old number) which was in a lower (cold water) flat with toilet in the basement. This place was between Walnut and Vine on the north side of 18th Street. Here my youngest brother Arthur Edwin was born and at the age of 2-1/2 years died of Spinal Meningitis. During the summer he was ill Walter, my older brother, and I stayed out on the farm of our Grandmother Maechtle which was 4 miles north of Port Washington, Wisconsin on County Trunk line K. The farm still run by Maechtle descendants.

When I was four years old I wanted to go to school. There were no kindergartens in the school on 24th and Brown at the time so I was put in the into the Baby class. The schools were just as crowded at that time as they are now and the Baby Class was held in the front room of a cottage near by on Brown Street. A class picture can be found in our picture books.

Mother never got over the loss of her little boy and wanted to get away, so a lot was purchased on 33rd and Lloyd Streets. The old house number was 731 — 33rd Street. It is the third house of Lloyd Street on the west side of the street. (By the way we paid $10.00 a month for the 18th Street flat.) Aunt Helen Maechtle, Mother's oldest sister bought two lots just south of our place which gave us a nice place to play in.

A carpenter by the name of Hunholz who lived in back of us on 34th Street built a cottage for us at the cost of $1000.00. It had 5 rooms, stove heat, outside toilet, wood foundation and a dry well which we had to pump out during wet weather. Years later a stone foundation was laid for the basement and attic room built. Aunt Helen sold 15 feet of her 60 foot lot in order to rent it for return on her investment, We were the first house on the west side of the street between Lisbon and North Avenues. There were wooden sidewalks but the street was not made. We really were way out in the country. Walter and I first attended public school on 27th and Elm Streets (now known as Garfield). We had to cross the Railroad Tracks by crawling though the wire fence and many times crawled under freight cars standing on the siding. The tracks have since been depressed. We were the first group of children who were transferred to the new school on 31st and Brown Streets Well I remember when we all marched up to the new school, by that time they had a crossing over the tracks at Brown Street.

By the time spring came Walter and I would beg to out into the country so the folks would give in and let us go without finishing up the school year. This was bad for me for it always pit me behind in may classes and made me very self conscious because I could not keep up.. But the folks seemed to think being out in the country was better for me than the education.

When we lived on 18th Street I was 5 and 6 years old. The children of the neighbor hood went to Schlitz Park on Sunday afternoons to hear the band concert. Schlitz Park was located on 9th and Walnut where Roosevelt Junior High School now is. There were a lot of trees and on the hill was a Pavilion and a lot of tables outside and also inside where beer was dispensed. The price of admission was 2 cents for children. They could walk along the paths and hear the concert. One Sunday upon returning from church wearing a very pretty dress which Aunt Helen had bought for me which was greatly admired by the girls of the neighborhood I was invited to go to Schlitz Park with them. I was able to get the admission price alright but mother said that I would have to put on my dark blue calico dress if I went. The girls were waiting for me outside and when I came out with the old dress on they would not take me along and I had to stay home. Needless to say I cried. This was my first disillusionment of the female sex.

The neighborhood was full of people who came to this country just recently. German was spoken more than English in the whole city. It had very common usage in the market places. Our neighbors to the north were Bohemian. I remember walking along the rail of the picket fence which divided the yard and as I jumped off my dress caught on a picket and I was suspended in mid-air. I came in the house crying because the Bohemian man picked me off.

To the rear of us was a family from Pomerainia who had several older boys. I was deathly afraid of the Pomers. My mothers cousin Fred Maechtle had a shoe store on Walnut Street west of 20th Street. This building has been torn down and at the present time is a vacant lot with a small cottage just east of the place. An Irish family lived in the cottage who we enjoyed very much, Mrs. Strokeman was so witty. There were a number of children but I remember playing with Ursula who was my age. The family later moved to Hammond, Indiana where the father was employed in the chemical factory.

Needless to say our shoes were always bought at cousin Fred's Our families always were very good friends. I still correspond with cousin Fred's daughter, Mrs. Oliver Maechtle Armantrout of Highland Park, Illinois. Cousin Fred's brother and sister lived in Highland Park and were doing very well in the contracting business. His sister was married to a man by the name of Streiber. The shoe business in Milwaukee did turn out to good after which cousin Fred had a saloon in the building which did not turn out any better financially. The change was for the best. But we missed our friends greatly. I remember during a Catholic and Protestant fund Fred's son Albert who was older walked down Walnut Street with all the little tots trailing behind, singing at the top of his voice — "Ta ra ra ra bum di a my father is an A.P.A, he kills a Catholic every day Ta ra ra ra bum dia."

When ever I went to the saloon with neighbor girls to get a pail of beer for their families. I always got razzed when I got home. The saloons always gave the children pretzels when they came in. so when ever I came home eating a pretzel the family always knew where I was

The first birthday party I ever had was in the new house on 33rd Street. All the neighbors and friends were invited. I still have a little cup and saucer which I received from Lila Rhode, the daughter of the minister that baptised me.

When I was born the folks attended the German Evangelical Church on 21st & Cherry Streets, which still stands. Later they joined Sherman Street Methodist Church on 11th and Sherman, now abandoned and used at the present time by a Jewish group.