David HB Drake will present his Milwaukee history program “Gather by the Waters ~ The life, times and music of the people who came here” for “Milwaukee Day” on Friday April 14, 2023 at 7 p.m. at the Beulah Brinton House. A free will donation to benefit the Bay View Historical Society is requested at the door.

“Gather by the Waters” presents the history of Lake Michigan in songs, stories, and over 150 PowerPoint images, where the inland seas attracted people of many different heritages to make this place home.

From the first Native Americans and French fur traders to the tall ships of the Yankee land speculators, from Black folks traveling the underground railroad to the mass migrations of German, Polish, and Irish to these shores, David tells the story of the many lives who have gathered by these waters. The program will be presented with guitar, concertina and a variety of handmade instruments including banjo, Native American flute, and dulcimer, plus acapella songs of sailing men. PowerPoint slides illustrate the songs and sing-along slides encourage folks to join the choruses in seven languages.

The common theme of the waters that carried us here will flow in a program that reminds us we are all “in the same boat.”