“Remember When” was a feature that appeared in the Milwaukee
Journal’s Green Sheet starting in November of 1963 and ending in 1994.
It was comprised of a photograph and a caption describing life in early Milwaukee.
The photograph was usually pulled from the Historic Photo Archives at the Milwaukee
Public Library. As “Remember When” gained in popularity however, library patrons
would occasionally send photos to – what was then called – the Local History
Department if they thought the images might make an interesting article. In most
cases, these photos were only on loan and copy prints would be made of them and they
would be sent back to the patrons. The articles that accompanied the photographs
were researched and written by the librarians who worked at the Local History
Department. Originally the feature appeared twice a week in the Green Sheet. In 1981
the frequency of the column was reduced to once a week. “Remember When” also led to
MPL’s first digital collection (see Alternate Format below).
