Symbolism of lighting the Hoan Bridge

Milwaukee is considered one of the racially divided cities in the nation. Every survey confirms it. It is the fourthpoorest city in the nation. It has one of the highest murder rates of any major American city complete with lawsuits about police brutality.

We are a community that needs to come together before we can solve these bigger problems.

But it is possible to change our mindset and it begins with symbolic actions that start to unify this community.

The leaders of the campaign to “light the Daniel Hoan Bridge” want to educate the community about its successful past leadership and at the same time recognize the countless unseen acts of kindness, generosity and service that go on every day.

Each bulb purchased invites the donor to make a dedication to unknown heroes who quietly make a difference.

But there’s also historical context to the Daniel Hoan Bridge.

Daniel Hoan was the mayor of the city from 1916 to 1940. He has been ranked the eighth-best mayor in the history of our country by Melvin Holli in his book: “The American Mayor.”

He was inclusive one. An Irishman by ethnic background in a city with a large German population, he was able to get along with everyone despite the fact Milwaukee faced two wars against the Germans during his tenure. Milwaukee became one of the most welcoming to the cities to the Jewish community.

His rigidly enforced civil service regulations and the merit system thereby delivering honest clean government. Milwaukee became known for its low crime and incorruptibility at all levels.

Thanks to Daniel Hoan, we became a city that took care of its citizens. According to John Gurda in his book “The Making of Milwaukee,” the city earned “more than a dozen first-place awards for public health, fire prevention and traffic safety contests during the 1930s ….so that was periodically barred from the health contest to give other communities a chance”.

If the local breweries tried to buy favor with him by delivering a case of beer to his front steps; it went back the next day unopened the next day. Ethics matter to Daniel Hoan.

He helped draft the nation’s first workmen’s compensation law to provide support for people injured on the job. Mind you this happened before the creation of an independent agency such as OSHA to protect workers.

He defended the right of workers to strike and have their grievances heard, and this was before passage of national labor laws. Milwaukee also had successful public transportation with a streetcar system that actually worked. It was private so he battled them often to make they would provide honest and low-cost transportation.

The lighting of The Daniel Hoan Bridge is an opportunity to celebrate our past and to recognize and honor our fellow citizens who quietly make our world a better place every day.

You can do so by purchasing a light bulb and writing a dedication to the unseen heroes you know who are making the world a better place.

Daniel Steininger is the grandson of Daniel Hoan. The Light the Hoan website is https://lightthehoan.com