Focus on Gertie the Duck and discuss the History.
Gertie's story began in April 1945 when Milwaukee Journal outdoor writer Gordon MacQuarrie reported that a mallard duck was nesting on a wood piling under the Wisconsin Avenue  bridge. A total of nine eggs were laid and the duck kept vigil atop her nest despite throngs of visitors and motorists stopping on the bridge daily to check the progress of the expectant mother.   Mother's Day cards began arriving for the mallard, the Boy Scouts formed a Gertie Patrol and a Wisconsin Humane Society officer was stationed to watch the brood as six of the nine eggs eventually produced chicks.Public interest continued to swell as wire services picked up MacQuarrie's stories.  Gertie and her nest were photographed by the Journal and local rival Milwaukee Sentinel, featured in Life Magazine and even had a front-page story in the United Kingdom's Daily Express.  Reader's Digest ran a story on Gertie entitled "The Duck That Made Milwaukee Famous".Despite flooding, storms and fire on some nearby pilings, five ducklings and Gertie survived the ordeal and were put on public display in the nearby Gimbels department store windows, where more than 2 million visitors peered in to see the famous feathered family. The ducks were later relocated to the Juneau Park lagoon on Milwaukee's lakefront.
Daily Express Milwaukee Sentinel Reader's Digest Wisconsin Gordon MacQuarrie Gimbels Milwaukee Milwaukee Journal Life Magazine