Published: Aug. 16, 2017
West Bend group honors their ancestors’ heritage at Irish
Fest
The Celtic Company performs Saturday
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
ndettmann@conleynet.com 262-306-5043
Susie Muehlbauer’s greatgrandmother was 18 years old and had
less than $20 in her pocket when she set foot on Ellis Island in New York City
more than a century ago.
Katherine Shyne came to America from Ireland, looking for
what a lot of Irish men and women sought in the early 20th century: freedom,
especially religious freedom.
It wasn’t that simple, however — most of the Irish
immigrants at that time had to ditch their heritage in order to survive.
“She dropped her accent,” Muehlbauer said. “She did the best
she could to sound like an American. It was hard to find a job if you had an
accent.”
Muehlbauer has spent most of her life honoring her
great-grandmother’s sacrifice.
At 4 p.m. Saturday, visitors of the annual Irish Fest at
Henry Maier Festival Park on Milwaukee’s lakefront will see how far her efforts
have come.
Muehlbauer is the founder and artistic director for The
Celtic Company, an Irish music and dance group out of West Bend. The group will
play on the children’s stage, which is near the main entrance, at Irish Fest.
There are 14 members in the ensemble, ranging from sixth
grade to 65 years old.
“It’s a wonderful festival, very family friendly; everybody
has a good time,” Muehlbauer said.
Irish Fest, which started in 1981, features more than 100
musical acts in four days on 17 stages and has more than 130,000 people go
through the turnstiles.
The Celtic Company is at Irish Fest for the first time in 10
years.
The reason for the gap is because Muehlbauer doesn’t like to
stray too far from what the group’s mission is: to bring Irish music and dance
to those who are poor, sick, forgotten or are in need.
They often play at several small events or at nursing homes
about once a month. In March, they’ll play as many as five or six shows.
“These kids work so hard. They deserve to play at
a fun festival once in a while,” Muehlbauer said. “It’s a
great reward for them. A lot of what we do is without a lot of fanfare.”
And that’s OK. It’s the mission that’s important. In
addition to bringing Irish music and dance to those who can’t afford to see
more expensive shows, the group, led by Muehlbauer, also aims to raise
awareness about the Irish background and the power of its music.
“It’s hard to describe, people just perk up,” she said,
referring to the reception the group often gets when the first notes are played
at a show or at any show featuring Irish music.
“To raise awareness, I have to take those kinds of gigs,”
Muehlbauer said. “We did the Washington County Fair this year for the first
time in years.”
Today, their reception and demand is high. It wasn’t always
that way and that goes back to as early as the turn of the 20th century.
Irish immigrants were turned away for jobs, just like blacks
were at that time.
“When they came here, they fled for religious freedoms and
freedoms all around,” Muehlbauer said of her ancestors. “They dropped the ‘O’
or the ‘Mc’ in their names. It was hard to find a job.”
They had to swallow their pride.
“A lot of it was taken away from the Irish people,”
Muehlbauer said.
Muehlbauer grew up in Chicago and there was no problem being
proud of her heritage. Her father played guitar and was an actor for local
theater groups. Her mom wasn’t as artistically talented, but was a great
supporter.
About 25 years ago, Muehlbauer moved to Washington County to
raise a family. She did so to also get away from the hustle and bustle of the
big city. She worked in downtown Chicago and got frustrated with the daily
struggles of commuting back and forth to work.
When she got to Washington County, she discovered music
wasn’t emphasized or taught the way she thought it should be.
“When I came up here, I wanted to re-establish the lost
heritage in my family,” Muehlbauer said.
“One thing I noticed was music wasn’t appreciated. I wanted
to reestablish that and the importance of music.”
She ingrained that lesson early on with her kids and quickly
the neighborhoods kids caught on.
“My kids played instruments and lot of their friends would
hear it in the living room and word got around,” Muehlbauer said. “We started
getting requests.”
She added, “My daughter calls me the Irish ambassador of
Washington County.”
Fifteen years ago, she started The Celtic Company. One
reason for that was the front porch and the living room had filled up.
In the years that have followed, several musicians have come
and gone and went onto great careers in performing arts.
Muehlbauer said one of the defining moments in the group’s
history was when the West Bend School District latched on and supported the
effort.
“That was huge,” she said.
Students in the group have since earned volunteer credits
and scholarships because of their involvement.
“So many wonderful kids have gone through the company,”
Muehlbauer said, adding it took a long time to get accepted in Washington
County.
“Every day I pinch myself,” she said.
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