MILWAUKEE — Over the past roughly 25 years, seven penguins have become famous in Milwaukee, but they aren't at the zoo or even alive. They are plastic penguins dressed according to the nearest holiday.
"I like penguins because they waddle. How can you not like something that waddles."
That is Yvonne Jaber. She is known as the 'penguin lady' and is the creator of the Bradley Road penguins. Ever since she put them out, they have become an icon along this stretch of road in Milwaukee.
Bradley Road Penguins
She first put them up near the corner of N. 66th Street and Bradley Road about 25 years ago during the Christmas season. (She can't remember the exact year.) Jaber bought a Santa Clause statue, but she wanted some penguins to accompany him.
"They had (penguins) at Menard's at that point in time, so I bought two. I don’t know when this was. I think the kids were little. And I think someone probably teased me, 'oh you like penguins. Why don’t you dress them for the holidays?' So, I kept them," Jaber said.
From that moment on, the Bradley Road Penguins were born. They don't do anything other than sit outside her house. However, they do like to play dress up. Jaber puts them in costumes that correspond to the season. She puts backpacks on them for back to school, construction outfits for the beginning of summer, a nativity scene for Christmas, gives them bunny ears during Easter, American flags for the 4th of July, and so much more. They always have sunglasses on. Why? Jaber said it's just because these are really cool penguins.
"And it's nice. Whenever I’m out here working on them, someone pulls up and says I love your penguins," she said.
The purpose of the penguins is pretty simple. The goal is to give people driving by a reason to smile.
"You need to smile. Look at everything going on in the world. We need to smile," she said.
Police Pick Up Penguins
Unfortunately, as can happen with public art displays, there have been people who tried to steal or break them. The penguins aren't tethered down by anything. They are only sand-filled, so the penguins don't get blown away. However, the penguins were taken from their Bradley Road home on a few occasions.
"People have stolen them. Garbage men have brought them back, and said, 'Hey I found them down the road.' Police officers brought them back one day at two o'clock in the morning. (They) knocked on our door, (and) said, 'We found them in the street. Are these your penguins?'"
On the bright side, that means there are people that care enough about these penguins to know who they belong to and take it upon themselves to return these Bradley Road statues.
As for the future of the penguins, not much is planned. Jaber isn't going to add new ones to the display. She will simply continue to change their costumes as the seasons change for as long as she can.
