I have relatives who live in the St. Francis/Cudahy area of Milwaukee, so on a trip up there this past Saturday I thought I’d find if there is anything weird and/or interesting to check out. And what a surprise…there is. Known as the “Keep Cudahy Fun” House, the home of Rick Serocki is a local landmark that might appear to be a bunch of random stuff but is actually a nod to Wisconsin history. The yard at 4531 S. Lake Drive contains a partially-buried 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood (pink of course), a 1946 Farmall McCormick tractor with a mannequin farmer driving it, fiberglass skeletons, snowmobile (again with mannequin rider), an old telephone booth and gas pumps, a Big Boy statue, Milwaukee Harp street lights, giant nutcracker figures, and an old City of Milwaukee emergency call box. Mr. Serocki found old Milwaukee downtown street bricks and created a walkway, then spent hundreds of dollars buying lightning rods from Waukesha County barns and a large gazebo from a former West Allis bookstore. My favorite was a snake made out of old bowling balls. Supposedly it all started back in 1995 with a mannequin on a motorcycle (the pink Cadillac made its appearance around 2000). Why is the house called “Keep Cudahy Fun”, you ask? Well, it’s quite simple. Basically Mr. Serocki said, “What I’m trying to do is make Cudahy fun again.” So there you go. I wonder if the neighbors love this example of Outsider Art…or want to murder the guy in his sleep while they burn down all his crap??? Actually a few neighbors have complained about the junk, but so far city officials have not taken action nor placed any restrictions on the number of items that can be displayed in his yard. So it looks like the house and its stuff is here to stay, at least for now.
“Keep Cudahy Fun” House, Milwaukee
