Bay View Comes Into Its Own.

The vote taken in Charles Frickes barbershop to incorporate Bay View passed 214 to 117 in May 1879. Narcisse and his family are listed among those in support of the measure. Bounded by Lake Michigan on the east side, the entire village was about one square mile. The names of the prominent members of the community labeled the streets. As with many Midwest towns, wood planks formed the walkways along the unpaved streets which turned slushy in when it rained or snowed. Farm animals, including sheep, goats and cows must have freely roamed for one of the first acts of the newly formed town was to crack down on animal owners. However, this self-governance lasted only eight years before Bay View residents voted, over the objections of the mill owners, to become the 17th Ward of Milwaukee.

As stated earlier, the mill operated night and day. Saturday evening was the only time during the week that both shifts were off and workers could get together. The Puddler's Hall on St. Clair was the site of many social gatherings. It had been built by a union to house its two lodges. A large hall which could seat as many as 500 encompassed the lower floor where the citizenry enjoyed lectures, and "theatrical entertainments" like Handy Andy, Ten Nights in a Bar Room or The Robbers. Members of churches of all denominations recalled in later years that they would get together for socials at the Hall, each enjoying the events of the other. A St. Patrick's Day celebration in 1887 hosted by Father Fagan, the Catholic priest from Immaculate Conception, was one such event. The Cedarburg News reported the "hall was crowded to its utmost extent, so that many could not get admission". The upper floor was equipped to house the Amalgamated Iron and Steel Workers Association's lodges, Wisconsin Lodge No.1, Bay View and Badger State Lodge, No. 2, Bay View.