The cache is NOT at the given coordinates. What you will find there is a statue. You can calculate the coordinates of the final cache based on information provided below and that available on the statue itself.
Immigrant Mother
Officially titled "Dedicated to the Valiant Immigrant Mother," Cathedral Square's "Immigrant Mother" statue has been on continuous display there since October 1, 1960.
The seven-foot-tall bronze statue on a granite base was funded by a German-American citizen, William George Bruce (March 17, 1856 – August 13, 1949) in honor of his mother, Apollonia (sometimes spelled Appollonia) Becker Bruce (earlier spelling Bruss) (May 1, 1838 - October 19, 1876).
Apollonia came to Milwaukee from her native Germany at age 17, married at 18, and had eight children, William being the eldest. Sadly, she died in 1876 at age 38. She is buried in Milwaukee's Holy Trinity Cemetery.
William and his mother were quite close, with him viewing her as a guiding influence in his life.
William led an interesting and varied life, starting with a crippling hip injury as a seven-year-old that kept him home-bound for four years and curtailed his options in his early working life. At 12, he nonetheless started a series of careers, including cigar-making and building picture frames, and ultimately clerical work, accounting, and management in the newspaper and publishing industries.
William even took a foray into politics as varied as his private careers, serving on local and citywide school boards, as city and county chair of the Democratic Party, and as tax commissioner under Mayor David ("All the Time Rosey") Rose, before losing the mayoral primary to the corrupt Rose in 1908. William was active in other civic pursuits as well, and ultimately opened his own publishing house, the eponymously named "Bruce Publishing Company." Bruce married Monica Moehring in May 1881, and the couple had three children.
Given his distinguished public service career, which also included developing and administering the Milwaukee Auditorium, serving as president of the Milwaukee Harbor Commission, and publishing a three-volume history of the City of Milwaukee, William "gained the sobriquet 'Mr. Milwaukee.'"
When William died in 1949, he bequethed $30,000 to the City of Milwaukee for a statue to symbolize universal motherhood, instructing that the statue should show "[h]er head covered with a white kerchief. The ends tied under her throat. With a babe at her breast. And a small child clinging to her skirt." William’s heirs chose renowned Croatian artist Ivan Mestrovic to sculpt “Immigrant Mother.”
The memory of the immigrant mother of the new world
should be enshrined in the hearts of future generations as that
of a ministering angel who braved the roughness and hardships of
pioneer life in order that the blessings of civilization
might come to her progeny.
William George Bruce
Finding the Physical Geocache:
The final coordinates are N43 AB.CDE W087 FG.HIJ
A = Final digit in year statue placed in Cathedral Square
B = Number of letters in the first word on the third line of the inscription on the base of the statue
C = Apollonia's age, in years, when William was born, MINUS William's age when he started working
D = Number of children portrayed on the statue
E = Number of lines in the inscription on the base of the statue MINUS 1
F = Number of letters in the Last word on the Third line of the inscription on the statue
G = Last digit of year the sculptor married his First wife
H = First digit of Apollonia's age when she died
I = William's place in the order of Apollonia's children
J = Number of volumes in William's History of Milwaukee.
Be sure to check your work, and receive a hint regarding the final, by entering your answer to the coordinate puzzle in the geochecker below.
Permission:
Permission for this placement was granted by Brian Russart, of the Milwaukee County Parks, Permit No. 829.
Resources:
WUWM 89.7 Teran Powell, Catherdral Square's "Immigrant Mother" Statue Symbolizes Universal Motherhood, Published March 13, 2026 at 5:04 AM CDT
Encyclopedia of Milwaukee, William George Bruce
Apollonia Becker Bruce, on FindaGrave.com
Photo Credits:
"Immigrant Mother" - Fogie_Knight
William George Bruce - Milwaukee Public Library
Apollonia Becker Bruce - Gary R. Rebholz on FindaGrave.com
May the Fog Be With You!!