Why Milwaukee has a 'Welcome to Cleveland' sign

Nobody has to be from Cleveland to know that the city has been the subject of more than a few one-liners over the years.

“Attention Cleveland, your river is on fire!”

Or ...

“In Cleveland, Velveeta cheese can be found in the gourmet section of the supermarket.”

But here’s a burning question, why did Cleveland become the butt of a zinger of a gag in Milwaukee’s Bay View, of all places?

In 1978, while having lunch with his assistant, now retired photographer and artist Mark Gubin decided to have some fun with air travelers flying into Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.

Realizing that low-level planes coasted over his studio and home (the former Bay Theater) in the path of a runway, he painted “Welcome to Cleveland”on his roof.

Was there any specific reason behind the Cleveland tomfoolery, these 6-foot high letters that have given more than a few air travelers an uneasy, eerie (or Erie) feeling?

Nope, it was just Gubin’s wicked sense of humor, the right time to welcome visitors to the wrong place.

“I never did it as any kind of thing to help my business or anything like that. It was just plain madness. You need that in the world,” Gubin told former Journal Sentinel columnist Jim Stingl in 2015.

The internet, cyberspace and social media have helped Gubin’s prank reach a sort of rock star quality.

Now 46 years later, the gag certainly hasn’t gotten old … it’s still flying.