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Milwaukee Map Service to Close After Nearly 80 Years

For years, maps and map books made by one local company have been staples of newsroom walls and passenger seats of delivery trucks.  But the end of an era is nearly at hand.

The Milwaukee Map Service - known to many simply as The Map Store - will shut its doors this spring. It is yet to be determined whether the business on 124th Street in Wauwatosa will continue to have an online presence.

"The favorite memories is always the pleasure that a lot of people come back and say, yes, thank you for what you've done, but also when they came back the second and the third time. And they say, 'I can always count on you having something that will help me,' and that's the best," says Jan Swain, one of three brothers who took over the business founded by their father Clarence Swain in 1937.

Jan has sold and made maps for practically his entire life. Lake Effect's Mitch Teich visited with him at his office recently to talk about the company:

Credit Sarah Matthews
Jan Swain