OMC: Is it true you're working on a book?

BB: Actually, I wrote the book and my daughter is rewriting it for me.

OMC: What was your first year at Summerfest like?

BB: It was 1984. It was before the Marcus Amphitheater and the main stage was on the north end of the grounds. Huey Lewis was booked the previous November for only $20,000 and he played the night before at Poplar Creek in Chicago and was paid five times more. So he took his time coming onstage, and the crowd got really wild, climbing the fence, and I thought it was already the end of my legacy.

OMC: Do you miss Milwaukee?

BB: I sure do. I was so sad to leave. I miss my old hangouts like Beans & Barley and Alterra. People know me in Milwaukee -- not the young kids, but the older people. I'm so proud of Milwaukee in so many ways. I've always been so proud of our ethnic festivals. It's a way for all different people to try to come together, to get along.

OMC: You recently returned to Milwaukee, right?

BB: Yes. I came back in May, to receive a TEMPO International Leadership Award.

OMC: Do you think being an attractive woman and a former Playboy model made you have to work extra hard for respect?

BB: Summerfest did not know I posed for Playboy when they hired me, but Bill Janz from the Sentinel wrote an article about me posing for Playboy, and so everyone found out. But I did not pose nude for Playboy -- I wore a sports jersey -- so it wasn't as scandalous as it might have been.

OMC: How would you describe your relationship with the media during your days with Summerfest?

BB: I was out there with the media, and I liked the media even though they made fun of me. I knew that as long as I was in the media it was a good thing.

OMC: What was the biggest skill or talent you brought to Summerfest?

BB: I am really good at fundraising. People knew when I was calling, I was calling for something. I didn't mean to have it this way, it's just what happened. When I was fundraising for the Marcus Amphitheater, I was down to just needing (money) for the grass area. So, I went on the radio, on WKTI, and I begged for dirt. Nothing was too low for me. Of course, they ran with it and made lots of jokes like, "Doesn't Bo have enough dirt on her already?"

OMC: You made huge efforts to get people to take the bus to Summerfest, right?

BB: Yes. When Summerfest started, only a few thousand people were taking the bus, but by the time I left, there were 500,000 or 600,000 people taking the bus. It became the in thing. At one point I made a commercial where I said, "Maybe you'll meet someone on the bus." This was so important for so many reasons. Mainly because it cut down on driving under the influence.

OMC: Tell me about Operation Summer Chance.

BB: There is a plaque for me in the Children's Area at Summerfest because of my commitment to kids. I started a program called Operation Summer Chance that hired kids for work and mentorship. Then, I would call foundations and get them to pay for the kids' college education for a year or two. Kids still write to me and say thanks. Actually, they say, "Thank you, Miss Black" and I always say, "Call me Bo."

I am so happy to have helped so many kids through this program, and my own kids learned from this, too. One of my daughters rescues animals, another teaches a hip hop dance class for (under-privledged) kids and my son is the one who always encourages his friends to finish school. I really believe the only way to make the world better is if every person does one thing every day to make someone else feel better.

OMC: How many jobs were created during your reign at the Big Gig?

BB: By the time I left, there were 50 or 60 full-time employees and 6,000 summer hires.

OMC: What are you like in your personal life?

BB: I am a listener, a helper, a mother. I am this to my kids and my grandkids and my friends, too.

OMC: How did you get the nickname "Bo?"

BB: My baptismal name was Elizabeth Josepha Bussmann, named by the priest. My father's name was Joe and my mom's name was Betty, and therefore in the spirit of the South, which St. Louis was considered to be, I was called Betty Jo, but luckily my little brother Joe III couldn't say Betty Jo, so it was shortened to Bo. My first hubby was named Bill Black, and so I have stayed Bo Black.

OMC: How many times have you been married?

BB: Treb is my third husband. I was married to Bill Black, Tom Lindemann and Tom Trebelhorn. I had Stephanie with Bill, and Kellyn and Blake with Mr. Lindemann, and Treb has four sons and three grandsons. I have two grandsons and one granddaughter. One of the few regrets I have is that I was a better mom than apparently a wife.

OMC: What do you still want to do?

BB: I wish I could run for office and knock everybody's socks off. At this age, there's nothing anyone could say that would stop me or bother me.

OMC: Summerfest question: Wine coolers or beer?

BB: Neither, actually. I never drank during work but afterwards, my first boss and I would have Dewar's on the rocks at the bar in our administrative offices. During Winterfest, however, I started drinking Miller Genuine Draft for the first time and I really loved it.

I'm a Miller girl. My son just reminded me that after my stroke I was begging the nurses for a MGD. So my son, who is a bankruptcy lawyer in California, snuck one into the hospital.
They thought I was nuts, but I was thinking, "If I'm gonna die, let me die with an MGD."