Be POPular this Easter.
ARE YOU EXPERIENCING...
Neck Pain or Headaches? You Can Live Pain Free in 2013
Call (920) 324-9899
Today for a Complimentary Consultation.
Fill their baskets with fun new versions of their old favorites. Our Easter creations will a-maize you!
160 Gateway Drive, Waupun (920) 324 - 9899
507 Madison Street, Beaver Dam
www.waupunchiro.com
Hours: Wed.-Sat. 10am - 7pm Sun. 11am - 5pm
920-885-CORN (2676) www.chippyspopcorncreations.com Find us on Facebook!
Japanese Sushi & Steakhouse
HOURS M-Thurs. 11a-10p Fri. & Sat 11a-10:30p
111 Rowell Street Beaver Dam, WI 53916
Sun. 12p-10p
Phone Fax (920) 356-1255 (920) 356-1270 820 Park Ave Suite H Beaver Dam, WI 53916 - 920.219.9995
2
Located at Park Village Shopping Center www.sakehousewi.com
VOLUME TWO - ISSUE TWO
8 FEATURE ARTIST JUDY BEYER
12
THE EARLY DAYS BDACT
A long-term commitment, with talent and inspiration steadily magnify its legacy.
14 WATERWORKS PARK FOR
ALL
Submerged in a place far away, where everything felt polished, colorful and alive.
MARCH - APRIL 2013
18 F E A T U R E SHAME AND A RAILROAD
22
There never was a fugitive slave returned from the Territory or State of Wisconsin.
LEGEND & LORE Janet Arndt is the seventh of eight generations to live on this land.
24 VIEWFINDER
Michele Sutton’s photographs often just speak for themselves.
KIDS
A community-built themed playground that includes kids of all abilities.
16 ON MY HONOR BD
contents
SCOUTING
H E R I TA G E
Mentoring for thousands of young men over nearly the last nine decades.
32
HISTORICAL SOCIETY The ability to harness the power of water shaped the city of Beaver Dam.
7 FOR MY CHILDREN 29 EMBRACE GRATITUDE 31 AMY JENNINGS
28 THIS & THAT 30 THE WANDERING MAN 35 PARTING THOUGHTS 3
F rom T he E d itor
I
t is almost exactly two years since the moment I knew this is what I wanted to do. I remember every detail. The moment has been a constant reminder for what is really important - especially with this business venture. It was hard to write about and I have only shared it with one person, until now. My girlfriend Karyssa and I were visiting our friends in Houston, TX during our Spring Break. When we were in line to board our plane back to Chicago, I noticed an elderly man in a wheelchair with a World War II Veteran’s hat. Behind him was his son pushing the wheelchair. His son had no bags and no boarding pass. As I watched them for a few minutes neither said a word. It was obvious it would be too hard; both of them were holding back tears - they had not seen each other for quite some time. When it came time to board, the son hurrying to keep it together hugged his father and said, “We’ll come to visit soon.” Neither looked at each other but both had tears in their eyes, as they were about to be 1000 miles apart again. Now that was the story I created in my head from that short observation. It could have been different. Now that I have written it down it seems downright silly that I had not shared it until now. These are the connections that our lives should focus on. We should openly talk about it and show how much we care about our family, friends and neighbors. We are lucky to be in a community small enough where we can look after each other. We should take advantage of that. I am sure that every small business owner has a similar moment. There is something giving them a unique motivation to do what they do. You can tell when you go into a well-run local business. I can guarantee you will get a great experience. If for any reason you don’t - tell them - they will have more motivation to remedy any problem. It is their livelihood. Now in this issue we begin the wonderful story of Lena. She was mentioned briefly in our last issue in Parting Thoughts. You can read the first 4 pages of her 369-page autobiography on page 7 of this issue. Look for her story in every issue. It is truly inspiring! Remember we are looking for passionate young journalists, business people and designers who want to learn about publishing. We are passionate about helping young people learn this trade. Please contact me if you are interested.
Engage Your Customers! Social media, email ad campaigns, and search engine marketing is proven to increase brand awareness, customer loyalty, and sales. Complete web solutions by Inter-Quest include: Websites Starting at: $69 /month SEO Starting at: $149 /month
Email Marketing Starting at: $99 /month Social Media Starting at: $39 /month
Phone • 920.885.0141 304 S Spring St. Beaver Dam, WI 53916 InterquestWebSolutions.com
2013 GMC Acadia
N8167 Kellom Rd., Beaver Dam - 920.885.3301 Mon. & Thurs. 8:30am-9pm, T, W, F 8:30am-8pm, Sat. 8:30am-5pm
2013 Chevrolet Cruze
Cover Image: Jerry Baskfield Used with Permission
4
MSat S
The MAGAZINE
MAR-APR 2013
EDITOR Erik Dittmann
PUBLISHER Jim Dittmann
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Preston Bowman
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Benjamin Dittmann
COPY EDITOR Kathy Dittmann
BUSINESS MANAGER Emma Dittmann
LocaLeben The Magazine is mailed bi-monthly to 10,684 homes and businesses in the 53916 zip code
Local Real Estate, Local Living. Kelly Hoffmann
ADVERTISE WITH US Our purpose is to embrace Local - When you advertise in LocaLeben you will be promoting the local living economy - enabling an environment that is sustainable - growing - and prosperous! Please contact Erik to learn more about our marketing and advertising services.
Broker Associate, ABR, e-PRO Licensed Appraiser Cell: 920-296-2752 Direct: 920-356-1100 ext 226 Email: HoffmannK@FirstWeber.com www.kellyhoffmann.firstweber.com
READER SERVICES LocaLeben is Local Life. We invite you to share your stories in LocaLeben. They bring meaning to our lives together. Help us restore our town back to the vibrant community it longs to be. Phone: (920) 306-1189
Email: content@localeben.com
Mailing Address:
N8369 S. Sunset Pt. Rd. Beaver Dam, WI 53916 Internship Inquiries:
intern@localeben.com
Back Issues:
To order back issues, please send $5 per issue.
Grand Opening Special: 35% Off Everything in the Store. One Day Only, Saturday, May 4th.
OUT OF 53916 SUBSCRIPTION We offer a subscription to interested readers who live outside of 53916 for $15 per year. To subscribe to LocaLeben, please send payment to the mailing address above. Call (920) 306-1189 to subscribe by phone. Send E-mail requests to subscribe@localeben.com
Need extra copies? LocaLeben is available for pick up at all public libraries in Dodge County and any advertiser in LocaLeben. LocaLeben The Magazine is published in Beaver Dam, WI by LocaLeben LLC. All rights reserved. The entire contents of LocaLeben The Magazine is Copyright (c) 2013. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems with the expressed, written consent of LocaLeben LLC. LocaLeben The Magazine reserves the right to refuse to publish any advertisement deemed detrimental to the best interests of the community or that is in questionable taste. Editorial content does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher of this magazine. Editorial or advertising does not constitute advice but is considered informative.
314 North Spring Street Beaver Dam,WI 53916 paradiseland2011@hotmail.com 920-319-9308
5
MARY CUDNOHFSKY ANNETTE KAMPS Being a wife and mother of four wonderful daughters was her greatest achievement. After becoming a widow and retiring from teaching in Beaver Dam, she found her second great passion when she started working at the historical society and fell in love with local history.
PHIL FRITSCHE Phil has served as Executive Director of the Beaver Dam Chamber since 2003. He is not all “business,” but he is all about community, and he is getting his fill of being a DIYer this year while renovating the Chamber’s offices in the historic Old Downtown Depot.
6
Annette, a recipient of the Governor’s Award in Support of the Arts, cofounded the community theater and has been a director, producer, board member and a playwright. First an English teacher, she was also Director of Project Aware and PR for the Beaver Dam school district.
I R T N CO
S R O T BU
LLOYD CLARK
KARLA JENSEN
Lloyd left politics and political writing to pursue his dream. Lloyd has opened his own commercial writing and marketing shop. When not watching his wife and daughter figure skate, he spends his time driving a Zamboni, riding REAL horses and teaching the insane to joust.
Karla Jensen has been a freelance writer for 24 years. A published playwright with husband Mark, she teaches writing at the Seippel Center. Karla’s background includes radio, television, magazine publishing, tourism and real estate, not to mention Danish Dancing.
DAVID LAATSCH David has used his Agricultural Journalism training at UW-Madison to promote agriculture throughout his career. Retired from teaching, he continued to share his expertise as the Dodge County UW-Extension Interim Agriculture Agent. David lives on a farm with his wife Kathy.
LENA REIS
I
t’s so good to be alive! Let’s see now, I’ve hoed the garden already this morning and watered all my flowers. Guess I’ll just relax on the chaise lounge outside and absorb some of this gorgeous sunshine today. I’ll pull the shades and close the drapes in the living room and dining room before I go out. Don’t want the sunlight to fade out the couch and carpet. The couch really could stand replacing. It’s beginning to show wearing pretty badly. Maybe this fall. Like Joe always says, “Everything in due time.” That couch really looks inviting now with the room all shaded. But once I lie down, then I’ll just turn on the TV and get all involved in those silly soap operas. They do have a way of growing on you once you start with them. No! I’m going outside and relax in the sunshine. I sure hope the phone won’t ring. I just want to relax and reminisce. But just in case it should ring, I’ll leave the north window in the kitchen open and in that way I’ll be sure to hear it. It shouldn’t though. Just talked to Hilde and everything is fine at her place. The boys are outside as usual. It seems that their energy never wears out. Werner and Patty are both at the hospital working. So they’re all right. Called Joe’s mother this morning and everything is fine there. Please telephone, don’t ring. Seems every time I answer you an hour or two is gone and it’s just too beautiful outside today to be spending my time here in the kitchen talking with someone. Guess I’ll take the garbage out with me right away and dispose of it, then I won’t have to do it later on. This weather is simply too nice to describe. Think I’ll pull the lounge over here closer to the trees. I read somewhere that too much sunlight is conducive to premature aging of the skin. If that’s true, then by this time I should look like a wrinkled old prune with all the time I’ve spent out in the fields and now in my garden. Ah, this lounge is pure comfort. I’m glad Hilde’s friend gave it to us instead of throwing it away. With this new cushion I
bought for it, it’s just sheer bliss. Today is one of those rare days, which Southern Wisconsin enjoys every once in a while during the summer, when it’s quite warm but the humidity isn’t so terribly high. It’s that darn humidness which makes it almost unbearable to move from one spot to another. It’s so still out here with just a few clouds, like little wisps of cotton suspended in that baby blue sky. Nothing is moving except the bees, which are gorging themselves on my roses, forget-me-nots and those red flowers whose name I can never remember. Why look, even Joe’s two Herefords are half asleep in their little pasture peacefully chewing their cud. The flies are even too content to bother them too much today. The house sure looks beautiful now. It didn’t look that way five years ago when we bought the place. I put in a lot of time and sweat cleaning it and painting it. Why those bedroom walls had all of six layers of wallpaper on them. I turned into a regular handyman before I was done with the inside. But once we finished, it certainly looked nice. I wouldn’t let any of our friends come out to see us until we were all done and had the carpeting down, the draperies up and the new linoleum on the kitchen floor. The house was a real fooler because it looked so small from the outside. People were really surprised once they were inside though. Of course, now with the new addition that we had put on last summer, it looks twice as big. I now have a beautiful dining room and the kitchen is twice as big as before. And the new roof and aluminum siding transformed it into a brand new home. I’m so happy we bought this little place. Our friends thought at first that we were rather silly moving out so far. But we’re only twenty minutes away from Joe’s folks in Milwaukee. Besides Joe is so happy with his little farm and his few head of cattle that I don’t think we’d ever move back to the city. I even have fifteen laying hens which keep the whole family supplied with plenty of fresh eggs. We lovingly call this our “Little Ponderosa.” I bet fifty years ago my mother never dreamed that squalling, wrinkled undersized little mite of a girl she had just given birth to would some day have all this to herself to enjoy and love, much less here in the United States. Yes, we’ve come a long way from Palesnik, Yugoslavia, to this our little heaven on earth. We’ve not only covered a lot of miles but have shed many a tear and have overcome many disappointments and heartaches along the way to attaining this peace and tranquility.
7
KARLA JENSEN
S
elf control. It is what I needed in the presence of artist Judy Beyer moments after meeting in her home studio in Fox Lake. As if I had been plunged underwater in some surreal artist coral reef, I found myself submerged in a place far away, where everything felt polished, colorful and alive. Surrounded by her wall-to-wall ecosystem of watercolors, I stood in awe, awash with reverence for Judy’s craft as a painter. Like a tourist on vacation wondering how much time and money to spend, I mentally inventoried how much space I had to spare on my walls at home. Then I considered how perturbed my husband would be if I spent the month’s grocery budget on several of her choice works. I should not have been surprised at what I found there, living and breathing and expanding in her studio. Lured there by the exceptional art Judy had already exhibited (in various shows and then showcased in the 2012 BDAAA Membership Exhibit as featured artist), I crept down to her studio to an amazing discovery not unlike one of those divers who have invested fortunes to witness colonies of reefs or exotic creatures in the ocean. The lapping water of a lifetime of art enticed me to enter that room full of dynamic lifelike canvases that encompassed 30 plus years of Judy’s work. It kept me spellbound like a fish on a hook for the remainder of the afternoon.
Judy has the kind of art studio Thomas Kinkade would covet. This exceptional space is sundrenched, functional and gallery-like in many ways. It is a stone’s throw from a quaint inlet of Fox Lake, a place to run away. I could see where this artist started growing as a water colorist, then how she worked to build the sturdy foundation of technique and trial to develop her gifts. I could see the growth just as those marine biologists log the advancement of a reef, year after year, studying how it changes and grows. I asked Judy the story of what she first sold. “I entered a watercolor of a rose in a show and didn’t want to sell it, so I put a high price on it. A friend said, ‘Judy - you just sold your painting!’” She began exhibiting and selling at shows more often after that. “I don’t paint specific subject matter or use colors that are in just to sell the paintings. I paint what I like,” she added. The day I stopped by, this artist was busy contemplating a photo she had taken of fruits and vegetables, possibly for the “Bon Appetit” Food in Art Exhibit this fall at BDAAA. She would be transforming this into a watercolor in due time. Judy pondered over originals I had never laid eyes on, along with photos of her work that had sold too quickly to exhibit locally. I could see where ideas germinated and took form. I felt the first strokes of the dampened brush, where she toiled, and where she added the finishing touches on work she could be proud of. I could feel the commingling of colors and how thirsty her paper and canvases were for her loving strokes. I wanted to stay in this cushion
“Containers and Architecture”
8
“Extending the Season”
9
“Fun in the Sun at Lake Erie” “Eggs-traordinary”
“Outstanding in Their Field” of creativity because it is not only a sweet spot for the artist, but a divine place to be for the one appreciating the art. “When working with watercolor, many artists get bogged down a little more than half way through a painting,” said Judy. “They are not sure the painting is going in the direction they had envisioned it, giving you the feeling of wanting to throw it out. An option is to go with the flow and rechannel your thinking to make it work. But I don’t throw away work. Anything can be refined.” Judy Beyer has served first as a member and then at the helm of the exhibit committee for many years at the Beaver Dam Area Arts Association. Although I knew Judy to be creative, thorough and hardworking, with an eye for design, I learned more than I ever could have from me just seeing her on my territory. I needed to see her on her home turf and witness how the tide of her own productivity ebbs and flows. I quickly gained these insights: Judy Beyer is an organized file cabinet of ideas, and not just organized like my somewhat orderly bookshelf, but Library of Congress organized. She has meticulously documented each of her pieces, companion photos with creation dates and knows like those librarians where everything is located if anyone ever asks. She has synchronized her time and talents with practice, and has been swimming with the big fish for some time. She touts solo exhibits at the Open Door Gallery in Whitefish Bay,
10
YOU CAN PROTECT YOUR DREAMS FOR LESS THANPROTECT YOU THINK. YOU CAN YOUR DREAMS FOR LESS THAN YOU THINK.
Protection is a Better service, better coverage and better value with our great new lineup of family tradition. discounts—you could get it all when you make the switch to American Family We’re the like right yours choice for protecting your dreams. SinceInsurance. 1927, have Your dreamfamilies is out there. Go get it. We’ll protect it. trusted our Family to protect them Call today for a competitive quote. Better service, better coverage and better value with our great new lineup of from discounts—you unexpected could losses. meyou make the switch to American Family get itCall all when We’reyour the right choice Kevin for protecting dreams.LLC Carnineyour Agency, todayInsurance. to discuss needs. Your dream is out there. Go get it. We’ll it. 718protect Park Avenue Call today for a competitive quote. Beaver Dam, WI 53916
Bus: (920) 887-9700 KCARNINE@AmFam.com Kevin Carnine Agency, LLC 718 Park Avenue Beaver Dam, WI 53916 Bus: (920) 887-9700 KCARNINE@AmFam.com
“Another Day”
Discounts may vary by state, property policy form and company underwriting the auto policy. Discounts may not apply to all coverages on an auto or property policy. American Family Mutual Insurance Company and its Subsidiaries, American Family Insurance Company Home Office – Madison, WI 53783 ©2012 005598 Rev. 8/12 American Family Mutual Insurance Company and its Subsidiaries American Family Insurance Company Discounts may vary by state, property policy form and company Home Office – Madison, WI 53783 © 2011
underwriting the auto policy. Discounts may not apply to all coverages on an auto or property policy. American Family Mutual Insurance Company and its Subsidiaries, American Family Insurance Company 002139 – Rev. 6/11 Home Office – Madison, WI 53783 ©2012 005598 Rev. 8/12
T:22”
Stunning.
Stunning. Efficiency never looked this good. Efficiency never looked this good. The all-new 2013 MKZ HYBRID. The all-new 2013 MKZ HYBRID. Theluxury most fuel-efficient luxury in America.* The most fuel-effi cient vehicle invehicle America*.
T:28”
Wisconsin, and was featured at the Emilie A. Gruppe Gallery in Underhill, Vermont, along with dozens of exhibits in Wisconsin with other artists. Beyer’s outlook resembles an underwater camera lens, able to find exotic perspectives from any angle. With water especially within her reach, she can create something memorable and masterful from the colors at her disposal, her technique, talent and intuition. She is the Clint Eastwood (producer, director, actor) of our organization able to multitask in all art-related duties from developing optimum composition to drawing, painting, matting and framing. Most alluring of all, she can design an exhibit space like nobody’s business. She is not just detail oriented either, she is crime scene investigator detailed, while being smart, thorough and inspired. Judy’s art bio and her personal bio read like a ship’s complex travel log. She and husband Al are internationally savvy, having lived and worked in Indonesia during the 80s. Al worked for Chevron and Judy enjoyed the adventure and camaraderie of getting to know other families who lived within the Chevron compound. She could travel, take classes, feed her growing art passions, and dedicate time to her two young sons, Scott and Todd, who are now grown. She shares her artwork lovingly with her kids and grandchildren and I am sure they could not be more thrilled. Most recently, Al and Judy enjoyed their global travels to Europe, and in 2012, Beyer shared a travelogue of her art tour of Italy during BDAAA’s annual meeting. Since returning to live in Fox Lake 14 years ago, they have continued their travels, and with it, her love for art and artistic expression has grown. Her long list of national exhibits and training is a passport teeming with stamps worthy of an experienced artist, full of awards and memberships. Judy belongs to the Transparent Watercolor Society of America, Wisconsin Watercolor Society, League of Milwaukee Artists, Wisconsin Regional Artists Association, Museum of Fine Arts in West Bend, Plymouth Arts Center and BDAAA. We are honored to have her in our midst. Frankly, I would wallpaper my entire home with Judy Beyer’s work. It is that beautiful. Even her drawers full of castoffs I found to be artistically superior to lots of artwork with high price tags in galleries across Wisconsin and beyond. Had she turned her back for a moment, I would have dumpster dived my way out her studio, arms full, through the kitchen and right out her front door. Since she didn’t, I will have to return to purchase my favorites. You should visit her studio as well. Her work is rhythmic, buoyant and vibrant, much like that underwater ambiance that met me at her door.
Kevin Carnine Agency, LLC An Outstanding Customer Experience J.D. Power and Associates certified Distinguished Insurance Agency (920) 887-9700 Bus www.kevincarnine.com
Lidtke Motors 701 Park Avenue Beaver Dam, WI 53916 920-887-1661 www.lidtkemotors.com
Optional features shown. Coming late 2012. *EPA-estimated 45 city/45 hwy/45 combined mpg, Actual mileage will vary.
File Name: LRET00186_2901212_Stn5_R06.indd
Lincoln MKZ | POP Stanchion 5 | More miles...
Date: 12-10-2012 5:41 PM
Rev: 6
Galley: 1
Optional features shown. *EPA-estimated 45 city/45 hwy/45 combined mpg, Actual mileage will vary. Engraver: None Client: Ford Retail First Fonts: Proxima Nova (Regular, Bold), MillerBanner Images: 13MKZLaunch_Hero_Front34_Aprvd0812_PK_Ext.tif (CMYK; Ad #: 29012-12 Agency #: 1035261 Park #: LRET-00186 Live: None Trim: 22” x 28” Bleed: 22.5” x 28.5”
Park ADD: Park Designer: Park PM: Park Retoucher: Park Prod Artist:
Inks: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Doc Scale: 100% Output Size: None Media/Type: Collateral
None None Nicholl None L. Mansfield
GCD/CCO/GDD: Associate CD: Art Director: Writer: Print Producer:
(Semibold)
None None None None garner
257 ppi; 116.58%), 12LINC_LMCStar1L_K_R01.eps (56.96%)
Direct Mail Ops: Data: Art Producer: Account Super: Account Exec:
None None frank-geer coole helmick
Legal: Product Info: Copy Editor: Traffic:
arton None None schram
11
ANNETTE KAMPS
I
“Pippin” - 1982 All Photos: BDACT Archives
n August 1964, our local newspaper published a review of the first take everything down and reload it on the truck before the matinee. Beaver Dam Community Theatre show “Harvey.” Kudos abound- The handful of charter members who remain in the Beaver ed for the entire cast, but particularly for its star David Proctor, Dam area occasionally reminisce about how they found their rata popular Beaver Dam resident and Wayland Academy English chewed shoes backstage, how they chased around the outside of the instructor. The review stated, “It was gratifying to read in the pro- movie theater or struggled through a dark crawl space to make stage gram how many area citizens and families participated in some phase entries, even when wearing a hoop skirt! They remember having a of the production… Perhaps the best aspect of the whole thing was mobile home and tent behind the building to accommodate, rain or that the cast and staff seemed to enjoy doing the play as much as the shine, the large summer musical casts for ambitious shows such as audience enjoyed seeing it.” That statement has remained relevant “The King and I,” “Sound of Music” and “Man of La Mancha.” They for almost 50 years. remember, too, rehearsing in unheated spaces in below zero weather Those charter members began a legacy that over the years and, after the Wisconsin was no longer available, doing shows in has brought thousands of participants and patrons to the rewards makeshift venues - such as the Beaver Dam Mall, the Hotel Rogers, of community theater. Without a theater home or even a defined the Junior High gymnasium, and as dinner theater in a number of rehearsal space, the founders thrived on their obstacles and soon local restaurants. created a three-show season. They were traveling troupers, rehears- With its continued growth, including the addition of the ing in any free hall they could find. When it came to show time, Tell-A-Tale Children’s Theatre, things got a little better when the the energetic group ran their productions in what was then the group purchased the St. John’s Lutheran Church on the corner of Wisconsin movie theater (now the Rogers Theater). For technical Maple and Lincoln. It was big enough to rehearse and store properand dress rehearsals and the show opening, they set up temporary ties, but not big enough for audiences, so the search for performance staging at the Wisconsin on several consecutive Saturdays. Those sites went on for almost 20 years. in-theater rehearsals had to be squeezed between the Friday evening movie and the Saturday matinee. That meant all-nighters, long after “Harvey”- 1964: Asst. Director John McKinstry and Director Chuck moviegoers had gone home. Just before midnight, in frigid winter Helfert (seated) with the inaugural cast. David Proctor is far right. or humid summer, cast and crew loaded pre-constructed sets and stage platforms on a flat bed truck from Fletcher’s Oil Company. Upon arriving at the movie theater, they installed stage extensions and flexible scenery, previously built and painted in a garage or a warehouse, in front of the screen. For a summer musical, the crew unbolted several audience seats to create orchestra space. Other troupe members loaded costumes, props and makeup in their own vehicles and transported them to makeshift areas behind the movie screen. To change costumes and apply makeup, the cast shared a confined backstage area or climbed the precarious stairs to a dingy closet-size room. Typically, several cast members did double duty, setting up the stage as well as performing; there was no time to rest, since the entire show - entrances, costume changes, lights, sound cues and more - had to be rehearsed in quick time so that they could
12
In 1966, “All My Sons” by Arthur Miller was fully staged in front of the movie screen at the Wisconsin Theater (now Rogers Cinema).
diences now enjoying an annual program of at least fifteen different productions a year that include four main season shows, STAGE II offerings, concerts, tour shows and Tell-A-Tale shows. In 2010, considering its critical needs, BDACT decided to conduct a capital campaign to ensure current as well as long-term operations. Building improvements are planned to provide handicap access with a ground floor lobby, an elevator to three levels, an expanded stage area and reconstruction of other spaces for more efficient use. Following the theater’s first musical “South Pacific” in 1965, Director David Proctor received a letter from a Fox Lake fan, Mrs. Madigan: “I can see there is an abundance of talent in your area and hope to see another Community Theatre production soon…I am sure that everyone who attended Tuesday evening and succeeding shows will evaluate them highly and fully realize that this show would not have been made possible in Beaver Dam without the persistent efforts of your Community Theatre group.” Little did those spirited 1964 founders know that when they put on their first show with no bank account and no venue, they were creating a unique, rewarding community culture that would enhance thousands of lives. That same persistency, talent, long-term commitment and inspiration steadily magnify the legacy that makes the non-profit, self-supporting BDACT what it is today, a deep-rooted source of pride for its community.
Finally in 1983, with the support of the community, the Baptist Church on the corner of Third and Spring Streets was purchased. With help from hundreds of volunteers, the church was converted into a useable theater with seating for 220; however, the organization continued to meet obstacles as it evolved and grew. The group started renting the high school auditorium for its summer musicals in 1991, beginning with its original Beaver Dam sesquicentennial show “Do You Remember?” That decision again meant some traveling, but larger summer casts and audiences dictated the need To learn more about BDACT and to see a photo collection of memfor a bigger stage and handicap access. ories, including a 1983 video of early performers, go to www.bdact. Handicap access and limited space have become larger issues org or go to www.facebook.com/bdact to check out the “Show for the Beaver Dam Area Community Theatre (BDACT) with au- Spirit Spotlight Challenge.”
Beaver Dam Community Hospitals Foundation, Inc.
Derby Day
Saturday, May 4, 2013 3:30 p.m.
A “Run for the Roses” fundraising gala for Beaver Dam Community Hospitals Foundation, Inc. We invite you to the third Derby Day fundraising gala that includes premier viewing of the 139th Kentucky Derby, the first jewel in the Triple Crown! Glam yourself in Derby style fashion (and don’t forget your hat)! Enjoy hors d’oeuvres and dinner while sipping on a mint julep and choosing your winning horse. A silent and live auction as well as a Derby hat auction will round out the evening.
Old Hickory Golf Club Tickets: $60 each For more information or to purchase tickets, please call (920) 887-4851. All proceeds from the event will support the Hillside Hospice Home.
13
TONY KLATT
I
remember the days of the Rocket Slide at Swan City Park and the Tornado Slide at Lincoln Park. Lakeview Park used to have that giant solid metal slide with the 500-degree mirror-like surface that seemed to always be facing the sun no matter what time of day. The second-degree burns were a badge of honor to your friends daring you to go down it. We never played inside. We were never tethered to an electronic device like an iPad or cell phone. Cable TV was a luxury, not a necessity. We would play until either the streetlights came on or one of our parents yelled out the back door. It is surprising how loud a mother’s voice can be when your dinner is getting cold. I have made a lot of great memories at the area parks of Beaver Dam. Many of my friends now, are friends that I had 20 years ago playing at the Park. Our initials may or may not have been permanently Sharpie’d among the others on the Tornado Slide. Steve down the street…he ended up being my Psychology Teacher, and is now School Superintendent. I remember how hard it was for me to call him Mr. Vessey. He would later have to correct me many times when we were in the school to call him Mr. Vessey, not Steve. George ended up on the fire department and a Staff Sergeant in the United States Army, twice deployed overseas. Ben is an architect. Gabe is a journalist in Germany. The point is, I grew up in this small town, WE grew up in this small town, and generations to come are going to grow up in this small town. I love Beaver Dam. I get a kick out of walking through a grocery store and my 7-year-old waving to friends as we pass through the aisles. My wife jokes that Jaelyn knows more people in town than I do. Everyone we met, everyone we knew, we met them at school…or at the Park. The kids need something like that again. An adventure beckoning them to go outside - a place where they can have fun, where they can play tag, hide and go seek, and maybe even catch the occasional cootie. An epic playground, one that brings daycare centers from other cities to our little city. A field trip…to Beaver Dam. To Waterworks Park. To the cool Pirate Ship on the lake. As we are winding down to Build Day, remember your childhood and consider making a tax-deductible donation.
14
Bill Sieja works at Mid State Equipment. He lives in Beaver Dam with his wife Barb and their son Brin. Bill is a key leader in the fundraising efforts for the Waterworks Park Project.
BILL SIEJA
S
peaking as a parent with a child with special needs, I can honestly tell you that there are good days and there are bad days. When there are bad days, my son may be louder or may look like he is misbehaving, but he just needs a way to relieve what he is going through. He has sensory spectrum disorder (autism) and also may struggle with everyday things. There are times when noises bother him, smells bother him or even lights bother him. We spend quite a lot of time driving around or jumping from park to park or store to store, just for him to feel comfortable. He has sensory toys, blankets and equipment to help him get through a day. I know that what he goes through is difficult to comprehend, but as parents, like all parents, we try to make sure our children get what they need so they too can coexist with all children, with or without disabilities. I saw the video of Tanya, the project co-chair, pushing her daughter Sophie through the grass in a wheelchair and Tanya’s two other sons running to the playground equipment. It was then and there that I realized that what we go through with our son is similar, just on another level. I also realized how hard it must be to take a family to a park and not have suitable equipment for all abilities. I do feel very blessed to have our son in our life, and I also believe that he was put in our lives for another reason. He has given me, and my wife Barb, the opportunity to be advocates for children with special needs. We do not have a lot of time, but when we do, we try to do what we can to help. I feel very fortunate to be able to help with the fundraising and creation of this park for all families that may or may not have the funds or opportunity to take their entire family to one location - a safe place where they can be themselves, where the parents do not have to struggle to get there, a location where they all can ‘be’ together. This park is needed and is a great opportunity for the families in Dodge County and the City of Beaver Dam. It will be a park that will be around for years to come. For all kids. For all abilities.
FREE ESTIMATES Plumbing Heating/AC Repairs New Construction Remodels
Waterworks Park Rendering
T
he Waterworks Park Project was formed in November 2011, when two ideas, a park that includes kids with disabilities and a community-built themed playground, were combined. With community input at every step of the way, the volunteer group has helped design such a playground and raised approximately $200,000 to make the idea a reality. The new playground will be built at the current location of Waterworks Park in Beaver Dam. This is planned for Summer 2013. There is no other playground like this in Dodge County, and most typical parks cost significantly more. We have used community resources, in-kind gifts, and private donations to reach our goal. The community build days are set for May 17-19, 2013, and if the playground is to be built at that time, we need to reach our $300,000 goal by the end of March.
24/7 Service Over 20 years Of Experience
BEAVER PLUMBING & HEATING W8677 Cty Hwy B Beaver Dam, WI 53916 www.beaverplumbingandheating.com P: 920.887.7297 F: 920.885.5726 Email: Beaverplumbing@yahoo.com
Please consider making a donation at www.waterworksparkproject.org or emailing us at waterworksparkproject@gmail.com. All donations are tax deductible.
Tony Klatt works at Charter Communications. He lives in Beaver Dam with his wife Stephanie and their two daughters. Tony is the lead on the construction committee for the Waterworks Park Project.
WE DON始T HAVE A CLEVER TAGLINE BECAUSE OUR WORK SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. GENERAL ASPHALT Inc.
Phone: (920) 887-1436 Fax: (920) 887-7212 www.generalasphaltinc.net
15
Troop 724 at Camp Gardner Photo: Phil Fritsche
SCOUTMASTER PHILIP FRITSCHE, SR.
S
t. Katharine Drexel Catholic School (SKDS) and its predecessor parishes/schools here in Beaver Dam have an incredibly rich and long tradition with scouting. The schools of the parish have chartered (sponsored) Boy Scout Troops for 86 years. The current troop chartered by SKDS, Troop 724, was originally chartered in 1927 by St. Peter’s Catholic School and has been active ever since. Cub Scout Pack 3724 has almost as long a history, being chartered sometime in the late 1930s /early 1940s following the creation of Cub Scouting by the Boy Scouts of America in 1930. British Army Officer Robert Baden-Powell created Boy Scouts as an organization in Great Britain in 1908. American Scouting began in 1910 after a Chicago businessman brought the idea back to the United States after he received a “Good Turn” from a British Boy Scout in London in 1909. But that is another story. While more scout units are chartered by Catholic organizations than any other single organization in the nation, they are also chartered by many other faiths (locally Trinity United Methodist Church and the Church of Latter Day Saints). A number of our public elementary schools host Cub Scout Packs, including Jefferson and Washington Elementary Schools. Historically, Peace Lutheran Church, Grace Presbyterian Church, Lincoln and Wilson Elementary Schools, as well as the Elks Club and other organizations have chartered scouting units. While a troop or a pack may be chartered by a specific faith organization, such as the local Catholic School in the case of Troop 724, most units do not restrict participation by boys from area public schools or from other faiths. About half of the current membership in Troop 724 is not Catholic. A boy can join Cub Scouting, which is open to boys ages 7 to 10 years of age, or Boy Scouting, which is open to boys ages 11 until 18, at any time; there are no prerequisites. Each boy advances at his own pace. Boys can work to achieve the ranks available, but there is no requirement to reach any rank and no timeline to follow. Some boys join just for the campouts and adventures, which is okay. What kinds of things do boys do in scouting units? In addition to performing community service projects and assisting with school events, they do a lot of fun activities, and along the way,
16
the boys learn many valuable skills and important life lessons. Boy Scouts in Troop 724 have participated in service projects in the community including Eagle Scout Projects, as well as: Sledding and bowling events, winter ski trips and outings to Brewers Games, Bucks Games and other sporting events. Multiple weekend camping trips throughout the year, including winter, to Wisconsin State Parks, county parks and Boy Scout Camps. Annual Crossover Ceremonies welcoming Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. Scouts typically do the acting and roleplaying in these ceremonies. High Adventure Trips - in 2010 backpack camping in the Black Hills of South Dakota; in 2012 a canoe trip through the Boundary Waters between Minnesota and Ontario, Canada; in 2013 a trip to the National Jamboree in the mountains of West Virginia.
Troop 724 at Eagle Tower Photo: Phil Fritsche
Kayaking on Crystal Lake Photo: Phil Fritsche Overnight trips where scouts slept on a WWII submarine, a Mississippi River paddle boat and in a Wisconsin cave system. A week of Summer Camp at a designated BSA Boy Scout Camp each year - Summer Camp typically includes opportunities for biking, canoeing, kayaking, small sail boating, rock climbing, backpack camping, swimming, whitewater rafting, shooting sports, large and small campfires, nature hikes and geocaching activities. And there is the opportunity to be elected to the Order of the Arrow - the Boy Scouts national honor society - and all the special camping, service projects and outdoor activities available exclusively to Order of the Arrow members. This caliber of program for local youth requires the time, talent and treasure of many supporters and volunteers. The annual cost to provide the scouting program to one youth is about $150. Each family pays only a portion of the total cost for their boys who are scouts. About 25% of the cost is funded through the annual Friends of Scouting (FOS) Campaign. Each community or area has both “unit” FOS Drives - soliciting the families of boys in a troop or pack - and a Community Campaign soliciting support from former Boy Scout families, local civic and service groups and area businesses. In the Beaver Dam area, the Community Campaign is running through March. This year it is co-chaired by Beaver Dam Fire Chief Alan Mannel and veterinarian Dr. Patrick Phillips, with public support from Dodge County Sheriff Todd Nehls. Beyond the FOS Campaign and other family support for boys in scouting, local residents will see scouts out and about fundraising by selling brats at the Food Pride Brat Stand or at Ballweg Turf & Leisure, or even at the Home & Business Expo sponsored by the Beaver Dam Chamber of Commerce. Local Cub Scouts sell popcorn each autumn and many troops will sell evergreen wreaths leading up to the Christmas season. A long tradition of scouting in Beaver Dam has provided mentoring for thousands of young men over the last nearly nine decades. It is definitely a program worth supporting.
Troop 724 Mountain Biking Photo: Phil Fritsche
3 Beaver Dam Locations 115 Front Street (920) 885-2700
1519 N. Spring Street (920) 885-2710
120 Frances Lane (920) 356-9300
www.anbnet.com
The ideal comfort system is the one you will never notice.
Heating and Air Conditioning Our trusted, expert service and quality heating and air-conditioning systems can bring energy-efficient, quiet, consistent comfort to your indoor space.
Call us today! • INSTALLATION • SERVICE • RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL • GEOTHERMAL
• GAS FIREPLACES • IN-FLOOR HEATING • INDOOR AIR QUALITY
800-281-4676 W8238 Hwy 33 Beaver Dam, WI 53916 920-356-8860
www.aircareinc.com
17
LLOYD CLARK
w that took an active role in the abolition of slavery, our fair
hen you think about a state involved in slavery or states
state of Wisconsin does not come immediately to mind. As part of the Northwest Territory, the Ordinance of 1787 forbid the practice of slavery or involuntary servitude in any form, making it a crime to own and possess humans as slaves. However, federal law to the contrary, slavery existed in Wisconsin. Some very prominent state pioneers were slave owners, and there was a thriving business in returning escaped slaves to slave hunters, as Article VI of the Ordinance prescribed. This was not to last. The Adams County Press of January 1, 1916, ran a short article about the fact that our first Governor Henry Dodge, namesake of our county, brought slaves with him to Wisconsin when he immigrated here. Unlike many, Governor Dodge had brought his slaves together for a meeting prior to coming to the territory and told them that any that wished to come with him would win their freedom after five years of service. The Governor, good to his word, not only freed his slaves, he also provided each with 40 acres of land and a team of oxen with which to farm. Many of our first settlers coming from the Southern states, especially those from Missouri, brought their slaves with them, skirting the law by claiming their slaves were “indentured” servants. Further, while the law outlawed “new” slaves, there were no provisions in the Ordinance to emancipate people that already were slaves. African-Americans, and even some Native Americans, found that their condition had not dramatically improved with their change in geographic location. Unlike in the South, public opinion in Wisconsin was not simply influenced by plantation owners who “needed” slave labor in order to profit from tobacco and cotton. Another tide of immigrants, coming from New York, New England and Germany, brought not only disdain for the “peculiar institution,” but actual hatred and religious indignation of the practice. Author Reverend John Nelson Davidson in the paper Negro Slavery in Wisconsin and the Underground Railroad related a number of letters and stories that he had collected about the practice
18
of illegal slavery, abolition, emancipation and helping escaped slaves make their way to Canada. There are some very poignant stories prefaced by the following statement: “However, when slavery exists because the enslaved do not assert rights which the community wherein they live will help them to maintain, we may be sure that it will not last long. So that, as related to the first Negroes brought to Wisconsin, we have a story of liberation rather than one of continuance in bondage.” Reverend Davidson’s paper, written as an assignment for and as a member of The Parkman Club of Milwaukee, is a treasure of firsthand experiences in early Wisconsin. According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, “In his ‘Negro Slavery in Wisconsin’ the Reverend John Nelson Davidson wrote with fullness of knowledge obtained in personal interviews with early settlers long since passed away.” The Parkman Club was “A private group formed in Milwaukee in 1895 to provide a meeting place where men who loved history could read and discuss historical essays. It was founded by Gardner Stickney (1863-1965), Henry Legler (1861-1917), William W. Wight (1849-1931), Rev. John N. Davidson (1848-1945), and John G. Gregory (1856-1947) -- who all admired the work of historian Francis Parkman (1823-1893) -- following his death. The Parkman Club published 17 research papers on Wisconsin history before it disbanded in 1898.” Reverend Davidson recounts the following story that gives an interesting insight into the changing societal views of the day. “We have an interesting account by Mr. John Lewis, also of Lancaster. ‘I came to Grant County,’ he writes, ‘in 1842 as a permanent citizen; had been in the Territory in 1840; moved from Missouri. In reply to your first question as to holding slaves, I would say that a man by the name of Woolfolk moved from Missouri to Potosi (Snake Hollow it was called then), and brought a Negro woman with his family, who served him as a servant for many years. On his removal back to Missouri, he was going to take the woman back, and the opposition of the citizens prevented the taking her back.” Religion played an increasingly larger part in the growing
abolitionist movement, with a number of prominent religious leaders taking a forceful stand against the practice, with the particular “case” of an immigrant from Missouri by the name of Firman. Reverend Davidson relates, “Another case that, so far as I know, is sui generis in Wisconsin history is one of which I was told by Deacon Thomas Davies, of British Hollow, near Potosi. His wife, Elizabeth Lyons Davies, did me the favor to put the narrative into written form. “The name of the ex-slave Mr. Davies told you about was Mark. His master was Mr. Firman, of Marion County, Missouri. Mr. F. had mortgaged Mark for debt, and to keep him from falling into the hands of the mortgagee, whose name we cannot now recall, Mr. F. gave Mark his free papers, and brought him to Wisconsin. When Mark had made money enough, as he supposed, to buy his wife, who was still in slavery, he went back to Missouri to buy his wife’s freedom, and was seized by the mortgagee for the debt. But a lawyer named Anderson and a brother of Mr. Firman took an interest in poor Mark’s case, and somehow they rescued Mark, but could not get back his money. So he did not get his wife. After that he came to Galena, Illinois, where he married and lived till his death.” A second letter from Mrs. Davies adds these interesting particulars: “Mr. Davies says that Mark Firman came to Wisconsin before the year 1850; but he does not remember just the date. What he does remember is that in the year 1843 a constable went to the farm of Mr. Firman, in Missouri, to sell at auction all his chattel-mortgaged property (Mark with the rest), and Mr. Davies was one of about three hundred men of that vicinity, each armed with a rifle, ready to fire on the first man who should bid on any of the things offered for sale. So the sale was put off.” In his memoir Reminiscences of the Busy Life of Chauncey C. Olin, author C.C. Olin of the American Freeman newspaper (now the Waukesha Freeman) recalls “anti-slavery activities in Waukesha and Milwaukee, the founding of the Wisconsin underground railroad network, the escapes of Caroline Quarlis and Joshua Glover, and the
speaking tour of anti-slavery activist Lewis Washington.” Olin was a good friend of Reverend Moses Ordway, who established Beaver Dam and who at that time lived in the Waukesha area. Reverend Ordway was the first Presbyterian minister to the area and preached to an earnest congregation about the evils of slavery. With the influx of people from the East and South, Reverend Ordway was one of the residents that “took up their line of march to newer fields in other parts of the State.” Olin related his experiences as a pioneer in the western town of Prairieville, now Waukesha, and stated, “I can not close without saying that the pioneer period of my life embraced by far its happiest days. There was no aristocracy, no fine feathers, stiff necks or big feeling in those days. We all felt an interest in each other and each other’s prosperity, and worked accordingly. The interests of the whole never suffered because of some petty personal jealousies. We were all interested in each other and worked shoulder to shoulder. Those were glorious old days, free from factions, neighborhood wrangles, scandals and efforts to outdress or override each other.” This feeling changed in 1843, when the first vestiges of slavery became apparent in the state. “At about this time the subject of human slavery began to agitate the public mind in every part of the country. I remember well our first vote cast on the subject, which was at the local election in Prairieville, in 1840. At first there were only two votes cast; one by James A. Rossman, and the other by myself, but after that time we were by no means alone. The votes came thick and fast, and we were known as the worst ‘Abolition hole’ in the Territory of Wisconsin. No doubt we were rightly named, for our neighborhood was filled up to the brim with the most radical class of Abolitionists, in both religion and politics, that ever came together in one community.” Waukesha was not alone in its abolitionist views; in 1849, a majority of Wisconsin voters approved black suffrage, a position that was supported by the state Supreme Court that voted unanimously in favor of Gillespie when the case was presented before them (reaffirming equal suffrage).
The Clark House, 1880 Source: Dodge County Historical Society
19
Frederick Douglass Source: Harper’s Weekly, 1883 Olin further recounted the story of Caroline Quarrells, one of the most well-known patrons of the Underground Railroad in Wisconsin. “In 1844 we had a very exciting time in Wisconsin defending the poor fugitive slaves, and keeping them from being returned to their cruel masters’ hands. But be it to the credit of the anti-slavery men and women of Wisconsin, there never was a fugitive slave returned to his master from the Territory or State of Wisconsin. We used to have glorious times in foiling the machinations of the slaveholders and their sympathizers. The slave, Caroline Quarrells, came into our State direct from St. Louis. She was almost white, but that was no bar for her pursuers. It only spurred them on to greater vigilance, as she was a very valuable piece of property for them to have, as far as dollars and cents was concerned. Caroline left St. Louis in the daytime and came on a steamboat to Alton, Illinois. From there she came directly to Milwaukee by stagecoach. She was so white that no one ever suspected that she was a slave girl. On her arrival in Milwaukee, she was directed to one Titball, a barber, and a colored man at that. But soon after Caroline arrived there her pursuers came also, and about the first man they met was this Titball. He was asked as to Caroline’s whereabouts, as it was presumed he would know all about it. But he kept shady until the slave hunters offered him $100 to produce her, which was agreed upon. But as there is ‘many a slip between the cup and the lip,’ it got out among the antislavery advocates that there was a fugitive in town and that her master was there in close pursuit, so something must be done at once. Titball had a colored boy that could be trusted, and he knew that the girl was at Titball’s house. The boy was approached by the anti-slavery people and asked if he knew where she was. He at once said he knew just where she was, and that Titball had told him to conceal her. He was asked if he would go with them to see
20
the girl. He said he would. The girl was pointed out and removed to other quarters just in time, as Titball had agreed to place her in the hands of her master for $100. But the game had taken wing and flown. Titball lost his $100 and the master a slave girl worth to him $2,000. Caroline was moved to the west side of Milwaukee River and kept for a day or two, quite near the street, in a hogshead turned upside down. But it was thought best to remove her to Waukesha, where all anti-slavery people knew she would be safe. Accordingly she was put into the hands of Samuel Brown and taken to the home of Samuel Dougherty, eight miles north of Waukesha, and kept for a week. In the meantime her pursuers were not idle. They made up their minds that she had been removed from Milwaukee, so they began to scour every nook and corner in and around Waukesha, and they came to Mr. Dougherty’s while she was there to inquire about her. But as Caroline was on the lookout she evaded her pursuers by hiding in a corn-field. They asked Mrs. Dougherty what she knew of the slave girl. Of course she pleaded ignorance of the whole matter. She told them they could search the house if they liked. They did so, but no Caroline was to be found. The men had been to Waukesha to spy out the land, but no results followed and they concluded to return to Milwaukee. Mr. Dougherty was a great friend of the slave, and as they got no tidings of Caroline there, they departed much cast down, no doubt, at their ill success at not being instrumental in helping to return a human being to a life of cruelty and shame, perhaps in a Southern cotton field. But Caroline was soon sent to Waukesha and put into the hands of strong, brave men who were not afraid of all the slave hunters in the country. We just liked to come in contact with them and show them up in such nefarious business as returning fugitive slaves to their taskmasters.” In the words of newly freed people, the light truly shines on the fact of slavery. In the 1850 Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, a former American slave Henry Bibb described his life as a slave: “I have often worked without half enough to eat, both late and early, by day and by night…. Through all kinds of weather, hot or cold, wet or dry, and without shoes frequently until the month of December, with my bare feet on the cold frosty ground, cracked open and bleeding as I walked. Reader, believe me when I say, that no tongue nor pen ever has or can express the horrors of American Slavery…. Among other good trades I learned the art of running away to perfection. I made a regular business of it and never gave it up until I had broken the bands of slavery, and landed myself safely in Canada where I was regarded as a man and not as a thing.” The Underground Railroad was a network of abolitionists and their supporters that provided a path to freedom for slaves escaping from the South. It is a certainty that the Underground Railroad ran through Beaver Dam and Dodge County. Many people experienced their first breath of free air travelling through our area and on to safety. The Pond family of Alto hid many escaped slaves on their property before moving them on to Fond du Lac. The Octagon House in Fond du Lac was a “depot” on the railroad, with its nine secret passageways and an underground tunnel. Fugitives hid in the passages and tunnel avoiding both slave hunters and federal marshals until they could safely move on to Sheboygan, Manitowoc or Green Bay. It was often members of the Stockbridge Indian tribe, located on the northeast end of Lake Winnebago, who would assist the fugitives in getting safely to the ports. From there, fugitives placed on Canadian-bound ships sailed to their freedom. The fugitive slaves were forced to go to Canada until President Lincoln’s Eman-
Ad from October 16, 1856 Source: Dodge County Citizen Microfiche cipation Proclamation in 1863, declaring all African-Americans to be free, nullifying Article VI of the Northwest Ordinance and ending the tenure of slave hunters in the United States. In Beaver Dam, there is an exceptionally poignant reminder of this turbulent time. In the open space next to the movie theater stands a Wisconsin historical marker denoting the place that former slave and outspoken Abolitionist Frederick Douglas spoke to a crowd of over 1000 people in 1856. According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, “During the presidential campaign of 1856, Frederick Douglass made an appearance in Beaver Dam on October 20 to address a Dodge County audience. During the afternoon, Douglass spoke to a crowd of more than 1000 from a lot just to the east of the former Clark House. That evening he spoke again to an overflow crowd at the Kilbourne House. “As much as any man or woman could, Douglass defines the American dream, having transcended slavery to become an advisor to presidents and one of the most eloquent writers of his age. Moreover, Douglass spoke on ‘almost all of the major issues facing the American people during his lifetime--from the abolition of slavery to women’s rights, from the Civil War to lynching, from American patriotism to black nationalism.’ For his generation, he was the leading advocate for freedom, dignity, and fundamental human rights for all. Historian Philip Foner called him one of America’s most distinguished citizens.” It is inspiring to realize how far our country has come in 150 years, how much we overcame and how much we fought to retain our nation. It is even more inspiring to know that Beaver Dam and our area of Wisconsin played an important role in ending a barbaric practice that is, and should be, remembered with great shame, shame that a nation founded on freedom was built on the backs of those considered property, those who could only dream of the freedom all about them.
You’ll See Insurance Differently. Serving the Beaver Dam and the surrounding communities since 1976.
130 Park Avenue | Beaver Dam 920.885.5589 myknowledgebroker.com 21
DAVID LAATSCH
C
utting through the early morning gray-black sky, the sun once again begins its diurnal journey. Struggling to surrender its dominance, the night gives way - at first a purple-blue, then an orange and finally a yellow-white. Morning has broken. The newborn light illuminates the cool, moisture-laden fog appearing in the lower fields. The dew moistens the grass. Crisp brown corn leaves rustle as a soft northwest breeze begins to pump life into a new day across the West ½ of the Northeast ¼ of Section 16, Town 12 North, Range 14 East. As the dusk-to-dawn yard light flickers its last beams, Janet (Keil) Arndt heads to the barn to tend her 25 Angus-Cross beef cows, their calves and 20-30 Holstein steers. Her size 8 work boots saunter the same 60 paces across the yard as six generations of her ancestors have done each morning for 150 years before her. For a century and a half the Keil Family has toiled, celebrated success, overcome discouragement and stood proudly on their roughly 80 acre farm in the Town of Trenton. This land has produced milk, meat and grains that have sustained thousands of families since the time of the Civil War. Time and new technology has required many of the old buildings be replaced with modern pole buildings, yet the farmhouse and old barn remain steadfast since the 1800s. On Tuesday, August 7, 2012, Janet and Duane Arndt and the Keil family were recognized at the Wisconsin State Fair as stewards of a Sesquicentennial Farm. They became one of only 616 families in the state to have been recognized for continuous family farm ownership for more than 150 years. The farm’s ownership began with a matriarchal influence, when Anna Barbara Keil and her husband Theodore Huth purchased the farm from Wolfgang Zimmerman, the original deed holder. Anna Barbara, the daughter of George and Anna Maria Keil, was born in 1811, near Erbach, Hessen Darmstadt, Germany, the eldest
22
2002 Aerial View of the Keil Farm of six children. At age 27 she immigrated to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Hardship, indicative of the times, challenged Anna Barbara as two husbands died. Her parents and siblings immigrated to join her in 1846. A year later in 1847, Anna Barbara moved once again, this time to Milwaukee. Her mother and siblings followed upon the death of her father. Anna Barbara met Theodore Huth and married in 1851. Huth was a Prussian immigrant and a prominent businessman. He moved his wife to Beaver Dam five years later where he was elected Mayor, founded the German National Bank and was a director of the Cotton Mill. Whether the purchase of the farm on
Janet Arndt on her dad’s lap, great grandfather Philip (left) and grandfather Fred (right), 1965.
Pictured at the Wisconsin State Fair (front L-R) Sam, Duane, Janet and Eva Arndt; (back) David and Sharon Keil. December 13, 1862 was a business investment, a country get-away or perhaps a final resting place for the Huth’s three infant children (infants were often buried on farms in those days) is unknown. Anna Barbara and Theodore sold the farm to her brother, (Johann) Philip Keil in October of 1866. Described as a “good man and highly respected citizen,” Philip and his wife Anna carved out a living on the family farm. Cutting trees, grubbing stumps and digging stones on this niche of Oak Savannah woodland, the Keils made a good living. The brick house became the family’s home and a wood-beamed barn was constructed to house the horses, cows and other livestock. Their six children that survived to adulthood bore names upon which the Beaver Dam community was built on, Mrs. John Herr, Mrs. Julius Miller, Mrs. Anna B. Gutgesell, John Keil and Mrs. Margaret Keller. But it was Samuel and his wife Lucetta (Jung) that continued the lineal ownership of the Keil Farm by transfer from his father and mother in 1891. Samuel and his family would face the same sunrise as his ancestors for the next 27 seasons with two daughters and a son Philip. Upon his father’s retirement from farming in 1918, Philip and his wife Laura (Lidtke) lived on the “home place” until 1925 when Philip’s growing family of five, Frederick, Phillip, Barbara (Gutgesell), Caroline (Strohschein) and Ruth Ann (Polzin), moved to a 30-acre farm in the Town of Beaver Dam (located just north of the city where Culver’s is today), and hired help was brought on to operate the Trenton farm; the hired help was often displaced farmers, as the years after World War I were difficult for farmers. Frederick recorded that there was lots of family to share picnics with, and the biggest community event occurred when the circus came to town. The farm was located near the train tracks; Fred would run to meet the circus to pitch out the manure in the boxcars in order to get a couple of tickets to see the show. Fred worked for his dad on the Beaver Dam and Trenton farms throughout his high school years. A year after graduating from high school in 1934, his dad bought one of the first rubber-tired tractors in the neighborhood, a WC Allis-Chalmers. Future Farmers of America, 4-H and the Dodge County Fair gave Frederick the opportunity to meet Florence Birkholz. After their marriage in 1938,
the newlyweds moved to the “home farm.” Five children, Marlene, David, Robert, Margaret and Marcia grew up on the farm of their ancestors. Fred and Florence purchased the farm from his parents in 1958, and for 30 more growing seasons, the sun would rise each morning as Fred would go about his daily chores. Then in 1988 ownership would pass to the sixth generation of the Keil Family. Bypassing son David and Sharon Keil whose farm is adjacent to the “home farm,” granddaughter Janet and Duane Arndt sustain the uninterrupted family bond to this piece of land. A not-so-atypical modern farm family, Duane works at Apache Stainless Equipment in Beaver Dam by day and crops the “home farm” and the neighboring farm by night. Corn and soybeans are raised for feed for the cattle or sold as a cash crop. Starting at sunrise and ending when exhausted, farm work stops at 7:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. each school day when Janet drives a school bus route for Johnson Bus Company. Calving season is usually March and April and is always hectic. Janet oversees her cow-calf beef herd, while cooperating with her dad and brother Wayne in the production of “club calves” in an operation called A-K Acres Show Cattle. Wayne, his wife Dawn and son Easton live one section to the west of the “home farm.” Their sister Karen and Tom Gibson have moved to Juneau, yet maintain connections to the farm. Janet explains it best: “We are proud to be the caretakers of this farm. It is the ‘home farm’ for so many cousins, aunts and uncles and generations to come. The ‘climbing tree’ out front is as much theirs as it is ours. Their memories intertwine here. This farm, this land and all of our relatives make up our family.” Life and land go on together.
23
VIEWFINDER
M IC H E L E SUTTON
T
here were only 48 stars on our flag. Harry S. Truman was President. “I Love Lucy” debuted on television. Remington Rand delivered the first computer to the United States Census Bureau. I received my first camera as a gift from my father: A Kodak Brownie 127. Original list price: $6. Value: Priceless! I was about to embark on a journey that would change my life forever. I was 5 years old, and the year was 1951. “Brownie” (the name I so originally bestowed upon “her”) and I were inseparable, the best of friends. Much like children make up “imaginary” ones, she was my “real imaginary” friend and went everywhere with me. I recall that I went through the two rolls of film I received with her very quickly, too quickly. They were eventually developed; small black and white prints with curly edges for a frame and quite grainy, not very memorable. For many reasons, it would be a long while before I would be able to obtain more film. Children are resourceful, and if forced to, will turn a negative into a positive. Figuring out that the camera would not produce without a roll of film in it was not rocket science, even at my tender age. Therefore I set about working very diligently on my “pretend” shots. I took this perfectly seriously, just as though there was film in the camera. I would begin by scouting a location, often choosing something around my neighborhood that appealed to me, visualizing the shot and just how it would look, waiting to snap the shutter until everything was “just so.” That evening at bedtime, I would be lost in my world, recounting the scene to the smallest detail. My “alone time” meant so much to me and was the most special of times. Remembering what I “shot” that day, sans film, became a mental game each night. It did not take long to learn the value of real film after those lean days, and as I became older and wiser, I would never be as cavalier about that precious commodity again. It is ironic that I do not remember anything at all about the pictures that were developed; however, I do remember, quite vividly, most of those pretend shots. Studied so painstakingly, those precious pretend pictures have been burned into my memory bank forever.
24
Weary Quite honestly, once in awhile there are photographs that require no words. They just “speak” for themselves. I believe this is one of them.
I wish I still had “her,” but Brownie has long ago been replaced with a series of cameras over the years, and most recently by my latest, a wonderful DSLR. I will never forget what she meant to me then and still means to me now. In her memory, I would love to look one last time through her viewfinder, and yes, perhaps visualize one more pretend picture. Amazing technological advances in photography are a phenomenon that I have fortunately lived long enough to see, and unfortunately, long enough to struggle learning. I will most likely never master the complexities of the computer age or beyond; however, photography still requires a mixture of passion, curiosity and an “eye” to see what is beautiful or interesting, along with a finger to snap the shutter. Thankfully, my camera still requires me behind the lens. Photography is so much more than taking pic-
tures. It continues to bestow a most extraordinary and powerful gift, the gift of stopping time. My interests are what some would call eclectic. I love abstracts to wildlife, portraits to still life, and everything in between. There are many genres in photography, but I have not met one yet that I have not liked or appreciated. If I had to choose a favorite, it would be landscapes. The sky with its dramatically ever-changing canvas has provided me with a oneness with nature like no other. It speaks to me and it is magic. I am always looking up, up toward the heavens, and will be forever grateful for that first gift given so very long ago to a little girl who just wanted to stop time and share her pretend shots with others. I hope you enjoy some of my world.
25
Food For Thought Oftentimes during the cold winter months, a photographer must get creative so as not to go stir crazy when the weather is inhospitable. This abstract is a result of being cooped up for too long. As I was emptying the garbage one day, this onionskin fell out of the bag onto the floor. I picked it up and was quite taken with its shape. Using a bit of tiny dried flowers from a dying arrangement, I completed the picture by inserting the flowers into what seemed to be a vase-like opening. A la Eco Art was born...or perhaps a hat fit for a Royal?
“...a most extraordinary and powerful gift, the gift of stopping time.� The Fragrance of a Flower Photographing something humorous is not a simple thing to do. I was not sure what to expect when I sat fresh flowers between the birdfeeder and myself. I was hoping a squirrel would come along and pose with a flower and do something cute. After two days of waiting (getting them acclimated to me was the hardest part), she finally appeared. I got lucky, and this was the result! I hope this lighthearted moment gives you a chuckle.
26
Interlude This was taken at the Edgewater boat launch where I had gone hoping for a pretty sunset. What came next was so extraordinary that it took my breath away. The layers of color were so rich, unusual and beautiful that I can truly say I have never seen anything quite like it before, a one-of-a-kind “show” by Mother Nature.
Baby Steps This still life is one of my favorites. It is a shot I took of my son’s first pair of shoes. Dedicated to all parents out there whose child has long since grown, but the sweet memories of those first halting baby steps will forever remain in the heart.
Fluidity This is what I call a “happy accident.” I noticed this pansy jumping about in a water fountain, forcibly swirling over and under the moving water. I snapped about 20 pictures and thought nothing of it until I uploaded them the next day. This amazing result was unlike the other 19 shots. I love that it reminds me of a Monet. The lighting was just perfect to create this “painting like” image. This was unedited save for a bit of cropping.
27
THIS & THAT DAVE BOWMAN
T
his is the year that I turn 55 years old. The number 55 is the natural number following 54 and preceding 56. The number 55 has the interesting property that it is the 10th Fibonacci number and the sum of the numbers 1 to 10… impressed yet? Wikipedia is good for something I guess. The number 55 can be found in many different venues and categories. Interstate 55, also known as “the double nickel,” is an interstate highway in the central United States, which goes from LaPlace, Louisiana to Chicago. Driving it, one may recall the response by Congress to the 1973 oil crisis and oil price spike by enacting a law making the national maximum speed limit 55 miles an hour in 1974. While many people had to adjust accordingly, rocker Sammy Hagar bemoaned the fact that “I Can’t Drive 55.” We all have to give for the common cause once in a while. In 1963, a movie was released about the 1900 Chinese Boxer Rebellion called “55 Days in Peking” starring Charlton Heston and released in “Cinemascope,” the I-Max of its day. And a favorite of many from the Bible, Psalm 55, which is “For the director of music; with stringed instruments. A maskil of David.”
But the things that keep me going, the things that make my heart go pitter-patter, are the discounts coming my way. While some may sheepishly head into this age bracket knowing that they may be carded again, I plan on reveling in all the splendor like Dorothy walking out of her house after the tornado drops it and sees that Oz is in TECHNICOLOR! I am not at all going to be bashful with telling the server, “Yea, go ahead and take the 50 cents off my order of chili fries” or putting the reminders on my Kindle Fire scheduler for my discounted haircut. With that kind of a deal, I can get a haircut whether I need one or not. I can even move on to getting that communication device that the kids don’t even have, and probably secretly want - The Jitterbug Cell phone. I will be the envy of my household! Yep, 55 is looking better and better. While I know that time is fleeting and we cannot go back to “the good ol’ days,” what’s coming up may very well make up for it in the long run. As it was once famously exclaimed, “I’m living the dream!”
BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS LINCOLN ELEMENTARY SOUTH BEAVER DAM ELEMENTARY
SCHOOLS OF RECOGNITION JEFFERSON ELEMENTARY LINCOLN ELEMENTARY BEAVER DAM MIDDLE SCHOOL SOUTH BEAVER DAM ELEMENTARY
W W W . B E AV E R D A M . K 12. W I . U S
28
PEGGY GERO DaVALT
EMBRACE GRATITUDE
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” ~Cicero, 106-43, B.C.
A
s I embrace gratitude, I write more. Writing helps bring clarity and understanding along this journey toward an authentic life. Reading, along with writing, helps one further understand and become more aware of the English language. Neale Donald Walsch author of Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue, shares a most excellent story/journey that he began in 1992, when he set out to have a conversation with God. This book had an incredible impact on my journey in life. Neale shares that our creative power is like “a genie in a bottle. Your words are its command.” God explained it to Neale like this: “Think of it this way. The word ‘I’ is the key that starts the engine of creation. The words ‘I am’ are extremely powerful. They are statements to the universe. Commands.” Neale continues, “Now, whatever follows the word ‘I’ (which calls forth the Great I Am) tends to manifest in physical reality. Therefore ‘I’ + ‘want success’
Lawn & Garden Equipment Snow Removal Equipment Full line of ATVs & UTVs Parts & Service
produces you wanting success…It can produce no other thing because thoughts, words are creative…In this case, instead of thinking ‘I want success,’ think ‘I have success.’ The best so-called affirmation is a statement of gratitude and appreciation. ‘Thank you, God, for bringing me success in my life.’ Now that idea - thought, spoken and acted upon - produces wonderful results when it comes from true knowing.” This is the underlying principle for the Law of Attraction. I always say it this way, “If you think it, you bring it.” This practice can be very powerful in your life. It is truly amazing what embracing positive energy and gratitude can do for you. When you start to be present and focused, the snow becomes more beautiful and the blue sky more blue. Once you begin to appreciate and document your gratitude, these subtle nuances will resonate with you on a daily basis. When I shared the five items for which I was grateful, I started out with the words “I” + “am” grateful and followed with the specific example to which I experienced gratitude. It is my hope that you have tried this and put it into practice. Embracing gratitude is life changing. Continue to learn and grow and to embrace and enjoy your gratitude journey each and every day of your life. Rhonda Bryne author of The Secret, The Power and The Magic, stated this about gratitude’s life-changing effect: “The magic you experience will be your inspiration, because as you incorporate gratitude into your days, they will be nothing short of spectacular!”
Here’s to your most spectacular, grateful life!
The Most Important Thing You Can Do For Your Family.
Make it a little easier for the ones you love. Please Contact our Preneed Specialist, Jim Bublitz
BALLWEG TURF & LEISURE 1749 N. Spring Street Beaver Dam, WI 53916 Open M-F 8-6, Sat. 8-3 www.ballweg.biz 920-887-2728 131 E. Maple Avenue Beaver Dam, WI 53916
(920) 885-6600 www.MurrayFH.com
29
THE WANDERING MAN S P R I NG I S A N EASTER EGG
TAMON MARK UTTECH
“Don’t worry,” I said to the old dog. “Spring will come, it’s an Easter egg.” -tamon
T
he last third of Winter is pretty hard. ‘Desolate’ is a word that comes easily to mind. The winter season settles in your bones and your bones would rather be rid of it. There is an old story of Confucius riding with a friend to another city on horseback, and when the city landscape comes into view, the friend wants his horse to gallop all the faster but Confucius puts a hand on his friend’s arm and says, “No need to hurry, where we are right now is also good.” I like to count down the days until the Spring Equinox. It makes me feel like it is a real journey and when I feel the actual days dwindling down, there is no need to hurry, just like in the old story. Every new snowstorm that comes in the last third of Win-
ter, the freezing rain and ice makes us wonder: “How much more? How much further?” And we want to hurry. I remember an Easter egg hunt I was invited to watch while there was still snow on the ground. I remember looking out the window at a snowy backyard and I could immediately see almost all of the colored eggs that the group of children were going to hunt for. I remember thinking it would be much more of a challenge if all the eggs were white. That particular event was a perfectly terrible display of adults controlling the environment. The first child out the door immediately scooped up a colored egg only to be sternly told, “Put that back! We want to take pictures of all you kids first!” So of course something got ruined there, and since everything was hidden in plain sight on the white snow, when the pictures were taken and the hunt actually began, the fastest kids scurried out and scooped up the majority of the eggs. I think I wanted Confucius to be there to put out a hand and say to each child, “This is an Easter egg party, let’s slow down and walk around and see how many eggs we can find and have a good time.” Things come in their own time, and they will. Adults can always set up events for children to participate in, roller car derbies for cub scouts, Easter egg hunts, girl scout cookie sales, things to take their minds off the desolation of Winter. Heh, nothing will take minds off of Winter until Spring does come. And it will. Just like I told the old dog.
next to normal Beaver Dam area Community theatre Presents
music by Tom KiTT • book and lyrics by Brian YorKeY
April 26, 27, 30 & May 2, 3, 4 at 7:30pm April 28 at 3:00pm 219 North Spring Street
Tickets $14
PG-13
Early Bird $12 ON SALE APRIL 1 Rechek’s Food Pride
www.bdact.org
30
Independent Living Assited Living Respite & Short Term Care Memory Care Community
Contact Karen Gibbs to Schedule a Tour. 920-356-9818 kgibbs@chashouse.com SPONSORS IN PART
Landmark at Charleston House 104 Fakes Court Beaver Dam, WI 53916
AMY JENNINGS
S
ome of the greatest lessons I have learned in life came from travelers. When I worked and lived in a hostel for seven months, my “teachers” were gem dealers, scientists, university students, jewelry makers, arborists, salesmen, hippies, cross-country cyclists, war veterans, writers, yogis and actors. There was one person I met, however, who changed the way I viewed limitations, and his story is one of my favorites to tell. His name was Aaron. Rapid-fire. Strategic. Fluid. At first, he just looked like a kid trying to stand out. This 20-something Korean-American guest wore simple clothes - jeans and a white T-shirt - but his hair made him different. It was cut asymmetrically with one side longer than the other and spiked forward and sideways. But it was not random - it was designed. When he talked with other guests, he spoke confidently and logically; rarely did he trip or take an unintended pause. Other than that, though, he seemed average…engrossed in his laptop at the dining room table and talking about basketball statistics. However, Aaron’s fascinating life caught me off guard over the next 24 hours as pieces of his story surfaced in conversation. Aaron was impressively driven and he thrived in high-risk situations. Originally from Seattle, he moved to New York when he was 19 after dropping out of college. He found housing by teaching someone English in exchange for a room. He then applied to “9,000 jobs” and received one phone call from an “insane” hair scissors sharpener. Needing an income, Aaron became the man’s apprentice for a year and a half and found himself unexpectedly in the beauty industry (hence the trendy, spiked hairstyle). Independent now, Aaron travels around the country selling his own self-designed scissors to stylists and salons. But that is not all - Aaron is also a writer. He showed me a collection of short narratives about people he met while he traveled. Intertwined in these stories were the tough situations that taught him how to sell; instances of meeting half-insane, wealthy people who just gave him things; and ways he found places to sleep for free (one involved the urban roof of a guy who slept with his eyes open). His work brought him into contact with people that most of us do not get to see. He entered the little worlds of countless individuals - of every social class and every walk of life - by shrugging off security, safety and social conventions to meet them (a natural salesman he was). With all his traveling and the fascinating life he lived, it seemed like nothing stood in his way. His ultimate goal was to turn
the narratives into graphic novels and share them with the world. Of all his stories, though, the one that profoundly changed my perspective on limitations was about a time when Aaron lived with two young men who had cystic fibrosis. The doctors said they had 10 years left to live. Consequently, they chose to maximize every minute of every day doing things they enjoyed. One of them, for instance, taught himself to hip-hop dance to a “near pro-level” and even competed. Aaron said that being with them was amazing and that watching them push their capabilities to the limit every day inspired him. He reminded me, though, that while their lives were exciting, they were not without hardship. Because of their CF, they lived like hospital patients half the time and had to wear masks at night to help them breathe. Their lives had give and take, and I realized how their drive and abilities came with restrictions - namely in time and health. When Aaron first told me about these two guys, I took the message to be “Seize the day!” I thought I should rush out and take bold risks because “life is short!” However, I later understood that there was a more important point: We all have limitations in some capacity, but instead of hindering us, they may actually direct us to do something extraordinary. I thought about the amazing things both the CF guys and Aaron had accomplished, but none of them had everything they could want. Two had a life-threatening disease, and Aaron, who had grand adventures, was essentially homeless for months out of the year and lived out of his car. It became clear to me that limitations on one’s life were not the issue. The issue was recognizing where you were restricted and then maximizing where you were not. Instead of staring at their boundaries and standing still, Aaron and the young men turned around and moved in the directions where they were free. Limitations were not there to deprive you, I realized, but to shape and direct your energy toward what you uniquely do best. Aaron was only in town for a few days, but meeting and talking with him had a profound impact on my life. I learned from him that limitations will come and that you should keep moving when you meet them…let them shape you. His limitations turned his life into a living work of popular art - dynamic, vivid, and colorful…very Andy Warhol-esque. According to him, though, he was just doing what he could to get by. Down the road, I look forward to reading his book - or several books. I have a feeling that when published, I will know them when I see them. They will be bold, asymmetrical and trendy…just like his hair.
31
Bird’s Eye View of Beaver Dam, 1867. Source: Dodge County Historical Society
32
MARY CUDNOHFSKY
I
n the spring of 1843 there were ten log cabins scattered around the area that is now the city of Beaver Dam. The January census of that year listed a total of 79 pioneers. The first settlers chose the area because of what pioneers had always looked for - fertile soil, an abundance of fish and game and access to fresh water. The area that is now downtown Front Street was a tangle of underbrush with wild plum, grapevines and ironwood following the bottomlands of the Beaver Dam River. Larger trees were on higher ground. Some neighbors in surrounding settlements referred derisively to the settlement as Grubville; clearing land involved backbreaking work grubbing out stumps. The area to the west was a swampy marsh. Within 25 years Beaver Dam was a thriving, progressive city with an active downtown and a large number of mills and factories situated up and down the river. This growth was certainly due to the hard work of the pioneers and the business acumen of the early entrepreneurs, and perhaps most of all, their ability to harness waterpower by building dams and use that power to develop mills and factories. The first attempt at a dam was by early pioneer David Drake. He built a log structure on the top of a beaver dam and the frame of a sawmill. Moses Ordway offered Drake money for his partly finished project and Drake accepted and settled to the east, building a sawmill and later a gristmill. Drakes Pond is known today as Crystal Creek. Ordway set his 17-year-old son David to complete the task that Drake started. David, with pick and shovel and wheelbarrow, covered the dam with earth and gravel. Others pitched in
and by June of 1843 the dam held, and it was declared a success; Beaver Dam Lake was created in place of the swamp. A sawmill was built and it soon was running night and day turning out lumber to fill the pressing demand for building real houses to supplement the log cabins. In 1844 a flourmill was built. An English miller, George Thompson, was hired to run it, and David was put to work to learn the milling trade. In 1846 Dr. Hoyt built a larger flourmill. The need was great. For the early wheat growers, the nearest gristmill was in Oconomowoc, and a trip to that mill required a long, tedious and dangerous journey. In 1846 Abram Ackerman built a second dam downriver and developed another site on the west side of the river near the corner of Spring and Mill Streets, approximately where the Kraft plant is today. A sawmill was soon completed on this site. Several more sawmills and gristmills were built south of Beaver Dam. In 1849 there was a huge setback. After some heavy rains, the first dam broke. The construction of logs, earth and gravel was simply too frail a structure to withstand the immense body of water it held back. There was a large break and a strong, muddy current rushed downstream. Soon great masses of earth fell in and were swept away. In less than an hour, the dam was gone. An old settler witnessed 40 fat hogs belonging to the mill company taken by the flood. At the first bend, they were thrown ashore onto the north bank. This safe landing did not last long, and they were again plunged back into the stream and were drowned. Two recently constructed bridges connected the town at Center Street and Beaver Street. First one and then the other were struck by heavy masses of wreckage and destroyed. One side of town was separated from the
Before Residential and Commercial Design Services After Powersports Company is now an authorized Kubota Dealership. Our location was selected to replace three Kubota locations in Watertown, Jackson, and Columbus. We are excited by the trafďŹ c this will bring to our community and the opportunity to serve you even better. Thank you for making Powersports Company a success and welcomed in Beaver Dam!
N8309 Kellom Rd. Beaver Dam WI 53916 920. 887.2709 www.powersportscompany.com
(920) 382-8305 J.SUTTERLLC@gmail.com
33
Cording Department Employees, Woolen Mill, 1912 Source: Dodge County Historical Society other. People were caught on the opposite side, away from home or business. A funeral party headed to the cemetery on the north of town was stopped on the south side of the river. A baby was born on one side of the river wtih the father caught on the other side. This was a great blow to the community. Every citizen realized the consequences and every citizen began work to repair the damage. A man drove up with a wagonload of boulders of all sizes and rolled them into one end of the dam. Soon the entire group began gathering stones and boulders to throw into the dam. All other work was suspended. On Sunday, only women and children showed up for services, but Reverend Montgomery, a large man, sent them to help at the site. He was later seen picking up a huge boulder that three men were having difficulty rolling and hurling it into the water. A small child was seen with a pail of gravel, throwing it into the raging torrent. For many days stones and boulders were gathered, and eventually a new dam, stronger than the first, was in place. That year, gold was discovered in California, and it is unclear whether Dr. Hoyt and his wife left before or after the flood to join the Gold Rush. He returned in 1851 and was soon building and improving his flourmill. He also built an oil mill, but that venture was abandoned after two years because of the difficulty of getting enough flax. Meanwhile at the second site, Mr. Ackerman had found a partner (Lewis) for his flourmill, and they built The Empire Flour Mill. A high-grade product was made and sold under the brand names Empire Best and Gold Dust. The mill produced 100 barrels of flour each 24 hours. Before the railroad came in 1856, these barrels were transported to Milwaukee by teams of oxen. The flour was shipped in barrels and later in jute bags. The mill also ground grist for local grain growers. The mill took 1/8th of the grain in payment, and the rest was given back to the farmers. Mr Lewis remained active in this and other mills with a variety of partners for about 40 more years.
34
In 1853 Lewis and Ackerman went into partnership with George Stewart and began a woolen mill. Over a hundred employees produced over one thousand yards of fabric daily. A pipe from Mackie’s spring was directed into the factory to wash the wool with clean, fresh water. This mill was known by several names but was locally referred to as The Upper Woolen Mill. Later George Congdon, who started in the woolen mill as a laborer, joined with George Chandler, who had learned the woolen trade from Stewart, and began the successful venture called Chandler, Congdon and Company. Locals referred to it as the Lower Woolen Mill. Many mills came and went. Some burned to the ground and were rebuilt. Others were removed from the sites when they were no longer profitable. Many changed owners and operated under different names. There is, however, no doubt that the power of water and the ability of men to harness that power shaped the city of Beaver Dam.
The Dodge County Historical Society has on display a replica of The Empire Flour Mill, a broken millstone from Grant’s Mill, as well as many pictures and other artifacts from this time. Located on the corner of Front and Center Streets in downtown Beaver Dam, regular museum hours are 1-4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. The museum is also open on the last Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for informal discussions on specific topics of local lore. Come join the discussion and view the exhibits. 1 2
!
!
!
!
!
!"#$%&%'(!#%
PARTING THOUGHTS JIM DITTMANN
Well here we are: Volume 2 Issue 2
O
n March 24, 2013 - Tamon Mark (The Wandering Man) turns 60 - Yikes! When I met Mark on the first day of the 6th grade my first thought was “pretty cool guy.” Ten years later we published Mark’s first book of poetry entitled Sometime Tomorrow. Mark has taught me many life lessons. Salutations on the annual commemoration of your natal day! A poem from that collection… Going to see grandmother That’s what’s on my mind Setting up another friendly argument Like we do all the time Maybe I’ll go tomorrow Just to surprise I wonder if anyone else has noticed that lovely twinkling in her eyes when someone drops in just for the surprise.
Another of our columnists is reaching a milestone this month as well. Dave Bowman turns 55 this month - Thanks Dave for the great columns! When you see the NASA 58 vanity plate - be sure to “honk” - Happy Birthday Dave! During the recent cold & flu season - my family is going through lots of tissue. On the bottom of one of the boxes I’m told how these are “100% TREE FREE” and made from readily renewable sugarcane husk & bamboo. Last I checked - those species grow on the other side of the planet. This just doesn’t make any sense to me. I’ll be sure to get the tissue made on this side of the world from readily renewable trees which keep the jobs nearby - better for the local economy and softer too… Driving up north Spring Street the other evening, when this pulsating bright light begins to blind me - can barely distinguish the stoplights - transition lenses are flippin’ out! “Geez! What is that - a jumbotron - what da? This ain’t Vegas, and we are an awfully long way from Times Square! Seems a bit over the top - you like it? I must say thank you to everyone that helped to make our anniversary celebration such an enjoyable and successful event - from sponsors to attendees and every participant in any and every way the food was delectable - the entertainment invigorating - the work of many made for one memorable evening. I must admit that when Erik first mentioned such a grand gala, I was a bit skeptical. I am glad he is so very convincing, persuasive and persistent when his passion takes hold - a good time was had by all. Looking forward to next year. Cheers!
I Shop Park Village Shopping Center... You Should Too!
AI H a r m o ny
KI Spirit
Committed to Growing the Community Since 1967!
DO T h e Pa t h
Watch for New Stores! On the East Side of Beaver Dam!
A Modern Japanese Martial Art Based on the Principle of Non-Resistance and Peaceful Reconciliation
At the Intersection of HWY 151 & 33
Anchor Stores
Beauty
Shopko
Cost Cutters
Pharmacy . Optical
Piggly Wiggly
Grocery . Deli . Wine
Hair Salon
Wonder Nails
Books/Cards Gifts
Evenson’s Hallmark Vineyard Books . Gifts Coffee Shop
Food
Sake House
Japanese Restaurant & Steakhouse
Cousins Subs
Home
Real Estate
Specialty
RE.BATH Preferred of Realty Central Wisconsin
Edward Jones
Improvement
Laundry Connection Forward Service Corp.
AIKIDO Where Shopping is Always Fun!
of MARSHALL
Instructor · Mark Uttech 212 West Main St. Marshall, WI 53559 www.aikidoofmarshall.com
35
*********ECRWSSEDDM****
Postal Customer
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 577
Front Cover “Mandorla” In Hinduism the mandorla symbolizes the intersection of the spheres of heaven and earth, or the zone where the material world meets the spiritual world. Back Cover “What Shadows Say” Given light at a certain angle, and the wingspan of the dancers, the question of how long the dancers’ shadows should be required some research in which my daughters participated.