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JULY - AUGUST 2013
8 FEATURE ARTIST RANDY KURTZ
12 THE MUST-SKIS Their love of the sport of water skiing brought a tradition back to the area.
14 GROWING HOME With each nail driven a message of Welcome is closer to home.
16 FARMER TO NEIGHBOR See how local food builds community by meeting your local farmers.
Randy’s canvas is the great outdoors and his tools include a welder and a plasma cutter.
18 F E A T U R E MOUNDS
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LEGEND & LORE
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VIEWFINDER
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HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Literally under our feet are millennia-old remnants of pre-historical “building projects.”
The sights and sounds aromas and good cheer AH sehr gut!
Pictures are worth more than a thousand words, they are memories.
For William Coxshall, it was an especially harrowing experience
7 FOR MY CHILDREN 29 THE WANDERING MAN 31 STUMP THE BEAVER
28 THIS & THAT 30 AMY JENNINGS 35 PARTING THOUGHTS 3
From The Editor We are living among history every day. We all know it - but when we take the time to really dig deep, we create a far greater appreciation for what has happened in the short history of our country. The community of Beaver Dam itself is only 172 years old from when it was first settled. In a time where we have all the information in the world at our fingertips, we seem to know less and less about our community, our neighbors and our family history. Taking the time to recognize and dig deep into what has happened in our community can open a whole new appreciation for where we live, work and play. It also allows us to understand how important everyone is in making a community great. The people who built this community over the last 172 years are no more significant or special than any of us. I know - this all sounds like a nice perfect way of looking at things, but haven’t you always wanted to have the ability to see the present in that way? History provides us with that ability, and more importantly, we are the history. My own adventure of just how inspiring it can be began this spring when my fiancee and I bought our house in town, moved in and started renovating. We were excited at the possibility of finding some history when we tore out walls, already knowing the house was around 130 years old. After a month and a half and almost every wall gone, we had found nothing. A little deflated, we continued our renovation project getting to the last bit of plaster that was to be removed by the stairs. At last we found a carving on a beam that read May 21st 1864. Our motivation skyrocketed. Karyssa spent hours in the library learning as much about our home and street as she could. Here are some of the highlights: German immigrants Henry Jansen and Agnes Wolf married in 1870 in Milwaukee County. Sometime between 1877 and 1890 they moved with their four children to what was then 109 Haskell Street. This is where Henry ran a boat livery, which his youngest son Thomas (Damian) would one day own. Henry owned the home until his death in 1917 and Thomas continued to live at 209 until his death in 1932. After Thomas’s death, his daughter Eleanor and her husband Andrew Glassman took ownership until sometime before 1943. I encourage our readers to learn about your home, your community and the people who lived there. Knowing who lived in our homes before us creates a sense of belonging and pride, which is the most important part of community.
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Cover Image: Jim Dittmann Back Cover Image: Emma Dittmann
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The MAGAZINE
VOLUME 2 - IssUE 4
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
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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
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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.
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ERIKA JENSEN
KRISTYN ADAMS
Erika Jensen is a freelance writer and owner of Plowshare Community Farm in Waupun, Wisconsin. She enjoys writing about farming, gardening and community projects for publications like Wisconsin Gardening, Northern Gardener, Organic Gardening and Wisconsin Trails.
Kristyn Adams is a freelance writer/correspondent who lives in West Bend with her husband Bill and daughter Rachael. Adams has shifted career paths from film production to writing and communications and is published regularly in the West Bend Daily News.
MICHELLE ROTH
MARY BETH jACOBSON
Michelle Roth has lived in Beaver Dam for eight years. She is the mother of three. A photographer and a freelance writer, she has just completed her first novel. Michelle believes that photography and writing go hand in hand, as they are both ways to tell a story.
Mary Beth Jacobson was curator of the Dodge County Historical Society Museum from 2005 to 2009. She now serves on the DCHS board. Her love of history began with her father’s stories of living through the depression, hopping trains and majestic steam engines.
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.
LENA REIS
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hapter 3: But what about Yugoslavia itself? It is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever seen. I personally think that God created it first and was so pleased with his creation that he decided to pattern the rest of the world after it. Where else can one ski on mountains of snow and in the same day travel only 50 miles to sit in the shade of a palm tree or go swimming in the warm waters of the Blue Adria? Yugoslavia is rich in agriculture, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, lead, coal, wine, seafood, tobacco and many other things needed in daily life. It is a veritable
Garden of Eden here on earth. It abounds in natural beauty, for it contains mountains - the Alps, valleys, lakes, rivers, lagoons, forest and plains. But it also must have had the tree of forbidden fruit from which people eat and have to suffer over after, as history tells us that what is now Yugoslavia hold the territory in which some of the world’s biggest hardships started. I will speak only of recent history, which must still be very vivid in many people’s minds to this day. In 1914, the Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated in Sarajevo, which brought Austro-Hungary into a political dilemma and indignation. This triggered World War I. My mother reminisced many times about how everybody regarded the War as an adventure that would be nothing more than a long breakfast. But the breakfast grew into dinner and supper and for many men it lasted their lifetime. My father and his brother Josef were both drafted. Uncle Josef never came back. He was killed by flying shrapnel and is buried in Chernovic, Rumania. He left his wife of one year behind. My father was captured by the Russians and remained a prisoner for three and a half years. My mother told us how one day, two Austro-Hungarian soldiers stopped at the house and ate lunch with them. As they were eating, my brother started to sing, “Aidemo momci preko Drine, da ubimo sve Srbine” - “Let’s go Fellows over the Drine River to kill all the Serbs.” He was so young that he still used the letter “L” in place of an “R” when he sang. One of the soldiers had looked at him and had said, “Tko prvi pjeva Zadnji Place - “Whoever sings first will cry the last.” And that is exactly how it turned out. The Serbs won the war. This did not matter much to the Germans for they never bothered themselves with politics. However, when Alexander Karadjordjevic the First was crowned King, he united Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia under the one Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which means South Slavia. It was just like here in the United States. Their federal government was situated in Belgrade, the capitol city of Serbia, and our local government of Croatia had its capitol in Zagreb. Slovenia’s capitol was located in Ljubljana. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia lasted until April 1941, when the Germans invaded it and our King Peter Karadjordjevic II - who was recently buried in Libertyville, Illinois - had to flee to England, and the Germans occupied the country and placed Ante Pavelic as head of the Independent State of Croatia. This existed until the end of the Second World War, when it became known as the Republic of Yugoslavia under the leadership of Tito Josef Broz. My father was born in Austro-Hungary in April 1887. I was born in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in April 1922. My daughter Hildegard was born in May 1941 in the Independent State of Croatia. All this occurred in the same town of Palesnik!
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S
ome men long for Harleys and Hummers. Others for Corvettes and kayaks. When I met metal artist Randy Kurtz, his ambitions were more along the lines of Tool Time’s “Tim the Tool Man.” Along with his dry sense of humor, he had the garage and gadgets to match. All he needed was a sidekick and a philosophical neighbor, and actor Tim Allen could have met his match. Sitting in Randy’s orderly workshop on his acreage on County Road DE on a cool summer day, I felt like one of the boys along with Randy’s wife Lois. She was clearly one of the boys as well, allowing her husband to lounge in what they both call “his thinking chair.” It is a well-worn barstool, which looks as comfortable as a LaZ-Boy yet one that another man would have retired to the trash heap. His thinking chair is where Randy clearly chews the fat, shoots the breeze, and germinates new ideas from within. All we lacked was a television camera crew and this would have been the perfect setting for one of Tim’s great adventures, only with Randy as the star. He did a fantastic job of explaining his art and his passion for tools and preoccupation with metal without offending the fairer sex sitting across from him. I quickly learned Randy is a guy who thinks big. So big,
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in fact, he created a work of art that he could not get out of his oversized, overabundant workshop. With creative dismantling, he gained a better appreciation for the kinds of projects he can undertake and get away with, or assemble in parts. Nothing is off limits and their yard illustrates that in every direction. Talk of designing works of art that attempted to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records did not surprise me once I discovered the depth of his knowledge and motivation, which is based on simply having fun doing what he loves. Randy began his adventures in creating garden art and sculptures not because he was the best student in art class in high school or the most skilled metallurgist in a large company. No, nothing like that. Instead, he had enjoyed a lawn care business and bartending on the side, when he shared with his wife his heart’s desire for a new gadget. Lois might have been surprised the object of his affection did not have all-wheel drive, a stick shift, paddles, a fiberglass bottom or chiseled handlebars, but she went with it anyway. That gadget was a plasma cutter. A friend at work introduced Randy to this cool new tool and that purchase set him on a course as a man of steel - a course that he or Lois could never have imagined. Just in case I might not have heard about the mechanics
behind a plasma cutter, Randy gently reminded me how this high tech tool works. “It cuts metal with pressurized air and electricity,” he explained. “I buy large sheets of metal from Al-Win Enterprises in Randolph in different gauges and lengths. I use chalk to outline a design I have in mind on large metal sheets and keep a pattern if the first one turns out.” In his garage, we were surrounded by more shapes than Christmas cutouts, from stars, to angels, to houses and landscapes. He has become an expert at freestyle silhouettes of words and shapes with the uncanny ability to unearth tableaus of art within an otherwise flat and lifeless piece of dull metal. “No computer is ever used,” explained Randy, “…the computer is between my ears.” After almost 18 years on their property, Randy and Lois have not simply made a lovely home for themselves but they have forged several detailed sculpture gardens of one-of-a-kind pieces, small and large, that dot their acreage and obviously attract the attention of any passersby. From quaint to colossal, each piece of art hand cut by Randy and designed by him illustrates the truly remarkable gift he has been given. “This is not a business,” claims Randy matter-of-factly, “It’s just a hobby.” He has given many pieces as gifts. At first, he started giving his work away to friends, family and neighbors. Soon, people asked if his work could be purchased. It took me a moment to catch onto his sly humor. Poking fun at himself he said, “I guarantee my work. There are no nails or screws that will ever come loose.” He grinned, knowing his work is less complicated than to have those components, and at the same time more complex because of the art the metal becomes when it is completed with his magic touch. Randy and his art have been showcased nationally in articles
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in the Farm Show Ag World publication of “Made It Myself ” Ideas, as well as regionally in Inspire Magazine. The Ag World publication has featured a number of his fine larger works including his giant musical wind chime. Its presence struck me like lightning when I saw how ingenious Randy had been in constructing such a work of beauty. In one of his most fine creations, Randy fashioned this chime with pendulums that hang from an old recycled glider frame rescued from the trash. The metal pendulums, shaped like musical instruments, dance when the wind kicks up and chime their happy welcome to the neighborhood. Aluminum pipes ranging from 23 to 63 inches hang as gracefully as swans in a pool of clear water. Metal musical notes, 16 to be exact, skip across the top in a stanza of a favorite hymn. I have encouraged Randy to submit this as a showpiece in the “Music in Art” Exhibit this summer at The Seippel Arts Center. Another larger-than-life piece was a custom 15-foot tall metal arch, which is anything but ordinary. Like steps on a ladder, this “Welcome Arch” is as good as a neighborly smile or a vigorous handshake, and it contains crossbars where Randy has, by design, perched insets of smaller metal work, from birds to flowers, cats,
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trees and even a picket fence. The entire piece is as curious as art on the walls we see at BDAAA all the time. One must pause to take in so much intricacy woven into this work. He has another arch in progress in his garage. To that one, he added the words, “Welcome to True Happiness,” which was the title of a sermon he heard at church. He uses the same ingenuity and inspiration other artists see, hear, smell or touch simply by living life in community. Randy’s canvas is the great outdoors and his tools include a welder, a plasma cutter and literally truckloads of metal. Like the unassuming Clark Kent, Randy Kurtz performs his day job as an employee with the Dodge County Highway Department. He is a heavy equipment operator. Off the clock and at home, he can honestly say he looks forward to the lighter weight tools he can maneuver in his shed. “If the shed doors are open,” Randy says, “I’m here. Come on in.” He or Lois will personally tour you through the maze of artwork, alongside bird houses, silhouettes of people and animals, plant hangers and props, and the vast array of items on display including a tree with 43 gazing balls. I quickly realized Randy has hit a nerve. The popularity of garden art and outdoor sculptures is evident everywhere. Outside
boutiques and shops, down aisles in our chain stores, in our cul-de-sacs and around the farm, and often within BDAAA’s summer Secret Garden Tour, of which The Kurtz’s was a special featured garden in 2013. I loved walking among the illuminated solar lights, recycled bicycle parts and especially getting to sit across from Randy in his thinking chair, where ideas roll as freely as marbles, and patterns for new metal sculptures flock like birds and later, softly land in their yard. As proficiently as a meat cutter in the market, Kurtz makes great use of the prime cuts of metal as well as the scraps. Randy is very much like his metal sculptures, robust, reliable, solid. He is unpretentious, ordinary as a blue sky and humble. He is Clark Kent like - a dependable, good citizen by day becoming someone else in his workshop - someone inspired and motivated by unseen forces to do good in our community, making our little corner of the world that much better than he found it. Like those comics and movies, this man of steel has his own doting Lois who supports his art wholeheartedly. I do not know if he is faster than a speeding bullet, but Lois claims he can produce new material in a flash. Is he more powerful than a locomotive? With ingenuity and tools at his disposal, he very well could be. I enjoy living in a universe with artists like Randy because it is simply a much more beautiful world.
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MICHELLE ROTH
A wall of skiers dropping their skies to barefoot, where they reach speeds of 45 mph in order to balance on the heels of their feet.
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ate in the fall of 1994, a small group of optimistic water skiers sat down to discuss forming a show water ski team in Beaver Dam. Despite the fact that Dodge County has a rich history in waterskiing, the group had doubts of whether or not the idea could be implemented. Show water ski combines the athleticism normally seen in body builders with the flexibility and balance prevalent in gymnasts to create a themed show performance on water skis. Shows are meticulously planned with a variety of acts, all choreographed and set to music. Skiers wear bright costumes and are pulled behind a boat performing stunts. There are freestyle jumpers, members who perform tricks skiing both forwards and backwards, and human pyramids that build on the water. Only 10 people attended the first official meeting 19 years ago, but that did not stop the group from assigning officers and recruiting members to start skiing the following summer. They relied on their love of the sport and their hope of bringing the tradition of waterskiing back to the area to override their doubts of convincing the city and building the team. The group named themselves the Beaverland Must-skis and asked the community for help in designing a logo. Through the winter of 1995, membership slowly grew to 42 members that first season and the team began indoor practice at the YMCA. They practiced climbing pyramids in the pool, taught skills in the gym to new members, some who had never skied before. But the team provided an open opportunity for any individual wanting to join. The Must-skis were, and still are, confident in their ability to teach interested individuals to water ski. After getting insured and obtaining articles of incorporation, the Must-skis were allowed to use Tahoe Park in Beaver Dam for their shows. It would be 7 years before the team was allowed to use the park for practice, so every practice the team shuttled equipment across the lake with a boat. Since the team’s formation, they have built the beach and provided the docks that are now used publicly. They expanded the shelter and are a large contributing factor to what Tahoe Park is today. The Must-skis placed first in Division III for their first state tournament in 1997. As membership numbers grew and the team gained talent, they moved up to Division II, performing larger acts with greater degrees of difficulty. Back to back 1st place titles in
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Beaverland Must-ski jumpers coming off the ramp over the head of another jumper.
Co-show director Sarah Maleck and her husband Wade performing for the crowd.
2006 and 2007 moved the Must-skis up to Division I, where they compete today with the largest and most talented teams in the state. Four of the original members and founders are still involved with the team. Erich Zellmer, team president; Jeff Cupery, who began as team treasurer and is now a boat driver; Randy North, once a barefoot skier who now announces the shows; and Jim Viola, who skis in pyramids and defies gravity doing flips as a knee boarder. The Must-skis are a non-profit group and receive their revenue from sponsors, their ad book, an annual spaghetti dinner and concessions during the shows, as well as revenue earned from their assistance with the annual Lake Days festival. Members pay dues as well, although the fee for an individual skier has only increased $20 since the team began, keeping the program an affordable activity. The members provide all of the hard work, manpower and dedication required to create and implement the shows. The Must-skis call themselves a ski family. They spend 4 nights out of the week together throughout the summer, practicing and performing shows. They teach lessons on hard work, determination, endurance, balance and agility, both on and off the water. The team is comprised of mostly families, who spend their evenings at the lake together learning new skills and supporting each other. The team’s oldest skier is 58; their youngest skier just turned 4 years old. In their 2012 season, the Must-skis placed 6th in the Wisconsin State Waterski Show Championships and 10th place at Nationals. Last year, the team performed a five-high human pyramid in competition, one of only five teams in the country to perform such a feat. They also participated with other teams in the area in the world record 54-skier pyramid in Wisconsin Rapids. They travel all summer to tournaments and competitions in the area and across the country doing what they love. The Beaverland Must-skis performed 21 free shows in 2012, with 15 of those performances held at Tahoe Park in Beaver Dam. In addition, the team sponsored two learn-to ski clinics during Lake Days, with the team donating their time, boats, gas and equipment to assist young skiers to learn or advance in the sport. The team now has approximately 100 members and is always looking for new recruits to join their ski family. The performances remain free to the public and can be viewed every Sunday evening at 6 p.m. at Tahoe Park from Memorial Day to Labor Day, rain or shine.
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Staggered strap line coming off the starting dock. Must-skis photos: Michelle Roth
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KRISTYN ADAMS
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abitat for Humanity’s vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Over 2000 volunteers who champion efforts in Washington and Dodge Counties here in Wisconsin take the worldwide ecumenical mission of Habitat for Humanity to heart. With each nail driven, caulk-gun clicked or foundation poured, a splendid message of Welcome is closer to home, readily joined by others to help a community grow. The principle mantra, “A hand up, not a hand out,” means stringent approval protocol and hundreds of sweat-equity hours before the keys are even imagined to be possible. It also means hope; for the family who resides in the house, for neighbors, schools, businesses, the community. In his four years as developmental director for Habitat for Humanity, Rex Melius of West Bend has witnessed with pleasure the kindness, compassion and expertise of volunteers, and partnerships with dozens of area businesses. In Washington County alone, more than 70 corporate and community sponsors are involved with the Habitat for Humanity effort. Proving bigger is wonderful, expansion to Dodge County in August 2012 had Melius on a self-initiated canvas drive to contact as many corporate or community entities as his feet could tolerate. Consistently answers are “yes” to provide talents and skill-sets from office administration to logistics to feeding a hungry volunteer work crew. Youth to adult to senior, walking the walk is common-thread. “Before you know it, a community blossoms,” Melius said. A dedicated team of 55 high school students and parents from Germantown worked rain or shine from 9am to 3pm every Saturday in May. Rather than the usual single-day volunteer effort, more than 300 man-hours of labor were applied to a 62 x 120 square-foot Eastern Avenue Habitat for Humanity build site in West Bend to help a home happen for a family in need. “Wherever you see the pink stakes, that’s where the house is going to be laid out,” said Habitat for Humanity volunteer coordinator Emily Jennings. “There will be a basement and a one-car garage for a single mother and her three daughters, and the mother
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The Germantown High School National Honor Society helps out at a Habitat property. already completed her 500 hours. It’s very exciting.” (Note, 500 sweat equity hours were required.) Site supervisor Joe Bohn said previous property owners had built a series of retaining walls out of lannon stone. “They had some sort of rock garden, but there was a lot of rock,” Bohn said. “We have 25 more pallets already hauled to the warehouse for storage.” If the environment had a voice, a sigh of relief would emanate from landfills and junkyards worldwide, because Habitat for Humanity implements a green approach through endeavors that include E-cycling and Habitat ReStores. Lead by the state of Wisconsin Habitat for Humanity organization through partnership with Vintage Tech Recyclers in Illinois, E-cycling encourages proper disposal and recycling of appliances and electronics. Habitat ReStores are a hub for used building materials, hardware and furniture, with the proceeds going directly back to funding more Habitat for Humanity houses. Washington and Dodge County executive director Russ Wanta defines Habitat E-cycling and ReStore efforts as a triple-win situation. “The benefits go to consumers, the environment and to low-income families,” Wanta said. “The highest priority goal for E-Cycling is to waste absolutely nothing. This is also true for the ReStores. Of the 41 Habitat for Humanity affiliates statewide, about half implement E-cycling, and we’re happy to be involved.” The Habitat for Humanity mission statement, “A hand up, not a hand out,” also holds true for its Home Repair Program. “It’s not a freebee,” Rex Melius said. “Besides upgrades to a residence, benefits include neighborhood revitalization, community connections and preservation of affordable housing.” Formerly “Brush with Kindness,” Habitat International’s Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative - Home Repair Program focuses on those who need help with residential maintenance issues. The program partners collaborate with low-income, elderly or disabled homeowners to facilitate repairs. A residential makeover in West Bend was considered golden by homeowner Kay Lemke and an aesthetic boost to her Kilbourn
Avenue neighborhood. Having lived in her house for more than 30 years, a myriad of memories were intangible decorations in each room. Age, weather distress and a trying economy hindered Lemke’s maintenance efforts. A post-assessment notice from her insurance company spurred Lemke into action. “I got a letter saying if I didn’t have the house painted and some tuck pointing done on the chimney, they would drop my insurance next year,” said Lemke. Julia Benson was Habitat for Humanity Washington County volunteer coordinator at the time of Lemke’s request for assistance. During renovation, Benson glanced at the new paint job. “If you had seen this place before we started, you’d hardly believe it was the same house,” she said. “They’re going to love this house all over again.” “I was thrilled,” said Lemke. “You don’t believe how much of a relief it was to hear that Habitat for Humanity could do so much. I’m so pleased with what I see. The work took longer than professionals, but why in the world should that matter? I’m just thankful for the help.” Volunteerism and support from generous donors like Thrivent Financial for Lutherans or Lowes building products can mean the difference between quality of life issues like faulty plumbing or a missing safety rail on Lemke’s stairway, and the chance for a low-income family to enjoy peace and safety in their home. Instead of standing back in amazement, Habitat for Humanity volunteers tend to get more involved. West Bend local Elizabeth Vantreeck knows from experience that the finest gifts are those passed to others. Turning 13, the generous young lady requested money in lieu of birthday gifts resulting in $500 worth of wooden boards (100-count) to be used in the construction of two new West Bend homes. “I think Habitat for Humanity does really nice things for people,” said Elizabeth. She expressed best wishes for the families selected to reside in the Second Avenue houses and decorated a plank with positive thoughts for the families who will call these houses ‘home.’ “Elizabeth Vantreeck is an exceptional person,” Melius said. “There aren’t many children who would be willing to give something up for others this way, but life is all about giving back. Some of us learn about it at an earlier age than others, some not at all. Without that caring, all of our families would not have the opportunity to own a home.”
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ERIKA JENSEN
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he farmers market is a great place to visit for the sights and smells of summertime. The season starts with bedding plants and hanging baskets filled with flowers. Delicious fresh vegetables and fruits arrive during June with spinach, lettuce and radishes. Midsummer brings sweet corn and tomatoes. During September and October, customers can purchase winter squash, onions and pumpkins. When crops are picked at the peak of their perfection, they taste great and are highly nutritious. Buying your produce locally means that you are keeping your money in the Beaver Dam community. Although it may not be possible to purchase everything locally, shopping at the market can really make a difference in the lives of small-scale farmers. If you talk to anyone about the farmers market, one of the first things they mention is the people. It is a place to say “Hi” to your neighbors and friends, and chat with the farmer that grows your food. Relationships germinate in spring, develop over summer, and ripen in fall. It is clear that local food builds community. Here are some of the faces you will see at your local farmers market. Lisa Hedberg, Market Organizer Lisa has been the market organizer for the past three years. She is also a devoted customer. “I love the fresh vegetables and fruits, particularly lettuce, radishes and zucchini. I try to buy something from each vendor. My husband loves the fresh raspberries.” Lisa works hard to recruit farmers who can offer a diversity of products, fresh fruits and vegetables, different kinds of meat and home canned produce. She is always trying to expand the market. “Many of the vendors come back year after year, and people do get very attached to their farmers. Sometimes a farmer will be absent on a market day, and I’ll get a phone call from a customer who wants to know why they weren’t there,” Hedberg commented. Jan Coughlin, Mixed Vegetables During the long summer days, you will find Jan Coughlin in the greenhouse or out in the garden growing vegetables for the market. She and her husband Dick start gardening at 7 a.m. and
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finish up by 7 or 8 p.m. “You have to enjoy being outside to do what we do,” she says, laughing. Jan has always loved gardening. She and Dick have been married for 30 years and raised three children together. As a homemaker she had a small home garden, which got bigger and bigger. Now she rents a one-acre space from her daughter, who lives about three miles from Beaver Dam. The garden is a family effort. Dick does a lot of the weeding, and three grandchildren help out by watering and picking. On market days, Jan’s 16-year-old grandson Dakota Wolfgram helps at the market. Local food supports local families. “We have a very nice farmers market. The people are very nice, very friendly” Jan said. The growers enjoy socializing too. “A few of us like to park next to each other so that we can chat. I met Don and Shirley Clough at the farmers market, and we’ve been close friends ever since.” Part of the fun is adding a few new and different things to her already long list of products, which include lettuce, carrots, beets, radishes, sweet potatoes, peppers, squash and tomatoes. New this year are “ghost peppers” (also named Bhut Jolokia), so-called because they are one of the world’s hottest peppers with a Scoville rating of 855,000 heat units. Jan also brings jam and pickles to the market, which she makes herself. She benefits from the “Pickle Bill,” which took effect a couple of years ago. The law allows limited sales of home-canned foods without a license. Gross sales for each producer may not exceed $5,000 yearly. This allows small producers to bring their products to market and sell directly to consumers. Don and Shirley Clough, Container Pots & Hanging Baskets You will find Don Clough at the farmers market most days, since he acts as an assistant manager to Lisa Hedberg on the days she cannot attend. You do not have to talk to Don and Shirley for very long before you find out that they love unusual plants. Don likes to sell plants in larger pot sizes from 12-20,” as well as hanging baskets. The couple offers standard choices such as geraniums and petunias,
as well as more unusual plants such as dipladenia, mandevilla, alo- After a battle with fibromyalgia, she decided she wanted to casia and anthuriums. Some of these are more frequently used as learn more about diet and nutrition. At the same time, she began to houseplants, but they make good container plants too. In August, grow vegetables organically. Her forte is growing different kinds of Don starts selling chrysanthemums, as well as ornamental grasses. greens, such as salad mix, Swiss chard and kale. She also grows all One of the highlights of the markinds of other vegetables, such as broccoli ket is relationships with customers. “Don and cabbage. really enjoys talking to people, and he has “That’s my passion, I love growing many people that come back year after things,” says Braakma. Although not ceryear,” said Shirley. Well versed in plant tified organic, she grows her vegetables lore, he loves to share his knowledge. without pesticides or herbicides and does Both Don and Shirley have other not use synthetic fertilizers. She conceninterests associated with plants. Don is a trates on mulching for weed control and Days: Wednesday and Saturday mornings retired dairy farmer. They purchased their uses manure for fertilizer. from 8:00 a.m. to 12 Noon May-October. farm in 1964 and have always lived in the You can hear the enthusiasm in her Location: Heritage Village Mall parking lot. Beaver Dam area. Shirley has owned and voice when she talks about the market. “I Look for signs near the mall entrance. operated Floral Expressions for the past love the energy out there,” Nancy said. Number of vendors: 25-35 30 years. On the farm, Don grows some “You’re pooped when you get there, beProducts: Vegetables, plants, flowers, flowers for the shop, including gladiolus, cause it’s so much work to get ready for soaps, eggs, meat (chicken, beef). snapdragons, lilies and delphinium. market. But once you get there and set up, you’re completely energized.” Nancy Braaksma, Vegetables with a Nancy emphasizes that locally grown Focus on Greens food is more nutritious, because it is fresh er. Produce loses vitamins and nutritional quality as it ages. Like the Cloughs, Nancy Braakma shares a love of plants On average, fruits and vegetables imported from other arand flowers. She has been involved in gardening since she was a eas travel over 2,000 miles before they reach your plate. Food that child and, at one point, owned a floral shop in California. Now she is shipped over long distances also uses a lot of resources in terms is back home in Beaver Dam and lives on a property that adjoins of fossil fuels and packaging. In many ways, local food is more susher parents’ home. taining for our communities, our environment and our bodies.
™
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(Author’s Preface: It will come as no surprise to frequent readers of this magazine that this author has a deep and abiding love for history. As a true son of Oklahoma, Native American blood runs through my veins, and I have studied with great interest the history of my ancestors, the Cherokee, and the other “Five Civilized Tribes” that were relocated to my home state. Unfortunately, due to the relocation that took place in the early 1800s, the “physical” history of the tribes is nearly non-existent there. That is why the discovery of the ample and extensive pre-Columbian jewels that dot the landscape of Southern Wisconsin has been such a surprise and pleasure. As residents of Beaver Dam and Dodge County, we find ourselves truly blessed by the innate natural beauty of our land and the rich abundance that it provides. Well before the first Europeans ever set eyes upon the rolling plain and thick oak forests of Dodge County, Native Americans called our land home (many still do!) and there are many places where our native past can still be explored, some only minutes from downtown Beaver Dam and some that were in downtown Beaver Dam.)
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any people in the United States assume to visit really ancient pre-historical sites, one has to board a plane and fly to Europe. Stonehenge in England, Newgrange in Ireland, and the uncountable number of man-made mounds, cairns, crannogs and hill forts that run from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Mediterranean Sea in the south draw tens of millions of visitors each year. Humans have a depthless interest in their past and stand in wonder in front of 50-ton stones that were shaped without metal tools and moved and erected without the use of the wheel or any type of machinery. However, literally under our feet are millennia-old remnants of pre-historical “building projects” that the budding “Indiana Jones” can visit to experience just a hint of the wonder that was the world
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of our ancestors - the world of the Effigy Mound Builders. According to the Wisconsin Historical Society website, “Between 700 BC and AD 0, pottery, domesticated plants, and the practice of building earthen burial mounds were introduced to Wisconsin. These changes marked the beginning of the Woodland Tradition (500 BC to ca. AD 1300). Still, patterns of living remained relatively stable until the beginning of the Late Woodland stage, between AD 600 and AD 900. Two important innovations - the bow and arrow and corn horticulture - swept across the region. Within a span of only a couple centuries, a new and distinctive culture that archaeologists call ‘Effigy Mound’ arose in Wisconsin. The culture is named for the distinctive burial mounds constructed by communities across the southern two-thirds of Wisconsin. Some effigies are recognizable as birds, animals such as bear or deer, spirit animals, or people. Other mounds are abstract, including long linear embankments or combinations of embankments with the dome-shaped mounds favored by earlier peoples.” What the mounds meant to their creators is a subject of intense debate among scholars and archeologists. According to the Wisconsin Historical Society: “Some archaeologists and Native Americans also believe that the effigy mounds symbolized spirits of the sky, earth, and water. According to this premise each mound group was a picture of the Late Woodland universe, sculpted out of earth. In the period after European contact, many of the same animals were associated with important clans, or groups of related families. These clans may have existed 1000 years ago. By building the mounds together, the social and religious ties binding the mobile and sometimes scattered communities would have been reinforced.” In the History of Dodge County, M. Schaefer related an interview he did in 1848 with Wiscopawis, a Winnebago Chief that lived near to Beaver Dam. According to Wiscopawis, his father
told him a story when he was a small boy about the creation of the effigy mounds. Wiscopawis stated, “Many years ago the various tribes of Indians inhabiting these parts professed to very religious and exhibited sincerity of those professions by holding tribal meetings and worshipping in their own manner, a deity fashioned by their own hands. Each one of those faithful who attended these gatherings brought with him a bag made of the skin of animals, filled with some portion of earth comprising their camping grounds. “Sometimes they came from long distances carrying heavy loads of dirt on their backs and frequently they gathered by thousands to participate in the peculiar exercises. A part of the ceremony consisted in shaping this pile of dirt into the form of an animal.” While the validity of Wiscopawis’ story is unknown, we do know that more than 1000 groups of mounds once proudly stood across the Southern Wisconsin landscape, about 20,000 individual mounds. What happened? We did. While there was a call as early as the mid-1800s to preserve the mounds, they stood in areas of lush grasslands, in sprawling timber spans, and in proximity to prominent lakes and rivers. In short, they stood in the way of progress. The agriculture and timber industries that fueled not only our early economy but also our economy of today needed the land the mounds stood upon. In the struggle between history and progress, progress always wins. Fortunately, around 3200 effigy mounds still exist. Even better, discoveries of new mounds take place nearly every year keeping archeologists, both professional and amateur, enthralled and busy rediscovering our ancestor’s world. With summer officially here, this is a great time for anyone with a curiosity about our Source: Antiquities of Wisconsin - Dr. Increase Lapham state, interest in history, or someone who just wants to see what a Special Thanks: Kurt Sampson thousand-year-old man-made structure looks like to get out and visit these mounds unique to our area. found in our area are actually burial mounds of the people that lived To visit still-existing mounds, one has only to travel about here and the mounds in the park are no exception. 10 minutes east of Beaver Dam on Highway E. Just past the Highway For Beaver Dam residents, there is a conical mound very 26 intersection on the north side of the road, you will find Nitschke much closer to home than the ones in Nitschke Park. In the January Mounds Park with interpretive signs on the one-mile trail around the 1922 edition of The Wisconsin Archeologist, our friend M. Schaefer mounds through the park. The Dodge County website has a full page is credited in discovering the “Schaefer Effigy” of a lizard or panther dedicated to the park with the following description: “The proper- on the “top of a knoll near the present site of the Polish Cathty contains about olic church.” (This 39 preserved aniis currently the Mound Site Map, Ehricke Farm. Source: Wisconsin Archeologist Journal mal effigy, conical Chapel of the and linear mounds Archangels on believed to have Madison Street.) been constructed Schaefer described around 800AD the mound, “In the - 1100AD. The center, or about mounds represent midway between one of the best the hind and fore surviving examlegs, was a thrifty ples of the Mound (sic) oak tree, meaBuilders culture suring eighteen that once occupied inches in diameter the Dodge County and supposed to be area.” Historians at least one hunbelieve that there dred years old.” might at one time From this point have been as many a number of difas 100 mounds in ferent stories cross the group. Many paths with the conical mounds most prevalent be-
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Mound Site in Dodge County Photo: Kurt Sampson ing that a chief of one of the local tribes was buried in the mound. According to the legend, the chief was unable to pay a “life debt,” a sum of silver to the family of a person that he had slain and offered himself up for execution. Another version of the legend states that it was not a chief, but a drunk Winnebago tribesman who killed a small boy in the Potawatomi camp that was on the west side of Beaver Dam Lake and that he was actually buried in “the Indian cemetery,” which was near to the mound. Wiscopawis, Mr. Schaefer’s friend and valuable informant, is reported to have been buried in the same cemetery; however, this seemed to be a prime “hunting” spot for enthusiastic supporters of the medical college in Madison, as Wiscopawis and a number of others buried there were disinterred and taken to Madison for study. The article in the Wisconsin Archeologist continues, “Quite a group of mounds of various shapes dotted the ridge running north and south through the city of Beaver Dam, when Judge Hosmer came to the place in 1846. But these have long disappeared and the elegant residences of J.J. Willing, S.P.K. Lewis, Dr. Swan, and others have taken their place. These earthworks were on Park Avenue, between Vita Avenue and Division (Lincoln) Street. There are reported to have been about a dozen mounds on the ridge.” Knowing, as we do, about the sacred nature of the spring in Vita Park, it only makes sense that religious constructions of this type would be in close proximity. At one time, our fair city had dozens of effigy mounds within, and near to, its city limits. In the area of Edgewater Park, once the location of the T.J. Snyder Estate, a group of nine mounds could be found. The group, termed the “Lake View Farm Group” by early archeologists, consisted of five conical mounds, a linear mound and a Turtle effigy. The Turtle effigy spanned 36 x 60 feet and set a bit apart from the others, about 30 rods (495 feet) from the nearest conical mound called Mound #2, which itself stood three feet high and was 30 feet in diameter. Lucky for us, Mr. Snyder’s son Will was a natural archeologist, scientist and collector, who not only meticulously documented the mounds on the farm and around Beaver Dam, but also collected a great amount of Native American artifacts from the farm and nearby Skunk Island. These artifacts are on display at the Dodge County Historical Museum on the mezzanine level. Another impressive group of mounds existed nearby called the Ruby Farm Group, as they were located on the property of the
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Ruby stock farm. The farm, approximately 225 acres that bordered the northern city limits at the time, was the pride and joy of owner Aaron Baker. Mr. Baker, a lifelong Beaver Dam resident, had received both national and international attention with his registered Devon cattle. According to the Historical and Genealogical Record of Wisconsin in 1894, “He (Baker) is the most extensive breeder of this stock in Wisconsin, if not in the Northwest…He exhibited fourteen head of Devon cattle at the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893, where he was for about three months, and carried off several premiums.” Will Snyder documented the 13 mounds, consisting of 10 conical and 3 effigy mounds as was reported in the Wisconsin Archeologist: “The most northerly mounds of the group were situated in a tract of woodland and the others in a pasture. Several other conical mounds formerly located south of the most southerly of the line of conicals had been destroyed, according to Mr. Baker, in the cultivation of the land. Others were destroyed in the field west of the effigy mounds. The bear (?) effigy at the northern end of the group was 120 feet in length and 30 feet in width at the middle of its body. The turtle effigy was 164 feet long, the length of its body being 44 and of its long, tapering tail 120 feet. It measured 54 feet across the front and 33 across the rear limbs. The body of the panther type effigy was 108 feet long, and 12 feet in width at its middle. Of its tail, which was formerly 90 or more feet in length, about two thirds had been destroyed in the cultivated field into which it extended. These mounds were from 3 to 3 ½ feet high at their highest points. Of the ten conical mounds four were 30 feet in diameter and the other six 20, 24, 25,33, 36 and 40 feet in diameter. They were from less than 2 to 3 feet in height. The body
Source: Antiquities of Wisconsin - Dr. Increase Lapham Special Thanks: Kurt Sampson
Nitschke Mounds State Park Entrance Photo: Kurt Sampson of the turtle mound had recently been excavated. Near its base, a number of burned human bones, charcoal, and burned earth were found. Scattered human bones, the remains of bone re-burials, were found in two of the conical mounds lying between the turtle and the panther effigy. This mound group was located about 200 rods (.625 miles) east of the shore of Beaver Dam Lake and 60 rods (990 feet) east of the Lake View group.”
According to Mound experts, the following mound groups no longer exist in Beaver Dam: Beaver Dam Mound Group, Beaver Dam Junction Mound, Burr Oak Mound, Lake View Farm Mound Group, Linc Road Mounds, Ruby Farm Mound Group and Schaefer Effigy. While we can lament the passing of these 1000-year-old monuments, we can also be happy in the knowledge that many thousands still remain in Wisconsin. Area residents may have an interest in spending the day, weekend, or even an extended vacation visiting and experiencing these legacies that our ancestors have passed down to us. While the Nitschke Mounds are very close to Beaver Dam, for those wishing to travel a bit further our state offers an ample selection of pre-Columbian mound parks to visit. Any would-be “Indiana Jones” should first stop at the Dodge County Historical Museum on the corner of Park Avenue and Spring Street where Kurt Sampson, the museum’s curator and professional archeologist, can provide extensive information on the local mounds, their history and the most current theories on their construction. While there, you will also have the opportunity to visit the exhibition of finds by Mr. Snyder. The artifacts provide an untarnished view into the pre-history of Beaver Dam and its residents who have called our area home for thousands of years. Whether you travel near or afar to touch a piece of our ancient history, tread lightly in order to ensure that the residents of Wisconsin 1000 years from now will still have places ancient and mystical to spur their wonder.
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JIM DITTMANN
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ilkommen to Volksfest! - “A festival for all people.” Volksfest translates from the German - “volk” - people and “fest” celebration. Group with “Frohlichkeit” - happiness, joviality and merriment; “gute Laune” - good mood - cheerfulness! This is Volksfest - A gathering of people to have fun! Bavarian immigrant Sigrid Bronkhorst founded Volksfest in Waupun back in 1993. She was interested in continuing the Bavarian tradition of an outdoor festival in the downtown area of the city. She assembled a few friends - outlined a plan and Volksfest was held in the empty lot behind her store - “Sigrid’s Bavarian Trail.” A spectacular success, three years later Volksfest petitioned the city to close Mill Street during the celebration in order to erect a large tent accommodating more “Volks!” Celebrating its 20th Anniversary, Volksfest will have an even LARGER tent erected at a NEW location near Tanner Park on East Spring Street in Waupun. Champions of the Fest are committee members Steve and Nancy Joas - Eileen Westhuis - Carl Neuman and Don Kehrmeyer. Completely volunteer, they coordinate every detail in the fussy German tradition. Their efforts bring the entire festival together - a far greater task than what we might notice - but due to their passion everything goes smoothly… Imagine the grand “Bierzelte” beer tent. At the rear grills are a goin’ - Nesco roasters filled with Bratwurst und Sauerkraut - German potato salad - roast pork mit dumplings - Spaetzle - Sauerbraten line the perimeter. The sights and sounds - aromas and good cheer - AH sehr gut! But it’s the music - familiar music - happy music! My
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Carl Neuman with his Hengel’s Concertina German heritage and inherent love of those unmistakable concertina melodies is what ignites the party for me. Fond memories emerge of my dad and his buddies - Harold Page playing polkas on the button box, while my old man bangs on his stumpf fiddle. While having coffee the other morning with Carl Neuman and his wife Evelyn, Carl shared how his dad introduced him to the concertina at the Irving DeWitz music store in Hustisford, Wisconsin. It was 1943 when Carl gave that first little squeeze. “Think you can handle it?” his dad asked. The answer was yes, and 70 years later as “Die Spiel Meisters” turn it on Friday September 6 from noon to 2 and 3:30 to 5 p.m., we’ll enjoy the magnificent melodies Carl plays on his handmade Hengel’s concertina with Don Kehrmeyer on vocals and Gerry Krebsbach on rhythm guitar. Carl epitomizes the concertina player - a modest and humble lot they are - a proud brotherhood with a unique respect and appreciation of the bonds that the “instrument of the common man” creates. Instinctively, I know the concertina is the central uniting spirit of Volksfest, communicating to the audience “a certain gusto, zest, and relish.” Musical entertainment continues throughout the festival. In the grand German tradition, “Tapping of the Keg” will commence at precisely 4:30 p.m. on Friday September 6. Hebezeug Ihre Bierkrug - Prosit! Another highlight of the festival is the Stumpf Fiddle contest at 4 p.m. on Saturday September 7 - the 2012 champion is Mick Marks of Beaver Dam. Much is planned - visit www.volksfest.com for details.
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on Kehrmeyer, pictured below with Carl Neuman, reflects on Happy Musik: Well good folks, it looks like it was back in 1988 at the old Legion Hall in Waupun, Wisconsin, the night of the chicken barbeque. I had just sat down with my plate of open-fire-grilled chicken when this handsome little gentleman strolled past playing his concertina. I immediately felt compelled to join him in song. It was quite apparent that he had been playing this wonderful little pearly ‘button box’ for many years, actually well over 40 years at that point. We blended many songs that night and have been doing it ever since. Our English album can carry us 4 hours easily and our authentic German album easily spans 3 hours. We have played for charities - fundraisers large and small, and for small dinner shows as well as large tent festivals. We play happy music and have met so many happy people - hey, this is what keeps us happy. I always say I’m not sure if I only sing when I’m happy - or I’m only happy when I sing. Congratulations to Carl on being inducted into the Concertina Congress Hall of Fame. And me? Well I wonder if I ever finished that plate of chicken.
Carl & Don “Die Spiel Meisters”
1934 Pearl Queen Concertina
Eileen Westhuis’ Stumpf Fiddle
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Stacy Heiling is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville studying physical education and photography.
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ver since I can remember, I have been messing around with a camera. Last year I really took an interest in photography when I took some classes at school. To my friends and family, I am the one that takes pictures of everything we do to remember it. I bring my camera everywhere I go, because I do not want to forget anything. I want to treasure every moment I can, so I can look back at them and remember where I was, what I was doing, who I was with, just about anything. To me, pictures are worth more than a thousand words, they are memories, they are representations of the photographer, they are a good laugh, they are beautiful, but most of all, they are you.
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Rainy Daze This day was kind of crummy; it rained for most of it. When it stopped raining, I went out with my camera to hopefully get some good shots for my photography class. I am attracted to bright colors, so I went right to this flower. I thought it was beautiful, especially with that drop of rain on the leaf. It took me a couple of shots to get this photo right, but I ended up with this beautiful picture. I really like that the flower is not in focus, but the raindrop and leaves are. My mom and I have this picture framed in the house because it is one of our favorites!
Bird’s Eye View I was in Milwaukee for a couple days on Spring Break taking some pictures. I wanted to get a close picture of a bird landing or leaving the water, but that did not happen. It seems what you plan on getting and what you end up getting are different, but what you get is still a treasure. I enjoy this picture very much. I think it is a calm picture. The day I took it, it was cold with snow, some puddles, and some ice in the water, but you could never tell from this picture. It looks like a beautiful day; that is probably why I like photography, it can be deceiving and trick you.
Self Portrait: Stacy Heiling
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Beauty of the Beach This picture was probably the one that started my love of photography. I was at one of my favorite places - Fort Myers Beach, Florida. We have a family joke about coconuts, and I almost stepped on this one. I backed up and looked at it and found the sight to be very beautiful, the way the water was in the grooves of the sand and the coconut just randomly there. I just had to take this picture! When I looked at the picture after I took it, I was very pleased because it captured the beauty of the beach.
Under the Palm I think palm trees are magnificent. There is not one the same and I love their shapes. I was just lying under this one and I noticed that there was not a cloud in the sky. The palm tree really stood out with the pretty blue sky, so I snapped a picture of it. Every time I look at this picture, I can picture myself there lying under that tree, the sun beating down on me with the sound of the ocean and birds. Makes me want to go back to Florida.
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Eye Catching Star When I was in the art museum in Milwaukee, I really wanted to go on the bridge to take a picture of that building, because it is very unique. Along with taking many pictures of the museum building, I saw this bright orange thing on the other side, and I wanted to see what it was. To me, it looks like a star sculpture, and I thought it looked pretty. The orange of the star really stood out from the other buildings, so I really wanted to get them in the picture.
Silhouette Sunset I love watching sunsets, especially on a beach, but a picture rarely captures exactly what I want it to. This picture is one of the rare ones that did. I love how the bird is like a silhouette. I remember it was very cloudy and my mom said we probably would not be able to see a good sunset. So instead of watching the sunset, I was watching the birds. When the sun went behind this clump of clouds, I was in amazement because it was so beautiful. You can see the rays of the sun poking from the clouds and the sky changing colors underneath them. I waited for this bird to stop moving to take the picture, which seemed to take forever.
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DAVE BOWMAN
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recent article in the Wisconsin State Journal commemorated a milestone of iconic Americana: A full-service gas station is marking its 50th year in business in Manitowoc. The term “full-service station” has left the lexicon of our daily lives, along with “pay telephone” and “rabbit ear antennas.” The whole idea, however, harkens back to a simpler time, at least in our nostalgic, warm and fuzzy feelings from yesteryear. As a kid I remember sitting in the front seat of my parents’ car, watching the authoritative figure in the beige uniform with his name ceremoniously sewn in an oval above his right shirt pocket, taking my father’s request, putting the gas nozzle in our vehicle, and then leaning across the windshield as he squeegeed and wiped the window clean. My father would then share a few closing thoughts with him on how outrageous it is for gas to cost 30 cents a gallon, the weather or the politics of the day, pay him, and then drive on our way. As the years went on, I came to appreciate this personal touch. The car I drove to college in 1977 had belonged to my grandmother, a 1962 Chevy Bel Air with a “three on the tree” transmission, a huge dashboard made of metal and a steering wheel that was larger than most front seat areas of today’s compact cars.
During one of my summers at home, it was giving off this most peculiar growling noise. Be that as it may, I turned of course to my Dad, since my only real knowledge of the car was that it got me to and from school, and I could pack my whole dorm room belongings in its trunk. He immediately knew what to do and took it to a local mechanic who had been working on his cars for years. Now this mechanic had no “diagnostic equipment” and he did not need to check for an “errant computer error” in the system. He opened the hood, stuck his head in, listened for a few seconds and then declared, “Yep, it’s the rocker panel.” I was impressed and amazed, although I could not fathom what a rocker panel was and why it growled. But through his personal expertise, he got the ol’ Chevy back on the road hauling my dorm stereo equipment, bellbottoms and leisure suits in no time. These days the vehicles have capabilities and features which George Jetson could only dream of. You can actually talk to the car, and the car will talk back. There is really no need to have any human interaction as you pump your gas and squeegee your own windshield clean, but there is something to be said for a time when “the man who wears a star” would dash to your car with a broad grin and you would say those words of a bygone era, “Fill ‘er up!”
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ummertime is a time of festivals, parades, we venture out from our homes and other humans swarm around us. We greet old friends and lovers. Memories swarm around us too. For some of us, there is a special someone. For others, the special someone is still a dream. I was in Madison a few weeks ago, and a friend suggested I check out the Marquette Neighborhood festival. “It’s only three blocks away,” my friend said. “You might see people you know.” “Ok, can I park my car and leave it in your driveway? It won’t be but an hour or two…” I said. “Feel free,” my friend said. “The wife and I aren’t going anywhere.” The Marquette Neighborhood festival was on the lakefront and there were lots of people with children and dogs running about here and there. The first person that simply walked up and shook my hand, I did not know. He didn’t say anything, simply nodded and I did the same. I did run into three others I did know and stopped to chat with them a bit, but the one I didn’t know stood out in my memory, a memory that quickly faded. As far as remembering what the person looked like; there was the gesture, the handshake, the nod. The moment. I walked the entire festive festival grounds, three times. Just to walk among a human swarm. I tried to feel things and fix them to memories of things past (I think we always do that). Who are we when we go places? Are we the same person we are at home?
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N E V E R T H I N K Y OU A R E S OM E O N E W H O D OE S N ’ T C OU N T
Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee and I’ll forgive Thy great big one on me. -Robert Frost
I returned to my friend’s house after an hour to pick up my car. “How was the festival?” he asked. “Well, I ran into three people I knew and one I didn’t know,” I replied. It sounded like a wonderful reply to me. A week later I told the story to another friend and she said, “The one you didn’t know probably knew you…” We were at a parade and as we were talking, someone I didn’t know walked up and shook my hand. “It happens all the time,” I told her. “Ordinary fame is fleeting.” Parades are fleeting things too. The little boy with the big drum is equal to the old veteran carrying the flag. Never think that you are someone who doesn’t count.
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AMY JENNINGS
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any of us will dedicate significant time and energy to a job or a passion of ours that we eventually leave. Our health, economic, or family situation changes, or perhaps we simply move on. Personally, I have experienced several periods of intense dedication coupled with sudden abandonment throughout my life. After each one, when I am in the process of moving on and rebuilding, I often wonder if what I had just created was worth it. Did all that passion go into a black hole and leave me with only “fond memories” and “personal satisfaction?” Toiling in these thoughts, I did what any frustrated 25-year-old would do - I called my mom. In response to my concerns, she told me the story of her friend Anna, and it shifted my perspective of what it meant to leave a legacy. Anna trained with my mom in triathlon several years ago and poured her soul into the sport. She commuted to Madison at least twice a week for swim coaching and squeezed in cycling and running workouts around a full-time job. Her dedication and hard work showed; she attended the world championships in 2004 and was in the running to return the following year. In 2005, however, weeks before her qualifying event, she suffered a shoulder injury during an open-water swim competition. She underwent surgery and had six weeks to recover. It was a gamble as to whether or not she would be fully healed, but she attempted the qualifier anyway. On race day, however, Anna was unable to finish. Over the next several months, she went to physical therapy and performed modified training, but the injury continued to linger. It gradually affected other parts of her body and limited her mobility; day-to-day activities were a challenge. Anna’s friends and family watched her spiral downward over the passing months which turned into years - and it was clear that her life had changed… perhaps permanently. Her training had fallen off sharply, but she continued to see herself as a competitor. She talked about changing her workouts as she moved from “off season” to “peak season” and spoke as if little had changed. She measured her training times and physical condition with her results and stamina of the past. To the heartbreak of those closest to her, she continued to plan for a return to her former competitive self. Unfortunately, that day did not come. Anna eventually stopped traveling to Madison and lost touch with most of her peers. People assumed she finally came to terms with her reality. It was not until my mom called Anna recently to catch up that she found out what became of her. Anna’s competitive career did come to an end. Her emotional recovery from her injury was the most difficult, but she was
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healing. She lost many things that she was proud of, and it took her a long time to move on from the dream she had hoped to realize. Physically, she managed to heal enough to run, bike, and swim on a limited basis, and continued training for her own wellbeing. Inadvertently, her practice caught the attention of a local high school track team, who asked her to help train the distance runners. Anna accepted. Working with high school athletes did not fill the void her injury left behind, but it did renew her energy for the sport she loved, and she enjoyed sharing it with others. The season Anna came on team, she discovered everyone was talking about a certain talented distance runner. Two years earlier, speculation started circulating among the city’s coaches and students about where this athlete would attend high school. He was already climbing the ranks in competitive circles and commuted to different cities for training. Next year he would enter somewhere as a freshman. A wave of celebration swept over the team when he chose their high school. At the first practice of the following season, Anna approached him to welcome him to the team. “It’s an honor to meet you,” she said, stretching out her hand. “Your running is legendary.” He smiled, shook hers, and said, “So is yours.” When a chapter in our life closes abruptly, we are sometimes left feeling empty, confused, or hurt. We may wonder what the point was if it ended without giving us a meaningful conclusion. The work we did, however - the household we ran, the people we healed, the fitness level we maintained - was a torch. We pass “torches” or inspiration as we do our greatest work. In Anna’s case, her drive to excel in athleticism was admired by and passed on to the young athlete. It may have seemed inconclusive in the context of her life, but in actuality, it was preserved and emboldened by someone else. In the same vein, we can recognize that torches have been passed on to us. We honor the carrier before us, by working fervently to keep it going and building on his or her foundation, thereby accomplishing great feats ourselves. When our time has finished, we should watch to see when, how, and who picked it up after us. This - the carrying on of great work - is the point of our passion. It may conclude unceremoniously, but our work is never lost. If Anna’s story taught me anything else, it would be to thank those who inspired me. I may never see who picks up my work, but I can let my previous carriers know that when it was time to pass the torch, I was there at the hand-off. This is legacy.
THE BEAVER
From the Beaver Archives: Sally the Space Beaver celebrating NASA’s birthday on July 29.
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fter experimenting on chimpanzees and humans for more than 50 years, earth scientists have determined that space travel is safe for beavers. Hence, Sally the Space Beaver can be seen practicing her moonwalk. (Note: By the stroke of a pen on July 29, 1958, President Eisenhower gave birth to NASA, with the goal of putting a man on the moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin achieved that goal in 1969.)
Please send your questions to me at Beav@localeben.com. Also, let me know if you’d like to receive my Sunday e-mail, complete with photo and silly story. Amy from Beaver Dam asks: Is Beaver Dam the birthplace of Gideons Bibles? Answer: Yes, in the sense that John Nicholson and Samuel Hill
made the decision to organize The Gideons while they were both visiting Beaver Dam. It happened on the evening of May 31, 1899, so I was just a young sapling at the time. As I recall, Jack and Sam decided to have a stroll around Beaver Dam when they were suddenly confronted with the sight of 14,000 busy beavers, doing what they do. Frightened out of their minds by the astounding conflagration, the two men ran screaming in terror back to their hotel rooms where they read feverishly from their Bibles through the wee hours of the night, seeking redemption. Realizing that other virtuous traveling businessmen might be similarly compromised, they dedicated themselves to putting Bibles in hotel rooms as the first line of defense against busy beavers and other departures from righteousness. Today, thanks to Beaver Dam, The Gideons distribute approximately two Bibles every second, across the globe. Jenna from Beaver Dam asks: Do beavers make good pets? Answer: Beavers are intelligent, charming, industrious, friendly, cuddly, and they are incredibly good looking (see picture on this page). So, in answer to your question: YES, BEAVERS MAKE ABSOLUTELY GREAT PETS (unless you have furniture or other wooden objects in your home). Pat from Beaver Dam asks: How are you able to keep up with your many commitments? Answer: I have a huge staff of highly devoted and minimally paid human employees, who are both looking for a real job. So when writing to the Beav, if you want a thoughtful answer you should probably write it yourself.
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The day was very warm, sultry even, and full of the heavy anticipation of what was to come. MARY BETH JACOBSON
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EAVER DAM, Wis.--The gallows were ready; the “hangmen” were at the ready, tensely waiting for the call of the drop to be given. It was July 7, 1865. Four conspirators in the assassination of President Lincoln sentenced to hang were to meet their fate. It was a day burned into the memory of those who witnessed it. For Civil War veteran William Coxshall, it was an especially harrowing experience. He had to be the “hangman” for the only woman sentenced to hang by the federal government, Mary Elizabeth Surratt, described as a “comely widow of forty five, whose home was a rendezvous for the conspirators.” Above: Scaffold while nooses were being adjusted. Coxshall, who after the war had a Right: William Coxshall in 1916 butcher shop on Spring Street in Beaver Dam, was known as a quiet, efficient man, a man of few words - reticent Coxshall replied. They went to town and really. He was a tall, slim man with a large moustache and quite enlisted in Company K, Thirty Seventh Volunlike other butchers who talked up the customers and the prices, unteer Wisconsin Infantry. His friend was round and rosy-cheeked and willing to throw in some liver for the shot in skirmishing near Petersburg; cat with your order. This was Harlowe Hoyt’s assessment of Cox- he took a bullet in the head. Coxshall, who as a boy had to stop at the butcher shop each night and shall’s finger was blown away. It was get the meat for supper. Hoyt, the grandson of Beaver Dam pioneer crudely amputated, gangrene set in, Dr. Ezra Hoyt, founder of the Concert Hall on Front Street, always and he was sent to Company F of the had a fascination with the unlikely butcher, who after all did not Veteran Reserve Corp at Washington even have all his fingers. after a brief furlough. There he min It would be years later that Hoyt would learn the full story gled with veterans from Wisconsin, of Coxshall’s missing forefinger on his left hand. Michigan, Illinois and Indiana mostly. Besides having a keen interest in theatre, Harlowe Randall Members of the Invalid Corp were Hoyt became an accomplished writer and reporter. While a report- placed on duty at the United States Arsenal. From 100 to 120 men er for the Milwaukee Free Press, Hoyt secured an interview with reported each morning and were given their orders. The work was Coxshall and learned his story was astounding, filled with all the monotonous and anything for a change was welcomed. heartbreak that came with the Civil War. Perhaps Hoyt could finally The Federal Commission working toward the findings of understand the unusual silence of the man, as he went through the guilt and punishment for the Lincoln assassination conspiracy had events of his service career, culminating in participation in the exe- made its determinations. On July 5, 1865, President Johnson concution of the Lincoln conspirators. firmed sentence. He told Hoyt in some detail about the incidents of the John Wilkes Booth had paid for his crime at Garrett’s farm execution event when he hanged Mrs. Surratt and Lewis Payne on and eight were convicted of complicity in the crimes. Dr. Samuel that hot day in July 1865. Coxshall was 22 at the time. He left Mudd, Michael O’Laughlin, Samuel Arnold and Edmund Spangler the farm in East Troy to enlist in 1861. He was in service for nine were sentenced to the Dry Tortugas. Mary Elizabeth Surratt, Lewis months when he was discharged for a disability. He returned to the Payne, George Atzerodt and David Herold were sentenced to hang. farm and was working outside when a friend passing by encouraged Mrs. Surratt had kept a boarding house where the conspirators gathCoxshall to re-enlist. It was March 1864. “Wait ‘til I get my coat,” ered. Though there was a certain faction who felt she was not guilty
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and her punishment was unjust. Payne had attempted to assassinate Secretary of State William Seward, though Seward survived the attempt. Herold accompanied Booth on his flight from Washington after shooting Lincoln, and Azterodt was told to kill Vice President Andrew Johnson, but backed down at the last hour. On July 6, the Invalid Corp reported for duty at the Arsenal Prison. “We were ignorant of the findings of the Commission,” Coxshall told Hoyt. “Only the officers and those actually engaged in erecting the scaffold knew the details.” On that day Colonel Christian Rath, the man in charge of the prisoners, came in where we were assembled. He announced, “I want four able-bodied men to volunteer for special duty.” The men did not wait to hear what the special duty was. They were just anxious for a break in the monotony to which they had become so accustomed. Plenty of the men stepped forward. Rath looked them over and went down the line. He stopped before the man next to Coxshall, looking him over critically. “Where’s your cartridge belt?” he asked. “I got doctor’s permission to leave it off,” the soldier replied. “I’ve been sick.” “I don’t want you,” Rath said. Then he looked at Coxshall. “What ails you?” he asked. Coxshall held up his hand to show the missing finger. “Anything else?” he asked. “Not a thing,” Coxshall answered. “All right,” Rath said, “you’re elected.” He continued looking over the men and picked the likely ones. Following Rath into the yard of the Arsenal, they had their first hint of what their “special duty” might entail. The gallows were standing ready for the execution. Their first order of business was the clean up of the debris and litter about the place. Coxshall and D.F. Shoupe were to knock out the posts beneath one of the drops, and G.F. Taylor and F.B. Haslett were to handle the other one. There had to be rehearsal in the prison yard. Coxshall called it “one of the grimmest things he has ever known.” Four 140 pound shells were attached to the hanging ropes with chains. For two hours the four soldiers were drilled in dropping these exactly as though the prisoners were there. The four graves were dug. We reported early on the day of the execution July 7,1865. It was nearly 100 degrees. The event was to take place at 2:00 p.m. The first floor anterooms of the prison started to fill up with officers who watched the proceedings. There were newspaper reporters gathering. Three or four of Davy Herold’s sisters had spent the night with him. Davy seemed no more than a boy. Mrs. Surratt’s daughter had attempted to plead for her mother but was stopped on the way. She was trying to get an order to stop the execution. George Atzerodt had been visited by a woman with whom he lived. Only lawyers and a minister had been with Lewis Payne. “All this gossip helped to pass the time while we sweated under the boiling sun,” Coxshall explained. About 11:30 a.m., Colonel Rath wanted to give the gallows drops a final tryout. “One worked all right but mine and Mr. Shoupe’s stuck,” Coxshall said. “So a carpenter was called to saw off a bit. It then worked perfectly, but we weren’t confident it would all happen as it should.”
Four chairs were placed on the scaffold and all was ready. A little before 1:00 p.m. those in charge of the prisoners, General Winfield Scott Hancroft and General John Hantraft, brought the prisoners forth. Mrs. Surratt was brought out first and nearly fainted at the sight of the gallows. She would have fallen had they not supported her. Herold was next. He appeared very frightened and trembled and shook, seeming on the verge of fainting. Atzerodt was next and then Payne. With the exception of Payne, they all seemed on the verge of collapse. Payne seemed unaffected, though they had to pass by the graves to reach the gallows steps. Hantraft read the warrants and findings, the minister spoke at length. For Coxshall the strain of it all was getting progressively worse. “I was overcome with the heat, the waiting and keeping hold on the post; I was very nauseated and vomited,” Coxshall recalled. Mrs. Surratt had her long black dress secured to her to facilitate the drop. They tied the bands quite tight and she complained, “It hurts.” These were her final words and the matter of fact reply to her was, “It won’t hurt long.” With three claps of the hands, Colonel Rath gave the signal. “On the third clap,” Coxshall said, “Shoupe and I swung with all our might. Mrs. Surratt shot down and died instantly. Payne, a strong brute, died hard. It was enough to see these two, he affirmed, without looking at the others. We were told they died quickly.” Twenty minutes later Major Porter, the presiding surgeon, pronounced the four dead. Ten minutes after that the detail cut down the bodies and buried them. Bottles containing their names were placed in each coffin. Coxshall went on, ”We went back to camp, thankful it was all over. A fight was narrowly averted on our return by some other soldiers calling us ‘hangmen.’ Had we known what it was we were asked to do as ‘special duty,’ none of us would have stepped forward. But once entered upon the task, there was no withdrawing. We were soldiers and such things were a part of a soldier’s duty during the fearful days that surrounded the assassination of President Lincoln.” Coxshall gave up the butcher shop, perhaps not wanting to be so much in the public eye, and became a successful stock dealer. He is laid to rest in Oakwood Cemetery.
Photo: William Coxshall in 1865; He was 22 years old and a member of Co. 1, Thirteenth Wisconsin Infantry. Photos and layout adapted from the Cleveland Leader, July 2, 1916.
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Well here we are - Volume 2 Issue 4 Wie geht es dir?
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t’s summertime and I’m thinking about all the good stuff goin’ on: the Farmers market is getting into full swing - the food is wonderful - locally produced, not trucked in from half way around the planet - makes a lot of sense to me. From two rods away you can already smell the strawberries. Onions - Lettuces - there are even Cucumbers that have no bitter taste! Pastries for breakfast - breads and flowers… Recently I was introduced to a menu-planning service (Local Thyme) designed for “Ending Veggie Guilt One Box at a Time!” - specifically designed for those of us who shop farmers markets or are CSA members. Check it out at www.localthyme.com You’ll find many recipes and great suggestions for making the most of those wonderfully fresh foods - and do to tell them LocaLeben sent you. “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” opens July 26 at the Beaver Dam High School Auditorium. Our Community Theater is producing some awfully good shows - did you see “Next to Normal” - I think it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen in Beaver Dam. Ever hear of Chelli Bri - that very talented local girl with a Modern Country Rock & Roll band. She’ll be “Rockin’ the Range” August 3 at 6:00 p.m. at Old Hickory Golf Club - a fabulous outdoor event that you won’t want to miss. Some time from now you’ll be able to say you saw her show while she was on her way to the big time! Admission is only $5 and that includes a golf coupon. Check it out - tickets at the door or online www. oldhickorycc.com I had the wonderful opportunity to meet some very nice folks from Waupun this past week - organizers of the “Volksfest” - If you have not yet experienced the fest - you absolutely gotta’ go. They will “tap the keg” at 4:30 p.m. on Friday September 6, 2013, Spatten - real German bier - one of only six brands served at Oktoberfest in Munich. Admission is always free - portions of the proceeds go to local non-profits. And there is the Stumpf Fiddle - a rhythm stick invented by a few local boys over in Sheboygan - they named it after a mythical peg leg - one Harry Stumpf. If you are unfamiliar with the fabled stick, here is a good start: www.stumpffiddle.net. Click on the video tab enjoy. Or visit Grandpa - right over in Sussex, Wisconsin - www.grandpas-stumpf-fiddles. com there’s a video from Volksfest. You’re going to get hooked…(I did)… There is much to do in our little part of the world - these are just a few. One can never say Thank You often enough - we owe it to the advertisers who make this magazine possible. To all the readers who tell us how much they like the magazine - here’s where you get to help. Support the locally owned businesses that advertise - and when you do, please tell them you saw their ad in the pages of LocaLeben. Your feedback confirms their marketing dollars are being well spent - it’s very simple economics. Advertisers make the magazine possible. A living Local economy gives us our personality… We are very pleased that LocaLeben is now available at www.localben.com - near and far you can now enjoy each issue on your computer - tablet or mobile device. While enjoying fireworks the other night, the wandering man says, “Hey, got a joke for you. There’s these two fireflies watching the fireworks when one leans over, nudges her mate and says quietly - ‘How come you can’t do that?’” Cheers!
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