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May 22, 2007
39 planning days left to go before the 2007 Whitewater Home-Coming!
There is a general committee meeting scheduled tonight for 6:30 in the Lakefront Room on the 2nd Floor of the Whitewater Municipal Building.
Updates:
1. Community response to Home-Coming exceeds expectations. If the attendance at planning meetings hadn't told us this, fundraising confirms that there is enthusiastic support for this summer's centennial celebration and the kind of significant, community-wide collaboration that is resulting. Many thanks to all who have supported and who continue to support the 2007 Home-Coming effort with their contributions of time, ideas, effort, funding, and especially positive spirit.
2. UW-W to host a Festival Dinner and a Log Cabin Rededication. Going far beyond the then-Normal School's involvement in the 1907 Home-Coming Festival, the UW-W, under acting Chancellor Dick Telfer, will be hosting a Home-Coming Festival Dinner on Sunday, July 1 and a log cabin rededication on Tuesday, July 3 at 4:30 PM, in addition to the Crossman Gallery show from June 26 to July 5, the special edition of the Royal Purple, and providing other logistical and promotional support. More information on these events soon, and heartfelt thanks to the UWW for both honoring the school's contribution in 1907 and engaging in a whole new way in 2007.
3. Oak Grove Cemetery tour this Monday, May 28, from 1 to 4 PM. Don't forget the Whitewater Historical Society's cemetery tour this coming Monday! At 1 PM the society will be dedicating an Historical Marker at Oak Grove Cemetery on E. Main Street to the two Revolutionary War veterans buried there. The dedication will be followed by a free cemetery walk with individuals taking the part of many of the deceased buried there. Whitewater Historian Fred Kraege will be present as a consultant on the cemetery and copies of his book will be available for purchase. Tours will be starting at the Main Street entrance; a Tour Guide will lead you to gravesites where a dedicated volunteer historian will present either a third-person biographical sketch or a first-person portrayal of the individual buried there. You will be surprised, enlightened, and amazed at the presentations. Look about as you walk the cemetery. You will notice many familiar Whitewater names on the headstones: Hawes, Tratt, Trippe, Cravath... The Tour Guides will be Karen Coburn, Linda Loomer, Flo Rhodes, Betty Schoonover, Michele Smith and Jim Stewart and presenters include Karen Wetson, Ben Penwell, Dawn Hunter, Bill Smith, Dan Sable, Carol Pierce Caulkins, Jane Fary, George Scharfenberg, Russell Bellman, Mark Bardenwerper, and Kathleen Lashley. Refreshments will be served, and a Home-Coming storysite outpost will be set up, with a volunteer taking remembrances and other stories about Whitewater's past. For more information on the cemetery tour, including a list of gravesites to be visited and information on the individual sketches, go to www.whitewaterbanner.com and click on the link in the right-hand column. A second cemetery tour will take place during the Home-Coming Festival, on Tuesday, July 3, from 1 - 4 PM.
4. Fun Team and Juggling. Yes, this team is juggling alot of fun events for this summer's festival... so much so that Team Chair Russell Walton can't remember who gave him that lead on a great juggler for our Family Day event. If you know, respond to this email or contact Russell at RR Walton: 473-8646. Thanks!
5. Break out your red... and purple! Members of both the UW-Madison Marching Band and the UW-Whitewater Marching Band will be performing on Monday, July 2, at the Cravath Lakefront Park as part of the Family Day of our Home-Coming festivities. Tentatively scheduled at 6:00 PM, both bands will be out in uniform to showcase their unique musicianship and showmanship. No battle of the bands, but rather an opportunity to see members of both of these groups up close as they demonstrate their own approach to this classic and fun American music form.
6. Storysite update. Beginning this week, we will be providing a separate storysite update, including information on how many users we have, new pages that have been added, places we are looking for more information, and a highlight contribution of the week. Many thanks in advance to Peter Zaballos for providing this update.
7. Senator Obama update. We did receive word late last week that Senator Obama was unavailable during the July 1 - 4 time frame, and thus unable to speak during the Home-Coming Festival. While disappointing, it is clear that the staff was seriously considering his participation, and we should all feel proud of that. Here's an excerpt from what we sent to our contact, a personal friend of Senator Obama, when it was clear that the demands on Senator Obama's schedule in the run-up to the primaries would make it unlikely that he would accept our invitation:
"Don't feel bad; in a sense you've already been tremendously helpful, because without the personal connection it wouldn't have even fallen on our radar screen to pursue. Now that we have started down that path and see the parallels between the keynote speaker as an Illinois Senator then and now, it's worth pursuing on its own merits. One of the many messages we are trying to emphasize here in risk-averse Wisconsin is that of taking chances; I'll be proud to say we tried and failed (and we will succeed at many other things at the same time) because it's been moving to see people's spirits and hopes lift at just the prospect of having Senator Obama here. So, it that sense we've already been successful!"
Upcoming meetings:
May 22 (Tuesday), Fun Committee, Whitewater Aquatic Center, 10:00 AM
May 22 (Tuesday), Home-Coming Planning meeting, Whitewater Municipal Building; 6:30 PM
May 29 (Tuesday), Executive Team; City Manager’s meeting room; Municipal Building; 6:00 PM
May 29 (Tuesday), Community Committee, tentatively scheduled 2nd floor, Municipal Building, 7:00 PM
June 4 (Monday), Unity Committee, Starin Park Community Center; 6:30 PM
June 7 (Thursday), July 4th Committee, Randy’s; 7:00 PM
June 12 (Tuesday), Home-Coming Planning meeting, Whitewater Municipal Building, 6:30 PM
Contact us:


May 7, 2007

54 planning days to go before the 2007 Whitewater Home-Coming!
There is a general committee meeting scheduled for tonight at 6:30 PM, but attendance is expected to be light due a Walworth County Economic Development Alliance meeting at the same time that will focus on WCEDA's efforts to support Chicago's bid for 2016 Olympics. Those who wish to still come are welcome, and the meeting will be brief. The next planning meeting will be Tuesday, May 22, at 6:30 PM at city hall.
Updates:
1. Home-Coming Queen and King! The 2007 Whitewater Home-Coming Team has named Fred G. Kraege and Marilyn Kienbaum king and queen of this summer's festival. The honorees, who have accepted, will ride in DLK's car in the 4th of July parade. Congratulations to Fred and Marilyn, who are in many ways the voice and face of Whitewater. We look forward to seeing them shine. Crowns are optional, and will be provided!
The July 4th committee has selected their grand marshall and will be making their announcement soon. The committee will also be adding a new category, "Best use of theme," to the prizes offered to those who enter the parade. This category, sponsored by the 2007 Home-Coming team, will recognize those entrants who best embody the Centennial Home-Coming theme of this year's parade. More details on this and other prizes soon.
2. Special issue of the Royal Purple. The UW-W newspaper the Royal Purple has offered to publish a special commemorative issue of the paper for the 2007 Whitewater Home-Coming. This issue, which will come out at the end of June, will focus exclusively on the 1907 and 2007 Home-Coming celebrations. Distribution will be through usual channels but also copies will be handed out at the parade and other events, and possibly copies will be made available for a fee to alums and others who would like one sent to them. To contribute story ideas or for information on advertising in this special issue, please contact Doug Dalsing at dalsingdj19@uww.edu (editorial) or Shane Brossard at 472-5100 (business manager). Thanks to the UWW for supporting the 2007 Whitewater Home-Coming so enthusiastically!
3. Show & Tell and storysite outpost Saturday, June 2. There will be a "Show and Tell" on Saturday, June 2, from 11 AM to 4 PM at the Irvin L. Young Public Library on Center Street. Local historian Fred Kraege will be there along with members of the Whitewater Historical Society with items on display and to answer your questions. Last year, the location of the World War I Honor Roll, which used to stand in front of Old City Hall but disappeared in the 1930s, was revealed (it now serves as the attic flooring in a house on Ann Street, fairly well perserved). What will be this year's find?
Fred will be happy to sign copies of his book, Whitewater, which will be available for purchase. Individuals are welcome to bring their own collections for display: please contact Kristine Zaballos at 473-9822 or zaballos@charter.net if you are interested so that space and display/table needs can be arranged. The Home-Coming storysite will be up and running for those who wish to share a story, add some facts about Whitewater's past, or scan a photo or postcard. Light refreshments will be served.
4. "Anything Whitewater" show at the D3 Gallery in July. The Whitewater Arts Alliance announces that the Art Show at the D3 Gallery in the Double Dip Deli for the month of July will be "Anything Whitewater". This is a call for art, photo, memorabilia, collage, prints, etc. representing Whitewater. All items should be framed with wire hanging system. Old photos from your collection that represent Whitewater are welcome. Items can be for sale or not for sale. Please contact Marilyn Fuerstenberg by June 1 if you have items for display.

The window display will be for 3D works representing Whitewater...old letter jackets, Kachels Little League, American Legion baseball uniforms, Music competition medals, GAA pins, etc. as well as art. Please contact Marilyn if you have items and she will give you labeling directions. mfuerst@idcnet.com or 473-5269.
5. Storysite update. The storysite has been up and running at Fairhaven for two weeks with great results: residents and staff are getting used to it and are starting to come by and say "I heard you are looking for stories about Whitewater. I don't really have much to say, but..." 15 minutes later, we've generally added a full page of an interesting, one-of-a-kind remembrance of Whitewater. Here's one from this week:
Ila Walmer Webb Ila was born in 1909 in Brodhead. She remembers going to the College High School in 1st grade and went on to graduate in 1927. Her dad was the oldest of nine children there. The family moved here when she was 6 (moved to Koshkonong, where her dad bought and sold cows). Then they moved to a farm on the east side of Whitewater. Ila married when she was 19 to Edward Webb who worked at the electric company. Ila was encouraged to go on to school after high school but she got a job at the telephone office instead. She worked there until they went dial, at which point she was chief operator. They had a son, Richard, in 1934. Richard later turned out to be a builder. Ila later worked at the electric company and various jobs. Eddie passed away in the early 1980s; he was a resident at Fairhaven. Ila and Eddie were outdoor people who always swam and camped, going up north. She was just sick when old city hall got taken down; beforehand windows weren’t repaired and the rain would come in the building. She recalls Old Main Building burning: her son Richard was a fireman and worked on it and Gary Gephardt and Tim Dunlap from Fort were injured. At the time she lived on a duplex downtown at Center and 4th Street, near the Gephardts.


This and other storysites are still looking for volunteers to staff 2-hour slots. Please contact Marty Ridenour at 458-2039 or marty.ridenour@gmail.com if you can help! Special thanks to Rotary for helping to find staff. For a complete list of upcoming sites, go to www.whitewaterhomecoming.com and click on the "storysite outpost" link near the top of the page:
Upcoming meetings:
May 8 (Tuesday) Fun Team at Aquatic Center, 10:00 AM
May 8 (Tuesday) Home-Coming General Committee Planning Meeting at City Hall, 6:30 PM
May 14 (Monday) Unity Team at Sugar Bay, 6:30 PM
May 15 (Tuesday) Executive Team at City Hall at 6:00 PM
May 22 (Tuesday) Home-Coming General Committee Planning Meeting at City Hall
April 23
The next 2007 Whitewater Home-Coming General meeting is tomorrow night, Tuesday April 24, at 6:30 PM in the 2nd floor Lakefront Room at the Whitewater Municipal Building. An agenda will follow later today.
Updates:
1. Save-the-date postcards. This week about 2,500 postcards were labelled, metered, and sent out to Whitewater High School alumni scattered throughout the country (and a few overseas). The front features a colorful triptych of the Birge Fountain (a photo of the renovated fountain, a Peschret etching, and a Shelby Scharine Keefe painting) and the words "Come Home and Rediscover Whitewater." On the back are some details about this summer's Home-Coming Festival and an invitation to contact us to learn more. There are still postcards available: if you would like to send some yourself, let us know and we will get you a batch.
Many thanks to Paula Malone for her undaunting efforts in taming the high school alum address list, to the Commercial Bank for giving us space for the label bee, and to Donna Henry, Nancy Wendt, Ginny Coburn, Barb Grant, and Kristine Zaballos for their speedy fingers.
2. Home-Coming Lawn & Garden Contest. In 1907 a prominent citizen, Mrs. S. D. B. Schultz, organized a lawn contest to encourage residents to beautify the city: a committee of judges was named, prizes were offered (the equivalent of $300, $200, and $100), and great pains were made to clarify that beautiful lawns and flowers were the goal of the contest, not the "biggest pumpkin." Took determine the winners, the judging committee undertook a house-by-house cavassing of the city in a car decorated for the occasion.
For the 2007 Home-Coming, Ruth Walton has agreed to spearhead the effort and will work with the Whitewater Garden Club to organize the contest. More details soon, but prizes will again be offered!
3. Look for Storysite Outposts around Whitewater! Starting this week, Storysite Outposts will be appearing in coffee shops, stores, and public places throughout town. At these outposts a volunteer will help people record their Whitewater memories to the storysite: www.whitewaterhomecoming.com. The Fairhaven Outpost is nearing completion too. If you are interested in helping people tell their stories and have a basic understanding of MicrosoftWord, please consider volunteering to staff an outpost for a couple of hours; contact Marty at marty.ridenour@gmail.com or 262-458-2039. Upcoming Storysite Outposts:
Thursday, April 26, 8 - 10:30 at SweetSpot (Whitewater Street)
Tuesday, May 1, 4:30 PM at Mulberry Glen
Monday, May 28, 1 - 4 PM at Oak Grove Cemetery Tour
4. Home-Coming presentations. In the past two weeks, presentations about the 1907 and 2007 Home-Coming events were given to Rotary, Breakfast Kiwanis, and the Florence Bassett Club. If you know of a club or group that would be interested in finding out more about Home-Coming, let us know!
5. Home-Coming Banners. Whitewater High School and Middle School art classes are working on banners for the upcoming Home-Coming. The high school will make a version of the 1907 banners that hung across Main Street downtown and said "Should Auld Acquaintence Be Forgot" and "Does Whitewater Look Good to You?" The middle school will be making a banner that school children will be singing; this will be displayed during the festival and preserved for the future. Thanks to Tom Barnes and Debbie Brigham-Schmuhl for coordinating the high school banner and Nancy Brunner and John Clark for coordinating the middle school effort.
Projects that need a home:
1. Costumes from the era (1900 - 1910).
2. Commemorative objects for the event (coins, medals, etc).
3. Entering stories from previous publications to the website.
4. Coordinating a "historic trail" - like the "Freedom Trail" in Boston, that would highlight area landmarks and would be painted on the ground.
Upcoming meetings:
April 23 (Monday) Community Team at Double Dip Deli at 6:30 PM
April 24 (Tuesday) Fun Team at Aquatic Center at 10:00 AM
April 24 (Tuesday) Home-Coming General Committee meeting at Whitewater Municipal Building at 6:30 PM
April 30 (Monday) Unity Team at Sugar Bay at 6:30 PM
May 3 (Thursday) 4th of July Committee meeting at Randy's at 7:00 PM
May 8 (Tuesday) Home-Coming General Committee meeting at Whitewater Municipal Building at 6:30 PM
April 13
Thanks to those who attended this week's Home-Coming meeting April 10th; meeting notes will be sent out over the weekend. The next meeting will be Tuesday, April 24th, at 6:30 PM in the 2nd Floor Lakefront Room at City Hall.
Updates:
1. Time to raise the funds! Last week the Common Council approved a challenge grant to the Home-Coming team: they will match dollar-for-dollar all cash donations up to $20,000! To make the most of this generous and enthusiastic show of support, we will be approaching businesses, organizations, and individuals for donations and sponsorships. To head us off at the pass, make your donation now! All donations should be made to the City of Whitewater and are tax deductable:
City of Whitewater
Attn: 2007 Home-Coming Festival
312 W. Whitewater Street
Whitewater, WI 53190
Your unsolicited donation will make our job easier by allowing us to focus on planning all the fun events for this summer's festivities! Thank you.
2. Ever been to an address label bee? Join us next Tuesday, April 17, from 10-12 at a location to be determined to help peel and stick up to 4,000 labels on save-the-date postcards. Can you help? Respond to this email if you are able, and we'll let you know where we are going to meet.
3. Formal dance or gala. Interested in having a formal ball or gala during the 2007 Home-Coming, as they did in 1907? Let us know! First, let us know which night you would prefer (Sunday, July 1; Monday, July 2; Tuesday, July 3; Wednesday, July 4). Then, tell us what else you'd like to see: type of music, type of food, etc.
4. Calling all former Whitewater High School band members! Are you one, or do you know one? High School Band Director Doug Deal wants you to come join your fellow alums and play in this summer's July Fourth parade! All levels of play and expertise heartily welcome; dust off that instrument and join the fun! Contact Don at 262-472-8175 or ddeal@wwusd.org.
5. July Fourth children's activities. Do you know of a petting zoo or other fun children's activity or event that you'd like to see at the Lakefront Park this summer? The 4th of July Committee is looking for ideas. Send them in! Contact Jean Mills at millsautomotive@yahoo.com.
Projects or ideas that need a home: Can you help with any of the following? If you can, or know someone who might, please let us know.
1. A time capsule.
2. Costumes from the era (1900 - 1910).
3. Sewing flags for the lightpoles downtown (materials provided).
4. Making and painting sandwich board signs (4) from wood (materials provided).
5. Commemorative objects for the event: coins, medals, etc.
Upcoming meetings:
April 16 (Monday) Unity Committee at Greenhouse Café/Sugar Bay; 6:30 PM
April 17 (Tuesday) Home-Coming presentation to Breakfast Kiwanis; 7:00 AM
April 18 (Wednesday) Home-Coming presentation to Florence Bassett Club
April 23 (Monday) Community Committee at Double Dip Deli; 6:30 PM
April 24 (Tuesday), Home-Coming Planning meeting, Whitewater Municipal Building; 6:30 PM
May 3 (Thursday), July 4th Committee, Randy’s; 7:00 PM
May 8 (Tuesday), Home-Coming Planning meeting, Whitewater Municipal Building; 6:30 PM


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