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Wisconsin State Journal Article
The Wisconsin State Journal featured Whitewater and its Home-Coming on the cover of its Local section on Saturday, June 29, 2007:
The print version of the paper has a great shot of city worker Dwight Slocum on the roof of the municipal building, bunting away, with the carnival preparations in the background, and also a shot of author and Home-Coming King Fred Kraege and a photo from the 1907 parade. The article was written by Kim McDarison, Whitewater area resident and former editor of the Whitewater Register. Good work, Kim!
Yesterday the Jefferson County Daily Union printed a complimetary and very knowledgable editorial about our Home-Coming efforts as well. This editorial is not yet updated on their website, but the URL is http://www.dailyunion.com and you should click on "editorial."
The text of the article:
Whitewater plans a homecoming
By KIM MCDARISON For the State Journal
June 30, 2007 More than 100 years ago, Whitewater's economy was sent reeling when its two major manufacturers closed up shop, taking with them 700 jobs. The closures led to a 30 percent drop in the city's population and reduced the once-thriving city to a "farmer's town," said one local historian.
The loss of the Winchester and Partridge Manufacturing Co., a wagon and plow manufacturer, in 1890, and the Esterly Co., known internationally for its reaper, two years later, were only "the hardest blow" in a series of misfortunes, among them floods, fires, crop failures and recession, Fred Kraege wrote in his recent book, "Whitewater."
Hoping to rekindle a sense of community spirit, Albert Salisbury, the then-president of Whitewater State Normal School, proposed a "Home-Coming" celebration in 1907, inviting anyone who had once lived or worked in the city home for the Fourth of July. Some 2,000 former residents from nearly every state rallied to the call.
Today, Whitewater boasts state-of-the-art businesses and educational facilities, varied recreational activities, and a vibrant university campus.
But, like many Wisconsin cities, it has endured recent economic setbacks.
"Because we've had large numbers of vacancies and blighted properties, the downtown is not what it was 100 years ago," said City Manager Kevin Brunner.
To once again spur interest in the downtown, and to mark the centennial of the original homecoming, the city is mounting a re-creation of the 1907 event this week.
Organizers sent some 4,000 post cards to former residents inviting them back, said homecoming committee co-chair Kristine Zaballos, although she said she didn't know how many might take the city up on the offer.
The event kicks off Sunday and coincides with the city's July Fourth festivities, which began Friday.
A Web site has been set up, at www.whitewaterhomecoming.com, where residents and former residents can share stories about their city.
Among them is former resident Mary Olivia Worm-Dutra who wrote, "Even though I have been away for many years, Whitewater will always be my home. ... God bless you all as we celebrate the 100th anniversary ... my thoughts and heart will be with you."
Brunner said this year's event is symbolic of the broader change promoters want for the city. Those include initiatives aimed at spurring economic growth and a better commercial mix, among them faade restorations to historic downtown storefronts and a newly established Whitewater Arts Alliance.
"The homecoming is about pride in our community and pride in our hometown, and how do you measure that?" he said. Perhaps former residents will decide to move back or start a business. At the very least, Brunner said, "They can help celebrate the rich history that we have."
A former childhood resident of the city who returned four years ago, Zaballos said she saw "huge, untapped potential in Whitewater." At the same time, "there seemed to be much critical scrutiny of the status quo and skepticism that anything would make a difference."
Despite the good efforts of organizers a hundred years ago, the city's first homecoming didn't inspire much economic development, said area historians Carol Cartwright and Ellen Penwell.
The economic growth at that time was very little," Cartwright said. "The population of Whitewater in 1890 did not rebound to the same level until after World War II."
Penwell, who is helping plan this year's event, said it wasn't until the university started growing in the early part of the last century that the city found its anchor.
What the homecoming did, she said, "was recreate a sense of community. And you need that first; you need to create a welcoming environment for people in which they will want to live and work.
"In a sense, we are working to do the same thing ... to capture community spirit again and bring it to the forefront."
By KIM MCDARISON For the State Journal
June 30, 2007 More than 100 years ago, Whitewater's economy was sent reeling when its two major manufacturers closed up shop, taking with them 700 jobs. The closures led to a 30 percent drop in the city's population and reduced the once-thriving city to a "farmer's town," said one local historian.
The loss of the Winchester and Partridge Manufacturing Co., a wagon and plow manufacturer, in 1890, and the Esterly Co., known internationally for its reaper, two years later, were only "the hardest blow" in a series of misfortunes, among them floods, fires, crop failures and recession, Fred Kraege wrote in his recent book, "Whitewater."
Hoping to rekindle a sense of community spirit, Albert Salisbury, the then-president of Whitewater State Normal School, proposed a "Home-Coming" celebration in 1907, inviting anyone who had once lived or worked in the city home for the Fourth of July. Some 2,000 former residents from nearly every state rallied to the call.
Today, Whitewater boasts state-of-the-art businesses and educational facilities, varied recreational activities, and a vibrant university campus.
But, like many Wisconsin cities, it has endured recent economic setbacks.
"Because we've had large numbers of vacancies and blighted properties, the downtown is not what it was 100 years ago," said City Manager Kevin Brunner.
To once again spur interest in the downtown, and to mark the centennial of the original homecoming, the city is mounting a re-creation of the 1907 event this week.
Organizers sent some 4,000 post cards to former residents inviting them back, said homecoming committee co-chair Kristine Zaballos, although she said she didn't know how many might take the city up on the offer.
The event kicks off Sunday and coincides with the city's July Fourth festivities, which began Friday.
A Web site has been set up, at www.whitewaterhomecoming.com, where residents and former residents can share stories about their city.
Among them is former resident Mary Olivia Worm-Dutra who wrote, "Even though I have been away for many years, Whitewater will always be my home. ... God bless you all as we celebrate the 100th anniversary ... my thoughts and heart will be with you."
Brunner said this year's event is symbolic of the broader change promoters want for the city. Those include initiatives aimed at spurring economic growth and a better commercial mix, among them faade restorations to historic downtown storefronts and a newly established Whitewater Arts Alliance.
"The homecoming is about pride in our community and pride in our hometown, and how do you measure that?" he said. Perhaps former residents will decide to move back or start a business. At the very least, Brunner said, "They can help celebrate the rich history that we have."
A former childhood resident of the city who returned four years ago, Zaballos said she saw "huge, untapped potential in Whitewater." At the same time, "there seemed to be much critical scrutiny of the status quo and skepticism that anything would make a difference."
Despite the good efforts of organizers a hundred years ago, the city's first homecoming didn't inspire much economic development, said area historians Carol Cartwright and Ellen Penwell.
The economic growth at that time was very little," Cartwright said. "The population of Whitewater in 1890 did not rebound to the same level until after World War II."
Penwell, who is helping plan this year's event, said it wasn't until the university started growing in the early part of the last century that the city found its anchor.
What the homecoming did, she said, "was recreate a sense of community. And you need that first; you need to create a welcoming environment for people in which they will want to live and work.
"In a sense, we are working to do the same thing ... to capture community spirit again and bring it to the forefront."
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