(Whitewater Historical Society submission) In November 1946, the Whitewater Register featured a promotion following the Uglow family of Heart Prairie on their “Saturday Shopping Tour of Stores in the Business District.” Let’s check out some of the stores that Ellis and Dorothy, along with their children, Charlotte, Thane, and Bonnie, visited on their trip into town!
Pictured here is Anne Marhank and Marie Callahan showing Dorothy, Charlotte, and Bonnie the latest trends in sweaters and handbags at The Smart Shop. Anne and Marie opened the women’s clothing store in February 1946. The store was later owned by Lucille Heagney and her husband, Walter, for sixteen years between 1950-1966. In 1966, the Heagneys sold the business to Mona Reese and Shelby Reese, who managed the Main Street store until its closing in December 1968. Join us next week for more from the Uglow family’s downtown shopping trip and the Whitewater Historical Society collections!
(WAFC press release) The WAFC along the Friends of the WAFC group and the Whitewater Optimist Club will be hosting a drive thru Santa and Friends event on Saturday December 5th from 1 p.m.- 3 p.m. Folks will drive through our parking lot to see festive lights/displays with Holiday characters and receive a Holiday goodie bag at the end. Participants are encouraged to bring along a nonperishable food donation. We will be donating all of the collected food items to the local food pantry.
At approximately 2:10 p.m. on Dec 3rd, the Whitewater Fire Department was dispatched to a report of a subject stuck in the mud, by the boat launch on Trippe Lake. Upon arrival, crews found an elderly female person trapped in the mud along the waterline, up to her waist. The individual became trapped while assisting another family member. Crews requested assistance from the Whitewater Department of Public Works for plywood and additional shovels. The Whitewater Police Department was on scene and secured the person with a rope. Crews worked for approximately 50 minutes to free the victim from mud and sediment. The female was transported to an area hospital suffering from exposure to the cold. We would like to remind people to please use caution during the lake draw down. Exposed areas may be soft and pose risks to individuals.We would also like to thank the Whitewater Police Department and Whitewater DPW workers for their assistance in this rescue.
(UW-Whitewater submission) Pat Slane, who earned a BSE in physics education with a second major in mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 1977, was recently named director of the Chandra X-ray Center, which controls science and flight operations for NASA’s flagship X-ray telescope, housed at the Smithsonian’s Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The Chandra X-ray Observatory is one of the remaining NASA “Great Observatories,” along with the Hubble Space Telescope. The satellite was launched into space on the Space Shuttle Columbia on July 23, 1999, at a cost of $1.65 billion. The telescope is specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the universe; because X-rays are absorbed by Earth’s atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 86,500 miles in space. At Chandra, Slane oversees the staff who operate the satellite, process the data and distribute it to scientists around the world for analysis.
Pat Slane
Slane has been involved with Chandra since before its launch, including leading the mission planning team, and served as assistant director for science since 2015. His research interests include the study of supernova remnants, young neutron stars and pulsar wind nebulae.
“I have been working in high-energy astrophysics, and specifically X-ray astronomy, for much of my professional career,” said Slane. “It is an honor to be taking over as director of Chandra, which is one of the crown jewels of NASA and all of astrophysics.”
Slane’s path to becoming a director of a key NASA observatory included studying education as an undergraduate, several years teaching in a high school, a graduate degree in mathematics from UW-Milwaukee and a Ph.D. in physics from UW-Madison.
“If you look at it, I was on a very linear path,” said Slane, who was born in Milwaukee and grew up in New Berlin. “Once I made the decision to go to UW-Whitewater to be a high school math teacher — which I made before I got there — that’s what I did. I didn’t know at any step of the way, honestly, what was to come five years down the road. It wasn’t a discrete plan from beginning to end; at each step of the way it was ‘OK, this is what I am going to do now.’”
Chandra X-ray satellite
As a student at UW-Whitewater, Slane found unexpected opportunities.
“For reasons that remain mysterious to this day, the physics faculty recognized potential in this young, quiet, long-haired kid and embraced me as part of the department,” said Slane. “Hugo Tscharnack offered serious advice. Elmer Redford arranged a job as a tutor in the campus tutorial center, where I got my first real experience teaching. Ron Bergsten picked me out of the class of students to do independent research, leading to my first publication. These are debts that I’ve spent a career to repay.”
Professor Emeritus Ron Bergsten remembers working with Slane as a young student.
“At the time that I first met Pat, I had for many years been considering the possibility of conducting the research for a paper on Fourier Transform Spectroscopy,” said Bergsten. “But I felt that the project could serve as an independent study project for a worthy student, and thus waited for such a student to enroll in the physics program at UW-Whitewater. Upon meeting Pat, I was impressed with his interest in and enthusiasm for the project, so I invited him to collaborate. He willingly and proficiently executed the project, which resulted in the writing and publication of “Fourier-transform spectroscopy with inexpensive interferometers” in the American Journal of Physics in December 1978.”
Slane started out teaching after college, before going on to graduate school, describing it as “where I learned the depths of responsibility, effort, and knowledge required to do an honest job of educating students — and just how rewarding that endeavor can be.”
Along the way, he kept his ties to UW-Whitewater.
“Pat has been a very active alumnus, particularly when he was serving on the College of Letters and Sciences Dean’s Council and Science Alliance,” said Robert Benjamin, professor of physics. “He has done many seminars for our students over the years, and the students are always interested.”
Slane has also served as an alumni mentor, including to one of Benjamin’s students, Heidi Watry.
“The alumni mentor program was for upper-level undergraduates to be paired with alumni,” said Watry. “I was studying a ‘space math’ emphasis, which was a way to apply science to math, to use math outside of the teaching realm. I was paired with Pat Slane, an astrophysicist.”
Benjamin and Slane conceived a plan for Watry to go to Chandra X-ray Observatory and work with both X-ray data and the Spitzer infrared data she had already been studying.
“It merged my existing research project experience with Dr. Benjamin with my mentorship with Pat,” she said. “That summer, I toured Chandra’s facilities, worked under Pat, and compared data sets. I got to experience what it would be like to be a researcher under Pat’s tutelage as well as learn about the other jobs at a telescope center. I ended my UW-Whitewater experience knowing that I had a real interest in astronomy, though telescope jobs are rare to come by, so after graduation I got a job at Epic.”
Watry, who graduated in 2005, soon got the opportunity to pursue that telescope job.
“Nine months into my job at Epic, Pat said, ‘By the way, I have a job opening for a data specialist.’ I applied, moved to Boston and went to work at Chandra in 2007. I worked there 4.5 years, working on Pat’s team with five other data specialists, planning out the schedule for what the telescope could observe.”
“Nearly 10 years after leaving my job at Chandra, I can still feel the excitement of working for the Chandra planning team, due the experience of working for Pat,” Watry said. “Pat meets you where you are and always has time. He pulls up the white board, pulls out the graph paper. He always left room in our job responsibilities and time in the workday to explore and find out what we are going to be passionate about. I was into scheduling optimization. Pat gave me the room to come to that niche.”
Reflecting on his continuing work as a mentor, Slane said, “Part of it is a payback thing. Part of it is that something special happened at Whitewater, something that made a difference that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.”
Ever the educator, Slane continues to relish opportunities to teach.
“One of the things I enjoy about coming back to campus is that I’m back to being that kid. I like engaging with students from anywhere. They ask questions that set me back into thinking, ‘That’s right, not everyone knows this. Oh yeah — this is an exciting thing to talk about!’ It gives you a new appreciation for what you are doing, to be able to explain it to others.”
Slane will talk about some of those exciting things in a virtual public lecture, “All About NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (Whitewater Observatory Lecture),” including how the Chandra X-ray Observatory operates, some of the things that this telescope has discovered in its 20+ year mission, and some of his own personal observations about using and managing this flagship X-ray telescope. The lecture, which is free, takes place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4.
Dennis “Denny” William Kehoe, 92, of Whitewater passed on Wednesday, December 2, 2020 at Glenwood at Mulberry Glen.
Denny was born on June 11, 1928 in Watertown to Charles W. and Anna O. (Dollase) Kehoe. He was a World War II era veteran, stationed in Occupied Japan. After serving his country, he was a UW-Madison graduate that lettered in boxing. He dedicated the rest of his career to education, and was a Professor Emeritus of Spanish and Portuguese at UW-Whitewater. He was an avid linguist.
Denny was a member of the Whitewater Knights of Columbus, an active volunteer with the Latin American Mission Program, and was very involved in the Latino community. He was an active member in the St. Mary’s Catholic Church and St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. He traveled and taught with college students in Mexico and Spain.
After retiring, he enjoyed traveling with his wife, Rita and singing with the Lake County Country Gentleman Barbershop Choir out of Lake Geneva. He had a wonderful sense of humor and loved to sing.
Dennis is survived by his children, Rita (Parker) Dow, Bill (Heather) Kehoe, Maria (David) Hinners. He was a loving grandpa to Heather (David) Buehler, Holly Dow, Morganne (Andrew) Seiner, Shannon Kehoe, Meghan Kehoe, Alex Hinners, Eric Hinners; and great-grandchildren, Seraphine and Sebastian Buehler. He is also survived by his sister, Jane Boyink; and many nephews and nieces.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Anna Kehoe; wife, Rita (Lassa) Kehoe; brother, Mack Kehoe; and sister, Ethel (Kehoe) Kachelmeier.
A funeral mass will take place at 11 a.m. on Monday, December 7, 2020 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Palmyra. Masks and social distancing are required. A graveside service will follow at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Palmyra or St. Patrick’s Catholic Church.
The family would like to give special thanks to Glenwood and Marquardt Hospice for their exceptional care of Denny.
Nitardy Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences can be made at www.nitardyfuneralhome.com
Dennis D. Floerke, age 68, of Stitzer, WI, formerly of Whitewater, passed away on Tuesday, December 1, 2020 at his residence with his family by his side. He was born on January 12, 1952 in Fort Atkinson the son of Lawrence and Nora (Beighley) Floerke. He was united in marriage to Jean Fritz on November 30, 2013 at the Boscobel United Methodist Church.
Dennis worked for the Jefferson County Highway Department for over 33 years. He began his duties as a Patrolman’s Helper. He also served as a Patrolman. The previous 20 years, Dennis ran a grader on the Grade Crew and he loved to snow plow. After his retirement, he was employed at Reddy-Ag in Stitzer as a seasonal employee for the past three years until having to retire due to his declining health. Dennis enjoyed going to stock car races along with watching NASCAR. He enjoyed going for rides in the country looking at the beautiful scenery and wildlife. He and Jean took road trips to Las Vegas, Florida, Texas, Colorado and Canada. Dennis was a handyman and liked working on projects around the house. He was most proud of his family and especially his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He made special bonds with each of them. He will be remembered for his big heart, his desire to always help others, and always having a positive outlook on life. He will be deeply missed.
Dennis is survived by his wife Jean of Stitzer, his daughter Cheryl (Tim) Oechsle of Fennimore and their children Jacob (Megan Klema) Oechsle and Levi (Erica Boylen) Oechsle, and son Cliff (Amy) Floerke of Whitewater and their son Anthony (Jessica) Floerke and their two children Madelyn and Kate Floerke, along with Jean’s family; daughter Cindy (Andy) Ploessl and their children; Phillip Peer, Tesha (Jake) Millard and their children Kamden and Aubree Millard, daughter Alisa (Jeremy) Miles and their two children Dalton and Ashley Miles, son Michael Butler and his two children Xander Fecht and Coral Butler. Dennis is also survived by his two brothers Eugene (Alice) Floerke of Richland Center, and Alan (Pam) Floerke of Fort Atkinson.
Dennis was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Walter Beighley.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 5, 2020 at the Larson Family Funeral Home in Fennimore with burial to follow in the Prairie Cemetery in Fennimore. Pastor Mary Ann Floerke will be officiating. Visitation will be held from 12:00 noon until the time of service at the funeral home on Saturday. If planning on attending services at the funeral home the wearing of masks will be required. Online condolences may be made at www.larsonfuneralhomes.com
(UWW/Community Optimist submission) For 26 years, UWW/Community Optimist Club has been hosting the annual Mitten Tree collection during the holiday season for the kids in our community!
As everyone is painfully aware, the COVID 19 virus pandemic has caused the Optimist Club to rethink this year’s collection procedures. First Citizens State Bank, Fort Community Credit Union (FCCU) and First English Lutheran Church will be collection places this year but in a much more limited fashion. First Citizens State Bank will be taking collections from their employees and First English Lutheran Church will only collect from their church members indirectly. The Whitewater branch of Fort Community Credit Union’s lobby is open, and they will serve as a collection site for the public. Donations will be accepted now through Friday, December 18th by 4 p.m.
Jeanine Fassl accepts 105 pairs of hand-knit mittens from Dottie Koenitzer last year with Dottie making 108 pairs this year as well. Any donations of hats, gloves, scarves, mittens, socks, and underwear, for children especially in smaller sizes, are greatly appreciated. Thank you for helping support the children in our community!
The main needs are mittens, hats, and scarves. In addition, underwear and socks are encouraged as they are used for emergency items for the area children throughout the year. Gift cards are also valuable and will help local agencies to purchase items as needed.
There is a large need for smaller sizes since there are more than 300 children under age 5 in the Whitewater Unified School District.
Many thanks to all three collection sites for continuing to sponsor this worthwhile program.
(Press release from St. John’s Masonic Lodge) A message of gratitude:
One of the iconic buildings in downtown Whitewater is the Masonic Temple at 226 W Main St. The building was erected in 1904 and has been home to several Masonic organizations over the years. Recently, the building has been in severe need of a roof replacement. This year, that was accomplished by very generous donations from the Kachel family, and from Mr. James Caldwell. Jon, Larry and Mike Kachel and Jim Caldwell are all long term members of St. John’s Lodge. The lodge extends our deepest gratitude to these fine Masonic Brothers.
With the Covid pandemic, many organizations are suffering from lack of funds. This year, the lodge had to omit our spring dinner fundraiser, which funds a significant part of our annual budget. We had a carry out only dinner on November 17th. The outpouring of support from the Whitewater community for this fundraiser was overwhelming! The lodge would like to thank everyone who purchased dinners.
Finally, within the membership of St. John’s Lodge, many donated significant cash contributions and/or volunteer time for fundraising. Our gratitude to all.
Despite difficult times, our organization has had a great year, thanks to all the support from this great community.
(UW-Whitewater College of Business and Economics submission) After seeing year-over-year increases during the previous six years, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater set a new graduate enrollment record of 1,567 students in fall 2020.
The record enrollment follows the launch of UW-Whitewater Online, which was largely conceived and developed in 2019. UW-Whitewater Online currently encompasses 11 master’s degrees, 20 graduate certificates and 11 bachelor’s programs.
“We have seen tremendous success with online graduate programs in the college, and they were clearly a driver of growth,” said John Chenoweth, dean of the College of Business and Economics. “The convenience and flexibility of online delivery make a master’s degree more attainable for working professionals.”
“The online degree programs at UW-Whitewater are among the best in the country and have earned strong rankings by U.S. News & World Report,” said Joan Littlefield Cook, interim associate provost at UW-Whitewater. “The UW-Whitewater Online brand was developed to organize our efforts campus-wide and to generate the awareness these programs deserved.”
The university launched its fully online MBA in 1998. By building on that success and investing in faculty and technology over the past two decades, UW-Whitewater is able to deliver high-quality graduate education to students worldwide.
All UW-Whitewater Online graduate programs are developed and delivered by Ph.D. faculty with assistance from experienced instructional designers and media specialists. Courses are completely asynchronous and delivered 100 percent online.
The university also responds to market demands and higher education trends related to both its online and on-campus programs.
“One of the strengths of our MBA program is the number of emphasis options we offer,” said Paul Ambrose, associate dean of the College of Business and Economics. “We took two popular emphases that have particularly strong market demand, and created Master of Science degrees in business analytics and finance for people interested in more focused coursework.”
“Expanding our portfolio of graduate programs has been intentional and focused on degrees in demand,” said Chenoweth. “As a result, they are a great choice for professionals looking to change careers, update their resume or position themselves for advancement.”
In the last several years, the College of Letters and Sciences added a Master of Science in Computer Science degree and a Master of Science in Social Work, which have been very successful. The new M.S. in Cybersecurity, offered jointly by the Colleges of Business and Economics and Letters and Sciences, provides students the advanced training needed to succeed in this growing and competitive field.
“The creation of the M.S. degree in cybersecurity allows us to build on existing faculty strengths in a way that benefits our current students as well as those who will join us in the future,” said Frank Goza, dean of the College of Letters and Sciences. “We are extremely excited about this dynamic new program as it will provide our students with cutting-edge knowledge that will enable them to advance in their current positions or find rewarding new careers.”
To better meet students’ needs, the colleges are employing a new format of eight-week courses organized into stackable certificates, allowing students to earn certificates in specific areas while completing a master’s degree. The new M.S. in Instructional Design and Learning Technology in the College of Education and Professional Studies uses this structure, as does the newly restructured online M.S. in Communication in the College of Arts and Communication.
For questions about UW-Whitewater’s 100 percent online master’s programs, contact Paul Ambrose, associate dean of the College of Business and Economics, at 262-472-1945 or gradbus@uww.edu.
