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Memorial Day in Whitewater during the 2020 Coronavirus

My name is Steven R. Smith and I am the adjutant for William Graham Post 173 of the American Legion. We knew Memorial Day 2020 was going to be different. We just didn’t know how different. William Graham Post 173 of the American Legion in Whitewater sold its “clubhouse,” the Veteran’s Memorial Building due to declining membership numbers. We had 432 members in 1973 just after it was built. That number included WW I, WW II, Korean War, and Vietnam veterans. Due to a number of factors that afflict many organizations today our number has dwindled to around 60. For the first time in 50 years the annual Memorial Day observance would be held somewhere else. The “Old Armory” was the most fitting location and the parade route from the Cravath Lakefont parking lot down Fremont to Main to 2nd Street had been chosen. Since our commander, Steve Nass, was scheduled to speak in other communities in his senate district I was planning to speak about the traditional meaning of Memorial Day as a fitting way to honor those service members who gave their lives in the service of our nation. But I also was going to use this as an opportunity to remember those members of William Graham Post who were instrumental in the construction of the building we called “home” for 50 years.

Then COVID-19 AKA the Coronavirus hit. Schools were closed for the remainder of the school year. That means there would be no bands available for a parade. With the “Stay Safe at Home” order prohibiting group gatherings that also meant no Memorial Day Observance. According to Carol Cartwright of the Whitewater Historical Society this would probably be the first time since 1878 there would be no official city wide observance of Memorial Day. So in lieu of an actual observance I am taking this opportunity to provide a virtual Memorial Day observance.

The morning of Memorial Day at 10:00AM we begin gathering in the area of the Cravath Lakefront Parking lot. Band members of the high school and middle school find their respective groups. The convertibles used to transport the guest speaker, chaplain, and honored high school students show up driven by members of the DLK Enterprises and American Legion members. In the first car we seat the guest speaker and chaplain, and since I am the speaker this year and I am usually part of the Honor Guard we can put a student or two or three in there. I think this year that would be the American Legion Scholarship winner, Jillian Gibbs and the VFW Scholarship winner, Jacee Johnson. Next comes the High School Band and following the band in the next car we’ll put the Badger Girls State representatives, Kacie Carollo, Catherine Skindingsrude, and Brianna Staebler. Following Girls State will be the Badger Boys State representatives, William Hoffman and Carson Ellenwood. The last car will carry the American Legion Americanism Award winner, Morgan Stillwagon and the American Legion Outstanding Athlete, Jonathan (Jack) Mayer. The Whitewater Middle School band follows the cars and following the Middle School band are usually Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts and anyone else who wants to march.

The parade is relatively short and ends at the Old Armory where the honored guests, Legion Members, the High School Band and other guests enter the building. We seat the high school students front and center and because we know these students are “the cream of the crop” they will be appropriately dressed. At 11:00 AM or once everyone is seated the master of ceremonies, this year I planned for the Commander of the VFW, Jason Dean (this may be the first he hears of it) to perform that function, will begin the ceremony with some opening remarks followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the Star Spangled Banner performed by the high school band. After the National Anthem the chaplain will give the invocation and everyone will be seated. The high school band will be asked to play a musical number after which most members will depart even though we wish they would stick around. The Master of Ceremonies will introduce our honored students and other special guests and then introduce the guest speaker. This year that would be me. Following my comments, hopefully not too long, we will recognize those Whitewater area veterans who have passed away this last year. This year the list numbers 31. Following the reading of those names the Honor Guard will fire a rifle salute and the bugler from the high school will play Taps. Following Taps the chaplain will offer the benediction and the ceremony will conclude.

As I said earlier in this piece I thought it would be appropriate to remember those members of William Graham Post who were instrumental in constructing the building before they fade from our memory. Before the Veteran’s Memorial Building, as it was “officially” known, the members of the American Legion first met, from 1919 to 1938 on the second floor of the building at 148 West Main Street. After the Armory was constructed as a WPA project (if you don’t know what the WPA was, look it up!) in 1938 the Legion was granted a basement room. In 1969 with membership exceeding 400, members decided to build a new home for the Post. The project was led by World War Veteran Jack Hale. His building committee:

Chairman – Jack Hale

Planning – Elmer Hanke, J.P. Hale

Finance – Clarence Peck, John Misener

Legal – Clark Dempsey, Robert Robinson

Bookkeepers – Clarence Stone, Lester Duesterbeck

Excavating – Gerald (Toby) Shroble, Roger Wiley, Marvin Homburg

Plumbing, Heating – Anton Geiser, Robert Boynton, Emil Stradinger

Block work – Maurice McQuade, Charles Cruse

Carpentry – Earl Maas, Anthony Rutoski

Materials – Don Hale, Anthony Willegal

Painting – Robert and Richard Kettwig

Roofing – Raymond Stritzel

Electric – Everhard Craig, Leonard Egnoski

Cleanup – Francis Kienbaum

Waterboy – J. Cox

General – Richard Frutiger

Publicity – Eugene Lee

These men were in charge of the areas noted and many other members were involved in every aspect of construction which kept the cost of the building low. They donated labor, materials and equipment and if you were a family member at the time they may have donated you too! There are others as well and I apologize if Jack didn’t mention them. I wasn’t here. There are, however a couple of people who also devoted a lot of time and other resources to the building over the years that need to be mentioned. They are Dave Kachel, whose generosity kept us afloat for years and whose sons are following in Dave’s footsteps and Kurt Troemel, who, even into his 90’s was still active, fixing stuff and giving advice, and Leo Perry.

The lot they purchased was the former site of the John Cahill home which was burned down by the fire department in 1969. The foundation sits on the footprint of that home. Members recycled material taken from old dormitories that were torn down to make way for new construction on campus. They also used an estimated 40,000 bricks from Old Main after the fire which destroyed the campus landmark. Boy Scout Troop 173 cleaned many of the bricks of old mortar before they could be used. By the end of 1970 the building was finished enough that on February 13, 1971 the Legion held a benefit dance for Bill Fero, a Whitewater soldier who lost his legs in Vietnam. The members made continuous improvements through the years helped tremendously by the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary. These ladies, through their fund raising efforts purchased pretty much whatever the Legion members, AKA their husbands, said they needed. We owe them a great debt of gratitude. In 1983 the Legion held a mortgage burning ceremony to celebrate paying off the last debt for the building.

That brings us to today. As I mentioned before, membership numbers peaked at 432 in 1973 and have been declining ever since. We ask ourselves, why? Going through the files I noticed a generational pattern of membership. My family for example, even though I’m not from here. I followed grandfathers, father, and uncles into the military. But I’m the only one of my generation and there is no one from the generations after me in the military. Some families have or have had a tradition of military service or maybe it was a tradition of being drafted. Coincidentally 1973 was also the last year of the draft and membership numbers have been declining ever since. Perhaps the lack of a major conflict, for which we may be thankful for or a strong enough sense of duty to serve our country, especially if you have other opportunities in civilian life that may take a priority over service. We still have a few young people joining the service, but they are the exception. We simply do not attract the numbers of veterans needed to support our large building. So the decision was made to sell the building and find a means with the proceeds of the sale to best honor and protect the investment made by our past membership and to serve the veterans of our community.

This concludes my comments and I would turn the program back over to the Master of Ceremonies.

So there you have it, a virtual Memorial Day Observance. Congratulations to the scholarship recipients, Girls and Boys State representatives, Americanism Award and Legion Athlete award winners and best of luck in the future! We hope and pray that next year at this time we will return to our tradition of having a Memorial Day Parade as in the past and this COVID 19 pandemic will be just another challenge we Americans have overcome!

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Highlights of the Virtual Common Council Meeting of May 19

• City Manager Cameron Clapper reported that there have been COVID-19 outbreaks (defined as two or more positive tests in a certain period of time) in at least two area businesses recently. Citizens are still encouraged to practice physical distancing, wear masks, and not to gather with people outside their household.
• It is hoped that free Coronavirus testing by a National Guard mobile site will be scheduled in Whitewater in the near future.
• The first reading was approved of an ordinance that would prohibit the sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits in the city. Councilmember Brienne Brown introduced the ordinance, indicating that the vast majority of dogs and cats that are sold in pet stores come from “puppy and kitty mills,” which are known to have conditions that contribute to ill health and poor sociability of the animals. A number of citizens, including representatives of several animal shelters, spoke in favor of the ordinance, which would not prohibit adoptions of dogs and cats from nonprofit shelters. It was indicated that, although similar ordinances have been adopted in many cities around the country, no municipalities in Wisconsin have yet done so.
• The second reading was approved amending fees charged to those in violation of the grass cutting ordinance.
• A contract was awarded to Payne & Dolan, Inc. in the amount of $194,920.75 for pulverizing and paving Wisconsin Street from Milwaukee Street to Coburn Lane and Starin Road from Park Street to Fremont Street, together with paving the Dog Park parking lot and Moraine View Park parking lot.
• Sale of surplus city-owned vehicles and equipment through auction was approved.
• The following citizens were appointed to boards and commissions: Board of Zoning Appeals – Patrick Taylor; Community Involvement & Cable TV – Lukas Schreiber; Community Development Authority – Jon Kachel; Disability Rights – Joanna Marr Baker; Landmarks – Pat Blackmer; Plan and Architectural Review – David Stone; Urban Forestry – Nicholas Alt. At the May 5 meeting Dan Currier and John Sotherland were appointed to the new Pedestrian and Bike Committee. Appreciation was expressed for the willingness of these persons to serve the community in this way.
• No action was taken on a proposal to purchase 104 acres of vacant land in the area of Highway 12, Highway P, and Willis Ray Road.

Gov. Evers Seeks Applicants for Jefferson County District Attorney

MADISON — ​Gov. Tony Evers announced on May 19 that he is seeking applications for appointment as Jefferson County District Attorney. The new appointee will fill the vacancy created by the resignation of District Attorney Susan Happ, who served in the position since 2008. Ms. Happ has taken a position with the state as director of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Litigation Unit. The new appointee will serve for the remainder of the unexpired term that ends January 2021.  To apply, please email a completed application form and supporting materials to govDAapp@wisconsin.gov. Applications must be submitted by June 8, 2020. The District Attornhttps://evers.wi.gov/Documents/JobPostings/DA%20Application%207.29.2019.pdfey application form is available on the “Apply to Serve” page of the Governor’s website: https://evers.wi.gov/Documents/JobPostings/DA%20Application%207.29.2019.pdf For questions about the appointments process, please contact the Governor’s Office of Legal Counsel at (608) 266-1212.

11th Annual Fran Achen Photography Competition – Sponsored by Whitewater
Arts Alliance

The Whitewater Arts Alliance is committed to producing the 11th Annual
Fran Achen Photography Competition in 2020. However, the uncertainty of
current times has brought about some changes in the show’s format.

The show is moving to a virtual, online format. Entry forms, images, and
fees will be submitted electronically and all judging will be done from
the submitted image files. We still plan to conduct a live show in the
gallery, if we are able to reopen it by July. We are hopeful but the
timing of when we can reopen the gallery remains uncertain.

Awards will be announced on the whitewaterarts.org website during the
show. Unfortunately, even if the gallery has re-opened, we will not be
able to hold the opening reception that has been so popular in the past.

Awards will be based on the electronically submitted images. We hope
that all of the entrants will choose to display framed prints of their
entered work in the gallery show but it is not a requirement in order to
be considered for awards. We expect that this will only apply in 2020.

Of special note this year is that there is no entry fee in the
Youth/Teen division. That’s right, FREE for Youth/Teen entrants. We are
hoping to encourage younger photographers to get involved.

We realize that these are uncertain times and if the entry fees pose a
hardship for anyone, please contact us and we will try to line up a sponsor.

AWARDS
 – BEST of Show ($100)
 – Accomplished Division: First ($75), Second ($50), and Third ($25)
 – Amateur Division: First ($75), Second ($50), and Third ($25)
 – Youth/Teen Division: First ($25), Second ($15), and Third ($10)
 – Viewers’ Choice ($50)
 – Some prizes may not be awarded in divisions having fewer than three
entries

Entry Deadline: Monday June 22
Photo Drop-Off: TO BE ANNOUNCED, tentatively set for Monday, June
29/Tuesday June 30, from 4pm to 6pm at the Cultural Arts Center.
Photo Pick-Up: TO BE ANNOUNCED, tentatively set for Sunday, July 26,
from 3pm to 5pm.

Whitewater Arts Alliance
11th Annual Fran Achen Photography Competition
July 2 – 26, 2020
Cultural Arts Center
402 West Main Street
Whitewater WI 53190

Open to all photographers — beginning, intermediate, and advanced
photographers of all ages are invited to submit their photographs.

Full information including rules and entry forms available at:
www.whitewaterarts.org/fran-achen-2020

For other questions please contact the event’s chairperson, Jeff
McDonald, at jeff.mcdonald@gaelicarts.com

Veterans’ graves to be decorated on Thursday, May 21

In recognition of Memorial Day and to honor our deceased veterans’ sacrifices to keep America free, the Whitewater American Legion Post 173, with assistance from Whitewater community members will be decorating veterans’ graves at Hillside cemetery on Thursday, May 21st at 4:30 p.m.  Prior to placing American flags on the graves, a brief ceremony will take place and will include a rifle volley and taps.

Per this article in The Daily Cardinal, UW System President Ray Cross announced on Friday, May 15 that he anticipates the reopening of UW campuses for the upcoming fall semester. “We fully expect to remain open in the fall,” Cross said. “How we deliver education for students depends on a number of factors.”

Previously it was announced that a final decision regarding the reopening of campuses would not be made until July 10. It appears, therefore, that Dr. Cross’s statement on May 15 is more aspirational than indicative of a final decision.

By the way, Ray Cross, age 71, announced in October, 2019 his intention to retire, capping off his 42-year career in higher education. His retirement date is still on hold pending the naming of a successor as system president.

Meanwhile, USA Today printed a sobering article on May 16 titled, “No students. No graduation. ‘Total devastation’ in college towns during coronavirus pandemic.” Although the piece focuses primarily on towns that host larger universities than UW-W, the economic impact being felt in Whitewater is certainly similar to what is described.

The Washington Post asked three public health experts where they’ll be comfortable going now that states are reopening.

In general, they’ll consider three key points:

●Whether they’d be indoors or outdoors (Outdoors is safer.)

●Their proximity to employees and customers (Can they stay at least six feet from others?)

●How much time the outing would entail (Less is better.)

If you’re interested in seeing more of the experts’ advice, click here.

May 15, 2020 Update from City Manager.

Municipal Facility Closures

Though the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned the Governor’s Safer At Home order (Order #28), many of the practices outlined in the Governor’s order were of significant value in protecting the health and safety of employees. Because the dangers associated with the spread of COVID-19 remain, the City of Whitewater will continue with modified operations until further notice. As a result, municipal facilities will remain closed to the public until further notice. This standard will be reevaluated on or before June 1, 2020. Any updates or changes will be provided publicly via this page as well as the City’s other media outlets.

UW-Whitewater announces 2020 alumni award recipients

Three alumni who have achieved significant professional and community service success are being honored as the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater celebrates its 152nd anniversary. Each 2020 award winner is a woman of color and represents the first generation in her family to earn a college degree.

This year’s recipient of the Outstanding Recent Alumni Award is Sydney Nelson. The award recognizes Nelson’s personal and professional commitment to mentoring others and her focus on teaching financial literacy skills to the various communities she serves, including in her role as president of the Milwaukee Chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants, Inc. Nelson, who earned a BBA in accounting in 2013 and a Master of Professional Accountancy in 2014, is a senior internal auditor for Advocate Aurora Health in Milwaukee. Read more >>

The recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award for Professional Achievement is Sarahí Monterrey. The award recognizes Monterrey’s extensive career developing bilingual curricula and advocating for dual-language programs. She was named Wisconsin’s 2018-2019 High School Teacher of the Year and selected as Wisconsin’s 2019 representative to the National Teacher of the Year Program. Monterrey, who earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 2002 and a master’s degree in 2003, is an English learner teacher at Waukesha North High School. Read more >>

Regina Carlisle-Williams is this year’s recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award for Community/Regional Service. Carlisle-Williams, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business education in 1978, is recognized for her service to others, as evidenced by numerous local, regional and statewide awards citing her outstanding citizenship and her commitment to the community. Carlisle-Williams is a retired legal assistant for Loeb & Herman, S.C., of Milwaukee, where she worked for 40 years. Read more >>

“All three of these accomplished alumni speak to UW-Whitewater’s legacy of supporting diversity and the success of students of all backgrounds,” said Chancellor Dwight C. Watson. “I couldn’t be more proud of their achievements. Through their lived experiences, they have modeled the Warhawk values of equity, diversity and inclusion that we work to instill in all of our students.”

“The impact of UW-Whitewater alumni can be seen and felt across the nation and world,” said Amy Oeding, director of alumni relations. “They not only contribute immensely to their professions, but they also give back to their communities and continue to have a rich connection to the campus and to today’s students.”

Also being recognized are the 2020 UW-Whitewater Outstanding Student Award winners, one from each of the university’s five colleges. Each student will receive a $1,000 scholarship in addition to their award:

• Allison August, general management major from Janesville, College of Integrated Studies
• Haley Fritsche, early childhood education major from Lake Tomahawk, College of Education and Professional Studies
• Julia Gahr, accounting and supply chain and operations management double major from Sussex, College of Business and Economics
• Jasmyn Kosier, music education major from Wauwatosa, College of Arts and Communication
• Komi Yenkey, computer science major from Whitewater, College of Letters and Sciences

The outstanding alumni and student awards are traditionally presented at an event in honor of the university’s annual Founders Day on April 21. Because of the state Safer-at-Home order, this year’s event, scheduled for April 25, was canceled. This year’s awardees will instead be honored at the university’s 2021 Founder’s Day event.

For more information on UW-Whitewater’s Outstanding Alumni awards, visit http://www.uww.edu/alumni/awards