It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society.
The last of our mid-20th century images of Whitewater businesses is this 1955 view of the Whitewater Manufacturing Company, at that time located on North Jefferson Street. This company was incorporated in 1943 and moved to this location in 1945. Over the years, the company expanded their operations as a foundry and machine shop. In 1962, the company had 150 employees making items primarily for the automobile and agricultural equipment industries.
Join us next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society.
Ripon College has announced its Dean’s List for the Fall 2024 semester recognizing academic excellence. To qualify for the Dean’s List at Ripon College, students must achieve a 3.40 grade point average or higher on a 4.00 scale and complete at least 12 credits of regular letter-graded works.
Heather Charter, a Senior from Whitewater, WI was named to the Fall 2024 Dean’s List. Charter’s major(s) is/are Business Management, Economics. Minor: Philosophy
Founded in 1851, Ripon College is a private liberal arts and science institution nestled in Ripon, Wisconsin. Ripon College is dedicated to delivering personalized education through a diverse array of undergraduate programs and extracurricular opportunities, ensuring students enjoy a well-rounded college experience. Ripon College enrolls more than 700 students with a student-to-faculty ratio of 12:1. The college’s picturesque, historic campus and vibrant community provide a supportive environment where students can thrive academically and personally.
Whitewater Common Council Candidate Forum on March 1
The League of Women Voters Whitewater Area will hold a Candidate Forum for City of Whitewater Common Council candidates on Saturday, March 1, 10:00 am-11:30 am, in the City of Whitewater Community Room, 312 W Whitewater Street.
Mike Smith and J Christopher Wilt are in a contested race for the Common Council Aldermanic District 1 seat. Both candidates will be in attendance at the forum. Uncontested candidates, who will also be present at the forum, are Steven Sahyun (AD3) and Patrick Singer (At Large Seat). Neil Hicks, running unopposed in AD5, will not be attending. League board member Lynn Binnie will serve as moderator.
The League sponsors candidate forums for the benefit of YOU, the voter. At the forum, you will be asked to write your questions on cards distributed by the League. Questions are reviewed by question checkers, who sort them by topic and check for redundancy, before forwarding them to the moderator. We do not accept questions targeted to specific candidates. Questions prepared by the League board will be used only if there are not enough questions provided by residents in attendance at the forum.
Bring your family and neighbors! Be an active participant in our democracy! And please mark your calendar for a WUSD School Board Candidate Forum, to be held on Saturday, March 15, 10 am – 11:30 am.
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
Updated 2/27/25 @ 4:45 p.m. to add the photo below.
A new tradition: Students bring their stuffed animals to be the audience for the dress rehearsal. Photo courtesy of Tom Ganser.
The Whitewater High School Players will be performing “The Good Doctor” in the James M. Stewart Auditorium at WHS on Feb. 27 & 28 and Mar. 1 at 7 p.m., and Mar. 2 at 2 p.m. General seating tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students. For more information call the box office at 262-472-8178.
Written by Neil Simon, “The Good Doctor” is charming, hilarious, sad, and touching. It consists of a series of short plays, based on short stories by Russian author Anton Chekhov. The scenes, when experienced one after another, give you a strong sense of Chekhov’s take on the human condition, embellished by Simon’s wit and pithy dialogue. The Writer is the one unifying element in the scenes, introducing and commenting on them. The audience meets a variety of characters, all of whom are immediately relatable and strikingly human.
The photo above is of “The Writer,” and the photos below are of the eight stories that are depicted in the play. All are from the final dress rehearsal, courtesy of Tom Ganser.
The Whitewater Arts Alliance will host “From Whitewater to the World: The Etchings of Léon Rene Pescheret” from February 27 to March 30, 2025, at the Cultural Arts Center, 402 W. Main St., Whitewater. The exhibition features the work of Léon Rene Pescheret (1892–1971), a British-born American printmaker known for his color and monochrome etchings of Gothic cathedrals in Europe, world’s fairs, northern Wisconsin woods, and the former “State Teachers College” (now UW-Whitewater). Pescheret set up his studio in Whitewater, Wisconsin in 1936 and worked there for over 30 years, producing prints that appealed to local and international viewers.
The exhibit is curated by Ashley Dimmig, PhD, a WAA Board member and the Crossman Gallery Director and Art History Lecturer at UW-Whitewater’s Department of Art and Design. She earned her PhD in Art History from the University of Michigan in 2019 and oversees the gallery, curates exhibitions, and teaches art history.
The exhibition features prints loaned by private collectors Ed Hale, Pat Blackmer, and Dan Richardson, alongside works from the Crossman Gallery at UW-Whitewater. Together, these pieces show Pescheret’s ability to turn diverse landscapes and cultural moments into detailed etchings. This exhibition presents nearly 80 of his prints, a mere slice of his vast body of work, shedding light on the depth and breadth of his career. Pescheret’s philosophy of creating affordable prints stemmed from his belief that art should be accessible to everyday people, not just wealthy collectors.
Join us for an opening reception and panel discussion with the curator and the collectors on Saturday, March 8, 2025, from 12 pm-3 pm at the Cultural Arts Center, 402 W. Main St., Whitewater. Attendees will enjoy light refreshments and hear insights from collectors about Pescheret’s enduring impact. This event is free and open to the public.
About Whitewater Arts Alliance:
The Whitewater Arts Alliance, Inc. is dedicated to supporting, promoting, and developing the arts as an essential and integral part of the community.
Whitewater Arts Alliance / Cultural Arts Center 402 West Main Street Whitewater, WI, 53190 Phone: 608-201-2151
A contingent of more than 30 students from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater attended the 2025 Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Student Forum on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. (UW-Whitewater photo/Bella Dinamarca)
UW-Whitewater students recognized by Wisconsin Broadcasters Association
A total of 15 students from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater were recognized as award winners at the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association (WBA) 2025 Student Forum on Saturday, Feb. 22, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
The following student was recognized at the WBA 2025 Student Forum as the recipient of a Student Excellence Award:
Whitewater, WI: Carter Waelchli, who is studying Communication, won the following award: First place, Best TV Sports Play-By-Play.
As an institution, UW-Whitewater took home 11 awards, including three for first place in a category, two for second place and six for third place. The university swept the Sports Show category by earning first, second, and third place. More than 30 students from UWW-TV, the university’s student television network, and WSUW / 91.7 The Edge, the university’s student radio station, attended the seminar.
The WBA is a state broadcasters membership group that was established in 1951. Its main purpose is to promote the development of the arts of aural and visual broadcasting in all its forms, working closely with statewide educators and broadcast managers/directors to encourage and promote customs and practices that will strengthen and maintain the broadcast industry to best serve the public.
The WBA also recognizes state broadcasters, professionals, and student/amateur broadcasters with annual seminars and recognitions. Students in the media studies program at UW-Whitewater have the opportunity each spring to attend several networking break-out sessions during the annual Student Seminar, typically held in late February or early March.
UWW-TV and WSUW, each supported by UW-Whitewater, provide students with hands-on experience in producing high-quality content both behind the scenes and on camera. To learn more about UWW-TV, visit uwwtv.org. To learn more about WSUW, visit 917theedge.weebly.com.
Editor’s note: The above press release was received from UW-Whitewater.
Mark Dorn writes, “Eight afternoon visitors right outside my sunroom window at the Village at Trippe Lake condos. 4 pm Wednesday afternoon, February 19.”
Our thanks to Mark Dorn for catching and sharing another great wildlife photo.
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The following area student completed a certificate requirement at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in December.
The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, founded in 1909, is one of 13 four-year institutions comprising the Universities of Wisconsin. UWL offers 130-plus degree programs from undergraduate to doctoral levels in arts, social sciences and humanities; science and health; business; and education. UW-La Crosse – www.uwlax.edu – is a top-ranked national university. It is the No. 1 public university in Wisconsin with fewer than 25,000 students, according to Niche’s Best Colleges ranking.
The following student completed her program requirements in December:
Maggie Trautsch was the leading scorer, with 18 points / Photo by Olivia Zinanni
Correction 2/27/25 @ 2:35 p.m. – The player in the above photo was misidentified. This has now been corrected.
The UW-Whitewater women’s basketball team topped UW-River Falls 66-52 in the first round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Tuesday in Kachel Gym.
With the victory, the Warhawks advance to play UW-Stout on the road Thursday. The WIAC semifinal game is set for a 7 PM tipoff in Menomonie. The conference tournament championship will be hosted by the highest remaining seed on Saturday.
Senior guard Kacie Carollo (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) etched her name atop the WIAC record book in three-pointers Tuesday. Carollo needed just one to break the conference record with her 231st career three-pointer and she got it with the first bucket of the fourth quarter.
The game started on a different note, with the Falcons taking an early 7-3 lead less than four minutes in. UW-Whitewater responded in a big way holding UWRF scoreless the rest of the period while scoring 16 unanswered to take a 19-7 lead into the second quarter.
The Falcons cut the margin to six, 26-20, with just under two to go but the last minute of the first half featured a flurry of action. Maggie Trautsch (Sun Prairie, Wis./DeForest) knocked down a three off a Carollo assist. Carollo hauled in the defensive board and that led to a Mia Gillis (Mundelein, Ill./Carmel Catholic) layup with 15 seconds remaining. UWRF got down the floor quickly for a buzzer-beater layup to make it 31-22 at the break. The Falcons coach was whistled for a technical following contact on the play. With the choice to shoot the free throws immediately or wait until the other side of the intermission – the Warhawks chose the latter and headed to the locker room.
Carollo went to the line before the start of the third and hit both free throws to push the lead back to double digits. The gap dipped back into single digits just once the rest of the way – on the final bucket of the third.
Trautsch paced the Warhawks with 18 points bolstered by a 3-8 night from downtown. Bri McCurdy (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls) hit 6-9 from the floor and 5-8 from beyond the arc for 17 points – all career bests for the sophomore. Carollo posted 11 points and added 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals. Gillis registered 10 points on 5-7 shooting from the field with 5 assists in the contest.
Students across the Whitewater Unified School District showcased their literary knowledge in the district-level Battle of the Books competition last week.
Sponsored by the Wisconsin Educational Media and Technology Association, the program challenges students to read and master 20 books from a preselected list. Book lists were published last June, allowing students and staff to begin their reading journey.
Under the leadership of District Library Media Specialist Kathy Retzke, library lessons in November 2024 introduced students to the competition format. Teams of up to four students were formed, and each was responsible for dividing and conquering the reading list. Over the next 10 weeks, weekly meetings led by library staff provided opportunities for collaboration, comprehension exercises, and practice questions.
Originally launched at Lakeview Elementary under the direction of former library paraprofessional Jerre Sveum, the program expanded district-wide three years ago. This year marks the addition of a high school team. Participation has soared, with 89 students across 26 teams competing from 4th to 11th grade.
“The Battle of the Books program is a fantastic example of how reading can bring students together in a fun, competitive, and educational way,” said WUSD Superintendent Dr. Caroline Pate-Hefty. “Seeing nearly 90 students from across our district dedicate themselves to reading, teamwork, and critical thinking is truly inspiring. Their hard work and collaboration exemplify the kind of engaged learning we strive for at WUSD. We are incredibly proud of all our participants and look forward to seeing how our teams perform at the state competition.”
The winning teams from each school will advance to the statewide Battle of the Books competition, February 24-28, competing virtually against 250 elementary schools, 160 middle schools, and 70 high schools. Below are the teams that will represent WUSD:
