It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society. This view from 1957 features Marilyn Hull and Minnie Rowland from the Whitewater Cooperettes at their craft table for what appears to be a Christmas craft sale. Note the interesting Christmas tree decoration. The Cooperettes were the organization of women members of the Whitewater Co-op, later the Midland Co-op, a membership organization that provided reduced rates on goods and services, particularly those that appealed to farmers, such as fuel and farm supplies. The co-op had a service station on East Milwaukee Street during the first half of the 20th century and even a retail store in downtown Whitewater.
Join us next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society.
2024 Whitewater Holiday Extravaganza: Parade of Lights and More Friday, December 6th, 4 PM – 8 PM
3:30-5:30 PM Visit with Santa at First Citizens State Bank
Location: Main Branch, 207 W Main Street
5:00 PM – 8:00 PM Holiday Market at Cravath Lake Community Center
Location: Cravath Lakefront Community Center – 341 S Fremont Street (please note the parking lot is closed for a portion of the evening to accommodate parade entries after the parade)
Explore unique gifts, handmade crafts, and holiday treats from local vendors in a cozy indoor setting.
Warm up by the s’mores pit just outside the community building
6:00 PM Annual Parade of Lights
Parade Route: Intersection of 4th and Main down to Whitewater Street, ending at the Cravath Lakefront Park
Enjoy the illuminated parade as it makes its way through Whitewater, concluding at Cravath Lakefront Park for an up-close look at the dazzling displays.
Warm up as you await the parade with a cup of hot cider from Discover Whitewater at 150 W Main Street and don’t forget to snag a take and make craft for the kids!
Shortly After the Parade Park Lighting Ceremony & Pallet Tree Display
Location: Cravath Lakefront Park 341 S Fremont Street
Be part of the grand debut of Whitewater’s first-ever walk-through 8-foot light displays.
Enjoy the community-favorite pallet trees decorated by local businesses, organizations, and community members. The trees and lights will be on display through January 6th.
After the Lighting Ceremony
Free Chili Dinner
Location: Living Word Fellowship 212 W Main Street
All Evening
Celebrate the holiday spirit, shop local, and make memories with family and friends in the heart of Whitewater!
Editor’s Note: The following was provided by Whitewater Unites Lives.
Barb and Harry Penington are WUL Hometown Heroes, and were nominated by Suzanne Chenoweth “For their unwavering commitment and selfless service that has profoundly enriched our community.”
Barbara and Harry Penington accept the Hometown Hero Award from Suzanne Chenoweth and Anthony Costa, a previous participant of the Book Buddies Program at First English Lutheran Church.
Suzanne said, “I am thrilled to nominate Barb Penington and her husband, Harry, for the Hometown Hero Award. Four years ago, Barb spearheaded the Book Buddy program at First English Lutheran Church, which now provides one-on-one reading support to approximately 30 children. Her dedication to literacy and education has significantly impacted young minds.”
“Barb and Harry are also deeply involved in several community organizations, often working behind the scenes to drive positive change. Among the many causes they support, their contributions to Bethel House, Delta Kappa Gamma, UWW alumni events, Tone Chimes & Handbells Choir, Evangelism, WELCA, scholarship committee, and various other activities at FELC stand out. Barb leads book studies and discussions, fostering a spirit of learning and community engagement. Harry is always positive and willing to help anywhere as needed, smiling and happy,” said Suzanne.
She added, “Barb and Harry are always generous with their time and talents, consistently contributing to the betterment of our community. Barb is also a trusted advisor and a compassionate listener, providing wisdom and empathy to those in need. We want Barb and Harry to know how much we appreciate their efforts to improve our world. Their dedication and kindness have not gone unnoticed. THANK YOU Peningtons!!”
Following are quotes from others:
“They are truly a treasure to the Whitewater community: youth, students, seniors, and everyone in between.”
“She is a very gifted lady and serves others in many, many ways.”
“They are tireless in their commitment to the Whitewater kids and community.”
“They are constant public-spirited people who put the needs of others before their own, a well-deserved honor!”
“She is a very gifted lady and serves others in many, many ways. Great couple to nominate and honor!”
WUL (Whitewater Unites Lives) is a locally-focused civil and human rights group that works to connect the people in our community and to create opportunities for all people to learn and support each other in our common humanity.
Anyone who would like to nominate a local hero of any age should send their nomination, with a short description, to whitewaterunites@gmail.com
The UW-Whitewater Women’s Basketball team is hosting the Hoops4Hunger Event on Wednesday, December 11 at 5:30 p.m. at the Kachel Gymnasium in Williams Center. As of December 5, the team’s record is 5-1.
Editor’s note: This announcement was submitted by Kendall Roquet, grad assistant, who welcomes any questions at roquetk23@uww.edu
UWW celebrates after a point against Emory (Keith Lucas)
By Angela Kelm Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
Salem, Va. — The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team opened play at the NCAA Division III Championship with a phenomenal three-set sweep over Emory Wednesday morning. The Warhawks took down the Eagles 25-13, 25-23, 25-19 in the Cregger Center in Salem, Virginia.
With the win, the Warhawks advance to the semifinals to face the winner of a match between Johns Hopkins and UW-Oshkosh currently underway at the Cregger Center. UWW’s semifinal match is slated for Thursday, December 5 at 4 PM CST. [Per the bracket, Johns Hopkins beat UW-O by 3-2.] The championship is being streamed exclusively on ESPN+.
UW-Whitewater set the tone early in set one to draw all of the momentum in the arena. The Warhawks followed up a 6-2 run with five consecutive points to open up an 18-9 advantage. The five-point spurt featured a pair of kills from Alayna Jansky and a huge block by Chloe Werner and Hannah Proctor. UWW capped the set with a 6-1 run to take an early match lead.
The second set was a back-and-forth affair with the teams trading the lead eight times. The battle came down to the wire in the end. With the Eagles leading 22-21, Jenna Weinfurt hammered down a kill to knot the set. After a miscue from each team, the squads were tied for the 14th time in the set, 23-23. Jansky gave the Warhawks set point with a cue and another Eagle mishap had UWW enjoying a 2-0 lead in the match.
Set three was all Whitewater from the first serve. The Warhawks scored the first three and never looked back, leading the entire way through to secure their spot in the semifinals.
Like it has been all season for UWW, defense was a key difference maker in the match. The Warhawks held the Eagles to a .000 attack percentage in the first set and a negative hitting efficiency in the third. Meanwhile, the offense was working in tandem as UWW hit .234 for the match with double digit kills in each set.
Jansky led all players with 13 kills, adding 17 digs. Weinfurt also posted a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs. Jaedynn Evans tallied 16 digs in the match.
Aubrie Krzus averaged over 10 assists a set with 37 total in the sweep. Middles Abbie Dix and Hannah Proctor combined for seven blocks in the match.
UW-Whitewater has now won their last 14 matches and is a perfect 25-0 in three-setters this season. The Warhawks are amid the program’s 11th trip to the final eight.
Date change for Scholarly scoop, now Friday, December 13th at 10:30 a.m. [The program was scheduled for Friday, December 6.] Our apologies for any inconvenience.
Protect yourself and others online: Come learn some of the ways to keep yourself and the ones you love stay connected to online safe from the scammers, hackers and data thieves. Jay will give you some basic safety skills and what to look out for while you shop and share online this holiday season. Enjoy some stories and laugh a little as he gives you some insight as to what current scams look like and how to best avoid being an online victim from someone who’s on the front lines.
Jay Jones is a UW-W grad of 2000 and earned his masters in Cybersecurity from UC-Berkley in 2023. He’s currently an IT Infrastructure manager at Douglas Dynamics in Milwaukee, a cybersecurity analyst for Public Partnerships and an adjunct professor at UW-Whitewater.
Editor’s note: The above announcement was provided by Seniors in the Park. The Banner appreciates having permission to use the image on the homepage by Esmoth from Pixabay.
The Irvin L. Young Memorial Library has several opportunities for crafty folks in December. Starting on December 4, adults and teens are welcome to stop by the library and pick up a take & make kit featuring a scrap fabric tree ornament.
A take & make craft kit for kids will be available for pick up starting on December 11, featuring a gingerbread house photo frame ornament. Kits will be available while supplies last.
In addition, community members are invited to visit the library’s Makerspace during December to create a holiday greeting card. Supplies will be available all month. The Makerspace is open during regular library hours, up until 30 minutes before closing time. Children under age 11 must be accompanied by an adult.
The Irvin L. Young Memorial Library is located at 431 W. Center Street in Whitewater. For more information about the library, visit whitewaterlibrary.org.
The public is invited to attend the First Annual Whitewater FIRST Lego League (FLL) Challenge Regional Event to be held at Whitewater High School on Sunday, December 8. The three fourth and fifth grade BrickLayer teams from Washington, Lincoln, and Lakeview Elementaries along with the sixth grade Iron Dragons FLL team from the middle school will be competing throughout the day with 19 other teams from Milwaukee, Waukesha, Washington, Dane, and Rock counties.
The Lincoln Bricklayers on the field and in the pits at the 2023 Mukwonago FLL Regional
FLL Challenge is a program for fourth through eighth graders that encourages students to experiment and grow their critical thinking, coding, and design skills and showcase what they learned. In Whitewater, FLL Challenge is a pre-cursor to the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) program in place for seventh and eighth graders at Whitewater Middle School and the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) program in place for students at Whitewater High School.
FLL Challenge Participants work with Lego Spike Prime robots and design attachments and write programming code to make their robot interact with a series of up to fifteen “missions” on a table-top field. The robot must be preprogrammed to complete the missions, but students can interact with their robots when they return to their home area on the table to change out attachments and run different programs within a 2 minute 30 second timeframe. To learn about this year’s ocean-themed gameplay, watch the short video at https://youtu.be/J5u-2q_K3O0
Teams also complete an Innovation Project, which this year requires them to research a problem related to the oceans and propose a solution. Teams are expected to connect with experts, get feedback on their ideas, and make improvements to their plans.
On Sunday, each team will get four robot runs on the competition tables (one for practice, and three for scoring) and spend another 30 minutes presenting their project and robot to a panel of judges. Awards will be presented in a ceremony at the end of the day for overall champions, the innovation project, the robot design, the robot performance, and the team’s demonstration of the FIRST core values of teamwork, discovery, inclusion, innovation, impact, and fun. The eight top-performing teams will advance to the FLL Sectional Event in Waukesha on December 21.
Visitors are welcome to peruse the pit area where teams will set up small displays, watch teams work on their robots on the practice tables, and watch live matches. Anyone wishing to watch a judging presentation must be queued with the team and escorted to the judging room with the team. No one is allowed to enter a judging room once timing has begun. Teams will arrive beginning at 7:30 am on Sunday with the first judging sessions and robot runs scheduled for 9:00. Awards will likely start no earlier than 4:00 pm. The Whitewater FTC and FRC teams will also be doing robot demonstrations throughout the day in the cafeteria.
FIRST events are run entirely by volunteers, and an event this large will rely on approximately 75 volunteers to operate. Whitewater High School robotics team members, alumni, parents, and mentors will be joined by middle school FTC team members, WUSD Robotics Booster Club members, community members, Ferradermis sponsor representatives, and volunteers from many other high school robotics teams across southeast Wisconsin. Come join the fun!
Article Submitted by Laura Masbruch Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor lmasbruch@wwusd.org Photos from the 2023 FLL Regional at Mukwonago High School
For residents who missed the leaf and yard waste collection deadline of November 22, dumpsters are available at the city garage (150 E. Starin Rd.) this week, through Friday, December 6, between 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
Yard waste is defined as leaves, weeds, grass clippings, and yard/garden debris. All bags, except for BioBags, are to be emptied into the dumpsters and removed. By the way, the city’s supply of BioBags has been exhausted.
Spring collection will be dependent on weather conditions.
