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Today is Friday, November 29, 2024
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It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society. As we have done in recent years, we are featuring some Henry Scholl glass plate images from the turn of the twentieth century with winter themes for the coldest month of the year–January. Henry Scholl took many photos in winter and they give us a look at Whitewater in c.1900 at this time of the year.
This image is of the north side of the 700 block of Center Street with the Methodist Church in the background. No street plowing in c.1900!
Join us next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society.
(3548GP, Whitewater Historical Society)
Congratulations to the Whitewater High School team of Josh Kirley, CJ Tomomitsu, Ben McCulloch, and Nick Weirich for their 7th place finish in the 1st Semester Wisconsin Stock Market Challenge!
The group finished the 10-week competition with a 17.95% return! A team from Shorewood High School won the 1st semester competition with an amazing 100.76% return. Over 300 Wisconsin high school teams participated.
The second semester competition will run from February 13-April 21st, and all WHS students are eligible to participate.
A big THANK YOU to Premier Bank for sponsoring the 1st semester teams!
Article and Photo Submitted by Brent Mansky
Whitewater High School Principal
bmansky@wwusd.org
The Whippet Boys’ Swim Team competed against Elkhorn on Tuesday, January 3rd. The boys registered 17 best times, and many tried out new events for the first time.
Some highlights include:
- Tyler Arnett edged out his competitor to win the 200 Freestyle by .04 seconds with a time 2:02.94
- David Enns had a huge time drop in the 200 Freestyle, dropping over 16 seconds.
- Cruz Aranda & Xavier Zei both going best time in 200 IM!
- Jack Hefty had a stellar night going best times and winning both individual events. Jack continues to put up a strong performance in the 50 Freestyle going a 25.68. He improved his 100 Breaststroke time by 4 seconds!
- Miles Nickelsburg had a strong performance in the 100 Freestyle dropping 6 seconds off his previous time.
- Onyx Thompson had a great night despite having all four of his events back to back. He tried out the 400 for the first time and then immediately went into the 200 Freestyle Relay where he went a season best split, then continued right into the 100 Backstroke, and then finished off the night 1 race later in the 400 Freestyle relay where he again went a season best split!
- Myles Morse swam a great race in the 100 Backstroke where he edged out his competitor by 1.08 seconds.
- Andrew O’Toole had a great 50 Freestyle going a best time of 29.45.
- Sam Nickelsburg continues to work hard and drop time in the 400 Freestyle.
The boys are back in action on Tuesday, January 10th at home against Platteville/Lancaster and PSC starting at 5:30 p.m. Come out and cheer on the Whippet Swimmers!
Article and Photo Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Co-Head Boys’ Swim Coach
sreynolds@wwusd.org
A new episode of “Wisconsin Life” which will air on Thursday, January 5 at 7 p.m. features, among other stories, the Milton House Museum, the last certified underground railroad stop in Wisconsin that can be toured. Blacks traveled the Underground Railroad to escape slavery in the South in the 1800’s. PBS Wisconsin is on Channel 11 on Spectrum (Charter) and may also be viewed online at https://pbswisconsin.org/
According to an article in the Milton Courier:
“Wisconsin Life” is a show produced by PBS Wisconsin and Wisconsin Public Radio that highlights local history, but each episode details a new city or region of the state. During the production of the episode, host Angela Fitzgerald spoke with Milton House Museum Executive Director Keighton Klos about the Underground Railroad and some about the Goodrich family.”
“Fitzgerald suggested the Milton House as a potential location of the show. Fitzgerald and producer Kelly Saran spent a day at the museum last summer to work on the show.”
“What surprised me was the role Wisconsin had in the abolitionist movement and how many freedom seekers came to Wisconsin,” Saran said. “People crawled through the tunnel, and we walked through it. That was moving and was so impactful.”
The Whippet Wrestling Team had the opportunity to host and participate in the Mid-States Wrestling Classic held at UWW on December 28 and 29. This is a long-standing tournament that has been going on for over 40 years and has some of the top talent from WI and IL participating. This year this talent consisted of 41 teams partaking in the very talented pool. There were many highly ranked teams from Illinois and Wisconsin in the tournament with 6 of the top 8 teams from Illinois.
Although the Whitewater team did not have as high of finish as they have had in years past, the coaching staff feels this may have been one of the team’s best performances on the mat. The level of competition may have been the best in the 17 years Coach Schimming has been coaching at Whitewater, so team placement is deceiving. Coach Schimming stated that Whitewater has at times struggled in the opening round of this tournament; however, this year the team did outstanding. They won the first 6 matches contested with 5 of them coming with a pin! Of those 5 weight classes, the loss Whitewater saw was against an opponent that ended up making the semi-finals and thereby guaranteed top six placement, so we consider those some quality losses.
Whitewater had 3 wrestlers advance to day two of the competition, placing these individuals into the top 12 of their weight class. Jarvis Porcaro had his best outing of the season on day 1 with 3 great wins, putting him into day 2. Jarvis ran into tough competition on day 2. He wrestled tough but ended up taking 12th place for the tournament.
Aaron Porras also won 3 on the first day and made day two of the tournament. Aaron opened the day with a tough loss but then came back with one of his best matches of the season as he had a strong opponent from Nicollet, and it was a tight match going into the 3rd period. Aaron turned it on and put together a couple of nice takedowns and ended up using basic techniques and pinned his opponent. Aaron ended his tournament in 10th place.
The Mid-States Classic honors the top 8 wrestlers in their weight class on the podium at the end of the night. This year Whitewater had Connor Friend make the podium with a 6th place finish. Connor lost a close quarterfinal match 8-7 that came right down to the end with Connor almost getting a turn to claim back points but just did not quite make the turn. Connor came back on day 2 with a convincing 10-0 win and then a 4-0 win to reach the top 6. He then dropped the consolation semi-final match to go into the 5th place match. Connor wrestled tough in the last match but could not quite pull it out. Connor wrestled well throughout the tournament with quality matches that allowed us to find things we will work on as we enter the back half of the season.
The team is next in action on January 5th when they travel to Jefferson for an RVC Dual. On January 7th the team will host a large JV Tournament with approximately 20 teams at Whitewater High School.
Article and Podium Photo Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org
Action Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
Moving Forward:
Grief and Ambiguous Loss Associated with Dementia Caregiving
The Aging & Disability Resource Center of Rock County is offering the 16-week educational support group on Wednesday evenings from 6-7:30 p.m. beginning on January 16th and running through May 3rd. This is a hybrid group being offered in-person at the UWW Community Engagement Center in Whitewater and online. There is no cost to attend.
Who is this group for? The group is for anyone who is caring or has cared for someone with dementia. Caring for someone with dementia entails a constant series of losses and not just losses related to death. The first 30 minutes of each session will cover a variety of grief, loss and bereavement topics followed by about 60 minutes of conventional support group discussion.
To register, please contact Karen Tennyson at 608-741-3615 or karen.tennyson@co.rock.wi.us.
Obituaries
Becca Piper, 65, of Sedona, AZ died on November 21, 2024 as a result of complications of antibiotic toxicity. She was preceded in death by her beloved son Michael and her parents Reg and Maydean Nash. She is survived by her dear husband of almost 40 years, Ken Piper, along with her children Joe, ^^Michael^^, Selena and Larry, granddaughter Maelyn and Becca’s siblings David and Janet (Nash) Schenck. She is also survived by extraordinary friends, extended family and much loved colleagues. Being a mother was especially important to Becca. She and Ken adopted all of their 4 children. Becca’s life … Read more
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In Loving Memory of Will Daniel Ensslin Whitewater, WI – Will Daniel Ensslin, 77, passed away peacefully on 11-26-2024, surrounded by his loving family, after a brave and long battle with cancer. He was born on February 5, 1947 in West Allis, WI to Willy and Ellen Ensslin. Will was a devoted husband, proud and loving father, cherished brother, uncle, cousin and loyal friend to many. He was also a proud Vietnam veteran, serving his country with courage and honor as a Huey helicopter mechanic from 1966 – 1967 — a dedication to service that remained a cornerstone of his life. He married the love of his life and best friend, Susan Bilkovich, in 1971 in Milwaukee, WI. Shortly after their wedding, … Read more
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Richard Allen Splitter, age 80, of Blue Eye, Missouri, passed away November 12, 2024. He entered this life on June 16, 1944, the son of Edward and Berniece (Craig) Splitter in Whitewater, Wisconsin. Richard proudly served our country in the United States Navy for two terms. During his time in the service, he was able to get his master’s degree in engineering from California State University of Long Beach. During his working years, Richard was an engineer for different aerospace companies. He retired to Blue Eye, Missouri, and thoroughly enjoyed lake life. Richard appreciated the outdoors and loved hiking, fishing, … Read more
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Edward W. HamiltonApril 3,1941 – October 26, 2024 Edward “Edjo” Wickman Hamilton, 83, passed away peacefully on Saturday, October 26, 2024 at home. Ed was born in Evanston, Illinois and moved to Whitewater, Wisconsin with his family when he was eight years old. He attended Whitewater High School and then graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater with a bachelor of science degree. He also served two years in the army. He moved to Davenport, Iowa in 1971 and worked at John Deere Davenport Works until he retired in 2001. Then he followed a dream, moved back to Whitewater and … Read more
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Verne Paul Schrank was born on March 9, 1930 at home on the family farm in Lima Township, Rock County, to Arthur and Marie (Witte) Schrank. He attended the Sturtevant one room school which closed when he graduated in 1944. He attended Whitewater High School and graduated in 1948. Verne farmed with his parents until 1967 when he moved to Whitewater and worked for the Whitewater Unified School District as a custodian – courier for 27 years. Verne served on various boards at St. John’s Ev. Lutheran Church, as well as playing on the dartball team for many years. Verne … Read more
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After a long full life, Janine Marie (Dickerson) Weiss was called home to the Lord. Janine was born on April Fool’s Day, 1930 in Milwaukee. She grew up enjoying Trolleys, dancing and school with her sisters, Donna Domagalski, Marcyl Howel, Karen Moczynski and her parents, Glenn and Lucille Dickerson. In 1950, she married Frederic Weiss in a little church in Three Lakes WI. Shortly after, the first of 5 kids was born with the next 2 shortly after. Denice Lucille (Edward DeGroot), David Arthur, and Dana Lynn (Stephen Lind). After a breather Debra Beth (Alyn Jones) and Donna Raye (Dale … Read more
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Raymond Miles, 96, Whitewater, passed away on Thursday, November 14, 2024, at Our House Senior Living in Whitewater. Raymond was born on February 10, 1928, in Elkhorn, WI to Rueben and Norma Miles. He served in the US Army. On June 18, 1955, Raymond married Waverly Sutherland in Whitewater, WI. He enjoyed a long and successful career as a Livestock Dealer. In retirement, he cherished time spent with his family and remained informed on the farming community. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Waverly of Whitewater, sons Eddie of Madison and Todd (Barbara) Miles of Sarasota FL, … Read more
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Connie Jean Sukowski embarked on her next big adventure on the evening of Friday, November 8, 2024. Connie enjoyed decades of adventures with friends and family. She spent 36 years teaching 2nd and 3rd grade students in the Palmyra Eagle School District, working alongside many cherished colleagues and friends. Connie and her husband, Patrick Theodore Sukowski, shared 55 and a half years of marriage. Together they raised four children: Peter, Allan, Ann and Kevin Sukowski. She took great joy in watching her five grandchildren grow into amazing adults: Sonora Sukowski, Brianne Hebbe, Jared Gundrum-Sukowski, Nolan Causey, and Lore Lai Schimmel. … Read more
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Nancy Lou Hallock Cooper passed away November 8, 2024 due to complications of lungcancer. Nancy was born on April 20, 1936 in Springfield, MA to Howard and Barbara (Corliss) Hallock. As a child, Nancy spent every summer in her beloved Piermont, NH where she and her brothers “helped” the local farmer with his chores, including riding in the truck with the milk cans every morning. She enjoyed swimming in the local brooks, picking berries, going to the nearby library, visiting with cousins, and playing croquet every evening. As she grew older, she spent time as a camper and then a camp … Read more
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James Robert Trier (Jimbo), passed away on November 10, 2024, at the age of 89. Born on December 22, 1934, in New Holstein, WI, to George and Frances Trier. He spent his later years residing in Whitewater, WI. Jim began his teaching career as a high school mathematics teacher and then dedicated 55 years of his life to education as a mathematics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He was the chairman of the faculty senate as well. He had a passion for math and an engaging teaching style, which made him a student favorite. He was known for telling … Read more
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