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Today is Friday, June 12, 2026
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It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society.
Remember when the “Circus Train” came through Whitewater on its way to the Great Circus Parade in Milwaukee? The circus parade in Milwaukee ran between 1963 and 1973 and then was revived in the 1990s. Every summer, the Circus World Museum in Baraboo would load up its collection of historic circus wagons on a special train and head for Milwaukee. Between 1996 and 2003, this train would stop in Whitewater, usually around July 7 or 8. In this July 8, 1996 photo from the recently donated Dan Sable photo collection, one of the rail cars with historic circus wagons is shown at its stop in Whitewater. The event would always draw a big crowd of spectators and fun was had by all.
Join us next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society.
(Dan Sable photo collection, 2022, Whitewater Historical Society)
Friday, July 8 • 12:00 – 3:00 p.m.
SHOW YOUR COLLEGE PRIDE DAY WITH ONMILWAUKEE, CW18 AND MY24 MILWAUKEE
All patrons who arrive between 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. wearing a shirt or hat representing a participating college or university, or present their High School ID, will receive one FREE admission ticket. Tickets are only valid for the day and time of the promotion. Stop by the Mid Gate Promotions Booth to receive your ticket, then head over to your school’s booth to say hello and show your support! Only shirts or hats from the following colleges or universities will be accepted:
- Cardinal Stritch University
- Carthage College
- Marquette University
- Milwaukee Area Technical College
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- University of Wisconsin – Parkside
- University of Wisconsin-Platteville
- University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
- Western Governors University
Editor’s note: The following information was provided by UW-Whitewater.
Continuing a proud tradition of producing international caliber wheelchair basketball players, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will be represented by nine current and former Warhawks on the latest roster of Team USA.
The players and coaches will compete in the 2022 International Wheelchair Basketball Federation America’s Cup in Sao Paulo, Brazil on July 9-19. The event serves as the qualifier for the 2022 world championships taking place Nov. 16-27, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Current UW-Whitewater women’s coach Christina Schwab, who has won three Paralympic gold medals as a player and recently coached the American men to gold in Tokyo, will helm the women’s team as head coach. She’ll be assisted by alum Desiree Miller of Monroe, Wisconsin, a gold medal winner in Rio de Janeiro who earned a master’s degree in counseling in 2014.
Students Josie DeHart, a physical education major from Fruita, Colorado, and Mandy Willmore, MBA candidate from Rock Springs, Wisconsin, will join alum and bronze medal winner Lindsey Zurbrugg of Portland, Oregon, on the roster.
On the men’s Team USA roster, Warhawks include Talen Jourdan, a general business major from Deerfield, Wisconsin; Jeromie Meyer of Woodbine, Iowa, who graduated in May with a degree in education; alum Dylan Fischbach of Vermillion, South Dakota; and John Boie of Milton, Wisconsin, a UW-Whitewater alum from the Class of 2014 who also earned an MBA in 2019, and currently works as an academic adviser at the university.
“Our wheelchair basketball program at UW-Whitewater is truly powered by tradition,” said Jeremy “Opie” Lade, who is an alum, former player and coach, and also a Paralympic medalist. “Elite athletes and coaches have built this program to its current status — and elite athletes and coaches will continue to be produced and keep our tradition alive moving into the future. Being a Warhawk is something that is said with a great amount of pride.”
Collectively, the men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams at UW-Whitewater have won 16 national championships.
According to an article in The Journal Times, Chris Bennett, the neighborhood services director for the City of Whitewater since March, 2021, is one of five finalists for the position of village administrator of Union Grove. Bennett has also served for over thirteen years as an elected trustee for the Village of Rochester, where he resides. The Union Grove administrator resigned in March after three years on the job. Union Grove is located in Racine County, and in the 2020 census was found to have a population of 5031.
The other finalists are:
- Will Kolschowsky, a management analyst for the City of Urbana, Illinois.
- Todd Willis, economic development coordinator for the City of Brookfield.
- Theresa Loomer, village administrator for the Village of Fontana.
- Kerry Bennett, interim village administrator for the Village of Union Grove. [Kerry Bennett is not related to Chris Bennett.]
Union Grove is also in the process of hiring a new village clerk.
Looking for some fun, free family entertainment? Come learn about the world of FIRST Robotics as Whitewater High School’s FIRST Robotics Competition Team #6574 Ferradermis competes with and against 13 other teams in the Laser Lights Off-Season Event at Kettle Moraine High School on Saturday, June 25. The competition will kick off at 9 a.m. and continue through late afternoon.
Off-season competitions are a chance for teams to introduce newer members to new roles and responsibilities on the team, and in the more relaxed atmosphere, you will find teams ready and willing to take the time to talk about their robots with the general public. In addition to watching matches, you can stroll through the pits and talk with students and mentors.
Ferradermis will be entering two robots in this particular competition – the fully-functional robot they competed with during the 2022 regular season, and a second bot that is simply a swerve drive base. Swerve, a drivetrain in which all four wheels are independently driven and steered, is a project the team has wanted to tackle for a long time. Entering the drive base in an off-season event will give the students a chance to learn to drive this very different system while having fun playing defense on the opposite alliance.
Can’t make it to Kettle Moraine High School on Saturday? The team will be competing in Manitowoc on Saturday, July 16, but will be back in the area for another competition at Mukwonago High School on Sunday, July 24.
Article and Photo Submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor and Banner Volunteer
lmasbruch@wwusd.org
June 21 is the summer solstice, the longest day and shortest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The 2022 summer solstice arrives at 4:14 a.m. Central time. At this precise moment the sun appears directly over the Tropic of Cancer — as far north as it appears in the sky all year.
The image on the homepage: Image by press 👍 and ⭐ from Pixabay
The image on this page: Image by lies_rebelle from Pixabay
Editor’s note: The following information is found on history.com. The image above and on the homepage is by khema sok from Pixabay.
Juneteenth (short for “June Nineteenth”) marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. The troops’ arrival came a full two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth honors the end to slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. On June 17, 2021, it officially became a federal holiday.
Confederate General Robert E. Lee had surrendered at Appomattox Court House two months earlier in Virginia, but slavery had remained relatively unaffected in Texas—until U.S. General Gordon Granger stood on Texas soil and read General Orders No. 3: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, had established that all enslaved people in Confederate states in rebellion against the Union “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”
But in reality, the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t instantly free any enslaved people. The proclamation only applied to places under Confederate control and not to slave-holding border states or rebel areas already under Union control. However, as Northern troops advanced into the Confederate South, many enslaved people fled behind Union lines.
Juneteenth and Slavery in Texas
In Texas, slavery had continued as the state experienced no large-scale fighting or significant presence of Union troops. Many enslavers from outside the Lone Star State had moved there, as they viewed it as a safe haven for slavery.
After the war came to a close in the spring of 1865, General Granger’s arrival in Galveston that June signaled freedom for Texas’s 250,000 enslaved people. Although emancipation didn’t happen overnight for everyone—in some cases, enslavers withheld the information until after harvest season—celebrations broke out among newly freed Black people, and Juneteenth was born. That December, slavery in America was formally abolished with the adoption of the 13th Amendment.
The year following 1865, freedmen in Texas organized the first of what became the annual celebration of “Jubilee Day” on June 19. In the ensuing decades, Juneteenth commemorations featured music, barbecues, prayer services and other activities, and as Black people migrated from Texas to other parts of the country the Juneteenth tradition spread.
In 1979, Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday; several others followed suit over the years. In June 2021, Congress passed a resolution establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday; President Biden signed it into law on June 17, 2021.
The Whitewater Unified School District introduced a new website this past week. The web address, www.wwusd.org, is unchanged, but the design of the site has had a major overhaul. Currently the following two images are scrolling on the homepage. A pulldown menu in the upper right corner provides for translation in Spanish.
El Distrito Escolar Unificado de Whitewater presentó un nuevo sitio web la semana pasada. La dirección web, www.wwusd.org, no ha cambiado, pero el diseño del sitio ha tenido una revisión importante. Actualmente, las siguientes dos imágenes se desplazan en la página de inicio. Un menú desplegable en la esquina superior derecha ofrece traducción al español.
Obituaries
Gemelino Paris Esperante, 83, long time resident of Whitewater, passed away on Thursday, June 4th, 2026. He was born on January 10, 1943, to his late father and mother, Evaristo and Carmen in Spain. In 1973 he moved to the United States as a sheep herder. On August 21, 1981, he was united in marriage to Cyndie Esperante in Colorado. Gemelino also worked in Mining and construction for many years. He enjoyed the outdoors, fishing, raising sheep and growing things in his garden, and flowers. He will be missed by all who knew him. He is survived by his wife … Read more
Mary Ann Warner died peacefully on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at Crestridge Assisted Living in Dodgeville. Her physical heart failed, but her actual, loving heart never did. Ann was born June 28, 1939 to Mary and Charles Kearns in Iowa. She moved to Whitewater, Wisconsin and graduated with many dear friends in the class of 1957. Ann married John Warner on September 19, 1959. They lived in Whitewater, Sturgis Michigan, and finally settled in Janesville where they built a beautiful life and raised their family. Together, they ran a business, traveled, played cards, and enjoyed their lives. When they became … Read more
Patricia Ann Jacobson (Bureau), age 81, of Whitewater, WI, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, WI. Born on September 2, 1944, in Marquette, MI, to the late Donald and Margaret Bureau, Pat grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. She graduated from Graveraet High School, attended Michigan State University, and later earned her bachelor’s degree from Northern Michigan University. Pat dedicated her professional life to shaping young minds, working as an elementary and junior high school teacher in both Flint, MI, and Whitewater, WI. At the heart of Pat’s life was a beautiful, … Read more
In loving memory of Lois Lauritzen, age 92, who passed away on June 1, 2026 at Lakewood Memory Care in Brookfield. Lois led an active life full of devotion to family and friends. Born July 14th, 1933 in Silvis, IL, daughter of Harry and Elsie Wilson, she grew up in the Quad Cities with older brother Harry Wilson Jr. Lois graduated from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL with a degree in physical education. She met her husband Paul Lauritzen on the college tennis team. Their marriage on June 12th, 1955 lasted 59 years until Paul’s death on September 26th, … Read more
Donald Walter Triebold passed on to his eternal home on May 21, 2026. Don was born on April 23, 1935, in Evanston, IL, to the late Frederick W. and Mildred (nee Stecher) Triebold. Through his teen years, Don lived and worked on the family’s dairy farm, where he developed a life-long work ethic. His first eight years of education were in a one-room country schoolhouse, in which all eight grades were taught by one teacher. He graduated from Whitewater City High School in 1953 and then graduated from UW Whitewater in 1958 with a degree in Business Education. He continued his education, and earned a Master’s … Read more
William Kincaid Davis, age 84, passed away on Tuesday, May 19 at Agrace Hospice Center in Fitchburg. He was born on November 1, 1941, in Madison, Indiana, the second son of Salvation Army Officers Agnes (Dixon) and William C. Davis. He attended several schools in Indiana and Illinois, including University of Illinois Experimental High School (Champaign), and graduated from Galesburg High School in 1958. He earned his bachelor’s degree from UW-Eau Claire in 1964 and his master’s degree from UW-Whitewater in 1972. He had an expansive career in education, beginning as an English teacher in Whitehall, Thornton Township (IL) and … Read more
Magdalene “Maggie” Stetter (nee Fritz), 79, of Whitewater, Wisconsin passed from this life onto the next on Monday, May 4, 2026. She was born on January 16, 1947, to the late John and Mary (Presser) Fritz in St. Stefan, Austria. Maggie immigrated from Austria with her parents and brother, became a US citizen, and grew up and attended school in West Allis, WI and then graduated with a teaching degree from University of Wisconsin – Whitewater. Maggie served as a substitute, English, and German language teacher in the Whitewater, Elkhorn, Delavan, and Palmyra schools and at Divine Word Seminary. Maggie … Read more
Lawrence “Larry” C. Hartung, a proud Marine Veteran of the Vietnam War, and longtime resident of Fort Atkinson, WI, passed away peacefully at his home on May 1, 2026. Larry was born June 7th, 1949, to Levon and Charles Hartung in Chicago, IL. Larry enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1968 and served 3 consecutive tours in the Vietnam War. During this time, he became pen pals with his future wife, Candy, via a connection through his father. In 1970, he came home on leave to marry Candy. They celebrated 55 years of marriage on October 31st, 2025. During … Read more
Leo E. Wurzer, 65, of Eagle, Wisconsin passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, May 9, 2026 at his home. Leo was born on April 15, 1961 in Kenosha, Wisconsin to Cyril and Shirley (McNeil) Wurzer. He grew up between Pleasant Prairie and Antigo, spending his childhood summers on his uncle’s farm where he discovered his love for all things tractors. Although he never had a farm of his own, he was able to partially fulfill his dream by working as a driver for Robin’s Trucking in Whitewater, WI in his last days and collecting miniature Tonka toys. He began his career … Read more
Lois Cummings, 99, of Fond du Lac, WI (formerly of Janesville, WI, Fort Atkinson, WI, Fountain Hills, AZ, and Green Valley, AZ) passed away peacefully on May 5, 2026 at the Meadows Senior Residence in Fond du Lac surrounded by family. Lois was born on February 17, 1927 in Fort Atkinson to Edward and Clarice (Roseth) Stevens. The middle child of 9 children, she attended Fort Atkinson schools and graduated in 1944. On September 11, 1948 Lois married Grant Cummings at Saint Andrew Catholic Church in Delavan, WI. Together they had 3 children, Gary, Colleen (Tom) Sabel, and Patty (Paul) … Read more
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