If you didn’t catch “Kids of Wisconsin” at the Wisconsin State Fair, you have another chance on this Saturday (August 21st) when they perform at 7 p.m. at Muskego High School. It is sponsored by the MHS Music Friends and the Muskego Performing Arts Council. Admission is $10. 

The group was organized by Mark Azzelina in 1969, with support of Wisconsin State Fair. Beginning in 1970, every Wisconsin Governor has officially designated them as “the musical ambassadors of goodwill for the State of Wisconsin.” 

Steven Krause, PAC Manager and Technical Director, contributed the following on Muskego NOW: “From the diversity of vocal talent and outstanding instrumentals to the stunning choreography and costumes, KIDS continues to be one of the most popular youth music groups in the Midwest. Their high energy, exciting performances feature 20 singer/dancers and a 13-piece show band, all chosen from among the state’s finest musicians.”

Auditions for the group are announced in February and are open to Wisconsin residents 15-20 years old, with parents’ permission. Once accepted, singers, dancers and instrumentalists attend a 17-day training camp. During the summer they give up to 70 performances, mostly in Wisconsin but also in other Midwest States.

At the Kids of Wisconsin website, I learned that Tom Terrien, one of the original founders of the group is retiring from the group this year after 42 years as their choreographer. I also had fun browsing through the picture profiles of the current troupe: http://www.kidsfromwisconsin.com/current_cast.htm

Two Muskego musicians in the group are Scott Hensiak, a student at UW-Eau Claire, who plays bass guitar, and Jacob McCoy, a trumpeter, who will be a senior at MHS this fall.

For more information, contact Krause at 262.971.1790 or skrause@mnsd.k12.wi.us

This past week I’ve had the pleasure of visiting several places around Wisconsin and, as I’m writing this blog, the words to an old song are coming back. I couldn’t find the words to the whole song on the internet, but this is what I remember: “Beautiful Wisconsin, nature’s wonderland, is home sweet home to me. Beautiful Wisconsin, milk and honey land, it’s where I long to be.” If anyone out there has all of the words to the song – as well as the composer and date of publication – please let me know.

Meanwhile, back to my blog. Monday of last week my husband and I, along with Hales Corners friends, Bob and Charlotte Christensen, toured the Executive Mansion in Madison. I had placed the winning bid on a County Historical Society raffle to win the “Tea and Tour” for four people.

Vicki Heymann was our knowledgeable, charming tour guide. Here are a few things I learned about the current home for Governor Jim Doyle and his wife Jessica. The Doyles follow twelve previous Wisconsin governors who lived there. Their framed photographs beamed down at us from the walls. Republicans and Democrats – all together like family.

The Executive Residence, overlooking Lake Mendota in the Village of Maple Bluff, was constructed in 1921 for Madison industrialist Carl Johnson, who sold it in 1933 to Madison banker Thomas Hefty. It was purchased by the State in 1949. Extensive renovations were made in the 1960s. Our tour was limited to the ground level as well as the beautiful gardens outside.

Ms. Heymann pointed out many works by Wisconsin artists and many gifts received through the years – all gifts stay with the residence. One of her jobs is to catalogue all possessions, down to the last silver teaspoon. The wrought-iron fence along Cambridge Road originally surrounded the old State Capitol Building.

Public tours are held from 1 to 3 p.m. every Thursday April through August; holiday tours are offered in December. Reservations are required for groups of 20 or more; there is no charge for admission. About 20,000 people visit the residence every year.

Participants in the tours are encouraged to bring new or nearly new children's books to the Executive Residence. The books are then distributed to local children's organizations. 

***

This past weekend my husband and I drove to the Mississippi River by way of Dodgeville and Prairie du Chien and then north through Iowa to the Minnesota border – a beautiful drive all the way. I was there at the little Norwegian church (Garness Trinity Lutheran) on a gravel road outside Mabel, Minnesota to bid farewell to my Aunt Carol Halverson, who lived to age 98. It was a kind of homecoming for me – since I was born not too many miles away (and this was my birthday week!) and I saw many cousins I hadn’t seen for years.

Our drive back home to Franklin took us through LaCrosse, where we spent the night.

And now. . .It is beautiful in my yard at this time of year, and indeed – there is beauty everywhere I look. I need to get away from this computer and outside into “nature’s wonderland.”

On Memorial Day weekend I drove to Westfield, Wisconsin, for the traditional all-school alumni gathering. My brother and his wife came down from Canada for his 50th year reunion, and this would be my only chance to see them on this trip. There were others I knew too, as is common in small schools in small towns.

There was Ed Thalacker, for example, just a year behind me in my brother’s class, who was the keynote speaker for the evening’s event at the high school. People were jokingly referring to him as John Muir because Ed has taken on the role of the famous naturalist for various events sponsored by the Marquette County Historical Society. 

All year long the local historical society will be recognizing Muir, who lived in the area with his family from age 11 – 17, in 1849 – 1856. His love of nature began during those years, and the farm where he grew up (Fountain Lake Farm) is now known as John Muir Park and has been designated a landmark by the National Park Service.

Growing up less than 10 miles from the Muir property, I was never made aware of this famous man and all his work on behalf of our country’s natural resources. These days, though, everyone living in the area – as well as tourists – have many opportunities to learn about the “Thoreau of Marquette County.”

Doing a bit of research after I returned home to Franklin, I learned that Muir was the founder and first president of the Sierra Club, headquartered in San Francisco. Muir Woods National Monument, a grove of redwoods north of San Francisco, is named in his honor.

PBS recently had a special on national parks, and I learned that a three-night camping trip that Muir and President Theodore Roosevelt took together in 1903 “could be considered the most significant camping trip in conservation history. [Muir] was able to persuade Roosevelt to return Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove to federal protection as part of Yosemite National Park. The trip would have a lasting impact on the president.” (This quote, along with further details about John Muir and numerous historical photographs, can be found at http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/people/historical/muir

If you ever drive north to Marquette County, take an extra hour to stop at John Muir Park. You’ll find it south of Montello on County Road F. 

Yesterday I learned one more reason to be proud of our Franklin schools. I was attending the14th Annual Achievement Breakfast sponsored by the Franklin Educational Foundation at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare, 27th St. and Oakwood Rd. 

Chairing this year’s event was Mary Karolewicz, who chose the theme “Lights. . .Camera. . .Action!” The theme was fitting because the major grant award for the year went to the TV technology program at Franklin High School. TV production teacher Gail DeClark, who has developed this well-respected, state-of-the-art program, talked to attendees about Media Literacy and its importance in 21st century education. She used some of the FHS technology to take an inside look at the TV production classrooms along with interviews of current students. In addition, Ms. DeClark brought four students with her to tell how Media Literacy classes have benefitted them.

The Franklin Educational Foundation was founded in 1996 to provide resources for student learning not included in the tax-supported budget. Since its formation, the foundation has provided almost $1 million to augment services, programs and equipment in the schools. It is a partnership of local businesses, parents, teachers, residents and government leaders. All 20 members of the board are volunteers.

The foundation currently sponsors three annual fundraisers: a community walk/run, a golf outing, and an auction and casino night. The 6th annual community walk/run, co-sponsored by Innovative Health and Fitness, will be held Saturday, May 15, at Froemming Park. Last year’s event raised over $7,000.

To register for the 5K run or to participate in the family walk, download a registration form at www.franklin.k12.wi.us. Also see the article on Franklin NOW posted by Tim Beyer, of Innovative Health and Fitness. For further questions or to learn how you can support the Franklin Education Foundation, call Marlene Vidal at 414-525-7650.

I was glad to learn that my friend Joe Schoen “The Computer Guy” is back. Back in the computer classroom at the Franklin Public Library, that is.

My husband and I both met Joe when he was teaching classes for the Franklin Park and Recreation. Joe doesn’t have any fancy titles after his name, but he’s a natural-born teacher – someone who enjoys watching other people learn. He’ll stand patiently by helping students learn by doing – not the kind of instructor who pushes you aside so he can sit in front of the computer monitor.

Initially, my husband was apprehensive of the computer keyboard and the mouse, and everything on the monitor was a strange new world to him. As he learned a few basics, his confidence increased, and now he uses it regularly to post his volunteer hours at the Milwaukee Public Museum, post his golf scores, check his email, and find some helpful websites with the help of Google.

I’ve learned the basics of PowerPoint, Excel, Access and Publisher and picked up some advanced tips on Microsoft Word. Joe has always been generous with his accrued knowledge and makes take-home CDs for his students and gives them free access to his self-created tutorials.

Even though Joe hasn’t been teaching in Franklin the past couple of years, he is always just a phone call or email away – whenever I have a question or problem. Sometimes he can help me by email; other times he comes right to our house – and believe me, his service call costs nothing like a visit from “Joe the Plumber.”

Joe will be teaching a number of classes in the computer lab at the Franklin Library. These classes, sponsored by the Friends organization, cost only $5 each – which is a bargain, but space is limited so people are advised to sign up early. The scheduling occurred after the last Library newsletter was mailed, so you won’t be able to find the details online, but stop at the Franklin Public Library for details – or call (414-425-8214).

Specifics are posted on Joe’s website: www.thecomputerguy-joe.com – or email him for a copy of his newsletter: jkschoen@gmail.com. The first class, “Social Networking for Adults,” is coming up this Saturday, April 10, at 10:15 a.m. and repeated Tuesday, April 13, at 6:15 p.m. These classes are just 2 hours long and will get you started on such sites as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Even if you aren’t interested right now, you’ll find out what makes these social networking sites so popular.

Last week I accumulated some wonderful memories from a visit to New Mexico and Arizona.  I took along my blogging password so that I could post a new blog from there but somehow I never seemed to find the time. 

It's good for me to "step out of myself" from time to time and see how other people live in other places and build some new memories to revisit later.  Between my Albuquerque friend Bonnie and me, we captured over 200 images on our digital cameras.  My husband, who stayed home in Franklin, joked that he's seen every rock in New Mexico.  Other lasting memories, though, are those that can't be captured in photographs.  I'll share just a few of them here before I step back into my "at home again" role.

1)  Helping to feed the homeless at a United Methodist Church in downtown Albuquerque. On my first day visiting Bonnie (an old friend from college) we spent the morning at her volunteer job, dispensing bagged lunches and bus tokens to the dozens of people who lined up outside the door.  It was a reminder to me that the homeless are everywhere in this land of opportunity.  Some of my freshman college students, who have never seen a homeless person, like to argue that homeless people are homeless by choice.  Not true.

2) Later that day we drove to Tent Rocks National Monument, about 80 miles of Albuquerque, where we hiked among these beautiful teepee-shaped rocks, until the snow-covered path between the rocks became a bit too slippery to safely advance to the top.  If you'd like to see some stunning views of this park, visit this website:  http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=tent+rocks+new+mexico&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=0zKRS560D4qyNrGlgPMM&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CBwQsAQwAw

3)  On Ash Wednesday we visited an old mission church in Chimayo, between Santa Fe and Taos.  We weren't allowed to take photographs inside the sanctuary though I did purchase a postcard at the gift shop.  After an excellent lunch in a nearby restaurant, we saw many people emerging from the church, their foreheads marked with ashes.  I had forgotten it was Ash Wednesday, but the memory of these Christians worshipping in the small mission church has left a lasting impression.

On the Chimayo.org website I learned: "Shortly after the Pueblo Revolt,1680-1692, several groups of Spanish colonists settled in the northwestern section of the fertile Chimayó Valley. The colonists were hard working, independent farmers and artisans whose occupations included weaving, day labor and stock raising. They came to the area in hopes of receiving the title hidalgo (nobleman) if they stayed. Frequently they were granted land, building lots, subsidies and farming implements for their new life of hardship on the frontier.

Some of those artisans are still hard at work in Chimayo; I purchased a few items of weaving and pottery.  There were hundreds of others on display -- beautiful work.

4) Among the many other memories of my travels around New Mexico, with Bonnie as my guide, are Santa Fe, Taos, and Acomo Pueblo Village, 60 miles west of Albuquerque.  It's constructed on a mesa.  Our Native American guide was filled with pride as he showed us around the village, which has been named a National Historic Trust Site.  All the buildings are still occupied, even though there is no electricity or running water.  That is the choice of his people, as they want to keep it as it  has been through the years. Too many people forget that this wonderful land of ours was originally theirs.  It is a humbling thought.

To take your own virtual tour of this beautiful area, visit http://www.discovernewmexico.com/articles/acoma_sky_city_national_trust/index.htm

5) In the caption above I mention my 96-year-old Aunt Sylvia, because I flew from Albuquerque to Phoenix so that I could stop and visit her.  She is still sharp -- beat me several games of cribbage -- and still has that girlish twinkle in her eyes that I remember from every previous visit with her.  I'm holding her in my thoughts now as well.

One day soon I will organize a scrapbook of my trip to the Southwest.  For now, I'm just letting images and shared experiences weave themselves in and out of my memory.  It's time to step back into my real life, here on Scherrei Drive in Franklin, Wisconsin.

The snowfall we’ve had these past 24 hours has reminded me of a poem I was required to read in grade school. It was “Snowbound” by John Greenleaf Whittier, a Quaker poet who lived from 1807 to 1892. The full title of the poem is “Snowbound – a Winter Idyl.”

Whittier’s poem is prefaced by one from Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The Snow Storm”:

"Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,

Arrives the snow, and, driving o'er the fields,

Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air

Hides hills and woods, the river and the heaven,

And veils the farm-house at the garden's end.

The sled and traveller stopped, the courier's feet

Delayed, all friends shut out, the housemates sit

Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed

In a tumultuous privacy of Storm."  

Whittier was one of the Fireside Poets -- a group of American poets which included Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Cullen Bryant, James Russell Lowell, and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. “The Fireside Poets did not write for the sake of other poets; they wrote for the common people. They meant to have their stories told for families,” according to the popular online reference, Wikipedia. 

According to KimoPress.com, “Whittier was once considered a national treasure; his birthday was a holiday in many states, and his verse memorized by schoolchildren.”

I was interested to learn that Whittier was influenced by the Scottish poet, Robert Burns. (My brother-in-law, Bill Henderson, used to recite Burns’ poetry by heart with a beautiful Scottish accent inherited from his parents, Isa and Alexander.)

But I digress. . . .back to the snow that has shut down many schools and community activities this week, reminding us of what it was like to be truly “snowbound”  two hundred years ago.  That is to say, even though many schools shut down this week and many meetings and public functions have been cancelled, we’re never truly snowbound in 21st century America. The snowplows continue to wend their way through community streets; even the mailman got through today. 

It makes us imagine, though, what it was like in Whittier’s childhood, when the only lights glowing at night were from candles and from wood burning in the fireplace. In the poem, all the adults tell stories – the father, the mother, the uncle, and the aunt. This helps pass the time, without the benefit of radio or TV, and it brings the family unit closer. 

The poem is very, very long (over 4,000 words) but you can check it out at “The Poets’ Corner” which you can access online at: http://theotherpages.org/poems/whitt02.html. Another popular site is www.PoemHunter.com.

Thinking about “Snowbound” reminded me of another “snowbound” story which I enjoyed much more – Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House in the Big Woods. I was right there with Laura and her family when the snow buried them inside the little house and her father had to burrow a tunnel to the barn. 

Winter. It’s a wonderful time to snuggle up with a good book.  Who knows then, or cares, if it's snowing outside?

A few months ago I read a column by psychotherapist Philip Chard on the pitfalls of multi-tasking.  (See http://www.jsonline.com/features/advice/59229057.html)

"Contrary to popular mythology, multitasking does not involve doing more than one thing simultaneously, which is extremely difficult (try reading and juggling at the same time)," Chard said.  "Rather, it is the ability to fully focus on one undertaking, ignore distractions, switch smoothly to another activity at the right moment and then return to unfinished tasks in the order of their priority."

He's so right.  I can see that now, as I try to move from one item to the next on my daily "To Do" list.  There are always so many other things vying for my attention.  If it's not the telephone or an appointment I've agreed to make, it's the dog wanting to go outside or my husband reading an interesting article in the newspaper out loud. 

And then there's Google.  I love Google -- remember when all we had were encyclopedias and Ready Reference?  Last week I started writing a blog on New Year's Resolutions and the importance of routine so I decided to check Google and find out what else I could about routine.  Ooooh!  that was interesting.  True, it was a distraction, but here are some of the things I learned:

Winston Churchill accomplished as much as he did because he was a master of routine.  According to A.J. Leon at Workshifting.com, Churchill was also a "Workshifter."  Now, this is a new term for me, so I had to follow some links (which are really just more interesting distractions) to find out more about Workshifting.  Here's what I found:

"If you work out of coffee shops, hotels, airports and your home every bit as much as the office, workshifting.com is for you. We'll feature tips, reviews, and opinions about the world of Web commuting (relying on the Web to get work done at any time, from virtually anywhere.) That's what workshifting is all about."  (For more information on this new field, check out www.workshifting.com.)

The Workshifters website had a number of different postings on the importance of routine.  In December Workshifter Greg Rollett wrote an article about "The Workshifting Fitness Routine."  (See www.workshifting.com/2009/12/-ah-the-holidays-time.html) 

Oooh!  That's interesting too.  And it's related to the New Year's resolutions I started to write about.  But I spent so much time reading about all these other interesting topics, that I never did write my blog about New Year's resolutions.  That brings me back to Philip Chard.  The challenge is to avoid distractions -- no matter how interesting -- and focus on priorities.

Suddenly I'm distracted by another thought, "Not all who wander are lost."  Give me a minute while I check out the origin of that quotation on Google. . . .

The winter issue of Wisconsin Magazine of History features an article, "Women for a Peaceful Christmas," about a group of Wisconsin women who launched a movement in 1971 that caught on nationwide. The WPC (as it came to be known) was both a protest against the war in Vietnam and a protest against the commercialization of Christmas. Why spend all that time and money battling the crowds and buying gifts in response to the reminders --“Only X number of days until Christmas” -- when, as enterprising women, they could make their own gifts at home?

In a photograph accompanying the article, a wholesome 70s-era mother looks on with admiration as her three children produce original artwork for their own Christmas wrapping paper. Another woman is pictured making preserves at her kitchen stove, to be sold at a “Peace Festival” in Madison. 

Their purpose was not to boycott Christmas shopping. According to Nancy Unger, author of the article, “They proposed something even more radical: Americans should purchase only essential goods and services, not only during the holidays but every day of the year. And those essential goods and services should pointedly not be purchases from businesses that profited from the war.”

By Christmas 1972, the WPC had gained nationwide momentum and the Madison-area women became overwhelmed keeping up with statewide efforts while responding to mail from women all across the United States asking how to get involved. 

The Make-It-Yourself effort, which has long been part of American tradition, gained resurgence that year as a call for peace. “War is not healthy for children and other living things” was a motto reproduced on posters and necklaces. A WPC booklet, “Alternatives to Buying,” included the following suggestions, each within a box decorated with a holiday image:

*Share your car, boat, sewing machine, tools or summer cottage with someone who has none. Offer a large space in your home for someone to give a party in. Give a corner of your garden to a city friend next summer.

*Remember shut-ins, old people, prisoners, and orphans. Plan songs, an outing or regular visits to cheer them. Continue your interest after the holidays.

*Give up a treasured personal belonging.

*Organize a toy swap in your neighborhood. Have children spruce up and wrap outgrown toys, books and sporting equipment to exchange.

In 1975, with the end of the Vietnam War, the WPC movement ended, but those who promoted it continued their work with peace and justice issues. Although by their own admission they did not make “much of a dent in an economy that encourages over-consumtpion,” they “nevertheless demonstrated that a small group of wives and homemakers, aided by the new wave of feminist and environmental thought, could wield meaningful power and influence,” concluded Nancy Unger. 

Unger, an associate professor of history at Santa Clara University, is working on a book to be published by Oxford University Press, Beyond Nature’s Housekeepers: American Women in Environmental History,

Well, there’s something I can add to my own Christmas list for 2010. And as soon as I finish reading Unger’s book, I’ll remember to recycle it -- as a gift to my local library. 

Meanwhile, I see that almost four decades later, Jan Cheney is still working for peace and justice issues. She is pictured in the Wisconsin Magazine of History as one of the “Raging Grannies,” an international organization of senior women protesting war efforts, promoting peace.

One of my favorite Hales Corners people is Kelly Lynch. This young mother has remained cheerful, loving, and positive no matter what hurdles life puts in her way. The joy of her life – and that of her husband Brian – is their daughter, Cailinn Maureen Lynch, who was born May 8, 2008.  

In her blog, sponsored by “Caring Bridge,” Kelly posts updates for family and friends who follow Cailinn’s progress – and her challenges. In Kelly’s words, “Soon after Cailinn was born, the doctors realized that something wasn't quite right. They took a blood sample to run a genetic test and found that Cailinn had an extremely rare genetic condition. She has an Unbalanced Translocation of her #5 and #9 chromosomes. She is the 4th documented case of this specific translocation (in the world!). Because it is so rare, there isn't a lot of information available to help determine what the future holds. So with this, our adventure began. What we do know is that she has an ASD and a VSD, which are the 2 holes in her heart, and she will some day need to have corrective surgery. We also know that due to the genetic condition, she has smaller facial features, which inhibit her ability to sucessfully take a bottle and also require her to be on oxygen. Despite all of her challenges, she exhibites a fighting spirit and an ever growing personality. Her smile brings joy to everyone she encounters and we look forward to watching our little peanut grow.”

 Well! Cailinn is now one and one-half years old, and she continues to amaze her parents and everyone else who knows her – including the staff at Children’s Hospital. Kelly is such a fan of Children’s Hospital that two months ago she organized a team for the Al’s and Briggs Walk/Run and raised $1300 for the hospital.

 Here’s an excerpt from Kelly’s recent entry: 

“Hello Cailinn Fans! I know it's been a while since the last update, but I will try to keep it short. The last update was just before the Brigg's & Al's Walk. It was very cold, but there was still a huge turn out. Thank you to everyone who supported Cailinn's Crusaders. We were able to raise just over $1300!! Watch for information regarding next year’s walk. . . .

“Cailinn was invited back to participate in Partners For Progress' Short Term Intensive Therapy. This took place the last week of October. She did FANTASTIC!! Wow, that kid never stops amazing me. I also have to give credit to the wonderful therapist that we worked with. Thank you Leslie!! They worked really hard with Cailinn, helping her to get herself into a sitting position, crawling, and getting up to standing. They also worked on feeding and speech. Cailinn is eating more and more, and getting pretty good at it. She is also starting to make more sounds and different sounds. She is even saying Mom now and Hi.

“Cailinn has started sitting up all on her own since this past weekend. She is not getting up the way that we have been trying to teach her, but instead has figured out her own way of doing things (what else is new??). At least she can sit up on her own now. Next step is getting her to crawl and walk. She already is rolling all over the house!! Which means that she is getting into everything possible. There is no way to completely baby proof a house, but we are doing our best.

“Nov. 12th marked the 1 year anniversary of Cailinn coming home from Children's Hospital. I can't believe it's already (and at the same time only) been a year. Cailinn goes in this Wednesday for her bronchoscopy. We are anxiously awaiting the results as that will determine when we can get rid of the trach. Please keep Cailinn in your prayers! And we will keep you posted with how things go.   Also, watch for updated Cailinn pictures coming soon!   As always, thanks for checking in on us.”

On the Caring Bridge website, I see that the total number of website visits from family and friends total 4,236. If you would like to follow Cailinn’s story, go to http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/cailinnlynch

"Marjorie, could you write about the food drive on your blog?"

This request came to me from Sandra Kestner, administrative assistant at Whitnall Park Lutheran Church.  I'm happy to do that, Sandy -- for you, for the people who will benefit from the food drive, and in honor of a very special person who died this summer, Marilyn Schoenleber.

Marilyn was one of the first persons I met when our family joined the church on Forest Home Avenue (located across from Clifford's at the entrance to Whitnall Park.)  She and her husband Norman were there every Sunday with their three sons: Richard, David and Charles.  She was a substitute teacher in Milwaukee schools and taught Sunday school for many years.  She also taught adult Bible study classes.

Most of her time, though, was spent on outreach concerns: making quilts for Lutheran World Relief, filling handmade school bags with supplies for children in Third World countries overseas, knitting prayer shawls, masterminding the annual "Mitten Tree" -- the list goes on.  Wherever there were people in need -- within the church or outside -- Marilyn was right there to do her part. As head of the Social Ministry team at the church, she also kept these concerns in front of the congregation.  I like to think of her as a "quiet activist."  She didn't seek personal recognition for her efforts and, consequently, many people at WPLC were unaware of all she did.

Those of us who knew Marilyn, though -- people like Sandy Kestner and myself -- also knew what a void there would be without Marilyn's active presence.  Since her death, Charles Schoenleber has been filling in for her -- packing up quilts and school bags for the Lutheran World Relief trucks; bringing produce from the family garden to share with parishioners who then contribute to local hunger relief; taking monthly contributions to Hope House, a center on the South side that ministers to homeless families. "It's therapy for me," he said.  (Charles also leads congregational support for the annual fall CROP Walk at Milwaukee's lakefront.) 

The Marilyn Schoenleber Food Drive is Sandy Kestner's idea.  A huge sign, "Fill the Truck," sits in her office, and from time to time a huge semi parks outside the church bearing that sign as a reminder of the Nov. 15 event.  Meanwhile, Sandy has been tucking reminders into the Sunday bulletins: last week it was a Post-It note; yesterday it was a lunch bag.  Many of the parishioners are keeping their eyes open for weekly bargains at area food stores and stocking up in their efforts to "Fill the Truck."

All the canned goods and non-perishables which are collected on Sunday, Nov. 15, will go to area food pantries.  Sandy is hopeful we will "Fill the Truck," which will be there that day.  It's a big truck, though.  We would very much appreciate help from others in the community. 

"We will be collecting all morning," Sandy said.

Thanks, Sandy, for taking this initiative.  It's a wonderful tribute to Marilyn.  She was way too modest to think of having a food drive named after her.  If she were here, though, she would be counting the boxes and cans and thinking of all the people who have a hard time feeding their families these days.  It's not much, she would think, but at least I can do my part.

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to talk to a group of churchwomen in Winona, Minnesota, on the topic "Never Too Old."  Typical of most groups of churchwomen, these were mostly in the over-60 age group, and one delightful woman sitting right in front of me proudly admitted to being 95.

I'm not an expert on the subject of aging, but I do know that as long as a person remains reasonably healthy, there's always something she (or he) can do.  In preparation for the talk I brainstormed some ideas and searched the internet for some other interesting tidbits. 

C.S. Lewis said: "You're never too old to set a new goal or to dream a new dream."  And do you know about Ann Marie Robertson?  Her arthritis caused her to give up a career in embroidery when she was in her 70s, so she took up oil painting instead.  Almost everybody knows her -- as Grandma Moses.

While some octogenarians compete in sports and one 95-year-old woman got her college degree, the point I made in my talk is to do those things you enjoy, to use your God-given gifts, and to take time to bring some happiness into the lives of others.  

The musical entertainment for the morning was reminiscent of Garrison Keillor -- the Sons of Norway singing songs in Norwegian (and one in English.)  I was happy to see they now admit women to their ranks, so they should call themselves the Sons and Daughters of Norway.  The man who introduced the musical numbers asked the audience the question in my blog title: "How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?"

I like that .  Sometimes in my heart I'm still a girl .  Other times I'm maybe 25 or 30.  I see that girl, too, in the eyes of Susan Boyle when she sings her heart out about dreams coming true .   I've watched her performance on "Britain's Got Talent" at least a dozen times, and I never tire of her.  I'll be in line when her first album is released next month -- happy that she didn't consider herself "too old" to launch a musical career.

I'll end here with a wonderful quote by poet Thomas Bailey Aldrich: "To keep the heart unwrinkled, to be hopeful, kindly, cheerful, reverent -- that is to triumph over old age."

The year after we moved to Franklin, my husband signed me up for a women’s nine-hole golf league at Whitnall Park. Although I was a beginner, I was enthusiastic about this opportunity for a “Mom’s Morning Out” and signed up for pre-season lessons at the local YWCA. (For those of you new to the community, it was located on Janesville Road where Hartson’s funeral home now stands.)

It’s been almost forty years since my initial attempt to learn the game, and I haven’t been part of a regular league for many of those intervening years, but I’m still swinging those clubs when time permits. In recent years I’ve been back at Whitnall with a group of women from the Hales Corners Woman’s Club. At one time there were more than 20 golfers on Tuesday mornings; now we’re lucky if we can get two foursomes together for nine holes. (I’ve never wanted to take the time for 18 holes.) 

Anyone who has ever played golf knows there’s lots of time to stand around quietly while another golfer is swinging. In a group like ours, there are even more of those “stand quietly” times than in leagues like my husband’s where they keep handicaps and the guys don’t get overly excited when someone gets a par or birdie. In any of the women’s groups I’ve golfed with over the years, that’s a big deal.

Anyway, during this quiet time on the golf course, I enjoy the natural beauty around me. I also spend a lot of thinking. Sometimes it’s the usual golfer’s inner dialogue: Well, that was a dopey shot. Why did you do that? or Hey! that was pretty good. If I keep it up, I could still get a 7 on this par-three hole. But that gets kind of boring after awhile, so lately I’ve been thinking of “Life Lessons To Be Learned From the Game of Golf.”

This list can keep on growing, but for now, I’ll limit it to four. 

1) Forget perfection. My son Matt is one of the best amateur golfers I know. His handicap is only a point or two over “scratch” and he wins a lot of prizes in competition. But his golfers’ “bible” is a book by Bob Rotella, Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect. Even Tiger Woods knows that. Sometimes, I think, we expect too much from ourselves, our children or others in our lives. My own motto in everything I do is: “Progress, not perfection.”

2) Stay calm. There’s another popular book Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff (and it’s all small stuff) that reminds us not to over-react to any situation. I don’t accept the notion that everything is “small stuff” but if I can practice staying calm and centered in everyday situations, I’ll be better able to handle those major sandtraps of life. I think Bob Rotella and Tiger Woods would both have a lot to say about this topic as well.

3) Be nice. My mother (and millions of other mothers, I’m sure) always reminded me, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” It’s a corollary to that old advice, count to 10 whenever one’s temper flares up.  The women I golf with are usually courteous to one another and don’t punctuate their conversation with profanity, the way so many people do these days. I wish more people would do the same – both on and off the golf course.

4) Enjoy the moment.   Learning to live in the NOW means not agitating over that awful golf shot I just hit or the dumb mistake I made yesterday; it means not worrying about the score card (or, for competitive golfers, who’s going to win the match) and – off the golf course, what’s going to happen tomorrow. Most of us have enough to deal with today and the only way to live today is moment by moment.

I’m going to stop my list right here, but I’ll probably continue it before the golf season ends. (And if anyone reading this has something to add, please let me know.) 

On the golf course at Whitnall yesterday, I remembered the words of a song I wrote for an end-of-the-season luncheon in 1976, the bicentennial year of America's independence. I sang it to the tune, “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”

It’s a grand old game, and it’s really a shame,   When the ball doesn’t go where it should.

Oh you could blame the weather or your aching back, You could blame your iron or your wood.

Oh, it’s a grand old game, but there’s no one to blame, When your score doesn’t look so good.

So should old score cards be forgot? Well, the bad ones, indeed they should. 

        (For this last line I tore up a scorecard and tossed the pieces.)

This summer I’m going through accumulated paper files for the purpose of culling out and downsizing. Some days it’s slow going because I come across enchanting articles like the one from Shirley Belleranti, “An Environmentalist’s Beatitudes.” It took me down Memory Lane. . . .

In 1982 I joined a writers’ group which met twice a month in the community room of a bank on Packard and Layton Avenues (now Chase Bank.) The organization, Writer’s Ink, is still very active, serving as a resource and support group for writers of all ages. The first Monday of each month is devoted to manuscript critique, where writers read their works in progress and get helpful comments from the others. The third Monday often features a speaker, followed by the roundtable, where members tell what they’ve been working on, what they’ve submitted for publication, and publication success. 

Although I haven’t been attending the Writer’s Ink meetings in recent years, I still keep in touch with some of those I came to know through the organization and remember many of the others with great fondness.  

So many names leap out at me right now. Some are still active in the group: Gail Toerpe, Larry Van Voeghel, Lucy Larsen, Ellen Bourget, Pearl Blanchette, among others. Some have moved away or are no longer affiliated members: Sharon Hart Addy, Nancy Allan, Alice Zillmer, Pat Lorenz, Roses Baer. And then there are those who have died and -- we’d like to think -- are still penning their memoirs in the Great Beyond; I’m thinking especially of three good friends: Shirley Mudrick, May Thibaudau and the woman who inspired this blog: Shirley Belleranti. 

Shirley Belleranti lived in Cudahy and was one of the members I looked up to in 1982 because of her unassuming ways, her persistence and her publishing success. Although she hadn’t done any writing to speak of before her retirement, in those next ten years or so that she belonged to Writer’s Ink Shirley published dozens of non-fiction articles in dozens of publications, and she mastered the art of selling reprints. Sell an article once, make a few dollars; sell it again – make a few more. Not all publishers accept reprints, but Shirley learned how to take the same idea and rework it so that she could market it under a new title. She was an inspiration to all of us. (She even wrote and published an article on “How to Sell Reprints.”)

If Shirley had lived long enough to discover the world of blogs and internet publishing, Google would be spitting out her byline all over the place. As it is, Google led me to only two of her published articles. One was from the Milwaukee Sentinel “Green Sheet” on June 29, 1988: “Riverside Harbors Ghosts of the Great Swing Bands.”

In this article Shirley wrote about the big names and big sounds she remembered from the Riverside Theatre in the 1940s: Ella Fitzgerald, Gene Krupa, Johnny Desmond, Anita O’Day, Nat King Cole, Count Basie, Cab Calloway – and her favorite, Duke Ellington. If you’d like to read it, here’s the link: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1368&dat=19880629&id=Jd4VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oRIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4747,7123450

The other article I found was from The Growing Edge, a magazine still published in Corvallis, Oregon. The title of Shirley’s article, geared to children, was“Kricket Krap – Recycling Nature’s Gifts.” The first part of the article, published in 1990, was reprinted on the website (and I quote):

Several years ago Bricker’s Organic Farms, of Augusta, Georgia, introduced a new fertilizer on a gardening show on national television. The product inspired a radio announcer in Ohio to wonder aloud how thy managed to collect enough of the stuff for one plant, much less entire gardens.

You see, the fertilizer, which they called “Gotta-Grow,” is 100 percent cricket manure!

To read the full article I will have to send $5 to the back issues department. The title made me smile, though, for there was Shirley, on her favorite topic of recycling!

This brings me back to the article I referred to in the first paragraph, “An Environmentalist’s Beatitudes.” It was one of many articles Shirley recycled (reprinted) several times. The article was actually a list which her grandfather had pasted into a scrapbook.  Talk about recycling!  Although I can’t give credit to the original source, before I reprint it here, I’ll give credit to Shirley, her grandfather, and The Lutheran Digest (publication date unknown). These “Beatitudes” are as relevant in 2009 as they were when originally written more than 75 years ago.

Blessed are they who plant long-lived trees and shrubs, for future generations shall call them blessed.

Blessed are the owners of flower gardens, for in the heart of a lower may be seen its Creator.

Blessed are they who appreciate nature’s gifts, for they shall be known as lovers of beauty.

Blessed are they who clean up the highways, byways and home grounds, for cleanliness is next to godliness.

Blessed are they who brighten and freshen their buildings and fences with paint, for improvement and the praise of many shall be their reward.

Blessed are they who speak up for the protection of nature’s gifts, for they shall be recognized as true patriots of the earth.

Great shall be the reward of those who protect our forests from fire, for the bird shall continue to serve them and the fish and wild animal to furnish them food.

Whosoever conserveth our natural resources serveth himself and the generations following. (Author unknown)

Before signing off, I’d like to add one more Beatitude to this list:

Blessed be Shirley Belleranti for her gift of writing, for her love of recycling, and for the article she wrote which inspired this blog!

“Have you seen Carl?” Jerry asked me yesterday and I started to think: No, I haven’t seen him since last Wednesday or maybe Thursday.  

Carl is the name Jerry gave to the cardinal who kept appearing at our picture window in the living room and then, depending on wherever we were in the house, at other windows – maybe right behind me as I type here at my computer or in the bedroom. In the kitchen. And once when I went to the basement to do laundry, he was there peering down at me from the window above the washing machine. 

Lots of people had their theories about Carl – that he saw his own reflection in the window and was there to confront himself. But Carl was definitely not in a fighting mood and he wasn’t looking at himself. He was looking through the window, sometimes just perching on the windowsill while Jerry sat in his recliner reading the paper. “Just stopping by to say hi.”  

When he was in a playful mood, Carl would ping gently against the window, then fly to other windows around the house and ping against them. This recurred off and on through the day, and what might have proved annoying to some people was charming to us. Our own little bird – a red bird, no less (and I thought of Judy Bridges, founder of Redbird Studio) and before now we had almost never seen a cardinal in our yard. 

Putting up the screens was one factor, I think, because Carl got sick of perching and pinging at just the one picture window. He liked to circle the house and announce himself from various vantage points. 

I keep hoping Carl will come back at least once this summer. I’ve even gone to the door and called for him, reminding myself of Shirley Booth and Burt Lancaster in Come Back, Little Sheba. I know how to mimic the cardinal’s call, so I even whistle that sometimes, hoping Carl will answer.                                         *** 

The  preceding story was written earlier this month and shared with a group of writers at Redbird Studio, Bay View.  I've been attending the bi-monthly roundtables there so that I can have a live audience to critique my work and to perk up my creativity. 

The downside of this is that I have neglected my blog.  I apologize for that and have made a pledge to myself that I'll post at least one entry every week. 

Meanwhile, here's an update on Carl -- he's back!  I can't believe I'd be so happy to see that little red bird pinging against our picture window or perching in a bush just outside our bedroom window whistling his cheerful song.  Some of my neighbors might think they overhear me talking to myself -- and I do that too -- but most likely I'm chatting with Carl.  "Good to see you again, Carl.  Good to hear you too

Last week I had the pleasure of accompanying a group of docents on a local bus trip. The docents, including my husband, are all volunteers at the Milwaukee Public Museum, and every year they celebrate with a “day away” bus trip, stopping at various places along the way. 

The stops included the Pabst Mansion, the Domes, and the Milwaukee County Zoo, with a lunch stop at Mo’s Irish Pub and a concluding treat at Gilles frozen custard stand. Although I’ve been to all those places before, it’s fun to visit them again, especially with the benefit of knowledgeable guides.

For example, did you know that the Pabst mansion was home to five Archbishops between 1908 and 1975? It was purchased by the Milwaukee Archdiocese following the deaths of Captain Frederick Pabst and his wife. When the Archdiocese could not find a historic preservation group to buy the mansion, it looked as though the building might be destroyed in the name of “progress” and another parking lot. Fortunately, that did not occur. 

The Pabst Mansion was designed by Milwaukee Architect George Bowman Ferry in 1889 and constructed over the next two years. It was one of Milwaukee’s finest residences – one of the first wired for electricity. It boasted nine full bathrooms and was installed with a state-of-the-art heating system by the company which came to be known as Johnson Controls.

For a quick photo tour of the building, check out http://www.pabstmansion.com/phototour/8.html. For 67 years the Sisters of St. Francis dusted all the woodwork throughout the building, which accounts for its beautiful condition today. This is a wonderful place to take out-of-town guests but there’s no need to wait for guests. If you haven’t visited the Pabst Mansion in awhile, put it on your list of things to do in 2009. “Be a visitor in your own hometown.”

Next stop, for you or your guests: the newly refurbished Domes, more exactly named the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory. Did you know that the Domes were built from 1959 – 1967 at a cost of $4.5 million? Our guide told us that original plans called for four domes, rather than three, but there wasn’t enough money for the fourth. The popular Show Dome has changing attractions. Through May 25th, visitors can see the English garden, with a stunning array of flowers that will leave you longing for summer in your own Wisconsin garden. If you visit on a Thursday evening, you’ll be treated to a brilliant lighting display; I plan to return for that. An excellent descriptions of this display is found in a Shepherd Express article by Aisha Motlani. There’s even a You-Tube link which gives a preview of what to expect from that show. Check it out at http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/article-4629-domes-of-light.html. Another link you’ll find helpful is the one to the Domes: http://www.county.milwaukee.gov/MitchellParkConserva10116.html.

The Milwaukee Public Museum docent, June Naeser, who has been organizing these tours for many years, decided to include a stop at the Milwaukee County Zoo because one of the docents, Sam Amalfa, was a zookeeper there for 30 years and had agreed to lead this part of the tour. Sam was head caretaker of the primates, which meant he developed a special man-to-gorilla relationship with Milwaukee’s celebrity Samson. This world-famous gorilla, who died before Sam’s retirement, now holds a prominent place in the museum, so Sam continues to share his stories with visitors. 

On the day of our tour, Sam was excited to share the latest news, pre-empting local TV and newspapers. It turns out taxidermist Wendy Christensen-Senk (formerly of Hales Corners) had just captured the top award in a world competition for taxidermists for her masterful recreation of Samson. To see an interview of Wendy with Fox News reporter Cathy Orosz just before she left for the competition in St. Charles, Missouri, check out : http://www.fox6now.com/news/witi-090503-samson-taxidermy,0,1254418.story?track=rss

Or, to see the museum’s podcast on Wendy’s reconstruction of Samson, check out http://www.mpm.edu/exhibitions/special/samson/podcasts.php.

These are all just teasers, of course. With many vacation budgets cut back, don’t despair. Check out all that Milwaukee and surrounding communities have to offer and plan to take weekly adventures all summer long. Learn how to be a visitor in your hometown!

April is national Poetry Month; April 24 is national celebration of Arbor Day.  Both occasions bring to mind the famous poem by Joyce Kilmer, “Trees.”  Almost everybody remembers the first line (I think that I shall never see/A poem lovely as a tree) and the last (Only God can make a tree.)

Earlier this month I had the good fortune to hear Wisconsin’s Poet Laureate, Marilyn Taylor, read her poetry aloud at the Burlington Library.  My husband went along, to keep me company, and was pleasantly surprised to find how much he enjoyed Marilyn’s poems.  They’re carefully crafted but often in a playful way, though sometimes serious too – but never heavy-handed or pretentious, two qualities that turn people away from poetry.

And then I was reminded of a wonderful event going on right here in our backyards, “In Celebration of Trees,” at Wehr Nature Center and Boerner Botanical Gardens.  On Saturday, April 25, and Sunday, April 26, the “Celebration” will be held from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.  Those attending will pay just $1 per person for admission at both sites.

“In Celebration of Trees” is an event marking both Earth Day and Arbor Day; it offers a variety of fun-packed and information-packed activities for all ages.  Here’s a bulleted list of events from the website:

• Pause to learn interesting facts on the "Tree Moments" tour
• Explore hiking trails with naturalist-guided tours or strike out on your own
• Join our neighboring communities for ceremonial tree plantings in the park
• Learn the latest about the detection and management of the Emerald Ash Borer
• Discover your carbon footprint
• Create artwork inspired by nature
• Adopt a tree to plant in your own yard
• Find practical advice from UW-Extension horticulture educators and industry experts
• Amaze yourself with exhibits, experiments and activities at W.E.S.T. Family Science Day on Saturday
• Tour the Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility

For more information – and photographs -- browse through some of these websites:

http://www.boernerbotanicalgardens.org/support/e4-10.html

http://www.arbor-day.net/

http://www.arborday.org/arborday/

As children, my brother and I liked to fool each other on April 1st.  It was such fun to be able to trick each other into believing something that was absolutely not true and then to be able to say, “April Fool!”  The older we got, the less likely we were to fool one another.

If someone tried to play an April Fool’s joke on us on another day, it was fun to say, “April Fool’s Day is past.  You’re the biggest fool at last.”

I started thinking about April Fool’s Day  yesterday when my friend Ruth called to warn me about a computer virus that was due to be launched today.  (In fact, some people had already experienced the effects of this virus.)  At the time I’m writing this I haven’t learned how successful the perpetrators of this “Conficker Virus” have been.

To me, anything that causes damage is not much of a joke.  I do like reading about some of the harmless April Fool’s Day jokes that people have fallen for over the years, such as those posted on the website www.museumofhoaxes.com.  Among the “Top 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes, I liked the one from a respected BBC news show that reported in 1957 how Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop because of the elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil.  In 1996 the Taco Bell Corporation announced that it had purchased the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of people who fell for the hoax hurried to their phones to express their outrage.  

My mother (who knew lots of quotations) used to tell us,“You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." This quotation, often attributed to Abraham Lincoln, is probably not linked to him, reliable sources say.

While none of us like to be made fools of, April Fool's Day is a healthy reminder that many of us need to lighten up.  No Foolin'!

When I was in second grade, my father moved our family from Milwaukee to a farm in Marquette County.  From a city classroom of about 25 seven-year-olds, I now shared a classroom at Sheldon School with just 17 other students, including my older sisters (in grades 5 and 7) and my younger brother (in first grade.)  

What a challenge that must have been for all those teachers – graduates of two-year “normal” colleges – to plan lessons for all subject areas of all eight grades.  Instead of physical education classes, we had recess in the morning and at lunch-time, and our school yard was big enough for soft-ball and other improvised games, such as kick the can and ante-over (where we formed teams and threw a ball over the schoolhouse roof.)  In winter we took our sleds across the road to a hill that the neighboring farmer was happy to let us use.

Thanks to Wisconsin School of the Air, we had an introduction to the fine arts as well.  Once a week we had “Let’s Sing” with Professor (Edgar) Gordon, and on a different day of the week we drew inspiration from “Let’s Draw” and “Let’s Write.”  These three on-the-air classes gave the teacher a little break, though at the time that wasn’t one of my concerns.  Like the other students, I sat at my desk, listening intently to the radio at the front of the classroom as voices from Madison inspired us to use our talents.  

I remember singing old-time favorites like “Home on the Range” under the long-distance direction of Professor Gordon; I can remember the big sheets of manila paper which covered my desk when it was time to draw; and I still have the scrapbooks of my collected essays, stories and poems from “Let’s Write.”  

In a book I checked out of the library, 9XM Talking: WHA Radio and the Wisconsin Idea, I learned that “the wireless” came to Wisconsin 100 years ago, in 1909.  The first broadcast came from Beloit where a physics professor, Charles Culver, sent a wireless telegraph of a track meet.  In Madison, Earle M. Terry, another physics professor, is generally regarded “the founding father” of wireless communication.  The author of this fascinating history of public radio in Wisconsin is Randall Davidson, who has been affiliated with Wisconsin Public Radio since 1990.

According to a website for Wisconsin Public Radio, the Wisconsin School of the Air made its debut in 1931 “with 10 weekly programs for in-school use. WHA is assigned studio space in the State Capitol (which still exists today). WHA carries the first regular remote broadcasts from a University of Wisconsin classroom.”  http://www.wpr.org/hd/hd_innovation.cfm

I found it interesting to learn that “Chapter a Day,” still a popular favorite of WPR listeners, began in 1927.  One of the longest running programs in radio history, it began when a radio guest cancelled and the host decided to read a library book to fill the hour. It was an immediate hit and listeners requested more.  Twelve years later it became a daily program.

In a June 1989 article from the Wisconsin Academy Review, Ralph Johnson wrote about the Wisconsin School of the Air:  “In mid-September 1931 Harold B. McCarty announced to the WHA Radio staff, ‘We're going to have a School of the Air. It will start on the fifth of October.’ In three weeks the first week's programming was prepared,

which set the pattern for decades to come.”  Over 50 years later when McCarty reminisced with WHA staff members, he said he was inspired by the success of a program in Ohio and that he knew of several Wisconsin teachers who had had some success in educational broadcasting.  One of them was “Pop” Gordon, who became the Professor Gordon I remember.  

Drawing, painting and other forms of art have never been my strongpoint, though I do love spending time at the Milwaukee Art Museum and I am the Number One fan of my grandson’s refrigerator artwork.  But “Let’s Sing” and “Let’s Write” – almost sixty years later – my response to both is a fervent: “Yes.  Let’s.”