Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(as appeared in the September 9, 2010 edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

It has been a hot and wet summer, but it still is hard to grasp the fact that it is coming to an end. Labor Day weekend has come and gone and that is a sure sign fall will be coming soon. Before we know it, we will be talking about the "white stuff" that will be accumulating on the ground. (No, I did not yet mention that dirty 4-letter word!) According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, it looks like our area is in line to get a lot of that "stuff" this winter. We will have to wait and see what the season brings. Just make sure that you have your shovels and ____blowers handy and start working on strengthening your back muscles!

For now, let's just enjoy the nice fall weather that is yet to come. It should be a big relief from the hot weather that we had for much of the summer. There are also many things to do during what is usually one of the prettiest seasons of the year in this area because of the beautiful colors of the trees and foliage.

High school sports are back in full swing and the Tigerton High School girls volleyball team and Marion/Tigerton Thundercatz football team are both back in action. Check out the Community Calendar to find out when and where the teams are playing. To view the complete calendar, go to http://users.mwwb.net/tigertonmainstreet/ and then click on the "Calendar of Events" link.

Coming up this weekend is the Embarrass River Lions Horse Trail Ride. It will be held from Friday evening through Sunday morning on land bordering the Embarrass River ATV Park along Hwy M. There will be horse trail rides on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and camping spaces with port-a-potties and showers are available at the Embarrass River ATV Park. Live music will be provided on Friday and Saturday and food and refreshments will be available for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A "Cowboy Church Service" will also be held on Sunday.

All proceeds from this event will go to help needy families in our community. For more information or to make reservations, please contact Debbie at 715 508-0097 or Pete at 715 853-5506.

Coming up on Saturday, September 25th, Tigerton Main Street will be holding their first annual "Taste of Tigerton Applefest". It will run from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Tigerton Legion Park.  There will be a Best Apple Pie contest , craft/vendor booths, door prizes, food booths , and a raffle Local apple producers will have information booths as well as offering open houses at their orchards. A brat fry will also be held from 10:00am -1:00pm. For more information, please contact Sharon at 715-881-1691 or by e-mail at applefest2010@yahoo.com. This is a great opportunity to enjoy everything "apple" as well as support your community.

I am happy to report that the construction on Grand, Sunrise and Picnic Streets has really been progressing the last couple of weeks. Since the Shawano Country workers came about two weeks ago and laid the first layer of blacktop, they have really made significant progress. The landscaping has pretty much been completed on Sunrise and Picnic Streets and work continues on Grand. Hopefully, within a few weeks, the project will be totally completed. At that time, I am sure you will probably hear a collective sigh of relief from all the residents that have been affected by this project that has lasted all summer long. In the long run, it sure will be great to have these improvements completed. We have had our share of major road construction in the past few years, but it certainly is well worth it to have really nice roads running through Tigerton again!

Last week on Tuesday, Ralph Schroeder had the once-in-a -lifetime opportunity to take a Veteran's Honor Flight to Washington DC to see the WWII War Memorial. He said it was a great experience.

The Tigerton BABA team hosted Waupaca on Sunday in the BABA Grand Championship game. Tigerton came up on the short end of the score, but they still had a great season. Congratulations to all the players and coaches on the team.

Don't forget that the primary elections will be held on Tuesday, September 14th. Make sure to go and cast your vote!

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the September 2nd, 2010 edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

What a beautiful weekend for the 44th annual Tigerton Lumberjack Days. It was hot like it usually is on this weekend, but there still seemed to have been something missing. What could that be? Oh yeah-rain! Usually it manages to rain at least a little sometime during Lumberjack weekend, but even with all the rain that we had this summer, it managed to stay away and give us a wonderful weekend for the event.

Speaking of rain and Lumberjack Days, as I stated, every year it always seems to rain at least once during the festivities, but this is the 24th year that I have been in town and attended Lumberjack Days and I do not ever remember a year when it rained during the parade. It has rained before the parade in the morning and after, but I don't think in all that time that it has ever rained during the parade itself. That I think is pretty ironic.

I do remember the first year I came to town. That was the last year that the Tigerton American Legion Post #239 still held their annual "Homecoming" celebration during the summer. During that final homecoming parade it rained. Yes, it rained, and rained, and rained. That was my first experience with a parade in Tigerton but what amazed me was the amount of people that stood out in the pouring rain to enjoy the parade. It just goes to show how the people of Tigerton support their commUNITY! That was 24 years ago, but that support still remains today!

Overall, I believe that the attendance at this year's Lumberjack Days was very good! There appeared to be good crowds for both Saturday and Sunday at the park and the parade route was lined with many, many people. Hopefully, when all the numbers are tallied, it will show it was a good year for both the Tigerton Advancement Association and the Tigerton Legion Post #239, because that means it was a good year for our community!

After writing the last few weeks about how frustrating the road construction has been this summer in Tigerton, last week the Shawano County workers came and put down the first coat of blacktop on the roads that had been torn up all summer. This certainly made a difference as far as dust and access. All the curb, gutters and sidewalks are in and there actually appears to be a light at the end of the construction tunnel. There still is a lot of landscaping to do plus the second coat of blacktop, but it certainly is good to see the progress that was made last week. It also made it easier for people to get into town for Lumberjack Days and for us local residents to just "get around town". It looks like there actually might be hope that the entire project will be completed by the time the snow flies!

Labor Day weekend is just a few days away and that means it is once again time for the Shawano County Fair. Many members of the Tiger Tribe 4-H and other area residents will be showing their animals, projects and produce at this year's fair. If you get to Shawano over the weekend, make sure to check out their exhibits because they put a lot of hard work into them.

Not only was Tigerton the host of Lumberjack Days over the weekend, but the Tigerton BABA team was also hosting the team from Hatley in a BABA semi-final game. In what started out as a close game, Tigerton prevailed by a score of 13-5. Next Sunday, Tigerton will host Waupaca for the BABA Grand Championship. The game will start at 2:00pm at Tiger Field.

It definitely was a great weekend for Tigerton!

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the August 26th, 2010 edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

This weekend marks the 44th annual Tigerton Lumberjack Days! The event will be held Saturday and Sunday at the Legion Park shelter with several other activities held throughout the village. This is a great opportunity to come out and have a good time as well as support our community. All proceeds from the event go right back into Tigerton.

The next weekend already brings Labor Day, and that means the Shawano County Fair. I know several of our area youth from the Tiger Tribe 4-H club and other people from the area are planning to take their projects, crops or animals to the fair. If you get a chance, stop by to check out what the things our area residents have brought to be displayed at this year's fair.

I think I missed a pretty important event that usually falls right around the 1st of September. I am sure the kids and teachers around the state certainly know what this date means. It means that the start of the new school year has arrived. It has been a nice, warm summer, but the time to get the students back in school is coming soon. Make sure to watch out for kids walking to and from school!

Mark your calendars for September 25th. That day will mark the 1st annual "Taste of Tigerton Applefest". The event will be held from 9:00am-1:00pm at the Tigerton Legion Park shelter and will feature almost everything "apple". There will be apple demonstrations, apple pies and desserts, apple contests, etc. Local apple growers will also be selling their produce. It will be an "apple-filled" day in Tigerton. Make sure to come down and join in some of the fun!

The Tigerton Community Gardens have had another very good year. The plots are filled with beautiful fruits and vegetables that have been tenderly cared for throughout the summer. With all the rain and warm temperatures that we have had, it certainly has been a good year for gardening. A few of the thunderstorms caused some damage with their high winds and hail, but overall the crops seemed to do really well.

I don't think I am alone when I say I am getting very sick of the road construction on Grand St (Hwy J south), Picnic Street and Sunrise Road. It has been going on since the middle of May and as of last week, there was still an awful lot of work to be done. The roadways are still all gravel and it has been very dusty since the rain has stopped coming every other day like it did for much of the summer. It didn't seem like hardly anything had been done in the past few weeks, until last week when they actually poured the sidewalk along Grand Street. Hopefully, this is a positive sign meaning that progress will be made very soon and the road might actually get a coat of blacktop to cut down on all the dust and eliminate all the "access" problems for area residents.

In fairness to the construction crews, it certainly is better than it was back in June, when the roads under construction were nothing but dirt and littered with water-filled potholes. Some of the holes were nearly two foot deep and it is almost amazing that nobody seriously damaged their vehicles trying to get through the "roads" ( I use that term very loosely). I guess when I look at it that way, a lot of progress has been made in the past two months, but there is still much more to do. I know I won't be the only one who will be happy when the construction is finally finished! In the long run, the improved roadways and drainage system will be well worth the inconvenience that has occurred this summer, but in the short term it sure seems to be taking a L-O-N-G time.

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the August 19th, 2010 edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

We are less than a week and a half away from the 44th annual Tigerton Lumberjack Days. The event is sponsored by the Tigerton Advancement Association and all proceeds go back into our community.

All your favorite new activities from the past few years will be returning for another year, including the Wisconsin Public Service sponsored second annual Tigerton's Road Rally, the Preferred Angus Cash Stimulus Giveaway, the Preferred Angus sponsored Strongest Man Contest and the Tigerton Lumberjack Princess competition. Also returning will be your favorite long time activities, including the bike giveaway, free sweet corn, silent auction, bingo, cow chip bingo, 3-D archer shoot, the large industrial parade, Riiser Energy Lumberjack contest, and kids inflatable bouncers. Your favorite bands will also be back, featuring the KNX Party Band on Saturday afternoon, Heartbreaker from Madison on Saturday evening, and the Primetime Polka Band after the parade on Sunday. The raffle drawing will conclude the celebration at 7:00pm on Sunday. This year St Anthony Catholic Church will have the food stand and Peace Lutheran Church in Split Rock will have the Pie and Ice cream stand. For more information or to help out, please contact Diane at 535-3300 or Wally at 754-2227. Make sure to come down to the Legion Park and enjoy some of the fun activities of the Tigerton Lumberjack Days.

Also coming up in just a few weeks is the Embarrass River Lions Horse Trail Ride. It will be held the weekend of September 10-12th on land bordering the Embarrass River ATV Park along Hwy M. There will be horse trail rides on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and camping spaces with port-a-potties and showers are available at the Embarrass River ATV Park. Live music will be provided on Friday and Saturday and food and refreshments will be available for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There will also be a "Cowboy Church Service" on Sunday.

All proceeds from this event will go to help a needy family in our community. The recipient will be selected by the Lions Club. For more information or to make reservations, please contact Debbie at 715 508-0097 or Pete at 715 853-5506.

Just a few weeks after the trail ride, Tigerton Main Street will be holding their first annual "Taste of Tigerton Applefest". It will be held on Saturday, September 25, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Tigerton Legion Park.  There will be a Best Apple Pie contest , craft/vendor booths, door prizes, food booths , and a raffle Local apple producers will have information booths as well as offering open houses at their orchards. A brat fry will also be held from 10:00am -1:00pm. For more information, please contact Sharon at 715-881-1691 or by e-mail at applefest2010@yahoo.com . This is a great opportunity to enjoy every "apple" as well as support your community.

The next month and a half are certainly shaping up to be a very busy time here in Tigerton. Make sure to take in some of these many activities. Not only will you probably have a really good time, but you will also be supporting your community.

I shouldn't mention this yet, but before we know it old man winter will be arriving again and then we probably won't want to go outside any more than we absolutely have to. Take advantage of the beautiful late summer and fall weather that we do get, because things will be changing quickly, and not for the better (Unless you are a cold and snow loving person!) One positive way to look at it, for those of us in Tigerton who have been inconvenienced this summer by the road construction, at least that means that "inconvenience" should be coming to an end. On another positive note, we only have about another two months to deal with all the mosquitoes! Have a great rest of your summer!

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the August 12th edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

I will start this column off with a correction from last week. In the last column, I gave credit to the county workers for installing the new storm sewer and drain on Sunrise Road where the "dip" used to be. I was told last week that the village employees, John, Mike, Rick and Mitch, installed it instead of the county workers. I want to apologize for the mistake.

There are two more Hot Summer Nights performances scheduled for this year. This Friday, Peggy Miller will be performing kid's songs at the Gazebo Park and on the 20th, there will be a performance of gospel songs, both weather permitting . This entertainment is free so come on down and enjoy the music from 6:00-7:00pm. In case of inclement weather, the performances will be moved to the 1905 Village Hall.

The road construction continues on Grand Street and Sunrise Road. If it seems like his has been going on forever, it has. Work originally started back in May and we were told at that time that it was going to be completed by the first of August. Latest word is that the roads will be paved by Lumberjack Days (August 28th & 29th), with the remaining landscaping work to be completed after. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and the project will be done by the middle of September.

Don't forget about the Farmer's Market every Saturday morning from 8:30am -11:00am at the Legion Park Shelter. Garden produce is really starting to ripen now, (whatever wasn't destroyed in last week's storms) so there should be a good variety for the rest of the summer. Remember, there is no admission charge for vendors or customers.

In just a few weeks, it will once again be "LumberJack" weekend. The event will be held on Saturday and Sunday, August 28th and 29th and Tigerton Advancement Association is working hard to make this year's the best ever! All of your old favorite's will return for another year and there will some new activities to try. Best of all, as usual, there will be lots of great food and refreshments as well as the huge parade on Sunday afternoon. Plan on spending that weekend right here in Tigerton enjoying your favorite activities at Lumberjack Days.

The "Taste of Tigerton" Applefest is still scheduled to be held on Saturday, September 25th from 9:00am-1:00pm at the Legion Park. Watch for more details!

This has certainly been an exciting summer so far. The other day, I was thinking all the things that have been going on around town in the last few months. There is one thing that really stands out so far. It still is hard to grasp the fact that the Tigerton Girls Softball team actually won the D4 State Title back in June. Who would have ever thought that a small group of girls from tiny Tigerton could bring home a Championship trophy? To be honest, I had always hoped that it would happen, but doubted whether it ever would. Do I even need to comment on the fan support? That was incredible! There were not too many people left in Tigerton during the State Tournament games, and those of us who stayed behind were tuned closely to our radios listening to every minute of the games. Whenever Tigerton scored a run or made a great play, the fans were extremely loud and supporting our home team the entire way.

I remember during the send-off pep rally for the team, Coach Glenda Smith made a comment to the effect that there were two trophies that they would like to bring back to Tigerton from the State Tournament-the State Championship trophy and the Sportsmanship Trophy. We already knew Tigerton brought home the State Championship trophy, but I found out last week that they also received the Sportsmanship Trophy. That is truly an honor and says an awful lot about our players, coaches, students and fans. Congratulations to our community for demonstrating what it means to truly be a Champion!

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the August 5th, 2010 edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

Don't forget about "Hot Summer Nights" going on every Friday evening during the summer from 6:00-7:00pm. This week features "Oldies but Goodies" at the 1905 Village Hall. (Note-not at the gazebo.)

Refreshments will be available.

We saw another example of how our community rallies to help it's friends and neighbors at the softball benefit that was held on Friday evening for June Desrochers. The event drew a good crowd and everyone I talked to had a great time. It just shows once again what a wonderful commUNITY this really is.

The "Wishes for Dishes Make your own Sundae" fundraiser to earn money to buy dishes for the 1905 Village Hall was held on Sunday. The turnout was O.K. and the sundaes were terrific! Tigerton Main Street now has a good start to raising the funds to buy new dishes for the Hall. Thanks to everyone who attended!

Probably the biggest news around Tigerton was the storm that hit last Tuesday afternoon. It started out as a small, isolated thunderstorm that looked like it was going to go north of Tigerton. Just as it got near us, it intensified and turned a little more southward. It only seemed to strike a narrow strip, but the areas that got hit were hit pretty hard. By our house, we had hail between golf ball and baseball size that lasted for over 5 minutes. It actually started to accumulate on the ground and our yard is all pitted with holes from where it hit. Several large branches were knocked down and a fairly large tree was toppled on a neighbor's property across the street. We also received almost 2 inches of rain in a 20 minute period. Add that to the rest of the rain we had this month, and the total for July is now over 11.5 inches at our house. Most of the plants in our garden were destroyed, but surprisingly, other than some dents in our steel roof, we didn't sustain any other major damage. Most fortunately, I don't believe anyone was seriously injured during the storm.

Now to the road construction. Sunrise Road and Grand Street continue to be quite a mess, though Grand Street was much better than Sunrise Road because the gravel had been laid down by the early part of last week. All the rain has not helped the situation, especially on Sunrise, as a good portion of the road was still just dirt until Thursday of last week. I was happy to see that the curb and gutter were being poured along Grand Street last week. Hopefully within a few weeks, the blacktopping will be able to be put down and the roadway will be finished.

I also was happily surprised to see that they removed the "dip" on Sunrise Road. It worked really well the first winter in draining the water off the road, but this past winter, it didn't work quite as well because the blacktop had settled, leaving a lip along the edge where the water stood and froze. The county workers installed a sewer drain in its place and dug a "channel" into the village lot to direct the water away. It looks like this should work much better to solve the standing water problem.

I am looking for a volunteer to pull weeds out of the flower beds at the Gazebo Park. Normally, I try to keep the weeds down, but this summer, I am not able to do that. If you are willing and able to help out by doing this, it would be greatly appreciated. If you have any questions about what is a flower and what is a weed, please give me a call and I will gladly come down there and help. Thanks so much for helping to beautify our commUNITY!

I am going to end this column on a personal note. I have always known that this community is very close-knit and caring, but the support during the past year + as I have battled with chronic kidney disease has been nothing short of overwhelming! I have been so blessed to receive the gift of a new life by receiving a new kidney, and that community support has helped me through this battle so far. The "Open House" which was held last Sunday in honor of my donor John and his family and my family was just another example of that. It was put on by Tigerton Main Street and the ladies of Immanuel Lutheran Church. The number of people that turned out was amazing! It just goes to show that this area of small-town central Wisconsin is a lot more than just a community, we are more like a big family!

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee, Bethany and Mary Kreklow

(As appeared in the July 29th, 2010 edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

My two daughters are going to help me with the column this week and they have a lot of things they want to write about. There are definitely a lot of things going on around our community, so bear with us as we mention several of these upcoming events and talk about things that have already occurred. We have a lot of catching up to do, so here we go!!!!

A few weeks ago, there was a golf benefit for June Desrochers, and from what I understand, it went over really well with over 80 participants. The second part of the benefit for June will be held on Friday, July 30^th at the Tigerton Athletic Field when members of the Tigerton BABA team will dress up as ladies and take on members of the Crossroads softball team, who will be dressed up as guys. There are raffle tickets available at many Tigerton businesses and there are some really fantastic prizes! At the game, there will also be bucket and 50/50 raffles, egg toss, and a chance to “face the state champs”! After the game, there will be music provided by LA Woman. Make sure to come down to the ball field that evening for some great entertainment and a whole lot of fun. You will also be supporting a very good cause!

The Tigerton School District Summer School program just came to an end two weeks ago. Several of the students from the dance, musical and drama classes gave a dinner performance for friends and family on Thursday evening, July 15^th at the Tigerton Elementary School. They gave some fantastic performances and showed what they learned throughout the summer.

The Summer Rec. programs are wrapping up another summer of activities for area children. It certainly was good to see so many of our young people participating again this summer, while having fun, learning the sports and staying physically fit.

Several area churches have been holding Vacation Bible School classes over the past few weeks and the attendance has been very good. It is great to see that our community has so many different activities for our young people to keep them busy and active through the summer months.

They say that Wisconsin has two seasons, winter and road construction, and that has definitely been the case in Tigerton this summer. County Highway J South (Grand St) continues to be a real mess. The same is true for Sunrise Road and Picnic Streets. Grand Street and part of Sunrise Road now have gravel on and are no longer mud holes, but last week more of Sunrise Road was torn up for resurfacing. It is very difficult to get around this part of town, so plan ahead if you need to drive in this area. (Also, if you are walking in the construction zone, please walk carefully and watch for potholes!)

The Farmer’s Market is still being held every Saturday morning at the Legion Park shelter. It runs from 8:00 to 11:00am and all vendors and crafters are welcome to set up a table. There is no charge for admission. Area gardens are doing really well with all the rain and warm temperatures that we have been having, so there should be a lot of good, fresh produce available there throughout the rest of the summer.

Main Street’s first annual Yard/Garden walk was held a week ago Saturday. Over 25 people signed up and visited 11 yards and gardens throughout the community. There were many very good comments and plans are being made to make some improvements to make next year’s event even better.

July is nearly over and the “Back to School” ads are bombarding us from almost every direction. I know around our house, my kids are getting antsy for the start of another school year, but before that “big day” arrives on September 1^st, there are a lot of activities still planned for our community. Keep up to date with everything going on in our community by signing up for the “Community Calendar”. This free calendar of community events will be emailed right to your computer every week. It is also available on the Tigerton Main Street website or paper copies are available at the 1905 Village Hall. To sign up for email, just send an email to kreklow@frontiernet.net and in the subject line, type in “Subscribe to Email Listing”. I will then add you to the email list and you will begin receiving the weekly “Community Calendar”. That is a pretty easy way to always know about the activities going on in our community!

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the July 22nd edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

During my hiatus from writing this column, I had the opportunity to fully realize how wonderful the people of our small communities really are. A lot of times, we take for granted all the little things that our friends and neighbors do for us and, in the case of most of us, we do in return. I had the opportunity to see a little different perspective during my time in Milwaukee, and even though we were treated very nicely and most people were very friendly, there still was a different “atmosphere” and it made me realize how fortunate we are to live in beautiful, small town central Wisconsin.

To illustrate my point, I am going to revisit the second column I ever wrote almost 5 years ago. That column used the words from John “Cougar” Mellencamp’s song “Small Town” to describe small-town life. I still truly feel the words of this song do a good job of doing that.

Small Town By John Mellencamp

Well I was born in a small town
And I live in a small town
Prob'ly die in a small town
Oh, those small communities

All my friends are so small town
My parents live in the same small town
My job is so small town
Provides little opportunity

Educated in a small town
Taught to fear Jesus in a small town
Used to daydream in that small town
Another born romantic that's me

But I've seen it all in a small town
Had myself a ball in a small town
Married an L.A. doll and brought her to this small town
Now she's small town just like me

No I cannot forget where it is that I come from
I cannot forget the people who love me
Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town
And people let me be just what I want to be

Got nothing against a big town
Still hayseed enough to say
Look who's in the big town
But my bed is in a small town
Oh, and that's good enough for me

Well I was born in a small town
And I can breathe in a small town
Gonna die in this small town
And that's prob'ly where they'll bury me

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the June 3^rd edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

With the warm weather we have been having this spring, the crops at the Community Gardens are really taking off. Now all we need is a little more rain to nourish those rapidly growing plants. Thanks to everyone who has worked so hard this spring to get the gardens ready for planting. From the tilling to the fertilizing, a lot of hard work has gone into preparing the plots. Special thanks also Orin Blomgren for keeping several of the plots watered during the dry spell and to Todd Pamperin for giving to grassy area around the gardens a complimentary “weed and feed”. That should help to keep the dandelions and other weeds down so the area will look much nicer.

Coming up on July 14^th, Tigerton will be playing host to a Wisconsin Main Street “Small Town Downtown” forum. The event will be held at the Community Center and will run from 12:30-5:10pm. There will be two such forums held this summer, with the other one being held in Schullsburg on the 13^th of July. There will be several people from other Wisconsin Main Street communities coming for the forum, to really see what makes Tigerton special. In the flyer for the forum, our community is described in the following way- “Tigerton, population 720, is the smallest Wisconsin Main Street Community, but with a volunteer spirit that outshines many of its fellow Main Street Programs.” This is quite a complement for community and something we all should be proud of.

There are a couple more large events that have been planned for our community which I have not touched on in previous columns. Coming up in just a few weeks is the benefit for Laura DeBaker Krolow, which is being sponsored by the Embarrass River Lions Club. Laura, who has been a Lions member since 2001, has been diagnosed with an aggressive type of breast cancer and has been undergoing treatment for the past several months.

The benefit will be held on Saturday, June 19^th at the Community Park shelter. It will be a day-long event, which will kick off with a Pancake Breakfast being served from 8:00-10:30am. There will also be a bake and craft sale starting at 8:00am. A walk-a-thon will be held following the breakfast with registration starting at 9:00am. If you would like a T-shirt, please pre-register by calling 715 535-2118. The “KNX Party Band” will provide live music from 2:20-6:30pm and a steak dinner will be served from 5:00-8:00pm. Advance tickets will be sold for the steak dinner with a limited quantity available. From 7:00-11:00pm, the band “Jr. & The Country Rewind” will be performing. There will also be a silent auction and food available throughout the day as well as games and activities for the kids. Supplemental funds for the benefit will be provided by Thrivent Financial. The Tiger Tribe 4-H will also be sponsoring a bike-a-thon to raise money for Laura that same day. For more information, please contact Carrie Wanta at 535-2941.

Probably the biggest event our community hosts each year is Tigerton Advancement Association’s annual Lumberjack Days. This year, as per usual, the event will be held the last weekend in August, which happens to be on August 28^th and 29^th. Many of the old favorite activities from previous years will once again be returning this year, including the large parade, bike give-away, great live music, lots of wonderful food, lumberjack contest, etc. I could go on and on. I don’t think I need to say anymore about it at this time. Just make sure to reserve that weekend to spend here in Tigerton to take in some of the Lumberjack Days activities!

The Embarrass River Lions Club will be holding their annual Horse Trail Ride on the weekend of September 10^th, 11^th, and 12^th. There will be trail rides on Friday afternoon, Saturday throughout the day and Sunday morning, after the Cowboy Church Service. Camping sites are available as are showers and port-a-potties. There will be live bands on Friday and Saturday nights. Lots of good food and beverages will also be available throughout the weekend. For information about the trail rides, please contact Deb at 715 508-0097 or Angie at 715 508-0060. For information about the rest of the event, call Pete at 715 853-5506 or Brian at 336 267-7071 or 715 701-0596. You don’t need a horse to participate in this event!

I am going to be taking a break for a few weeks from writing this column. In my absence, Peggy Miller has graciously volunteered to take my place and keep the column going. It will be good to have a new fresh view providing insight into the things that are going on in our community. Thanks very much, Peggy, for filling in for me!

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the May 27^th edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

Here we are at Memorial Day weekend and THS Graduation is already this Friday evening. A congratulation to this year’s graduating class of seniors and best of luck on your future. Many of you will be going off to college or technical school and others will be trying to find a job. But wherever you go and whatever you do, don’t ever forget that our community is always behind you. We are proud of each and every one of you, so make sure to continue to make us proud with everything you do.

Even though you may not realize it now, each of you is very lucky to have grown up in a small, close knit community like Tigerton. Now, you probably just want to get “out of here” and experience life. Someday, hopefully you will realize how wonderful this community really is. If I could give you one bit of advice, I would have to tell you to always keep a little bit of “Tigerton” in your heart. It will make you a much better person! That may not mean much to you now, but someday, that will all make perfect sense!

The Memorial Day services will be held on Monday at the Veteran’s Memorial in the Legion Park starting at 10:00am. Make sure to take some time out of your busy schedule to honor our veterans on their special day.

The road construction season here in Tigerton has officially begun! Last Thursday morning, crews began milling the old blacktop on Grand Street (Hwy J South) and Sunrise Road in preparation for sewer replacement and eventually road reconstruction. You better get used to the inconvenience, because this project is scheduled to run through most of the summer. When completed, it will be a huge improvement over the former road, with new sanitary sewers as well as new storm sewer drainage.

This summer, we have a full lineup of wonderful performers for our “Hot Summer Nights” programs at the Gazebo Park, between the First National Bank and the ThedaCare Clinic in downtown Tigerton. Special thanks to Sharon Meisner for lining up the performers. There is only one open week on the schedule and that is on July 16^th. If you know of anyone who would be interested in performing on that evening , please contact Sharon or call Virginia at 535-2110.

The “Hot Summer Nights” schedule is as follows:

June 25^th-LA Woman (Lori Stenson)

July 2^nd-Sing Along

July 9^th-Jim Schultz and the Other Guy

July 16^th-Open as of this time

July 23^rd-Immanuel Lutheran Church Choir

July 30^th-Variety Night featuring St John Kitchen Band, Ken Mogenson and Ranell Kauffman

August 6^th-String Fever

August 13^th-Kid’s Songs featuring Peggy Miller

August 20^th-Laatsch Ladies (This will be held at the 1905 Village Hall)

All performances will run from 6:00-7:00pm and there is no admission. Refreshments will be available at the park. In case of rain or inclement weather, the performances will be moved to the 1905 Village Hall.

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the May 20^th, 2010 edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

We certainly had a beautiful day for the National Join Day and Village Cleanup on Saturday. The volunteers broke into three groups, with one going around and picking up trash around our community, the second working at the new Legion Hall doing landscaping and other various cleanup projects and the Tiger Tribe 4-H members worked at cleaning up at the cemetery. It was a very good day overall, and a lot of work was accomplished.

Even though it has been a very nice spring, it seems hard to believe that the end of the school year and summer is just about upon us. Graduation for Tigerton High School seniors will be held on Friday, May 28^th and the last day of school for the rest of the students is June 3^rd. Before we know it, we will be wishing for some cool weather, as a break from the heat of the Wisconsin summer. As I think back to the first of the year, I find myself asking the question, “Where have the first five months of 2010 gone?

It has been a busy and active first part of 2010 for our community, but with summer comes even more activities. Rounding out May on the 23^rd, Tigerton Main Street will be holding an ice cream social to raise money to purchase dishes and silverware for the 1905 Village Hall. The dishes we have previously been using for events were being used on loan from the American Legion. The event will be held from 2:00-4:00pm at the 1905 Village Hall and will be called “Wishes for Dishes”. Everyone is invited to come out and enjoy some ice cream or a sundae as well as some good fellowship. All the money raised will be used to purchase dishes and silverware for the Village Hall.

Let’s not forget that the Farmer’s Market kicks off this Saturday at the Legion Park at 8:00am. Farmers, vendors and crafters are welcome and there is no admission charge. Everything is set up under the shelter out of the weather. This market will be held every Saturday morning throughout the summer. Please come down and support our local vendors.

The annual Tigerton Advancement Association’s Rummage O’ Rama will once again be held the first Friday and Saturday of June, the 4^th & 5^th. This is a great opportunity to have a rummage sale, as there will be many more in our community going on those two days. For more information or to sign up your sale, please contact Diane at 535-3300. There will also be a brat fry both days of the Rummage O’ Rama at the 1905 Village Hall starting at 9:00am.

Tigerton Main Street will be holding their annual Golf Outing at Perry’s Landing on Saturday, June 12^th. There will be door prizes and special “hole” prizes. If someone shoots a hole-in-one, they will also receive a special savings bond. This promises to be a fun-filled event, so get your team together and sign up soon. For more information or to register, please contact Virginia at 535-2110. All proceeds from the event support Tigerton Main Street activities.

Starting June 25^th, the “Hot Summer Nights” music in the park series returns for another season. Nearly every Friday evening throughout the summer, there will be free performances at the Gazebo Park from 6:00-7:00pm. The only week we currently have available is July 16^th, so if someone is interested in performing that week, please contact Sharon Meisner or Virginia at 535-2110.

The 4^th of July Block party is also fast approaching. We are hoping to build on the successes of past years and make this year’s event even bigger and better. Returning activities for this year will be the silent auction, live music, and lots of great food and refreshments provided by local groups and organizations. Another favorite, the kiddy parade will also be held with a theme this year of “The 1970’s”. Plan on staying local for your 4^th of July holiday and spend it right here in downtown Tigerton. You will not only have a good time, but you will also be supporting your community!

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the May 13^th, 2010 edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

This Saturday is National Join Hands Day! We will be tackling numerous projects around our community, so take a few minutes to come and help out. We will meet at the 1905 Village Hall at about 9:00am and get started from there. One group will pick up trash from around our community, while others will start working on various projects. I hope you take some time on Saturday to come down and help to spruce up our community!

Before we know it, the Tigerton Farmer’s Market will once again be held every Saturday morning. Starting May 22^nd, the Farmer’s Market will be a weekly event at the Legion Community Park under the shelter. It will run from 8:30am-11:30am and all vendors and crafters are also welcome.

The last Farmer’s Market of the season, September 25^th, will also be our “Taste of Tigerton Applefest”. It will run from 9:00am to 1:00pm the day, and will include apple pie tasting, apple sauce tasting contests and almost anything else “apple” related. There will also be tours of Devon Schoening’s “Two Mile Orchard” that day. There will be more details as the event gets closer, but start looking for your best apple recipes now.

Hot Summer Nights will once again be held at the Gazebo Park this summer on Friday evenings. We are currently lining up entertainers to perform at the park, so watch for more details in the coming weeks. This will start sometime in June.

The 4^th of July is also just around the corner and Main Street will once again be hosting their annual “4^th of July Block Party”. As usual, there will be lots of good music, food and refreshments that day. The kiddy parade will also be held with a theme of “The 70’s”. There will also be games and the silent auction throughout the day. Start planning now to spend your 4^th of July weekend right here in downtown Tigerton. All proceeds from the event go toward 1905 Village Hall expenses.

The new Tigerton Phone Directories have been out several weeks now and they have been a very popular item. If you didn’t get your copy yet, or would like another one, please stop at the 1905 Village Hall and pick one up.

I am looking for information on upcoming events in our community for our community calendar. If your group or organization has an event coming up in our community, please let me know about it. I will put it on the calendar, which gets emailed each week to several people. It will also appear on the calendar on the Main Street website. So the next time you are looking for something to do locally, check out our community calendar of events.

It has certainly been a sad first 4+ months of 2010 as our community has mourned the loss of several very prominent citizens. Last week, we lost another community icon with the passing of Walt Barker. Mr. Barker was the long-time Principal and Superintendent of the Tigerton School District. He was also a member of the Tigerton Lions and a very strong promoter of all things Tigerton.

On a personal note, Walt was also a neighbor, friend and fellow Lion’s member for several years. He and Ralph Schroeder, are also responsible for bringing my wife Linda and me together, as Walt hired Linda to teach here in Tigerton after growing up in the “big city” of Duluth, MN. He “sold” her on the idea of teaching in a small town, and supported her and encouraged her to get involved. The rest is, as they say, history. The community will certainly miss Walt.

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the May 6^th, 2010 edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

Recently, my family and I went to Green Bay to see the movie, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”. My oldest daughter had read some of the books in the series and we thought it would be a good movie to go see together. For my wife and me, it was a trip down memory lane to the days when we were in middle school. As for the kids, they were glued to the screen waiting to see what sort of misadventure would happen next.

The movie is about a rather scrawny, average boy who is just starting middle school. He doesn’t know what to expect, but he does seem to think that the most important thing is to be popular. His older brother warns him that he shouldn’t “talk to anyone, look at anyone, get involved with anything or go to the bathroom alone”, as well as a few other things. His brother also tells him that he should “not get noticed” and then he might be able to “live” through middle school. That certainly sounded like the kind of advice a boy would get from his big brother.

The boy doesn’t take his brother’s advice and decides to do whatever it takes to become the most popular kid in school. He ranks himself and his friends on a popularity scale and then decides who he should be seen with and who he shouldn’t. When he feels that his best friend will hold him back from being popular, he tries to change him into someone else.

At the center of the entire story line, there is an old piece of rotting cheese that is just lying on the playground at the school. It has been there for a very long time. The “legend” at the school is that anyone who touches that piece of cheese will have “the cheese touch” and can spread it on to others. This was something nobody wanted, so no one touched the cheese!

While hiding out under the bleachers during physical education class, he meets a girl who is also hiding under there. She is a person who ‘is who she is” and doesn’t care what others think about her. She is also the editor of the school newspaper and urges him to join the paper. He refuses, because he believes it won’t help him become more popular. He thinks that the only way the newspaper would make him more popular would be when he is pictured in it after one of his great accomplishments.

The boy even chooses clubs and organizations to join in order to become more popular. He goes out for the wrestling team, but being one of the smallest and lightest kids out, he has to wrestle against the boy who he views as “the most unpopular boy” in the school. He thinks he should have no problem beating him, but he in turn is the one who gets beat badly. Then in an effort to gain weight and move up to a different weight class, he tries to eat as much as he can. When that doesn’t work, he resorts to putting his mother’s ankle weights on his legs before he weighs in. That gives him just enough extra weight to move up a class. The coach then has him wrestle against his closest competitor weight wise-the girl who hasn’t liked him since kindergarten when he called her a name. She abruptly pins him and the editor of the newspaper snaps a picture of the “action”. He makes the front page of the school paper for being pinned by a girl. That was not exactly the way he wanted to become popular.

Along the way, the boy and his friend get into trouble with some older guys after they yell to them and scratch their truck. Throughout the rest of the movie, they are afraid of what the older boys are going to do to them if they catch them.

While the two were playing, the boy’s friend breaks his arm and has to get a cast on it. When he goes back to school, for some reason he is very popular with all the other kids. Even though he has always been himself, he became more popular since he got the broken arm. This makes the boy rather jealous because he is the one who wants to be popular!

At one point, while working on the safety patrol and taking the kindergarteners home, he sees the older boys coming and he makes the kindergarteners all jump down in a hole so he can avoid them. When a neighbor sees what happened, he leaves the kindergarteners there and runs away. When confronted, he blames his friend, who wasn’t even along with him that day.

The two no longer are friends and the boy continues to become more unpopular for what he did. The girl from the newspaper tries to tell him to just be himself, but he is so committed to trying to be popular that he doesn’t listen.

Finally, the older boys catch up to the boy and his friend on the school playground. They say they are going to make them pay, and they do so by making the friend pick up that piece of cheese and eat it. Just as this is happening, one of the teachers comes out and the older boys hop in their truck and leave quickly before they get into trouble.

When the kids come around to see what happened, they realize the cheese was picked up and the friend had eaten some of it. Instead of being sympathetic, they start yelling “he’s got the cheese touch” and running and screaming about it. The boy then stands up and tells the crowd of kids that he was the one who ate the cheese. The kids all go off yelling, ”cheese touch” and run away. But this time he doesn’t care. He just got his best friend back because of what he did.

The boy learned a very valuable lesson in the movie and it is one that applies to all of us-just be you. Life isn’t a popularity contest. Stand up for what you believe in and you can really make a difference in the lives of many other people.

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the April 29th, 2010 edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

The 21^st annual Wisconsin Main Street Awards Banquet was held last Friday evening in Baraboo. The Tigerton contingency that attended once again came home with some very nice awards.

In the category of “Best Public Improvement”, the renovation of the 1919 High School building received the honorable mention award. Peggy Miller accepted on behalf of the school district and community. Tania Kernen received the award for “Volunteer of the Year” and Main Street Manager Virginia Kauffman received a pin for 11 years of service as manager. Peggy Miller was also selected to be in the Wisconsin Main Street Hall of Fame for all her hard work with the Tigerton Main Street Program. She joins Russ and Teddy Kostrzak as the members from Tigerton. This is quite an honor as few people are enshrined in the Hall. Tigerton is very fortunate to be able to have three of its volunteers in the Hall of Fame.

Tigerton has seen a flurry of activity lately. Utility work continues along Grand Street as they prepare for the total street reconstruction which is scheduled to begin very soon. Crews are installing new electric poles as well as a new natural gas line. All the activity has made it a little inconvenient for people who walk or drive along the road, but it will only get worse once they tear the road up. When the project is completed, it will be a big improvement for our community. That will make all the inconvenience worthwhile.

The work also continues on the exterior of the Main Street Diner building. For the past few weeks, workers have been removing the deteriorating stucco and bricks. They have then been repairing or replacing the damaged areas. The exterior of the building was getting in pretty bad shape and this fix up will greatly improve the appearance and safety of the building.

The new American Legion building is also nearing completion. Last week, volunteers were busy putting up the log siding on the building. The siding makes the new building look very “rustic” and brings back memories of the old Legion building. It also blends in nice with the surroundings right along the creek and next to the Veteran’s Memorial. This is another great addition for our community!

National Join Hands Day is May 15^th and we need your help! If you have an idea for a project you would like to see tackled on this day, please let Virginia know about it. We will also clean and spruce up our community that day, so plan now to come down and help. Volunteers are asked to meet at the 1905 Village Hall at 9:00am ready to work. Hopefully, we will have a great turnout and get a lot of things done to improve the appearance of Tigerton that day.

I know it is only the end of April, but I have sure seen a lot of people mowing their lawns already this year. The temperatures have sure been nice for this time of year, and the little bit of rain that we have received has been just enough to really green up the grass. I think this is about the earliest I can ever remember so many people out mowing their lawns. I cleaned my yard up about a month ago, and now the grass almost needs to be mowed again. That is not necessarily a good thing for me, because of my allergy problems, but I would much rather see green grass than white (or brown) snow at this time of year!

Do any of you have a little free time and like to garden or work with flowers? If you do, please feel free to stop by at the Gazebo Park any time and pull weeds from the flower beds to try to keep them looking nice. This seems to be a never-ending job, and I can use all the help I can get with keeping the flower beds looking nice. Thanks for your help!

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the April 22^nd, 2010 edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

The utility work on County Highway J south (Grand Street) in the village has begun. Last week, crews from Central Wisconsin Electric Cooperative started putting up new utility poles, which are farther away from the current existing road and moving the wires to the new poles. A crew from a natural gas line company has also started work on replacing the natural gas line, located beneath the sidewalk along the street. Neither project has a direct impact on the roadway as of yet, but driver’s have to be aware of the utility trucks in the road and the people working next to the road. The work has certainly made the sidewalk impassible, and has made it very difficult to walk along the street. Soon, travel along that portion of the street will be very difficult as the actual road work will be beginning. What do some people say about our seasons in Wisconsin? We really only have two of them-winter and road construction.

The new American Legion Hall is just about finished. The external log siding has yet to be put on but that will be done very soon. Other than some cosmetic things inside, the building is completed. It certainly is a huge improvement over the old Legion building, which was in such bad shape that the floors were collapsing. The Legion and Auxiliary are already using the new building for their meetings, and soon it will be available to rent out for various meetings, functions and occasions.

The Tigerton School District is considering plans to build a greenhouse adjacent to the Ag Shop (Old County Shop). The plans are to make this an educational facility, which could be used by not only the agriculture students, but also by science students and those in tech-ed as well as other classes. It wouldn’t be used strictly for growing plants to sell, but for many different experiments in these different educational areas. The intent is for this to be a community oriented addition for the school. We are already fortunate to have a beautiful school forest and a prairie area behind the middle/high school. The school is also located right on the river, making water experiments very accessible, so the next logical step would be to add a greenhouse. A committee of school and community members is currently meeting to come up with a plan to get one built. If you any would like to be part of this committee or have some input on this project, please contact Peggy Miller or any other member of our school board.

Speaking of the school board, the recent elections have brought a new face to our board. Dale Breaker was elected to fill the seat which was formerly held by Holly Hilley. Dale won by receiving the most write-in votes, as no one had filed papers for the position. We welcome Dale to our School Board! The rest of the incumbents for both school board and village board were re-elected.

National Join Hands Day in Tigerton will be held on Saturday, May 15^th. We will be cleaning up the village that morning by picking up trash and doing several other improvement projects. If you have an idea for a project that we should do that day, please contact Virginia and let her know. We are always looking for new ideas and ways to improve our community. If you would just like to volunteer and help out with some projects that day, plan on meeting at the 1905 Village Hall at about 9:00am. There will be many different activities going on, so we will need as many volunteers as we can get.

I know it is still only April, but for those of you who are looking ahead to this summer, we are once again planning to have our annual 4^th of July Block Party. We will have many of the same activities as in the past, with a few new ones thrown in for good measure. There will be a lot more information about the event as the time gets closer.

I have been asked recently what the theme for the kiddy parade will be for this year so that people could start thinking about and working on costumes. The theme for this year’s parade will be “The 1970’s”. That means that parents and grandparents should start digging through the old clothes in the attic for their old leisure suits and disco shoes. Let’s bring the ‘70s back to Tigerton in a big way this 4^th of July!

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the April 15^th, 2010 edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

It was great to see the street sweeper making its way around the streets of our community last week. There had been a lot of gravel and sand left on the edges of the roads after all the ice we had last winter. Every time it was windy, a lot of that sand and debris would be picked up and tossed around in the air. It also made it quite miserable to ride a bike, because it was easy to “skid out” on the sand and gravel. Now, the debris left over from winter has all been cleared off the streets and they look very nice. In addition, they are also much safer for biking and walking. It was also great to get some much needed rain last week. We still could use a whole lot more, but at least we got a little to help quench our very thirsty soil.

Last week my family and I decided to start some plants inside which will be planted in the garden later in the season when we know the weather will stay warm. We planted tomatoes and peppers from seed. Now we just have to make sure that we water them and keep them in a warm place so that the seeds will sprout and start to grow. I gave that job to the kids, because then they can use some of the produce from these plants for their 4-H projects at the Shawano County Fair. They also know that if they forget to take care of the plants, good old Dad will be there to make sure they are watered and kept warm.

With the nice weather, I have been able to get much of the yard work done already this spring, as well as roto-tilling the garden and getting it prepared for planting. I did plant the onions already, but as for the rest of the planting, that is going to wait for at least another month. I have also seen many other people in town working hard to get their yards cleaned up for spring. This might be the earliest I can remember that so many people have gotten their yards cleaned up after winter. It has just been a very nice spring to work outside.

On the subject of gardening and yards, don’t forget that Tigerton Main Street will be sponsoring a Garden Walk this summer. If you would like your garden or yard to be included on the “walk”, start planning now for what you want it to look like. Gardens take a lot of time and effort, and I know from walking a lot in our community that we have many very beautiful gardens that deserve to be shown off. You put a lot of work into it, so make sure that a lot of people have the opportunity to see the fruits of your labors. Plan now to have your garden included in this year’s Garden Walk.

Since I have talked a lot about spring and cleaning up our community in this article, I definitely should mention that National Join Hands Day will be held on Saturday, May 15^th. This is also the day we go around and clean up our entire community by picking up garbage, planting flowers and fixing up things that need sprucing up. If you have an idea for a special project we could do in conjunction with National Join Hands Day, please contact Virginia and let her know. We are always looking for new ideas for ways to improve our community!

The new Tigerton Phone Directories have really been well received since the first ones were published last month. As of last week, over 800 copies had been distributed. If you have not yet received your copy, many of our area businesses still have them available or stop by the 1905 Village Hall.

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the April 8^th,^, 2010 edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

Spring has sprung in Tigerton!

With all the beautiful weather that we have been having the last several weeks, many people have taken advantage of it and have started many fix up and repair projects on their homes and properties. Probably the most visible project in town has been the exterior restoration on the Main Street Diner building located on the main intersection in downtown Tigerton.

For quite a while now, the exterior “stucco” has been cracking and falling off the building in several places. This not only was making the building look shabby, but it was also creating a dangerous situation for people walking along in front of the building. I had not heard of anyone being hit by a falling piece of the “stucco”, but I know from personal experience that there have been some close calls. Now, these cracked and damaged areas are being fixed and resurfaced. When completed, the building will be much more attractive, not to mention much safer for people to be around! It will be a big improvement for our downtown area.

Another sign that spring is here is definitely evident along Grand Street (Hwy J South) in Tigerton. Utility crews have been busy marking the utility lines and tree cutting crews have been removing some trees along the street. This is all in advance of the road work which is scheduled to begin around the first of May. The road will be completely torn up and the grade will be improved so that the storm water will flow properly and not pool on the road. New storm sewers will also be added to remove the excess water and the road will be repaved with new curb, gutter and sidewalks. When completed, all the major roads through Tigerton will have been rebuilt in the best few years. These projects have been a big improvement for our community because the major roads were in very bad shape before these projects began!

The annual THS Alumni weekend once again drew a large crowd of people to the games on Friday night and Saturday. I didn’t make it to any of the activities, but there were many vehicles in the parking lot and the downtown businesses also seemed to be pretty busy. There were also many THS alumni back in town for the games, some of whom I had not seen since the games last year. It was certainly good to see these people back in town.

Tigerton High School was a very busy place on Saturday morning. Besides the Alumni Games, the dance students from Michelle’s Dance Studio also held their first annual recital in the old Commons. The students, who range in age from 3 years old through 3^rd grade, put on a wonderful performance to a packed house in the old Commons. It was “standing room only”, as the room was filled with proud parents, grandparents, relatives and other friends of the performers. The dancers had been taking lessons from Michelle Zoromski since last November, meeting once a week in the 1905 Village Hall. This was the culmination of all their hard work, and they put their hearts into their performance. It was great to see the young people of our community putting in so much hard work and getting rewarded for their efforts by the great crowd that showed up to support them!

That same weekend on Sunday afternoon, the Embarrass River Lions held their annual Easter egg hunt. Over 80 young people from our area participated, and all of them seemed to have a great time picking up eggs and talking to the Easter Bunny. Each participant also received a stuffed animal and some Easter candy to take home with them. Other prizes were also given out to kids whose names were randomly drawn. It was another really fun event for our children sponsored by the Embarrass River Lions.

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the April 1, 2010 edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

The new Tigerton Phone directories are now completed and are available at many of our local businesses. Even though we are not charging for the directories, we would greatly appreciate a $1.00 donation to help to cover the costs of printing the books. These books list our local Tigerton numbers as well as several cell phone numbers for residents who do not have a land line. There are also many ads from local businesses, making it easy to patronize them. This directory is not only a convenient way to look up a local telephone number, but it is also a one-stop shopping directory for many of your needs. Please pick one up today!

Tuesday, April 6^th is Election Day and there are a few local races of interest on the ballot. The Village of Tigerton has five candidates running for three positions on the board. The Tigerton School board also has three positions up for election, with unopposed candidates running for two of them and no one on the ballot for the third position, one representing the Village of Tigerton. Whoever receives the most write-in votes will win that position. Also on the ballot is a county supervisor for District 25, and one person is running unopposed for that seat. Make sure to get out and vote on April 6^th!

The 20^th Annual Wisconsin Main Street Awards Banquet to recognize excellence in downtown revitalization is fast approaching. This year’s event will be held on Friday, April 23 at the Deppe Wagon Pavilion at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin. From 5:00-6:00pm there will be a reception with a cash bar. A dinner buffet will be served from 6:00-700pm and the awards program will run from 7:00-9:00pm. Admission for the event is $25.00 per person and checks should be made out to Wisconsin Mains Street Alliance. All reservations must be submitted by April 9, 2010. Award attendees can also tour the Circus World Museum starting at noon on the day of the Awards. For more information, call 608-267-3855 or contact Virginia at 535-2110.

Tigerton usually comes home from this award banquet with at least one award. We have several projects which have been nominated this year, so hopefully our community will once again bring home some awards. It would be great to have a large contingency of people there to represent Tigerton, as all the other Wisconsin Main Street communities will be represented. We have a lot to be proud of, so this is a great opportunity to show off our pride in our commUNITY. I hope you will consider attending and representing Tigerton!

On Thursday, March 18^th, Tigerton Elementary hosted author and illustrator Rick Chrustowski, who hails from River Falls Wisconsin. Mr. Chrustowski, who writes and draws about animals and nature, gave presentations to all the students and even drew sketches for each class.

In the evening the school hosted a “Family Night” featuring a presentation by Mr. Chrustowski. A wonderful supper of tacos was served and Mr. Chrustowski talked about how nature inspires him to draw the animals in his books. He even demonstrated by drawing a sketch of a turtle on a rock in a pond while everyone watched. It was amazing how he transformed a blank sheet of paper into a beautiful and colorful lifelike sketch. At the end of the presentation, he drew some names out of a hat and gave away the sketch as well as a couple of his books. It was a very fun and interesting evening, as well as very educational.

While we are on the topic of the elementary school, a program was recently held in the gym to recognize all the children who raised money for the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope for Heart. On February 10^th, the elementary students brought in their pledge forms and the money they raised and then they jumped rope for one hour to “earn” their donations. According to Physical Ed teacher Glenda Smith, who organized the event, the students raised over $3900.00 this year. That money was sent directly to the American Heart Association. Top money raisers this year were Kaden Miller, Bethany Kreklow, Mary Kreklow and Adrian Brady. Each of these students raised $200.00 or more. Congratulations to all the students who participated and raised funds for this worthwhile cause and “thanks” to Coach Smith and her helpers for organizing and putting on this event.

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the March 25^th edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

A good friend of mine shared this story with me via email. I don’t know who to give credit to or even if it is true, but it certainly has a very good message for everyone to hear. I feel it is definitely worth sharing. I hope it makes you reflect a little about how the little things you do each day have an effect on the other people around you.

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books.

I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd."

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him. I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, I saw a tear in his eye.

As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives.”

He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!" There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now.

I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said yes.

We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!”

He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.

Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.

On Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous! Today was one of those days.

I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"

He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. "Thanks," he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends... I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story."

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and Dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
Not until that moment did I realize its depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions.

With one small gesture you can change a person's life.

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the March 18, 2010 edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

The nice warm weather we have been having lately has certainly caused some cases of “Spring Fever” to occur. It is nice to think about how great it will be to be able to go outside without a jacket on, but to see people out already who are wearing shorts and T-shirts seems to be rushing it a little bit. After all, there is still some snow on the ground and, as of the time I am writing this article, the temperatures this year still have not reached 55 degrees. If we had a day like this in the middle of summer, we would all be reaching for our heavy sweatshirts and talking about how cold it is!

Now that I am talking about spring, there are a lot of interesting events coming up in Tigerton in the next few weeks. First of all, this Thursday author/illustrator Rick Chrustowski will be visiting the students at Tigerton Elementary during the day and in the evening he will giving the presentation for a “Family Night”. The event will start at 5:30pm with a free supper and the presentation will follow at 6:00pm. Everyone is invited to attend.

On Sunday, March 21^st, the American Legion Post #239 will be holding a Pancake Breakfast from 9am–1pm at Community Center. This will be another fundraiser for their new building located at the Community Park next to the Veteran’s Memorial. This is a great opportunity to enjoy a great breakfast and good fellowship while supporting a very good cause. Another great way to support the Legion’s building program is to purchase a car wash at the BP here in town. Not only will you get a clean car, but for each car wash purchased, Riiser Energy will donate $1.00 toward the building fund.

On Tuesday, March 23rd, the Tiger “Paws” PTO will be having a meeting at the Tigerton Elementary Library at 6:30pm. This organization is being formed to work as a bridge between the community and school. The community needs the school and the school needs the community, so this group is being created to help the two sides work together to meet the needs of both so that everyone benefits. If you would like to be part of this organization, come to the meeting to find out more information.

The annual THS Alumni Basketball games will be held on March 26^th and 27^th. This event brings back many alumni from the area as well as some from all over the country to play basketball with and against former THS alums.

March 26^th is also the day the Embarrass River Lions will be holding a 9-Pin bowling benefit for Laura Krolow who has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing treatment. The benefit will be held at the Wittenberg Bowling Alley. For more information, please contact Brenda Kauffman at 535-2299 or Rachel Pockat at 851-0367.

The annual Health Fair, which is sponsored by several local Lion’s Clubs, will be held on Saturday, March 27^th at the Marion Community Fieldhouse from 9:00am – 1:00pm. The theme for this year’s event is “Improve Your Health, Improve Your Life”. Both the Tigerton Lions Club and the Embarrass River Lions help to sponsor this event.

The Embarrass River Lions Club will be real busy that weekend, as Sunday, March 28^th, they will also be holding their annual Easter Egg Hunt for the children of the area. The hunt will take place at the Tigerton Community Park shelter starting at 1:00pm. All children from toddlers through 4^th grade are invited to attend.

Before we know it, Easter will be here and then we will know for sure that we have survived another long Wisconsin winter. But as you can see, there are a lot of things going on in town between now and then. I have only touched on a few of the many activities that happen here in Tigerton every day. To keep up with all the events, check out our Community Calendar, which is located on the Tigerton Main Street website at http://users.mwwb.net/tigertonmainstreet/ . I can also email the calendar to you on a weekly basis if you would like. Just send an email to me at kreklow@frontiernet.net with “Add to Email List” in the “Subject” box.

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the March 11^th, 2010 edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

Tigerton got some free, world-wide publicity last week when the March 2010 edition of the “Lion” magazine came out. The magazine is sent to all Lion and Lioness Club members throughout the world, and featured in this edition was an article about the Embarrass River Lions Club.

The article talks about how the club has become a leader in the community, mentions some of their activities and even has quotes from a couple of its members, including club president Cathy Jensen and Pastor John Hielsberg. There is also a very nice picture from the Lion’s Christmas Party this past December featuring my oldest daughter on Santa’s lap. (Yes, I am very proud of her, but that is not the only reason I including this information in the column!)

It is very nice that a group from Tigerton actually got recognized for the good things that they do. So many times we get overlooked because we live in such a small community, but that definitely doesn’t make their volunteer contributions any less significant. In reality, that makes them even more important. This article once again reinforces the idea that has been recognized before by the Wisconsin Main Street program as well as many others-Tigerton has some of the best, hardest working people who volunteer their time and efforts to make our community a better place!

I am putting out some “feelers” here in an effort to see if this idea is something that would interest anyone. It has been brought up at some of our Main Street meetings that we should gather all of the “Another Piece of Tigerton History” segments, which Russ Kostrzak has written throughout the years for the Main Street newsletters and publish them in a book which would be available to be purchased. There are several columns, as Russ has been writing approximately four a year for the past 15 years or so. We are not looking at this as a big fundraiser, but rather a way to promote our community and hopefully, recoup our costs of doing it in the process.

If you think this is a good idea, please contact Virginia at 535-2110 and let her know. This would be a moderately costly effort, so we have to know that we would be able to sell enough of them at a reasonable price to be able to at least cover our costs.

Virginia and several other volunteers are continuing to put together the new telephone directory. If you would still like to get your cell phone in the book but haven’t yet, please get it to Virginia as soon as possible. It may not be in all the directories that are put together, but it will be in all of the later ones that are published. The phone directory is an ongoing, constantly updated directory, meaning that the ones that are printed later have all the corrections and additions that have been made along the way.

Recipe books are also available from the “Taste of Tigerton” soup and chili contest that was held in January. If you are interested in purchasing one, please stop at the 1905 Village Hall or give Virginia a call. The recipe books feature many of the recipes for the soups and chili at the contest.

Before we know it, summer will be here and it will once again be time for “Hot Summer Nights” at the gazebo on Friday evenings. If you would be interested in performing during a week this summer, we would love to have you. For more information, please contact Peggy Miller at 535-2223.

The staff and students from the Tigerton Elementary school put on some awesome performances at the Literacy Fair last Tuesday afternoon in honor of Theodor Geisel’s birthday. For those of you who do not know who that is, Geisel is much better known as “Dr. Suess” of the “Cat in the Hat” and the “Grinch” fame, as well as many other notable characters.

In addition to the Literacy Fair, the elementary school turned into Suessville for the evening with a family night who-dunnit mystery. The school was filled with characters from several of Dr. Suess’s books and each character held a clue to help solve the puzzle. Families had to work together to collect the clues and at the end, they gathered in the gym to compare notes and see if they could solve the mystery.

It was a very fun and educational evening for everyone who attended. It promoted families to work together in a very entertaining environment. And the best part was, in the end, the mystery was solved!

I would like to personally thank Janel Scott (and I understand her husband, also) and Michelle Zoromski for all their hard work in putting this family night together. Thanks also to all the other people who volunteered their time to make such a great event for students and their families. It was just another example of how the people of our community step up to make Tigerton a better place.

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the March 4^th, 2010 edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

The organizational meeting for a Parent-Teacher Organization in Tigerton was held at the Elementary School last Tuesday night. Even though the turnout for the meeting was small, it was decided to go ahead with forming the organization to bridge the gap between the community and the schools.

The new organization will be called “Tiger PAWS”, which is short for “People Active with School”. The next meeting for the group will be held on Tuesday, March 23^rd at 6:30pm in the elementary library. At this meeting, officers will be elected and goals will be set. Plan now to attend and be part of this worthwhile group to improve our schools and help our community.

The Design Committee of Tigerton Main Street is planning to have a “Garden Walk” sometime in late July or early August. We are starting to mention this now in hopes that some of you gardeners out there will join in to help this event to be successful.

Plans for the event will be finalized in the next few months, but our ideas include everyone who wants to go on the walk should meet at the 1905 Village Hall. We will take a bus or carpool to the various participant’s gardens. Refreshments will also be available at several of the stops. Once again, these ideas are preliminary and are subject to change.

Anyone who has a garden or flower beds can be part of our garden walk. We are urging our community and area residents who like to garden to plan ahead so that they can have their garden included along our route. Both flower and produce gardens will be included.

Please help to promote our community by participating in this new and exciting event. It is also a great way to show off your “green thumb”, while letting others share in the joys of your labors! We hope you will choose to be involved with this project!

In an effort to promote reading, the Tigerton Elementary School has teamed up with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers baseball team from Appleton to participate in “Fang’s Reading Club. “Fang” the mascot for the Timber Rattlers came to the school a few weeks ago to kick-off the program.

The idea behind the program is to encourage kids and teachers to read a minimum number of minutes per every two week period. If the student meets the requirements for each week, he or she gets to advance one “base” and also will receive a special prize. The idea is for the students to reach their goals for all four two-week periods of the program. If they accomplish this, they will hit a “home-run” and be rewarded with a complimentary ticket to a Timber Rattlers game and free hot dog and soda at the game. The family night game for Tigerton will be held on May 20, 2010.

I urge you to cheer on the students of Tigerton Elementary so that they work hard to achieve their reading goals and get to go to the baseball game with their families. This is not only a good program in that it encourages kids to read, but it also promotes spending time as a family, both with reading and also with going to the Timber Rattlers game.

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the February 25^th, 2010 edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

The performance by the Cody Clauson Trio held at the Community Center on Saturday afternoon, February 13^th was a spectacular event. A crowd of nearly 100 people were entertained with a great musical performance. In addition, during the intermission, Tigerton Main Street Manager Virginia Kauffman handed out the 2009 Main Street Awards to some very surprised recipients.

I have to admit it was a very surprising afternoon for me. My youngest daughter celebrated her 6^th birthday a day early with a party at the 1905 Village Hall with some of her classmates and friends. The party ended at 1:30pm and by the time everyone left and we got everything cleaned up and hauled home, it was nearly 3:00pm. The Cody Clauson Show had started at 2:00pm, but we decided that we could hurry down to the Community Center and still catch the last part of the performance.

Just as we tried to sneak quietly into the back row of seats so we wouldn’t disturb anyone, Virginia called my daughters and me up to the front to receive a volunteer award. What a surprise! I didn’t even have a chance to take off my jacket.

As I mentioned above, the awards were given out to some very surprised recipients, and I wasn’t the only one. Tania Kernen and Janet Lang also received awards for their outstanding volunteer work and Phil and Noreen Graham were honored as a “Friend of Main Street” for establishing a corner grocery store in their Main Street Diner building during the period of time when our grocery store was closed. To the best of my knowledge, all of the award recipients were unaware that they were going to be honored. Virginia did a great job of keeping it a secret.

I can only comment on the second half of the performance, but the crowd certainly seemed to be having a great time! The Cody Clauson Trio is a very talented and entertaining group who really knows how to entertain the audience! I would have to say that it was a very nice event and a terrific way to recognize our community’s volunteers.

Speaking of volunteers, I want to give a big “Thank You” to James Gauthier for making a skating rink in our community. For those of you who do not know about it, James and his son Joey cleared and flooded an area behind the tennis courts on Village property to make the rink right around Christmas time. My wife and kids have used it quite often, as have several other people from the community. James keeps it plowed off so it is almost always ready to use. This is a great addition, as it gives people a place to go and skate right here in town. Make sure to tell James “thanks” the next time you see him.

This is your last chance to get your name or phone number in our new local Tigerton Directory. The new directory will be published in the next few weeks, so if you would like to put your cell phone or other number in the book, please contact Virginia at 535-2110. Also, if you would like to put an ad in the new directory, please get the information to Virginia as soon as possible. If everything stays on schedule, the new directories should be completed and ready for distribution by the end of March.

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the February 18^th, 2010 edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

Main Street is currently working on the Tigerton Phone directory for 2010-2011. This directory lists all the people and businesses that have a Tigerton address. There is also a special “Yellow Page” section, where area businesses can purchase an advertisement. This is a handy local phone directory that saves the hassle of trying to find numbers in the large, regional phone directory.

We even offer something that the regional directory doesn’t. We will publish your cell-phone number, if you would like us to. These days, several households don’t have regular phones anymore and the only way to reach them is to call their cell-phone. In a small community like ours, neighbors are always calling neighbors, so this is a good way they can contact you, even if you forget to give them your number, or even if they lose it. To have your cell-phone number published in our Tigerton directory only, please give Virginia a call at 535-2110 and give her your number and any other necessary information. We will be glad to add it to our directory. All numbers must be added by March 1^st, as we will begin publishing the books at this time.

Also, any businesses who would like to put an ad in our directory should contact Virginia at the above number also by March 1^st. Ad prices are very reasonable and this is a great opportunity to reach your local, target market.

Tigerton Main Street is planning a new event for this September. In conjunction with the ongoing “Taste of Tigerton” events that we started earlier this year, we are going to be holding an apple festival this fall. We are currently planning to hold this event at the Legion Park on September 25th. Events will include an apple pie baking contest and cooking up an apple creation contest. This would be making almost anything with apples. There will also be other apple related activities, such as apple crafts, apple throwing contests, etc. I will let you know more about it as the plans are finalized. Start looking now for your favorite apple recipes.

We feel that an apple festival would be very appropriate for Tigerton, because many of you may not know it, but we have three fairly large apple orchards right around our community which offer over 40 different varieties of apples. Out on Two Mile road west of town is the “Two-Mile Orchard” which is owned and operated by Devon Schoening. Just south of the Village of Split Rock is “Sarge’s Apples”, owned and operated by Ken “Sarge” Sites and just to the east of Split Rock is Ron Kersten and his family’s “Maple Hill Centennial Farm”, which also grows and sells apples. These are the large apple orchards in our area and we haven’t even mentioned the possibly hundreds of apple trees which are located in our resident’s yards. We are a community that is blessed with a lot of apples, so it only makes sense to promote that fact to promote our community.

To help to really promote this event we would like some help from those of you who are a little artistic. We are looking for a logo design, which would be used on all literature promoting the event. The formal name of the event will be the “Taste of Tigerton Applefest”. Please draw your logo idea on a piece of paper and either mail it to Tigerton Main Street or drop it off at the 1905 Village Hall before March 15^th. If you have any questions, please contact Virginia at 535-2110. Thanks for your help with this event!

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the February 11^th edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

The father-daughter dance on Saturday evening was a very wonderful event. Close to 100 people attended the family-oriented dance, which included fathers, grandfathers, and uncles, as well as the beautiful young ladies. Several mothers also came to watch the pageantry, which even included the young ladies doing a Grand March. Everyone was dressed up so nice and it was a very special evening. Even better was the fact that all the proceeds will go toward new playground equipment by the baseball and football fields. Special thanks to Joni, Anita, Kristi, Allison and Lori for making this happen. Hopefully, it will become an annual event here in Tigerton!

I was thinking the other day about how long I have been writing this column. I still remember the day several years ago that Virginia Kauffman asked me if I would be interested in writing a weekly or monthly column about Main Street events that would appear in the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section. She had already talked to Dan at the paper about doing it, so she was just looking for someone to write it.

My first response when she asked me was “I will think about it”, but to be honest, I really didn’t want to do it. I had two young kids, ages 3 and 7 months at home, and I had quit my job to be a stay at home Dad for the kids. Did I really want to take that much time each week to write a column?

I thought about it for a few weeks and realized what a great opportunity it could be to promote Tigerton as a whole, not just Main Street projects or activities. I talked to Virginia about doing it that way and writing the column only once a month. She agreed and the next week, I wrote my first column. Dan at the Advertiser named it the “Tigerton Main Street Corner”.

As you probably already know, I had so many ideas of what to write about for the first columns that I wrote one every week. After I started that trend, I didn’t want to break it, so I have continued to do them weekly, except for a few week hiatus a couple of years ago. So much for writing a column once a month!

In looking back, that was 275 columns ago. If you figure 52 columns per year, that equates to approximately 5 years and 3 months worth of articles. Who would have guessed that the column would still be going after over 5 years? I know it would not have been me.

Now I can’t take credit for writing a complete column every week. I have had a few guest writers, including my daughters, and my wife is a very wonderful much-needed proofreader. Other times, I have also shared special “words of wisdom” that I have received via email or other means. But normally, I have tried to focus on the things that are happening in our community of Tigerton.

Through the years, I have received a lot of positive comments and also some very negative ones about my columns. I have never tried to intentionally “ruffle any feathers”, but I have also not backed down from a touchy topic. I believe that the best way to solve a problem is to bring it out and talk about it between the parties involved. That is what I have tried to do in this column. If we avoid problems and they continue to fester, they only get worse. That doesn’t solve anything and everyone ends up getting hurt. It is better to face them and come up with a constructive solution rather than a destructive one.

Several people also seem to think I write the column because I work for the paper. I think Dan would be a great boss! He is a good friend of mine, but no, I don’t work for the paper. I write the column as a volunteer for Tigerton Main Street. It is not a job for which I am paid. I have done it for one reason and one reason only-I believe in our commUNITY and I want to do what I can to make it better.

Will there still be a “Tigerton Main Street Corner” in 5 more years? I surely don’t know the answer to that. Will any of us be here in 5 years? Only time will tell. Whatever the case, we all need to make the most of each day and each opportunity that we have. By doing so, we can truly make a difference in the lives of others. That is why I have written this column for over 5 years. It is my way of trying to make a difference in our commUNITY!

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the February 4^th edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

The annual Tigerton Main Street is doing something different to honor our wonderful volunteers this year.  We are sponsoring a performance by the “Cody Clausen Trio”, direct from the “Theatre In The Barn” at Coloma Wisconsin.

 The show will be held at the Tigerton Community Center on February 13^th at 2:00pm.  Doors will open at 1:30pm.  This will be a family-oriented show with snacks and refreshments available.  Tickets are available at the Main Street office in the 1905 Village Hall or by calling 535-2110 and are $12.00 per person in advance and $15.00 at the door.  For children ages 5-12, the cost of a ticket is $7.00.  Plan now to come and join us for a good time and to give a big “thank you” to our wonderful community volunteers for all their hard work!

 Being a football fan, I have to say I totally enjoyed watching the NFC championship game last Sunday evening.  Two very good football teams went head-to head for 60 minutes plus nearly 5 minutes of overtime before one team finally won.  The ironic part of the game was that the team that lost totally outplayed the team that won.  They led in nearly all the statistical categories and overall, played a much better game.   Then you may ask why did they lose?

 The answer to that is that they didn’t finish the job and do what it takes to win.  They turned the ball over to the other team with fumbles and interceptions at crucial times and committed penalties at the worst possible time.  In other words, even though they were the better team, they didn’t do what it takes to be the winner.

 You are probably wondering where I am going with this column.  Please bear with me and I will tell you.  Trying to keep a small community like ours thriving is a real challenge.  We are in competition with larger villages and cities that can offer so much more in an attempt to lure businesses to their communities.  With the businesses come more jobs and with jobs come more people who are looking for a place to live that is close to work.  With a large available labor force comes more business.  It is a circle that goes around and around and around and around.

 Larger villages or cities also have the advantage of more media coverage, especially of the positive variety.  About the only time a media crew comes to Tigerton is to cover a tragedy or something bad that has happened.  That is about the only thing people learn about our community from the media.

 The bottom line is that we as a community are in a constant competition with other communities to survive.  We have seen many small towns around us wither away and basically die.  That is definitely not something I want to see happen in Tigerton.

 In the football game, one team totally outplayed the other, but still lost the game because they didn’t do what it takes to win.  I believe it is the terrific volunteer spirit that makes the difference for Tigerton.   I am not saying that Tigerton is thriving and couldn’t get any better, but we are doing better than several other small communities.  The difference is the volunteers taking the time to promote our village and to make improvements to give it a better appearance.  They work hard to highlight the positive things that occur in the village and try to get media coverage of these things also.  The volunteers also work to urge people to support of local stores and businesses, in order to keep them in our town. 

 The hard work of the volunteers can make the difference between winning and losing.  That is why they are so important to Tigerton and its future.  Tigerton has even been recognized by the state of Wisconsin for its outstanding volunteers.   You can come to the Cody Clauson Trio show and enjoy some great music and also show our volunteers that you appreciate all their hard work or just take a few minutes the next time you get the opportunity make sure to say “thank you” to any of them for all they have done for Tigerton.  It is the little things that make a difference in the final outcome.  That’s what it takes to be a winner!

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the January 28^th edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

There is a very unique event coming up in Tigerton next Saturday, February 6^th. A Father-Daughter Dance will be held at the Community Center. This event is for young ladies, age 12 and under and their fathers, grandfathers or other male family members over age 18. No one under age 18 will be admitted without an adult. This is intended to be a family-oriented event. Admission will be $5.00 per person and tickets will only be available at the door.

This is a semi-formal event so everyone is encouraged to dress up for the evening. Anita Haircut will be offering a special the day of the dance for the young ladies to get their hair and nails done for just $15.00, of which $5.00 will go toward the Dales Michaelis Memorial Playground Fund. For more information or to make an appointment, call Anita at 535-2245. Pictures will also be taken and the dance and photo packages will be available for purchase.

The dance will run from 6:00-8:00pm and Lori Stenson will be providing the entertainment. This is a special event for fathers and their daughters, but mothers and other adults are also invited to come and watch or take pictures. All proceeds from this dance will go toward the Dale Michaelis Memorial Playground Fund.

The Dale Michaelis Memorial Playground Fund is only one of two ongoing fund raising efforts for major community improvements. The other is the American Legion Post #239’s new building project.

For those of you who are not familiar with these projects, the playground fund group is raising money in an effort to replace the outdated playground equipment at the Tigerton Ball Fields which are located at the corner of Swanke and Granite Streets on the village’s southwest side. This is a very good community improvement project because the ball field is a gathering place for families during the spring, summer and fall seasons. Many people come there to watch friends and relatives play softball, baseball, or football and they bring their children with them. The new playground equipment will give the young people a safe environment in which to play while the rest of their families are busy watching or playing in the games that are going on. It will also be nice for the children that live in the area because they will have a nice playground close to their homes.

The new American Legion Hall will serve not only as a meeting place for the Legion and Legion Auxiliary, but also as a place for people to rent in order to hold get-togethers and other events. The spacious building is a big improvement to our community over the old, dilapidated building. It also makes the area around the beautiful Veterans Memorial look more dignified and respectful. I can really see the building being a big asset, especially during Lumberjack Days.

These two projects one again show what a progressing community Tigerton really is. The people of this community could just sit back and let things be as they are, but they care enough about their community to make improvements for the betterment of everyone. Please try to support these causes in whatever way you can. By supporting these causes, you are really showing support for your community.

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the January 21^st edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

The first annual “Taste of Tigerton” soup, chili and cookie contest was definitely a success. There were 16 soups and chilis entered in the contest and 8 young people entered cookies. The winners in each category are as follows: Wildgame-1^st place went to Doreen Kupp of New London with bear barley, Cream Soups-1^st place winner was Arlene Severson of Tigerton with her cream of cabbage, Beef Soups-1^st place was Main Street Diner-Julie Harris with hamburger vegetable and Chicken Soups-1^St place winner was Schultz’s Cozy Café-Adelle Schultz- with chicken dumpling.

In the children’s cookie contest, Monika Minniecheske took home 1^st place. Kaeden Miller won second place with his “Tiger Tail” cookies and Karli Minniecheske received third place. Of special note, Liz Meisner entered her Grandma Strub’s original recipe molasses cookies. She also displayed her grandma’s original hand written recipe as well as the cookie cutter she used to shape the cookies.

The “Taste of Tigerton” also had a very good turnout of people who came to sample the various soups, chilis and cookies. I can say from personal experience that I certainly enjoyed sampling many of the soups and chilis, even though we got there later in the afternoon when several of the varieties were already gone. Next year I will make sure we get there early so that I will have the opportunity to sample more varieties. Thanks to Sandy Schultz for organizing this event.

Attention young ladies age 12 and under! (Or to the Dad’s or Grandpa’s of girls 12 and under). There will be a semi-formal father-daughter dance at the Community Center on February 6^th from 6:00-8:00pm. Admission is $5.00 per person and tickets will only be sold at the door. There will also be a special deal for the young ladies to get their hair and nails done for this special evening. All proceeds from this event will go toward the Dale Michaelis Memorial Playground Equipment Fund. Watch this column next week for more information.

Please get the information about your upcoming community events to me so that I can get them on the Community Calendar!

For those of you not familiar with it, Tigerton Main Street puts together a “Community Calendar of Events” for the Tigerton area. Any non-profit public event that is held in Tigerton can be listed on this calendar free of charge. This includes church activities, local club or organization events or athletic competitions. The calendar is updated at least weekly and posted on our website at http://users.mwwb.net/tigertonmainstreet/. Just go to our website and then click on the “Community Calendar” link. This calendar is also emailed weekly to anyone who is interested in receiving it.

To get an event on the calendar, please send an email to kreklow@frontiernet.net with all the information about it. I am taking information on any event that will be held in 2010, so there is no such thing as too early.

Also, if you would like to be added to the email list to receive the calendar weekly in your inbox, please send an email to kreklow@frontiernet.net with the phrase “Add to Email List” in the subject box. You will then be added to the list and receive the calendar via email.

We are now in the process of updating the telephone listings for the new 2010 Tigerton phone directory. If your number was not in the old directory and you would like to have it in the new one, or if your information was not complete or correct, please contact Virginia at (715) 535-2110. Also, if you or your business would like to put an ad in the directory, give Virginia a call. This is the ideal way to reach your target customer base at a very reasonable price.

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the January 14^th edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

There is a new, big event going on in Tigerton this Saturday. The first annual “A Taste of Tigerton” soup contest will be held at the Community Center from 10:00am–2:00pm. This is a family event, which will also include a kid’s cookie contest as well as other activities for the children.

This is a great opportunity to show off your favorite soup or chili recipe. The categories are chicken, beef, cream or wild game soup or stew. If you would like more information, please contact Sandy Schultz at 535-2559 or the Tigerton Main Street office at 535-2110. Give them a call also if you would like to register a soup. If making soup isn’t your “cup of tea”, make sure to come down and sample some of the delicious soups or stews. This will be a great way to get out and beat the winter blues.

We have just experienced another holiday season. This season is normally associated with goodwill toward others, joy and happiness. But sadly, sometimes we need to bring up things that don’t necessarily fall into these categories.

I have been waiting to see how this all would play out, but about a month and a half ago, I have heard from some people who have complained about the way that “Cash Night” is given out. They claim that the winners are being called after their name has been drawn, and then are hurrying down to pick up the winnings. This is not the first time I have heard of this happening. Several changes have been made to the process of “Cash Night” in an effort to eliminate this.

The purpose of “Cash Night” is to get people to patronize our local businesses by giving the customers a chance to win “Tiger Bucks’, which is like money that can only be spent at participating merchants. Each week, two names are drawn at random from all the residents of Tigerton who are in our phone book or anyone else who has requested to be part of “Cash Night”. If the person whose name is drawn is in one of the participating businesses at the time of the drawing, they win the prize for that week.

This program is entirely supported by the businesses. Each participating business contributes $5.00 per week to be in the program. If there are no winners for the week, the top prize pot grows by $50.00 the next week. All money that the businesses pay in goes back out as prizes. Tigerton Main Street administers the program, but has no other involvement.

Just like all the other events and programs that Main Street sponsors, being successful relies on the values of those involved. If people cheat or lie in order to “win”, that hurts everyone. Honesty and integrity is required not only on the part of the “winners”, but also on the part of the workers at the businesses. As part of the program, they must verify that the “winner” was present and that everyone was in line as it should be for that person to win. Who is to say that they won’t call someone so that that person wins and they get a “cut” of the prize? As I stated above, for any program to be successful, honesty and integrity must be the rule.

By the same token, “sour grapes” are not the best remedy either. I can certainly understand people being upset if someone won who didn’t deserve to and wasn’t in the business at the time of the drawing. But going around and bad mouthing the whole Main Street program because of the supposed “dishonesty“ of a person or few people who are not even directly working for Main Street is not right either. No matter who wins the prize, hopefully the bottom line means that the businesses ultimately win. First of all, they should have more customers during “Cash Night” who are patronizing their businesses and not just coming in and waiting for the whistle. Secondly, the program assures that all the money that is awarded has to be spent in a participating business. Hopefully, that also means more business for our local businesses. That is the goal of the “Cash Night” program and why Tigerton Main Street continues to run it. Either way, that is a good thing!

Let’s not let the actions of a few possibly dishonest or upset people disrupt all the good things that have been going on in Tigerton over the past 15 years because of the Main Street program. Main Street works hard to do what is best for our commUNITY. Hopefully, honesty and integrity will prevail and “Cash Night” and the rest of Main Street’s programs will continue to be successful for many years to come.

Tigerton Main Street Corner

By Lee Kreklow

(As appeared in the January 7^th edition of the Marion Advertiser/Tigerton Chronicle section)

The year 2010 has arrived, but I would like to take a look back at all the things that happened in Tigerton and the surrounding area during the past year. Even though 2009 seemed to fly by, a lot of very important things happened throughout the year. This column will take a look at some of those events.

After a very snowy end to 2008, the year 2009 started out very, very cold. Tigerton Main Street had planned to get the year kicked off right by having an outdoor event called “Winterfest” at the Embarrass River ATV Park in the middle of January, but that certainly looked in jeopardy when an extremely cold snap came and put our area in its grip a couple of days before the event was scheduled to be held. It got so cold that area schools were even closed for two days prior to the event, but on the Saturday morning, the temperatures warmed up rapidly and for the first time in over three days, the thermometer broke the zero mark and soared into positive territory. (We hit a high of about 10 degrees above zero that day!) A fluffy light snow also fell from the sky, adding up to about three inches throughout the day. It was a perfect atmosphere for a winter festival and all who attended had a great time sledding, snow-shoeing, taking a horse drawn sleigh ride around the park, or just sitting around the fire enjoying the great food and atmosphere. The day was capped off with a soup and chili contest at the 1905 Village Hall followed by a dance at the Community Center featuring Hauser’s Hotshots. It turned out to be a great event to kick off the New Year!

About 30 volunteers showed up ready to work on various projects around our community for National Join Hands Day in May. The volunteer’s raked yards, cleaned up flower beds, planted flowers and put out the benches and flower pots along Cedar Street.

As summer approached, work began on the remodeling of the 1919 High School building. This project and other work around the school would last throughout the summer. When completed by the first of September, the 1919 building was completely remodeled; including adding a community fitness center, district offices and a large computer lab. The rest of the high school/middle school building was also remodeled, including redoing the entrance, adding a new commons area, and turning the old district office space into a day care facility. It was a very positive step for our community.

Teen Nights were held throughout the summer for the young people of our community at Herb’s Tigerton Lanes. These alcohol free events were held weekly and featured bowling, games, great food, music and other activities for the “teens” of our community.

Tigerton Main Street celebrated the 4^th of July with its annual Block Party downtown on Cedar Street. New to this year’s event was the bike rodeo and helmet giveaway. It turned out to be a huge success, as many young people turned out to test their riding skills and get a free helmet, courtesy of Central Wisconsin Electric Coop’s Operation Roundup. The rest of the Block Party also went very well, as we actually had a very nice comfortable day for the event. The rest of the summer was very cool and dreary!

A new grocery store opened in Tigerton in the building formerly operated as Ron’s Foodland. Tigerton Foods opened its doors in August and features a complete line of grocery items as well as a meat department and a lot of fresh produce. The store’s opening is a welcome addition to our community!

Lumberjack Days promised to be bigger and better than ever, and due to a lot of hard work by many people, they lived up to that billing! Many of the popular events came back for another year and many new events, including “stimulus payments” and big name bands were added this year. The princess contest was also hotly contested and the girls vying for the crown worked hard to sell tickets. It was a great event and all proceeds go back into our community!

Work began on the construction of a new Legion Building at the Legion Park as the old building was torn down. By the end of the year, the building was completely up and enclosed, allowing for workers to continue working on the inside throughout the cold winter months. Plans are for the building to be completed by Memorial Day of 2010.

In my opinion, the highlight of the entire year for our community came in September, when the Tigerton School District held the Centennial Celebration for the Graduating Classes of Tigerton High School. This event not only served as an Open House for the remodeling project, but it also brought together many of the people who have come through the doors of the Tigerton School District throughout the 100 + years of its existence. The turnout was much greater than ever could have been imagined. I don’t know what the final count was, but the event was incredible! A lot of work went into organizing and putting this together, and it turned out better than anyone could have imagined. It just goes to show what a wonderful community this really is. The day was capped off by a spectacular fireworks display over the Embarrass River. That was a fitting ending to a spectacular day in the history of Tigerton!

The year closed out with Tigerton Main Street’s annual Festival of Trees. This event continued to grow this year, featuring 36 beautifully decorated trees along with several homemade gingerbread houses. A room was also dedicated as “Santa’s Workshop” and children could come to visit and mail letters to Santa and get a personal reply back from the jolly old gent. Santa also came for a visit with area children and took time out from his busy schedule to even have lunch with many of them at the 1905 Village Hall. The “Snacks with Santa” lunch was very well attended and hopefully will be held again next year.

In this article I have touched on a few of the many things that have gone on in our community over the past year. There were many more things that happened, but to keep the column short, I am just touching on some of what I feel are the “high points” of the year. I am sure I missed some important events and I apologize for my omissions. Please let me know what I missed and I will mention them in future columns.

It has been a very eventful year for our community and I look forward to a bright future for Tigerton as we enter the second decade of the 21^st century. Tigerton has a bright future. Let’s all continue to work hard and work together to make that a reality.