8
Tempo • Calumet County Fair 2018 • Thursday, August 28, 2018
Renovations made to Calumet Fairgrounds (Editor’s note: This article and photos originally ran last year in the Tri-County News following conclusion of the fair but is indicative of the continuing improvements being made to the fairgrounds by the Calumet County Agricultural Association.)
By Mark Sherry Visitors to the Calumet County Fair this past weekend might have been too busy having fun to notice all the improvements made to the fairgrounds, but there were a lot of them. Fair Board President Jeff Wunrow and First Vice President Lanetta Mahlberg said the board tries to do improvements to the fairgrounds in Chilton on an annual basis, but it seems a number of things came together to make this past year an especially busy one as the fair drew near. That includes renovations to the Stanelle Building, built in 1978 and named for Mahlberg’s sister Kathy Stanelle who was the reigning 1976 Fairest of the Fair when she was killed in a car accident in 1977. The Stanelle family donated funds to help construct the steel building, but the walls inside the structure were never completed. Funds from the family helped get that done in the past year along with updating the electrical service and installing a ceiling. A concrete pad also was poured at the entrance to the building. Mahlberg said improvements to the building could make it more useful for other events in addition to hosting merchants during the County Fair. The building also is used for storing antique vehicles during the winter. Adjacent and to the south of the Stanelle Building is the Brantmeier Youth Building. Cardinal Landscaping provided new landscaping along the front of the building as a memorial to Lynn Sattler who passed away earlier this year. Husband Dexter—a former Fair Board member—and his family provided the memorial funds, and the Calumet County Master Gardeners assisted with the plants placed in the new bricked-in flower bed running along the building. A concrete pad also was poured in front of the Brantmeier Building, helping to keep the inside of the building a little cleaner. Also in the area of those two buildings a maple tree was planted in memory of Scott Krepline who helped with excavating at the fairgrounds including on the track in front of the grandstand. Plaques will commemorate these various donations. Anyone who used the north restrooms during the fair who had used them in the past had to notice the improvements there. A donation from Martin and Rogene Biese got the ball rolling to renovate those bathrooms. Donations of fixtures from the Kohler Foundation also helped, as did assistance from local plumber Jeff Moehn. Calumet County Agricultural Association Board member Dean Gebhart was the point person on the project and did a lot of work, Mahlberg said. Originally constructed in 1936, the bathrooms saw improvements in recent months including a new roof, updated wiring in most of the building, powerwashing of the exterior brick, a new concrete walkway around the building, baby changing stations, new paint, new vanity tops, diamond plating above flush urinals in the men’s room, and more. The Calumet County Farm Bureau also constructed a new food stand which was officially dedicated last Friday morning as the fair opened.
Lanetta Mahlberg stands outside the renovated Stanelle Building at the Calumet County Fairgrounds. The building is named after her older sister Kathy Stanelle, who was the Fairest of the Fair in 1976 when she died in a car accident. Mark Sherry photos
Landscaping outside the Brantmeier Youth Building is in memory of Lynn Sattler.
A maple tree was planted at the fairgrounds in memory of Scott Krepline.
New vanity tops and sinks in the north restrooms were a welcome addition to the Calumet County Fairgrounds as the annual County Fair held its four-day run in 2017. New fixtures throughout the building welcomed visitors to the fair.
2018 Market Animal Sale: Sunday, Sept. 2, noon
The Market Animal Sale is a highlight of the Calumet County Fair each year as the hard work of people of all ages comes to fruition at the sale.