Valley Sentinel - 11-02-2023

Spring Green, Wisconsin

Thursday, November 2, 2023 | Vol. 4, No. 20 FREE, Single-Copy

Inside this edition

APT announces 2024 season lineup

Artist Peg Miller auction to belefit River Valley ARTS

Lexington & Jefferson: Poems and Quotables

Pages 1, 9, 11

Pages 1, 9

Pages 8, 9

American Players Theatre announces 2024 season lineup, 'Proof' open thru Nov. 19

Amberly Mae-Cooper, Contributor American Players Theatre has announced their 2024 lineup, which includes a world premiere as well as a couple classic Shakespeare offerings.

The season is set to begin June 8 and run through Sept. 29 next year, with a fall production to be announced.

Productions at The Hill Theatre include, Ring Round the Moon, Much Ado About Nothing, MA Rainey’s Black Bottom, Dancing at Lughnasa and King Lear.

Plays showing at the Touchstone Theatre include the world premiere of The Virgin Queen Entertains her Fool, Wolf at the Door and Constellations.

Of the eight plays, three have been produced at APT previously, including both Shakespeare plays, Much Ado About Nothing and King Lear.

“There is excitement building around both of the Shakespeare’s as their design meetings and casting get underway.

Robert Romirez has worked at APT as a voice and text coach many times

Photo by Liz Lauren Nate Burger & Kelsey Brennan, Proof, 2023. Proof is open at the Touchstone through Nov. 19. and we are excited he will be directing Much Ado about Nothing. I have no doubt that King Lear will be beautiful; [Tim Ocel] is a master storyteller, as evidenced again this season when he

directed Our Town,” said Sara Young, Managing Director at APT. APT revealed core member and actor Brian Mani will take on the title role for King Lear.

“And as we look to 2024, we'll be relying on a lot of those same people who made this season so beautiful, and these artists we've been growing our relationship with over many years,” said Brenda DeVita, artistic director at APT. “And it's our 45th anniversary, so it's going to be a celebration of the stories that built this theater, and the stories that will carry APT into our future.”

While the Theatre has announced its upcoming season, the 2023 season hasn’t officially wrapped, with its final production, Proof, directed by DeVita, having opened Oct. 26 and will show until Nov. 19 in the Touchstone Theatre.

“Before we launch into 2024, I need to take a minute to express how special the 2023 season was - and continues to be.

The actors and artists and artisans, and the audience, and just everyone in the company, really brought their A-game,” said DeVita. “ And it very much made

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Come celebrate Spring Green legend Peg Miller, auction to benefit River Valley ARTS Marnie Dresser, River Valley ARTS The family of Peg Miller, noted folk artist and Spring Green fixture until her death in 2008, has donated 17 of her paintings and assemblages to River Valley ARTS, and the works will be available for auction on Sunday, November 12, starting at 4 p.m. at Reunion Restaurant, 134 West Jefferson Street in Spring Green.

Reunion Restaurant is housed in what was formerly the State Bank of Spring Green before Miller turned the site into a studio and home. When she was told she had to remove the sign from the front of the building because of bank regulations, she removed only the final “N” and asserted that “State Bank of

Spring Gree” did not violate any rule.

River Valley ARTS president Julie Kardatzke says, “We’re very grateful to Peg’s family for the donations and are looking forward to a fun event sharing some of her work in her former home.”

River Valley ARTS supports local creativity with grants and scholarships to individuals, groups, and organizations.

Miller’s work was featured in Long Branch Gallery in Mineral Point and Mindscape Gallery in Chicago. Buyers sought her out at the Spring Green Art Fair, and numerous publications featured her, including the Wisconsin State Journal and the Chicago Tribune.

continued on page 9

Photo by Nancy Cullen A section of Abstract Flowers, 1990, 4’ x 4’, by artist Peg Miller.

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Commentary/Opinion

Thursday, nOvember 2, 2023

OPINION/EDITORIAL

Palestine needs the warmth of our collective action How to bear witness as a community when the world needs it most

Hannah Feller, Guest Opinion Columnist Dear River Valley, I write to you kindled by the love of our community and the Palestinian people.

I am tired of all the caveats, the conditional statements, the analogies. I believe we are suffering from a crisis of imagination in a situation that actually does not require much. It may sound counterintuitive amidst a discourse that encourages you to put yourself in Palestinians’ shoes, asks you to imagine if it was your family or friends or neighbors who were being slaughtered, would have you use a thousand “what if” statements instead of looking at what’s really going on. It’s a cheap liberal tactic to get us to care about others only in terms of how much we care about ourselves and our loved ones.

There is a deeper truth that resides in your body, your bones, your blood. The dull ache, the sharp terror, the fear of pain, the scrambling for solid ground to build a life on while everything crumbles around you. You might not feel it right now because it is entirely human to tamp it down and turn your back on it. But it is always there for you. It’s not necessary to feel it all the time; our culture has created so many delightful and destructive ways to drown it out.

But currently, as thousands of innocent and complicated and whole people are being killed, I ask that you feel it. Not empathy or sympathy, but the acute hurt of the Palestinian people whose right to self-determination has long been ignored.

You may feel ashamed if you didn’t know before now about the displacement and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, something that certainly did not begin at the start of October when the world started paying closer attention.

I am telling you: you do not need to wear this shame like a heavy coat that insulates you from the rest of the world.

It is okay to feel this shame and to also recognize that the Israeli government is capitalizing on it. They are counting

On the cover “Fall foliage in full color” (2023) Photo by Casey Kemper

From the photographer: "My family and I had a great weekend celebrating my birthday in Spring Green. The fall foliage was in full color and the drive around the area was stunning. We really enjoyed hiking at Tower Hill State Park. I took this photo with my drone on the side of the road after. Excited to come back again in the future!"

—Casey Kemper Instagram @caseykemperart Submit your artwork or photography for cover consideration: editor@valleysentinelnews.com

on it keeping you quiet, hoping that you’ll only speak up when you have seen enough, read enough, researched and fact-checked and considered everything from every single angle. I am asking you not to think the Palestinian people to death. Yes, think critically. Yes, check your sources. But this is not a time to hem and haw over an endlessly nuanced but also extremely straightforward situation. You can see clearly through the lens of your basic humanity. You know all you need to know.

Hannah Feller I’m not asking for a small thing, but it’s the only thing that will get us through: looking outside of our community and country to those whose needs are currently louder than our own. It’s more than likely you have your own pain and your own daily practice of tending to it: a routine of taking in its griefs, of asking what it needs from you to get through the day. That pain is a thread that connects us to the people of Gaza, and by turning your attention to them, you are not ignoring it. Rather, I believe that by opening ourselves to the pain of others, we might better address our own. Given the age we live in, it’s natural to think of your time and attention as things that are finite and portionable. But they only expand as you attend to the urgent needs of the world.

I pray that we can admit what we have done to one another, what we are currently doing to one another with our money and power and blindness so that we can finally know who we are and

where we are headed. I see so much light in our community, so much capacity for grief and collective care. Sometimes that care is immediate and gratifying: for me, it often takes the shape of a meal shared with a friend, listening to their stories, dreaming together of a future for Spring Green that feels, at least to me, intensely possible despite our material circumstances.

I hope you cast a wider net to where the care is less comfortable, but where you can show up exactly as you are. You don’t need different tools or training.

Your humanity resides within you and is asking you to use the skills you already possess to push harder. By trade, I’m a writer. I choose to set down in words (that I hope are not merely self-serving) an urgent call to action. I want you to look inside yourself and take the action that aligns with your roles. How can you urge others into acting? How can you embrace the world when it needs you most?

I recently took a trip away from Spring Green. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that briefly being away gave me the space and urgency to write back to you all. Outside of the hearth of our community, there are people dying for us to share some of our warmth, our impassioned love for one another.

And not the empty kind, the love only of those who we deem undeserving of death. The Palestinian people deserve the love of action, of protest, of calling your representatives, of boycotting corporations who support Israel, of having difficult conversations that risk your social standing and posterity. They deserve love at the edge of your comfort zone, as theirs is being completely and systematically annihilated as we watch in real time.

Hear me when I say: the comfort of your material circumstances will never match the comfort of solidarity, of knowing you did not look away when you were asked to bear witness. The comfort of your social class will never match the comfort of standing firmly with the people of the world who are people murdered in the name of upholding the system that keeps you teetered on the

edge of stability and instability, never knowing when the other shoe is going to drop.

Free Palestine from the rubble of your comfortable life. And with her, believe that the rebuilding will be worth the loss of your tenuous class allegiance.

You will always be closer to the people getting bombed than those doing the bombing. Be fearful of and grateful for that. And use that to do the work you are being called to.

And as someone who is trained to focus on language, I hope that when you do speak, you do not waver and waffle. That you demand a ceasefire, so that more people are not murdered in the name of a failed colonial project. Anything else is ignoring the blood running through your veins and the ache in your heart, the lifeline that connects you to all other living and dying things. This is a time when hyperbole doesn’t seem hyperbolic enough.

I’ll admit: I have a selfish and abiding fear that writing these words will bring me further away from my community, from those who would use our liberal bubble to protect themselves from the genocide in Gaza. I fear division from my friends and family, but I know that I will be proven wrong. That something written out of a deep desire for collective action will inspire more of the same, and bring us closer to one another and the Palestinian people. They will be free.

With love and in grief, Hannah Feller Hannah is a Spring Green community member of a bit more than 2 years, having grown up in Reedsburg and lived abroad in Germany, the Netherlands and Latvia for most of her adult life. She works as the beverage manager at Reunion and Homecoming restaurants, as well as doing a little bit of everything in day-to-day service: line cook, server, host, expediter. She’s also a creative nonfiction writer: sometimes for work, sometimes for play, always with the utmost devotion to the power of language.

The (not so) Plain and Simple Correspondent: “Homo Stufensis”: Can you Curb Your Appetite for Things?

Katie Green, Columnist The radio this morning announced the astounding fact that people in America spent over $700,000 on Hallowe'en costumes for their pets this year. What people do with their money is their own beeswax, of course, but the story made me squirm. Granted, it is a relief to think about something other than society's ills for a change, but pet costumes? I'm not exactly consistent in finding hyperHallowe'en spirit weird and irrelevant in a time of widespread hunger, bombing campaigns, and homelessness, to name a few pressing social issues. A recently deceased cousin was allergic to indoor pets such as cats and dogs so acquired a couple of sheep, which she decked out in costumery season by season and took for walks every afternoon after work in a rural part of Vancouver Island. Having no children, her oversized capacity for love needed an outlet and this was her solution. I found that endearing.

This dichotomy between responsible adult attitudes toward bread, on the one hand, and circuses on the other, was jogged again in my mind upon absorbing a piece in the current New Yorker magazine by Elizabeth Kolbert. Is it possible to get lithium, sand, quartz, copper, salt, iron, and other basic ingredients necessary

for making climate-saving devices without ruining the very climate you hope to save? The relentless feedback loops are frightening. Not just this article but pick up any newspaper or magazine or whatever your source of information these days and there are warnings that our consumption patterns in all hemispheres of the

Katie Green world are unsustainable, but how to get out of the loop? None of our modern communication devices – cell phones, computers – or wind turbines, electric cars, are possible to make without these. And if we get off fossil fuels, the

huge percentage of people dependent upon natural gas for heating and making nitrogen fertilizer would freeze and/or starve. Those basic mineral ingredients referred to above, in contrast to oil, could be recycled but the will to do so is not yet present in most quarters.

A man named Chip Colwell, an archaeologist and former director of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, wrote a book, So Much Stuff: How Humans Discovered Tools, Invented Meaning, and Made More of Everything, in which he asks “What happened that led our species from having nothing to needing everything?”

After millions of years of schlepping around from forest to cave, our hominid ancestors finally realized that they could chip the rocks that were lying around into tools for hunting and defense. And that led ultimately to better tools, as their brains expanded. Tools which they eventually couldn't (or wouldn't) do without. Art on cave walls or scratched on shells and stones began to appear, marking the “point at which things were no longer valued only for their utility.”

As a result, societies began to “express status” by accumulating all kinds of things they deemed valuable. The

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Commentary/OpInIon

Thursday, nOvember 2, 2023 Page 3

OPINION/EDITORIAL

Public Education — Part 5: The Origin of “Common Schools” Beverly Pestel, Columnist In the last column I included a quote from Thomas Jefferson about his campaign for public education, “I have been long sensible that…I was discharging the odious function of a physician pouring medicine down the throat of a patient insensible of needing it.”

Beverly Pestel To put a fine point on that, I’m including a portion of Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American from Sept. 2, 2023: On March 4, 1858, South Carolina senator James Henry Hammond rose to his feet to explain to the Senate how society worked. “In all social systems,” he said, “there must be a class to do the menial duties, to perform the drudgery of life.” That class, he said, needed little intellect and little skill, but it should be strong, docile, and loyal.

That should make your hair stand on end. By this time Jefferson had been dead for 30 years, but this probably

made the poor guy roll over in his grave – maybe he still is. Thankfully there were a good number of the Founding Fathers that shared Jefferson’s vision of public education, and their influence eventually proved to be fruitful.

In his farewell address, George Washington said, “Promote then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.”

James Madison chimed in with, “ A well-instructed people alone can be permanently a free people.” John Adams echoed the same thoughts, “The education here intended is not merely that of the children of the rich and noble, but of every rank and class of people, down to the lowest and poorest.

It is not too much to say that schools for the education of all should be placed at convenient distance, and maintained at the public expense.”

This is a good place for another quote from James Madison. “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both.”

(I’m getting a little ticked off with my AI-powered copilot for the web, it seems to think I need help and can’t think for myself. When checking on the authenticity of this quote, it volunteered this interpretation, “if the citizens of a popular government are not wellinformed and do not have access to reliable information, then it is possible

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Editor, I attended the recent town hall meeting in Spring Green where Lawyer Mike Van Sicklen spoke and answered questions about the attempt to impeach Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Protasiewicz and the new voting maps proposal. A crowd of over sixty attended from a wide area, including Mineral Point, Dodgeville, Spring Green, Richland Center, Baraboo, and Reedsburg.

Although speaker Robin Vos was told by two conservative former Supreme Court

justices that he had no legal grounds to impeach her, there's still a possibility that he could start impeachment proceedings against Justice Protasiewicz to keep her from ruling on our gerrymandered voting maps. If this happens, and the Senate doesn't move it forward, she could be stuck on the bench indefinitely, unable to do any work as a justice, even though she was elected by a wide margin of over 200,000 votes.

On September 12th, Republican legisla-

that the government may become dysfunctional and lead to disastrous consequence.” I don’t disagree, but I didn’t ask for its opinion. It is asking me now if there is anything else it can help me with - NO, go away.)

Anyway, on to another one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Rush. He had an equally forceful, but slightly different focus when addressing the importance of public education for the masses. He argued more along the lines of education producing unity, he wrote, “Our schools of learning, by producing one general and uniform system of education, will render the mass of the people more homogeneous and thereby fit them more easily for uniform and peaceable government.”

In full disclosure, not all these guys’ ideas were ones we might want to carry into the future. Rush also wrote, “In the education of youth, let the authority of our masters be as absolute as possible…I am satisfied that the most useful citizens have been formed from those youth who have never known or felt their own wills till they were one and twenty years of age.” Unsurprisingly, he also believed that education should be rooted in religion. And that brings me back to an old column – “You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have, the facts of life.”

Fortunately, good ideas often tend to have a longer shelf life than the more questionable ones. Or maybe, more correctly, some ideas survive evolving scientific knowledge and a growing cultural awareness and achieve a greater degree of credibility than others. (If this series ever gets that far, we may get into fMRI and how that has informed us on

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REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS IN THIS EDITION EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Graphic Design Community Contributor Agriculture Columnist Nicole Aimone Julianna Williams Amberly Mae-Cooper Barb Garvoille Managing Editor Democracy & Society Columnist Taylor Scott Beverly Pestel Editorial Intern Literary Contributor Legal Editor Community Columnist Alex Prochaska Amanda Thomas Gary Ernest Grass, esq.

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Est. 2020 igne conflatum “Forged in Fire”

continued on page 5

tors proposed redistricting bill AB415. It seats. In contrast, Democratic Rep. Conwas described as identical to a 2019 bi-par- sidine did come and added intelligent and tisan redistricting bill AB303/SB288. But well informed contributions. this bill is different because it eliminates If you want your vote to count, you need the safeguards in the 2019 bill that pre- to tell your legislators how you feel about vented partisan manipulation in the redis- their attempts to manipulate ourBETTER demo-NEWSPAPE tricting process. cratic process for their own gain. CONTEST AWAR Although Republicans Sen. Marklein Rep. Todd Novak – 608-266-7502 and Rep. Novak were invited to the meetSen. Howard Marklein – 608-266-0703 ing to explain their views, neither showed W I S C O N S I N N E W S PA P E R A S S O C IAT I O N F O U N D AT I O N up. They don't have to engage with voters, Marie L. Baker because they're in secure gerrymandered Dodgeville, Wisconsin

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learning and how the brain works – cool stuff, but that is about 200 years from where we are now in this story, so don’t hold your breath.)

By the 1830s, the voices pushing for a consistent and reliable education system for all were growing, and now a new motivation was emerging that paralleled Rush’s argument of education creating greater unity. Urban population was growing rapidly at this point, largely due to immigration. The unequal education of the wealthy and working classes in the early versions of public schools was beginning to be identified as destructive to society. Advocates of more equitable public education recognized that schools could be a means of creating cohesion among disparate groups and build economic strength. Also, the Center of Education Policy, in their publication History and Evolution of Public Education in the US maintains that, “Advocates saw universal education as a means to eliminate poverty, crime, and other social problems. Some early leaders argued that the costs of properly educating children in public schools would be far less than the expense of punishing and jailing criminals and coping with problems stemming from poverty.” A caution needs to be added here. Public schools were not devised to impose “social control” and they cannot solve all our social problems, but they were considered necessary both for the individual and common good.

Just as in Puritan times, Massachusetts took the lead in promoting public education. Horace Mann, in the Twelfth Annual Report of the Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education

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Thursday, nOvember 2, 2023

Commentary/OpInIon/GOVeRnMent

OPINION/EDITORIAL

Reopening court discussions was a good idea Christa Westerberg, Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council On Oct. 9, 2023, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held a lively, 35-minute discussion on whether to allow the deletion of certain eviction records from Wisconsin’s online court records system. I’ll get to that topic in a moment; what’s remarkable is that we were able to witness this discussion at all.

In 2012, a divided Wisconsin Supreme Court voted to close its administrative conferences. These are conferences where the court considers changes to rules that affect the court system, procedures used in civil and criminal matters, and ethics rules for attorneys and judges.

Arguing in favor of closing the conferences, then-Justice Patience Roggensack opined that to “sit out here in public and philosophize … is really not the best use of our time,” as quoted by Wisconsin Watch.

The late Justice Patrick Crooks countered, “I think it’s vitally important that the public be able to see what we do and how we do it. . . . This would be a major mistake, to close what has been open.”

In the end, the justices voted to close the court’s administrative conferences on a vote of 4-3. But this August, on another 4-3 vote, the court’s newly constituted majority

decided to again make these conferences open to the public. (Administrative conferences do not include deliberations on cases, which are not and have not been open.)

Christa Westerberg This was a welcome change. As intimated

by Justice Crooks, open administrative conferences give the public insight into the work of the court and the basis for its decisions on rules petitions.

That was apparent during the court’s open

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discussion of the rule change proposed by tenants rights advocates to shorten the record retention period for court records of evictions where no money judgment is entered from 20 years to one year. (Not only was the meeting in open session, but it was streamed on WisconsinEye and is still available for viewing.)

The advocates said the change was needed to make rental housing more available, because landlords frequently rely on online court systems when deciding whether to lease an apartment or other housing. They also noted that the impact of the current retention rule disproportionately affected Black and Latino households.

The court also heard from opponents of the change, including the Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin.

In their discussion, court members considered the administrative burden to clerks and the court system that the change would cause, citing their own experiences, as well as the impacts to transparency and access to records in general.

Reasonable minds can disagree on the impacts of the change to the eviction record rule. But it was refreshing to see the court’s members consider the competing issues know you read Valley Sentinel each week.

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and interact with one another on a matter of substance.

Open administrative conferences may also result in better decision-making.

Chief Justice Annette Ziegler joked at the beginning of the meeting that if the group were in closed conference, the meeting may “take about five minutes,” which was apparently the norm. In the open session on the eviction record change, the court’s members had a much longer and more thoughtful discussion.

Another open conference on an administrative petition is scheduled for December 11, 2023. This time, the issue under discussion is the proper standard for when appellate courts can stay a lower court decision pending appeal.

For just the second time in more than ten years, the public will be welcome to sit in.

Your Right to Know is a monthly column distributed by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council (wisfoic.org), a nonprofit, nonpartisan group dedicated to open government. Christa Westerberg is the council’s vice president and a partner at the Pines Bach law firm in Madison, Wisconsin.

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OPPORTUNITIES IN ALL SPECIAL SECTIONS Presenting Sponsor of the section — $400 (1 available each special section) A presenting sponsorship grants your logo and business name on the section itself. A sponsorship also includes a banner ad to be run within the section. Sponsor will also receive half off any sponsored article content within the special section.

Supporting Sponsor — Supporting sponsorships of special sections may be available at $200 for all benefits above, excluding banner (limited availability), but including 50% off ads in the section.

Presenting and supporting sponsors are included on any promotional materials and spots are limited, so reserve spots ASAP. Featured Business/Sponsored Articles — $200 for 1/2 page promotional article with 1-2 pictures ($100 if sponsor for the section). Editorial freedom to decide what is featured - Limited availability. Runs online as well.

All special sections subject to change and participation. The more support and engagement we get, the more we can offer the community together.

— Advertising Spots — $400 full page, $200 half page, $100 quarter page, $50 eighth page, $25 sixteenth page – Limited availability.

Inquire about sponsorships, partner content and online and social ad opportunities.

More information: valleysentinelnews.com/advertising-businesses or email: editor@valleysentinelnews.com or see our latest Business Insider newsletter for more upcoming special sections at: eepurl.com/iBVSyM

Commentary/AGrIcuLture

Thursday, nOvember 2, 2023 Page 5

CHRIS HARDIE'S 'BACK HOME' COLUMN

Harvest season brings back memories Chris Hardie, Columnist Sometimes the beauty of the fall is as fleeting as the smile of a shy girl.

In the span of a week we went from heavy summerlike rains to freezing temperatures and snow.

Chris Hardie The blazing color on the hillsides is turning drab brown. The leaves are dropping and the calendar has turned

to November.

There’s a feeling of urgency on the farm when winter seems like it’s just around the corner. It’s time to harvest.

When my parents had a dairy farm, fall harvest made for long days. I would get home from school after sports practice and start milking cows at 6 p.m. while my dad and his hired hand worked on picking corn. By the time the cows were milked, it would be 9 p.m. before we had supper or even later.

In the fall of 1975, a new 70-foot stave silo was constructed on the farm. Its purpose was to hold high moisture corn to feed the dairy cows. I remember coming home from school to see the fresh cement footings and was amazed at how quickly the silo was built.

In those days corn harvest was done with a single-row picker and the cobs were dropped into a gravity box. It was often my job to balance inside the

gravity box and push the cobs into the hammer mill, which ground the corn before it was blown into the silo.

It was a slow process compared to today’s large combines. Corn harvest would go on for weeks and the goal was always to have it done before the opening of Wisconsin’s gun deer season in mid-November.

But there were years the weather would not cooperate and some fields were not harvested until December. If deep snows came early, the stalks stood until spring, with little left after deer and other wildlife ate their fill.

The days of the single-row picker are long gone, but on fall days I can still hear in my mind the loud roar of the hammer mill. I can see the fine husks of corn floating through the air like snowflakes. The smell of the freshlyground corn fills my nostrils, along with the acrid aroma of the propionic

acid used as a preservative. It’s the sight, sound and smell of the harvest season.

Someday the silo will probably be torn down because it’s no longer functional or deemed obsolete. If -- the good Lord willing -- I’m still around, I’ll be curious to look for myself.

But if I’ve been called to my final harvest, someone should check the concrete footing. There you will find the initials “C.H.” scrawled by a young boy’s finger into the wet cement those many harvests ago.

Chris Hardie spent more than 30 years as a reporter, editor and publisher. He was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and won dozens of state and national journalism awards. He is a former president of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. Contact him at chardie1963@gmail.com.

The (not so) Plain and Simple Correspondent: “Homo Stufensis”: Can you Curb Your Appetite for Things? continued from page 2

establishment of agriculture allowed them to settle in one place and not have to carry their possessions around.

The doors to acquisitiveness swung wide open. You can see where this is leading. By the time of the Industrial Revolution, things were being mass produced and there was no stopping the flood of stuff to acquire and think of as necessary. Scarcity was replaced with superabundance. It is now estimated

that the average American household holds 300,000 objects. And we have so much that many of us rent storage units to hold the overflow. (Guilty! but I am actively in the process of winnowing.)

Mr. Colwell and his family conducted an experiment that was to last a year in which they agreed to add only five items each to what they already owned, above and beyond food and school supplies for the daughter. Shortly they “began to chafe against their self-imposed limits”,

he said and then abandoned them altogether halfway through the year.

He coined the term homo stuffensis, seeing humans as intrinsically “defined and made by our things.” As Elizabeth Kolbert, author of the article, writes in despair, “We should change our ways –we must change our ways – but this long history is against us.” In my case, I don't think status has as much to do with my stuffensis as sentimentality and the lovely comfort of having my most

cherished photos and books around me to gaze at or consult and reread. Hate to admit it but in the end the result is the same.

Katie, who until recently lived in Plain, has been writing for fun and profit since childhood. Self-described as opinionated, she writes in the interests of a more loving, better-functioning world for all. She may be reached at katiewgreen@icloud.com.

Public Education — Part 5: The Origin of “Common Schools” continued from page 3

in 1848, argued that existing schools that were often divided along socioeconomic lines should be replaced with “Common Schools.” Common schools would be government-funded, free, and open to all classes of Americans as the best way to prepare students for citizenship, provide opportunities for them to obtain good jobs, and ensure

social and national unity. (Education to the Masses: The Rise of Public Education in Early American by Ted Brackemyre) And so it begins – a least for white boys – oh, I didn’t mention that “open to all classes of Americans” didn’t necessarily include girls, non-whites, or special needs children. Well, most of that is going to be left up to the states until the United States Department of

Health, Education, and Welfare was formed in 1953. Education functions were transferred to the newly created Department of Education in 1980. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, more about the design and spread of “Common Schools” first, so that is the plan on where to go next – unless the attack on our UW System of public education pulls me out of sequence since that is showing

promise to be “a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both.” Good grief.

Beverly is a retired professor. She lives in a remodeled farmhouse and tends 40 acres of woodland in Richland County.

When not in the woods she spends her time reading, writing and enjoying the beauty of the Driftless Area. Beverly may be contacted at bpestel@msn.com.

Reunion Restaurant (134 W Jefferson Street, Spring Green) owners Kyle Beach and Leah Spicer recently announced that the restaurant's hours will be expanding to Wednesday - Saturday 4:30 - 9:00 p.m.

Beach and Spicer closed the other restaurant they own, Homecoming, for the season at the end of October.

Have major updates to your business? Moving? Opening? Re-opening? Offering something you don’t normally offer during your regular course of business or having a pop-up?

Please submit your updates for consideration as we try to flesh out what this will look like and how to best drive engagement for our business community: editor@valleysentinelnews.com Remember, marketing is an important part of any event and business budget. These updates don’t replace advertising, but we’re happy to offer them as a business community service.

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Page 6

Community

Thursday, nOvember 2, 2023

COmmunitycalendar

The Community Calendar is curated and designed by Julianna Williams. Events are subject to change, always check ahead for up-to-date information on any events you are interested in.

Events for November 2 - November 16 Thursday, November 2 Late Fall Yoga 8:15 AM - 9:30 AM . Wyoming Valley School Cultural Arts Center, 6306 WI-23 Trunk, Spring Green . ruralremedy.com . Embrace the a fluid transition to fall.

Move mindfully, breathe fully, rest deeply, and nourish your body and mind with group yoga. Classes are all-levels and will be adapted for the individuals that attend regularly.

Drop-ins are welcome. Build your own series for $17/class (five or more) or $20 per single drop-in. Payment is appreciated but you are always welcome to come no matter your financial situation. Register online.

Storytime 10:30 AM . Lone Rock Community Library, 234 N Broadway St, Lone Rock . lonerocklibrary.wordpress.com . Join us every Thursday for storytime!

Stitch and Bitch 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM . Spring Green General Store, 137 S. Albany St. Spring Green . springgreengeneralstore.com . The Spring Green General Store’s Stitch and Bitch handwork group meets Thursday afternoons weekly. All are welcome.

Knit Night at Nina’s 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM . Nina’s Department Store, 143 E. Jefferson St. Spring Green . ninasdepartmentstore.com . Every Thursday from 6 to 8 pm. All knitters and crocheters are welcome. Store closed after 5:30 pm.

LIVE MUSIC: Molly Martin 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM . Slowpoke Lounge, 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green . slowpokelounge.com . Molly Martin’s debut album, Mary, is a spotlight on the honest truth of Molly’s experience before and after quitting drinking; an 8-song inquiry into self-discovery. Molly’s birth name is Mary, and each track feels like a different aspect of the intersection between a buttoned-up Mary and a buttoned-down Molly. Nowhere near sacred and naturally profane, Mary is a think piece on everything from self-hatred to sexual assault. Something is bound to resonate, and that’s the point. Tickets $10 in advance/$15 at the door.

Saturday, November 4 Christmas Kick-off Holiday Party 7:00 AM - 2:00 PM . Simply Rooted & Co., 334 E Daley St., Spring Green . simplyrootedhomedecor.com or look up Simply Rooted on Facebook . Come enjoy a donut truck, samples from Finch & Fennel, and enter to win hourly drawings with a purchase of $25+, and so much MORE! Stay tuned for more!!

Spring Green Winter Farmers Market 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM . S230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . Spring Green Farmers Market Is a year-round outdoor market offering seasonal produce, local meats, baked goods and many other wonderful items. Held outside the Spring Green Community Public Library every Saturday morning.

Mindfulness: Discussion and Practice (Zoom Only) 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM . Virtual Event . springgreenlibrary.com . Our meetings will include discussions and short mindfulness exercises/practices. We will explore sitting, standing, lying down and moving mindfulness experiences. Find the zoom link online.

WORKSHOP: Mocktails 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM . Homecoming, 242 N. Lexington St, Spring Green . savortherivervalley.org . Join Kyle Adams of Wander Provisions for an afternoon of non-alcoholic reverie. Learn about making shrubs, simple syrups, and pickling liquids to create more interesting and sophisticated mocktails for the upcoming holiday season. This class is perfect for anyone who chooses not to imbibe or those who are sober curious. $50 per participant. Minimum class is 10; maximum is 25.

Sandhill Crane Viewing 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM . Near Spring Green . driftlessconservancy.org . Every year, thousands of sandhill cranes gather on the Lower Wisconsin River as they prepare to migrate south for the winter. Join us to get a prime view of this incredible natural spectacle! This event will be held at a private residence about six miles east of Spring Green, just off of Highway 60. The address will be provided closer to the event.

LIVE MUSIC: Zach Pietrini 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM . Slowpoke Lounge, 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green . slowpokelounge.com . Join us for Zach Pietrini and his band. At the forefront of the Americana resurgence in the north country, Pietrini quickly distinguished himself with his fearless vulnerability, prolific writing, and dynamic live show.

“Pietrini’s skill is crafting the kind of Americana that gets right into you with a beguiling friendliness”. Tickets $10 in advance/$15 at the door.

Sunday, November 5 Plain Fire & EMS Pancake Breakfast 8:00 AM - 11:30 AM . 1045 Cedar Street, Plain .

For mor einformation, look up Plain Fire & EMS on Facebook . The Plain FD invites you to come join us for Breakfast and bring the whole family! We are serving pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, applesauce, milk choice, and OJ. You can also check out some equipment we have purchased with proceeds from past fundraisers to help better serve our community.

Late Fall Yoga 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM . Radiant Spirit Retreats Yoga, S7163 County Rd G, Hill Point . ruralremedy.com . Embrace the a fluid transition to fall. Move mindfully, breathe fully, rest deeply, and nourish your body and mind with group yoga. Classes are all-levels and will be adapted for the individuals that attend regularly. Drop-ins are welcome. Build your own series for $17/class (five or more) or $20 per single drop-in.

Payment is appreciated but you are always welcome to come no matter your financial situation. Register online.

Tea Leaf Reading Class with Gwyn Padden-Lechten 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM . North Earth Crystals & Gifts, E4520 Reutten Rd, Spring Green . northearth.com . Tea Leaf Reading Workshop Learn the art of reading tea leaves as a form of divination. This is an immersive ritual experience in sacred space. Gwyn meets with every participant to review their own divination reading and will support you with an individual psychic reading to compliment your tea experience. An exclusive tasseomancy blend from Telsaan Tea in Mt Horeb, WI and ritual kit provided. Cost: $65 Call 608-588-3313 to reserve your spot in the class.

Euchre 6:00 PM . Dave's On Main, 1170 Main St, Plain . For more info look up Dave’s on Main on Facebook . Join us every Sunday for Euchre!

Monday, November 6 cont.

Lego Builders 4:00 PM- 5:00 PM . Plain Kraemer Library, 910 Main St., Plain . kraemerlibrary.org . Join us for Lego Builders Club each month for a fun challenge or to free build your own masterpiece! Open to all ages. Children under 6 must have adult at program. We will be meeting in the library's community room.

Morrill Lecture Series: "What We're Hungry For" film screening & discussion 6:30 PM . Gard Theatre, 111 E Jefferson St. Spring Green . morrilllectures.org . “What We're Hungry For: How Food Pantries Fed Rural Wisconsin During the Pandemic.” The film chronicles the response of five rural Wisconsin food pantries to theunprecedented needs of their communities during the coronavirus pandemic. Experience the hard work, ingenuity, and compassion of these organizations while also exploring the complex and longstanding challenges of fighting hunger in rural America. The screening will be at the Gard Theater, and those wanting to will continue the conversation at Reunion restaurant for cocktails, coffee, and conversation. Hope to see you all there!

Trivia Night 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM . Slowpoke Lounge, 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green . slowpokelounge.com . Join us for a night of Trivia! Kyle Adams will host as we put teams together for a contest of trivia. Come for the prizes, stay for the fun! First Question at 7:00 - and it should last about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Tuesday, November 7 Movies, Munchies and More — Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. 1:00 PM .

Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . Come to the library for a cup of coffee, a sweet treat, a movie. Movie Synopsis: In Lionsgate's big-screen adaptation, 11-year-old Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) is uprooted from her life in New York City for the suburbs of New Jersey, going through the messy and tumultuous throes of puberty with new friends in a new school.

She relies on her mother, Barbara (Rachel McAdams), who is also struggling to adjust to life outside the big city, and her adoring grandmother, Sylvia (Kathy Bates), who isn't happy they moved away and likes to remind them every chance she gets. (PG-13, 1h 45m, 2023).

Moving Senior Bodies 4:00 PM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . Join Upland Hills Health professionals Rosie Morrey, APNP, and Jennifer Day, COTA, for weekly classes focusing on balance and strength training to promote healthy aging. Some benefits of strength training include: slowing down the loss of muscle; increasing bone density; improving balance and coordination, which will decrease fall risks; boost energy level; and increase mental sharpness. For the classes, please bring your own weights, wear comfortable clothes and walking shoes. You will also need to bring water. Register online.

Winter Afternoon Family Storytime 4:30 PM- 5:15 PM . Plain Kraemer Library, 910 Main St., Plain . kraemerlibrary.org . Join us for Winter Afternoon Family Storytime!

Storytimes include stories and songs followed by a fun themed craft and activity. Aimed at kids 0-5 but, all are welcome.

Plain Fire & EMS Spaghetti Dinner 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM . 1045 Cedar Street, Plain . For mor einformation, look up Plain Fire & EMS on Facebook . The Plain FD invites you to come join us for spaghetti dinner!

Late Fall Yoga 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM . Wyoming Valley School Cultural Arts Center, 6306 WI-23 Trunk, Spring Green . ruralremedy.com . Embrace the a fluid transition to fall.

Move mindfully, breathe fully, rest deeply, and nourish your body and mind with group yoga. Classes are all-levels and will be adapted for the individuals that attend regularly.

Drop-ins are welcome. Payment is appreciated but you are always welcome to come no matter your financial situation. Register online.

Wednesday, November 8 All Ages Storytime 10:30 AM . Spring Green Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . Bring the whole family to the library for a morning of song, stories, movement, and fun!

Teen Time: Teen Advisory Board 2:00 PM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.org . Teen voices needed! Come tell us what you'd like the Library to offer. This will be a monthly opportunity to share ideas on Library programing and materials that you see!

Bingo 6:00 PM . Dave's On Main, 1170 Main St, Plain . For more info look up Dave’s on Main on Facebook . A cozy restaurant where you are welcome to have a drink. Join us every Wednesday for Bingo!

Thursday, November 9 Late Fall Yoga 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM . Radiant Spirit Retreats Yoga, S7163 County Rd G, Hill Point . ruralremedy.com . Embrace the a fluid transition to fall. Move mindfully, breathe fully, rest deeply, and nourish your body and mind with group yoga. Classes are all-levels and will be adapted for the individuals that attend regularly. Drop-ins are welcome. Build your own series for $17/class (five or more) or $20 per single drop-in Payment is appreciated but you are always welcome to come no matter your financial situation. Register online.

Mental Health First Aid Training 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM . Elderflower Retreat, 6511 Hillside School Rd, Spring Green . farmerangelnetwork.com . Registration required. Free event. There is no farm without the farmer. Free mental health and suicide prevention training. Learn to identify, understand and help someone who may be experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge.

Storytime 10:30 AM . Lone Rock Community Library, 234 N Broadway St, Lone Rock . lonerocklibrary.wordpress.com . Join us every Thursday for storytime!

Stitch and Bitch 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM . Spring Green General Store, 137 S. Albany St. Spring Green . springgreengeneralstore.com . The Spring Green General Store’s Stitch and Bitch handwork group meets Thursday afternoons weekly. All are welcome.

Knit Night at Nina’s 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM . Nina’s Department Store, 143 E. Jefferson St. Spring Green . ninasdepartmentstore.com . Every Thursday from 6 to 8 pm. All knitters and crocheters are welcome. Store closed after 5:30 pm.

Film Viewing: Restoring the Sauk Prairie 7:00 PM . Spring Green Library, 230 E. Monday, November 6 Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . The Sauk Prairie Conservation Homeschool Hangout 1:00 PM . Spring Green Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Alliance is celebrating 25 years of envisioning a green future for the former Badger Green . springgreenlibrary.com . Area homeschoolers and their families are invited to Army Ammunition Plant near Prairie du Sac. Join us to watch a short documentary that join us for an afternoon of fun and connection. Games and maker-space for crafting will tells the incredible story of this property. Grace Vosen, Executive Director of the be available as well as homeschooling resources and good conversation!

Alliance, will be on hand to answer questions about all things Badger.

very V

r

Community Events for November 2 - November 16 Saturday, November 11 Spring Green Winter Farmers Market 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM . S230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . Spring Green Farmers Market Is a year-round outdoor market offering seasonal produce, local meats, baked goods and many other wonderful items. Held outside the Spring Green Community Public Library every Saturday morning.

LIVE MUSIC: Bluegrass Jam 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM . Spring Green General Store, 137 S. Albany St., Spring Green . 608-5880-707, karin@springgreengeneralstore.com, SpringGreenGeneralStore.com . Free event. All ages welcome! Bluegrass Jams will be held on the second Saturday of each month. While the weather permits they'll be held on our back deck. Bring your instrument and play along or come to listen; all are welcome.

WORKSHOP: Sushi 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM . Red Barn Catering, 525 E. Madison Street, Spring Green . savortherivervalley.org . Don’t miss part two of Jay Miller’s Japanese-themed classes: sushi rolls! Learn how to make perfect sushi rice, choose complimentary vegetables and practice proper rolling technique. We’ll discover where to find sushi grade fish and how to prepare it safely. Participants will experience making, garnishing and eating their own sushi rolls (vegan, cooked fish or raw fish).

Enjoy this unique class at the RedBarn Catering kitchen! $65 per participant. Minimum class is 5; maximum is 20. Register online.

The Last Supper Club: Matthew Batt & Michelle Wildgen & Books & Cocktails 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM . 122 N Lexington St, Spring Green . For more info look up Convivio on Facebook . Sip a cocktail at Convivio while authors Matthew Batt and Michelle Wildgen introduce us to the worlds of waiting and wine.

Arena VFW Steak Feed 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM . Arena VFW Hall 514 Willow Street, Arena .

For more info look up Ewing-Olson VFW Post 9336 on Facebook . $15.00 Steak (done the way you like) $8.00- 8 ounce chicken breast. 608-753-2225 for carryout.

LIVE MUSIC: Harmonious Wail 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM . Slowpoke Lounge, 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green . slowpokelounge.com . Americana flavored Gypsy Jazz on full tilt! Harmonious Wail combines the searing wit, humor and mandolin virtuosity of vintage Jethro Burns performances, the Continental panache of Django and charm of Edith Piath inspired vocals to create a unique musical journey. “In the gypsy jazz field, no one does it any better than the Madison, Wisconsin based group Harmonious Wail.” -Jazz Review. Tickets $15 in advance/$20 at the door.

Sunday, November 12 Late Fall Yoga 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM . Radiant Spirit Retreats Yoga, S7163 County Rd G, Hill Point . ruralremedy.com . Embrace the a fluid transition to fall. Move mindfully, breathe fully, rest deeply, and nourish your body and mind with group yoga. Classes are all-levels and will be adapted for the individuals that attend regularly. Drop-ins are welcome. Build your own series for $17/class (five or more) or $20 per single drop-in.

Payment is appreciated but you are always welcome to come no matter your financial situation. Register online.

Yoga and Soundbath Immersion 11:45 AM - 4:45 PM . Radiant Spirit Retreats Yoga, S7163 County Rd G, Hill Point . For more information, look up Radiant Spirit Retreats & Yoga Studio on Facebook . 608-250-0966, lark@radiantspiritretreats.com . Join Lark Gibson of Radiant Spirit Retreats and Wellspring Soundarts Collective of Madison for a Yoga and Soundbath Immersion on 25 acres of gorgeous property, located north of Spring Green. The day will include: Aromatherapy Yoga, Silent Meditation, a Soundbath Immersion, Reflective Nature Walking, and Art to prepare us for this busy time of year.

Contact Lark for pricing.

River Valley Arts Auction featuring Artist Peg Miller 6:00 PM . Reunion Restaurant, 134 W Jefferson St, Spring Green . rivervalleyarts.org . Or for more info look up River Valley Arts on Facebook . Come admire Peg's work, enjoy small plates and drinks from the team at Reunion, and enjoy time with your friends and neighbors. Nearly 20 Peg Miller originals will be available at our silent auction fundraiser! Doors open and auction bidding begins at 4. Cocktails and appetizers will be available for purchase from 4 to 7 with a short program at 4:30. The auction concludes at 6 with high bidders announced at 6:30.

Euchre 6:00 PM . Dave's On Main, 1170 Main St, Plain . For more info look up Dave’s on Main on Facebook . Join us every Sunday for Euchre!

Tuesday, November 14 Movies, Munchies and More — Being the Ricardos 1:00 PM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . Come to the library for a cup of coffee, a sweet treat, a movie. Movie Synopsis: Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) are threatened by shocking personal accusations, a political smear and cultural taboos in Academy Award (R)-winning writer and director Aaron Sorkin's behind-the-scenes drama Being the Ricardos. A revealing glimpse of the couple's complex romantic and professional relationship, the film takes audiences into the writers' room, onto the soundstage and behind closed doors with Ball and Arnaz during one critical production week of their groundbreaking sitcom "I Love Lucy." (R, 2h 5m, 2021).

Solar Energy Lunch & Learn 12:00 PM- 1:00 PM . Spring Green General Store, 137 S. Albany St., Spring Green . For more info look up Eagle Point Solar on Facebook .

Register online. Join us for a Free Solar Energy Lunch & Learn to discuss solar technology, learn about the equipment, and evaluate current incentives. Why rent your electricity when you can own it? Have you ever wondered if a solar array on your farm, business, or home makes financial sense? Come to the Lunch & Learn to find out more!

Moving Senior Bodies 4:00 PM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . Join Upland Hills Health professionals Rosie Morrey, APNP, and Jennifer Day, COTA, for weekly classes focusing on balance and strength training to promote healthy aging. Some benefits of strength training include: slowing down the loss of muscle; increasing bone density; improving balance and coordination, which will decrease fall risks; boost energy level; and increase mental sharpness. For the classes, please bring your own weights, wear comfortable clothes and walking shoes. You will also need to bring water. Register online.

Winter Afternoon Family Storytime 4:30 PM- 5:15 PM . Plain Kraemer Library, 910 Main St., Plain . kraemerlibrary.org . Join us for Winter Afternoon Family Storytime!

Storytimes include stories and songs followed by a fun themed craft and activity. Aimed at kids 0-5 but, all are welcome.

Late Fall Yoga 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM . Wyoming Valley School Cultural Arts Center, 6306 WI-23 Trunk, Spring Green . ruralremedy.com . Embrace the a fluid transition to fall.

Move mindfully, breathe fully, rest deeply, and nourish your body and mind with group yoga. Classes are all-levels and will be adapted for the individuals that attend regularly.

Drop-ins are welcome. Build your own series for $17/class (five or more) or $20 per single drop-in. Payment is appreciated but you are always welcome to come no matter your financial situation. Register online.

Wednesday, November 15 Donuts on Wednesday 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM . North Park, Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . Playgroup for all! Meet other families and enjoy FREE donuts, story time and open play. Story time starts at 10:30 AM. Hosted by Spring Green Community Library and Public Health Sauk County.

All Ages Storytime 10:30 AM . Spring Green Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . Bring the whole family to the library for a morning of song, stories, movement, and fun!

Teen Game Day 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.org . Come try out video games, board games and more! Designed for middle and high school aged teens.

Bingo 6:00 PM . Dave's On Main, 1170 Main St, Plain . For more info look up Dave’s on Main on Facebook . A cozy restaurant where you are welcome to have a drink. Join us every Wednesday for Bingo!

Thursday, nOvember 2, 2023

Page 7

Wednesday, November 15 cont.

Arcadia Book Club discusses "What you are looking for is in the library" by Michiko Aoyama 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM . This is a zoom book club meeting . readinutopia.com . What are you looking for? So asks Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian.

For Sayuri Komachi is able to sense exactly what each visitor to her library is searching for and provide just the book recommendation to help them find it. In Komachi’s unique book recommendations, library-goers will find just what they need to achieve their dreams. What You Are Looking For Is in the Library is about the magic of libraries and the discovery of connection. This inspirational tale shows how, by listening to our hearts, seizing opportunity and reaching out, we too can fulfill our lifelong dreams. Which book will you recommend?

Thursday, November 16 Late Fall Yoga 8:15 AM - 9:30 AM . Wyoming Valley School Cultural Arts Center, 6306 WI-23 Trunk, Spring Green . ruralremedy.com . Embrace the a fluid transition to fall.

Move mindfully, breathe fully, rest deeply, and nourish your body and mind with group yoga. Classes are all-levels and will be adapted for the individuals that attend regularly.

Drop-ins are welcome. Build your own series for $17/class (five or more) or $20 per single drop-in. Payment is appreciated but you are always welcome to come no matter your financial situation. Register online.

Storytime 10:30 AM . Lone Rock Community Library, 234 N Broadway St, Lone Rock . lonerocklibrary.wordpress.com . Join us every Thursday for storytime!

Stitch and Bitch 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM . Spring Green General Store, 137 S. Albany St. Spring Green . springgreengeneralstore.com . The Spring Green General Store’s Stitch and Bitch handwork group meets Thursday afternoons weekly. All are welcome.

Family Fun Night! 5:00 PM . Plain Kraemer Library, 910 Main St., Plain . kraemerlibrary.org . Join us for Family Fun Nights at the Library! Each month we will have a fun themed activity for families to drop in to do. Join us for pizza and a movie! Families can sign up at the front desk or call 608-546-4201 to sign up. Kids under 6 must be with an adult.

Knit Night at Nina’s 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM . Nina’s Department Store, 143 E. Jefferson St. Spring Green . ninasdepartmentstore.com . Every Thursday from 6 to 8 pm. All knitters and crocheters are welcome. Store closed after 5:30 pm.

CIVICS & SERVICES

CA LE NDA R

This calendar is a place listing (for free) the typical meeting dates for area governmental bodies, Please email us with these meetings, or use the form on our Community Calendar page — and let's build community together: editor@valleysentinelnews.com November 3: WORKDAY: Driftless Trail Workday 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM . Phoebe Point Trailhead, 5481 County Rd C, Spring Green . driftlessconservancy.org . Join us to fine-tune roughed-in tread at Phoebe Point Trail - part of the Driftless Trail - on the Taliesin property. Trail building is a fun social activity and very rewarding. We provide the tools, and no previous experience is required. Please contact Barb Barzen at barb@driftlessconservancy.org with any questions.

November 4: Friends of the Library Book Collection 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM . Commmunity Room, Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St. Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.org . The Friends of the Spring Green Community Library will accept donations of gently used books for resale on Saturday. Donations of no more than four boxes are preferred. Proceeds from book sales help support library programs and other amenities. Damaged books, encyclopedias, textbooks, and instruction manuals are not accepted, and the Friends reserve the right to limit the quantity of items accepted and/or refuse donations that do not meet library needs.

November 7: MEETING: Village of Arena Budget Hearing 7:00 PM - 7:30 PM . Village Hall, 345 West Street, Arena . villageofarena.net MEETING: Village of Arena Board Meeting 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM . Village Hall, 345 West Street, Arena . villageofarena.net . Arena typically holds board meetings the first tuesday of the month.

MEETING: Plain LIONS Meeting 7:00 PM . 510 Main Street, Plain . villageofplain.com .

November 8: MEETING: Village of Spring Green Board Meeting 7:00 PM . In person and virtual event . 154 N. Lexington Street, Spring Green . vi.springgreen.wi.gov . Meeting will be held in person and virtually.

MEETING: Plain Village Board Meeting 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM . 510 Main Street, Plain . villageofplain.com MEETING: Teen Time — Teen Advisory Board 2:00 PM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.org . Teen voices needed!

Come tell us what you'd like the Library to offer. This will be a monthly opportunity to share ideas on Library programing and materials that you see!

November 10: MEETING: River Valley School Board Meeting 7:00 PM . River Valley Middle School Library, 660 Daley St, Spring Green .

November 13: MEETING: Wildlife Forever ATV Club 6:30 PM . Arena VFW, 514 Willow St, Arena .

For more info look up Wildlife Forever ATV Club on Facebook .

November 14: MEETING: Village of Spring Green Board Meeting 7:00 PM . In person and virtual event . 154 N. Lexington Street, Spring Green . vi.springgreen.wi.gov MEETING: Village of Lone Rock Board Meeting 7:00 PM . villageoflonerock.com .

Village Office, 314 E Forest St, Lone Rock . See full agenda online.

November 15: Friends of Governor Dodge Meeting 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM . Virtual Meeting . Contact FriendsofGovDodge@gmail.com MEETING: Village of Spring Green Board Budget Hearing 7:00 PM . In person and virtual event . 154 N. Lexington Street, Spring Green . vi.springgreen.wi.gov

The Community Calendar is curated and designed by Julianna Williams.

Events are subject to change, always check ahead for up-to-date information on any events you are interested in.

“The good stuff.”

Page 8

Community/arts & cULtUre

Thursday, nOvember 2, 2023

What is Lexington & Jefferson?

Some time ago, we announced the soft launch of a semi-regular to regular literary section we've been inspired by other literary compilations to call Lexington & Jefferson.

As the pivotal intersection of our community, we envision this as a place that celebrates the cross-section of arts in our greater community.

We envision it as a place of curated and submitted prose, poetry and more that showcase the talents of our community.

Each edition we receive submissions of artwork, poetry, prose and other musings that we have trouble placing in the paper on their own and often have to simply hold or regrettably turn down.

We hope this becomes a welcome place for them.

This space will grow and change, as all things do, and we welcome talented individuals, organizations, authors, experts and artists to help curate this section - perhaps we'll compile and publish an annual

Lexington & Jefferson Notable Quotables What city would you make a backup capital if Madison was captured?

(As found on reddit r/wisconsin)

[Spring Green:] House on the Rock should be the new capitol building. Everyone will think the government is at Taliesin.

—ngometamer

LITERARY + ARTS & CULTURE SECTION

During the Cold War Rhinelander was the designated backup because, quote: “There was nothing worth tossing a nuke at nearby.”

—AlphSaber

It seems like our time is structured around two kinds of beverages: caffeinated and alcoholic. Caffeine helps us survive the work week, and alcohol helps us liven the weekends. Here are two poems which complement each other like their drinks are used. “Coffee,”

I say Green Bay since most Wisconsinites of whatever political persuasion would defend to the death the home of the Packers!

Lambeau Field would no doubt be our Alamo!

—dee-fondy

Poetic Wonderer

Coffee and burgundy wine: poems on the only two beverages you need Curated by Alex Prochaska, Editorial Intern

literary journal, who knows?

We may also use this space for arts & culture news and submitted musings that don't quite fit within the bounds of a traditional column, profile or letter to the editor.

Get involved: If you're interested in submitting, curating or have ideas, please do not hesitate at all to submit them to us at: editor@valleysentinelnews.com

by a UW-Platteville student, is longer, more contemplative, and streaked with fleeting memories and frustrated desires—like the work week. “Drinking Song: On the Excellence of Burgundy Wine,” is shorter, a bit silly, and dedicated to forgetting one's troubles— like the weekend. Bottoms up!

Coffee

By Jakob Cridelich

Strong, robust, and stern, like my grandpa, who sipped coffee without burning his tongue between drags of his unfiltered Camels.

The smell takes me back to childhood grocery trips with my family, passing the aisle with coffee bean grinders, where consumers freshly ground their coffee into bags.

A child, wild with curiosity and lust for the world, riding the front of a grocery cart in between stops.

Wanting to be old enough to drink coffee and like its bitter, pale taste. Running toward

the freedom that adulthood withheld from my youth, I sipped.

I sipped and it scorched. So hot, like the soles of my shoes resting on the sides of the wood stove in our living room, rubber melting and smearing down the steel-encased fire. Write my name.

My tongue robbed of its capacity to enjoy dinner, soda, or Fruit By the Foot for a day. The taste of what I could taste, not sweet, but bitter, like the friendship between cousins that used to be best friends. But now, strangers that haven’t spoken to one another for more years than they did.

in the hills: I write as I look at the ancient hills all around

the air is like incense, a burning wood of embered death and fragrant northern pine

d e c a y i n g: their sadness turned brown surrendering: forever earthen bound a season of october jar kept with warmth of cinnamon breath stirred spices

deep moss, soft untouched this covering, archaic of time

this is Autumn's turning time, as a hillside kept now in word's memory a stanza of line

great trees, lost leaves a season's sign now, written

as this: a seasonal poetic rhyme

as beauty found upon this dying ground a dirge of driftless poesy

birches brighter calling always with their golden sigh

a.thomas 30October2023

continued on page 9

East Jefferson Street, Spring Green | www.readinutopia.com Last Month’s Bestsellers at Arcadia Books 102608-588-7638

#1

#2

Democracy Awakening Heather Cox Richardson

Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World Barry Lopez

From historian and author of the popular daily newsletter LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN, a vital narrative that explains how America, once a beacon of democracy, now teeters on the brink of autocracy -- and how we can turn back.

Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World opens our minds and souls to the importance of being wholly present for the beauty and complexity of life.

#3

#4

#5

Night Train to Odessa Mary Grow

Wonder of Small Things James Crews

The Russian Civil War rages in the Ukraine. Elvira Maria Andrushko, recently widowed, flees the embattled countryside bound for the safe haven, Odessa. As the night train approaches she is violently separated from her small children and arrives in the seaport alone and traumatized.

The editor of the bestselling poetry anthologies How to Love the World and The Path to Kindness presents a collection of highly accessible, uplifting poetry celebrating the small wonders and peaceful moments of everyday life.

Poems from the Winter House Daniel Smith

FORMER SPRING GREEN RESIDENT

LOCAL AUTHOR

With the acknowledgment that change is life’s only constant, Smith traces the passage from one stage of life to the next, sometimes with harshness, sometimes with humor, but always with striking resonance.

Upcoming Events + Book Club

Little brown roasted nuggets of tranquility, crushed, packaged, and sealed for freshness.

Arcadia Book Club discusses: "What you are looking for is in the library" by Michiko Aoyama Nov. 15th @ 6:00PM - 7:00 PM Register at readinutopia.com/events

Community/arts & cULtUre

Thursday, nOvember 2, 2023 Page 9 Drinking Song: On the Excellence of Burgundy Wine

Coffee (con.)

continued from page 8

By Jakob Cridelich

I would attempt to drink coffee as a kid twice more before deciding it wasn’t for me. Like the cigarette butts, still smoldering, my brother and I would try to smoke, first flicked from the front porch by our parents.

Why? Because it’s what the adults do; they drink coffee, smoke cigarettes.

They can afford all of the things my heart desired but my five-dollar-a-week allowance could not.

Tongues heal, allowances turn into paychecks as we exchange hours of playtime for labor.

Grocery trips aren’t spent riding on carts, but pushing them, trying to keep the wheels light as my wallet squirms in my pocket at the sight of another item being added to the bill.

Coffee as black as my lungs after I smoked a pack a day, poured shakily into a cup religiously, eyes blurred with the shadows of last night’s dreams, transparent but boggling. My lifeline, kissing my drool-crusted lips. Not like my first kiss, bodies pressed, lungs quivering, nervous with excitement, but my millionth kiss, thoughtless, ritual, and in my mind, necessary. Prodded by my always prevalent and present facial hair, hair I once sought to grow, but now has become another task to keep up on.

By Hilaire Belloc

From bed to reality, the transition is smoothed with the crude taste of freshly drowned aspirations, scorched and strained until no mystery remains.

I drink those empty and un-achieved aspirations into the afternoon, lodged in my Adam’s apple as they resist the demand of reality. The way my saliva refused to sink past my throat when her mom said to me that she found a condom receipt, a couple teenagers in love, a Christian household.

There’s no turning back.

Down the gullet with a capacity to endure sure to follow. I spell function with the word caffeine, because I can’t without it. Because I would lie in bed all day, sorting out my third quarter-life crises if I didn’t get amped enough to go do something with my life. Or is it the fourth? Because to deal with the world without caffeine would leave me drowning, drowning like that time in the stream in Tennessee before my cousin saved me.

Adulthood is overrated. Caffeine doesn’t solve that, like a band-aid doesn’t stop your scuffed knee from bleeding, But it covers it up well enough that you can hop back on your bike and continue pedaling toward your freedom.

But as mom always said, don’t forget to wear your helmet.

My jolly fat host with your face all a-grin, Come, open the door to us, let us come in.

A score of stout fellows who think it no sin If they toast till they're hoarse, and drink till they spin, Hoofed it amain Rain or no rain, To crack your old jokes, and your bottle to drain.

Such a warmth in the belly that nectar begets As soon as his guts with its humour he wets, The miser his gold, and the student his debts, And the beggar his rags and his hunger forgets.

For there's never a wine Like this tipple of thine From the great hill of Nuits to the River of Rhine. go

Outside you may hear the great gusts as they

By Foy, by Duerne, and the hills of Lerraulx, But the rain he may rain, and the wind he may blow, If the Devil's above there's good liquor below.

So it abound, Pass it around, Burgundy's Burgundy all the year round.

American Players Theatre announces 2024 season lineup, 'Proof' open thru Nov. 19 continued from page 1 this season a success - a challenge, but not an insurmountable challenge, which can't be said everywhere right now. I am just so in awe of the work everyone put in, and the amazing results of that labor. I'm so grateful."

2024 tickets will be available for returning patrons in March.

2024 Plays: In the Hill Theatre: Ring Round the Moon

By Jean Anouilh Adapted by Christopher Fry

Directed by Laura Gordon Join the charming (and clueless) elite for a ridiculous night of fun. Twins Hugo and Frederic may look identical, but could not be more different.

Frederic, a romantic, spends his nights in the flowers beneath his beloved Diane's window, while Hugo mocks the very idea of love in all its embodiments.

Family tensions come to a head during a ball attended by all the very best people. Alongside them, Isabelle, a poor ballerina and her mother smuggled in by Hugo to wreak chaos and mock the wealthy partygoers. Things go hilariously off the rails before the night is through, with all romantic matches

thrown to the wind in this lush and witty comedy.

Much Ado About Nothing

By William Shakespeare Directed by Robert Ramirez The original will-they-won't-they couple returns to the Hill Stage. Not only are Beatrice and Benedick content with their singleton status, it is their defining feature. Well, that and their piercing wit, which they put on hilarious display whenever they share space.

One thing they can agree on is a fine match between their proteges, Hero and Claudio. But the course of true love never did run smooth, and there are

storm clouds brewing on the horizon as Don John cooks up a wicked plan for revenge against his half-brother, Don Pedro. Will all be righted in the end?

Find out in one of Shakespeare's most beloved comedies.

August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Directed by Gavin Lawrence August Wilson returns to the Hill for a second play in The American Century Cycle. This time, it's Chicago in the roaring 20s. Trailblazing blues artist Ma Rainey is at the top of her game,

continued on page 11

Come celebrate Spring Green legend Peg Miller, auction to benefit River Valley ARTS continued from page 1 Her most famous work late in her life used bright colors on a black background, including the cow, Dottie Moo, owned by Lands’ End. This fiberglass cow was featured with others at events like “Cows on the Concourse”

and “Cows on Parade.” Earlier works used more somber colors and portrayed darker themes. For example, works up for auction include tall screens with bright flowers, as well as self-portrait using primarily black and gray with bright yellow only on the outer edges.

Doors open and auction bidding begins at 4 p.m. Cocktails and appetizers will be available for purchase from 4 to 7 p.m. with a short program at 4:30 p.m.

The auction concludes at 6 p.m. with high bidders announced at 6:30 p.m.

Miller’s artwork will be on display

at Reunion Restaurant from Monday through Thursday, November 6 through 9, from 4:30 to 9 p.m.

All proceeds from the auction will go to River Valley ARTS. Questions regarding the event may be sent to contact@ rivervalleyarts.org

Page 10 Thursday, nOvember 2, 2023

Commentary/AGrIcuLture

Reflections from Lost Horizon Farm — The Unusual, The Unexpected and The Funny (Part 1) Barb Garvoille, Columnist Each edition, retired dairy farmer Barb Garvoille brings her musings on dairy farm life from her own years of experience on Lost Horizon Farm with her late husband Vince “Mr. Farmer” Garvoille. This mooving memoir focuses on 1980-2000, join Barb as she rises with the herd.

A "Wanted Man" on the Loose Farmers who rent land sign an annual (or sometimes multi-year) lease agreement with the land owner. The lease agreement spells out the dollar cost per rented acre of land and generally stipulates that half of the land rent is due by the first of April and the other half in September or after the harvest.

Our neighbor had leased all of his crop acres to a young farmer. At harvest time, the young fellow had still not yet paid the first half of the rent he owed.

One late October afternoon, this renter pulled into a corn field with his combine, and the mechanical harvest began..

The action did not go unnoticed by the neighbor who strode into the field and demanded payment before any more of the crop was harvested. The young man quite forcefully pushed him aside and continued harvesting. The neighbor walked back to his house and called the police. Seeing the squad car arrive, the man leapt from the combine and took off on foot through the standing com.

After a fruitless search for the elusive renter on the lam, the policeman visited neighboring farmers, explained the situation, and described whom law enforcement was looking for. The police officer told Mr. Farmer to remove the keys from each of our tractors so that the wanted man couldn't hijack one to escape. Mr. Farmer told the policeman that if the fellow attempted to take one of our tractors, he would fail. Our tractors were all too old and temperamental, and each had some quirk to its ignition.

Mr. Farmer was so sure of each tractor’s idiosyncrasy and the unique know-how needed to start it, whether it was green, yellow, orange or red, that keys never left their residence in their respective instrument panel.

When I went to the hay mow that same evening to throw hay bales down the chutes for feeding the cows, I remember saying out loud: "Please, mister, if you are in here, don't hurt me." We learned later through the farmer grapevine that this fellow had indeed hidden in our barn until quite late at night when he had exited and made the long trek to his home farm on foot..

The renter and the landlord must have settled things somehow, because the young fellow did come back and finish his fall crop harvest. All our close neighbors

Photo contributed by Barb Garvoille The milk cows in the Sudex field.

took note that the following year, the land was rented out to a different farmer.

There was no law enforcement presence related to farm rent payments that year or any crop year thereafter! Mr. Farmer would summarize by saying:

Barb Garvoille “Everything’s copacetic.”

A Ballooning Cow There was a time when there was less traffic on our county road, and we could recognize the owner of almost every car or truck that passed by Lost Horizon Farm. People would wave, holler, or honk their horn; once in a while, when a person got a new automobile, we would not be sure who it was, but the mystery did not last long! Almost everyone on "our" road milked cows then, and the farmers, salesmen, feed delivery persons, artificial insemination technicians, supply route drivers, implement dealers, veterinarians, milk haulers, county and township patrolmen, and the mail and UPS drivers traveling County Road C had at least some familiarity with all the farmers and would keep an eye on what was going on at each place. This sort of neighborhood watch saved the life of a cow on Lost Horizon Farm.

A cow cannot lie with her legs stretched out uphill. Because she cannot roll over like a sleeping dog or horse and right herself, the gasses in her stomach get trapped, and she begins to bloat.

Unless the cow can be flipped over by several people pushing and pulling to get her legs going downhill, the bloating becomes worse and worse, and the cow will die. Early one morning, an employee of the nearby feed mill, a big strong lad, happened to notice that one of our heifers had laid down "the wrong way" and was beginning to bloat. He pulled his truck into the farmyard and looked around until he found Mr. Farmer in the milk house. The two men were able to push the heifer downhill and get her standing. Once standing, the gas in the stomach began to pass through the bovine's system, as it normally does, and the young animal was saved! Thanks, Tim.

Photo contributed by Barb Garvoille Shown are two sample farm lease agreements provided by Sauk County.

Oh, Grandpa!

When a cow calves, and especially when a first-calf heifer freshens, there is the possibility that the animal will continue to push even after the calf has been born.

Continued pushing can birth the uterus (Farmers call that organ the "calf bed.").

An expelled uterus is large and flat and looks like a pinkish bag with red circular, meaty- looking spots called "buttons.” It was critical to keep the organ moist by splashing or spraying it with water until a veterinarian arrived. Using his trained expertise, the veterinarian pushed the reproductive part back into its proper place deep inside the cow. (One of our veterinarians used to commandeer a clean glass soda pop bottle to add to his arm's length to accomplish this task).

Our closest neighbor happened to come into his barn with his young grandson one afternoon just at the exact time when a cow had pushed out her uterus. "Oh, Grandpa," said the small boy, "look at that cow. She blew out her asshole!” This little boy knows better now. He grew up to become a successful practicing large animal DVM! Sudex and the Cows Disappear Sudex is a sudan grass/sorghum cross.

During years of minimal rainfall, it was a

savior crop at Lost Horizon Farm because it was something that grew thickly, was drought tolerant, and was palatable to cows. ( It could not be harvested below 30" in height either mechanically or by the bovines because it contained prussic acid, a substance toxic to cows.)

Harvesting it was a challenge because of its enormity; it matured at about 12 feet in height. The best way we found to harvest it was to knock it over with a cultipacker, a heavy steel roller, and then cut it in the opposite direction to which it fell. Whatever machine was used to cut, it had to be one that sucked up the fallen plants and then cut them. The cut plant material would have to be crushed several times to allow the stalks to dry out. Once dried, the sudex windrows could be raked up and baled. Although we fed sudex primarily to heifers, the cows enjoyed it as well. In some years, the sudex stood all winter to desiccate; the freezing and thawing would break open the stems naturally and allow them to dry. Over-wintered sudex was cut and baled in the spring and made wonderful bedding. Letting the crop stand was a boon for wildlife; deer and other critters would hide or seek shelter in the uncut

continued on page 11

Photo contributed by Barb Garvoille The trapdoor leading to the old root cellar was a heavy affair!

Outdoors & Recreation/AGrIcuLture

Thursday, nOvember 2, 2023 Page 11

The Sauk County Gardener Planting Garlic Jeannie Manis, Wisconsin Certified Master Gardener

“Garlic. Life stinks with it. Life stinks without it.”

— Deborah Morris I spent this past weekend cleaning up around my vegetable garden and starting to prep it for winter. I had plenty of chores to do but I was adamant that I was going to plant garlic this past weekend. Last fall I didn’t get my garlic planted and ended up planting it in the spring. The garlic scapes were delicious, but the bulbs were really small. Luckily for me, a fellow gardener from work was willing to share some. I was not going to be in the same boat again next year.

I went to the Baraboo Farmers Market with the intention of purchasing some German red garlic. Unfortunately, none was to be found. I ended up purchasing some German Extra Hardy garlic

instead, so I was all set.

If you use a lot of garlic, this is one herb you should plant. One thing to consider is what type of garlic to grow – hardneck or softneck. Hardneck garlic forms an edible scape that later becomes woody and has 4-12 cloves that grow around the woody stalk. This type grows well where the growing season is somewhat short. Hardnecks typically can be stored for 4–8 months. Softnecks do not form a scape, have 10-40 cloves, and can be stored for 6 – 9 months. This is the type that you can braid. Softneck garlic tends to be less flavorful than hardneck garlic. It is not recommended to plant grocery store garlic as much of it has been treated or is a variety that does not grow well here in Wisconsin.

Garlic does best when it is planted in the fall. It likes to have a dormancy period of at least 40 degrees F or less for

4-8 weeks. It also gives the bulbs time to develop roots but not any top growth.

Garlic likes full sun, think 6-8 hours of sunlight per day. It’s also a moderate to heavy feeder, so prepare the soil by mixing in compost or aged manure prior to planting. Then at the time of planting, apply a nitrogen fertilizer.

Select the biggest, healthiest bulbs you can find for planting. Break apart the garlic into individual cloves a few days before planting but keep the papery husk on the cloves. Plant the cloves 4-8 inches apart, 2-3 inches deep in an upright position. Then mulch with 3-4 inches of clean straw so the garlic does not start to grow if we get a warm spell in November/December. It also helps minimize soil temperatures changes that can damage your garlic’s new roots and developing shoots. Next spring, you’ll remove some of the mulch, but

not all as it can help suppress weeds. If you’d like to learn more about growing garlic, visit https://hort.extension.wisc. edu/files/2023/10/A3785-GrowingOnions-Garlic-Leeks-and-OtherAlliums-in-Wisconsin-KA-Delahautand-AC-Newenhouse.pdf.

We are still looking for some gardens in the Sauk Prairie/Merrimac area to feature on our 2024 Garden Tour.

If you would be interested in having your garden on our tour, please post a message on the Sauk County Master Gardeners Association Facebook page and we’ll contact you for more information.

This week’s article is written by Jeannie Manis, a Wisconsin Certified Sauk County Master Gardener Volunteer.

If you have gardening questions, visit the Sauk County Master Gardeners Association Facebook page.

American Players Theatre announces 2024 season lineup, 'Proof' open thru Nov. 19 continued from page 9

and recording a new album. As Ma and her entourage are delayed, her band brash trumpeter Levee, bassist Slow Drag, pianist Toledo and trombonist Cutler - gets to talking about their pasts and futures, as tempers ebb and wane, and the white record producers make demands of, and promises to, the aspiring musicians.

Dancing at Lughnasa

By Brian Friel Directed by Brenda DeVita Dancing at Lughnasa is a captivating exploration of memory and longing. In rural Ireland, the Mundy sisters seek solace in each other, and the radio that keeps them connected to their roots. As they navigate the challenges of family, love and societal change, the women revisit their rituals and memories of happier times. A poignant, poetic memory play that shines a light on the bond between sisters, and the

hardships women faced in Ireland in the '30s, written by esteemed Irish playwright Brian Friel (Molly Sweeney, produced at APT in 2013).

King Lear

By William Shakespeare Directed by Tim Ocel Shakespeare's tragic masterpiece returns, as a King is undone by his own vanity when he asks his daughters to sing his praises, and harshly punishes the only one of them who cares enough about him to tell the truth. Lear's act of selfish folly sets his kingdom on a path toward betrayal, war and unspeakable loss from which few will emerge unscathed. Featuring Brian Mani as Lear.

In the Touchstone Theatre: The World Premiere of The Virgin Queen Entertains Her Fool

By Michael Hollinger

Directed by Aaron Posner A revered Queen on her way to quitting this mortal coil ponders who will follow in her footsteps in this world premiere production. Adahlia - a dying queen who has been tasked with spending the whole of her reign unmarried - must choose her successor.

But she'd much rather spend her final days being entertained by Ermo, her very funny fool. As those closest to her become more insistent that she makes her choice, long hidden truths begin to emerge from the shadows in this witty, absurdist tragicomedy. Contains adult themes.

Wolf at the Door

By Marisela Trenviño Orta Directed by Melisa Perevra Wolf at the Door leans into the darkness that can live inside marriage vows, and the strength, willpower and support needed to break free from it. A mysterious woman arrives at the steps

of Isadora and Septimo's abusive and unhappy home. A pregnant woman, who Septimo sees as the answer to his quest for an heir - whether she's interested or not. A second play in Orta's ongoing cycle of Latinx fairy tales, along with The River Bride, which APT staged in 2022. Contains adult themes.

Constellations

By Nick Pane Directed by Vanessa Stalling When two people meet for the very first time, the possibilities may just literally be infinite. But what about their choices? Nick Payne's dazzling, mind-bending romance Constellations investigates humanity from every different angle through the eyes of Marianne and Roland - a string theorist and a beekeeper, each decision a fork in the road that leads to everywhere.

A play about love, physics and how the choices we make echo through time.

Reflections from Lost Horizon Farm — The Unusual, The Unexpected and The Funny (Part 1) continued from page 9 field.

The initial year we planted sudex, we did so as a kind of experiment to see if it was a crop that suited the needs of our operation. One of the mental pictures

we retain of the cows on Lost Horizon Farm was the day we turned the cows out in that experimental plot when the sudex was 10 feet high. Mr. Farmer had mowed the periphery of the field because the crop was so tall we thought the cows

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would start running in this new field of plenty and not be able to see the fence until they had run through it. The mowed periphery allowed the cows a visual of the field’s boundaries. Introduction of the cows into the field was so memorable because at once 40 animals vanished in this jungle of foliage. A person was lucky to catch a glimpse of a cow's head. At first, the presence of the cows could only be detected by varied wavings and rustlings of leaves and stalks in the field. Only after the cows had run through the field, settled down, and began to forage and trample some of the standing crop did they become visible as a herd again. The field was always thought of afterwards as the field where the cows had disappeared.

The Animated Trapdoor Our 1874 farmhouse has a first floor broom closet. A portion of its floor is a trapdoor leading to what once was a root cellar. Normally this door was kept closed, and it was quite the surprise one spring morning to hear it slightly open and bang shut,open and shut, open and shut……. What was going on?

At ground level, there was an ancient narrow egress window in this portion of the basement. Over time the wood at its base had quietly deteriorated. All it took was a bit of muscular woodchuck power pushing against that window to push it in and cause the rodent to fall into the cellar.

This less than appealing concrete and limestone subterranean room was bereft of creature comforts for the mammal.

“Woody” had climbed up to the top of the staircase and was pushing up on the trapdoor in repeated attempts to exit this undesirable place.

It took a pair of humans, one contractor broom, and one dog to solve the dilemma of having to remove an in-the-house ground hog. Mr. Farmer opened the trapdoor, went down the steps into the root cellar, and using the push broom as a bristly prod, herded the unhappy critter up the steps, out the trapdoor, and into the utility room The utility room’s 3 other side doors had been blocked by sheets of plywood, so the woodchuck’s escape route was a straight shot out the front door. Indeed, the animal made a beeline for that door. Peaches, one of the farm’s dogs at the time, sensing something unusual was afoot, had stationed herself directly outside this door. In a flash, she caught the running woodchuck in her strong jaws, and, after a few vigorous shakes, dispatched the intruder.

The failed window was cemented in, and all traces of the woodchuck’s presence were cleaned up thus ending this “open and shut” episode on the farm!

Barb has called Lost Horizon Farm, just north of Spring Green, her home for the past 43 years. She is fond of all creatures (including snakes). Her joy stems from being able to be outdoors every day observing and treasuring the plant and animal life on her small piece of this planet. She loved milking cows and is proud to have been a dairy farmer.

Page 12 Thursday, nOvember 2, 2023

Outdoors & Recreation

An Outdoorsman’s Journal Mark Walters, Columnist

Green Bay/Elk Hunt on my Mind

Hello friends, This week I spent a day, a night and part of a day in my 18.6 War Eagle with my golden retrievers Ruby and Red fishing for walleye. Though I was very into this adventure I cannot get the next one off my mind which is living in the mountains of Montana and hunting mule deer and elk.

Wednesday, October 11th High 55°, Low 42° My goal for this trip was at least a limit of walleye and to have a genuine go for it experience with Ruby and Red while we fished, cooked and slept in the War Eagle while exploring many miles of the incredible fishery called Green Bay. I might add that I knew difficult weather conditions were approaching but they were not supposed to hit until my drive home on Thursday night.

One of my first decisions was where to launch at: Suamico, Geano Beach, or Peshtigo. That decision was made simply because Suamico was first on my drive, I know how to fish in all of these areas and so it did not really matter. Some bad news came repeatedly when I was preparing my rig at the landing and every fishermen that I spoke with talked about fish that simply were not feeding.

Nothing was going to kill my excellent mood and I motored out to big water and started setting out 3 lines, all with crankbaits and began to troll towards Green Bay which was maybe 5 miles away. At first, I was not very smooth as running planer boards

alone, it takes focus but I got good at it and was very happy and knew that soon big walleye would come in large numbers.

In reality, I am on crunch time for my elk/mule deer hunt. Gear and the weather forecast are constantly on my mind. A spike camp up high, a base camp down low. I did my first elk hunt 20 years ago and have done 4 in total.

Every single hunt, I have been hit with a major blizzard either the day before or on the opening day of the season. That is why so much planning is required. Last year a blizzard hit on opening morning.

I shot my 6x6 an hour after daylight, it snowed for two days, and I did not see another hunter until day 4 of the season.

So today I am trolling while catching nothing and not seeing any other fishermen put their net down either. Here is what I thought about with almost zero wind as I headed towards Green Bay. The Packers and how huge they are for the NFL, how they kind of suck this year and how fortunate we are to have such reliable professional sport teams in Wisconsin.

Just before dark I had my first hit, and it was the largest striped bass that I have ever caught or seen. At dark I idled to shore, but it was too shallow to make it to shore. I had the dogs swim/ wade to shore to do their business and I anchored the boat and set up a very comfortable bed.

Over the course of the night I had several setbacks. One, the Green Bay tide went out and my boat became very stuck, I noticed this late in the evening and had to put on my hip boots and bull dog my rig to deeper water. Two,

Photo contributed by Mark Walters Mark on Green Bay with the largest striper he’s ever caught!

Photo contributed by Mark Walters The fishing was slow on Green Bay, but Mark was able to catch this nice striper trolling.

my sleeping bag was becoming soaked through due to a heavy dew, I covered up and with a tarp and that took care of that. Three, both pups want to sleep with their heads literally on my neck/ chin and Red dreams a lot which means she groans, purrs, and yelps while squirming around.

Before first light the wind picked up and this was the real story. I was 3 miles from the landing and had planned on fishing all day. I set out 3 lines began trolling and at times I had 4 footers and sometimes they were less than 2. I took in a lot of water, but I had a bilge pump and that is critical. Eventually I got used to the high seas, I could only work my lines on my knees to avoid falling overboard.

I put in 5 hours hunting walleye and never had a strike before the waves told me that I had pushed my luck long enough.

One of the premier hunts that is left

maybe in my lifetime is next. I really do not care about antler size, but I would love to whack a muley, an elk, or both.

Time will tell.

Sunset Follow along the adventures of Mark Walters, a syndicated outdoor adventure columnist who lives in Necedah, Wisconsin. He began writing his column, An Outdoorsman’s Journal, in 1989.

It includes hunting, fishing, lots of canoeing and backpacking. He currently writes for around 60 newspapers. He hopes you enjoy reading about his adventures!

Want to read more?

Check out previous weeks’ columns at www.outdoorsmansjournal.com

Photo contributed by Mark Walters Ruby and Red enjoying a sunset on Green Bay.

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