PDF - Friends of Interstate Park

Winter 2009
President’s Corner
“What fire could equal the sunshine of a winter’s day?” Henry David Thoreau
W
hen I wrote this article last year we were having a January thaw, quickly followed by a cold snap.
Candlelight Ski Night was so cold the horses stayed home!
This year we have plenty of snow for cross country skiers and snow shoers. Candlelight Night is on the evening of Valentine’s Day. Come to the park at 6 p.m. for family fun. Even if you don’t ski there will be something to do. Enjoy the bonfires, music, horse drawn rides and meeting new friends. Something for everyone.
Dress warmly as all activities are outside.
The Friends are looking forward to ground breaking this spring for the long awaited addition to the Ice Age
Center. We are open to fundraising suggestions for furnishing that space. We will need tables and chairs
and basic kitchen furnishings. Donations are welcome. This new space will be wonderful for Julie’s nature
programs when the weather is bad as well as our FIP potlucks and many other activities.
We welcome Roger Johnson of Dresser to the FIP Board. Roger is a man of many talents, especially music
and woodworking. And a big thank you to Mike Bauer as he leaves the Board. Mike is on the Board of
Friends of Wisconsin State Parks, so we will continue to get updates from him.
See you around the bonfire, February 14th.
Angie Lundin
FIP President
Meet Roger Johnson, Our Newest Board Member
Inside this Issue
Treasurer’s Report
Superintendent’s Notes
Naturalist’s News
Calendar of Events
p. 2
p. 2
p. 3
p. 3
Roger describes himself like this: Retired. Owned & operated a
restaurant in Chamberlain, South Dakota with wife Dawn for ll years.
Prior to that owned a grocery store in SD and a locker plant and store
in Waumandee, WI. Worked for the State of WI Apprenticeship
Div., was a PHD [painter, paper hanger, and decorator]. A Navy vet.
Couldn’t hold a job for more than seven years! Have a son in SD and
a son in Oregon. Grew up on the banks of the Eau Claire River east
of Eau Claire. It was a playground winter and summer. Love Wisconsin and consider it the “Holy Land”. Thank God for the beauty and
variety of this state.
Friends of Interstate Park
Page 2
Superintendent’s Notes
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a great beginning to
the New Year.
FIP Board of Directors
President - Angie Lundin
Vice President - Kris Kremer Hartung
Treasurer - Karen Sciacca
Directors Gloria Adrian
Dwight Ferguson
Roger Johnson
Pat Killingsworth
Pattie Killingsworth
Joyce McKenzie
Jim Sciacca
Financial Manager - Avis Carlson
Merchandise Manager - Cindy Stimmler
Membership Chair - Carol Petersen
Things are finally starting to progress on the Ice Age Center’s education
addition. We actually had the contractors begin their preliminary planning the first week of January, and we hope to see the ground breaking
with the spring thaw. It will be a relief to see the beginning of this much
talked about, highly anticipated and extremely useful addition.
As many of you know we also applied for a Stewardship Match Grant
for an education shelter near the Interpretive building. We are waiting to
hear who the Grant Award recipients are. If we receive the grant it will be
a wonderful opportunity for the Friends to get involved, possibly assisting with the construction of the shelter or landscaping around it. We will
keep you posted.
It looks like winter is giving us an opportunity to play this year, and our
Candlelight Night is fast approaching on Valentine’s Night, Feb. 14th.
With snow and lots of activities, come assist us prepare for the event or
just show up and enjoy the evening.
Kurt Dreger
Park Superintendent
Friends Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon 2008
Next Board Meeting
11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16,
at the Ice Age Center
(All are welcome!)
Treasurer’s Report
As of December 31, 2008
Checkbook balance
$1,155.38
Money Market balance
$29,032.75
Certificate of Deposit
$11,573.80
Back row from left to right: Carol Petersen, Gretchen and Roger Johnson, Rodger
Meyer, Shirley and Jim Hermanek, Fred Brede, Joan and Milt Stanze. Front row from
left to right: Kurt Dreger, Julie Fox, Ken McCarty, Fred Littlefield, Sophia Meyer. Missing: Wally and Avis Carlson, Patti Snell, Dick and Betty Ogren, Bill Perron and Cindy
Stimmler, Mike and Jan Bauer.
Friends of Interstate Park
Page 3
Happy
New Year!
Another year gone bymy how time flies! Let me share with you a few highlights of 2008, and a few
predictions for 2009:
Candlelight Night of ‘08: Cold, colder, coldest. You expect an outdoor winter
event to be cold—and some Candlelight Nights have been colder than others—but last year had to be the coldest yet. Subzero temperatures and a howling wind with resulting wind chill kept all but the hardiest at home. The hardy
included ten dedicated volunteers who helped make the event possible for few
participants. “Why not cancel?” you might wonder. In my experience if you
schedule it, they will come. So as long as we have staff and volunteers willing
to brave the snow and cold, the show will go on. Join us this year on Valentine’s
Night for added fun with horse-drawn wagon rides and live music. Dress
warmly!
Special events, programs and speakers: We were fortunate in 2008 to have an
exceptional number of guest presenters, many of them local, provide some new
and unique program opportunities to park visitors.
Spring: In March local Johnny Anderson presented a Purple Martin workshop.
Our Spring Gathering of Friends in April provided both children and adults a
hands-on opportunity to learn more about Wisconsin amphibians from local
Randy Korb. Also in April we had an introduction to eBird presented by Andy
Paulios with the WDNR. And, of course, there were the popular Morning Bird
Walks in May led by local Robin Maercklein of the National Park Service.
Summer: In June the UW-Madison Universe in the Park folks were back with
an excellent program followed by a hands-on stargazing session with their
amazing telescope. Summer evening programs about the St. Croix River and
kayaking were provided by local St. Croix National Scenic Riverway staff.
Fall: In September WDNR Wildlife Specialist Chris Cold presented an excellent program about Wisconsin’s Black bears at the Friends Autumn Potluck
& Program. Due to popularity and high demand not one, not two, but three
workshops about edible mushrooms were provided by local Leslie Jo Meyerhoff
in September and October. Also in October, a rapt audience listened as local
Chet Anderson shared his experience of hiking the entire Appalachian Trail.
And to cap off the year, the Haunted Forest Trail of Ghouls provided park visitors with a new opportunity—to get scared silly on a guided hike on the Skyline
Trail. Planned and presented by local Greg Jacobs with the help of many local
volunteers, the fun event was a successful fundraiser for both the St. Croix Falls
Public Library and the Friends of Interstate Park.
Predictions for 2009: Although it will be hard to beat the number and variety
of extra events, workshops and guest speakers we had this past year, I predict
Continued on next page
Calendar of Events
Nature Storytime
Thursdays through March at
10:00 am in the Ice Age Center
for Pre-K children and parents.
Please share insert with others or
post at daycare, church or school
as appropriate.
Snowy Saturdays
Guided Snowshoe Hikes
An introduction to basic snowshoe skills followed by a guided
hike. Snowshoes available for
ages 6 & up. Dates to be announced as snow conditions
permit. Check local newspapers
and radio stations or call the park
at 483-3747.
Saturday, February 14
Valentine’s Candlelight Night
6:00-9:00 pm: trails and horse
drawn wagon rides begin at the
Camp Interstate Shelter across
from the South Campground
entrance. Live music by The
Harvesters, warming fires and
refreshments. See insert for more
information.
Tuesday, March 24
FIP Board Meeting
11:00 am at the Ice Age Center.
Tuesday, April 28
Friends of Interstate Park Spring
Gathering at the Ice Age Center
6:30 pm Kids Birding Program
7:00 pm Free Refreshments
7:30 pm Adult Birding Program
with Carrol Henderson
Add
ress
Serv
ice
Req
ues
ted
ty for kids to earn collectable patches.
In the new program there are nine
different patches featuring Wisconsin
state symbols.
In the next few months I will continue
my work on the statewide committee for “Get Outdoors! Wisconsin”, a
new program of the Wisconsin State
Park System striving to reconnect
our visitors with Wisconsin’s natural
and cultural resources. The program
is designed to facilitate the child-nature connection through materials,
activities, and events. Families will
be encouraged to explore the natural
environment of our properties and the
“nearby nature” at home.
And finally, I plan to have two new
program opportunities ready and set to
go for our summer park visitors: the
Nature Storytime “Grad” program for
children ages 6-10, piloted last August; and a park geo-caching program
utilizing GPS units purchased by the
Friends for visitors’ use. It’s going to
be so much fun!
Another new program to look forward
to is the Wisconsin Explorers (WE)
program for kids. It’s a fresh approach
to the Junior Ranger/Wisconsin Explorer program that has, for more than
20 years, encouraged kids and adults
Photo: Angie Lundin
that we will have some encore presentations from Randy Korb, Robin
Maercklein, Leslie Jo Meyerhoff and
Greg Jacobs again this year.
Randy Korb “Calling All Frogs”
to explore the properties of our State
Park System together. Improvements
include more booklets which are now
designed for kids in a range of ages
instead of grades including a preschool
booklet, and more active, hands-on
activities. The booklets will also be
available on the Internet in pdf format.
What hasn’t changed is the opportuni-
There’s so much to look forward to in
2009. I hope one of your New Year’s
resolutions is to spend more time outdoors exploring the nearby nature of
Interstate Park.
Julie Fox
Natural Resource Educator