A Historical Bike Ride

I don’t remember where I first read about the Library Bike Ride. However, I wasn’t too keen on going at first because helmets were required. I don’t own a bike helmet…I barely have a bicycle. Then at book club last month, Angela our moderator, was telling us she had to go on the bike ride this year and the cool places they went last year. This really got my interest piqued and I set off on trying to find a helmet. Luckily, my nephew’s fit me. When the night of the ride rolled around, I dusted off the cobwebs off the hubby’s bicycle, loaded it in the escape, and headed to Little Chute.

The way the bike ride was planned, we would ride to 5 different historical spots in Little Chute or Kimberly where the head curator from the History Museum at the Castle would tell us the history of the location. In all we would bike about 5 miles. It didn’t seem to bad and really wasn’t except for the few hills.

Our first stop was the site of the Treaty of Cedars on the edge of Little Chute. This is the approximate site of where the Indians and the US Government signed a treaty where the Menominee Indians ceded much of the northeastern part of the state to the US Government. The 4,000,000 acres included the present day cities Marinette and Wausau to the north, Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids to the West, and Appleton and Oshkosh to the South. It was called the Treaty of Cedars because the spot on the Fox River had Cedar Trees.

Our second stop was the War Memorial in front of the Village Hall in Little Chute. Here we learned about Jacob Coppus and how he lost his life in WWI. Jacob was part of the All Kansas Unit that fought a hard battle on Halloween across in Germany. Many lives were lost some to friendly fire because of all the rounds being shot. I probably should have taken notes to get the entire story but I didn’t even think of it.

Our third stop was Island Park and the start of the Heritage Parkway Trail in Little Chute. Here we learned about Arnold Verstagen who was a Dutch settler that built a mill along the Fox River almost directly across the river from where we were standing. Arnold wrote letters to his father-in-law describing his initial impression of the area once he settled here as well as his plans for the mill. We were told all of his letters are for sale in the Windmill in town.

While at this stop we also learned about the bridge standoff between Outagamie County and the Village of Little Chute. During the 1950s, Outagamie County and Little Chute were at odds at who was supposed to operate the draw bridge over the Fox River. There were several industrial sites that relied on the bridge to get trucks to and from the businesses. The county said Little Chute was responsible and the Little Chute said the County was responsible. The bridge was left in the down position stalling several tug boats while they figured it out. Neither side would budge and eventually they went to court to determine who was to operate the bridge. It was determined that Little Chute would operate the bridge. Both the mill and the bridge are long gone but the historical society had pictures of both that they passed around.

Our fourth stop brought us into Kimberly. After a bit of an adventure crossing the street, we stopped at a random parking lot on xxx street. Here we learned about the company town. Although Kimberly didn’t quite fit the exact definition of a company town, it was built for Kimberly-Clark workers. They could rent or build a house to company standards. We saw a picture of all the houses being one of two designs. On
xxx Street, one of the houses still resembles the old style. Although there wasn’t much to see, it was interesting to learn how and why Kimberly was founded.

Our last stop of the evening took us to Holy Name Catholic Church which is celebrating it’s 110th Anniversary. The Church itself was built in the 1950s by the same architect who build Valley Fair Mall but the parish was around much longer. It was established as part of the company town. It would have been interesting to go inside.

It was a nice night for a bike ride. I wish the stops were a little more interesting. I like history but bike to stops and talk about things that are no longer there wasn’t overly thrilling. I want to be able to see what you are talking about it. I know the History Museum has other walks and bike rides, I may check out another one besides the asylum walk in November that I am already going on. Hopefully they do this again next year so I can learn more about these little communities.

And the best part of this ride it was FREE!!! Gotta love free programs from the library. And who said libraries aren’t needed anymore?

#755 Learn the Hula

Once again Facebook gives me a new adventure or at least pointed me in the direction of one. Scrolling through my feed last week, I saw that the Appleton Public Library was going to host a belly dancing class the next night. Even though it sounded like fun, the time wasn’t convenient. However, I did go look at the library’s website and found out that they were having a Polynesian Dance class the following Tuesday. This sounded like more fun and Danielle agreed to come with me.

I was really hoping they would teach us the hula not realizing that the hula is Polynesian Dance. I never thought I would learn to hula in the basement of a library instead of a warm sandy island. I knew this was my chance and I was going to grab it.

When we got to the library, the ladies from Marsha’s School of Dance said they would show us a dance and then teach us a simple dance. I said I had 2 left feet and she said by the end I’d have a right and left. I wasn’t convinced. She said all we had to do was count to four.

The dancers were very good but it didn’t look THAT hard. Then it was our turn. They were going to teach us a basic Hula that when in Hawaii they perform at 95% of Luaus so you had a good chance of actually knowing the dance if you got to the islands.

First we had to learn the basic steps. There were really only 3 basic steps… a side step, a sway, and a swirl. Your waist is the water line… everything below the waist represents the water and moves and everything about the waist is the land and isn’t supposed to move except for your arms which tell the story. It also helps to keep your feet shoulder width apart and slightly bend your knees. My biggest problem was taking small steps. I wanted to take big steps. We learned the steps by lining dancing to a Beatle’s song.

After we learned the steps, we were taught the hand motions. The motions were relatively easy. I know I still don’t remember them on my own but when watching one of the dancers I had them down pretty good. We were taught The Hukilau Hula Dance. It is a story about fishing and the hand motions tell the story. Once we had the hand motions down, we put it all together and actually danced the hula.

                         

This is the dance we learned

It was a fun class. I don’t think I would have gone alone. Now I can say I’ve danced the hula. I would love to keep practicing. Maybe I will watch the You-Tube video until I have it down pat and then when someone pays my way to Hawaii, I can show off my talent.

3989. See the Galloway House in Fond du Lac

One day I was talking to my mom and she mentioned she wanted to go to the Galloway House in Fond du Lac. I told her I have wanted to go there but never have gotten around to going. She convinced my dad to go and we met in Fond du Lac for lunch and then to visit the Galloway House and Village.

The Galloway House and Village is a historical site ran by the Fond du Lac Historical Society. The House is the original Galloway Family home and the village is comprised of other buildings from around the county. The village has many buildings you would typically find in a late 1800s, early 1900s village. Each building contains artifacts specific to that business so you can get see what life was really like. Except for the Galloway House, all the other buildings are part of a self-guided tour. There is a tour guide that tells about the mansion.

When we got to the village, I was a little skeptical. There were no cars in the parking lot and the buildings looked run down. It turned out that they weren’t quite open yet because the volunteers for the morning shift never showed up. Normally they are open 10-4 on Sundays and the one volunteer was hoping the 1:00 volunteers would show up. While we were browsing the main building, another couple walked in and they decided to open.

You can actually start the tour in the museum which has artifacts from before Wisconsin was a state up through at least the Vietnam War. It was crowded and not that spectacular. Mom and I had a good laugh about the baby bassinets wondering which one we should get for my brother or if they could use a diaper washer.

There were a lot of random artifacts such as this kraut fork…

or an airplane of sorts....

a police motorcycle...

or maybe this old fire box

After we checked out the museum, we started to explore the village. Some of the buildings were more exciting than others. I wish they were a little more interactive.

I did have fun sitting in school

Playing in the toy shop

And working in the print shop

About halfway through the village, we came to the Galloway House. At first I wasn’t sure it was open because all the doors were closed. However, the lights were on so I checked it out. Of course it was open… it just had the AC going. What a glorious feeling on a hot day.

The Galloway house was home to the Galloways who were prominent dairy farmers in Fond du Lac and later statesmen and furniture sellers I believe. The house started out as a small tree trunk cabin and ended up as the mansion today with 3 additions added on over the years.

Original Cabin

Our tour guide was very informative explaining the history of the house, the Galloways, as well as some of the unique features in the house including the intercom system. After explain the rooms downstairs, we headed up stairs to see the bedrooms. Edwin P Galloway, who was the last Galloway to live in the house, had his own room and all the toys in his room were his actual toys growing up as a boy. Before he died, he would sit on the front porch and tell visitors about growing up in the house. That would have been interesting to hear.

Original Carpet with G for Galloway in it

After leaving the house we continued to tour the village. However, we didn’t pay too much attention to the map and missed several buildings including the Mill, the Caboose, and the Smithy. Apparently all these buildings were behind the carriage house. I should have looked at the map more carefully. I want to go back tell them I missed all these buildings, and ask if I can get a refund. To be honest, we never saw them or a path leading to them. I kind of saw the farm but I wasn’t sure if it was part of the village or just storage.

Apparently there were scavenger hunts too. I saw the sheets after we were done. I would love a good scavenger hunt. Maybe then we wouldn't have missed all those buildings.

The hubby asked if it was worth $10 and I said if we didn’t get to go in the house, probably not but the house alone was worth the $10 admission charge. I do hope I get back one day to see the rest of it. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon with Mom and Dad.

A Sunday Morning Adventure

Mom ordered this Wisconsin Travel guide and was telling me about Lakeside Park in Fond du Lac with the lighthouse and train. She was mainly telling me about it so my brother could take my nephew but I was interested it in seeing the lighthouse. I like lighthouses, especially ones you can climb. When I heard that I could climb this one, I wanted to go.

Mom made plans with me to meet them in Fond du Lac for lunch and then go to the Galloway House. I thought I would stop at the lighthouse on the way home. Once mom found out that there was an A&W in Fond du Lac, she wanted to go there for lunch. Well A&W and the lighthouse are 2 minutes apart. It was much easier for me to stop there on the way to lunch.

I knew there was a going to be a car show at the park from my research but what I didn’t know was the lack of parking. I almost had a spot right by the lighthouse but I thought it was too good to be true and passed it up. I ended up walk ½ mile back to the lighthouse which was fine since I need to get my steps in anyways.

The lighthouse was built in 1932 at the southern end of Lake Winnebago. It is a small lighthouse -- 40 feet. There are only about 60 steps to go up to the top.

 A little motivational graffiti

Visitors can climb the lighthouse free of charge from 8 AM – Sunset from April to October When I drove past there were several people on the observation deck but by the time I walked back to it, I was the only one on top. There is a nice view of Lake Winnebago and the surrounding area. 

On the walls there are a few pictures describing the history of the lighthouse and area. It isn’t much but there really doesn’t need to be.

After climbing the lighthouse, I wander through the car show.  There were a good number of cars. However being married to the hubby for all these years, I have learned to hone in Fords…especially Mustangs. I like all cars especially different looking ones. While there were plenty of cars that I like to look at, there were only a handful of Fords. While I enjoyed the car show, it would have been nice to share it with someone. Maybe once the hubby cuts back on umping, we can go to the car show together.

Since I still had time before I had to meet mom and dad for lunch, I continued to explore the park. I found a covered bridge that lead to the petting zoo.

There were a couple of deer in a pen to the left. I didn’t check out the rest of the petting zoo because I got sidetracked by the railroad tracks.  

They went through a tunnel and I thought that was cool. The train is a small train that went around the perimeter of the petting zoo. 

Then I saw the carousel. If I had my nephew, I probably would have rode it but I might have gotten funny looks if I ask for 1 ticket to ride the carousel.

There also was another little kiddie ride. Each ride was 1 ticket and each ticket was a dollar. You could also rent paddleboats and canoes.

I spent about an hour in the park climbing the lighthouse, wandering through the car show, and exploring. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday morning. I wish I had more time to rent a paddle boat or something. Maybe one day I will get back and rent one. I do like adventures by myself but there do sometimes have downfalls like not being able to rent a paddleboat. Alas, until the next adventure…