lb - Community Shoppers, Inc.

More documents

Recommendations

Info

COUNTYLIVING HEATHER NOEL NELSON/ FOR WALWORTH COUNTY SUNDAY At right, runners get ready at the starting line of last weekend’s Turkey Trot to benefit the Friends of Big Foot Beach State Park in Lake Geneva. Below, Kit Kocha of Burlington holds her medal for being the top junior female finisher in the mile run. We approached this as the trip of a lifetime. Three friends and I had been planning this fly-in Canadian trip to experience the remoteness of fishing on a lake not accessible by roads. I am a fishing enthusiast, as opposed to an avid fisherman. Once a year, my wife and I go Up North to catch pan fish and bass. So a trip of this magnitude was like comparing miniature golf to the PGA. There are several options available when planning a Canadian fishing trip. We settled on something called the American Plan, which included a guide for each boat, shore lunches to be prepared by the guides and breakfast and dinner at the lodge each day. To be honest, I had my reservations. Not only is the American Plan more expensive, it went contrary to my sense of adventure and independence. The American Plan sounded like it was meant for a bunch of aging pansies who couldn’t even clean their own fish, much less cook. And why did we need guides? Shouldn’t we be able to assess the terrain, use our electronics to view the bottom structure and figure out where the fish are? ◆◆◆ Flying over northern Ontario, one sees only wilderness all the way to the horizons — no towns, no homes, no highways. We set down on Trout Lake; a huge body of water stretching over 100,000 acres and dotted with more than 200 islands. With virtually no manmade structures or lights, endless shorelines of black spruce and Jack pine, islands that vary only in size, and areas where boulders reach to within inches of the surface, it quickly became obvious that only a fool would come here without a guide. We arrive ready to fish; tackle boxes filled with expensive state-of-the-art lures which, for the most part, we wouldn’t use. Two boats await us, an Ojibwa guide in each one. My friend Doug and I head for the farthest boat and climb aboard. We figure the four of us and our guides are the only ones in camp, but Marshal, our guide, tells us we are the only ones on the entire lake. The next several days are as exhausting as they are exciting. We wake up with no alarms, put wood in the stove and fight for the bathroom, while accusing each other of snoring. At 7 a.m., an old bell clangs, calling us to breakfast where we plead, futilely, to a young woman who serves us, not to bring so much food. By 8 a.m. we’re on the water, heading out in a different direction each day. We catch and release countless walleye, lake trout and northern pike, some up to 40-inches long. It is thrilling. At midday, we meet up on the lee side of an island, where Marshall and the other guide, Al, quickly and expertly fillet our fish, build a fire and throw enough lard to clog a tunnel into a heavy skillet, where they fry the catch. We wash it down with some Labatt’s beer — surrounded by pristine waters and forests. For a fish fry, it doesn’t get any better. The trip will stay with me till the end of my days. It heartens me to know that there still are places of unspoiled wilderness and beauty, where lakes require no stocking and the native wildlife lives the cycle it always has. I am more complete for having experienced it. I may not be able to see another untamed region of the world that still survives, but, like anything sacred and ethereal, I need to know it exists. Jim Black lives in the village of Walworth. Walworth County Sunday Sunday, November 30, 2008 12A ❖ LIVING PICTURES: The spirit of holiday giving in East Troy. Page 14A SPECIAL PEOPLE SPECIAL PLACES For a short time, nature as intended JIM IM BLACK LACK COMMUNITY COLUMNIST PHOTO COURTESY OF JIM BLACK Jim Black, left, and Doug Mohr with a stringer of walleyes. Running for Big Foot Beach State Park How you help Editor’s note: The Time is Now to Help was founded by a local businessman who knew extreme poverty as a child. With the help of donations from the community, The Time is Now is able to help local residents in need. Dear readers, For the past several years, the Richard H. Driehaus Charitable Trust has offered to match $30,000 in donations to The Time is Now with an additional $30,000. With the extra $60,000, we have been able to help many in need. Every dollar we received goes to helping our neighbors in financial despair. Here’s how the $60,000 was spent: HELP ■ What: The Time is Now can be contacted by mail or online only. ■ Mail: P.O. Box 70, Pell Lake, WI 53157. ■ Online: www.timeisnowtohelp.org. $14,240.55 for rent. We helped many Please see Help page 13A
Place Your Ad Today!! Walworth County Sunday Sunday, November 30, 2008 13A A memorable encounter, and a story never written Fourteen years ago, almost to the day, I was nursing a beer in a Madison tavern. As the late afternoon shadows stretched over the street outside, I paged through my notes from an interview I had just completed with my idol, writer Peter Matthiessen. Deep inside, I knew I would never write the story. Last week — upon hearing that Matthiessen had won the prestigious National Book Award — I pondered the reasons why. The day I interviewed him was not the first time we’d met. A few weeks earlier, I’d seen him speak at Beloit College, where he was teaching creative writing. He was 67 then, his weathered face already creviced from decades traveling the world, first as a commercial fisherman, and later during adventures on the plains of Africa, in the rain forests of South America and on Himalayan peaks. ■ HELP Continued from page 12A people who had received eviction notices bring their rent up to date. $7,727.71 for natural gas. $2,107.14 for water and sewer. $6,665.92 for electricity. $2,629.28 for telephone bills. Some of the people we helped had been living without running water, gas and electricity for months. We prevented many of JOHN OHN HALVERSON ALVERSON PEOPLE WATCHING He dressed as you’d expect such a writer to dress — in a blue work shirt and corduroy sport coat. He talked the talk, too; his New England brogue making every tale seem like something out of “Moby Dick.” Even then he was known for his varied life, starting the “Paris Review” in the days when Ernest Hemingway graced its pages. He wrote nearly 40 books, ranging from novels to groundbreaking essays on nature, to reflections on Zen Buddhism, American Indians and activists like Caesar Chavez. I was an aspiring writer, and he was everything I wanted to be. In the years after, I would come across them from having their utilities disconnected before winter set in. We were able to keep the telephones on for senior citizens living on their own, individuals and families living with illness and the handicapped. $1,044.48 for home repairs to provide families with a safe and healthy home environment. $7,971.50 for food. Our food pantries are able to purchase food through America’s Second Harvest at a substantial discount. With rising food prices, job losses and high gas prices, many that never had to worry about food prices before are now frequenting the food pantries. Many senior citizens were living with insufficient food supplies. Many cupboards and refrigerators were replenished. $2,000 for toiletries. We provided toilet paper, bath soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, diapers, medicines and other everyday necessities. $3,2500 for household necessities which includes things like bed sheets, blankets, towels, pans, dishes, utensils, toaster ovens, irons, laundry detergent and cleaning supplies. those notes from time to time and recall his parting words: “Send me whatever you write.” And, as if to add emphasis, he gave me his home address. As I started to write this column, I searched in vain for those long-ago notes. I doubt anything important has been lost. During our interview, as we sat across from each other in matching cloth chairs in the lobby of a Madison radio station, I was too much in awe to take meaningful notes. And as for writing the story, well, as soon as he asked me to send him a copy, I knew it would never happen. How could I ever write anything worthy enough? Now, 14 years later, Matthiessen is 81. The crevices on his face have grown into riverbeds. He’s written nine more books, including the 900-page novel that won him the National Book Award, and his environmental and liberal activism is legend. As for me, I’m 62, nearly the age he $933.89 for clothing, including winter coats, boots, school clothes and work clothes. Many were referred to our wonderful clothing-assistance organizations. $498 for bedding. $10,931.53 for transportation. Butch’s Automotive in Lake Geneva looks over each car donated to The Time is Now. Some of those we helped had cars that needed repairs they could not afford, while others had late car payments that were brought up to date. We were able to purchase two vehicles for two I still have the two books he autographed that day, but despite my dreams, no book of my own. ‘’ was when we met. I still have the two books he autographed that day, but despite my dreams, no book of my own. We’ve both passed the years in our own ways. But one of us is living a dream while the other is still dreaming. Who’s to say, which one of us is better off? John Halverson is a writer who lives in Lake Geneva. single mothers who had been walking and riding their bikes to work. We provided gas gift cards to people who no longer could afford to drive their cars. Every penny raised was spent on those in desperate need. A special thank you to: Tom and Joyce Roche, Lynda Adas, Margaret Allender, Heidi Hall, Brenda Schneider, Muriel Lake, A<strong>lb</strong>ert and Ellen Burnell, Harry and Phyllis Tiggemann, Ron and Desiree Lipowski and Mary Ann Kopp. SOUND MONEY STRATEGIES FOR AN UNSAFE WORLD Join us for a FREE special educational event Beverly Scheider Registered Investment Advisor and Estate Planner Date: Monday, Dec. 1 or Tuesday, Dec. 2 Time: 3:30 p.m. Place: Mocha Moment, 1121 Center St., Janesville, WI Date: Wednesday, Dec. 3 Time: 5:00 p.m. Place: Just Because Coffee Shop, 3963 W. Riverside Dr., Rockford, IL Reservations are required. LIMITED SEATING! Call 877-268-0223 for your reservation today! We look forward to seeing you there! Are Your Retirement Accounts Down Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars? Are you a victim of a layoff? Please join us for a free educational event to get straight, unbiased facts about what you should be doing with your retirement accounts right now. Topics we will discuss include: ➣ Why leaving money in cash until things “settle down” is usually the worst mistake you can make ➣ Why jumping into the market unprotected right now isn’t the right answer for you either ➣ How you can guarantee your portfolio while positioning yourself to take full advantage when the market finally does turn around ➣ Retirement plan strategies that provide you comfort and peace of mind regardless of what’s happening in the markets ➣ Why you should move your 401K NOW if you have been laid off ➣ And much, much, more... If you are worried at all about your retirement portfolio, then you do not want to miss this program . “Investment Advisory Services offered through JBA Senior Solutions Located at 1050 N. Riverside Dr., Freeport, IL 61032 815.235.1702” 85444
Page 1 and 2: A Publication 120 Wright St., Delav
Page 3 and 4: Place Your Ad Today!! Walworth Coun
Page 9 and 10: Place Your Ad Today!! PERSPECTIVES
Page 11: Place Your Ad Today!! SPORTS & MORE
Page 19 and 20: HOME Place Your Ad Today!! Walworth
Page 21 and 22: IN BRIEF Place Your Ad Today!! Walw
Page 25 and 26: &B SECTION Place Your Ad Today!! Wa
Page 27 and 28: Place Your Ad Today!! BUSINESS Walw

lb - Community Shoppers, Inc.

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?