Now let me tell you something, it continually surprises me how much people, yes and I do really mean me, who have no idea what is happening in their own backyard. So as I drive on Highway 54 heading towards New London, between Northport and New London, you see a sign that says Wilderness Springs and you wonder what it is, and maybe even ask around however it doesn’t quite resonate with me, because why would it, I am not a fisherman. Turns out that it is a very cool place, and talk about living a dream. Kathy Foster’s Dad, Reverend Wally Lange first began the business back in the 60′s with 4 ponds and it has now grown to 30 ponds and hatching over 30,000 trout per year, and even I know that’s a lot of trout. Kathy and her husband Mike have worked the business while raising their 4 children and working full time. Imagine how great it is to hear from folks when they come to fish, that they fished there as children and are now coming back with their children and even their grandchildren. They are open for public fishing from May through September 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. They are located at N4923 Lange Drive New London, WI , their phone number is (920) 982-2386. The fishing areas are handicap accessible. A fishing license is not required and there are no limits. Bait and tackle are provided or you can bring your own fly rod, or your favorite fishing pole and your favorite lure, no live bait is allowed. Charges apply to trout caught by weight, cleaning is available and packaged and iced at no charge. There is a picnic area, and even your dog is welcome as long as it’s on a leash. The trout are in pure artesian fed ponds. You can check out their website at www.wilderness-springs.com and check out their Facebook page and be sure to click the like button while your their.
Wilderness Springs Trout Farm
May 7th, 2012Memorial Day Celebration
May 5th, 2012
Memorial Day is the milepost we all look for to begin our summer fun, lots of cook outs, boating, camping, motorcycle rides, chasing fireflies, swimming and smores and a lot of other wonderful things that we enjoy. Memorial Day is also a time for us to remember the military men and women who serve all over the world so that we may take part in that freedom. Join the Disable American Veterans Manawa Chapter #53 in celebration and remembrance of those that continue to serve and those that have gone before us. The Memorial Day Activities begin at the Royalton Cemetary at 9 a.m. followed by the Symco Cemetary at 10 a.m. A parade in Manawa is at 11 a.m. come on downtown and see the pride on the faces of our Veterans and show them we support them.
Good things are happening in Manawa!!
May 4th, 2012
It is one of the things I enjoy most about owning my own business, networking and working together with other businesses. It makes me so proud to see people who enjoy doing what they do and the pride and love of community that they express everyday through what they do. I saw one example of this on Facebook recently. Crosscut Solutions and The Flower Pot right here in Manawa are doing a bit of cross marketing with one another. Bring in a receipt from your purchase at The Flower Pot to Crosscut Solutions and vice versa and be entered into a drawing for a free flat of flowers or vegetables. What a great idea. So go out to Crosscut Solutions and see the creative and beautiful things that Amy Starr has to offer and be sure to like them on Facebook. For more examples of creativity stop downtown to see Lori Ferg at The Flower Pot, she has many gift items as well as she is incredibly creative in floral design, check out some of her creations on Facebook and click the Like button while your at it. Do you have weddings, graduations, family gatherings in the coming months? Check out all that Amy and Lori have to offer at their businesses to get your outside and inside spaces looking beautiful.
Remington’s Quality Foods is celebrating!!
April 27th, 2012
Remington Quality Food’s right here in Manawa is celebrating their 5 year anniversary, starting next week. These are the moments to celebrate in our community, Dean and Wendy brought a grocery store back to Manawa after we had not had one for almost a year. Such a monumental task at the time, and they really are such a cornerstone of our community and work to preserve this small town way of life that we all appreciate and cherish. So to celebrate there will be free cake, coffee and kool-aid offered all week long, along with many other tasty samples. On Wednesday May 2nd, there will be a chicken brat demo and a visit from Cooper the Gold n Plump chicken. On Friday May 4th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., there will be a Kornucopia popcorn demonstration, and at 5 p.m. Dave & John will be there with Flavor 8 soda, you may remember we did a blog post a few weeks ago about them and their sodas. On Saturday May 5th, the American Legion Manawa Post 226 will be passing out free flags while they last, there will also be a Brat Fry from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and in Wisconsin, there isn’t just about anything more American than the Flag and a Brat Fry. For Sunday May 6th from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. our neighbors from Dupont cheese will be at Remington’s offering samples of their fine cheese, and let me just say fresh Colby cheese from Dupont is a very fine thing indeed, you can check out more about their cheese at www.duponcheeseinc.com. So come on out next week and help Dean and Wendy and the friendly staff at Remington’s Quality Foods celebrate 5 years in our community, stop by and let them know how much we appreciate them!
Get “hands-on” at Lindsay House Bed & Breakfast
April 24th, 2012
How would you like to trade some work for a 2 night stay with all the perks of a paying guest? It’s spring time in Central Wisconsin and it’s “project time” around here. There are flower beds to be spruced up and cleaned out, weeds to be pulled, plants to be moved. Even a few “light repair” type projects can be had. What is your expertise? Perhaps we have a project that is suited to your expertise, or to get your hands dirty doing something a bit different. Either way, it’s a wonderful time to be working outside and a beautiful time in Central Wisconsin, especially for a 2 night stay! Enjoy working for your 4 hour time slot, and then the rest of your time is your own. There will be a snack each afternoon for you to partake at your leisure, and a full breakfast each morning, and access to the coffee bar just outside your bedroom door 24/7. Call today to arrange your “Gardening Getaway”!
Waupaca Fine Arts Show
April 11th, 2012
Waupaca County is a very large artisan county. Many potters, painters, fabric arts, quilters, glass and metal artisans call Waupaca home. Not only for it’s beauty but also for the vibrant art scene as well. Here is just one more example of that. Opening Sunday April 29th from 1 until 7 and running until the following Friday May 4th. Their opening night premier is on April 30th from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. , there will be appetizers, a cash bar and music from 3 Clowns/No Circus. Enjoy an evening of art and contemplation. The artists are from the Upper Midwest, Wisconsin and also our local area. For additional information visit their website at www.fineartsfestival.org or contact Bill & Lee Schultz at 715-258-5060 for more information. This is what is known as a “juried show”. Which if I understand correctly, a juried show means there is a committee that is choosing the art for the show. So there is a selection process and the art you will see at this particular show is from professionals to students and in between. So come to the Waupaca Expo Center and enjoy a taste of the Waupaca Art scene, and once again immerse yourself in one more reason people love Waupaca County.
Treasures of the Past Appraisal Fair
April 5th, 2012
Please sign up to have a family heirloom or collectible or some other antiques appraised. This is shaping up to be another wonderful community event to not only participate in but to also come on out with friends and family and watch all the action surrounding the appraisal fair. Mark Moran has been doing these for many years and tells us that not only is the turn out wonderful, a good time is had by all that participate and attend. There will be refreshments and food , as well as John Gunnell will be there to do some slimmed down auto appraisals. Here are just a few of the comments that Mark has received over the years.
“Mark Moran did an exceptional job at our Antique Appraisal event. The history and bits of information he included made it educational as well as entertaining. Regardless of the monetary value, he made each piece important and we heard many wonderful stories. Mark was professional, yet he made us all feel as if we were right in our own living room. We had barely started the program when an audience member asked when we were going to do it again! I would highly recommend Mark’s Antique Appraisal event.
“Our Friends group, who sponsored the event, were very pleased with Mark and the rave reviews from the community. Thanks Mark … we’ll see you again soon!”
Land O’ Lakes Public Library
My town responded enthusiastically to the Antiques Appraisal Event and we plan to do it again in 6 months or so! Mark Moran was very pleasant to deal with and his knowledge of the subject matter should be obvious from his credentials. I want especially to pass on that I appreciated how respectful he was with the public about their treasures, whether they were worth anything monetarily or not (most aren’t). People went away feeling satisfied and enriched by the stories they heard. We are a small public library who can’t afford many programs, and this one was definitely worth choosing.”
Baldwin, Wis., Public Library
Gunner’s Great Garage April Seminar
April 4th, 2012
It is certainly a feather in our cap, to have John Gunnell of Gunner’s Great Garage in our Community. He is so knowledgeable and has his ear to the ground and his finger on the pulse of what is going on in the world of collector cars. He is presenting Lake Speed, Jr. this Saturday April 7th from 9 a.m. until noon. The topic will be the best oils for collector cars. Lake comes from a background in stock car racing, his Dad was a well known NASCAR driver. He has a lot of information to share regarding the new motor oil specs and how classic car owners and high performance car owners should approach the new oil specifications that were introduced in late 2011. Lake Speed Jr’s seminar at Gunner’s Great Garage will answer these puzzlers and a whole lot more. Circle April 7th on your calendar and come on out to the seminar. Please RSVP if possible by calling 715-281-5925 or emailing Gunnellj@TDS.net.
Our Logo gets a life!
April 3rd, 2012
We are so excited to introduce our logo to you. It has been a long time coming, I really never thought much about having a logo, until recently. I thought it was a lot ado about nothing, branding statements, logos, a consistent business presence. I had heard about all of those things from PR people and marketing folks, in webinars and general conversation, but was sure you could thrive in business without them. I’m sure people still can, however we decided to tap into the design talents of Shawn Buchholz at Carbon Freckle. Shawn has designed rack cards and business cards and all without the benefit or addition of a logo. So I went to see her and told her what our thoughts were and our branding statement was and told her to come up with a design. We received our first proof and I really liked it, had some tweaking along the way, and now our logo has a life! Some business owners like to handle all aspects of their business, designing logos and coming up with their branding statements, and such. I have always been of the mind that people have God given talents that far exceed what I can do, and that I as a business owner should tap into that when I can. Shawn works with us, and is so good at making it a collaborative effort, we are so fortunate to have her and her business here in our community. So thank you Shawn for bringing our logo to life!
Lessons from the Art
March 30th, 2012
In one of our neighboring communities, Iola, there is a fun and artistic place and lots happening within it’s walls. Lessons From the Art grew out of a need that was seen in the Community by it’s owner Tammie Jo Berg. Lessons from the Art offers music lessons, voice lessons, art classes and a really cool idea “Picasso parties”. How fun would it be to get together with a group of friends and create pieces of art. They offer these “arty party’s” for groups of 6 to 15 for $8 per person. What a great idea to offer for groups of girlfriends, children’s parties, even a group of teens to get together and be creative, or a group of “red hatters” to enjoy time with one another. Registration must be done a week in advance as they need time to pull together the materials. On their website http://lessonsfromtheart.com, they give suggestions such as button art, canvas creations, shoe art, tie dye shirts ( come on now, who doesn’t remember tie dye), t-shirt rugs, however you are not just limited to these, custom arrangements can be made. They have their schedule up for Art classes for the month of April so check them out. Waupaca County is a very large artisan county and this is just one more example of that. Lessons from the Art has also offered several day long retreats for women, some time to reflect and reconnect with not only yourself but others as well. Stay tuned for more on this wonderful and innovative place, but for now, check out their website and see how to get yourself plugged into the Artist community that is Waupaca County.
Romance….Manawa style!
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