Great river adventure ahead for Bagley resident

By Ted Pennekamp

An 84-year-old Bagley resident will soon be launching upon an exciting big river adventure. Ted Noyes, along with a companion or two, will be embarking upon an 1,800-mile journey from Prairie du Chien to Kemah, Texas in his newly remodeled houseboat.

Noyes and his friend Carl Hawkins, 74, will take off from Prairie du Chien on Sept. 10 and will travel down the Mississippi River to the Ohio River. They will follow the Ohio and then take the TennTom Waterway, which Noyes described as a combination of the Tennessee and Tombigbee rivers, to Mobile Bay in Mobile, Alabama. The TennTom Waterway parallels the Mississippi River and is a few hundred miles to the east. Noyes explained that the TennTom is much more friendly for recreational boats than the more industrialized Lower Mississippi River.

Noyes said that he plans to cruise down Mobile Bay, turn west to the Gulf of Mexico and take the Intracoastal Waterway to Galveston Bay, where he will head northwest to Kemah, Texas. He will then dock at a friend's house in Kemah through the winter before taking his houseboat to his winter home on a lake near College Station, Texas. Noyes figures that he will reach Kemah by the end of October. He plans to reverse the trip in the spring of 2008.

Noyes said that Hawkins will be with him for about two weeks. Hawkins will depart and Vernon Young, 60, will join Noyes for the rest of the adventure. Noyes said that he has also been "working on"Rob Irish and Ken Carpenter of Bagley to take the entire trip.

At the halfway point of the trip, the vessel, named "The Bagley Queen"after Noyes' wife of 10 years, Katie, will be joined by Noyes' good friend Phil Buchanan in a sail boat that will run alongside for the completion of the fantastic voyage.

"I've been on the water an awful lot,"said Noyes, who noted that one is never too old to undertake a new adventure. "I love the water.î

In fact, Noyes loves the water so much he has been an avid sailboat sailor for about 50 years and is a charter member of the Brazos Sailing Club in Texas. He recalled one adventure in which he sailed with friends Lori and Lex Harrington from Freeport, Texas to Puerto Sherry, Spain in 1992 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus' Voyage. It took Noyes and the Harrington's five weeks to complete the trip in a 42-foot sailboat.

"That was a great trip,"said Noyes, who noted that they stopped at several ports along the route for supplies.

"I got intrigued with sailing at the Chicago Planetarium when I was 6 years old and a sailboat cruised past on Lake Michigan,"said Noyes. "I've been intrigued with that ever since."

Noyes said that his latest adventure got its start about five years ago when he spied an old houseboat back in the woods near Bagley. The boat, owned by Gary Irish, was falling apart and Noyes asked if he could work on it.

"It needed a lot of tender loving care,"said Noyes, who worked at fixing up the boat for the next two summers. Noyes later purchased the boat and friends from the Bagley area helped him to restore it.

Scott Myhre, who owns Bagley Marine, and Roger Straka, who along with his wife Eileen owns R&E Remodeling, went to work on the boat. "Real nice guys both of them,"said Noyes. "They very much helped on the houseboat."

Noyes said that his sailing buddies in Texas have been giving him a fair amount of good natured flak for embarking upon a voyage in a motorized vessel.

Noyes nevertheless knows that he's in for a great time on the water. "The boat hasn't been in the water yet since I've owned it,"he said. "Hopefully, we're going to launch it in a few days to make sure everything runs right."

"The Bagley Queen"was named after Noyes' wife, Katie, and her high school photograph adorns the sides of the vessel, which was originally manufactured under the brand name "Drifter."

When asked why she isn't joining her husband on the maiden voyage of 
"The Bagley Queen,"Katie said, "That's a man's trip."

Flash flood damages homes in Wauzeka

By Sandy Vold

As threatening skies loomed overhead Wednesday evening, residents of northern Crawford County continued the arduous task of cleaning up their homes and businesses and salvaging what they could. Cleanup efforts will continue for several weeks and damage estimates for businesses, homes and farms has risen from a total of $14 million to $30 million.

"Whoosh, it went through town just like that," said Darleen Johnston of the flash flood which engulfed much of Gays Mills early Sunday morning following heavy rains. Johnston is cleaning up her mud and water-soaked antique shop at 316 Main St. as friends and neighbors continue to help each other throughout the community.

"ItÍs a muddy mess," said Johnston. "But IÍll get it back. IÍve been through a lot in my life." Johnston said that she had been thinking about holding a sale of her antiques for quite some time before the flood. The floor of her store is heavily damaged and the carpeting will need to be removed. Many items that were on the floor may be damaged but most of JohnstonÍs antiques are on shelves and out of harmÍs way.

Johnston said that she was warned of the impending flood by her daughter who called at around midnight with news that she had been displaced from her home by high water and temporarily relocated to a nearby motel. Johnston said that water began filling the streets at about 4 a.m. and rose very quickly.

"I lost everything I own," said Iris Kay who owns a house on Main Street. "IÍm devastated." Kay, along with friends and neighbors were moving numerous damaged pieces of furniture and other items from her home and onto the sidewalk where the items were loaded onto a bulldozer and hauled to a large dumpster at the other end of the street. Kay said that she has flood insurance but that the deductible is really high and she is uncertain about the future.

"Oh, God! It was hell," said Kay. "IÍm feeling very traumatized by this flood. This house was my safe place. I donÍt know if my house is salvagable. I donÍt know whatÍs going to happen."

Kay said that she is very thankful for all of the help of friends and neighbors. As of Wednesday evening, she had saved a few things in plastic bags. Kay, who does crocheting and knitting as a "therapeutic hobby" and for humanitarian aid, said that she lost three fourths of her yarn. "I need yarn," she said. "I do crocheting and knitting to help people in need. I donÍt sell anything that I make." Kay said that she also lost almost all of her clothing including skirts, blouses, dresses and underwear. She has been staying at a friendÍs house.

Eric Abing wasnÍt quite as bad off as other residents of Gays Mills. Abing was pumping out his basement at 326 Orin St. Wednesday evening. The house is owned by AbingÍs father-in-law Jim Chellevold. Chellevold had just finished pumping out the house he lives in nearby.

"We were fortunate," said Abing. "It didnÍt get to the main level. Two more inches and it would have. We were lucky."

Abing, who lives in the house with his wife Jennifer and son Gavin Schell, said that there was 7.5 feet of water in the basement. The Abing family lost two washer and dryer sets, numerous power tools, several appliances, photographs and many other items.

"We didnÍt have time to get it out," said Abing, who noted that the water rose too quickly. He said that he and his family were alerted by firefighters pounding on the door at about 4 a.m. By 6:15 a.m., the water in the street was already more than waist deep, he said. "Then we got out of here," he said in explaining that numerous residents were taken by rescue boats to higher ground where Royal Bank is located. By 4 p.m. on Sunday, the water was over the top of cars parked in his neighborhood, Abing said.

In addition to area residents and volunteers from other communities, those affected by the flooding in Gays Mills, Soldiers Grove, Steuben and other areas have also been helped immensely by emergency personnel from several agencies, the National Guard, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and other organizations.

The Kickapoo Valley Association organized a food drive for nonperishable food items that were collected at several sites in Vernon and Crawford counties.

Also, inmates from the Prairie du Chien Correctional Institution are helping in the cleanup effort.

"We responded immediately Monday," said Corrections Unit supervisor and information officer Chris Kuchinski, who noted that 48 minimum security inmates have helped with the flood cleanup so far. The inmates have been working in teams of six with one correctional officer supervising each team.

By Ted Pennekamp

A leading researcher from the Smithsonian Institution will be spending three days studying the extensive fossil collection of a Prairie du Chien man. Dr. Pojeta, who is very well known in the world of science for his studies on fossil mollusks, is making a special trip from Washington D.C. to the home of Phil Burgess. Pojeta will be joined by fellow researcher Jim DuFoe from Rockton, Illinois.

"My feet havenÍt even touched the ground yet," said an elated Phil, who noted that Pojeta and DuFoe will be studying his collection from Sept. 8 through Sept. 10. Pojeta and DuFoe will be studying some of the finds Phil has made in Crawford County this past decade. Of prime concern to the researchers are a rare type of mollusk fossils known as polyplacophorans, which are animals that were covered with overlapping plates. PhilÍs polyplacophorans are about a half a billion years old and have not previously been found in Crawford County.

"This is a childhood dream come true," said Phil. "Finding something new and getting recognition for it." Only a handful of people nationwide are fortunate enough to get to work with Smithsonian scientists each year.

Phil first became interested in collecting these enigmatic, half-a-billion-year-old fossil marine creatures about eight years ago. He was attending a fossil expo at an Illinois university when he ran across some specimens at a dealerÍs booth, and realized the he had been finding similar material in Crawford County. Phil said that he did not know the significance at that time.

Wanting to learn more, Phil had at first considered going back to college to study these particular fossils, but since there were no universities in the area that offered courses about the topic, he decided that he would teach himself everything he could learn about them.

He obtained special bulletins, books and other publications from the handful of specialists working in the field, and also was able to access a number of helpful websites. By using these tools, plus doing his own fieldwork, Phil was able to become knowledgeable about fossil polyplacophorans. He said that he hopes to contribute new data that will increase the information scientists have about the ancient critters.

Phil said that Dr. Pojeta is considered the worldÍs leading authority on mollusk fossils. Mollusks are a diverse phylum of animals including common forms such as clams and snails. Phil said that the researchers will also be examining his other mollusk fossils, including cephalopods, gastropods and mono-placophorans.

Phil said that Pojeta became interested in his fossils after reading an article about Phil in the Jan. 3, 2007 edition of The Courier Press that was sent to Pojeta by a fossil collector from La Crosse. Phil said that he is amazed that Pojeta wants to study his collection sight unseen. "HeÍs (Pojeta) really critical of his studies and the sources he follows up on," said Phil. "So that really blows me away."

Studying PhilÍs fossils will be a daunting task because Phil has the largest private collection in this part of the Midwest. At more than 100,000 pieces, the collection weighs several tons and is larger than that of most universities.

At 57 years of age, Phil has been collecting fossils and agates for 40 years. He estimates that he has found and unearthed 80 percent of his collection. The remaining 20 percent has been purchased.

He has also been cataloging his pieces for the past 40 years. "It (cataloging) has occupied my spare time," said Phil, who noted that he has cataloged only about 14,000 pieces. "IÍm finding stuff faster than I can keep up with."

Phil has found the vast majority of his pieces within an hourÍs drive of Prairie du Chien in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. The past few years, he has found many in northern Crawford County from 20 different sites.

Finding fossils and hauling them out is hard, rugged work on the steep, rocky slopes of Crawford County and the Driftless Area in general. "These are some of the most inaccessible places in Crawford County," said Phil. "ItÍs very arduous work to get the pieces out."

After hauling the pieces out and getting them back to his house, Phil later preps the pieces by soaking them in bleach and using hand tools such as a diamond-tipped electric chipper for the fine work. He also lets some pieces weather in order to help expose the many fossils embedded in the rock. Many of the fossils that Phil finds in Crawford County are contained in a rock known as Chert.

He said that he finds his sites by driving around and looking for certain types of rocky outcroppings. "Certain outcroppings form a surface expression on the land," said Phil, who has learned to recognize likely sites through many years of experience.

"This area has never been thoroughly studied," said Phil. "IÍm the only person to study this area within the last hundred years."

Phil said that his recent finds of polyplacophorans is the first time that they have been found in the Oneota Dolomite Formation in the state of Wisconsin. Chert is included in this rock formation.

After studying PhilÍs collection, Pojeta will likely write an article in a scientific journal such as "Journal of Paleontology," which Phil has subscribed to for several years along with many other such journals.

Phil also said that he will be making part of his collection available for scientific study, which means that those pieces will become property of the Smithsonian Institution. "I will have to decide what pieces to keep and what to let go," he said. "I donÍt want to part with all of the material."

In addition to collecting, Phil has opened up his home for tours by teachers and students from area schools for many years. Photos and information about some of his collection are also found on websites that are used by college students in their studies.

Digging up and preserving fossils is obviously more than a mere hobby for Phil. "ItÍs an obsession anymore," he said. "ItÍs a huge part of my life."

Now that researchers from the Smithsonian Institution will be studying his collection, PhilÍs world will be expanded even more for the benefit of scientists and the public.