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May 27, 2009

Eastman native is state’s newest Alice in Dairyland

Cheryl O’Brien, of Eastman, a 2004 graduate of Prairie du Chien High School and Eastman native, begins her reign Monday, June 1 as the state’s 62nd Alice in Dairyland.

O’Brien was named to the post at a banquet in Burlington Friday evening, May 15, as the culmination of a three days of activity for the six candidates.

The first day, she said, the candidates did interviews. On the second day they went on agri-business tours in Racine County to get acquainted with what Alice would be doing. That evening at dinner, the candidates responded to impromptu questions. "It gives the judges," said O’Brien, "an opportunity to see how well the candidates think on their feet." One of the questions required that the candidates respond to a hot topic in agriculture. On Friday, candidates toured another agri-business. That evening, each candidate presented a three-minute speech relating to some part of the agri-business tours. That, she said, was the last tool the judges used in determining the next Alice.

Competing for the title requires time and effort, O’Brien said: "There’s a lot of preparation that goes into it." This was O’Brien’s second year of competition. She was a finalist last year as well. At that time, she said, she was graduating from college and had a job while learning and competing for Alice. "That," she said, "was tough."

This year, she felt more pressure and wanted everything to be perfect this time. Once she got to the end of it, however, "I thoroughly enjoyed meeting people and connecting with the other contestants," she explained.

Although she knows it will be a challenging year, with a lot of travel, O’Brien is looking forward to it. "I want to enjoy the whole year in promoting ag and helping people understand their connection to agriculture, "she said.

O’Brien is amply qualified for the job. She grew up showing dairy animals and working on her family’s dairy farm. She was actively involved in 4-H and the Crawford County Junior Holstein Association, and is a former county Dairy Princess.

One of the areas she is expecting to promote is "Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin," which provides for local farmers and agri-businesses to explore new ways to market their products and encourage people to buy locally.

Another item about which she is excited is  Something Special for Wisconsin, a directory of all farmers and agri-businesses certified with the state that at least 50 percent of their ingredients or products come from Wisconsin.

Because her one-year term as Alice in Dairyland is a full time public relations commitment, she has submitted a letter of resignation to WISN-TV/DT in Milwaukee where she was an assignment editor. The daughter of Allen and Michele O’Brien of Eastman, she graduated with honors from UW-Milwaukee in 2008 with degrees in journalism and communications. Because she needs to be close to the central offices in Madison, O’Brien plans to move in with her older sister Wendy, who lives in Middleton. O’Brien’s younger sister, Darci, just completed her sophomore year at UW-Milwaukee.

Although she would have enjoyed attending the Crawford County Dairy Breakfast June 6, she will be unable to do so because of commitments elsewhere. "They have me scheduled for two different events the same day as ours," she said, "and my dad was kind of sad about that." She added, however, that she was sure there would be other opportunities to visit Crawford County during her term. "I know there have been a lot of people back home supporting me."

"The job of Alice," she said, "is to be out there promoting the ag industry, and I’m really excited to get out there and do that. Agriculture in Wisconsin is a $51.5 billion industry."

Bark, Chambers top Seneca grads

O’Brien is Crawford County’s second Alice in Dairyland. The first on was Stephanie Binversie from Wauzeka, the state’s 42nd Alice.

Hillary Bark and Kaitlin Chambers are graduating at the top of the class from Seneca High School.

Hillary Bark, the daughter of Al and Maryann Bark, is the Valedictorian.

She plans to attend UW- River Falls for Pre-Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science for a career as a veterinarian.

Her awards and accomplishments include:

DAR award Winner, 2009 First Team Academic All- Conference, FFA president, National Honor Society, High Quiz team captain, yearbook editor, SHARE Youth leadership, school play, softball 2008 First Team All Conference, basketball 2009 Honorable Mention All Conference, volleyball two year letter winner, Fraternal Order of the Moose-Youth Awareness Program, Crawford County dog project, Happy Hi-Liters 4H Club leader.

Salutatorian Kaitlin Chambers is the daughter of Russell and Julie Chambers.

She plans to attend UW- La Crosse for Pre-Med.

Kaitlin has been active in:

SHARE Youth Leadership, National Honor Society, FFA, volleyball and basketball, PALS, school play, forensics, yearbook editor.

She has also been awarded a Women’s Sports Advocates of Wisconsin award.

The Voyageur to be unveiled Saturday, May 30

Voyageur canoe rides, voyageur songs, and a performance by Michael Douglass portraying a French Voyageur will make the Saturday, May 30 unveiling of ‘The Voyageur’ a day to remember.

This fourth statue to be placed in the Mississippi Sculpture Park on St. Feriole Island is the gift of Patrick and Janet Leamy, who have donated the other three statues as well.

"We wanted to do something unique and lasting for Prairie du Chien," says Janet Leamy in explaining why she and her husband, Pat, have donated almost $400,000 to the Mississippi Sculpture Park on St. Feriole Island.The money has been used for park startup costs and to purchase the statues.

Pat and Janet Leamy both grew up in the area. Janet lived in Eastman until she was 13; then the family moved to Prairie du Chien—right next door to Pat and his family. The two were married a year after high school graduation. "There was nothing here to make a living," said Janet, so they moved to Madison. Madison, she said, is a good city, and they made a good living, but they wanted to return to Prairie du Chien. As soon as they retired, they moved back.

"We wanted to do something for Prairie du Chien," she said, "but we had no clue." Then she saw an article about Florence Bird and her proposal for a sculpture park. Janet has always been interested in sculpture, so she talked to Florence, viewed her work and realized she wanted to be part of the project.

Last summer the Leamys had issued a challenge, offering to donate the fourth statue if funds were raised independently for two more—statues of John Lawler and Emma Big Bear.

Janet said about half the necessary funds have been raised for each, and the state of the economy makes it difficult for people to make contributions. She and Pat did not want to project to stagnate, so they went ahead with The Voyageur.

"I’m really tickled about this statue," she said of the Voyageur. When their grandsons were little, she explained, she and Pat brought them to Rendezvous, and they were so captivated they came back every year. By coming to Rendezvous, the grandsons forged ties with their relatives in Prairie du Chien, and sometimes there would be 40 people grouped around a campfire at night. The grandsons are now 24 and 26 years old and are still coming to Rendezvous.

Florence Bird, the sculptor who has created all the statues in the park—and maquettes, or models of future statues—says of the Leamy contributions:

"I would like to recognize the great gift that Leamys have given to the community. Other contributions have been so very appreciated; however, the amount that Leamys have contributed has far surpassed all of the rest. I primarily wanted to express a profound gratitude for their continued sponsorship of the sculpture park." Each statue, Bird says, is costs nearly $80,000, with the greatest expense being the bronze casting.

"These bronze statues," she continued, "will last for literally thousands of years, teaching many generations to come the stories of this heartland of America.

"With this fourth sculpture being installed in the park, I believe that the wonderful story will begin to unfold about the very diverse cultural heritage of Prairie du Chien and the confluence region where the two great rivers have provided the crossroads for so many people from so many places to meet. "

Saturday events

Sugar Creek Bible Camp has loaned two voyageur canoes. One will be set up at the Sculpture Park as part of a display depicting a voyageur campsite. Mark Cupp, director of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway Board, and members of the Sugar Creek Bible Camp staff will give free rides in the other one from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Those interested in getting a ride should look for the signage at the northwest side of the Washington Street bridge.

The actual unveiling ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. Michael Douglass, director of Villa Louis, will portray a French Voyageur, and MIchael Rangel will entertain with authentic voyageur songs. The Long Rifles Buckskinners will do the unveiling.

Sponsors for the event are the Mississippi Sculpture Park and the Prairie du Chien Parks and Recreation Department.

May 25, 2009

No paper Memorial day