Hornets’ fans will soon get to view Wauzeka-Steuben football games under Friday night lights.

The long-awaited lights and coming and are expected to be installed by the middle of next week, said Booster President Doug Krachey, who noted that there will be a Friday night football game in Wauzeka towards the end of the season.

"Friday night is when a lot of us feel that high school football should be played," said Krachey, who noted that six light poles will be installed. The light poles will not only illuminate the football field but will also be used for the second game of baseball doubleheaders.

"It’s a big deal," said Krachey. "The last time we had Friday night lights was when we played eight-man football in Village Park." Jerry Ray of Wauzeka said that Wauzeka stopped having lighted football games in the mid to late 1970s.

The lighting project will cost $145,000, with $75,000 coming from contributions that have been raised from several sources. The Wauzeka-Steuben Board of Education recently approved of using District Fund Balance monies of up to $80,000 for the project. Because of the donations, however, the district will only need to contribute approximately $67,000.

The Wauzeka-Steuben Booster Club raised $52,900 through many fund-raisers, concession stand work, and contributions from numerous generous individuals. The Class of 2004 donated $2,000, the Wauzeka Legion and Auxiliary $5,000, L&M’s BP $1,000, Summer Rec Program $10,000, Roth Farms $1,100, Wauzeka Lions Club $2,000, and Kramer Construction and Krachey Engineering $1,000.

The lights were purchased from Musco Green Generation Lighting of Muscatine, Iowa, and Krachey noted that they are top of the line energy efficient sports lights.

"They will only cost about $6.82 per hour to run," he said. "And, they have a 25-year warranty."

The lighting project began about 10 years ago and it is finally coming to fruition. Krachey said that he and many other community members feel that the new lights and Friday night games will add excitement and increase attendance.

He said that attendance dropped off because Saturday afternoon games compete with many other activities such as hunting, weddings, Badger games, farm work, etc.

The new lights and Friday night games in Wauzeka will return an atmosphere meant for high school football, he said.

Lucey historic marker is dedicated in Ferryville

Ferryville native and former Wisconsin State governor Patrick J. Lucey was honored Monday, Sept. 28 with the unveiling and dedication of an historic marker in his honor.

With waterfowl winging their way across Lake Winneshiek in the background, the ceremony attracted scores of guests and visiting dignitaries.

Lucey was elected Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin in 1964, and in 1970 was elected to the first of two terms as governor of Wisconsin.

His accomplishments during that time were many, including the merger of two state university systems in the University of Wisconsin system, overhauling the state’s shared tax formula, instituting campaign finance reform, stricter environmental regulations and progressive energy policies.

Current Governor Jim Doyle spoke at the dedication. Also present were former governors Tony Earl and Martin Schreiber as well as many other dignitaries.

The event was organized by the Ferryville Vision and Promotion Board. Neil Shively was instrumental in creation of text for the marker.

Historic cemetery tour scheduled for Saturday, Oct.3

Much of Prairie du Chien’s early history lies buried—buried in faraway libraries and archives, buried in trunks and attics, buried in unrecorded memories and buried in the cemeteries of this community. Some of that buried history will come to light Saturday, Oct. 3, and all are invited to be part of the discovery.

The Prairie du Chien Historical Society is sponsoring its annual Visiting Your Ancestors: A Tour of Prairie du Chien’s Historic Cemeteries on Saturday, Oct. 3. The tour begins at 1:30 p.m. at the Fort Crawford Museum located at 717 S. Beaumont Road. All will gather at the Museum, then board vans to travel to the six cemeteries.

The French Catholic Cemetery is the oldest cemetery still in existence in the State of Wisconsin and may be the oldest cemetery in the upper Mississippi Valley. Few of the graves are marked, but much is known about the people who are buried there.

St. Gabriel’s Cemetery was begun in 1840 by Rev. Augustin Ravoux, the first permanent pastor of St. Gabriel’s Parish. The earliest graves are unmarked by fine memorial were set for John Lawler, Fathers Galtier and Becker and several mayors of Prairie du Chien.

The land for Calvary Cemetery was donated the same year that Strange Powers donated part of his Farm Lot for the construction of St. Gabriel’s Church and location of the parish cemetery. Perhaps there was a little competition between Powers and Hercules L. Dousman.

Two cemeteries were established within the Fort Crawford Reservation. Today only the officers’ cemetery exists. Burials from 1829 to 1865 present stories of the rich history of the Fort, even a connection back to the American Revolution.

The cemetery located at the southernmost part of Prairie du Chien has had several names: Prairie du Chien Cemetery, Lowertown Cemetery, and Evergreen Cemetery. Some of the earliest businessmen of the community rest here, including for some reason the founder of McGregor, Iowa.

Once accessible to the hardy willing to climb the face of the bluff, the Brisbois Cemetery can now only be entered through private property. Lonely and picturesque, it sums up the history of Prairie du Chien.

These stories and more are part of Visiting Your Ancestors. Upon arriving at a cemetery, all will be greeted by a costumed interpreter. The interpreter will give a short history of the cemetery, then escort all amongst the tombstones, stopping every so often to tell a story about the person or family whose name appears on a stone or lies beneath unmarked ground.

The fee for Visiting Your Ancestors includes admission to the Fort Crawford Museum. For more information, contact the Museum at 608-326-6960. The Fort Crawford Museum is open daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In celebration of the annual fall hawk migration on the Mississippi River, HawkWatch at Effigy Mounds will take place on Saturday, Oct. 3 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sunday, Oct. 4 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. HawkWatch is a free, family-oriented event.

Saturday will begin with an 8 a.m. bird hike with Upper Iowa Audubon’s birding expert Dennis Carter. HawkWatch presentations will be held throughout the day on both Saturday and Sunday. There will be a variety of activities for people of all ages. Raptor programs will be presented throughout the weekend.  Kay Neuman from SOAR (Save Our Avian Resources) will have a live bird display.  There will also be special kids’ activities such as hawk silhouettes on a stick, falconry knot bracelets, owl masks, and a sandbox dig for our bird ancestors-the feathered dinosaurs. The children’s programs will run from 10 a.m. to noon and 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and will also feature a life-size reproduction of an eagle’s nest. 

This year, HawkWatch will feature Bob Anderson, a well-known raptor biologist and reintroduction specialist from the Raptor Rescue Project. Anderson has brought raptors such as the peregrine falcon back from the brink of extinction through years of tireless efforts reintroducing young birds back to their natural range. The Upper Mississippi River was an important part of the peregrine falcon range, and several releases were done right here at Effigy Mounds National Monument at the Hanging Rock Overlook as well as nearby locations such as the very successful Lansing nest site. 

HawkWatch at Effigy Mounds also operates a count site where IDNR staff, Audubon members, staff, and volunteers will be identifying and counting wild migrants as they fly overhead. Typically several hundred migrants are counted each day, including sharp-shinned and Cooper’s hawks; red-tailed, red-shouldered and broad-winged hawks; peregrine falcons; ospreys; eagles; turkey vultures and others. Spotting scopes will be set up around the area and there will be people to assist in using them and identifying the hundreds of hawks flying over the park.

HawkWatch is an annual event that takes place at Effigy Mounds National Monument and all activities are located in or around the visitor center. The monument offers a wonderful museum, hiking trails, lookouts over the Mississippi River, displays emphasizing the 60th anniversary of becoming a national monument,  and, of course, the prehistoric American Indian ceremonial and burial mounds.  Everyone is invited to come to HawkWatch at Effigy Mounds to enjoy the fall colors and celebrate the hawk migration.

For more information, contact the monument at 563-873-3491, www.nps.gov/efmo. Hawk Watch is an annual program put on by local volunteers and it is a great time for people interested in volunteering to sign up for other events.

HawkWatch is co-sponsored by the Upper Iowa Audubon Society, Effigy Mounds National Monument, Eastern National, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Diversity Program and National Audubon’s Upper Mississippi River Campaign. It is powered by the boundless energy of volunteers, and operated on a shoe-string budget — all of which add up to an event filled with enthusiasm and fun.

Charles Dillon of Slidell, La. is certainly not the first to canoe, or attempt to canoe, the length of the Mississippi. He may, however, be the first to make the trip to call attention to hunger in the United States.