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Medieval craft lives on in Harpers Ferry studio
Most people would not recognize the term 'illuminated letters.' But if you
own a more expensive copy of the Holy Bible, or a well-illustrated copy of a
book of traditional children's fairy tales, you may have seen them. Illuminated
letters are elaborately decorated initials, often done in a beautiful script
that decorate the first word of a sentence on a page. Illuminated letters have
lit up the pages of books since the creation of some of the very first
handwritten manuscripts in 400 to 500 A.D. But you don't have to go to a major
European museum to see them. Marilyn Etchison, a Harpers Ferry area artist,
creates them in her home studio using most of the same materials and methods
that medieval artists used, and sells them. Marilyn and her husband Jim moved to
the area about three years ago from Indianapolis, Indiana, where Marilyn taught
courses in painting and calligraphy at a local university. The more she learned
about the history of illuminated letters the more she wanted to know. "I really
got interested in the history. I started doing a lot of research on it, I wanted
to know how these artists made their paints, what kind of paper they used and
how the books were constructed." So Marilyn took a special course in Texas and
learned many of the hands-on techniques to create her own paints and dyes just
as medieval artists did. Spread out on her studio table are items that bring to
mind ancient potions. Tiny jars of brightly colored raw pigments to mix paints,
a small tablet with pages of real gold leaf, chunks of bark to make dyes and
even pure powdered lead ‹ all the ingredients needed to historically accurate
illuminated initials. The letters are painted on vellum, a very thin piece of
goat skin that was used in place of paper. Etchison mounts a piece of vellum on
a small block of wood, about three inches square. Then she draws the outline of
her letter and the accompanying design on the vellum. Next she paints a base of
jesso, a fixative, on the initial itself in preparation to applying the gold
leaf. The gold adds a special richness to the piece. "People like it. Gold is a
fascinating visual experience," Marilyn says. After the initial is gilded, she
paints the decorative elements on it, such as flower or leaf designs. Finally,
when the piece is complete, she frames them. Everything about them is
hand-crafted. "We make the frames, we make the whole thing ourselves," said
Marilyn referring also to the help she gets from her husband with some aspects
of the work. Etchison does not have an entire alphabet of letters on hand,
however. She noticed immediately that people are more interested in certain
letters. Customers usually buy the letters of their first or last names, or the
initials of friends and relatives as gifts. The letters C, S and J are popular,
but she's never sold and X. While the letters are beautiful to almost any
observer, Etchison recognizes that if people understand a little bit about the
history and the artistry behind them, they have greater significance. "Once
people know what these are, then they are interested," she said. She also feels
a certain connection to those letter artists of the past, most of whom are
unknown, as they were not allowed to sign their work. "We really aren't
separated from those people," she said. "There is a continuity in their work
that ties things together," she adds.
The illuminated letters are not the only type of artwork Etchison does, but
she uses letter arts and calligraphy in other aspects of her painting. She also
makes prints, drawings and watercolors.
But she remains engaged with the history of her craft. She notes that the
letter arts of different time periods vary. "Each time period has a certain
characteristic to it," she says. For example, a letter style known as Carolingen,
was popular during the reign of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor. The
Roman conquerors brought their books and letter forms with them to places like
Ireland, where the famous illuminated manuscript, the Book of Kells, was created
in about the year 900. "It is simply fascinating," Etchison concludes.
PdC City Administrator tenders resignation
On Tuesday, March 15, longtime Prairie du Chien city administrator Gary Koch
submitted a letter of resignation to the city's Personnel Committee. Koch's
impending retirement from the position became official at a special City Council
meeting Tuesday, March 22, when the council accepted his resignation. "I would
like to thank everyone who has made my time as a public servant in Prairie du
Chien so interesting and gratifying," said Koch in an excerpt from his letter. "I
have had a great staff throughout my career here and they have been more
responsible than I for any success our office has experienced. The city
currently has a very good staff, from department heads on down, and it's a staff
you should be proud of and rely on. I would also like to thank the mayors and
council persons I have served. And finally, I would like to thank the general
public for their understanding, support and cooperation." Koch went on to say, "Most
importantly, I would like to acknowledge the sacrifice and support of my wife
Kathy. It's not easy to be the wife of a public official, but when times got
tough, she was my strength and it made our relationship even stronger." "It has
been a great experience, and I look forward to new opportunities in the private
sector and volunteering my time to make the city of Prairie du Chien a great
place to live, work and play." Koch will retire from his position as City
Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer on Friday, Jan. 6, 2006. He said that he was
giving notice now so that the recruitment process to find a replacement can be
done in a timely manner. By giving notice now, it gives the city time to study
its options and to possibly have the new administrator work with Koch for a time
in order to ease the transition, Koch said. "It's a big decision," said Koch,
who noted that employees in the Wisconsin Retirement System can retire at age
55. Koch will be 55 on Jan. 4, 2006. By the time of his retirement, Koch will
have served the city of Prairie du Chien for more than 26 years. He was hired as
the Clerk-Treasurer in 1979. In 1992, Koch became the City
Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer. Koch was the President of the Wisconsin Treasurer's
Association in 1998 and over the years has served on several state committees
and organizations concerned with the functions of clerk-treasurers. Koch
graduated from U.W. La Crosse with a bachelor of science degree in sociology and
came to Prairie du Chien in 1974 to work at Wyalusing Academy, which he highly
recommends, saying it helped give him "a basis for how to deal with all sorts of
people." Koch has lived in Prairie du Chien for 30 years and said that he is not
thinking of moving upon retirement. "I'm certainly not going anywhere. Prairie
du Chien is a very nice place to live," he said.
PdC attorney asks council members to make City Administrator an elected
position
After City Administrator Gary Koch announced his retirement to the Personnel
Committee on March 15, attorney Mark A. Gillitzer of Gillitzer Law Offices of
Prairie du Chien sent a letter to City Council members dated March 18 asking
them to consider making the City Administrator position an elected position.
Gillitzer's letter states in part, "In light of the recent announcement by the
current City Administrator that he is "tentatively" tendering his resignation,
it would be a perfect time to amend the City Code such that the position would
be elected for a two or a four-year term like the county officials." The letter
also states, "Currently, it is next to impossible to remove a city official
because not only does it require a majority of the council vote but it also
requires "good cause" which is obviously open to much interpretation and
litigation since it is undefined." "There is no accountability to the general
public by having the current position structured the way it is and for the
substantial salary that goes with it, all taxpayers should decide who sits in
that position. We currently have many highly qualified elected county officials
which negates the argument that the city would never get a qualified individual
to run for that position. I would also be interested in knowing why ordinance
92-3 was enacted in the first place." The City Council created the position of
City Administrator as an appointed position on Jan. 7, 1992 and the offices of
City Administrator, City Clerk and City Treasurer were combined. When
interviewed Tuesday morning, March 22, City Administrator Gary Koch said that he
believes that whomever becomes the new City Administrator should be someone who
has been trained as an administrator and that the position be an appointed one
in order to maintain continuity. Koch said that much has changed since he was
hired as Clerk-Treasurer in 1979, with the duties of such offices as
Clerk-Treasurer and City Administrator becoming much more involved and
complicated, thus it would be prudent to hire someone who is "trained in the
profession." Koch also said that it would be detrimental to the continuity of
the position in running the day-to-day operations of the city should a person be
elected for only two years and then be defeated. "Continuity is important," said
Koch, who noted that it would be difficult to have potentially a different
person in the position every two years. Koch also said that it is unlikely that
a person would move to Prairie du Chien with their family if there was a strong
possibility that they would be out of a job in two years. Currently, there is no
city in the state of Wisconsin in which the City Administrator is an elected
official.
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MPC award and expansion
As anyone who has driven on Vineyard Road, or possibly Marquette
Road, has seen, Miniature Precision Components (MPC) is expanding its
plant in Prairie du Chien. Plant Manager Joe Faust said that the latest
MPC expansion will be 25,000 square feet and is expected to be completed
by the end of April. Faust said that 20,000 square feet of the new
expansion will be for manufacturing space and 5,000 square feet will
contain offices, a conference room and a training center. "Due to MPC's
15 percent per year growth within the last 10 years, the company has
decided to expand the facility in Prairie du Chien," said Faust, who
explained that the expansion is due in large part to the World
Thermostat Project for the Chrysler Corporation, which will increase the
annual sales at the Prairie du Chien plant by $13 million. With the new
addition, of course, the plant's workforce will also expand from its
current number of 320 employees. "I would expect it to increase our
employment by about 50 people," said Faust, who noted that the addition
will be the fifth addition to the Prairie du Chien facility in the past
10 years. "The reason for our growth is the quality and dedication of
the Prairie du Chien employees in their efforts to manufacture quality
automotive parts day in and day out," Faust said. "I am very grateful to
all of our employees." Faust said that another reason for the continued
growth of MPC in Prairie du Chien is the 18 pieces of new automation
equipment that has been added over the last several years. "Success
through automation has made us more globally competitive," Faust said.
In addition to increased automation, Faust also noted that MPC has added
32 injection molding machines over the last decade, with three more such
machines expected soon. Faust said that once construction is completed
on the new addition, the public will be invited to an open house in
celebration of the plant's expansion. "I'm ecstatic. This new addition
is something I've been trying to get for the last two years," said
Faust. "It's always nice to hear good things about manufacturing in
Prairie du Chien." As for the future, Faust said that he looks forward
to continued growth at the Prairie du Chien MPC facility, which
manufactures several high-volume products. The Prairie du Chien plant
ships out two million oil caps each month, along with two million check
valves, one million emissions quick connects and 300,000 PCV valves. The
plant also manufactures many other products.
PROCESSOR OF THE YEAR
In addition to continued growth and expansion, the company's success has
also been reflected by the fact that MPC recently earned the Processor
of the Year Award from the trade publication Plastics News. The award
was presented by Plastics News on March 1 at its executive forum in
Phoenix. The judges, who are Plastics News reporters and editors, gave
MPC high marks in all of the seven award criteria, including
consistently strong financial performance, technological innovation,
public service, solid employee and customer relations, quality and
environmental performance. "MPC brings them all together in a bedrock
plastics processor," Plastics News reporter Bill Bregar wrote in a
recent article about the company. Customers contacted by the judges gave
MPC glowing reviews. In recent years, MPC has won outstanding supplier
awards from Eaton Corp., Saturn Corp., Toyota Motor Corp.,
Harley-Davidson Inc., Ford, Daimler Chrysler and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.
Other major customers include General Motors Corp. and Tier 1 suppliers.
MPC, with Wisconsin facilities in Walworth, Richland Center, Prairie du
Chien and Santa Ana, Mexico, is low-key, but is a solid leader in its
sector, with 1,600 employees and 2004 sales of $167 million. Steady
sales growth, along with consistent profit, have allowed MPC to invest
millions of dollars regularly to expand its factories and get into the
exotic technology of suction blow molding. The company has a tradition
of innovation. For instance, when Ford started having a freezing problem
on one of its engines, MPC came up with the first electrically-heated
PCV valve, which is manufactured at the Prairie du Chien plant.
MPC was founded in 1972 by Jay Brost in his garage in Walworth. Brost
had invented one of the first plastic check valves for automotive
engines. By the end of that first year, MPC was molding more than
100,000 check valves per week. In winning the 2005 Processor of the Year
Award from Plastics News, MPC beat out 17 other firms, including 10
injection molders, three extruders, three blow molders and one
rotational molder.
Work on new county building continues on
schedule
Work on the new county office building is moving along pretty much
on schedule. The exterior of the building is nearly completed, with some
work remaining on the east and west sides of the building, as is clearly
visible to passersby. The interior, too, is progressing. According to
project architect Paul Kardatzke of JGS Architects of Spring Green,
interior work is progressing from the lower floor upward. Drywall paint
and trim are currently being installed in the first floor of the
structure. On the second floor, walls are roughed in and mechanicals
such as electrical, heating ductwork and plumbing are being installed.
Kardatzke is optimistic and says that he anticipates completion at the
end of May or June. According to Allen McGuire, project coordinator for
general contractor P.A. McGuire, work will begin this week on the
masonry walls to enclose the stairwells that are exposed to the elements
at the current time. "We were just waiting for the weather to break," he
said. Along with completing the interior of the building, the parking
lot must be paved and landscaping installed. The county plans to do that
work themselves under the supervision of county highway supervisor
Dennis Pellock. The asphalt is scheduled to go in early May. Work on the
building began last January. The new building will provide space for
most of the offices currently housed at the O.E. Satter Building, plus
some that are currently housed in the courthouse building.
County Clerk Janet Geisler, whose office will be moved into the new
building, says that although things seem to be progressing well, she
thinks a May or June completion is a little too optimistic. She feels
that August is probably more realistic.
Local horse breeders enjoy a "down-under"
adventure
Charlene and Rodney Boom are fortunate to do a lot of travelling,
much of it on horseback. The rural Prairie du Chien couple raise
registered Quarter Horses and they like their animals to be versatile
and well-rounded. Every summer the couple takes a month-long back
country pack trips with their horses out west to the South Dakota
Badlands or the mountains of Wyoming. But it's not easy to take a horse
with you on vacation to Australia, so the couple left their farm in the
hands of capable friends to make the 40 hour trip to Sydney in February.
They were accompanied by Charlene's brother and sister-in-law, Bill and
Sherri Waterman. The couples always spend their wedding anniversaries
together, which are only a few days apart in February. "We just had the
opportunity to go," said Charlene, and they were not about to miss out.
After visiting Sydney for four days, they were ready to get out of the
big city and see some country. Sydney is on the coast, so they headed
inland to visit smaller towns with colorful Aboriginal names such as
Katoomba, Wallarang and Mudgee. Near Mudgee they visited a Limousin
cattle ranch. They knew of the owner, Barry Knott, through a horse
business connection in Canada. Barry was happy to give the Booms a tour
of ranch where they also raise Merino sheep. When Charlene asked if
there was someplace they could go to see wild kangaroos, Barry took them
in a four-wheel drive truck to the top of a steep, wooded hill. They
could see a few "roos" in the distance, but Charlene was determined to
try and get closer with her video camera. Mindful of the many poisonous
snakes that inhabit the area, she set off down the other side of the
hill from where Rodney and Barry were standing. "I stalked down the hill
all the way to the bottom," said Charlene. Since she didn't see
anything, she headed back up. As she neared the top of the hill,
Charlene heard a loud thump, thump, thump, and there was a kangaroo! The
animal was only about forty feet away where it had run up behind her,
while keeping an eye on the men at the top. Charlene said she was so
surprised she screamed and jumped and the kangaroo took off before she
could catch it on tape. The thumping sound was made by the animal's tail
as it hopped through the woods. Being riders and fans of the film "The
Man from Snowy River," the Booms had to visit the Snowy River Mountain
Range, southeast of Sydney; the tallest mountains in Australia. Charlene
said the mountains are lovely, but not nearly as tall as the Rockies.
The highest peak in the range is Mount Kosciusko, at 7,316 feet high.
Driving a small rental car, which Charlene called "the little red tomato
can," Rodney and Charlene tackled the rugged mountain road for 40
kilometers up to the remote mountain cabin known as "Craig's Hut." The
last two miles of the road were only a track meant for four-wheel drive
vehicles. The view from the cabin was breathtaking, just as they were in
scenes from the movie that were filmed there. They stayed about an hour
to enjoy it. They hadn't gotten far heading back down the mountain when
one of their tires was punctured by a rock. "We thought we were going to
have to use some of our mountain camping experience," Charlene said,
because at first they could not find the spare tire. They eventually got
down safe and sound. Later in their trip they went north to Brisbane,
where they met up with Kylie Bryant, who had been an exchange student in
Prairie du Chien in 1996. Charlene had befriended her while she was
working as a librarian at Prairie High School (she retired in 1999).
Kylie took them to Toowoomba, where she lives with her husband, Mark.
Toowoomba has an large horse racing complex, so the Booms enjoyed
watching the horses exercise at the track in the morning. Surprisingly,
people keep racehorses in their back yards in this city of 200,000, and
ride them to the track in the morning to exercise them. They also
visited a horse farm where they raise Australian Stock horses. "They
were so excited to have American horse people visit their farm," said
Charlene. "I bet they took our picture with every one of their horses!"
In all, their journey lead them through big cities, high mountains,
plains, rainforests and ocean beaches. That made coming home to five
degree Wisconsin weather in early March a little tough. But it's the
time of year when the Boom's mares begin having their little foals. They
are expecting 12 this year, so there is excitement at home too. Rodney
Boom at "Craig's Hut," one of the locations where the film "The Man From
Snowy River" was filmed. The cabin is located near one of the peaks in
Australia's Snowy Mountains. |
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