Fire merger

In nearby Calumet County, the Town of Harrison fire departments and first responders are merging. To illustrate the story I spent an evening at a joint training session. Lucky for us, the training was taking place on a tower about 80' above the highest ground in the valley (High Cliff)... not to mention it was all going down at sunset!

The sun sets over Lake Winnebago as Lt. Mark Vanderzee of Harrison Fire Department No. 1, left, prepares a tripod and pulley system with his fellow firefighters during high-angle rescue training atop the tower at High Cliff State Park in Sherwood, Wis., Thursday evening, July 24, 2008. Plans are advancing for a Jan. 1, 2009, merger between the Town of Harrison Fire Departments No. 1, No. 2 and First Responders. They have already begun training together.

Seizure treatment

Ben Anderson, 15, lets a scarf float and land on his face while participating in a Lawrence Academy of Music music for special needs class at Trinity Lutheran Church in Appleton, Wis., Monday afternoon, April 21, 2008. For five years, Anderson has been seizure-free thanks to an implanted vagus nerve stimulator.

Tennis tournament

Fox Cities Maria Gee's Rootin' Tootin' Cowboys' Maria Georgen returns a shot from opponent Samantha Nagin in a Fox Cities Racquet Club-hosted USTA Wisconsin junior tennis tournament in Grand Chute, Wis., Saturday, July 26, 2008.

Your Helpful Neighbor

This was a Living Well story about a local businesswoman who watches houses, pets, and teenagers when you can't be home.

Max, below, is just about the cutest gigantic dog I've ever seen. And I'm scared of big dogs. He's only a puppy! I think he looks like he was bred from Clifford and the Downy bear.

Paperfest

Brothers Michael, left, 10, and Chris, 7, Carreon of Kimberly joust at Paperfest at Sunset Park in Kimberly, Wis., Friday afternoon, July 18, 2008.

Racetrack washed out

Paint lines on a condiment stand show the former ground level as Roger Van Daalwyk, background, owner of Wisconsin International Raceway walks the grounds near the racing venue's drag racing track Thursday, July 17, 2008 after it fell victim to water erosion from Wednesday's storms in Buchanan, Wis.
The evening's races were canceled.

Garage Politics

They're opinionated, conservative and strict constitutionalists. And they'd be proud to tell you that.

They're The Group – a semi-formal political discussion group that meets monthly in Brian Garrow's garage in Appleton about 2-3 blocks from my place. They discuss local and state politicians and issues and decide who they will support in upcoming elections.

It's grassroot politics at its best.

Peter Stueck, far left, a candidate for Wisconsin's 57th Assembly District, speaks while being interviewed by The Group, a small political discussion group, that gathers at the garage of Brian Garrow in Appleton, Wis., Wednesday evening, July 9, 2008.

Vested member Chuck Schmidt, right, asks a pointed question of Stueck during the interview Wednesday evening.

Junior golf

Erik Thulien cringes after narrowly missing a putt on the 15th hole during second round play of the Fox Cities Amateur junior golf tournament at Reid Municipal Golf Course in Appleton, Wis., Wednesday, July 16, 2008.

A.J. Selig punches out of a bunker on the 16th hole.

Lost lovers no longer lost

Another photo from our series of stories about the reunion of Don Spooner and Shirley (Brown) Kerber who were torn apart by World War II and separated for 66 years. With an open-ended plane ticket, Shirley came to Appleton to see Don for the first time on June 21. She hasn't left.

Don Spooner puckers up for a smooch on reunited love Shirly (Brown) Kerber at Waverly Beach in Menasha, Wis., Thursday afternoon, July 10, 2008.

Bird Bath Invitational

The Bird Bath Invitational.

Somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 teams with each having between 0-80 members.

I think somebody needs to start having tryouts and cuts!

Another year of covering the youth swim meet. Trying to make different pictures than last year... not sure if that really happened...

There's the good and the bad...

I love my job. I get to experience some really great things. Unfortunately bad things come with that: crime, accidents, death, disasters. Life is a wide gamut of happenings...

On my way back to the office from an assignment in Wisconsin Rapids, I was called about a possible fatal accident on the freeway on the north side of the city. I didn't have a radio with me so I didn't have much information other than an approximate location.

It was a situation where you really don't have a way of getting information at the scene. It's in the median of a highway – it's loud, you can't cross, authorities won't really go out of their way to help you this early in the investigation. All you can do is shoot what you see and ask questions later.

Back at the office we got the official press release from the state highway patrol and the gravity of the situation set in. What we thought was a collision between two cars actually turned out to be a collision between a single car and a pedestrian who entered the roadway.

According to the release, a man blew out a tire, pulled onto the shoulder and then got out of his vehicle to remove debris from the road. At that moment he was struck by an oncoming car driven by a 16-year-old girl.

It bothered me.

Usually you view a crash in terms of whose fault it is. You can point a finger. You can condemn somebody's actions as irresponsible or reckless.

This time I really didn't know who to feel more sorry for. The man was killed while trying to do something responsible. And the whole experience will certainly occupy the mind of that teenage girl for a long-time... the crash being something she may not have been able to avoid.

Authorities investigate the scene of a fatal collision between a teenage driver and pedestrian on southbound US 41 east of Ballard Road and west of Hwy. 441 in Appleton, Wis., Friday afternoon, July 11, 2008.

Rack 'n' Roll

Cal Peterman of Grand Chute wheels his bike away from the No. 8 bus at the Appleton Transit Center in downtown Appleton, Wis., Tuesday afternoon, July 8, 2008. Valley Transit says that usage of their Rack 'n' Roll bike program is up 79 percent.

Mid-Western Rodeo in Manawa

This is the third year in a row I've covered the Mid-Western Rodeo in Manawa. I feel like I come out of it every year with the same pictures, but I got a couple different ones this year. Finally some decent bucking action and a detail I've never shot before.

Bareback rider James Earl Carter of Ellsinore, Mo., hangs on for the ride during competition at the Mid-Western Rodeo in Manawa, Wis., Saturday afternoon, July 5, 2008.

Fireworks on the 4th

Last time I shot the Appleton fireworks was when I was an intern. I got a better shot this year. Next time, if possible, I want to see how well I can shoot the show from the top of the Post-Crescent building, much in the same style as the lunar eclipse I shot in winter.

Fireworks explode in the sky over Memorial Park in Appleton, Wis., Thursday evening, July 3, 2008.

Grappling Club

From a story about a fight club in Grand Chute. Photo was nixed because it didn't mesh with the story's lede about dude (and a few dudettes) beating the crap out of each other.

Olivia Arbogast-Holton, 11-months-old, hangs out ringside while mom, Amanda, background at right, trains at the Fox Valley Grappling Club in Grand Chute, Wis., Wednesday afternoon, June 25, 2008.

Lost lovers reunite

From our stories by Maureen Wallenfang:

"He fell in love with her in the summer of '42, in the months before he went off to war.

Don Spooner, then 21, and Shirley Brown, then 17, spent their last day together on the shores of Lake Michigan. He snapped one last wistful photo of 'Shirl,' as he called her, sitting on the sand.

She was his first true love, but he didn't propose because he didn't know when, or if, or in what condition he would return.

'We talked about getting engaged before I went overseas, but if I came home without an arm or a leg, it wouldn't be fair to her,' he said.

They wrote for about a year while he was an Army medical corps driver stationed in New Hebrides in the South Pacific's Mariana Islands.

But communication broke off when he became ill with malaria and hepatitis, and was shipped to a hospital in Auckland, New Zealand. 'I pert near died,' he said. Mail traveled very slowly, by boat, and he wasn't able to write for many months.

He was gone for a total of three years, and after they lost contact, she made the decision to move on and married another.

The two never spoke over the next six decades, but it wasn't the end of their long-ago love story.

Last month, Spooner discovered two 78-rpm records in his old army trunk. The records, plus some caring co-workers and modern technology, helped connect the dots.

On Saturday, the two will see each other again for the first time in nearly 66 years."


I felt fortunate to spend some time with the couple on the first day they had seen each other since they were separated by war.

"'I felt like the years had just disappeared,' [Shirley] said about what she felt when [Don] answered the door. 'It was like seeing him again in the old days.'

There were no tears, but plenty of smiles and a few jokes about perhaps ordering an oxygen tank. They sat on a couch in his living room holding hands."

Covering the farm market...

I don't know what it is about farm markets, but sometimes they can be difficult. It's just a marketplace. Just people selling things.

When you're really into the local/organic-produce-thing on a personal level, it's even harder. A great farm market is not necessarily a photogenic farm market. Athens, Ohio has a great farmer's market. But I don't find it to be photogenic at all.

Appleton's farm market is really more than decent, both in respects to buyer experience and photogenicity (oh yeah, I made that word up!). Look below and tell me those aren't the most perfect looking strawberries you've ever seen in your life...

Laura Hauer of Appleton, a senior at Lawrence University, plays Telemann's "Fantasie" on the violin for the masses at the Downtown Appleton Farm Market in Appleton, Wis., Saturday morning, June 21, 2008.

Pat Vik of Appleton walks through the Downtown Appleton Farm Market with a fresh bouquet in Appleton, Wis., Saturday morning, June 21, 2008.

Green onions sit on display for sale at the Downtown Appleton Farm Market in Appleton, Wis., Saturday morning, June 21, 2008.

Strawberries of Neenah's Oakridge Farm photographed at the Downtown Appleton Farm Market in Appleton, Wis., Saturday morning, June 21, 2008.

Chickenfest

I have no idea how a festival called "Chickenfest" originates in Dairyland. Oh well...

Friends Alex Curtin, 6, second right, and Adasen Parrett, 8, far right, both of Darboy, participate with other children in a Chicken Dance contest at Chickenfest in Darboy, Wis., Friday evening, June 20, 2008.

Back to the raceway

I love shooting at the Wisconsin International Raceway. I just wish I was a lot better at it!

For kicks, I shot the kiddie big-wheel race which is held on the oval. However, the race is only about 30 yards long. I would love to see the race changed to include the entire 1/4-mile track distance. Then it would really become a test of endurance and skill for the little squirts. Imagine trying to negotiate a 30º bank on a big-wheel...

My meager attempt at an action shot:

Neenah's Tim Arnoldussen (A-76) spins out in a turn ahead of Oshkosh's Al Cottrell (00) in a Super Stock qualifier at Wisconsin International Raceway in Buchanan, Wis., Thursday evening, June 19, 2008.

Flag Day...

It's kind of a big deal [here].

Appleton's Flag Day Parade is the oldest in the United States (since 1950). It attracts about 60,000 street-level spectators now (about 1/6 of the three-county population). Appleton's population is only 72,000.

Members of the Wisconsin Society of the Sons of the American Revolution bear historic flags east on W. College Avenue at N. Superior Street in the 58th annual Flag Day Parade in Appleton, Wis., Saturday afternoon, June 14, 2008.

Wisconsin members of the Disabled American Veterans organization salute passing American flags during the 58th annual Flag Day Parade from the front of The Radisson Paper Valley Hotel where their state convention is being held in Appleton, Wis., Saturday afternoon, June 14, 2008.