This past Sunday’s flip of the calendar page from December to January marked another milestone passage of time.
Gov. Tony Evers tours the Grand Craft Boats headquarters on Tuesday, Feb. 1, in Genoa City. Patrick Gallagher (middle), the president and chief executive officer and Rose Gallagher, the executive vice president of Grand Craft LLC. toured him around the facility and showed off their first completed boat at the new location.
People are also reading…
Kunes
Lussow
Kolls
Joining the Linn Police Department in August 2017, Jon Albrecht has worked his way up through the ranks, serving the department as sergeant and captain. Named interim police chief in December, Albrecht was sworn in as Town of Linn’s police chief on March 14.
Walworth restaurateur Carmelo Alfano, a 1974 immigrant from Palermo, Sicily, Italy, removes a finished pizza from the pizza oven at Pino’s Last Call Pizza Pub & Grill. After 40 years in business, Alfano and his wife, Silvana, retired and closed their restaurant April 16.
Weber
Laufenberg
Setting an example this past spring with No Mow May, the Village of Genoa City suspended lawn mowing at Village Hall for the month of May, allowing early-blooming wildflowers like dandelions to produce essential pollen and nectar for bees and other pollinators during the critical period in which they are emerging from their winter hibernation.
Yerkes Future Foundation, in the midst of an ongoing, multi-million dollar, multi-year renovation of Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, began a soft reopening of the historic facility to the public in the summer of 2022 with a long-term goal of attracting 50,000 domestic and international visitors annually.
Bauer
Veteran restaurateur Ronald “Ronnie” Mikrut, Sr. started his career in 1959 when he took ownership of this small woodframe red hot and tamale stand that once stood at the busy bus stop corner of 18th and Laflin streets in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. The stand is now displayed in Mikrut’s most recent restaurant venture, Upper Crust Pizzeria & Pub, opened in 1991 in Pell Lake. Now 77, Mikrut has made the “bittersweet” decision to list Upper Crust for sale: “I love it, I love every day I’m here, but there’s a time you start slowing down and it’s hard to keep up with the pace. It’s time to retire. It’s time. At my age, it’s just hard handling everything.”
Conductor Rich Burger (left) and Motorman Evan Richards enjoy some lighthearted pre-tour banter with passengers aboard circa-1926 South Shore Line trolley No. 9. The East Troy Electric Railroad, a popular retro-nostalgic Walworth County tourist attraction, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022.
Martin
Halbesma
Torrez
Emily Soley-Johnson
Taking a selfie photo for posterity, Grace Hirte of Delavan was among the more than 800 area residents and visitors stopping by to see the iconic Oscar Mayer Wienermobile during its five-hour Aug. 18 stop at Sentry-affiliated Daniels Foods in Walworth as part of the store's centennial anniversary celebrations.
Delavan-Darien Rotary Club president Dr. Katherine Gaulke (left) and club member Carol Paul hold a State of Wisconsin commendation marking the centennial anniversary of the 1922 founding of the 17-member humanitarian service club.
On Sept. 8, the Genoa City Village Board approved a new logo for the community, which was designed by village clerk-treasurer Kate Dennis.
Illinois-based Aurora University announced in November that the university would no longer be offering academic instruction at its picturesque lakefront George Williams College campus in Williams Bay after December 2023, consolidating instruction at its main campus in Aurora, Ill. Aurora University will continue to own the property and operate it as a conference center and maintain popular programs like its Music by the Lake summer concert series.
Williams Bay and Fontana both went to referendum on Nov. 8 to levy beyond their state-imposed levy limits to each fund the equivalent of seven full-time EMS positions, 14 total, to provide 24-hour paramedic level EMS service to the two communities.
August
Byrne
Glass artisan Jason Mack, of Champaign, Ill.-based Mack Glass, extrudes 2,200-degree molten glass from his gathering iron onto a rotating steel tree frame at Yerkes Observatory on Dec. 9 to create The World’s Tallest Glass Tree.
Tobin
Interior and exterior renovation work was well underway Dec. 8 at the former Fontana Kringle Co. store, W4724 S. Lake Shore Dr. in Fontana. Permanently closed recently, the business has been sold to new owners, who will reopen in the spring as Big Foot Market.
In 135 Photos: Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy, Williams Bay
Kishwauketoe Bumble Bee Feeds on White Snakeroot
Kishwauketoe Honey Bee Feeds on White Snakeroot
Kishwauketoe Bittersweet Nightshade
Kishwauketoe Blue Vervain
Kishwauketoe Boneset
Brown Eyed Susan coneflower blooms at Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy
Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy in Williams Bay is home to a wide variety of blooming native wildflowers, including the brown-eyed Susan coneflowers pictured here.
Kishwauketoe Bull Thistle
Kishwauketoe Calico Aster
Kishwauketoe Canada Goldenrod
Geneva Lake Conservancy Cardinal Flower Lobelia
Kishwauketoe Climbing False Buckwheat
Kishwauketoe Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Mile Post
Kishwauketoe Railroad Spur Trail On Old Chicago & Northwestern Railway Right-Of-Way
For the nature-loving railfan, Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy's walking trails include Kishwauketoe's C&NW Historical Railroad Bed Trail, accessed off Harris Road, just off Geneva Street near Geneva Lake. The former Chicago & Northwestern Railroad right-of-way linked Williams Bay to Chicago with freight and passenger rail service from 1888-1965. Observant, eagle-eyed railfans might spy an old "C&NW Green" milepost marker or the remnant wood pilings for a long-demolished trestle bridge over Harris Creek along the route, while peels off at the end of the line onto a "Railroad Spur" wetland boardwalk.
Kishwauketoe Common Milkweed
Kishwauketoe Devil's Beggarticks
Kishwauketoe Evening Primrose
Kishwauketoe Hymenochaetaceae Fungi
Kishwauketoe Giant Ragweed
Kishwauketoe Giant Sunflower
Geneva Lake Conservancy Sneezeweed
Geneva Lake Conservancy Wetland Boardwalk
Geneva Lake Conservancy Cardinal Flower
Geneva Lake Conservancy Wetland
Kishwauketoe Gray Dogwood
Kishwauketoe Great Blue Lobelia 2
Kishwauketoe Great Blue Lobelia
Kishwauketoe Guelder-rose (European Cranberry Bush)
Kishwauketoe Harris Creek at Geneva Lake
Passing through the 231-acre Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy in Williams Bay, picturesque Harris Creek is seen here as it empties into Geneva Lake.
Kishwauketoe Hedge Bindweed (Wild Morning Glory, Granny-pop-out-of-bed)
Geneva Lake Conservancy Hymenochaetaceae Fungi
Kishwauketoe Ladies Thumb
Kishwauketoe Main Entrance, 251 Elkhorn Road, Williams Bay
Kishwauketoe Missouri Ironweed
Kishwauketoe Motherwort
Kishwauketoe Orange Jewelweed
Kishwauketoe New England Aster
New England Aster is among the 386 varieties of plants waiting to be discovered at 231-acre Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy, 251 Elkhorn Rd. (State Hwy. 67) in Williams Bay.
Kishwauketoe Ninebark
Kishwauketoe Obedient Plant (Lionshearts)
Kishwauketoe Orange Jewelweed Close-up
Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy in Williams Bay is home to an array of 386 different plants on its 231-acre campus, including colorful orange jewelweed.
Kishwauketoe Oriental Ladies Thumb
Kishwauketoe Pale Indian Plaintain
Kishwauketoe Panicled Aster
Kishwauketoe Prairie Dock
Kishwauketoe Railroad Spur Trail Bridge at Harris Creek
Chicago & Northwestern Railway remnant railroad trestle bridge supports
For the nature-loving railfan, remnant supports for a long-demolished railroad trestle bridge over Harris Creek provide a glimpse into Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy's former use, in part, as a Chicago & Northwestern Railway right-of-way from 1888-1965.
Kishwauketoe Riverbank Grape
Kishwauketoe Scenic View from Railroad Spur Trail
Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy sign and Thomas B. Johnson Bridge, 251 Elkhorn Road, Williams Bay
The circa-2010 Thomas B. Johnson Memorial Bridge over Southwick Creek is seen at Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy's main trailhead at 251 Elkhorn Rd. (State Hwy. 67) in Williams Bay. The 231-acre conservancy was established in 1990 to preserve and protect Geneva Lake's 20-square-mile watershed, which is drained through cleansing Kishwauketoe wetlands by Southwick and Harris lakes.
Kishwauketoe Soapwort
Southwick Creek empties into Geneva Lake
Tiny yet also mighty important, Harris Creek and Southwick Creek (pictured here emptying into Geneva Lake) play a vital role in maintaining the high water quality of Geneva Lake, numbered among the top 25 lakes in the nation. Passing through 231-acre Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy in Williams Bay, the two creeks filter water from a 20-mile watershed through the conservancy’s wetlands, with millions of gallons flowing into Geneva Lake daily.
Kishwauketoe Southwick Creek Trail 2
Kishwauketoe Southwick Creek Trail
Kishwauketoe Southwick Creek
Kishwauketoe Spotted Joe-pyeweed
Kishwauketoe Stiff Goldenrod
Kishwauketoe summer intern Joel Myers performs boardwalk repairs
Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy summer intern Joel Myers, of Elkhorn, repairs a stretch of boardwalk in the wetlands near Geneva Lake. Myers is a UW-Madison chemical engineering student.
Kishwauketoe Velvetleaf (Indian Mallow).jpg
View from observation tower toward Geneva Lake at Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy
A low-rise observation tower on the 231-acre Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy in Williams Bay offers this sweeping view of prairie and wet meadow. Geneva Lake is in the distance behind the tree line. The Kishwauketoe campus, home to a diverse variety of habitats, wildlife and plants, includes a system of rustic wilderness trails and wetland boardwalks.
Kishwauketoe Observation Tower
Kishwauketoe Virgin's Bower Clematis
Wetland Boardwalk off Railroad Spur Trail
Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy in Williams Bay offers a variety of habitats. Here, a Harris Creed-fed wetland features a boardwalk accessed off a walking trail on former Chicago & Northwestern Railway right-of-way.
Kishwauketoe Wetland Off Railroad Spur Trail
Kishwauketoe White Snakeroot
Kishwauketoe Wild Bergamot
Kishwauketoe Wild Campion
Kishwauketoe Wild Cucumber
Kishwauketo Bridge Over Southwick Creek
Kishwauketo Nature Conservancy founder and chairman Harold Friestad
Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy founder and chairman Harold Friestad, Williams Bay village president from 1987-1993, spearheaded the village's $1.75 million 1990 purchase of the land comprising 231-acre Kishwauketoe for preservation in perpetuity as a lakeside ecological area. Recalls Friestad, “A lot of different groups tried to redevelop the property. All of that could have had a very negative impact on the lake. Everything would have been totally changed with major development.”
Kishwauketoe American Elder
Kishwauketoe American Elm
Kishwauketoe American Pokeweed
Kishwauketoe Bee Feeds on Common Chicory
Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy Site Director Jennifer Yunker
Town of Geneva resident and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater alumnus Jennifer Yunker serves as the full-time site director of 231-acre Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy in Williams Bay. The first full-time employee in the conservancy's history, Yunker has served in her current role for just over a year after serving part-time for three years as a field worker and helper with the “Kish Kids” children’s educational program.
Kishwauketoe Blue Vervain
Kishwauketoe - Broadleaf Cattail
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Bur Oak (Mossy-Cup Oak)
Kishwauketoe - Calico Aster
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Chinquapin Oak.jpg
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Common Buttonbush
Kishwauketoe - Common Crownvetch
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Common Hackberry
Kishwauketoe - Evening Primrose
Kishwauketoe - Grass Leaved Goldenrod
Kishwauketoe - Indian Hemp Dogbane
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Kentucky Coffee Tree
Kishwauketoe Arboretum sign
Located along Harris Road between State Hwy. 50 and East Geneva Street in Williams Bay, the 8-acre Kishwauketoe Arboretum is among the natural amenities to be explored on the 231-acre Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy campus. Dedicated in June 2000, the Kishwauketoe Arboretum was a project by the Lake Geneva Garden Club and the Friends of Kishwauketoe.
Kishwauketoe - New England Aster
Colorful New England Aster blooms at 231-acre Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy, 251 Elkhorn Rd. (State Hwy. 67) in Williams Bay. Offering a variety of diverse habitats including woodlands, wetlands, savanna, prairie, meadows and oak openings, Kishwauketoe is home to 286 different plants.
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Northern Catalpa.jpg
Kishwauketoe - Late afternoon Observation Tower view looking toward Geneva Lake
Kishwauketoe - Orange Jewelwood closeup view
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Paradise Apple.jpg
Kishwauketoe - Scenic view of Southwick Creek with flowering Boneset and Brown-Eyed Susan
Kishwauketoe Smooth Sumac.jpg
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Southern Crab Apple
Kishwauketoe Southwick Creek at Geneva Lake
Kishwauketoe Southwick Creek late afternoon view
Kishwauketoe Southwick Creek early evening view
Geneva Lake Conservancy/Helen Rohner Children's Fishing Park - sunning turtle in wetland
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Sycamore
Kishwauketoe Virginia Creeper vine
Kishwauketoe Wild Black Raspberry
Kishwauketoe Wild Carrot (Queen Anne's Lace)
Kishwauketoe - Arrowleaf Ragwort
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Bitternut Hickory
Kishwauketoe - Wild Cucumber
Kishwauketoe - Williams Bay School Bur Oak "wish tree" Arbor Day project
For more than a decade, Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy has partnered with area elementary schools for Arbor Day tree planting activities, including this "wish tree" bur oak planted by Williams Bay Elementary School students.
Kishwauketoe - American Burnweed (Fireweed, Pilewort, White Fireweed, Eastern Burnweed, Butterweed)
Kishwauketoe - American Groundnut (Potato Bean, Cinnamon Vine, Indian Potato, Hopniss)
American Groundnut, also known as Potato Bean, Cinnamon Vine, Indian Potato and Hopniss, blooms in a wetland area on the 231-acre Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy preserve in Williams Bay.
Kishwauketoe - Bee feeding on Joe-pyeweed
Kishwauketoe - Blue Vervain
Kishwauketoe - Boneset (Feverwort, Sweating Plant, March Sage, Wild Sage)
Kishwauketoe - Canada Goldenrod
Kishwauketoe - Cup Plant
Kishwauketoe - Cutleaf Coneflower (Green-headed Coneflower, Wild Garden Glow, Thimbleweed)
Kishwauketoe - Devil's Beggarsticks
Kishwauketoe - Evening Primrose
Geneva Lake Conservancy/Helen Rohner Children's Fishing Park, 159 Elkhorn Rd. (State Hwy. 67), Williams Bay
The Geneva Lake Conservancy’s Helen Rohner Children’s Fishing Park nature preserve, 159 Elkhorn Rd. (State Hwy. 67) in Williams Bay, adjoins 231-acre Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy, 251 Elkhorn Rd. Children can enjoy angling for brown trout in Southwick Creek or explore the preserve’s many amenities, including a boardwalk wetland area and amphibian pond, butterfly garden and native plant garden. The Geneva Lake Conservancy is a 501©(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of environmentally-sensitive lands, open space and the unique character and quality of life in Walworth County.
Kishwauketoe - Great Blue Lobelia (Blue Cardinal Flower, Great Lobelia, Big Blue Lobelia, Blue Lobelia)
Kishwauketoe - Green Ash
Kishwauketoe - Guelder-rose (European Cranberry)
Kishwauketoe - Hedge Bindweed (Wild Morning Glory or Granny-pop-out-of-bed)
Kishwauketoe - Wetland scene near Geneva Lake
Kishwauketoe - Wetland view near Geneva Lake
Kishwauketoe - Main wetland boardwalk near Geneva Lake
Kishwauketoe - Missouri Ironweed
Kishwauketoe - Purple Loosestrife
Kishwauketoe - Red Osier Dogwood
Kishwauketoe - Riverbank Grape
Kishwauketoe - Silky Dogwood
Kishwauketoe - Southwick Creek mid-afternoon view
Kishwauketoe - Spotted Joe-pyeweed
Kishwauketoe - Spotted Water Hemlock
Kishwauketoe - Tall Beggarsticks (Big Devils Beggarsticks, Common Beggarsticks, Tall Bur-Marigold)
Kishwauketoe - Virgin's Bower Clematis (Woodbine, Italian Clematis, Devil's Darning Needles, Devil's Hari, Wild Hops, Love Vine)
Kishwauketoe - Virgin's Bower Clematis
