ROTARY CLUB OF APPLETON

Service Above Self GUSTO

March 18, 2008 Upcoming Programs March 25 Empire Room Wisconsin Roads and Infra-Structure - Mike Marsden Thought of the Day – Jerry Otteson April 1 Michiels Fox Banquets and Rivertyme Catering Midwest Renewable Energy Association - Doug Stingle Officers 2007-2008 President Jeff Schulz Vice President Shipra Seefeldt Past President Jeff Werner Secretary Curt Detjen Treasurer Tom Berkedal Directors Ron Altenburg Dawn Doberstein Gail Enke Peter Kelly Dan Nisler Gail Popp Matt Rehbein Dave Willems Sergeant-At-Arms Dave Aardappel RYE Student Alek Kozak - 830-7939 Rejoice Ngesi - 830-1119 Admin. Assistant Kathy Dreyer Phone/Fax 731-4427 kdreyer1@juno.com Rotarians of the Year Mark Harris/Gail Popp Downtown Gusto Kathy Dreyer, Editor Dist. 6220, Club 2656 P. O. Box 703 Appleton, WI 54912 www.appletonrotary.org Meets Tuesday Noon Radisson Paper Valley

History of Wisconsin Rivers Michael Douglas- Wisconsin Historical Association In the 1930’s the Fromm Brothers Farm located in Hamburg, Wisconsin was the largest silver fox farm in the world. They sold over 37,000 fox pelts a year. In the 1960’s they come upon hard times and now the farm is called the Fox Tale and Silver Fox Retreat. The Beaver Top Hat was the definition of fashion and personified wealth and elegance. From 1520-1530, 350 vessels each season would come from Europe to North America to fish. The Europeans saw Indians wrapped in beaver skins with the fur next to their bodies and shined to beaver wool. The fur trade started with the Europeans trading their knives for the Indian’s beaver skins. Pelts were brought back to Europe and treated with mercury nitrate and the fur became orange colored causing miniature scales to raise on each individual fiber. This roughened the fiber and increased the wool's matting ability. The pelt would be dried and then the wool shaved and used to make felt for top hats. The mercury released a vapor that affected one’s nervous system. The phrase "mad as a hatter" became a common description of someone experiencing mercury poisoning. The Indians were a great source of furs for the Europeans to market. Merchants shipped anything Indians would buy in return for beaver skins. In 1671 Father Jacques Marquette and fur trader Louis Joliet made their way up the Fox River to the mythical river named Wisconsin. Then they traveled and found the Mississippi River. This trip created more fur trading and defined the movement of people for the next 100 years. Wisconsin is where these 2 worlds met – the Europeans and the Indians. The Dousman family owned the property now called Villa Louis. Granddaughters of fur trader Hercules Dousman began to restore Villa Louis in the 1930’s. In 1935, the property was turned over to the city of Prairie du Chien to operate Villa Louis as a museum. In January 1990, a Dousman family descendent passed away in St. Paul, Minnesota. Many items were left to Villa Louis but it was thought to be all gone. After some research was conducted, the items were found in the home in St. Paul. The Dousman family mansion and estate became the first of several historic properties operating as house museums.

MEETING NOTICES · The World Service Committee will meet on Tuesday, March 25 at 11:00 a.m. · The Sharing Around (the World) Medical Project will pack on Tuesday, March 25 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Goodwill Industries located at 1351 W. Spencer Street in Appleton. (You will also get a make-up.) · The Rotary Club of Appleton Board will meet on Monday, April 7 at 5:00 p.m. at American National Bank. · The Program Committee will meet on Tuesday, April 8 at 11:00 a.m. · The Rotary Non-Profit Advisors will meet on Tuesday, April 15 at 11:00 a.m. · The Children with Disabilities Committee will meet on Tuesday, April 22 at 11:15 a.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS · We will be co-hosting (with Appleton West) a Group Study Exchange team from Sao Paulo, Brazil May 28-June 1, 2008. If you would like to serve on the committee or be a host family, please contact Jay Drzewiecki at 734-2555. · The Reverse Raffle will be held on Tuesday, May 13 from 6:00-9:00 p.m. at Fox Valley Technical College. The proceeds of the 2008 Reverse Raffle will benefit the Etta Project, the 2007/2008 and the 2008/2009 Every Rotarian Every Year campaign, the Fox Cities Rotary Multicultural Center, SAMP and the Community Service Fund. We are in need of silent auction items (please contact Nancy Johnshoy) and corporate/individual sponsors (please contact JoEllen Wollangk/Tonya Dedering). Tickets cost $100 which admits 2 adults and will be available at next week’s meeting. GUESTS, VISITORS AND MAKE-UPS Guests today were Michael Douglas, Alek Kozak, Rejoice Ngesi, Frank Rippl, Greg Linnemanstons and Gregg Vandenberg with Alan Blake, Tammy Lingnofski with Jon Kester, Ray DeRoche with Lisa Kewley and Nancy Krueger with Mark McGinnis. Visiting us today was Paul Hultgren from Milwaukee, Pam Krueger from Appleton Breakfast and Anna Shumaeva from Kurgan, Russia. Making up this week was Ann Dake and Melinda Tempelis on e-Club, Linda Kennedy in Neenah and at Appleton Breakfast, Mark Logemann in Green Bay, Marlene Mielke and Barbara Stack at Green Bay West and Joe Pankratz and Deborah Wetter at Appleton West.

Tour of Polish Milwaukee and Milwaukee Public Museum’s Body World exhibit, April 17

Since he wants to become a doctor, RYE student Alek Kozak expressed an interest in visiting the “Body Worlds” exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Bev Harrington is arranging a motor van tour for 6 people on Thursday, April 17 leaving Appleton at 7:30 a.m. A visit to Milwaukee’s beautiful Basilica of St. Josaphat will take place mid morning with lunch at Polonez Restaurant, a popular Polish restaurant on the city’s south side. Entry to the museum will be about 2:15 p.m., and the return to Appleton should be around 6:30-7:00 pm. If anyone has any interest in joining the group, please contact Bev Harrington at 920-231-4618 or at bevharrington@new.rr.com. Please respond ASAP since Bev needs to purchase advance tickets to this very popular exhibition. Exhibit ticket prices for adults are $21. Senior tickets are $16.50, and student tickets are $16.50 with IDs.

FOX CITIES ROTARY MULTICULTURALCENTER UPDATE

Here's the good news for today!

$5000 Georgia Pacific gift was confirmed

$1000 gift from Appleton was received

$500 gift from Toward Community has been confirmed

$100 gift from the Ruglands has been received

This puts us at $21,870 in gifts and pledges (received or confirmed) leaving $5,730 to go in the next two weeks to complete the amount needed for a full payoff $27,600 - $21,870 = $5,730.

If people or organizations have been considering a gift, and want to help us meet the goal, there's the gap and now is the time!  I'm grateful to the committee for its work in getting us to this point - hopefully letting our outstanding contacts know that the goal is in sight will be motivating to them as well! 

SHELTERBOX UPDATE

The funds collected for ShelterBox helped fund their November deployment to the Mexican state of Tabasco, where the heaviest rainfall in years caused massive flooding. The floods were estimated to have left 800,000 people homeless and tens of thousands trapped in flooded buildings. Local officials say water levels reached 19 feet at their peak. Flood victims had set up rudimentary camps with huts made out of scraps of tin, palm thatches, polyethylene sheeting, and poles. Families huddled on narrow strips of land between flooded canals with their cattle, pigs, goats and fowl. The ShelterBoxes were graciously accepted by the Mexican people and officials, and local Rotarians helped coordinate the relief effort. Two hundred ShelterBoxes were delivered to the flood victims, providing shelter and survival essentials for as many as 2,000 people.