TBT: YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP

TBT: This past Saturday while I was in Milwaukee, Natureman was enjoying the 4th Annual Juneteenth Citywide Celebration with the African American Living History Bus Tour.  I was so bummed to miss it but it was so successful there's good news as there will be a second tour held in the future...

As I spoke about this event to my couchsurfing Milwaukee host Carol, my traveling partner, Lynn, mentioned one of the tour's stops would be at La Crosse's claim to fame, the African American Mr. George Coleman Poage's home, a two times Olympian bronze medalist.   

Carol quickly added that a relative in her family had also competed in the Olympics. I asked her when as I pulled up my blog posting from 2016 re: the dedication of a park a 112 years late in recognition of Mr. Poage's accomplishments. Carol replied that it must have been early 1900's and would you believe after doing the math (2016  being 2 yrs ago and the title 112 +2 = 114 subtracted from 2018), and a quick Wikipedia search for Hahn, both men had competed together in the 1904 games in St. Louis? Both were medalists too. 

Carol's relative Charles Archibald "Archie" Hahn, a German American,  had attended U of Michigan and was the first man to win both the Olympic 100m and
 200m while George Poage held the honors of being the first African American to win an Olympic medal. (Archie also won the 60 m in 1904 and in 1906 won one more gold.)

What are the chances to discover this coincidence during a first conversation. Talk about Throw Back Thursdays!

Credit to Wikipedia for all photos posted in this entry including this one of the 1904 USA Track and Field Olympian competitors. 

 Below also is an except from the Tour's booklet and also a link to the Poage Park dedication...

* If  you'd like to read a bit more about George Poage, here's that blog link. A 112 YEARS LATE

ARE YOU SURJ ing = SHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE?

 This past week citations were issued to a local 16 yr old girl who participated with others belonging to a group called SURJ (Standing up for Social Justice) for leaving chalk messages on the riverfront sidewalks. 

The police stated the problem wasn't in the messages  of love, not hate which included sayings like "Love is not racist,"" You are welcome here," "Stand up for Muslims," "Black Lives Matter." You see chalk drawing is considered defacing property and the citations were to pay for the power cleaning and labor (which by the way was labelled 'washable' chalk.)  A park camera aided in the identification of this young citizen who just happens to be biracial.  

So yesterday at 4:30 was the court hearing where the accused would need to plea either guilty/ not guilty. A couple dozen people including myself from various ethnic/ religious groups showed up to show support for the 16 yr old (pictured here far left in the white blouse and sunglasses) before her hearing.

No one was in charge of this peaceful gathering and folks just waved to passerbys, holding their posters, not blocking the sidewalks in front of the Onalaska City Hall. 

Ironically if you take a look there across the street from City Hall on the sidewalks of the elementary school, what do you see? Wow, chalk drawings. Hmmm, in a public place.  Will these students and their teachers be fined?

 We know the issue is not the chalk drawings but something much more important and we all need to show up and stand up for what is right.

Festing Down by the River

I have to admit weather may have prevented us from partaking in Riverfest activities the last couple of years but this year we truly got good use out of our Riverfest buttons as the weather couldn't have been more cooperative. I was also super glad to have a small car to park considering all the downtown construction.
Awnings also have been added over the picnic tables in the Food Area which at least provide some greatly appreciated shade. And speaking of food as there have been complaints re:variety this year there were more vendors. Prices are still a bit steep but they gotcha captive. What can you do? 
 I'll confess to devouring an entire order of Rocky's famous fried cheese curds for lunch one day (I know I'll have to pay for that next week in exercise), drank 4 cups of lemonade, and enjoyed an order of brisket burnt ends ...
besides ogling other folks strawberry shortcake and some amazing ginormous icees. If that lust counts for calories I'm in big trouble...

ginormous icee

It'd be great if there was more 'affordable' kid rides and activities so more families could enjoy everything with a family pass. This year I did notice a nice addition of a small playground for younger kids by the free family stage. 

There was a lot of entertainment during the four days of Riverfest.  During Thursday, Friday and Saturday I enjoyed our city's clown magician entertaining families of all ages, pole vaulters on a barge on the Mississippi and lumberjack competitions. 

2015 Commodore Steve Doll

The 2015  Commodore Steve Doll and his crew were on hand daily to pin special pins on attendees during the entire Riverfest and try as I did to get a special button the Commodore always seemed to be pinning everybody else. I certainly wasn't going to knock the little girls out of the way.

And then there was the music...

On Thursday we heard the Executives and Sucker Punch Sally. 

The Executives entertained us with 50-60's tunes

Sucker Punch Sally from Winona,MN 

 from Decorah, Iowa, the Homestead Act  on Friday midday.

And on Saturday, Riverfest's last evening after biking and having a picnic dinner in Riverside Int'l Gardens we enjoyed some oldies with Studebaker 7  

Rocking out on guitar

Studebaker 7

The Not Guilty Band knows how to entertain

BUT we really spent the majority of the early evening with The Not Guilty Band from Minneapolis with a lot of clapping 'n moving to their wonderful sound. Their audience grew and grew as their sets continued.

Unfortunately we had to leave before the Remainders played and the fireworks since we needed daylight to take the marsh bike trail  back to where we parked the car... but for our last moments down by the Mississippi River Mother Nature (and those Canadian fires) treated us to a gorgeous sunset. And BTW we heard we also missed the mayfly explosion. 

La Crosse's Riverfest may not be as large as Milwaukee's Summerfest but it is just the right size and a great way to spend some summer days festing down by the river with our community.

You Tube Link: The Not Guilty Band 

So fun!