New Glarus 2016 In Review: September - December

<strong>September</strong>
The New Glarus Community Fund, a component of the Community Foundation of Southern WI, presented a donation to the New Glarus Library Capital Campaign. This $5,000 gift is to be used for Catelyn’s Corner, a children’s area in the future library, which will feature a seating area for a child and adult to read a book together. Catelyn’s mother, Tracy Owen, was a member of the NGCF when Catelyn passed away.  The group always loved when Tracy would bring Catelyn (and a book) along when she attended the meeting. NGCF was very saddened when Catelyn passed away and wanted to do something in her memory, and therefore established the Catelyn’s Corner Fund.
On Sunday, August 28, 2016, at 9:14 p.m., Deputies responded to a single vehicle accident in the N9000 block of County Highway J, south of Hwy 39, in the Town of York. A passing motorist discovered a sport utility vehicle in the west ditch and provided CPR to the ejected driver. The New Glarus Fire Department, New Glarus Area EMS and Green County EMS responded. According to the Green County Coroner’s Office, August Moen, 66, rural Monticello, died at the scene.
Earlier in the summer the New Glarus Bakery held a coloring contest. Kids could stop by and design a cake. The entries were voted on and then the bakery made the winner’s cakes with their design on them. The kids were then invited to take their cakes home for their families to enjoy. New Glarus Bakery owner, Angela Neff, presented the winners with their cakes: Alana Bay, age 9, with her 4th of July cake; Natalie Wahl, age 10, designed the colorful Flower Cake and her sister, Sylvia Wahl, age 6, designed a cake with carrots on it that said “Cake”.
The Monroe/New Glarus High School Swim Team swam in their first meet of the season on Tuesday, August 23rd, against the Platteville/Lancaster team. The Monroe/New Glarus JV team won, 53-23, and the Varsity team also won with a score of 101 over Platteville/Lancaster’s 69.
On Labor Day weekend the annual Wilhelm Tell Festival was held. The festival has been a tradition in New Glarus since 1938. Along with the presentation of the Wilhelm Tell pageant, there were many other events for visitors to enjoy.
At the American Legion Department Convention in Middleton, Wisconsin, on July 16, 2016, New Glarus was awarded the National American Legion Post Excellent Award. Stuessy-Kuenzi New Glarus Post #141 received the National American Legion Post Excellence Award for their activities in the four pillars of service. These pillars of service include Veteran Assistance and Rehabilitation, National Defense, Children and Youth, and Community Service.
The 9th Annual New Glarus Family Festival, sponsored by Grace Church, was held on Sunday, September 11, 2016. The festival featured many family friendly activities, as well as music, food and a car show. All activities and food were free.
Culver’s of New Glarus teamed up with the Sugar River Quilts of Valor on September 21, 2016, to raise money to aide the quilters in sewing quilts for our local veterans. Quilting members of Sugar River Quilts are all volunteers. Each quilt costs approximately $250 to complete. The quilt’s value to the veteran is priceless!
On Labor Day, Country View Veterinary Service and the Sugar River Rapids Swim Team presented the First Annual Dog Days of Summer Splash at the New Glarus Pool. Around 75 dogs brought their owners to enjoy an evening of splashing fun to benefit the Sugar River Rapids Swim Team.
Swim meet score: Edgewood 126 and Monroe/New Glarus 44. Even with that score, there were some highlights for the Monroe/New Glarus Swim Team. Taking first place in the 100 Breaststroke was Maddie Hammer, with a time of 1:16.74. Skylar Lassen placed second in the 200 Freestyle with a time of 2:11.20, and second in the 100 Backstroke with a time of 1:06.82. Kayleigh Nesbitt beat her personal record 100 Butterfly time by one second, finishing with a time of 1:32.91. In the 100 Free, Cammi Ganshert set a personal record with a time of 1:09.22. Anna Latimer took an astonishing three seconds off of her 50 Free time in the 200 Free Relay with a time of 37.58. Latimer also competed in the 100 Backstroke – shaving an incredible five seconds off her time, with a final of 1:37.23.
In NGM Cross Country: The top rated boys teams in our sectional lined-up next to the NGM’ers - defending state champion Darlington, state runner-up Boscobel, highly ranked Albany, the upstart Wisconsin Heights and sixteen other teams.  Crossing the finish line in order of 1-2-3: Payton Heinberg-D (16:54), Lucas Caminiti-WH (17:06) and Kyle Fredrickson-NGM (17:11).  
The Green County Master Gardeners held their monthly tour on Thursday, September 22, at Brenda’s Blumenladen in New Glarus.
John Ziperski was selected by the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association as the recipient of the 2015-16 NFHS Coaches Association Girls Soccer Coach of the Year Award for Wisconsin.
The Village of New Glarus held its annual Oktoberfest celebration, and there were plenty of activities for everyone to enjoy, including horse drawn wagon rides, a 5K run/walk, the annual Kilby Dinner and of course lots of great music, food and beer.
The Sugar River soccer team traveled to Wisconsin Dells on September 20th and easily won. The final score was 4-0, with all of their goals scored in the first half of the game.
The Monroe/New Glarus High School Swim team competed in the Freeport Invitational on Saturday, September 24th. They finished in second place, with a score of 242.
<strong>October</strong>
In New Glarus, “Space Rave!!! (It’s Out of This World!)” was the theme for the Homecoming Dance. New Glarus Homecoming Queen was Rebecca Barr and King was Ben Bartow. There were also a number of Homecoming activities held throughout the week. New Glarus Homecoming Court consisted of McKinley Righter, Madison Perkins, Tia Booth, Stephanie Jansen, Sydney Stecha, Devon Boll, Grace Moen, Nikki Bushee, Lydia Sprecher, Kelly Fredrickson, Olivia Woodmansee, Kaedi Gregory, Andrew Newberry, Kyle Fredrickson, Cade Beutler, Colin Reeson, Alex Betthauser, Levi Dearth, Calvin Binger, Christian Arnett, Drew Pickett, Alex Goecke, Rebecca Barr, Hayden Latsch, Ben Bartow, Dorian Preston, Noah Leonard, Skylar West, Mark Truttmann, John Chenoweth, Brandon Winder, Hunter Tierman and Jacob Tetner.
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church reenacted some of the history from their very first worship on Sunday, October 16, 2016. On October 16, 1966, folding chairs were moved into the sanctuary the day before that first service. The organ had arrived during the week and was stored in the parsonage garage until it was hand carried to the church. The entire ground surrounding the new building was nothing but clay and mud. A path of cardboard from the packing surrounding the new chairs was salvaged, and pegged into the ground to provide a walk across the empty lot to the east door of the church. The altar was a Monroe table skirted with brown paper and the candle holders were borrowed.
The New Glarus Primrose Winery, after operating first as Mineral Springs Winery in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, starting in 1990 and relocating to New Glarus in 1997 as The New Glarus Primrose Winery, announced that it will be passing the “torch” to an amazing Wisconsin winery. Ric and Teresa Joranlien, the owners of Hawk’s Mill Winery, purchased the 500 First Street location of the New Glarus Primrose Winery. Their home base is located in the rolling hills outside Browntown, Wisconsin.
The New Glarus/Monticello Knights football team faced the Mosinee Indians for their Homecoming game. The Knights emerged victorious, 14-12.
On Sunday, October 9th, New Glarus’ Swiss Historical Village and Museum held their annual Harvest Fest. During the annual festival, all 14 of the buildings that comprise the Swiss Historical Village were open and guides were available to share the unique history of New Glarus. Owned and operated by the nonprofit New Glarus Historical Society, the Swiss Historical Village and Museum, located at 612 7th Avenue, is open 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., seven days a week, from May 1st through October 15th. Visit their website at www.swisshistoricalvillage.org.
The 5th Annual New Glarus Car, Truck and Motorcycle Show was held on Sunday, October 9th. Nearly 100 vehicles were on display for visitors to enjoy.
On Wednesday, October 5th, a Grand Opening Celebration and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony was held at the Glarner Bier Haus, 1201 STH 69, in New Glarus. Those who stopped in were given 10% off purchases of $20.00 or more, and could enjoy sampling wine, beer and cheese.
A Gathering of Rogues and Ruffians - A Renaissance Faire was held at the Wilhelm Tell Grounds on Saturday and Sunday, October 8th and 9th. The Faire had lots of great family friendly activities and it was highly entertaining just to people watch. In addition, there were over 50 creative artisans and merchants.
At the Baertschi Farm Cross Country Invitational in Albany, Gabbie Sawyer received an individual recognition for 6th place, Christian Arnett, 8th, and Kyle Fredrickson for 2nd in their division race.
In the meet against Oregon/Belleville on Tuesday, October 4th, the Monroe/New Glarus Swim Team set 18 individual PRs.
The New Glarus/Monticello Football Team won the Capitol Conference South after their 35-7 win over Cambridge.
Art students at New Glarus High School joined the Memory Project, a nationwide initiative in which art students create portraits for children and teens around the world who are living in orphanages or similar homes. Given that youth in such situations usually have few personal keepsakes, the purpose of the portraits is to provide them with meaningful mementos of their youth. The project also allows art students to practice kindness and service to others while enhancing their portraiture skills.
The Sugar River Raiders soccer team is both Conference and Regional Champions! Kyle Fredrickson and Gabbie Sawyer, from NGM CC, competed at the State Cross Country Meet in Wisconsin Rapids. Kyle came in 21st and Gabby was 15th out of the 150 competitors.
On Wednesday, October 26, a Community Open House was held at the newly renovated apartments in the building that formerly housed Flannery’s Wilhelm Tell. The building now has eight apartments and space for a restaurant.
The Capitol Conference announced their South Division 2016 Football All Conference and Player of the Year Selections. First Team Running Backs included Zach Feller, NGM, and Cade Martin, Belleville. Hunter Tierman, NGM; Cash Hoffman, Belleville; and Jonah Thompson, NGM, were all named as First Team Offensive Linemen. John Chenoweth, NGM, was named First Team Defensive Back. Trent Siegenthaler, NGM, and Cade Martin, Belleville, were named as First Team Inside Linebackers. Jonah Thompson, NGM, was named as First Team Outside Linebacker. Adam Marty, NGM, and Cash Hoffman, Belleville, were named as First Team Interior Defensive Linemen. Dalton Fahey, Belleville, was named as First Team Punter. Cody McMillian, Belleville, was named First Team Kicker. Feller, Tierman, Fahey, McMillian and Thompson were unanimous selections. Hunter Tierman, NGM, was also named the 2016 Capitol Conference South Division Offensive Lineman of the Year. Zach Feller, NGM, was named the 2016 Capitol Conference South Division Offensive Player of the Year. Adam Marty, NGM, was named as 2016 Capitol Conference South Division Defensive Lineman of the Year. Jonah Thompson, NGM, was named 2016 Capitol Conference South Division Defensive Player of the Year,.. Second Team All Conference: Tanner Jelle, NGM, was named as Second Team Running Back. Jacob Tetner, NGM, was named as Second Team Tight End. Jessiah Tetner, NGM, was named Second Team Offensive Lineman. Zach Price, NGM, was named Second Team Defensive Back. Jon Errthum, NGM, was named as Second Team Outside Linebacker.
<strong> November</strong>
You may think that students reading for their librarian isn’t newsworthy, but for the first two weeks in November, New Glarus 4K-6th grade students hit the books in a “Read-A-Thon” to raise money for school librarian Mrs. Hansen, whose husband was diagnosed with cancer.
Seven students from the New Glarus High School music department recently attended the Aspiring Music Majors Seminar, held in conjunction with the Wisconsin State Music Conference. This seminar is geared towards students that are interested in pursuing music activities as a major or continuing in a performance ensemble after high school. New Glarus High School students who attended the Aspiring Music Majors Seminar included Anne Pollyea, Aimee Kujak, Elizabeth Woerpel, Justin Palmer, Cole Steiner, Hunter Tierman and Jacob Tetner.
New Glarus FFA sponsored a Donkey Basketball Tournament with the Dairyland Donkey Basketball Show on Tuesday, November 1st. The donkeys added a new dimension to the game, with some refusing to move and others bucking and kicking. In the Championship game, Belleville took on Albany. Belleville won the Championship by a score of 8 to 4.
The Capitol Conference announced their 2016 South Division Volleyball All Conference and Player of the Year Selections. Named to Second Team All Conference were Madison Perkins, New Glarus, and Devon Boll, New Glarus.
In 1962, Phil Pfund received a scholarship from the New Glarus Lions Club as he graduated from New Glarus High School.  Phil and his wife, Marilyn, recently returned the favor by presenting the Lions Club with a check, which will allow another scholarship to be presented to a local student.  Phil is the son of Herman Pfund of New Glarus. 
Since its inception in 1996, the New Glarus Community Fund & New Glarus Excellence in Education Fund has awarded more than $282,000 in grants to area organizations. At a reception at the New Glarus Hotel over $22,300 was awarded.
The New Glarus Lions Club selected two members of the New Glarus Lions Club as Co-Lions of the Year, Dick Hartman and Sondra Abraham. Dick and Sondra have been active in the leadership of the New Glarus Lions Club for years and have served our community with the grace and loyalty in the Lions Motto - “WE SERVE.”
<strong>December</strong>
Members of the New Glarus High School Band and 7th/8th Grade Choir attended Capitol Conference Honors Ensembles. Each year this is an offering to schools that are part of the Capitol Conference, and New Glarus was well represented at both events. Students had the opportunity to participate in rehearsals with musicians from other schools and work with high-level clinicians with the day ending in a concert. Middle School Honors Choir Members: Levi Belknap, Brycen Schumacher, Austin Nimtz, Josh Masson, Alexa Thayer, Aislin Crawford, Analise Fuller, Tyler Durst, Aiden Runkle, Anderson Justman, Jaylynn Benson, Ashley McGinnis, Katherine Burgess and Desmond Delforge. High School Honors Band Members: Skyler Woerpel, Emma Eicher, Taylor Funseth, Alex Betthauser, Elizabeth Woerpel, Aimee Kujak and Austin Himmelmann.
New Glarus Area Emergency Medical Services spent the Thanksgiving week giving thanks to the community for donations that allowed it to buy new technology to keep their emergency medical personnel safer. NGAEMS used just over $22,000 in contributions to purchase a new “power lift” system that loads patients automatically into the ambulance, saving strain on the lower backs of emergency personnel who, until now, lifted hundreds of patients each year.  This technology, made by Stryker, helps reduce the prevalence of back injuries and pain which are too common in the emergency medical services (EMS) field. 
New Glarus High School Volleyball All-Conference 2nd Team winners: Devon Boll and Madison Perkins.
On Saturday, December 3rd, the annual Community Christmas Tree Lighting was held at the Depot. Santa arrived for the festivities via New Glarus Area EMS and handed out candy canes to the kids. The Kinderchor invited everyone to sing Christmas Carols with them.
The New Glarus Home held their annual Resident/Family Christmas Party on Saturday, December 10, 2016.
This year in First Lego League, New Glarus put together two stellar teams: the Anti-Crash Force (members consisting of Merrick Fong, Ben Wolf, Luka Thelen, Anderson Justmann, Connor Piper, Jacob Piper, Linden Lounsbury, Bronwyn Mayhew and Coach Larry Thelen) and Night Vision (Roman Kendrick, Aden Runckle, Sutton Zimmerman, Keatan Zimmerman, Celeste Heberer, Grace Nommensen, Jessy Ruckman, Annelisa Smith, Ava Boyle, Maddie Thoemke and Coach Jennifer Boyle).
Sugar River Youth Wrestlers Took Third Place at a tournament held on Sunday, December 11. A record 43 Sugar River youth wrestlers took to the mats at the New Glarus High School and MPR! As a team, they brought home 3rd place behind Orfordville and Oregon, respectively.
The New Glarus Knights boys basketball team traveled to Lodi on December 6th, and won, 60-56, after being up by more than 10 points at halftime. With a little more than four minutes left to go in the game, New Glarus was down by eight. The Knights fought back, and Sophomore Zach Feller, on a sideline out of bounds play, sunk a buzzer beating three point shot to put the Knights one point ahead. The final score of the game was New Glarus 65, Adams-Friendship 64.
The Sugar River Raiders Girls Soccer Team was presented with the WIAA Sportsmanship Award before the Belleville vs New Glarus girls basketball game. They were one of only five teams across the entire state in any sport to win this award. Raiders Coach John Ziperski was also recognized as the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association (WSCA) Coach of the Year for public, small division schools.
The always popular Annual Community Holiday Luncheon was held at the New Glarus Elementary School on Friday, December 9, 2016. The gym was packed with kids and their parents enjoying a holiday meal served by local “celebrities.”
Employees of Old National Bank in New Glarus presented the New Glarus Police Department with the gifts collected during their toy collection drive. Sergeant Jeff Sturdevant then delivered the gifts to the New Glarus Elementary School where they were distributed.
The New Glarus Youth Committee once again hosted their annual Lunch with Santa holiday fundraiser on December 10, 2016, in the New Glarus Elementary School cafeteria. Throughout the event, 116 children were photographed with the jolly old elf and admission included lunch, crafts, a coloring contest and other activities.
Members of the New Glarus AmVets Post #69 were awarded Quilts of Valor on December 6, 2016, by the Sugar River Quilts of Valor. Veterans who received quilts were James Curran, Clifford Lien, Dennis Orr, Tom Pedretti, Samuel Powell, Tom Schubring, Bernard Schwoerer, Glen Turner, John Williams, Richard Blum, Randall Kuenzi, Kenneth Zeitler Sr., and Sam Zeitler.
Compassion is hard to teach without doing an act of Compassion/Kindness. To demonstrate their understanding of compassion, the 3rd and 4th grade students made tie blankets for the residents of the New Glarus Home and the New Glarus Police Department. This project was made possible with the financial help from the New Glarus Excellence in Education Fund.
The New Glarus Knights girls basketball team traveled to Belleville on December 19th to take on the Wildcats, losing to the home team 68-72.