WI State Historic Preservation Conference – Oct 15 & 16
The fine folks at the Wisconsin State Historic Preservation Offices hosted an information gathering session yesterday at the amazing, historic Mitchell Mansion on Grand Avenue (now Wisconsin Ave.) and now operating as The Wisconsin Club. To be inside this… amazing building was a treat just by itself. (Google for images)
The purpose was for information gathering in advance of this year’s Wisconsin Historic Preservation Conference. Invited were representatives from local historic preservation organizations throughout the state to get their input on an array of subjects to better plan the event.
In attendance were folks from:
- Various Milwaukee Neighborhood based Historic Preservation groups.
- Preservation Racine Inc.
- Madison Trust for Historic Preservation
- Historic Preservation Foundation of Eau Claire
- La Crosse Heritage Preservation
- The National Trust for Historic Preservation – Wisconsin Office
- Wright in Wisconsin
- And of course ourselves, The Beloit Neighborhood Preservation Assn.
(Pardon, I don’t recall all organizations represented, names or URLs – please comment below to correct.)
Among the topics discussed was, to paraphrase… what have you been doing locally that has been working well for your own local historic preservation efforts? It was a great opportunity to learn from others and share some great ideas.
Fan the Wisconsin State Historic Preservation Office
As in years past the conference travels to various locations throughout the state. This years conference will be held Friday/Saturday October 15th & 16th at the Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva. A wonderful location for the event. The conference is growing in support and popularity each year to the extent that it is increasingly challenging to find communities/facilities large enough to accommodate the growing numbers. A good problem to have I suppose.
As the event is still in planning stages detail will be announced at a later date. Information will be provided on the Wisconsin SHPO website, www.WisconsinHistory.org as well as their Facebook fan page.
What to do…
- Mark Your Calendar for October 15th & 16th.
- Get on the email list for further information.
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It couldn’t be more convenient. We’ve been given a great rate at Grand Geneva and it’s close enough you could just commute back-n-forth if you really need to. Think about it. It would be great to have Beloit well represented including.
- Participation from city staff
- Participation from the city council
- Individuals (plural) from the Landmarks Commission
- Several resident households from in and around Beloit’s three historic districts
- Visit Beloit, Beloit 2020, Downtown Merchants
Investment in and the preservation of Beloit’s distinctive historic character is good for business, property values, tourism and the community as a whole. The more we diminish this, the more Beloit becomes generic and like anyplace else.
To get the email updates on this event when they become available contact Daina Penkiunas
National Register Coordinator
608-264-6501
daina(dot)penkiunas(at)wisconsinhistory(dot)org
Next NPA Gathering: Mon. Dec. 7th.
- - Guest: Acting Police Chief, Norm Jacobs
- - Date: Monday Dec. 7th
- - Time: 6:00 PM
- - Location: Bushel & Peck’s (328 State Street, downtown Beloit)
About this time last year a detective from the Beloit Police Department joined us for one of our regular meetings. It turned out to be a very informative, supportive and helpful exchange. We received a lot of very positive and appreciative comments from those who attended for having hosted that exchange. Well its been a year now and we thought it would be good to get together again.
We’re very pleased that acting police chief Norm Jacobs volunteered to meet with us personally. Given tight scheduling we’ve only got him for about fifteen minutes though so get there early. Additionally, we’ll be meeting a bit earlier then usual in order to accomodate. So note the earlier 6:00 time. He’s scheduled to join us ~6:15.
We appreciate and support the hard work the Beloit Police Dept. provides for us and the challenges they face. Please join us for some direct communication with Chief Jacobs.
Pumpkins for the Park – A big hit!
Wow! The level of creativity shown in the carved pumpkins just keeps getting better each year.
We’ve some very creative folks in the community who would seem to have discovered their creative outlet through pumpkin carving. The volunteer pumpkin carvers really got into it. I don’t think the video really does justice to how cool many of them were. Guess you just had to be there. 
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The creativity seems to have been appreciated as there were hardly any pumpkins left by the end of the evening. A near sell out!
We were fortunate to have great weather and enjoyed a great turn out. Lots of neighbors and friends showed and it was a great chance to hang out and catch up with folks.
The neighbors on Church Street initiated this great event and again outdid themselves. It would not have happened though without the generous help of close friends, relatives and those too slow to duck. I’m reluctant to name names though as I know I’ll forget someone. It’s a great neighborhood though of close and caring neighbors and friends willing to share their time and effort. We raised some money for the park but it’s also just a fun group of folks to hang out with. Thanks to everyone to volunteered.
Also, thank you to our generous sponsors.
Bushel & Peck’s – It’s a great place that keeps getting better and better. Stop by some time for us.
Harris Ace Hardware – Couldn’t be more convenient and the folks there really go out of their way to help you.
Doodles – They’ve got great creativity based programs for the kids. A wonderful opportunity for our community’s kids.
3rd Annual Pumpkins For The Park
Carved Pumpkin Sale
A Benefit For The Historic Horace White Park!
Saturday Oct 24th. 5:30 pm at the park
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Now in it’s 3rd year the neighbors on Church Street have been hosting this popular event to support Horace White Park.
- - Sale begins at 5:30
- - All pumpkins are $5 and reserved on a first-come, first-served basis
- – Pumpkins to remain on display until 7:00 pm at which time you can take your pumpkin home.
The best pumpkins go fast so don’t be late.
(If you’d like to keep the cool little electric light inside… $6/pumpkin w/ light)
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Sponsored by: Bushel & Peck’s Local Market
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Photos curtesy of Old Onliner.
Last Year:
Next NPA Gathering Mon. 9/28 – Historic Beloit Photo Essay
Rob Baller’s Historic Beloit Photo Essay
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Come out and join us for our next Beloit NPA gathering. We think you’ll enjoy it.
If you’ve not seen Rob Baller’s amazing slide presentation of historic Beloit you’ve really missed something. It’s a little difficult to describe. You just have to witness it.
What he’s done is gathered numerous historic Beloit photos. He then researched determine from what exact location the various photos were taken from and then took contemporary photos from the same vantage point. Through various computer aided graphics techniques he’s been able to morph the old photo into the contemporary one. Its really amazing to watch the transformation.
Beyond being thoroughly entertaining it’s both informative and educational as to how our city has evolved over time and what some of the influences were for these changes. It’s sure to evoke a lot of conversation.
- - Date: Monday Sept. 28th
- - Time: 7:00 p.m.
- - Location: Vision Beloit Center – Conference Room (500 Public Ave.)
Neighbors Who Care – Meeting since 2002
Just wanted to help raise some awareness about a city-wide association of pro-active Beloit residents called “Neighbors Who Care”. They have been meeting since 2002 and focus on learning how to deal with neighborhood situations and providing support and encouragement for Beloit residents. Their meetings are open to the public.
They meet on the 4th Tuesdays of the month at 6:30 p.m. over at the Neighborhood Housing Services Building (520 West Grand).
Joseph and Kathy Vickerman head up the group. Just last month was the first time Ana-n-I were able to catch up with them. They’re a very knowledgeable, plugged in and active group of folks. It was very informative and time very well spent. I would encourage you to mark your calendar and stop by next month Sept. 22nd. We’ve added their meetings to the BNPA calendar here.
BMHS Jazz Band – Appreciation Reception
Folks know we’re big fans of the BMHS Jazz Band.
The Beloit Memorial High School Jazz Band cordially invites you to a reception showing our appreciation for the generous donations we received in support of our recent participation in the Essentially Ellington Festival and Competition at the Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City.
Appreciation Reception
Beloit Public Library Meeting Room
Monday, August 17, 2009
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Cake and Punch will be served.
Preview our New York DVD, featuring photos and video of our experience in New York City.
Mark your calendar. Hope to see you there.
Added to the NPA events calendar.
First ever B.N.P.A. National Night Out Picnic!
Tuesday August 4th is National Night Out. And given that we’re always looking for an excuse to get together with neighbors and friends anyway this is a great occasion to do so.
- Where: Horace White Park. We’ll be gathering by the band shell.
- Time: 5:30-9:00
- What: It’s a picnic. While you’re certainly welcome to bring something to pass it is not expected, it’s not a “pot luck”. So simply bring what you would enjoy for a picnic.
- Bring the kids: We’ll have games and prizes!
- What else to bring: There are approximately eight picnic tables available though you may want to bring chairs or otherwise plan for this.
- Grills? There are no grills there. You’re welcome to bring one along though if you’d like.
Please invite your neighbors and friends who may not see this web posting.
BTW, there’s a small fee for reserving the park. As such we’ll be passing the hat to cover this.
Thanks to Marge F. for pulling this together for us!
Photo credit: Mark P. (any excuse to showcase Mark’s pics and this HW park pic is among my favorites)
4th Annual Casa McKelly House Party
NPA neighbors and friends were all invited and a bunch showed. We had rain again this year but it passed and the turn out was great in spite of the overcast. The dunk tank again was the big draw for the kids. And like last year the Beloit Memorial High School Jazz Combo was supurb! Because of the weather we had to have them set up inside so seating and dance floor was minimal. Many folks enjoyed the band from throughout the house as well as from the yard. Folks congregating everywhere. Lots-O-food though it went quickly with all those teenagers in and out. (note to self… more food next year)
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Performing for us this evening:
- Pierre Charles – Piano
- Christian Garcia – Sax
- Ben Goodwin – Tenor Sax
- Robbie Goodwin – Trumpet
- Kevin LeBaron – Trumpet
- Jeff Patterson – Trombone
- Crystal Rebone – Bass
- Alex Vance – Bass & Drums
- Peter White – Drums
Under the direction of Chris Behrens.
And sitting in, neighbor Matt Goodwin who got to jam with his boys. Can you emagine what a thrill that was.
Hope you can join us next year.
Join us for our first ever Beloit NPA Plant Exchange!
If you’ve seen our own historic district neighbor Bob Fizzell featured in both local newspapers, The Beloit Daily News and The Stateline News you know there are many avid gardeners among us. It’s a frequent topic of conversation.
If you enjoy your flower or vegetable garden as much as we come out and join us for our inaugural NPA plant exchange.
- - When: Saturday morning May 30th. 8 a.m.
- - Where: Paul & Jenn’s (635 Harrison)
- - How It Works: Bring seeds, starts & plants to trade.
If you’ve seedlings, volunteers or something you’ve simply too much of, transplant them into excess plastic containers of any kind and bring them along. These could be from the nursery or simple yogurt, deli, cottage cheese containers, etc. with holes in their bottoms. In exchange you may find something you would like for your own garden at home.
This event is FREE to Beloit NPA neighbors.
It’s a great way to meet your neighbors and other gardeners while beautifying the neighborhood. So come on out!
