Community News

The annual Lighted Holiday Parade held in Waukon Monday evening, December 6 brightened up the beginning of the holiday season in more ways than one as nearly 20 entries made their way through the city streets, such as the one pictured at right. Temperatures in the teens and wind chills hovering around 0° made for some chilly viewing conditions, but that didn’t seem to bother the many parade-goers lining the parade route, such as those in the background of the above photo taken by Standard Newspaper Assistant Editor Joe Moses. View and find out how to purchase this photo and more from the holiday parade by clicking on the Photo Galleries link at www.waukonstandard.com. A video of the complete parade captured by Standard Newspaper Assistant Editor Joe Moses can also be found on The Standard’s Facebook page at The Standard Newspaper, Waukon.
 

It’s a ball, it’s an acorn, it’s a pumpkin! The fall theme mystery bag brought a lot of predictions, but few were correct to guess pinecone. The talk of fall, pinecones and acorns led the Clover Kids into the Scurrying Squirrel Challenge. The neighborhood squirrels have just been informed that they shouldn’t fly south for the winter because squirrels can’t fly. They should be gathering nuts to prepare for winter. The Clover Kids were challenged to build a contraption out of random supplies to move one acorn a total of three feet without touching the acorn. Many ideas and plans were tried, modified and retried. Contraptions ranged from ziplines to catapults to attempts at cars. Each group was successful in their unique contraption and no squirrels will go hungry this winter. Clover Kids also made holiday cards (pictured in surrounding photos) to deliver to the local nursing homes.

Each year on GivingTuesday, which was Tuesday, November 30 this year, Peoples State Bank gives a donation to local community food pantries in the area. Food pantries that received a donation this year included West Grant Lions Club, SW Cap Northern Grant County Food Pantry, Clayton County Food Shelf, Coulee Cap Food Pantry, Gays Mills Food Pantry, Lancaster Food Pantry, Living Faith Food Pantry, Allamakee County Food Shelf and Six Rivers Food Pantry. Pictured above in the submitted photo from the donation presentation at the Allamakee County Food Shelf are, left to right, Reid Mahoney, Lesa Moose and Brian Mahoney of Peoples State Bank, Allamakee County Food Shelf volunteer Monica Roderick, Dennis Lyons of Peoples State Bank and Allamakee County Food Shelf volunteer Gary Rumph.

The Waukon High School Choir will travel around the area on its 26th Annual Christmas Church Tour this Sunday, December 5.

The choir sings at seven churches each year. Those churches are selected based on a number of factors, including church proximity to the high school, accessibility for school buses, the physical size of the church, the membership size of the congregation, and whether the worship service is broadcast.

Under the direction of Sarah Bieber, the choir will be singing during the worship services at these Waukon area churches according to the following time schedule:

St John’s Lutheran
8:30-8:45 a.m.

Old West Lutheran
9-9:15 a.m.

First Presbyterian
9:30-9:45 a.m.

St Patrick Catholic
10-10:15 a.m.

First Baptist
10:30-10:45 a.m.

Zalmona Presbyterian
11-11:15 a.m.

Plans are being made for the Annual Lighted Holiday Parade to be held in downtown Waukon and scheduled for Monday, December 6, beginning at 6 p.m. The event coincides with extended Monday night business hours of some Waukon retailers, along with other events being planned that same evening.

The parade will begin with entries lining up around the East Elementary School playground before they travel Fifth Street NW south to West Main Street. Turning left onto West Main Street, the parade entries will venture to the stoplight intersection downtown, where they will then turn south on to Spring Avenue for one block before turning right on to First Avenue SW and heading west up to Sixth Street SW. The entries will then turn right and head north back to the East Elementary playground.

The Waukon Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its “Ringing in the Holidays” promotional event November 1 through December 12 of this year in an effort to keep business local for the holiday season. A drawing for prizes will be held Monday, December 13 for three winners of prizes of $25, $50 and $100 in Waukon Dollars.

Those shopping in local participating businesses during that promotional timeframe are invited to fill up as many $100 Punch Cards as they can with purchases from one or more Waukon Chamber of Commerce merchants found on the back of the punch cards. Participating merchants will punch or initial above the punch image to confirm the punch card’s $5 incremental value of purchase total.

During the month of November, Allamakee County Farm Bureau (ACFB) is collecting hats and mittens. Items will need to be new or gently used with no tears or holes.

The items will then be donated to the Allamakee County Relief Office. The Relief Office will then distribute the items to those in need in the local community.

A container will be placed in the ACFB office, located at 14 First Avenue NE in Waukon, where items can be dropped off. Hats and mittens of all sizes can be donated. ACFB office hours are Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Donations will be accepted until December 3.

A lifelong love of animals for Waukon native Tracey Tepesch is now something she can share with customers - both human and fur-bearing - in her new business venture, Paws Up Pet Supplies, located at 11 Allamakee Street in Waukon.

First opening for business November 6 in the long-time Cotécolor Photography building, Paws Up Pet Supplies accomplishes three aspirations for the 1989 graduate of Waukon High School. “Number one, my love/passion for animals; number two, I’ve always wanted to be a part of the business community; and number three, I’ve always wanted to restore a building back to its original state,” Tepesch explained.

Veterans Day at Thornton Manor in Lansing was celebrated by presenting two residents with the honored Quilt of Valor. Eileen Smith (pictured standing above) from Lansing gave a sentimental presentation to Charlie Matlock and Don Anderson (seated left to right in photo above), honoring the veterans with the Quilt of Valor and framed certificates. A Quilt of Valor is a quality, handmade quilt that is machine or hand quilted. It is awarded to a Service Member or Veteran who has been touched by war. The quilt says unequivocally, “Thank you for your service and sacrifice in serving our nation.” The two quilts were locally made by a special group of women to honor local veterans. Photo and write-up submitted by Karen Ulrich, Recreation Therapy Director at Thornton Manor. Submitted photo.

The Allamakee County Veterans Museum will observe Pearl Harbor Day Tuesday, December 7 by offering a program to the public in the Program Room of its new museum in the former Vet’s Club building in Waukon.

Tuesday, December 7 at 6:30 p.m. a video documentary will be presented about the Japanese air raid on the U.S. Naval and Air Bases at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Islands, which marked the entry of the United States into the Second World War.

The Pearl Harbor documentary will be preceded by a video that museum staff are calling “The last summer of peace in Waukon before the War.” It includes movie footage filmed in downtown Waukon in the summers of 1940-1941 by the Cote family for entertainment viewing in their newly opened Town Theatre on Main Street in Waukon.