Visits his great-great-grandfather’s namesake ... Prosper Waukon, the great-great-grandson of Chief John Waukon, whom the Waukon community is named after, visited the tri-state area of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin last week where his ancestors once lived. Part of his visit included a pair of presentations regarding the Waukon Family Legacy, Wednesday, June 26 at the Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center in Lansing and Tuesday, June 25 at Robey Memorial Library in Waukon, where he is pictured above presenting to a capacity crowd that evening. Standard photo by Joe Moses.
The early roots of the family tree ... The screen pictured above shows the early ancestral roots of Prosper Waukon, who is the great-great-grandson of Chief John Waukon and who visited the tri-state area last week where his ancestors once lived. The screen, which was part of a presentation given by Prosper Waukon on the Waukon Family Legacy held at Robey Memorial Library in Waukon Tuesday, July 25, shows an image of Chief John Waukon, after whom the Waukon community is named, in the middle photo of the three photos pictured at right. Standard photo by Joe Moses.
Prosper Waukon ... Standard photo by Joe Moses.
by Joe Moses
Prosper Waukon, the great-great-grandson of Chief John Waukon, after whom the city of Waukon is named, provided a presentation “The Waukon Family Legacy: Understanding Your Community’s Roots” followed by a Question & Answer (Q&A) session in the community room of Robey Memorial Library in Waukon Tuesday, July 25 with over 80 members of the public in attendance. The July 25 presentation was one of several stops for Prosper and his wife, Jan, while visiting Allamakee County, as he also made that same presentation Wednesday, July 26 at the Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center in Lansing.
One of 34 nationwide selected to participate in Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program this year through George W. Bush Institute
Mollie Marti, Waukon native and founding CEO of the nonprofit Worldmaker International, has been named one of 34 Presidential Scholars as part of the George W. Bush Institute’s Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program. The program is a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at individuals serving United States military veterans and their families who are motivated to broaden their skillsets, knowledge and influence across the country.
Participants were selected after a rigorous application and interview process. Throughout the five-month program, Scholars will meet with a variety of distinguished professionals, educators and experts in veteran transition and leadership development such as the eighth United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald and retired United States Air Force General Alfred Flowers.
Colonel Daniel W. Lemon relinquished command of the 782d Training Group (TRG) to Colonel Eric D. Haler in a ceremony held July 19 at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita, TX. The ceremony was officiated by Brigadier General George Dietrich III, 82nd Training Wing commander. The 782d TRG is widely known as the most diverse training group in the Air Force, and includes courses in civil engineering, petroleum oil lubricants, hydraulics, electrical and environmental systems, avionics and more that are taught across five states, including Texas, Missouri, Virginia, Mississippi and Florida.
Saturday, August 19, beginning at 10 a.m., the Allamakee County Veterans Museum will present another program from its Veterans History Project at its museum located at 105 Allamakee Street in Waukon.
A video interview by Chuck Bloxham with U.S. Navy veteran Dr. Ken Olson, M.D. of Waukon will be played. Dr. Olson will also be present that Saturday morning to share comments and answer questions about his military service.
Lt. Commander Kenneth R. Olson, M.D. served in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps during the period that included the War in Vietnam. He was first assigned to base hospital service in the U.S., then volunteered for submarine service, and was deployed on the nuclear ballistic missile submarine the U.S.S. Ethan Allen-SSBN-608 (pictured above).
The public is invited to attend. There is no admission or membership charge to attend. The facility is handicapped accessible.
The community of Lansing will welcome a rather unique visitor Monday, August 7, as InnerTuba will make Lansing a performance stop on its current 2023 Mississippi River Tour. United Kingdom native Jon Hodkin is a cyclist and a tuba player who loves to travel, and in 2000 he created the idea of combining all of those loves into a cycling musical tour he calls InnerTuba. Hodkin travels on his custom-made recumbent tricycle pulling a trailer that hauls his tuba (all pictured in the contributed photo above) that he will bring out to play for audiences at various stops along his tour route. According to Hodkin’s website, “InnerTuba is all about extensive travel, playing music and mingling with lots of people”.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Auxiliary to Post #4117 presented Citizenship Awards to Allamakee County 4-H members who entered their Allamakee County Fair project in the Auxiliary’s contest. The awards were presented Tuesday, July 18 during the Youth Showcase and Allamakee County Fair Queen coronation event that kicked off this year’s Fair at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon. Pictured above, left to right, are this year’s Citizenship Award recipients, including Natalie Byrnes, Breelyn Dahlstrom, Ali Melcher and Lauren Plein. Submitted photo.
The Allamakee County Veterans Museum will participate in Waukon Corn Days 2023 this Friday and Saturday, August 4-5 by showing videos of the popular movie filmed in downtown Waukon in the 1940s by the Cote family for the Town Theater. See what Waukon was like in Corn Days past from the 1940s, and identify relatives shown in the films and enjoy a nostalgic look back at period vehicles and dress with local scenes and businesses.
Videos will play continually from noon to 4 p.m. this Friday and also from 9 a.m. to noon this Saturday in the meeting room of the Veterans Museum at 105 Allamakee Street in Waukon. A display of past country school student parade entries from Corn Days Memorabilia will also be available in the Veterans Museum.
The Veterans Museum will also be open for tours. The Museum is air conditioned and wheelchair accessible, and there is no admission charge.
The Waukon Lions Club held its “Christmas in July” Party Wednesday, July 19 at Wing’s Supper Club in Dorchester. The club members enjoyed social time, a meal, an awards ceremony and a Christmas gift exchange game. Club members donated $200 and 22 pounds of canned goods to the Allamakee County Food Shelf, and donated approximately $140 in healthcare items and money to the Allamakee County Relief Office.
Two Waukon Lions Club members, Zach Troendle and Kim Gates (left to right in the above photo), were honored at the event with a Melvin Jones Fellowship Award. The award, named after Lions Club founder Melvin Jones, is given for exemplary service to their club and community. Submitted photo.
Robey Memorial Library and The Oneota Valley Literary Foundation have partnered to host Main Street Story Walk in Waukon during August featuring the children’s story, “Don’t eat bees: life lessons from Chip the dog” by Dev Petty. During the month of August, families are encouraged to read this story as they stroll the downtown area.
Six selected businesses have a portion of the story posted in the front window of their establishment for viewing from the sidewalk. Each stop along the Story Walk will direct readers to the next location. Selected businesses for the month of August are located on Rossville Road, Spring Avenue and East Main Street at the following locations numbered and labeled in the map image at right: 1. Gregg Jones Muscular Therapy; 2. Erbal Ink Tattoos; 3. Cook’s Agency; 4. Paws Up Pet Supplies; 5. Broker Leather; 6. Fiesta Vallarta Mexican Restaurant. Submitted image.
Thursday Night Book Club is held the third Thursday monthly at 6 p.m. at Robey Memorial Library. All are welcome to attend. Book Club meets in person. Those who would like to join the book discussion virtually should contact Robey Memorial Library at 563-568-4424 for participation information.
The next Thursday Book Club discussion at Robey Memorial Library is scheduled for Thursday, August 17. The topic of discussion for the Book Club will be a book written by Marie Benedict
