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| April, 2003 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President's
Letter Goings On In Damon Woods Our Neighbors in Damon Woods Tosa Goings On News in Lowell Damon Woods Featured Business - The Little Read Book | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As we hopefully say good bye to winter and hello to spring, I'd be remiss if I did not thank Anne Fee and crew for coordinating the wonderful winter gathering. If you did not attend this year, you need to make a point of going in 2004. Great company, great food and a surprisingly charming atmosphere. Looking forward to the budding possibilities of spring, I see many. A big thank you to Mark Steimle, John Rutkiewicz and Kathleen Russell for getting the much requested contractor's list off the ground. We're counting it on you to make it successful by sharing your favorite contractors with us. I know my kids are looking forward to the Easter Egg Hunt on April 12. No doubt inspired by a great time at the Marks', the Teofilos have agreed to host the next neighborhood gathering. We are still working on the details of our garden walk. If you are interested in showing off your great yard, deck or ???, or even helping the day of the event, please contact me at info@damonwoods.org. Other seeds that have been planted have been a golf outing, a Brewer outing, volleyball and rock climbing. Do any of these sound interesting or give you an idea for another activity? Contact me or any other board member; who knows what ideas will take root. Have a great spring! --Karen
McNeely | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Goings On In Damon Woods
NEIGHBORHOOD PLAYGROUP
The hostess will provide coffee and light snacks for kids and
parents. Playgroup lasts from 9:30 am to 11:30 am. If you have any
questions, please email info@damonwoods.org. LOWELL DAMON WOODS ASSOCIATION EVENTS 2003
ATTENTION ALL GOLFERS
NEIGHBORHOOD EASTER EGG HUNT APRIL
12th DAMON WOODS HOME
BREWERS TEEN ROCK CLIMBING
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Our Neighbors in Damon Woods
CONGRATULATIONS! NEW NEIGHBORS ON 83rd STREET BICYCLE RALLY BREATHE FREE 2003 A Focus on Health
Community Event
A speaker program, presented by American Lung Association of
Wisconsin will be from 6:45 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Refreshments and door
prizes will also be provided. The Wauwatosa Health Department, along
with American Lung Association of Wisconsin and Fight Asthma
Milwaukee Allies, are excited to provide this free event. To
register, call the Wauwatosa Health Department at 479-8939. CAN'T FIGHT CITY HALL? If you think this is the case, my recent experience with our
local government indicates otherwise. Here's the story.
After further discussion among the neighbors, we decided to present our concerns to the Common Council during the public forum session of their next meeting--and this is the point of this story. Eight of the ten impacted households were represented at this meeting, and several people spoke to the Council about their concerns. We also presented the Council with a petition signed by all ten homeowners, asking that they re-consider both the timing of the repaving project, and the unilateral cost distribution. RECYCLING DEAL NEW SHEEPSHEAD GROUP If you would like to join the group as a regular or an alternate,
please email info@damonwoods.org. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tosa Goings On VILLAGE OF WAUWATOSA EVENT CALENDAR
BEAUTIFYING OUR CITY MAYFAIR MALL / AMC THEATER MEETING | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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News In Lowell Damon
Woods | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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ANNUAL RUMMAGE SALE The sale is steadily growing, with more and more participants each year. Let’s see if we can’t have multiple sales going on every street in the neighborhood this year! We also encourage the kids to get involved with lemonade and/or popcorn and snack stands (busy rummagers need to keep up their strength!). Balloons will mark the homes participating, and sellers will
receive a few copies of the map and list of sales that they can
reproduce and give to shoppers. The sale will also be advertised in
the Journal Sentinel, on flyers at local businesses and with signs
around the neighborhood on the days of the sale. You can pick up
your balloons, maps and sellers lists from Susan on Thursday, June
5. CLEAN-UP HELP NEEDED APRIL 26 SHOW OFF YOUR BACK YARDS THIS JULY First off, we need volunteers willing to invite neighbors into their yards. Please email Karen McNeely at info@damonwoods.org if you’re willing to participate. Nobody will be charging admission and nobody will be trying to sell anything. Our aims are simple: borrowing ideas for gardens, decks and patios and creating an occasion for neighbors to get together. The walk will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Damon House Museum, 2107 Wauwatosa Ave. There, we’ll hand out lists of households that are participating. We’ll conclude at 3:30 p.m. This is a only a general outline of the plan because, frankly, we still need to hear from volunteers and we still need to hash out some ideas, including yours. For example, we’re considering a sidewalk chalk art festival in conjunction with the garden walk so neighborhood kids can keep themselves amused while parents inspect back yards. We’d need volunteers to help with that. It could be a great opportunity for neighborhood babysitters to make contacts. We’d like to keep this event as simple as possible, but we invite your suggestions. Please email Karen with you ideas. NEWSLETTER AND FLYER
DISTRIBUTION We are looking for someone willing to stuff the newsletters. It takes about 2.5-3 hours every other month. Contact Karen for more info. DONATION TO DAMON WOODS GARDENS FUN WINTER GATHERING There were many delicious hors d’oeuvres and desserts, along with beer, wine, and soda. Thanks go to Anne Fee for organizing this great event. WAUWATOSA PLAYERS PERFORM LES MISERABLES
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| Featured
Business - The Little Read Book - by Linda Berg, owner | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In the early 80's I inherited a small amount of money from my mother's estate. She died in 1979 and the money was a big surprise. I was a single parent (3 boys, ages 12, 8 and 4) and living a simple but okay life. I knew that at the time I should have invested the money, but I wanted to do something with it that reflected my mother and her talents. She was an artist, a poet and an avid reader. She read aloud to us as young children and encouraged us to read and strive to find our artistic sides. My first idea was to open a "wellness center" but upon investigation, I found the field pretty well covered. My next thought was to open a coffee house. Back east, (I'm originally from New Hampshire) in the 70's...coffee houses were really big. I thought about opening a coffee shop with lots of plants, a table decked out with books to read and a chess board, where people could come and relax over a good cup of coffee. A friend, who later became my husband, ruined my great idea when he asked me where the profit would be. "Profit"? I went back to the drawing board and decided that a bookstore that served coffee was probably more likely to make that elusive "profit" my friend asked about. So, 17 & 1/2 years ago, the original bookstore opened on Harwood Avenue in the area that was the kitchen for the former Jolly's restaurant. It was a 400 square foot store and thrived for four years in its location. In 1989 I was asked if I wanted to assume the lease of The Brambleberry Gift Shop. It was a chance to be on State Street and be more visible. I agreed and moved the store around the corner. The Little Read Book went from being a 400 square foot bookstore to eventually being approximately 1800 square feet. It took some time, but we grew into it nicely. We're very involved in the community and especially in the Village. We network with other independent booksellers and share ideas on how to stay viable in this sometimes crazy retail market. We specialize in book groups, offering reading suggestions, discounts and even have a room available in the store that book groups can use for their meetings. Local authors make appearances during the year and we have a special Teacher Appreciation Morning and an annual Mother/Daughter/Doll Tea. In September of 2001, my husband ,Fred, and I purchased the building that houses the bookstore. We are now not only residents and business owners but commercial building owners as well. It has been a long and interesting journey for us so far. All of us at The Little Read Book are committed to the independent book business and to the community that we serve. Editors note: as Linda wrote this she was somewhat water-logged
and shell shocked having to deal with a leaking bookstore roof for
the last week and a half and a damaged dumpster enclosure that was
wrecked by a truck that plowed into it. The good news is that the
roof has been patched five times and hasn't leaked in two days and
insurance is picking up the cost. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
We
are looking at organizing a summer golf outing in the month of July
or 
August
on a Sunday afternoon. The day would consist of nine holes of golf
at a county park to be determined and then return to the home of Jim
and Kris Gehrke for a barbecue. This would be open to all adult men
and women in the Damon Woods Neighborhood Association. Please
respond by May 15th by emailing 
Please join us on Saturday,
April 12 at the Lowell Damon House for the annual neighborhood egg
hunt. Starting at 10:00 a.m., kids will be able to find eggs, do a
craft, and maybe even get a glance of the Easter bunny. Refreshments
will be provided, but don't forget to bring your own basket and a
camera! This event is free to all LDW members and $2 for any other
Wauwatosa residents wishing to participate. Please contact info@damonwoods.org
for more information or if you'd like to help. 
April
26: Drink and dance with the Home Brewers Neighbors with an
interest in home brewing, or who at least enjoy good beer, will be
looking for the table with the Damon Woods sign Saturday, April 26,
at the annual bock beer festival in the Muellner Building at Hart
Park. Tickets are available at the door. The evening of food, beer
and music and dancing is from 6 to 11:30 p.m. The Spielmannszug
Milwaukee Drum and Bugle Corp sponsors the festival.
For
the third year, Larry Kopperud, Ray and Jennifer Farrell, and
Stephan Van Dorn will run a climbing outing in June to Devils Lake
State Park for a day of rock climbing. This activity is open to
teens. Contact info@damonwoods.org
if you are interested.
BOOK
CLUB
The
Damon Woods Neighborhood Association and the Wauwatosa Police
Department will hold a Bicycle Rally on Saturday, May 3, 2003 at
10:00 a.m. on the southwest corner of the parking lot at City Hall.
Children of all ages are welcome. Please bring your bicycle and
safety equipment. Bicycle licenses will also be available for anyone
who has not registered their bike with the city of Wauwatosa (Cost -
FREE!). In order to get an idea of how many children will be
participating, please contact Karen Roy at 471-8430, ext. 110, or
email kroy@wauwatosa.net. A reminder flier will be sent at a later
date.
A
new card group has formed to play that old and wonderful card game
of Sheepshead. Chris and Dave Vogel will host the first get together
in late March or early April. Members of the group are: Peter &
Stacey Muller, Josh & Amy Riley, Adam & Laura Glawe, and
Dave & Chris Vogel.
Once again, it’s time to
clean out those attics and garages and get ready to sell it all at
the annual All-Neighborhood Rummage Sale. The timing is a bit
different than in the past years, so mark your calendars for Friday,
June 6 from 9AM to 5PM and Saturday, June 7 from 8AM to 4PM.
As we have each year for
the past seven Aprils, neighbors will get together at 10 a.m. on the
last Saturday of the month - April 26 - to do our neighborhood’s
part in spring cleaning. We’ll be raking leaves and litter from
the grounds of the Damon House Museum, 2107 Wauwatosa Ave. With your
help, we’re sure we’ll be done before noon. Bring your rakes and
let’s see how many garbage bags we can fill this year.
About
40 LDWA neighbors gathered for the annual winter party this year on
March 1st, but in a new location. Due to a conflict with the
Kneeland Walker House, the party was held in the second floor party
room at the Mullner Building at Hart Park.