Dear Neighbors -
 
I write this the day before our annual Easter egg hunt with a new layer snow on the ground, which I'm sure will add a whole new dimension to the event.
 
Given the weather, it is difficult to think ahead to summer gardens. I will ask you to do so, just the same. Last month I got just a few volunteers to show off their yard or deck in a garden walk this year, but we need more! Please give me a call or an email if you would like to share your yard or if you would like to nominate a yard you would like to see. If it is your own yard, please let me know what month or months would work the best for you.
 
Thank you to Mike & Kay Collins for hosting a TGIF in February and also for our brand new TGIF sign! It was also nice to meet a few new people from just outside the neighborhood on Hillcrest. Our next TGIFs will be at the Teofilos on April 15th and at Carol Janssen's home on May 20th.
 
Looking ahead, the neighborhood rummage will be on June 3rd & 4th. This year the event is free for all member households ($2.00 for non-members). Please see the insert for information. Hopefully it will not snow!
 
Speaking of membership, the renewal form is again inserted into this newsletter. For easy reference, we've printed the list of current members on the back, so if your name is not there, please fill it out (please include any suggestions you may have!) and return it with a check ASAP. Benefits of membership include the handy neighborhood directory, free participation in the rummage sale, reduced prices for the annual pig roast and more! Your support and input help keep the neighborhood strong.
Happy Spring! (I think).

Karen McNeely
 

PLAY GROUP NEWS
There seemed to be a curse on the playgroup this winter, as three playgroups had to be cancelled due to illness. We hope that our spring playgroup season finds everyone happy and healthy and ready to play!
 
The neighborhood play group is open to all moms, dads and kids in the neighborhood association. We will meet on the following Thursdays from 9:30 until 11:30. The host house provides light refreshments for all. Please join us for a morning of fun! Contact Julie Janisch with questions at info@damonwoods.org.

UPCOMING LOWELL DAMON WOODS ASSOCIATION EVENTS

	April 25th through May 1st - National No TV Week
	June 3rd and 4th - Neighborhood Rummage Sale
	July 9th - Annual Pig Roast and Association Meeting
	October TBA - Damon Woods Harvest Fest
	October 31st - Trick-or-Treat
	December 3rd - Christmas Tree pickup and Christmas Cookie Exchange

APRIL-MAY TGIF PARTIES
The TGIF'S start at 7:00 p.m. Please bring an appetizer and beverage to share. If you are interested in hosting an upcoming month, please contact Kris Gehrke at info@damonwoods.org. This is a great opportunity to meet new neighbors and reacquaint yourself with old neighbors. Look for the new TGIF sign outside the host’s home the week before the party.

	Michelle and Dean Teofilo will be hosts at their home on Stickney Ave on April 15th.
	Carol Janssen hosts at her home on N. 81st for the TGIF on May 20th.

THE MATTHAIS TO HOST OPEN HOUSE
Steve & Michele Matthai would like to invite the Damon Woods neighborhood for an Open House on Saturday, April 30 from 2-4 p.m. to walk through and view the recent addition to their 1949 colonial home on Pleasant Street. “We’re not quite done, but it’s getting close,” said both the Matthais. “We’ve been stirring up a lot of dust since October, so we’d love to let the neighbors come and take a peek.” The Matthais added 1600 square feet to their existing 1400 square foot house, adding a family room, master suite with office, bathroom and walk-in-closet, 2car garage, and basement. The 11-year Damon Woods residents state, “This has been a dream come true – to have the house we’ve always wanted in the neighborhood we’ve always loved.”

BOOK CLUB
Date: Monday, May 23rd, 2005 at 7:30 pm 
Place: John and Patti Hartwick’s home
The book will be One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus.
 
One Thousand White Women is the fictional story of May Dodd and a colorful assembly of pioneer women who, under the auspices of the U.S. government, travel to the western prairies in 1875 to intermarry among the Cheyenne Indians. The covert and controversial "Brides for Indians" program, launched by the administration of Ulysses S. Grant, is intended to help assimilate the Indians into the white man's world. Toward that end May and her friends embark upon the adventure of their lifetime. Jim Fergus so vividly depicts the American West that it truly feels like these diaries are a capsule in time.

NEXT BOARD MEETING
The neighborhood association’s next board meeting is at 9:00 a.m. on May 14th at the Mad Mug Coffee Shop, on the corner of 80th and Burleigh. Please join us and share your ideas.
 

 
NEWS TO SHARE?
Has someone in the neighborhood had a birth? How about newsworthy items or accomplishments in your family. Pass it on to Larry Kopperud at info@damonwoods.org for inclusion in the next newsletter. 

 
“NEW NEIGHBORS” WEB PAGE TAB
Look for the new selection tab on our neighborhood association web page. The tab can be found on the left hand side of the web page. You can fill in a brief new neighbors form or you can e-mail the neighborhood association directly using the hot link on the page. The New Newcomers Group will stop by with a nice welcoming packet for you and your family. 

NEW MCCANLES BIRTH
Jennifer LaPorte-McCanles and Chris McCanles welcomed Miles Frederick McCanles on February 25. Born at St. Joe’s at 5:47 pm, he weighed 8 pounds 15 ounces, and was 22 inches long. He joins his big brothers Malcolm (3 1/2) and Mitchell (20 months) in M&M land!

2005 ALL-NEIGHBORHOOD RUMMAGE SALE
Once again, it’s time to clean out those attics, closets, toy rooms and garages! Sell the things you don’t need at the annual All-Neighborhood Rummage Sale. Don’t have any excess stuff? How about a lemonade or popcorn sale? Mark your calendars now for Friday, June 3 from 9AM to 5PM and Saturday, June 4 from 8AM to 2PM. This year it is Free to all member households, $2.00 to non-members.
The sale will be advertised in the Journal/Sentinel and the Wauwatosa News Times. Signs will be posted on North Ave. and Wauwatosa Ave. on the days of the sale. Balloons will mark the homes participating, and sellers will receive a few copies of a shopping guide that they can reproduce and give to shoppers.

EASTER EGG HUNT 2005
The annual Easter egg hunt, held at the Lowell Damon House on March 19th, was a great success, despite the cold weather and several inches of fresh snow. There were 30 children who enjoyed face painting, decorating cookies, coloring bunny ears and, of course, finding eggs in the snow! The Easter bunny even stopped by to meet the children and hand out a special treat.
A HUGE thank you to Pam Christopherson for coordinating this event. Thank you also to Laura Glawe, Donna Johnson, Lynn Rutkiewicz, Leslie and Mary Duyser and Julie Janisch for their assistance, and to the many neighbors who helped out the day of the event.
We are also grateful to Mike Day of Dependable Auto for bringing us the Easter bunny and to Lighting Accessories for sponsoring the cookie decorating station.

Getting Ready for the Easter Egg Hunt:
Pictures of our neighbors braving the elements for fun with the Easter Bunny

Julia Prange, daughter of Paul and Sophia Prange of Jackson Park Blvd, 
was getting the finishing touches of her rabbit nose before she and the
other children braved the wet and somewhat sloppy snow on March 19th
the day after we were surprised with a dose of Mother Nature's messiest.

 Matthew and Casey Dobson, children of Alec and Holly Dobson of Stickney Ave.

Damon Woods Neighbors and the Easter Bunny at the Damon Woods House Easter Egg Hunt.

Rony Stollberg son of Richard Stollberg and Judy Olson of Stickney Ave.

Jack Decora son of Jeff and Katie Decora of Aberdeen Ct, and
Evan Christopherson son of Brien and Pam Christopherson of Hillcrest Ave.

Vincent, Elizabeth, and Grace Teofilo children of Dean and Michelle Teofilo of Stickney Ave.

A LOOK BACK IN TIME
Mike Collins submitted these undated photos (estimated to be from 1927) of the home where he and his wife Kay live on Woodland Ave. The photos were lent to him by immediate previous owners Chris and Kim Turner, who now live on the corner of Church Street and Woodland Ave.

The photo on the left has a sign advertising warm air heating systems and sheet metal work by Reinhardt Brother Co. Carl H. Reinhardt was the builder of this home and many in the area.
The photo on the right shows how fun loving friends “decorated” the home of newlyweds Arno and Josephine Reinhold. Arno was the treasurer of the Reinhold Brothers Co which later became Reinhold Ace Hardware on 24th and Lisbon Ave in Milwaukee. Josephine survived Arno and lived in the home until 1969.

NATIONAL NO TV WEEK: IS GIVING UP TV WORTH IT?
- by Larry Kopperud
 
About 15 years ago, my wife Kathy read a story from the Milwaukee Journal to our kids Dan and Kristin (now 25 and 23) about a girl who was offered $500 from her parents if she gave up TV for a year. Without skipping a heartbeat, Dan and Kristin said, “We’ll give up TV for a year for a Nintendo.” This was back when Nintendo had less sophisticated graphics and animation than it has today. None the less, the kids were eager to do it.
We were doubtful in their ability to stick to this lofty goal, but we were willing to help them try to accomplish it. As they embarked on the challenge of living without the television, they needed alternatives to fill their time. One alternative was reading. To encourage our eight and ten-year-old children to read, we offered an incentive: for every hundred pages they completed, they would receive a pack of baseball cards. They were off and running and we were making plenty of stops at the sports card store. We started buying baseball cards by the box so we could get a discount over the individually priced card packs.
This turned out to be a pretty difficult challenge for the kids, especially when visiting friends houses and attending sleepovers. Missing the Super Bowl was really difficult for our son. Did it work? Much to our amazement, yes! They made it a whole year (with an occasional TV show slipped in at friends' houses), but the Super Bowl went unwatched that year and they did get their own Nintendo. But the bigger payoff is that both Dan and Kristin became avid readers. Today Kristin reads several books a week and Dan is in a book club with a number of friends from high school and college.
We are incredibly proud that our kids stuck with their challenge. Kids are capable more than we give them credit for even if they whine from time to time. Would I suggest that you try something like this with your kids? Absolutely! Think about being part of National No TV week with your family.

DAMON WOOD INFORMATION
Keep in touch with upcoming events and news as it happens. Sign up to be a member of our neighborhood news list at Topica.com. Send an e-mail to damonwoods@topica.com with “subscribe” as the subject. Follow the online Topica instructions. The information you fill out is confidential and you will not get e-mail spam. If you find out that you don’t like it, you can unsubscribe from the service.
   

TOSA WEST ATHLETIC FUND RAISER
Casino Night will be held Friday, April 22nd, at Hart Park. It's a fund raiser, raffle and silent auction hosted by the Wauwatosa West Athletic Booster Club. Doors open at 7:00 pm, gaming begins at 7:30 pm with the raffle and silent auction at 10:30 pm. Tickets are $15 before March 28th or $20 at the door, which includes 2 drink tickets and 2 raffle tickets. Contact Jayne King at 453-7551 to purchase in advance.
 
TAKE YOUR MOTHER TO BREAKFAST
The Wauwatosa Crime Stoppers is holding it's annual Pancake Breakfast on Mother's Day, Sunday May 8, at the Muellner Building (Hart Park) from 8 am until 12 pm. The all-you-can-eat breakfast includes pancakes, sausage, milk, coffee, and juice. The cost is $5 per adult, $3 for children 3-12. All mothers will receive a flower and there are door prizes given away hourly (you need not be present to win). All proceeds from the breakfast benefit the Crime Stoppers program. Tickets are on sale now at The Little Read Bookstore. For more information about the breakfast or the Crime Stoppers program, contact the Wauwatosa Police Department at 471-8430, extension 111.
 
NAC- NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION COUNCIL NEWS
Representatives from Tosa’s 25 neighborhood associations meet every other month. Here are some highlights and information from the March 9th meeting. Anyone is welcome to attend NAC meetings. They are always interesting and informative. The next NAC meeting will be held on May 11th at 6:30 p.m. at Harwood Place Community Room, 8220 Harwood Avenue.

   Reminders from the police department: 

	The Crime Stopper Pancake breakfast will be on Mother's Day at the Muellner Building (see announcement this page).
	National Night Out will be August 2nd. Will include the return of the flashlight walk as well as a celebration of McGruff's 25th year.

   Business Improvement District report:
 

	Spring Art Walk in the village is April 29th-30th
	Fall Art Walk is September 30th - October 1st
	Mayfair Rotary Club has an ambitious project to revamp the 'pocket park' in front of Drew's store. Hope is to attract concerts in the summer. Hope to have it done by Tosa Fest.

   County Supervisor Jim 'Luigi' Schmitt: 

Mr. Schmitt spoke about the changes that have occurred on the county grounds. Key point was that a Pool Advisory Committee is being formed to analyze the Hoyt Pool situation. Contact his office if interested.

   Park and Recreation Department:
 

	Registration for summer activities is April 23rd at Tosa West
	Discounted tickets are available to the Zoo, Mount Olympus water Park, Noah’s Ark, and Great America.
	There will be no Safety Town this summer in Wauwatosa. Park and Recreation will be taking this responsibility over and offering the program again in 2006.
	Skate Park raised $600-700 at Hark Park day of young bands. Creating a visual model of the park is desired. T-shirts are available from Johnson's Fitness on North Ave to raise funds.
	Adult softball teams are needed! Teams of 10 will start the end of April. Contact Park and Recreation if interested.

   Beautification: 

Adopt-a-bed was very successful in 2004. New volunteers sought - a meeting is on April 27th with volunteers.

2005 VILLAGE EVENTS

	April 29th and 30th: Spring Art Walk in the village
	May 21st and 22nd: Hartfest at Hart Park
	June 22nd: Tosa Tonight Concert
	July 13th: Tosa Tonight Concert
	September 9th and 10th: Tosa Fest
	September 30th: October 1st Fall Art Walk
	October 1st: Wauwatosa Historical Tour of Homes
	August 2nd: National Night Out and Tosa Tonight Concert
	August 6th: Firefly Art Fair
	August 17th: Tosa Tonight Concert

NATIONAL NO TV WEEK
This national event week runs from Monday, April 25th, to Sunday, May 1st. What a great excuse to get out in the neighborhood and enjoy! Here are a few suggestions to get away from the boob tube: Monday night, open swim at Tosa East from 7 - 9 pm, a neighborhood kickball game, kids Bunco, cookout with your neighbors, family game night, a walk to the library, a bike parade, get a group together for poker or Sheepshead, curbside ice cream social... Got other great ideas? Would you like to help organize an event? Please contact Karen McNeely at info@damonwoods.org.

NEWSLETTER DISTRIBUTION
THANK YOU - to those who helped deliver the February newsletters! Ellie Bjorkman, Jeanine Schoen, Diane Kaiser-Rockenbach, Kathy Mannebach, Beth Brown, Frank & Joanne Shansky, Pam Christopherson, Kathleen Romfoe, Kris & Jim Gehrke, and Jessie Maude McNeely.
If you would like to help deliver, contact Karen McNeely.