Hi,
 
As I write this note the first holiday of the summer - Memorial Day - is nearing, and the kids are chomping at the bit for school to be over. Since I last wrote to you we have had our Easter Egg hunt, which was another smashing success thanks to Laurie Lehman and Amy Giampetroni. We've had torrential downpours and wild temperature swings. And, as always in Damon Woods, we've had great displays of spring bulbs in lovingly tended gardens. It is always refreshing to walk along the streets of our neighborhood and see the fruits of the hours of planning and labor so many put into their yards and gardens. Those lovely gardens are especially pleasant for those of us who have 5 year olds learning to play golf in the front yard, taking great pride in the large divots they produce and digging many holes for putting practice.
 
I find that mix to be part of what's great about living in a neighborhood such as this one: we have many long time residents who have raised their children here and remain once they are empty nesters (presumably with ample time for gardening), we have families just starting their journey, and just about everyone in between. I find it especially remarkable that it is not uncommon for people who grew up in this neighborhood to re turn when they start their own families. Certainly Damon Woods is a great place to settle into, whether your yard is full of flowers or divots.
 
One of the events which makes this a great neighborhood is coming up soon - the annual Summer Picnic, which will be held at the Damon house on Saturday July 15. There will be scrumptious food, fun games for the kids, and a perfect opportunity to hang out with old friends and make a few new ones. Oh yes. . . there might be a few adult beverages on hand as well. Please plan to join in the fun, and reserve your spot with the registration sheet enclosed in this newsletter.
 
Lastly, I would like to thank all of you who responded to the survey in the last newsletter. The results are summarized later in this edition - and if you missed it and have suggestions you'd like to make, the form is now on the website. Please feel free to give us your input any time you have an idea.
 
Take care, and Think spring!
 
Anne Fee
President

PS: To all of you who forgot to renew your membership - it's not too late! We miss you and would love to have you back! Please send in your registration to Laurie Lehman. If you can't find your form you can print one off the website. Thanks!
 

PLAY GROUP NEWS
The Lowell Damon playgroup is open to all neighborhood families. We meet on Thursdays from 9:30 to 11:30 am and the host provides light refreshments for all. If you haven't been before or haven't been in awhile, please consider joining us for a morning of fun! For more info contact Julie Janisch at info@damonwoods.org.

UPCOMING LOWELL DAMON WOODS ASSOCIATION EVENTS

	June 9th/10th - Neighborhood Rummage Sale
	July 15th - Annual Association Meeting and Picnic
	Aug 12th - Second Annual LDWNA Golf Outing
	Oct 1st - Harvest Fest (will be the by week for the Green Bay Packers)
	Oct 31st - Neighborhood Association Trick or Treat
	Dec 2nd - Cookie Exchange and Tree-dition Tree Pickup

UPCOMING TGIF PARTIES
The next TGIF is Friday, June 16th at the home of Jim and Kris Gehrke of 83rd Street. Weather permitting, you will be enjoying the evening on their deck. Please bring an appetizer and beverage to pass. The fun begins at 7 pm. To RSVP, call Kris or Jim.
 
Planning ahead… August 4th the hosts will be Peg and Rhommer Varilla of Stickney Ave. September 22nd we will enjoy the evening at Bob and Meg Gintoft's home of Stickney Ave.
 
Remember that these parties are open to all neighbors. What a great way to meet other members of the neighborhood. Look for the TGIF sign on the host lawn the week ahead of the event.
 
There will not be a TGIF Party in July due to the Annual Picnic event.

If you are interested in hosting a future TGIF, please contact Kris Gerhke at  info@damonwoods.org.

BOOK CLUB
Date: July 24th, 2006 
Place: Stacey Muller's home
Book: A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
 
Published in 1949, shortly after the author's death, A Sand County Almanac is a classic of nature writing, widely cited as one of the most influential nature books ever published. Writing from the vantage of his summer shack along the banks of the Wisconsin River, Leopold mixes essay, polemic, and memoir in his book's pages. Leopold's land ethic in which he held that nothing that disturbs the balance of nature is right provides a basis for his writing. Much of Almanac elaborates on this basic premise, as well as on Leopold's view that it is something of a human duty to preserve as much wild land as possible, as a kind of bank for the biological future of all species.

SPRING SCENES IN LOWELL DAMON WOODS

NEXT BOARD MEETING
The neighborhood association's next Board meeting is at 9:00 am, on July 15th at the Damon Woods Museum. 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.
 

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS
Michele and Steve Matthai of 1925 Pleasant Street are thrilled to announce the birth of their new daughter Claire Elizabeth on March 27, 2006 at 5:16 pm. She was 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 21.5 inches long. Claire joins big sister Natalie, age 5, and big brothers Aidan and Grant, age 2, at home.
 
 

Stacey and Peter Muller of Woodland Avenue have welcomed into their family a new son, Elliott Peter. Elliott was born March.25, 2006 at 3:56.am, weighed 7.lbs.15 oz., and was 22 1/2".long. Elliott's 3-.year old sister, Cady, loves helping to care for her little brother.
 
 

CONDOLENCES
Condolences are extended to Bill Duyser and his family of Pleasant St. Bill's mother Ardith Duyser, passed away on March 26th.
 
Our sympathies to Mary Wallenfang and her family of Woodland Ave. Mary's mother Elizabeth Dietzler of Woodland Ave, age 79 years, passed away on May 30th.

EASTER EGG HUNT A FUN-FILLED TIME FOR ALL
by Amy Giampetroni
With a hip-hopping Easter Bunny and candy-filled eggs galore, this year's LDWNA Easter Egg Hunt was a smashing success! The Hunt was held on a spectacularly sunny Saturday, April 8th, at the Lowell Damon House on Wauwatosa Avenue. Approximately 35 eager and excited children of all ages showed up for the fun, Easter baskets in hand, ready to find Easter eggs and enjoy a few hours of fun with their neighborhood friends.
 
The event kicked off with cookie decorating time and a coloring contest, featuring three different pictures to color, based on age group (1-3, 4-6, 7+).
 
There was also plenty of sidewalk chalk available for the kids to further express their creativity. We had fantastic artists in each age group, and their brightly colored pictures decorated the garage door until the judging was final and the prizes handed out. We won't name names; we'll just say that all the kids did a fabulous job!
 
When the Easter Bunny hopped over to herald the start of the Egg Hunt, the crowd went wild… The children were drawn to the Bunny like a magnet, and couldn't wait to get closer. (Was it the inevitable photo op that appealed to them or the lure of a free lollipop? We'll never know…)
 
When the lollys had all been handed out and the kids had taken their final licks of the sweet treats, the Egg Hunt began. The youngest of our fearless hunters were allowed to search first, and when they (with their parent "assistants") had each found about a dozen eggs, the rest of the gang followed. It was a frenzied search for brightly colored plastic eggs filled with candy, stickers and tiny Easter tattoos, and the squeals of delight and victory could be heard far and near along Rogers Avenue. As the parent of one of the squealing, very young youths, it was hard not to smile at the sight of the pure joy and happiness on the kids' faces.
 
After all the eggs had been found (except, of course, for the odd two or three that Laurie Lehman and I discovered and enjoyed while cleaning up!), the crowd prepared for the parent-child three-legged race. With twine-wrapped legs and the adrenaline of friendly competition coursing through their veins, several enthusiastic teams hobbled along the short course to the finish line. It was a nail-biter to be sure, but there was one team that crossed the line at least a head (or two) ahead of the rest. And with nary an injury to be had, it was a fun and fair competition!
 
My thanks to my co-planner and friend, Laurie Lehman (and to our husbands for being such great helpers as we sent them back to our homes for the various odds and ends we forgot to bring with us to the event). Laurie and I would also like to thank Art Steadman for letting us use his personal space at the Lowell-Damon House as part of our staging area, and Liz Heinrich for doing such a fabulous job in her clever (and fluffy) disguise! Additionally, the LDWNA extends our thanks and appreciation to the folks at Bartz's for donating the costume rental this year, and to our kind and wonderful friends at Dependable Auto for graciously sponsoring our event again this year.
 
We hope everyone enjoyed a safe and happy Easter!

CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to Jeff Enders of Stickney Avenue on his first place award from the Milwaukee Beer Barons Homebrew Club for a robust porter beer he entered in the club's Monster Mash homebrew competition May 6th at Lakefront Brewery. Winners were picked in each of six categories, with a taste-off for Best of Show. For complete category placement, see www.sudswineandspirits.com

Alec Dobson of Stickney Ave received his law degree from UW Law School on May 12. His wife, Holly, and his two children, Matthew and Casey, attended the ceremony in Madison.

NEW TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD?
Have you recently moved into the neighborhood? You can go to our neighborhood association web page and select the New Neighbors button from the list along the left hand side to go the New Neighbors Form page. Fill in the information to introduce you and your family…. Or, you can contact Amy Giampetroni who is in charge of newcomers. After receipt, the New Newcomers Group will stop by with a nice welcoming packet for you and your family.

CONGRATULATIONS
TJ Kusy, a Senior at Tosa East High School, was awarded a Silver Key in painting in the Wisconsin Regional Scholastic Art Awards. The event took place at the Milwaukee Art Museum on January 28th where his piece and the other winning artworks were on display through February 25, 2006.
 
Anne Kusy, a freshman at UW-Whitewater, received first semester honors from the Associate Dean of the School of Business and Economics. She is a 2005 graduate of Wauwatosa East High School. Parents are Tony and Marie Kusy of Richmond Court.

A TASTE OF DAMON WOODS
Bring your recipes to the Annual Picnic on July 15. There will be a drop-off box for them. Marcy Minix will add them to those already submitted to the Damon Woods Cookbook she is compiling. If you can't make the picnic, drop your recipes off at Marcy's home on Stickney Ave. You can e-mail her at info@damonwoods.org.

 
MAKING THE MOST OF THE LDW NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
by Amy Giampetroni
I've met a number of you at various neighborhood events over the five years that my husband Dan and I have lived in the neighborhood, but I'm sure there are many more I haven't met. Why? Two reasons: Because we don't attend every event put on by our great neighborhood association, and because many of you don't either!
 
Which begs the question: Why wouldn't we avail ourselves of more opportunities to get together with our neighbors, socialize, form friendships, introduce our kids, and just have a fun and relaxing time?
 
On our part, there are a number of reasons (read: excuses). We have Dan's daughter from his first marriage every other weekend, which is really only about four days a month, so we like to spend those weekends doing family things with her. We both work full time, and Dan commutes an hour each way to his job. We have a 3-year old son who we want to spend quality time with and who requires a staggering amount of attention, even at this ultra-independent stage! I'm in a book club. Dan enjoys working on our house (or any house, quite frankly) and on various handy projects, a dozen of which beckon to him at any given time. Both of our families live at least two hours away, and they like to see us every once in awhile.
 
My point is, there are lots of things that occupy or demand my time and yours in any given week, and it can be a struggle to make the time for neighborhood and community activities. But I speak from personal experience when I say that my husband and I have found it very worth our while to find ways to make the time to get together with you, our neighbors.
I participate in our LDWNA Bunko group, and I look forward to that one night a month every single time it rolls around. In fact, I'm like a giddy kid in a candy store the entire day leading up to it, because I know it will be a great evening with fun women, enjoying good food and adult beverages and laughing off the stresses of the day (or week, or month) among women I now count among my friends. When I started as a sub for the group, I sort of knew Kris (Gehrke) and Laurie (Lehman), but I struggled to remember the names of everyone else. But they were so warm and welcoming to me that within no time I felt a part of the group, and it was only natural to take a departing members "full-time" spot.
 
For those of you who have never participated in a LDWNA event, I sincerely encourage you to do so. I know it can seem like a hassle to arrange for a sitter, put off some errands or housework, etc., but think of how great you'll feel after enjoying a fun time with neighbors and friends! We have so many wonderful opportunities to get together: the summer picnic in July, Harvest Fest in October, the tree-dition and cookie exchange event in early December, the winter party in January, the Easter Egg Hunt in April, TGIFs year-round… Even attending a few of those events over the course of the year will provide opportunities to meet others and develop new friendships. And this doesn't just benefit you - it can benefit your kids to make new friends, people they might be in school with now or in the future.
 
We're lucky to live in an area of the state - and the country, quite frankly - where neighborhood associations are present and active. But they won't thrive without continued involvement, participation and support. So pick an event - any event - and make the choice to be involved and support the LDWNA. You won’t regret it.

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL REMINDER
Don't forget to renew your neighborhood association membership. Or, if you haven't joined, please join today. Membership runs from January through December. You can get the from at our website.
     

2ND ANNUAL LOWELL DAMON WOODS GOLF OUTING
There still is time to join in this fun event on August 12th. Please respond to Mike Collins by  email at info@damonwoods.org no later than July 28th. Mike is looking for suggestions how we can grow this into another super Damon Woods Neighborhood event, let him know.

MEET AND GREET FOR 4K LINCOLN PUPILS AND PARENTS
Please join us for an informal meet and greet for children planning to attend Lincoln's 4K program for this fall and their parents. Stacey Muller will host at her home on August 31 from 6:30 to 8:00pm. We will have lemonade and cookies and get to know each other. Please email Stacey at info@damonwoods.org.

ATTENTION SCRAPBOOKERS!!!!
by Karen Roy
Do you have the papers, stickers, rubber stamps, albums, photos, and everything else that goes along with scrapbooking? Do you have the desire and the motivation? Most importantly, do you have the time? I am interested in forming a Damon Woods Scrapbooking group.

I have supplies to share or trade, and have plenty of books for layout ideas. This would be a fun way to spend time with your neighbors, maybe snack a little, and enjoy a beverage or two, not to mention being a great way to show off your photographs. Once I get an idea of how many neighbors are interested, we can get together to discuss details like when and where to meet and maybe even come up with a catchy name for the group. So, if you'd like to join, please e-mail Karen Roy at info@damonwoods.org.

NIGHT OUT SHIFTS TO THE ZOO AUG. 1ST
With all the work going on at Hart Park this year, the annual National Night Out and Flashlight Walk is being moved to the County Zoo on August 1st. "Tosa's Wild Night" is the theme. Registered entrants in the Flashlight Walk will get a T-shirt, admission and free parking at the Zoo, a Tosa Tonight Concert, free carousel rides, a tent with safety exhibits and other activities beginning at 5:00 pm.

FRIENDS OF HOYT PARK
The Friends of Hoyt Park have planned to show support for a new medium-sized family pool in Wauwatosa. Events include:

• June 17, BYO Pool Party: 2 to 5 pm at Hoyt. Neighborhood association members are encouraged to come as a group, bringing kiddie pools and their own water to raise awareness and make a statement. Plan to join in the fun with friends from your neighborhood association! For information, contact Denise Lindberg at 453-9641 or deniselindberg@wi.rr.com.

• July 4, Parade unit: Any child or adult with a float ring can join the unit. Contact: Kit Slawski at kslawski@raabeco.com.

DAMON WOODS MUSEUM GROUNDS SPRING CLEANUP
We had a nice turnout today for the annual spring cleanup of the grounds of the Lowell Damon House Museum and hauled away 22 bags of leaves and other debris. Volunteers on hand included Jeff Enders of Stickney Avenue, Kathy Causier of Aberdeen Court, Richard Stollberg and his daughter Glendy of Stickney, Bob Heitzer of Jackson Park Blvd., Brian Bloczynski of Church Street, Art Steadman of Wauwatosa Ave., Tom Krause of Church Street, and Chris and Dave Vogel from Pleasant Street. Also there was Tom Barber of Shorewood. Tom is retired now. He grew up in our neighborhood (corner of 83rd and Woodland Ave) and is a board member with the Friends of Boerner Botanical Gardens. Tom has kindly agreed to help us with some garden projects this coming year, roughly following a plan drawn by Hawks Nursery in 1999.

We anticipate garden expenses this year pretty much along the line of previous years, covering planting of annuals and four applications of lawn fertilizer, but also wonder about the availability of money for an additional expense. The Hawks garden plan of 1999 proposed an entry into the back yard, along with the stone walk that we put in several years ago. If money is available, we would like to proceed this year with an arbor, which we think would serve as a beautiful entry into the garden.

The picture at right shows an arbor Tom Krause built in his garden about 15 years ago. Tom has generously offered to donate his time- 40 to 50 hours- to build a similar arbor, if the association agrees to pay the cost of the materials. His ballpark estimate of the cost is $250. Tom's offer strikes me as irresistible. I'd be happy to field any questions you might have about this proposal.
- Dave Vogel

Editors note: If you would like to contribute to the arbor directly yourself, contact Dave . 

NEW WAUWATOSA NEWS SITE ON INTERNET
The Wauwatosa News Times and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel are collaborating on a new website which is about Wauwatosa. Check out www.wauwatosanow.com. It's in beta testing right now, but eventually groups will be able to submit calendar items, etc.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR TOSA TONIGHT CONCERTS
Volunteers are needed to help in the food tents at this summer's Tosa Tonight concert series, Kathy Barry (rstern@execpc.com) said. See the schedule on page 7. The Tosa Tonight Concert Series has raised $50,000 toward a music pavilion at Hart Park. Tosa Tonight is still seeking sponsors. The Rotary Foundation, which has committed to building the pavilion, is about halfway toward its fund-raising goal, Barry said.
 

The proposed Performance Pavilion in expanded Hart Park.

QUILT SHOW AT KNEELAND-WALKER HOUSE
Quilter's Anonymous Quilt Guild will present an indoor-outdoor quilt show from 10 am to 4 pm on June 23-24 at the Kneeland-Walker House and Gardens. Quilting techniques will be demonstrated, and more than 150 quilts, including nationally recognized works, will adorn the mansion, gardens, and coach house. The $4 admission will benefit the Wauwatosa Historical Society.

NEWSLETTER DISTRIBUTION
THANK YOU-to those who helped deliver the April newsletters! Ellie Bjiorkman, Anne Bingham, Tiffany Bruett, Betsy Daniels, Kris and Jim Gehrke, Bob Heitzer, Cathy Kebbekus, Kathy Mannebach, Jeanine Schoen, Dave Vogel, and Tom Wanta
If you would like to help deliver, contact Karen McNeely.

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.