It seems like yesterday that I was enjoying the pleasing warm days of June while anticipating the excitement of the coming summer. Yet here we are, well into the school year and the fall season. Of course fall brings with it colder weather, but that just heightens my anticipation for my favorite day of the year, which is the day that I drain the gasoline out of my lawnmower.

Although this is a quiet time for the neighborhood association, there are a few things to tell you. We are again promoting nighttime Trick-or-Treat for Halloween on the 31st, and are hoping this becomes a citywide tradition. With many decorated houses and adequate adult supervision this becomes a truly safe and fun event for the children. We are also constructing a Lowell Damon Woods website. By we I mean Jim Zinda, who is graciously donating his time and expertise for this project. This should be an efficient and fun way for you to keep up-to-date on association activities, and to locate links to other useful sites. I want to thank Mary Lorch for many years of service as distribution coordinator for the newsletter. Although Mary is stepping down to pursue other interests, she leaves behind a stable and efficient organization. Thanks, Mary.

Let's hope for a long fall so we can enjoy a few extra days in the sun. If you happen to wander up Jackson Park Blvd., stop and say hello. I'll probably be out cutting my grass.

--Phil Kroner

PLAYGROUP 
Playgroup is an informal gathering of mothers and their infant to preschool-age children. We meet every other Thursday morning from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Coffee, juice and snacks are provided by the hostess. (Dads are also welcome.) We welcome new moms to join us!  If anyone is interested in joining the playgroup, please email info@damonwoods.org. 

PLAYGROUP FIELD TRIP TO PUMPKIN FARM 
A field trip is being planned for Thursday, October 11, to Shady Lane Greenhouses for their annual Pumpkin Farm and Model Train Exhibit. This annual outing offers hay rides and a maze as well. If you work during the day but would like to take the day off to join us for some pre-Halloween fun, email info@damonwoods.org for more information.

MOM’S NIGHT OUT
This monthly social gathering is simply a break for moms. Area restaurants are the destination, as selected by a different mom each month. Moms of all ages are invited to join us. Email info@damonwoods.org for more information.

PLAYGROUP FAREWELL'S 
The playgroup will soon be missing a few faces. Traci (Jay) DeBeir and their three children, Jacob, Julia and Jonah will be moving to Illinois in October. Beth (Ryan) Keane and their three children Jonathan, Alexa and Amy (and dog Buddy), will be moving to a place with plenty of space for their growing family in November. Many of us have valued your friendships and laughs! We will really miss you, but we wish you the best in your new homes.

NEXT BOARD MEETING
The neighborhood association’s next board meeting is at 9 a.m. on November 10th, at Jitterzz. Come and have coffee and offer your ideas.

BOOK CLUB
The next meeting of the book club is 7:30 p.m., November 28. 

It is about a 53 year old women experiencing a mid-life crisis: In the midst of her busy life as mother, grandmother and proprietor of the family business, the Open Arms (she hosts parties in the family's old Baltimore row house), Rebecca attempts to pick up the life she was leading before she married, back when she felt grownup. 

Email info@damonwoods.org for more information.

GET READY TO GET SPOOKED ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT!!!
Once again, Damon Woods will have its own trick-or-treat for the neighborhood on Halloween Night, Wednesday, October 31, from 6 to 8 p.m. All participating homes should have their porch light on. Let’s all get in the spirit (ghostly, that is) and decorate our homes and dress up to make this Halloween night a very special one for the kids. 

A ONE-STOP DAMON WOODS CHRISTMAS TREEDITION 
Let's make our neighborhood's Christmas celebration simpler this year. But let's make it more festive, too. Do that by joining your Damon Woods neighbors on Saturday, Dec. 1, as the neighborhood association packs all of its holiday activities into a single two-hour, one-stop event for the whole family. We hope it will make this 
your best Christmas yet in Damon Woods. 

We'll all be on the grounds of the Damon House Museum between 2 and 4 p.m. 
that afternoon so we can: 

	Exchange cookies.
	Meet Santa.
	Decorate an official neighborhood Christmas tree, outside the Damon House Museum.
	Sing carols, accompanied by musicians.
	Tour the Damon House museum. No house in Wauwatosa has been around for more Christmas celebrations than this one.
	Enjoy great December weather and meet your neighbors while warming yourself beside the old Yule log, sipping coffee or hot cider.
	Pick up your own outdoor Christmas tree that you'll put on your front lawn, about 20 feet from the curb.

The “Treedition” that helps define our neighborhood continues! For more robust caroling and a more festive display of lighted lawn trees, we need more neighbors to join us. With our neighborhood's simple street grid, there's enormous potential for a grand display. 
The trees cost $11 each last year. We're not sure what kind of a deal we'll be able to get this year, but it'll probably be around the same price. We'll also take orders this year from anyone who wants to buy an inexpensive metal stake that most of us use to hold up the trees. Details on ordering your lawn tree and how to participate in the cookie exchange will be outlined in a flier that will be distributed in November. In the meantime, reserve these two hours on your calendar. Talk it up with your neighbors. Boosting participation is important in establishing and maintaining our neighborhood's identity, which was one of the main reasons that neighbors formed this association in 1995. Beyond that, though, celebrating the holiday is simply more fun when neighbors celebrate together. 

If you have suggestions for improving our Damon Woods “Treedition”, if you 
have questions, or if you can volunteer to take tree orders or help neighbors stake their trees, please email info@damonwoods.org for more information.

VOLUNTEERS NEED to go door-to-door and take orders for trees and tree stakes. And we need volunteers for those who need help in putting up the lawn trees. 

We also need a good Santa costume and someone who'll play the role for two hours. Email info@damonwoods.org.
 

OUTSTANDING OPPORTUNITY: TAKE ADVANTAGE
Pet missing? Register your pets with the neighborhood. If your pet ever gets lost anyone in the neighborhood can easily find out who it may belong to and return it to you that much faster. Email info@damonwoods.org with your pet information.

POOL PARTY AT HOYT A SPLASHING GOOD TIME!!
Many families had a wonderful time when Damon Woods and Jacobus Park sponsored a free night of swimming for the whole family on Sunday, July 29. Many of the younger kids were able to go down the big slides with their parents catching them at the bottom!!
The night was wonderfully warm, and fun was had by all. This was one of the many benefits we have being in a neighborhood association. If anyone else has any other ideas for family or adult events, please contact a board member.

HELP NEEDED 
Let’s add to the excitement our neighborhood already enjoys. Help start up one of the following groups.

	Senior Representative
	Block Watch
	Craft Group
	Garden Group
	Investment Club
	Sheepshead Group
	Help with the Hunger Task Force

If none of these interest you, suggest one of your own and get it started. Email info@damonwoods.org or contact a board member for more information.

THE SUSAN G. KOMEN BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION RACE FOR THE CURE SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2001 9:00 AM
Many of us in the Damon Woods neighborhood know someone we love who has been affected by breast cancer. Please come and celebrate the ones who have survived, or the ones we lost to this disease. This 5K run or 1 mile walk is a wonderful gathering and celebration of the advancement of research, education, screening and treatment of breast cancer. Please join your neighbors and register. The race hotline is 414.297.9795 or online www.MilwaukeeRaceForTheCure.com. The race is held at the Milwaukee lakefront. If you have any questions, or would like to join several of us in the neighborhood for the run, email info@damonwoods.org.

NEW DAMON WOODS E-MAIL DISCUSSION GROUP 
Because of problems with our email discussion group at Yahoo, we are setting up a new e-mail group account with topica.com. When you subscribe to the discussion group you can share news, announcements, concerns, and neighborhood happenings with the Damon Woods online community. For more information about the discussion group, visit http://www.topica.com/lists/damonwoods. To subscribe send an email to damonwoods-subscribe@topica.com. (Note: the previous Damon Woods egroup at yahoo.com will be discontinued.) 

TOSA FOR KIDS
Tosa for Kids is a volunteer organization that has provided food and services for needy children and their families. Some of the neighborhood associations are looking to volunteer to spearhead a project once or twice a year (as Wauwatosa has twenty two neighborhood associations) with the help of Judy Yauck, the head of Tosa For Kids. For example, August’s project was collecting school supplies and September’s project was gathering slightly used winter coats. The Damon Woods Association needs someone to VOLUNTEER to head this committee. If anyone is interested please email info@damonwoods.org for more information. If you have some things to donate (food, slightly used or new clothing, books, etc.) please contact Judy Yauck at the Wauwatosa Police Department at 471-8430 Extension 132. There is also a blue barrel marked “Tosa for Kids” in the front lobby of the Wauwatosa Police Department, donations can be left 24 hours a day. 

THANK YOU to the people who helped deliver and stuff the August newsletters. Laura Buege, Joanne Marks, Flynns, Bev Washcovich, Hartwicks, Diane Olenchek, Anne Bingham, Jean Heller, Haefners, Sgarlattas, Dave Vogel, Peter Muller, Lynn Pawlewski, Margaret Leising, Lynn Green, Carrie McKenzie, Nancy Frisone, Susan Lorch & Mary Lorch. 

NEW NEWSLETTER DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR
After many years of heading up distribution of our newsletter Mary Lorch is passing the baton on to Karen McNeeley, (she is also a board member), assisted by Laura Buege.

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS
Jim Kolbeck has been appointed to the mayor's new senior citizens advisory committee. 

	Green Market - Every Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m until Oct. 25
	2001 Tour of Homes - Oct 6, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
	Halloween Trick or Treat in the Village - Oct 20, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
	Tosa’s Halloween Trick or Treat—October 28, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
	Holiday Tree Lighting and Open House - Saturday, Dec 1, afternoon

NEWS AROUND TOSA

• Jolly's restaurant has closed and probably will not reopen as a restaurant -- owners will use it for banquets and catering.
• The brick bldg behind the Little Red Store in the Village will be torn down to make room for more parking space 
• UNICEF Has "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF" packets for anyone interested. The focus this year is to eradicate polio. Approximately 200 million people worldwide need to be vaccinated by end of 2002, at a cost of about 7 cents per vaccine. 

On Sat. Sept. 29, the UNICEF office on Vliet will hold a T-or-T kickoff, with hands-on music for kids. UNICEF has a speakers bureau.

The Rosebud theatre will have a haunted house Sat Oct. 27 PM. Call the theatre for more details (607-9672).

Box tops for Education & Campbell's Labels Program

Want to help out Lincoln school without spending a dime and without spending much time to do it? It's easy. Just save "Box-tops for Education" from many General Mills products and Campbell's labels from the soups, Prego, V-8 and Pepperidge Farms products. Each box top or label is worth a dime and will go towards items like the library, computers or sports equipment. You are probably using many of these products anyway, so just take a few seconds before you toss the packaging and tear off the required box top or label, save them up, and when you have a bunch you can drop them off. 

Currently, labels and box tops can be dropped off at Lincoln near the office. We also plan to have drop off boxes at most of the upcoming neighborhood events. To make this as convenient as possible, we'd like to add some additional drop off places, so if you know of a church, business, or other organization that would let us put out a box, please email info@damonwoods.org. 

This is a great way to help out the local elementary school. We will be coming up with goals for each of these programs and will periodically publish our progress toward achieving them. If you have any questions about this program (that is, what products are eligible, what part of the label is needed) or great ideas on how we can make this more successful, please email info@damonwoods.org.

September 15th Declared RED RAIDER BAND DAY

Congratulations to the Wauwatosa East High School Band for their invitation to the 50th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. The marching band has been invited to perform in the January 1st 2002 New Years Day Parade. The Jazz Ensemble and Concert Bands will also perform in London’s Westminster Abbey performance hall, and other forums throughout London, as part of the prestigious London Parade Gala concert series.

In their hono, Mayor Theresa M. Estness proclaimed September 15th as “RED RAIDER BAND DAY”.

The band is also looking for donations to help pay for various expenses from transportation to equipment. If you would like help out, consider buying one of the London Posters available through the Band Boosters, save your aluminum cans and drop them off at Bill and Leslie Duyser’s house or just make a cash donation. Please contact Robin or Rob Engl at Wauwatosa East High School to do this.

Again, congratulations for this outstanding achievement.

Lets add to the excitement our neighborhood already enjoys. Help start up one of the following groups.

	Senior Representative
	Newsletter Delivery Coordinator
	Block Watch
	Craft Group
	Garden Group
	Investment Club
	Sheepshead Group
	Help with the Hunger Task Force
	Birdwatchers Group (suggested by Karen Roy)
	Cribbage Group (suggested by Joanne Marks)
	Wine Tasting Night (suggested by Joanne Marks)
	Biking Group (suggested by Rhomman Varilla)
	Roller Blade Group (suggested by Mary Gwin)

If none of these interest you, suggest one of your own and get it started. For more information, email info@damonwoods.org.