Our photos included here underscore the fun we had in October. It was a busy month! We received Mainstreet Awards for our great community members, handed out candy to the children of our community for Trick or Treat, carved pumpkins for the new Pumpkin Glow, and conducted an auction for the adorable Mini Hodags, which proved to be as popular as we'd hoped.
We hope you enjoy our newsletter, and as usual, we appreciate your feedback. If you have comments or suggestions, please send them to Maggie at [email protected].
The Editors
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Mainstreet with Maggie
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Maggie dressed for the Haunted Hodag Howl
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by Maggie Steffen, DRI Executive DirectorIt's November, and considering it's nearing the end of the year, it's "the start" of so much. There's a change-up of recreational sports, a different way to fish, and the deer hunting season is just ahead. It's a time of stocking up on comfort foods for all those family and friend gatherings, hauling out the decorations and freshening up our displays with some new ones, and shopping for gifts. Fortunately, for most of the above, you need go no further than beautiful downtown Rhinelander, where you can find most all of what you need to feel ready for the holiday season. So, as you begin making your lists, we ask that you make a conscious decision to buy locally. Like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, when we keep our money in our community, it directly touches one of our family members or one of our friends. Let the festivities begin!
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Rhinelander Sweeps the 2013 Mainstreet Awards
The 23rd Annual Main Street Awards were held last Friday, Oct. 25 in Wausau. There are 32 participating Wisconsin Main Street Cities. Rhinelander awards recipients were chosen from among the 32 cities, and we are so proud of them! The recipients are:
- Best Volunteer Program/Project: WINNER - Liberty Elm Tree Planting, Bruce Carlson, Carlson Funeral Home.
- Best Business Citizen Award: WINNER - Ruth and Henning Hempel, Forth Floral, Inc.
- Best Historic Restoration Project: Honorable Mention - Rhinelander City Hall, City of Rhinelander
- Main Street Volunteers of the Year: Melanie Ostermann
- Main Street Honorary Board of Directors: Mark Gutterer
More than 20 people from DRI attended the event to celebrate our award winners. |
Best Volunteer Project: Renee and Bruce Carlson
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Best Business Citizen Award: Henning and Ruth Hempel
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Honorary Board Member of the Year: Mark Gutterer
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Honorary Volunteer of the Year: Melanie Ostermann
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Congratulations to our community friends!
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First Annual Pumpkin Glow
More than 123 pumpkins were carved for the First Annual Pumpkin Glow. Northwoods Secondary Charter School Teacher Kristin Larsen and her students assisted in recording and monitoring the pumpkins. Despite the wet weather, it made an impressive downtown display. The winners of the Pumpkin Carving contest were: Stephanie Nelson, "The Face;" Jody Joslin,"Blinds;" and Edden Joslin, "The Witch." Each received a $10 Downtown Rhinelander gift certificate. |
Joan Belongia, coordinator of the Pumpkin Glow, and Stephanie Nelson, winning carver
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"Blinds" Pumpkin top center. Carved by Jody Joslin.
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SAVE THE DATE
Nov 22-24
| Holiday Open House
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Nov 29
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Tree Lighting
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Feb 7
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Taste of Chocolate
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Stay Connected
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Halloween Fun in Downtown Rhinelander
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More than 1,200 children and adults in costume made the rounds of the local businesses on Sat., Oct. 26, for the Annual Trick or Treat party.
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Message by
DRI President Mark Gutterer, owner of
Rhinelander Cafe & Pub
What's Up Mark?
The joy of volunteering, is that everyone has a unique set of skills and abilities. These are yours to use and share with others. As DRI moves forward towards accomplishing our goals, we see volunteers come and go. People get involved, share their skills, then move on, and others come in and take their place. What a great movement to be involved in!
So, we want to know: What are your skills or interests? How can you make a contribution?
A person will say, "I can help," and it turns into a challenge, because sometimes that involves learning new things. For instance, last Saturday I was watching the morning news, putting off the task at hand. I had three bright orange pumpkins on the counter that I was charged with carving for the new event, Pumpkin Glow. Should be easy, right? Well, as I was elbow-deep in the bowels of the first pumpkin, I realized that I probably had never done this before!
Here I was, 52 years old, carving a pumpkin for the first time. It gave me a great feeling to deliver those carved pumpkins to the downtown Pumpkin Glow. I looked around proudly and said, "Hey! That was fun! And my carving doesn't look half-bad for a first-timer!"
So, whether it's sharing your skills or interests or abilities, or trying something new for the first time, volunteering for DRI is a great opportunity.
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Volume 2 Issue 1
Downtown Rhinelander, Inc.
Maggie Steffen
Executive Director
26 N Brown St
P.O. Box 1638
Rhinelander WI 54501
Phone 715-362-7374
Fax 715-362-7340
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DRI Committee News
Design
by Pat LaPorte, Chair
- Worked with staff to decorate for the Haunted Hodag Howl.
- Developed ideas for the Streetscape in conjunction with the City of Rhinelander.
- Created "Let's Light Up Our Downtown for the Holidays" promotion.
Economic Restructuring
by Ray Burgan, Chair - Met to develop a baseline for "available properties" in the downtown.
- Worked on the details of a facade grant.
- Met with WEDC staff to discuss grant funding for downtown projects.
Organization
by Joan Belongia
- Began planning for a celebration for DRI volunteers, for January 2014.
- Worked on formulating a list to be made available to public for where the Hodags are located.
- Worked on developing a project sheet for all events.
- Made note of how the DRI Website and Facebook are keeping current with news.
Promotions
- Begun the planning for PotatoFest 2014.
- Worked on the Taste of Chocolate.
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Light Up Our Downtown for the HolidaysBusiness owners are being asked to add lighting to their storefronts for the holidays. The lighting will be in place by November 22-24 for the Holiday Open House weekend.
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Haunted Hodag Howl
The Annual Haunted Hodag Howl was held at the Quality Inn this year and was a howling success. Five of the Hodag Mini's were auctioned off at a brisk pace with Auctioneer Col. Roberts. (See Hodag photos below)
Auction participants and party goers dined on spooky treats provided by the Rhinelander Pub and Cafe. Games of chance, raffles, music and entertainment created a lively evening for the costumed crowd.
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From left, Mike Henry, Jule Henry, Mel Davidson, Karla Frye and Mark Gutteter at the Howl.
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