Here's a proud moment from Appleton's history, courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society, where you can see the clipping directly.



According to the Appleton History page from the Appleton Public Library, the first electric street cars began operating in Appleton on August 16, 1886. Appleton was also the first community in the nation to have electric street cars. They ran until 1930. A couple other cities have claimed to have the first electric street cars, but one must realize that they are terribly biased. Here in Appleton we are simply objective lovers of history.

I'm helping a reporter with information about the top inventions/innovations that have come from the Fox Valley. What would you suggest? On my list so far are things like carbonless paper and microencapsulation technology from Appleton Paper, major diaper innovations like superabsorbents in diapers, the popular Pandora application for smart phones [note: just some of the programming is being done here], and the hydro-electric powered home.

Labels: innovation

Wisconsin is such a beautiful state. One of my favorite things about it are the birds, especially the cranes, herons, and egrets. Here are some Wisconsin sandhill cranes. They are most common further south of Appleton. These photos were taken Friday while camping at Harnischfeger County Park in Dodge County, north of Oconomowoc and close to Watertown (and just around the corner from the Honey Acres Honey Museum and not far from the House of Home-Made Sausage).

Click to enlarge.

Appleton's famous Art in the Park event is today at City Park. Due to all the water from heavy rainfall recently, exhibits will be in different locations than originally planned. They will all be on the streets around the park rather than on the grass. See the artist alert for setup instructions.

It begins at 9 am and continues until 4:30 pm. Enjoy!

Labels: art

Quick update on my experiences as a consumer.

We needed to get a decent used car. We went to Bergstrom's Nissan/Hyundai area out on Victory Lane (terrific street name). We were wowed by the service and expertise (thank you Peter Holt and Jeff Buckner), by the prices, and by the company in general. I soon drove away with a wonderful car that cost less than I had expected. I have no hesitation in recommending Bergstrom, especially their Nissan and Hyundai team. Very pleased.

The next day we went back to pick up a floor mat and get some tips on the sound system (I love being able to plug my MP3 player into my car's stereo system now). Afterwards we drove by Jonathan's Italian Bistro and decided to give it a try for dessert only. It re-opened in May under new management and I've had people tell me it's great. Yes, wow, it really is. We tried two desserts and they were both home runs - artistic, beautiful, delicious. My wife had the Lemon Cialde, which was an amazing creation of lemon wafers and blackberries with chamomile-infused cream. The chamomile cream floored me. Brilliant. I had the strawberry and raspberry bread pudding, and it was also brilliant. The presentation for both was delightful. Real home runs. The rest of the menu looked great, too. Talked with the executive chef (Shawn Covill, I think was the name) and liked how he answered my questions - nice artistic flare to his work. Solid, well executed cooking. Mmmm.

I've also learned that one of my favorite home builders and realtors, Bradd Syring, is the go-to-guy for many people when they have repair needs. For electrical work, plumbing, flooring, painting, or whatever, Bradd knows some of the best people for the job and can send them out. You won't get the cheapest in the Valley, but you'll get the work done right. You can learn more about his home building business at Syring Homes. Tell him Jeff sent you! (I have no financial interest here, but know and greatly respect Bradd as one of the most honest and competent professionals I know.)

So there's my consumer update for the date. Happy shopping!

Labels: Appleton homes, builders, car dealers, cars, restaurants

In spite of its strong northern European toots, Appleton and the Fox Valley has become increasingly diverse over the years. If you knew Appleton 30 years ago, you might be surprised and proud of some of the changes the town has gone through. For example, we have a surprisingly large Hmong community that started coming here in the early to mid 1990s as refugees from genocide in Asia. Hmong soldiers fought bravely for the United States in the secrets wars in Laos during the Vietnam War, and families that sacrificed for the US were finally given a little help by being rescued from dismal situations in the camps of Thailand and brought here. Learn more about the Hmong people and the reasons they are here on my page, "The Tragedy of the Hmong." Asians make up about 5% of our community. This also includes small numbers of people from other parts of Asia such as China, India, and Japan. I've got wonderful neighbors from northern India, for example.

Appleton is near to the Oneida Indian Reservation, hosting the Oneida Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. I've got some good friends among the Oneida Indians and am proud to have them be part of our northeastern Wisconsin community.

Appleton has growing numbers of Hispanic immigrants. I find many in the family have family roots in Guanajuato, Mexico, but I also know people from Veracruz State, Guadalajara, and many other regions. We also have people from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and other Spanish speaking nations.

Appleton has a small number of Brasileiros, but not enough for my taste. We really need a Brazilian food store here. If you know of any place with Brazilian foods in the area, let me know - I'm in withdrawal after falling in love with the country a few weeks ago.

The African-American community is small, around 1%, but growing. My ties to that community are weaker, but some in it have told me that Appleton has been a relatively decent place to be. I think the community has made a lot of progress in terms of being an easy place for people of all races to live and hope that everyone feels welcome here.

A Serbian friend (actually from Montenegro) came here looking for a peaceful community for his family, and has been truly impressed with Appleton. Others from eastern Europe have shared similar positive experiences.

We're doing pretty well in terms of religious diversity also. Catholics and Protestants dominate (well, second to the Green Bay Packers, the unique local religion), but we have a good Jewish community and a variety of other traditions. We also have a small but thriving Muslim community. I know some of their people, have attended an open house with them, and am happy to report that the community has been kind to these friends who live their religion peacefully and make up valued parts of our community.

Our community is not without its problems and occasional acts of intolerance, but from my vantage point, it is a peaceful, tolerant, and kind community willing to give strangers a chance and to let good people from anywhere join us.

Looking for a great community? Come to Appleton--we still have openings!