The Edgerton Sterling North Book & Film Festival 2013

S

8th AnniversaryEdgerton’sEdgerton’s

Sterling NorthSterling North

Book & Film Festival

Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.All events take place on the Edgerton High School Campus

200 Elm High Drive, Edgerton, WI 53534www.sterlingnorthbookfestival.com

Left to right;Maribeth Boelts, author ofHappy Like Soccer andBefore You Were Mine

Kathleen Kent, author ofThe Hereticʼs Daughter

Erin Hart, author ofThe Book of Kilowen

Chad Lewis, author ofHaunted Wisconsin

Others featured:Lita Judge

Richard Schickel

Tom Kertscher

Carol Roessler

Christopher MihmHunter “Patch” Adams isa physician, social activist,clown and author. He foundedthe Gesundheit! Institute in1971, and is the subject of the1998 film Patch Adams,starring Robin Williams.

The 2013 Edgerton Sterling North Book & Film Festival features an appearance byfamed clown/physician Patch Adams. Also featured will be authors Maribeth Boelts,

Kathleen Kent, Erin Hart and Chad Lewis.

FREE

EVENT

Welcome to Edgerton'sBook & Film Festival

For our school board, administration, staff and students, I am pleased to welcome you - our authors, residents and visi-tors -- to our 8th annual Sterling North Book and Film Festival. Each year, we’ve honored the literacy legacy of famed“Rascal” author Sterling North (Edgerton High School graduate, 1925) and celebrate the eternal significance of the writtenword. The world is opened up to children of all ages through books and, as educators, we couldn’t be happier this year to wel-come the creator of Red Sled, Lita Judge. The book uses pictures rather than words to illustrate the joy of winter sledding, al-lowing readers to put their own words to the story. Judge will be receiving the prestigious Sterling North Award for Excellencein Children’s Literature for 2013. I encourage parents to bring their children to the High School gym at 9:30 a.m. or 2:30 p.m.to see the Red Sled presentation. Other guests of the festival include Milwaukee resident and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writer Tom Kertscher, who willdelve into the career of long-time Packers player Brett Favre. Also, Richard Schickel will explore the life and works of Clint Eastwood, while KathleenKent will speak about her many-great ancestor Martha Carrier, who was among the first women to be hanged as a witch during the Salem Witch Trials.Be prepared to be captivated the entire day. I am proud to serve as the chairman of this inspirational event and look forward to seeing you on Saturday.

Sincerely,Dr. Dennis Pauli, Edgerton School District Administrator

Chad Lewis1:30 & 3:30 p.m.

Patch AdamsErin Hart

9:30 a.m. & 2:30 p.m.Kathleen Kent8:30 a.m. & 2:30 p.m.

Maribeth Boelts1:30 & 3:30 p.m.

We Invite Everyone to this exciting event Saturday, Sept. 28

Plus many other talented writers appearing throughout the day.

Judge is 2013 Sterling North HonoreeBy Jeff BrownReporter staff

Children’s author LitaJudge will receive the 2013Sterling North Award for Ex-cellence in Children’s Litera-ture at the Sterling NorthBook and Film Festival onSaturday, September 28. Thefestival, now in its eighth year,will be held at Edgerton HighSchool and the Edgerton Per-forming Arts Center, locatedat 200 Elm Drive. Judge willpresent her book “Red Sled”at 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.“My dad would have been

delighted the award is going tosomeone who is so interestedin the natural world, and whois such a tremendously tal-ented author and artist,” saidArielle North Olson, SterlingNorth’s daughter. “From thetime she was very young, shewas recording birdsong so shecould identify birds from theirsongs, not just sight. She hasso many interests similar tomy dad’s. She’s a particularlywonderful choice for theaward in his name.”Each of Judge’s books

started with an image. “Myideas are visually driven,” saidJudge. “I might get an idea fora story, but if it’s not a goodvehicle for illustration, I won’tpursue it.”That makes sense given

that Judge was a visual artistbefore she was a writer. Shegrew up drawing and paintingthe wildlife that she saw as achild when visiting her mater-

nal grandparents, who wereornithologists, and while liv-ing with her father inAlaska.“We moved around a lot,

becausemy dadwas a soil sci-entist,” said Judge. Sometimesthey lived in a tent. “It wastough weather to be campingin, and because of my dad’swork and his love of wildlife,we were out a lot, but I’m sothankful of those experiencesbecause I draw on them in mywork.”Judge said she always

loved drawing and paintingwildlife, but never consideredmaking it a career. “I didn’tmeet artists who were work-ing artists.”Instead she became a geol-

ogist, and worked all over thewestern United States, includ-ing a stint on an oil rig in Ore-gon. Judge didn’t thinkseriously about art again untilprompted by her husbandDave, who shemet when theyrode their bikes across theUnited States, a trip that wasthe result of a spur-of-the-moment wager won by Judge.“We were engaged by the endof the trip,” said Judge, laugh-ing.When they got back from

the bike trip, Judge and her fi-ancee made another bet. Thisone Judge lost, and it meantthe two signed up for an arthistory class instead of abotany class. “That was myfirst exposure to differentkinds of art,” said Judge. “Forour first Christmas, Dave tookme to the Met in New York,

and it just hit me right away.”Judge was hooked. “Very

quickly after we weremarriedI realized that’s what I wantedto do.”The couple took twenty-

five trips to Europe over the

next several years. “I wouldpaint on the streets to pay forthe trip, and then we’d go tourthe art museums.”Judge dreamed of illustrat-

ing children’s books. “I wrote

Editorial

Welcome to our FestivalEdgerton welcomes you to our Sterling North

Book and Film Festival. Celebrating our 8th an-niversary, we are continuing the transformationof Edgerton from being known for our tobaccoheritage into a literary capital and Wisconsin’sbook town.

We may be a small city, yet we think big. Ourspecial guests include author Kathleen Kent,whose family roots can be traced to the SalemWitch trials and are explored in her book,Heretic’s Daughter. She will present at 8:30 a.m.and 2:30 p.m. Chad Lewis will explore Wiscon-sin’s paranormal hot spots at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.,while at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., Milwaukee res-ident and author Tom Kertscher will discuss theman known in every Wisconsin household: BrettFavre. Having them here will be a real treat foreveryone.

Also highlighting our festival is children’s au-thor Lita Judge, whose book Red Sled takesreaders through the excitement found fromsomething as simple as sledding in winter time.The story is told primarily through pictures, notwords, which sparks creativity and allows read-ers to narrate their own story. Judge has beenselected to receive the 2013 Sterling NorthAward for Excellence in Children’s Literature.

Altogether there are 10 presenters and 30book fair authors. With this incredible gatheringof talent and creativity, we have shaped a first-class event to rival any book festival in largercities. The credit goes to the planning commit-tee led by School Superintendent Dennis Pauliand event planner Kimberly Colby.

If you love the power of words, this event isfor you. We welcome you. We are glad you arehere.

Diane Everson, Publisher

(Continued on page 10)

LITA JUDGE

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EdgertonBook

and FilmFestival

SaturdaySept. 28, 2013

All activities at theEdgerton High School

and Performing Arts Center200 Elm High Dr., Edgerton, Wisconsin

WELCOME!ENJOY!

American Family Insurance is proud to supportthe Edgerton Sterling North Book Festival.

Edgerton Book FestivalThe Sterling North Book

and Film Festival takes placeat the Edgerton PerformingArts Center on Saturday,September 28, from 8:00a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The fea-tured guest speaker is Dr.Patch Adams.

Adams is a physician, so-cial activist, clown, and au-thor whose life story made itto the big screen in the 1998film “PatchAdams,” starringRobin Williams. In 1971,Adams founded the Gesund-heit! Institute, a nonprofitthat models creative problemsolving for doctors by inte-grating traditional medicalcare with alternative medi-cine, including naturopathy,acupuncture, homeopathy,and humanitarian clowningand laughing.

Adams is the recipient ofthe Jude Award, the CaringInstitute’s National CaringAward, and the Frederick IIPeace Award. Adams wasnamed the Humanitarian ofthe Year in 2003.Adams willspeak from 10:30 a.m. to12:30 p.m.Nine other authors will be

featured at the festival:Lita Judge is this year’s re-

cipient of the Sterling NorthAward for Excellence inChildren’s Literature. Judgelives with her husband Dave,two cats, and a green parrotin a red house in the middleof the woods in New Hamp-shire.

Judge was born in Alaska,where her father worked as asoil scientist, and grew upliving in a tent, where grizzlybears roamed close by. Shelearned to band birds fromher maternal grandparents,Frederick and FrancesHamerstrom, who were or-nithologists and lived in a1850s farmhouse in Plain-field, Wisconsin. The houselacked running water, and theHamerstroms shared thespace with a rotating cast ofowls, hawks, and eagles.Judge said her grand-

mother Frances was a rolemodel, because she was anauthor and an artist, was theonly woman who ever stud-ied with world-renownedecologist Aldo Leopold, andlived to be 90. The animalsthat peopled Judge’s youthsinspire many of her stories.

Judge not only writesbooks, she illustrates themtoo. She will present “RedSled” at 9:30 a.m. and 2:30p.m.Other books Judge has

written and illustrated in-clude “Red Hat,” “Bird Talk:What Birds Are Saying andWhy,” “Strange Creatures:The Story of Walter Roth-schild and His Museum,”“Born to Be Giants: HowBaby Dinosaurs Grew toRule the World,” “Yellow-stone Moran: Painting theAmerican West,” “OneThousand Tracings: Healingthe Wounds of World WarII.”

Maribeth Boelts lives inCedar Rapids, Iowa with herhusband Darwin, a fire-fighter, three children—Adam, Hanna, and

Will—and a dog (Dixie) andcat (Karmen). Not surpris-ingly, her children’s booksoften feature animals.

Boelts draws inspirationfor her stories from a varietyof sources: childhood mem-ories, her children, and thenightly news. Boelts willpresent “Before You WereMine,” at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30p.m.Other books Boelts has

written include “Happy LikeSoccer,” “The PS Brothers,”“Sleeping Bootsie,” “Doga-rella,” “Those Shoes,”“Starlight Lullaby,” “WithMy Mom, With My Dad,”“Sometimes I’m Afraid,”“Sara’s Grandma Goes toHeaven,” “When It’s the LastDay of School,” “The SlothsGet a Pet!,” “Looking forSleepy,” “Summer’s End,”“Kids to the Rescue! FirstAid Techniques for Kids,”“Little Bunny’s PreschoolCountdown,” and “DryDays, Wet Nights.”

Chad Lewis is a paranormalresearcher with a master’s ofscience degree in psychology

from UW-Stout. For fifteenyears, Lewis has traveled theglobe to track down rumors ofghosts, strange creatures, andunexplained phenomena.

Lewis will present “TheWisconsin Road Guide toHaunted Locations” at 1:30p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Lewis has also writtenroad guides to haunted loca-tions in Illinois, Iowa, Min-

Patch Adams

Lita Judge

Maribeth Boelts

Chad Lewis

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Congratulationson the 8th

Anniversary of theBook Festival

Authors and Speakersnesota, South Dakota andFlorida, guides to gangsterhot spots in Wisconsin andMinnesota , and “The MostGruesome Hauntings of theMidwest.” Lewis has alsocompiled books of bizarrenewspaper stories fromWis-consin, NewYork and Texas.

Born in Crawfordsville,Indiana, Erin Hart went toSaint Olaf’s College and theUniversity of Minnesota, andhas worked as a prop master,a stage manager, a journalist,an editor, and a theatre critic.She started writing crimenovels after a trip to Ireland,where she heard a local taleabout a beautiful red-hairedgirl whose severed head wasfound perfectly preserved ina remote peat bog.That tale became the in-

spiration for her debut novel,“Haunted Ground,” the firsta series of novels set in Ire-land that mix elements of the

crime genre with topics in-cluding archeology, foren-sics, history, traditionalmusic, and folklore. Hart’ssecond novel, “Lake of Sor-rows,” was short-listed for aMinnesota Book Award in2004.Hart’s third novel, “False

Mermaid,” was named oneof the top ten crime novels of2010 by the American Li-braryAssociation. Her fourthnovel, “The Book of Kilo-wen,” was published inMarch of this year. Hart willpresent “The Book of Kilo-wen” at 9:30 a.m. and 2:30p.m.

Hart conducts research forher novels when she travelsto Ireland with her husbandPaddy O’Brien, an Irish ac-cordion player. She wadesthrough bogs and cow pas-tures, tours castles, andhaunts local pubs. Hart is amember of the Authors

Guild, the Mystery WritersofAmerica, the InternationalThriller Writers, and Sistersin Crime, Inc.

Richard Schickel is a film-maker who’s written and pro-duced dozens of films andtelevision documentaries, in-cluding a series of documen-tary profiles of greatAmerican film directors, in-cluding Alfred Hitchcock,Howard Hawks, Elia Kazan,and Steven Spielberg.Schickel began his career

as a film critic at LIFE mag-azine in 1965, then served asfilm critic at Time magazineuntil 2009. He now writesfilm reviews for www.truthdig.com. His reviewsand articles about the film in-dustry have appeared innearly one hundred maga-

zines and anthologies, andhe’s provided audio com-mentary for many DVD re-

leases.Schickel is also a film

critic and historian who’swritten 37 books, including“The Disney Version,”“D.W. Griffith:AnAmericanLife,” “Intimate Strangers:The Culture of Celebrity,”“Clint Eastwood: A Biogra-phy,” and with Clint East-wood, “Clint:ARetrospective.”Schickel will present “Clint:A Retrospective,” at 9:30a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

The author Kathleen Kent

grew up reading—Dickens,Poe and James Michener—instilled in her a love for his-torical fiction. Her firstnovel, “The Heretic’sDaughter,” chronicles theplight of Martha Carrier (adistant ancestor of Kent’s),who was among the firstwomen to be accused, tried,and hung as a witch duringthe Salem Witch Trials in1692. “The Heretic’s Daugh-ter” won the David J.Langum Sr. Prize in Ameri-can Historical Fiction in2008.

Kent’s second novel, “TheTraitor’s Wife,” follows ayoung woman and a refugeefrom the English Civil Waras they fall in love, dodge as-sassins sent from London,and flee the wolves that in-habit the rugged landscape ofColonial New England. Kentwill discuss “The Heretic’s

Daughter” at 8:30 a.m. and2:30 p.m.

TomKertscher is a news re-porter for the MilwaukeeJournal-Sentinel and die-hardGreen Bay Packers fan. He’sthe author of “Cracked Side-walks and French Pastry: TheWit Wisdom of Al McGuire,”and “Brett Favre: A PackerFan’s Tribute. Kertscher, wholives in Milwaukee with hisdaughter Hailey, will present“Brett Favre: A Packer Fan’sTribute,” at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30p.m.

Richard Schickel

Tom Kertscher

Erin Hart

Kathleen Kent

The Edgerton Alumni Foundation and the Edgerton Book Festivalare having the

at the Edgerton High School Gymnasium

LARGEST UsedBook Sale Ever

Don’t let a good deal pass you by!

Stop by, take a look. It’s not too early to buy those Christmas or Birthday presents. Everyone like a good book.

Thousands of books written by hundreds of authorsat affordable prices. Authors include:

Jeffrey ArcherDavid BaldacciDan BrownAgatha ChristieMichael CrichtonClive CusslerCharles DickensIan FlemingKen FollettErle Stanley Gardner

Zane GreyJohn GrishamArthur HaileyRoger HardgreavesHermann HesseMary Higgins ClarkEvan HunterStephen KingDean KoontzLouis L’Amour

C.S. LewisRobert LudlumDebbie MacomberAlistair McLeanJames MichenerJames PattersonAnne RiceHarold RobbinsNora RobertsJ.K. Rowling

Sidney SheldonMickey SpillaneDanielle SteelRex StoutJ.R.R. TolkienLeo TolstoyEdgar Wallace Irving Wallace

welcome you to the newly opened

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at 4 West Fulton Street, Edgerton, Wisconsin608-501-7601

Stop by, take a look. It’s not too early to buy thoseChristmas or Birthday presents. Everyone likes a good book.

Featured Authors

Carol Roessler, a Repub-lican legislator in the Wis-consin Assembly and StateSenate from 1982 to 2007,is the author of “PoliticiansSay the Dumbest Things.”The book is an amusing col-lection of quotes that proveshow hard it is for politiciansto keep their feet out of theirmouths.An abiding sense ofcourtesy caused Roessler toleave many of the quotesanonymous, but the bookincludes sections devoted toquotes from PresidentKennedy, President George

H.W. Bush, and PresidentClinton.

Christopher R. Mihm is afilmmaker who wrote, di-rected, and produced the“Mihmiverse” films, anaward-winning series offeature-length films inspiredby the B-grade horror andsci-fi movies that were pop-ular at drive-in theatres dur-ing the 1950s.Mihm made the first film

in the series, “The Monsterof Phantom Lake,” in 2006on a shoestring budget. Shotin black and white, the filmtells the story of a shell-shocked soldier home fromWorld War II who is turnedinto a horrific monster byradioactive waste andwreaks havoc on a high-school graduation party be-fore being pursued by azealous scientist. “TheMonster of Phantom Lake”won the Director’s ChoiceAward at the 2006 Shocker-Fest International Film Fes-tival, and the Best of FestAward and Audience

Choice Award at the BigDam Film Festival. Thefilm was also awarded aCinematic ExcellenceAward from Rogue Cinema.

Mihm has released onefilm in the series each year,with titles like “X: TheFiend From BeyondSpace,” “The Wall People,”and “Cave Women ofMars.”“Attack of the Moon

Zombies,” the sixth film inthe series, was nominatedfor the prestigious RondoHatton Classic HorrorAward.” “House of Ghosts,”Mihm’s tribute to horrormaster William Castle, wonthe coveted Best Action/Horror Feature award at theHighway 61 Film Festivalin 2012. Mihm will premierhis latest film, “The GiantSpider,” at 8:30 a.m. and3:30 p.m.

Carol Roessler

Christopher R.Mihm

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Saturday, September 28th11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

at Edgerton High School GymEdgerton Book Festival

200 Elm High Drive, Edgerton, WI

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Sterling NorthBook & Film Festival!Join us for some fun this Saturday.

New bookstore and art gallery opensThe Edgerton Books and

Art store, home of the Edger-ton Alumni Foundation, willopen its doors for business at9 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 27.More than 15,000 usedbooks covering will be forsale covering a wide varietyof fiction and non–fiction.

Products of a variety of localartists including original oiland water paintings, pencilsketches, ceramic, clay andwood objects d’art, jewelry,quilts, needlework, etc., alsowill be for sale.

Opening day activitieswill include readings by local

author Dona Ross Pratt at 10a.m. and 2 p.m. and a repre-sentative from the ArtsCouncil of Edgerton dis-cussing Pauline Pottery.Edgerton’s History in Clay,described as the most com-plete and richest sample of il-lustrated Pauline-ware ever

published, will also be avail-able to buy. The book waswritten by Ori–Anne Pageland published by the ArtsCouncil of Edgerton.

Edgerton Books and Art,owners, Russ and Jan Veitchinvite everyone to stop by thestore on Friday. The store

will be open every Thursday,Friday and Saturday from 10a.m. to 6 p.m. The Veitchesencourage readers to be onthe alert for future specialevents involving local artistsand authors.

Edgerton Books and Artis located at 4 West Fulton

Street in Edgerton, Wis. Itoffers used books for sale aswell as art by local artists.Additionally, it is the homeof the Edgerton AlumniFoundation, a non-profit or-ganization for the bettermentof education in Edgerton andthe surrounding area.

As part of the SterlingNorth Book and Film Festi-val Mrs. Dona Ross Pratt will

be reading from her recentlypublished work Melissa’sHalloween Wish. Readings

will be at the Edgerton Booksand Art Store setting off itsofficial opening and will takeplace at 10 a.m., and again at2 p.m. on Friday, September27. The store is located at 4West Fulton Street. Dona is along–time Edgerton residentand first–time published au-thor.

Dona Ross Pratt grew upin Brodhead, Wis., in a fam-ily of eight children. Aftergraduating from BrodheadHigh School she attendedWhitewater State TeachersCollege where she obtained adegree in kindergarten andprimary education.

In 1984 after havingtaught in Columbus, Beloitand Fox Point and as a sub-stitute teacher in the SchoolDistrict of Edgerton, Dona

decided to open a creativearts preschool that she man-aged and taught in for fifteenyears. She has been an avidlover of children’s literaturefor years and spent countlesshours reading books to chil-dren in school, her own chil-dren at home and hergrandchildren. She feels thatreading books fosters chil-dren’s imaginations andhelps inspire them to learn.

Children of all ages aswell as adults will findDona’s story to be fun andthought–provoking and herbook beautifully illustratedby Megan Cunningham.

Copies of the book will beavailable for purchase at thestore and Dona will happilyautograph them.

DONA PRATT

Author to read from recently published work

The Edgerton Books and Art store will open this Friday, Sept. 27, just in time for theSterling North Book and Film Festival. The store features a section for children’s books,as well as fiction, non-fiction, classics, sports and more.Artwork from local artists is alsofor sale. Above, Jan Veitch reads an excerpt from a book to husband Russ Veitch.

(Edgerton Reporter photo/Rachel Wittrock)

Thirty local and regional authors will be atThe Book Fair,

held Saturday in theHigh School Gymnasium. See you there!

2013 Tour of Homes steeped in local historyBy Rachel WittrockReporter staffDespite the rain - and the

afternoon Green Bay Packersgame - the Sterling NorthTour of Homes on Sunday,Sept. 15 was a huge success,with approximately 200 peo-ple braving the drizzle to getan inside peek at some ofEdgerton’s oldest and historichomes.From a house that was

originally built and given asa wedding gift to an attic thatused to double as a place tosmoke a cigar while watch-ing a boxing match, thehouses on the 2013 tour aresteeped in history.Featured houses included:510 Washington St.,

owned by Larry and AliceMackenzie;316 Park Lane, owned by

Sue and Dave Griffin;210 W. Rollin, owned by

Dave and Kate Erspamer;409 W. Rollin, the Ster-

ling North Museum and

Barn;211 Albion St., owned by

Victor and Erin Gonzalez;and214 Bentley Place, owned

by Norma Carlson.“We were pleased with the

homeowners because theyhad their homes picture per-fect. They were all interestingto see, fantastic historichomes in Edgerton,” CatheEngler said.Attendees were able to

tour all of the homes, or picka few to attend. What sur-prised Engler was some long-time Edgerton residentstoured the boyhood home ofSterling North for the firsttime.“It is wonderful to know

that having an event like wehad made it possible to seethat historic home,” Englersaid.As people stopped by to

tour the Sterling North Mu-seum, they also stopped in toenjoy a selection of desserts,

Welcome to Edgerton’s Bookand Film FestivalWe invite you to visit

the boyhood home of Rascal authorSterling North this weekend.

For the Book Fest weekend the museum will be openSaturday, Sept. 28, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

and on Sunday, Sept. 29, 1 - 4:30 p.m.

409 W. Rollin St.,Edgerton, WI 608-884-3074The Sterling North Home is open Sundays or by appointment, 1-4:30 pm

Drawing courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society

The Sterling North Society isthe proud recipient of the ScenicBeauty Award from the Citizensfor a Scenic Wisconsin.

including mini-cupcakes andcream puffs, and samplepeach tea and sangria in theSterling North Barn.Local business owners,

community members andSterling North Book andFilm Festival committeemembers also came togetherto donate goods for a silentauction, also held in thebarn.Local residents had the

opportunity to bid on giftbaskets, wine bottle holders,paintings, books, handcraftedjewelry and more, with allthe proceeds benefiting theupcoming Sterling NorthBook and Film Festival, setfor Saturday, Sept. 28 atEdgerton High School.The silent auction and tour

ticket sales helped raise ap-proximately $2,900 for thefestival, according to com-mittee treasurer Jim Cottrell.Although Engler admitted

the Packers game and rainhad the potential to keep peo-

ple away, she said she waspleased with the afternoon’sturnout.“We were really pleased

with that [the turnout]. Whowouldn’t want to stay homeon the couch and watch thePackers game on a rainy day,but people came to the tourand we were so pleased,” En-gler said.The committee intends to

host the Tour of Homes againnext year, and the Gonzalezhouse will be returning. The141 residents who saw thehouse this year were able tosee some of the work that hasbeen done since the housecaught on fire earlier thisyear. By the time next year’stour is held, the house will befinished and furnished.“There is going to be a

dramatic difference betweenthis year and the next, and itwill be very interesting to seehow this house turns out,”Engler said.

The Sterling North Tour of Homes onSunday, Sept. 15 brought in $2,900 for thisyear’s Sterling North Book and Film Festi-val.

People who stopped by the home ownedby Victor Gonzalez (top photo) were able tohear about the rebuilding that is expected tobe completed at the end of this year, whileothers enjoyed snacks and refreshments atthe Sterling North barn (far left). The toureven offered some longtime Edgerton resi-dents their first peek into Sterling North’sboyhood home.

Welcome to Edgerton as wecelebrate the importance of

reading in our society!

The Edgerton Children’s Center congratulates our communityon the annual Book and Film Festival, honoring Sterling North’slegacy. We believe and promote through our center’s programsliteracy for everyone. The ability to read opens the door to theworld.We are proud of what Edgerton has accomplished to make thismagnificent event a reality. — Cathe Engler, owner

EDGERTON CHILDREN’S CENTER414 Albion St., Edgerton 608-884-6393

State Licensed Program • Ages 2-11 years • 4 Year Old Kindergarten“Proudly nurturing Edgerton’s precious children since 1990”

Literacy Enlightens Readers of All Ages

The Queen Ann Revival home owned by Larry and Alice Mackenzie was built bytobacco baron Charles E. Sweeney in 1901. The house was previously owned by Rus-sell and Eva Strand and then by Eric and Julie Lyerla before being purchased by theMackenzies 15 years ago. While the house has a lot of history, the Mackenzies havemade history of their own: they hosted their daughter’s wedding reception at thehouse, which included a jazz garden reception in the backyard.

The Colonial Revival house at 211 Albion St., now owned by Victor Gonzalez, hasbeen a part of Edgerton’s history for 113 years. Since purchasing the home, the Gon-zalez family have replaced or remodeled numerous aspects of the house, including anew kitchen, new floors, redid three bathrooms, added a bathroom, added a bedroomin the basement, replaced the furnaces and installed air conditioning.

The home located at 210 W. Rollin St. and currently owned by Dave and KateErspamer, is not only the oldest, but has also had the highest numbers of owners.

The house is believed to have been built around 1880 for E.H. Smith, and eightfamilies have lived in the house since it was built.

The house located at 409 W. Rollin St. used to be the home of famed Rascal authorSterling North. Today, the house has been converted into a Sterling North Museumand features the author’s books and period-style furniture.

Today, wedding gifts include linens, china dishes, a fondue set. But go back a cen-tury and John Hurd gifted his daughter a much more elaborate wedding gift: thehouse that today stands at 214 Bentley Place. Florence Hurd and her husband, Dr.Frank Southworth, lived in that house until it was purchased by the Carlson family 37years ago.

Dan and Sue Griffin have lived in the house located at 316 Park Lane for one year,and are the fifth family to live in the cream city brick four square house since it wasbuilt in 1910. Since they moved in, the Griffins have installed new quartz countertops,painted the light fixtures and ceiling fans, completed fencing in the yard and put newtile floors on the back porch.

Local businesses sponsor 2013 Tour of Homes

The WartmannArtist Series

The WartmannArtist Series

2013-2014Edgerton Performing Arts Center

A series ticket for only $60 includes one admission toeach of the five concerts.Tickets available at Edgerton Pharmacy, Edgerton PigglyWiggly and Voigt Music Center and Knapton Musik Knotesboth of Janesville.Info and credit card transactions: (608) 561-6093Funded in part by the William and Joyce Wartmann Endowment for thePerforming Arts Center

American English was voted “numberone” by thousands of Beatle fans aswinners of sound-alike contests atBeatlefest® for three consecutive years.Whether you grew up with the Fab Fouror not, this show will be your window tothe past. Witness “The CompleteBeatles Tribute” with American English!AMERICAN ENGLISHSaturday, October 19, 2013, 7:30 pm$20 advance/$25 door

Guest soloist for this performancewill be Robert Sims, lyric baritoneand Gold Medal winner of the AmericanTraditions Competition. Mr. Sims has appearedwith orchestras throughout the United Statesand has been highly praised for his movinginterpretations of African-American spirituals.

The Nordic Choir, founded in 1946, enjoysnational and international acclaim as apremiere collegiate choral ensemble in theUnited States. Under the direction of Dr.Allen Hightower, the Nordic Choir hastoured extensively throughout the UnitedStates, performing in countless churches,schools, and concert halls, includingLincoln Center, the KennedyCenter, the Crystal Cathedral and theMormon Tabernacle.THE NORDIC CHOIRSaturday, January 25, 2014, 7:30 pm$20 advance/$25 door

Dragonfly Orchestra, a theatricalshow, is a unique joint ventureand collaboration between theLiuzhou Song and Dance Troupe(China), Joy Titan (China) andthe Canadian Artistic Team ofBarrage. The ensemble consistsof eight female musicians whodeliver a high energy, choreo-graphed, stylistic performancethat highlights original composi-tions, Folk, Pop, Classical, Jazz,Movie, Television and Broadwaythemes.DRAGONFLY ORCHESTRASaturday, April 5, 2014, 7:30 pm$20 advance/$25 door

The Ritz Chamber Players brings afresh, new energy to the classicalmusic genre. Its members performwith prestigious organizationsincluding the Boston Symphony,the New York Philharmonic,Chicago Symphony, PittsburghSymphony, Philadelphia Orchestraand the London Symphony. TheRitz Chamber Players is uniquein its dedication to showcasing theworks of African-Americancomposers.

THE RITZCHAMBER PLAYERSSaturday, November 16, 20137:30 pm$20 advance/$25 door

Sterling North Honoree(Continued from page 2)

The Edgerton Quilt Showwill be held at Edgerton Mid-dle School, 300 Elm HighDrive, on Saturday, Oct. 19from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.This year’s featured

speaker, Mary Fisher, willpresent “TacklingYour Quilt-ing Space” at 11 a.m.AQS certified appraiser

Sandy Schweitzer will be onsite performing quilt ap-praisals. Quilts on displaymay also be appraised. Toschedule an appointment,contact Janette Jenson at 608-884-3271.Entry forms for the quilt

show can be picked up atEdgerton Floral, Hair Doc-tors and local quilt shops.Forms are also availableupon request by emailing

[email protected] or by calling ShirleBalis at 608-884-3002.Viewer’s choice winners

will receive a monetary prize.Demonstrations will be

held throughout the day.Quilting vendors and a con-cession stand will also be onsite. Raffles for basket, bedquilts and barn quilts will beheld.Admission will be

charged for people ages 11and older, and all proceedswill benefit local Edgertoncharities.For more information,

contact quilt show chair JaneSchneeberger at (608) 884-3746, or Elaine Jenson at(608) 884-6804.

Edgerton Quilt Showreturns October 19

Hundreds of quilts were displayed at last year’sshow, held in the Edgerton Middle School.

(Edgerton Reporter photo)

my first story to get an illus-tration job,” said Judge. Shereceived several offers, but thestories didn’t inspire her. “Thatmade me realize I wanted towrite the stories as well, so Icould control my illustra-tions.”Judge said she quickly

found that she loved writing,although it didn’t come to heras naturally as drawing andpainting.Judge writes and illustrates

books for children ages 2-12.She creates non-fiction books,usually involving science, forolder children. Examples in-clude “Bird Talk: What BirdsAre Saying,AndWhy,” “Bornto Be Giants: How Baby Di-nosaurs Grew to Rule theWorlds,” and “YellowstoneMoran: Painting theAmericanWest.” Judge creates fictionbooks for younger children.Examples include “Red Hat,”“Red Sled,” and “StrangeCreatures: The Story ofWalterRothschild andHisMuseum.”Her books feature vivid,

gorgeous watercolor illustra-tions of animals with detailedfacial expressions that make

them seem almost human. “Ilove to tell stories through ex-pression,” said Judge. “Mystories are very character-dri-ven.” Judge works in water-colors because they dry fasterthan oil or acrylic paintings,making it easier to work rightup to a deadline.Judge says the key to creat-

ing a good story book, beyondcaptivating illustrations andevocative and age-appropriatewriting, is pacing. “How youpace the story is the biggestchallenge, and the most inter-esting part of the storytelling.How you do page turns is crit-ical.”The fact Judge doesn’t have

children hasn’t hindered hercareer as a children’s author.“Creating children’s books

is so different from raisingchildren,” said Judge. “Youcan love literature and creatingstories and art, and all of thatis separate from raising a fam-ily.” She said many children’sauthors are childless, in partbecause it’s such a time-con-suming job. “We still have apassion for youngsters andturning them on to literature.”

22001133 EEddggeerrttoonn BBooookk && FFiillmm FFeessttiivvaall SScchheedduulleeChristopher Mihm

Film: “The Giant Spider”Room 343

8:30 am & 3:30 pm

Kathleen Kent“The Heretics Daughter”

Room 3238:30 am & 2:30 pm

Lita Judge“Red Sled”Room 221

9:30 am & 2:30 pm

Richard Schickel“Clint: A Retrospective”

Room 3259:30 & 2:30 pm

Dr. Patch Adams

Edgerton Performing ArtsCenter

Show Starts 10:30 amShow Ends 12:30 pm

Edgerton Perfroming Arts Center

4:30 Sterling North Award Presentation

5:00 Edgerton Premiere of THE GIANT SPIDER

Carol Roessler“Polititians Say the Dumbest Things”

Library8:30 am & 1:30 pm

Erin Hart“The Book Killowen”

Room 1259:30 am & 2:30 pm

Tom KertscherBrett Favre: A Packer Fan’s Tribute

Room 3169:30 am& 1:30 pm

Maribeth Boelts“Before You Were Mine”

Room 2301:30 pm & 3:30 pm

Chad Lewis“Haunted Wisconsin”District Boardroom1:30 pm & 3:30 pm

Concert - Cheryl KirkingLunch Room8 am & 5:30 pm

Come to Blackhawk Community Credit Union where the tellers greet you by name and treat you like you really matter. Member-owned and not-for-profit. Membership open to everyone in the community

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Proud to Support theEdgerton Sterling North


Smart Advice. Friendly Service. Locally Owned.

608-755-6065 800-779-5555www.bhccu.org

Federally Insured by NCUA

Everyone’s a bigfish in our pond.

Edgerton Film &Book Festival

A Big ‘Thank You’ For Your Generous Donations to the Book Festival

Alliant EnergyBecker ConstructionBest EventsBlackhawk Community Credit UnionBMO HarrisSusan & Larry BurnsChilimania, Inc.Community Foundation of Southern Wisc.Componex CorporationConvoy’s Bar & GrillDiaz RoofingBank of EdgertonEdgerton Company - Diane EversonEdgerton Education AssociationEdgerton HospitalEdgerton PharmacyEdgerton School DistrictEvent EssentialsShelby & John FahlgrenFalcon Design StudioBarbara FioreFox 47Fulton Masonic Lodge #69Gallant Knight Limousine

Home Again ConsignmentsIKIDr. Mark IngensKenyon ElectricJudy KuklaWash For Less (The Laundry Room)Mad Badger Home ConstructionLarry & Julie MidtboJane & David NelsonNewville Auto Salvage, Inc.Oregon Chapter #49 Order of Eastern StarOren’s Auto Body & Car WashPiggly WigglyPreferred Home StagingRay’s RestaurantReitz DentalRiteway Bus ServiceSouthern Wisconsin NewsGayle & Dale StettlerRuss & Janice VeitchWartmann Chandler Appraisal ServiceFather Dave Timmerman

Grand OpeningSept. 28 & 29

10 am - 6 pm

Cooksville General StoreSue Ebbert, ProprietorPhone 608-882-0232

11313 N.Hwy. 138, Evansville

We Salute theEdgerton Book Festival!

Stop and see us while you are here.

Try ourSamples!

Enter our Drawingfor Prizes & Gift

Certificates.Fun for All

Congratulations, Edgerton,on stressing the importance

of reading!Let’s all enjoy our annual

Sterling North Book & Film Festival.Edgerton Public Library

101 Albion Street, Edgerton, WI 53534 (608) 884-4511

“Perhaps no place in any community is so totally democratic as thetown library. The only entrance requirement is interest.”

—Lady Bird Johnson

Ad sponsored by Mark Irgens, DDS and Culvers, Newville

North writes ‘Love Letter’ to hometown

By Sterling North Sunday, July 26, 1964

As you know, it hasbeen my intention since youwrote me last April to makethis occasion at AlbionAcademy my Hail andFarewell to the beautiful re-gion which gave me such arich and rewarding boyhoodand which has furnished thematerial for many of mybooks, including RASCAL.

My inability to come toWisconsin at this time is dueto circumstances quite be-yond my control. Walt Dis-

ney writes that he is flyingeast to see me for a finalconference on the moviescript of RASCAL before itgoes before the color cam-eras next month. During thefilming of one of my previ-ous books SO DEAR TOMY HEART I worked withWalt in Hollywood for sev-eral months. This time I feltmy health would not permita similar high pressure tripto the Coast. So we are con-ferring here at my home be-side our little lake andwaterfall in Morristown,New Jersey.

There is nothing Iwould like better than to bestanding before you on thegreen campus of the oldacademy where you arehearing what would havebeen my talk had I been ableto be with you. I would haveliked to see again the roomin Kumlien Hall where myfather lived and studiedwhen he was preparing forcollege nearly 90 years ago,to see again the creek whereI fished half a century ago,and the marsh where Itrapped muskrats and minkand hunted mallards beforeI made my permanent peacewith the birds and animalsof this world.

Now that Kumlien Hallhas become a museum, Iwould like to see that oldcanoe I built, now safelyhoused with many of myfirst editions, letters of myfather, grandfather and my

great-grandfather and othermemorabilia of the Northfamily. It is fitting that theyare being kept as livingmemories so near the littlecemeteries where four gen-erations of the family aresleeping. I would like tomeet again the many friendswith whom Gladys and Iwent through high school,went on sleigh rides over thecrusted snow, joined the pic-nics at Lake Koshkonong.

But the Disney confer-ence is essential since only Ican guide him in makingthat in the film version ofRASCAL, which will reachso many tens of millions ofpeople here and abroad, thatour region and my familywill be portrayed with thegreatest possible authentic-ity. RASCAL in book form,incidentally, is now a best-seller in many countries. Ithas been translated intoFrench, Spanish, German,Finnish, Danish, Dutch,Swedish, Japanese, Por-tuguese, Italian and otherlanguages. It has beenbroadcast over all the sta-tions of Voice of America inEurope, Asia and Africa,and has been serializedtwice (an all-time-record)over BBC in England whereit is also a best-seller in theHodder and Stoughton edi-tion. In addition, as youprobably know, it has beendistributed by the Book ofThe Month and Two otherAmerican book clubs, was

condensed in Readers’ Di-gest, was a best-seller forseven months in the UnitedStates and runner- up for theNewberry Medal.

I am recounting thesehonors, for which I amgrateful, principally todemonstrate how interestedthe entire world seems to bein Southern Wisconsin,Edgerton, Albion, LakeKoshkonong, Rock Riverand a boy and a raccoonwho once lived among you.

The Japanese edition ofRASCAL has just arrivedwith fascinating illustrationsin the delicate but oddJapanese manner. The end-papers are maps of Edgertonand vicinity, which show inmeticulous detail the streets,roads, rivers, creeks, lakesand even railroad trackswithin my boyhood area.Here is Taylor’s point fromwhich one, in my youth,could see the outlet of LakeKoshkonong not far down-stream, and in the distanceblue haze, the inlet in the di-rection of Fort Atkinson andto one’s left the dark greendelta of Koshkonong Pointwhere on a memorable Mayevening in May 1919 I letmy little raccoon choose forhimself whether to remainwith me or to join the en-trancing female raccoontrilling and crooning to himfrom the moonlit shore.

It all looks a triflestrange with Japanese char-acters showing the points of

interest. And the raccoon onthe cover looks like a koalabear which has somehow ac-quired a ringed tail. But theJapanese raccoon is not sostrange as the portrait ofAbraham Lincoln on an-other of my Japanese best-

sellers. Abe looks, with hissilk robes and slant-eyedphysiognomy, like a benev-olent Japanese emperor whohas somehow learned tosplit rails.

Submitted byBetty Dallman-Witzel

Best Wishes to the Edgerton Commuitywith this weekend’s 8th annual

Book and Film FestivalWe are happy to be catering the

Authors ReceptionMasonic Temple - 312 W. Fulton St.

Friday, September 27, 20136 - 8 p.m.

Staying over in Edgerton?Join us for our unique

Sunday Brunch9 a.m. - 2 p.m.608-884-8484

Located at Stoughton exit 156 off I-90“Where everything is on course”

Patch Adamswill be featured this year

Hunter “Patch” Adams is aphysician, social activist,clown and author. He foundedthe Gesundheit! Institute in1971, and is the subject of the1998 film Patch Adams,starring Robin Williams.

Patch Adams

Sterling North, prominentliterary figure and authorof best seller “Rascal,” thestory of the lovable rac-coon which he knew as acompanion during an un-forgettable year of his boy-hood life here in the LakeKoshkonong-Indianford-Fulton area of Wisconsin,was to have been the guestspeaker in 1964 at the an-nual reunion of the AlbionAcademy sponsored by theHistorical Society at Al-bion Campus. But eventsmade it impossible for himto keep his scheduled ap-pearance. Here is the let-ter which North wrote toAttorney Stanley W. Slagg,program chairman for theAlbion event.

Sterling North and friends, circa 1966, at about the timehe published “Raccoons Are the Brightest People.”

14

Another Wisconsinwriter, Glenway Wescott,has written, among other dis-tinguished books, one whichis entitled “Goodbye Wis-consin.” I hope that I willnever say “goodbye” to Wis-consin. In fact, I will alwaysbe living there in memory.

I wish never to saygoodbye to the deep poolbefore the dam at Indianfordwhere I waited with excite-ment night after night for abig catfish to take my bait,reeling them in against theswift current.

I hope always to re-member Wisconsin spring-time, from the first breakingof the ice with thunderousroars across miles of lakesand rivers to the blossomingof shooting stars and violetsand wild crabapples over thehills and valleys of my na-

tive land. June, with its ripe cher-

ries, and bass leaping amongthe waterlilies; July with itsgolden wheat fields; Augustwith the monarch butterflieson the milkweed flowers;September with elm leaves,like golden coins on the vil-lage streets. To none of thesecan I ever say “goodbye”.

I suppose that I owe afew windfall apples andhickory nuts and bunches ofgrapes to nearby farmers. Iwaive immunity, and willreturn at any time to pay myhonest debts to those whohelped me to have such awonderful boyhood.

As you listen to thesewords you are standing onhistoric ground just outsidethe only brick building whichremains of your famous oldacademy. It has, quite appro-priately, been turned into ahistorical museum, and isnamed for the great pioneernaturalist who once taughthere, Thure Ludwig Theodor

Kumlien (1819-1888). Kum-lien was a contemporary ofThoreau, Audubon andAgassiz, and in many re-spects the equal of any ofthem. He corresponded ineight languages with muse-ums and naturalists all overthe world. Agassiz calledhim the greatest expert onbird nests in North America.Agull, an anemone and anaster were named in hishonor. He was trained at Up-psala in Sweden and he cameto Wisconsin in the mid-1840s buying 80 acres ad-joining the North homestead.

My father, David Wil -lard North (1862-1962)often recalled that Kumliencould start the whippoor-wills any night by playinghis flute. Said my father,“Far across the fields weheard them, the old manwith his flute, his son play-ing his violin, and hundredsof whippoorwills calling–that’s music to remember.”

You may still drinkfrom the old flowing wellthat Kumlien dug. And inmy boyhood you could stillsometimes hear a pair ofwhippoorwills in the virginforest which he so longsaved from the axe.

On the adjoining farm -that was owned by my ances-tor my great-grand-father,Thomas North, Sr., ThomasNorth Jr., cleared oak treesand boulders from the fertilesoil. Great-grandfather wasborn in 1797 in Derbyshire,England not far from thatgreat trout stream the RiverDove which runs like silverthrough Izaak Walton’s THECOMPLETE ANGLER. In

that year of his birth, Cather-ine the Great was but one yeardead, George Washingtonwas still alive, Napoleon wasnot yet a Consul of the FrenchRepublic, and Mad KingGeorge II still ruled Englandand had 23 years left to live.

Among great-grandfa-ther’s well-trained dogs wasone named Wellington andone named Blucher after theheros of the battle of Water-loo which was fought whilemy great-grandfather was stillin his teens. My father knewthis old gentleman very well,and I overlap my own father’slife by nearly half a century.So close are we to history.

My great-grandfatheralways stoutly maintainedthat we were rather closelyrelated to the disastrousBritish Prime Minister, LordNorth, and directly de-scended from the BaronNorth line: and since he wasa minister of the gospel aswell as a tiller of the soil, hemay have been telling thetruth. But it is ironical thatanyone would wish to claimrelationship with the PrimeMinister who helped bringon the American Revolution.I have never seen any writ-ten proof of this rumoredaristocratic ancestry, buthave found that the traditionis strong in the collateralbranch of our family nowheaded by John RinglingNorth. The only pleasure Iget from this bit of verbal ge-nealogy is that, if it is true, Imust be a direct descendentof Sir Thomas North, theEnglish translator ofPlutarch, the source fromwhich Shakespeare drew the

material for his JULIUSCAESAR and his AN TONYAND CLEOPATRA.

Certainly we must havedescended through a line ofyounger sons, since none ofthe wealth was apparentwhen great-grandfather andhis wife and three teenagechildren prepared to sail forAmerica in the mid-1840s.However, a literary traditiondid survive in the family andgreat-grandfather had topostpone for many monthsthe sailing date because hehad spent part of this pas-sage money to buy addi-tional books which hewanted to take with him intothe wilds of Wisconsin.

The little family landedat the port of New York,came up the Hudson andthrough the Erie canal, andthence again by sailing ves-sel to the tiny port of Mil-waukee. They came by oxcart to Albion Prairie whenthis region still abounded indeer, panthers and an almostunbelievable richness ofother wildlife.

Great-grandfather cameto preach and plow, but hisneighbor, Thure Kumlien,came for more romantic rea-sons. Kumlien, after graduat-ing from Uppsala, was to beappointed Royal Ornitholo-gist to the King of Sweden.He was a brilliant young manof aristocratic birth and his fu-ture looked bright. But he fellin love with a beautiful com-moner, and the King wouldnot give his permission to letthem wed. So Kumlien andhis lovely betrothed, takingalong this girl’s sister as achaperon, headed for Wiscon-

sin where Kumlien rightly ex-pected to find the widest vari-ety of bird life to be seenanywhere in North America.In those days, Lake Kosh -konong swarmed with wildgeese and wild ducks of everyvariety. Swans were con-stantly to be seen floating ma-jestically on its waters. Evenflamingos and pelicans wereno rarities in summer.

Neither Kumlein normy great-grandfather wereprepared for the back-break-ing labor of cutting downthree hundred- year-old oaktrees nor breaking virgin soilwith eight or 10 yokes ofoxen–meaning 16 to 20 ani-mals–pulling the heavybreaking plow. Both of themdid their best, but great-grandfather often found thathe needed to preach at somesettlement many miles awayand with his sermon and hisBible in his saddle-bags setoff on horseback to save sin-ful souls, while my teenagegrandfather Thomas North,Jr., wrestled with stumpsand boulders and other end-less farm labor.

Kumlien had his ownform of escape. He would al-ways leave his plow to followa strange bird to its nest. Andhe supplemented his meagerfarm income by collectingbirds eggs and nests for mu-seums everywhere and bymounting specimens of thebirds themselves (althoughoften when he had drawn abead on a bird he wouldlower his gun, unwilling tokill so beautiful a creature). Sterling North’s typewriter (on which he wrote “Ras-

cal”) is on display at the Sterling North house, 409 W.Rollin St., Edgerton. 15

North writesContinued from page 13

EDGERTONCOMMUNITY OUTREACHTHRIFT STORE

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WELCOME TO EDGERTON’S

BOOK & FILM FESTIVALSATURDAY, SEPT. 28, 2013

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Saluting Edgerton,as we celebrate the 8th annual

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My father, who wasborn on a wild night of

storm on August 10, 1862,soon found his way to thenearby Kumlien cabin. Oncewhen he was five or six,Thure Kumlien saved hislife. My father, youngthough he was, was sent

twice a week on a paththrough the deep woods tothe village of Busseyville toget the mail. On these usu-ally pleasant journeys hewas always accompanied byhis faithful dog and wouldusually be given a cookie byKumlien’s beautiful wife orby her faithful sister.

One snowy day, whenmy father set out on his ac-customed errand, his dog re-fused to follow him andturned back whining piti-fully. My father, however,did not understand this warn-ing, but crossed the stile intothe deep forest and was di-verted from the path bytracks in the fresh snow thatappeared to have been madeby a giant cat. My father,who was already a buddingstudent of nature, raced

along this fresh trail eager tosee such an animal. At onepoint the tracks went directlyacross the log bridging aravine, and my father wasabout to cross the log intothe thicket beyond whenThure Kumlien stepped frombehind the great tree.

“Better now not followthose tracks, son. There’s apanther in that thicket.”

There had been wildstories floating about thecountryside–yellow eyesgleaming at the windows bylamplight, cries like those ofa woman being murdered,sending ice water along thespines of frightened cabindwellers, great claws rakingat the hand-split shakes oncabin roofs, while those in-side huddled around the fire.This then was the mysteri-

ous “devil” that some super-stitious folk insisted waswandering the countryside.

On the following daythe panther was shot whilekilling a calf in a nearbyfarmyard.

Within three or fouryears my father had becomea “bird-nester” for Kumlienclimbing into the highesttree to bring down aban-doned nests which the oldnaturalist could sell to mu-seums for as much as 25cents, as much as he couldearn in half a day of manuallabor on nearby farms.Again my father studiedunder this great man inKumlien Hall here on theAlbion Campus. Kumlienpassed on to my father someof his vast knowledge. Myfather, during the last half of

his 99-year-life, passed onsome of his lore to me. Ipassed on to several hun-dreds of thousands of read-ers some part of what myfather taught me in the bestseller named RASCAL. Soin a sense you might say thatboth Kumlien and my fathercollaborated in that work.

I am sorry that I cannotbe with you personallytoday. But please rememberthat I will never forget thatwithout this region, withoutthis heritage, without youall, I never could have writ-ten RASCAL.

Affectionately Yours, Sterling North Morristown, New Jersey

By Mark Scarborough Reporter Staff

The writing career of“Rascal” author Sterling North(1906-1974) began in Edger-ton, his hometown, with hisfirst published poem likelycomposed shortly before hisfamily moved to their 409 W.Rollin St. place.

Now known as the Ster-ling North Childhood HomeMuseum & Literary Center,the West Rollin Street QueenAnne-style building is main-tained and operated by theSterling North Society.

Every stick of furniture,every accessory, is “to pe-riod,” down to the Willson’sMonarch flavorings in thekitchen and the early 20th

Century toys casually tossedaround Sterling’s second floorbedroom.

One of Sterling’s firstpoems, “A Song of Summer,”was printed in St. Nicholasmagazine when he was onlyeight:

Vacation’s come, And in the trees The birds are singing I hear the hum Of golden bees On daisies swinging. By grassy stream The long-legged crane Is deeply wading. In pink and cream, Beyond the lane, The sun is fading.

North was born in a farm-house located along the shoresof Lake Koshkonong, in the

Dane County town of Albion,on Nov. 4, 1906, the son ofElizabeth and David WillardNorth.

With his sister Jessica andhis parents, young Sterlingmoved into the city of Edgerton(to a home at the corner ofRollin and Mechanic streets) in1909. From about 1914 until atleast 1925, Sterling lived at 409W. Rollin St., where the boyshared his life with many wildand domestic pets, including his“ringtailed wonder” raccoon,Rascal.

Sterling was the baby ofhis family, with an olderbrother and another sister,Herschel and Theo, busy withtheir own lives by the time ofhis birth. Sterling tipped over

a highchair at age three, reach-ing for a shiny doorknob, andcut off the tip of one of his fin-gers. His mother died when hewas seven. In August 1922,when he was 15, he survived“a very bad case” of polio.

A debating star of his 1925Edgerton High School graduat-ing class, Sterling earned child-hood pocket money here byselling copies of the WisconsinState Journal and working in to-bacco fields.

Sterling married his brideGladys in 1927, then accepteda 1929 job as a “cub reporter”on the Chicago Daily News atthe start of the Great Depres-sion. These responsibilities sodominated his life that henever finished his University

of Chicago degree. Sterlingearned a national reputation asa syndicated book critic,working as literary editor ofthe Chicago Daily News(1932-43), the New York Post(1943-49), and the New YorkWorld Telegram and Sun(1949-56). As far away asJapan and Russia, North’smulti-million bestselling taleof “Rascal:A Memoir of aBetter Era” has entertainedand enthralled readers theworld over since it was firstpublished by New York’s E.P.Dutton in 1963. Both “Ras-cal” and North’s other best-selling novel, “So Dear to MyHeart” were made into filmsby Walt Disney.

The Sterling North Childhood Home and Literacy Cen-ter is now a museum on West Rollin Street in Edgerton,Wis.

Summer resident, KarenPopowski, sent this photo tothe Reporter. She says thislittle raccoon came into hergarden and up the treeshortly after she put up thesign indicating her area as aCertified Wildlife habitatMakes you think of Rascal...doesn’t it. We thank Karenfor the submission.

North writesContinued from page 14

“Rascal” author North raised in Edgerton

We share the pride of ourcommunity as we welcomeeveryone to Edgerton’sBook and Film Festival!

See you here this weekend.

101 N. Swift St.,Edgerton, WI 53534608-884-8923

Visit us at: orensautobody.com

Left to Right: Seth, Bethany, Whitney, Wendy, Shane

From all over the world young men travel to Edgerton eachSeptember to attend Oaklawn Academy. They spend a year or twoand then return home changed in some remarkably striking ways.

OAKLAWN ACADEMY432 Liguori Road, Edgerton, WI 53534(608) 884-3425 www.oaklawnacademy.org

On behalf ofthe faculty,administrationand all of ourstudents, it isa privilege tosalute the citizens of Edgerton on your thannual Book and Film Festival. We proudlyencourage reading.

Congratulations!— Javier Valenzuela, Principal

Welcome to Edgertonand our 8th annual

Book & Film Festival!We look forward to seeing you this Saturday.

It has been our privilege to serve the hardware andrental needs of our customers since 1969. We thank you foryour business and we salute our fine community as we allcelebrate our heritage, especially Sterling North’s legacy!

Deegan’sHardware & Rental

1025 N. Main St., Edgerton, WI (608) 884-3913

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9am - 7pmSaturday

9am - 5pmSunday

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711 North Main Street, Edgerton, WI 53534

608-884-3308

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• Headaches• Insomnia

• Depression• and more

• Golferʼs & Tennis Elbow• Sciatica

WELCOME...Stop in and see usduring the Book& Film Fest!

Expanded Menu • Daily SpecialsWatch the games on one of our 11 large flat screen TVs

Drink for FREE on your Birthday!116 W. Fulton Street, Edgerton 608-884-3088

FiveDomestic Beersin a Bucketfor $10during all PackerGames!

• Auto, Truck & Trailer Tires• All Major Brand Tires• Full Service Tire Shop• Auto Service & Lube• Huge Selection of New Trailers• Full Service Trailer Shop

We Salute our

communitydurin

g the

Book& Film Festiv

al

“Serving DowntownEdgerton andSurrounding

Communities withPropane andHousehold

Appliances forOver 65 Years”

Best Wishes for the Book & Film Festival...as the 8th annual event takes place this Saturday, Sept. 28

Are You Hungry?Your purchase of a mealis a great way to help us

financially this year and help plannext year’s event.

Join Us Saturday, September 2811:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (or until we run out!)

Located in the Edgerton High School Cafeteria

Book Festival Food BoothYour Support is Greatly Appreciated!

Thanks for your support of the Sterling North Book Festival.

505 N. Main St., Edgerton Phone: 884-3432

CongratulationsEdgerton, for producingthe Book & Film Festival!We invite everyone to enjoy this weekend.

We arepleased to play

a role in Edgerton’sgreat Book & Film Festival.

Join us while you’re here -— Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

— Friday Night Fish Fry — Saturday Prime Rib— Sandwiches / Wraps — Delicious Desserts

Carry outs 884-9866

1102 N. MAIN ST., EDGERTON, WI (608) 884-9866www.raysrestaurantwi.com

Welcomes you to Edgerto

n!

Welcome to Edgerton’s8th annual

Book & Film Festival“The reading of all good books is like conversationwith the finest men of past centuries. —Descartes

104 West Fulton Street — Edgerton, WI 53534Ph: 608-884-3902 Fax 608-884-6610

[email protected]

Welcome to Edgerton’s8th annual


Witt Law OfficesOffers a full variety of legal services including criminal,defense, estate planning, family law, and civil litigation.

Witt Law Offices advises and represents clients throughoutsouthern Wisconsin. If you have a legal matter, give us a call

to schedule an appointment.Phone: 884-8085 Web: wittlawoffices.com

A s s i s t e d L i v i n g

(608) 884-2828124 Henry St., Edgerton, WI 53534

www.swifthaven.com

CongratulationsCongratulationsEdgertonEdgerton

“Anyone who says they have only one life to live must notknow how to read a book.” —Author Unknown

Reading is always an adventure, and during ourBook and Film Festival, it just gets better!

We salute the hard workof so many people to make thisBook/Film Festival a reality.Congratulations!

Dr. Thomas H. ReitzGeneral Dentistry and Orthodontics

1007 N. Main St., Edgerton, WI 53534 608-884-3358 www.edgertondentist.com

Edgerton Film & Book Festival

A Big ‘Thank You’ For Your Generous Donations to the Tour of HomesMaribeth Boelts - AuthorBunbury Realtors - Kim SchuetzNorma CarlsonChase BankClara Mae’s DollsConvoys Bar & GrillSherrie CottrellThe Decoy Bar & GrillDeegan’s HardwareEdgerton Children’s CenterEdgerton PharmacyEdgerton Reporter

Edgerton Towne Country ClubCathe EnglerDave & Kate ErspamerDiane EversonBrian ForssVictor & Erin GonzalezGrams InsuranceDave & Sue GriffinHarbor RecreationHealing Haven SpaJill HockingMarilyn Johnson

Marnette KernChad Lewis - AuthorLarry & Alice MackenzieMcGuire LandscapingKim OlsonPiggly WigglyRay’s Family RestaurantSawtooth InnovationsSue SkogStudio 115Sun-Golden KennelsChris SweeneyTri-County Community Center

Wartmann Chandler Appraisal

We Salute Edgerton on our 8th AnnualBook Festival. Visit us while you’re here!

Now Open - New OwnerYou can expect the same welcoming atmosphere, friendlyservice and comradery.The changes are in decor, a new

outdoor patio and an expanded menu.Coming soon:

homemade pizza (a specialty)and unique

toasted sub sandwiches.

The Red Baron124W. Fulton St., Edgerton,WI • 884-0211

Bank

EdgertonA Branch of the Bank of Milton

102 N. Main Street, Edgerton 884-9622

of

Best Wishes to Edgerton, aswe enjoy the Book and Film

Festival this weekend.

This is yet another symbol of a dynamic, enlightened community.

Your locally ownedindependenthometown bank.

ELM DRIVE APARTMENTS800 ELM DR., EDGERTON, WI (608) 884-8454

Welcome toEdgerton’s 8th Annual

Book & Film Festivaland the

Home ofSterling North!

Drawing by Dave Kotwitz

October 10,8 am-4:45 pmFLU SHOTS

Mercy Edgerton Medical CenterNo appointment necessary. Walk-ins welcome. For ages 5 and up.

Mercy Edgerton Medical Center217 N. Main St.

Cost: $30*

Correct cash and checks accepted.*No cost to MercyCare Health Plan members and those with Medicare Part B. (Shots will be billed to the appropriate plan).

Please call (608) 884-9431for more information.

“Books are lighthouses erected in the great sea of time..”—Edwin P. Whipple, American author & lecturer 1819-1886

The Edgerton Book & Film FestivalThe Edgerton Book & Film Festivalis a wonderful opportunity to is a wonderful opportunity to highlight the importance of highlight the importance of

literacy in our societyliteracy in our society..

WWelcome to Edgerton!elcome to Edgerton!from The Tax Lady

Steponkus Tax ServiceYear Round Tax & Accounting Service

114 W. Fulton Street, Edgerton Phone: 608-884-6436

Welcome to Edgerton,and our th annualSterling North

Book & Film FestivalWe’re pleased to supportthis event, highlighting

the importance of readingand the arts.

608-884-8414 P.O. Box 231 Edgerton, WI 53534

8

884-6007www.harborrec.com

Marine Sales & Service807 Harbor Rd., Newville - Just off Hwy. 59

We Commend Edgertonfor sponsoring our annual

Book and Film FestivalIt’ll be a great event for the whole community.

“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” ― Mark Twain

4 Lord St. 221 Kings Lynn Rd., Ste AEdgerton Stoughton

608-531-2373 608-873-8888

• Auto • Commercial • Farm & Crop • Health • Life• Home & Tenant • Umbrellas • Motorcycles • Boats • ATVs

• NEVs • Equine • Seasonal Homes

Congratulations, Edgerton...The Book & Film Festivalis a wonderful event!

Birthday Parties VolleyballAnniversaries Roller Skating

Showers BasketballLarge Commercial Kitchen

Small Rooms Available for Meetings

Tri-CountyCommunity Center112 N. Swift St., Edgerton, WI 53534

(608) 884-9601

(608) 884-6185Serving the area since 1985.

Trimmingand

RemovalBrush

Chipping

FullyInsured

FreeEstimates60ʼ Aerial

Bucket

www.edwardjones.com

Thank you for supportingthe Edgerton Book and FilmFestival

Steve ThompsonFinancial Advisor.

212 West Fulton StreetEdgerton, WI 53534608-884-8000

Member SIPC

e Kind Of Place Where Conversations End In “MMM...”

Daily Lunch Specials— Outdoor Seating Available —

Open Mic Night2nd & 4th Thursdays, 7-9pm

Conveniently Located In e “Depot”20 S. Main St., Edgerton 608-289-2098

On Facebook

Enjoy our clubhouse...Great Views, Drinks & Food!

— Please join us even if you’re not a golfer —

770 Albion Road, Edgerton (608) 884-2250

Welcome to Edgerton’sBook & Film Festival

Mon: Happy HourAll DayWed: 2-4-1 Golf All Day

2-4-1 Drinks 6-10 p.m.Sun: Bloody Marys &

Chicken Wings

Reservations Suggested 884-4544

Lake House InnOpen Mon, Wed. & Thurs. 5-9pm, Fri. & Sat. 4-10pm, Sun. 11am-9 pmTake Hwy. 59 to Mallwood Dr., left on Hillside

Rd., right on Maple Beach Rd.

Welcome to Edgerton’sBook and Film Festival!

Join us while you’re here.

ASPHALT PAVING, LLC

Driveways • Parking LotsPatch Work • Private Roads

Henry E. Heil Owner & Operator

920-650-8086Jefferson, WI

All Work Guaranteed

Coupons on our website:www.hhasphaltpaving.net

We AcceptAll Major

Credit Cards

10 Highway 51Edgerton, WI 53534

(608) 884-9008

Join the fun during theBook and Film Festival..

and see Steveʼs for completeautomotive repair and maintenance.

Weʼll keep you going!

Welcome!

Hrs: Mon. - Fri.8 am. - 5:30 pm

Affordable Custom Picture Framing

102 West Fulton Street,Edgerton, WI 53534 (608) 279-8020

Welcome to our8th Annual Sterling NorthBook & Film Festival!

We celebrate readingand the arts

with this festival.

Congratulations!

—Handmade Porcelain Dolls—18” Doll Clothes—Duane Jr.’s WroughtIron Lawn Art& Doll Furniture

202 S. Main St., Edgerton 608-884-4458

Hours: Mon., Wed.,Thurs., Fri. 10am-5pm.Tues. closed.Sat. 9am-5pm.,Sun. 12-4pm.

Clara Mae’s Dolls andOtherThings

Made in the U.S.A.

CLASSIFIED ADS WORKPlace your ad: Just call The Edgerton Reporter, 884-3367

Stop in and Enjoyour delicious meals & treats...

dine in, carry out, or experiencethe nostalgia of days gone by as our

carhops serve you!

A&W Family Restaurant601 N. Main St., Edgerton, WI 608-884-8412

www.awrestaurants.com

is one of many great events inour community and it can be

enjoyed by Everyone.

Please take advantage of the opportunitythis festival offers...and it�s Free!Mark W. Irgens, DDS SC

225 West Fulton Street, Edgerton, WI 608-884-9448

GO Riteway is proud to serve thefamilies of the Edgerton School District

Enjoy the 2013Book and Film

Festival

You’re invited to visitthe boyhood home of

Rascal author Sterling Norththis weekend.

Saturday,9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sunday, 1 - 4:30 p.m.

• Fresh Deli • Fresh Produce • Liquors • Quality Meats • Weekly Specials

Sandy & Dave Kotwitz

We are proud to support thiscommunity event, dedicated to

the legacy of Sterling North.

Hope to see you this Saturday!

SterlingNorthBook& FilmFestival!

Welcome to the

1211 North Main St., Edgerton, WI53534 Ph: 608-884-4277

409 W. Rollin St.,Edgerton, WI 608-884-3074The Sterling North Home is open Sundays or by appointment, 1-4:30 pm

Drawing courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society

The Edgerton Sterling North Book & Film Festival 2013

Documents

Transcript of The Edgerton Sterling North Book & Film Festival 2013