Last weekend I set out on an annual summer pilgrimage - my 16th consecutive one - riding the Scenic Shore 150 on behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Wisconsin.  This is a two-day bike trek from Mequon to Sturgeon Bay that raises funds for blood related cancer research and patient services.

940 riders this year - a far cry from barely a hundred riders at the first event 15 years ago.  With a fund-raising goal of $550,000 - there is $525,000 already in the bank and more checks rolling-in daily.  These funds stay in Wisconsin.

Saturday dawned with rain.  Followed by more rain. I had to turn-on my strobe so traffic could see me in the fog.  My buddies and I kept thinking that with the equivalent of a cup of water in each shoe we stood a reasonable chance of getting trench foot.

Spend a day in wet bike shorts and you might contract a bad case of monkey butt.

Speaking of rashes - rain has a tendency to work all of the sharp debris out of the tarmac leading to a rash of flat tires, low visibility, diminished brake performance and road rash from riders dumping their bikes.

Anyway - I'm tooling down the road and some guy passes me.  He's wearing a Cranky Al's jersey. 

I ask - Hey, are you from Tosa?

He turns to me and says - Yeah.

I think - I know this guy from somewhere.

I say - Hey, you're Krol.  Jim Krol, the Alderman.

Small world.

Alderman Krol is one tough hombre.  He rode an additional 25 miles earning bragging rights for riding 100 miles the first day followed by 75 more the second. 

Conditions were drier by the time we reached Sheboygan.

Big party at the overnight camp at UW Manitowoc.  A couple of live bands, pasta dinner and Sprecher beer.  (Free beer)

And the usual silliness.

Sunday morning it was back on the road with a glorious July day busting-up the fog.

A finish at Potawatomi State Park with a BBQ and corn roast cookout, live music, more Sprecher beer and a massage. 

The beer was free - not the massage. 

More coverage courtesy of Fox 11 News.

A big thanks to the 125 volunteers who supported the ride.  Managing the logistics of this event is mind-boggling. 

If any of you want to join in the fun next year as a rider or volunteer just see me - Captain - Team Swill.

Tom

Oh - by the way - no flats, crash or rash (for me anyway).

Today is the 64th anniversary of D-Day.

A day noted by the largest invasion armada ever assembled in the history of mankind.  A Tosan happened along shortly thereafter. 

Howard Gaertner arrived on the European continent on June 10, 1944.

Utah Beach - D+4

He had trained with the 78th Division in a weapons company - mostly as a 60mm mortar gunner.  Just before debarking England he was reassigned to the 9th Division, M Company, 3rd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, in a heavy machine gun squad.

As an infantry replacement his MOS didn't carry much weight.

Speaking of weight, the army's .30 caliber water-cooled Browning machine gun was capable of a sustained rate of fire.  The drawback was weight.  (Click on images to enlarge).

In combat the steam can was abandoned in favor of an extra can or two of ammo.  Resourceful GIs figured you could just as easily refill the water jacket by peeing in it.

The 9th isolated the Cotentin Peninsula and captured the important port of Cherbourg.

They wheeled-about and prepared for Operation Cobra - the breakout from Normandy's hedgerow country - The Bocage.

In a prelude to the breakout on July 25th over 3000 U.S. aircraft carpet bombed a designated sector near Saint-Lô.  In one of the war's most stunning examples of fratricide allied troops were pounded by their own air force with errant ordnance. 

The 47th's 3rd battalion HQ was annihilated - hundreds of GIs killed and wounded. 

The 9th advanced - suffering casualties at incredible rates -  yet advanced further than any other division.

Their next major engagement was the Falaise Gap and first contact with British troops.  On or about August 18-19 the Ninth reassembled outside Chartes, France. The battalion was attached to the 3rd Armored Division Combat Command B for support - the final leg of Patton's dash across northern France.

Howard's unit crossed into Belgium on or about September 1st or 2nd - the first Allied force to commence the liberation of Belgium.

On September 3rd the 9th regrouped at Phillipeville, Belgium and prepared to cross the Meuse River on September 5th.  Advancing in assault boats under the cover of darkness - the engineers unwittingly deposited a large number of troops on an island - not on the east bank of the river.

At day-break they were sitting ducks for German mortars and Howard's all-expense-paid, government-arranged tour of northern Europe came to an abrupt halt.  

After being evacuated to the 114th US Army hospital in Kidderminster, England he was subsequently released and reclassified; not to return to the 9th.

He returned home with a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star (with Clusters) and German shrapnel for his troubles.

Dad still lives in Wauwatosa.

Tom

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Post Script 

In 264 days of combat the 9th Infantry Division suffered:

2,905 KIA

792 missing

868 captured

14,066 wounded

18,631 battle casualties

15,233 non-battle casualties

Percent of T/O strength 240.4

Prisoners of war captured 113,324

They were known as Hitler's Nemesis.

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A popular film featured the 9th.  Can anyone name both the title and the actor who played the leading role?

The parent of a couple of popular Hollywood personalities previously owned the buildings that were demolished for the Best Buy store located on Mayfair Road.

I was acquainted with him when my office was located in the Mayfair Tower.  He was a delightful personality with a dry wit.

Who was he?

I'll post your answers in a couple of days.

Tom

You can read the answer here.

Reports have been filtering-in from around the city about a resurgent campaign being mounted by Tosa's third candidate for mayor.

The comment section is open for business so feel free to weigh-in on this startling phenomenon...

Tom

Friday night a buddy calls me with the news (make that a notification) that we're going pheasant hunt'n on Sunday.

I have to met-up with the guys by noon.

Ok.

Girlfriend and I had been chilling-out at the tree farm since Thursday.  She - recovering from a brief illness and me - juggling the day job and farm stuff - somewheres at the opposite corner of the state.

No problem.

We'll pack a shotgun, the boots, the cold weather gear, a couple handfuls of shells a snack for the both of us, hit the road early and be in Jefferson County before lunchtime.

Then it hits me.

Right smack between the eyes.

Today is the anniversary of my mom's death.

It was on a cold and sunny Sunday not too many years ago that I stopped by St. Joe's  after a pheasant hunt to see how mom was doing.

She was doing terrific.

She was doing so well that she informed me she expected to be released the following day.

We talked about hunting. We talked about her coming home.  I reminded her to have pop give us a call when they got home.

 Early Monday the phone rang.

The caller ID said St. Joseph's Hospital.

I took the call thinking mom had an update. 

Nope.

It was the nursing station on her floor with not so good news.

Mom died peacefully between the time they had woke her to take her vitals and bringing breakfast.

Today we had a similar sunny and cold hunt. 

We killed some birds.

While walking thru the snow and watching girlfriend work the cover I had some terrific and lasting memories of mom.

Tom

Post Script -

Grace Gaertner was a substitute teacher for the Milwaukee Public Schools from the 1960s through the early 1980s.

Oddly enough that was her career.

She did not drive so she either walked or took the bus to wherever she was assigned on a daily basis.

She took pride in never having to shut or lock the door to any of the city classrooms to which she was assigned.

She was practical, tough, but loving.

100% Irish.

What Wauwatosa personality received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress?

I'll post all of the submitted answers on Friday - including the correct answer.

Good Luck and Go Pack!

Tom

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Read the submission below - Fritztino wins with the correct answer.

The nominee for best supporting actress, played the young girlfriend of William Holden in the film Sunset Boulevard. 

Her name was Nancy Olson and she was in the Wauwatosa High School class of 1946. 

Only four years after her high school graduation, she was playing major roles in Hollywood. 

Despite major roles in large films, big screen stardom eluded her, and after marrying composer Alan Jay Lerner, she played second leads in a few films before retiring from acting. After their divorce, she made a return to acting, and started her successful stint with Disney in 1960's Pollyanna. She made four other films for Disney, including The Absent Minded Professor (1961), which is better known to the younger generation as the original version of Robin Williams' 1997 hit film, Flubber (Olson appears in an uncredited cameo in the new film).

Her post-Disney career is unremarkable, with minor roles in Airport 1975 (1974) and Making Love (1982). Television appearances include 1977's Kingston: Confidential (starring Raymond Burr) and 1982's Paper Dolls (opposite Lloyd Bridges).

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Read Ray Py's addes post.

Dang, Ray. You are making this most challenging. 

I haven't a clue who this might be.

Any submissions???

Valuable new prizes are at stake.

Go Pack!

Tom

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Welcome back Beanhead.  Ruth Peterson it is.

Tom

A Trivia riddle. 

I was born in Germany in 1881 and died in America in 1936.

I played a significant role in Wauwatosa's history.

Who am I and precisely what did I do?

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WOW!  Nobody got this wrong.

Aside from the comments posted below I received a pile of emails - all with correct answers.

Dr. Werner Hegemann was instrumental in designing Wauwatosa's Highlands.  You can read all about it here.

Again, Beanhead was the first person to post the correct answer.  Good for you Bean.  If you want to collect your stocking stuffer you know the drill.

There is a development occurring far to the west of us on a remaining Pabst Farms property.  

I wonder if it will become a lasting gem of urban planning that the Highlands has become?

The comments board is open.

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone.

Tom

P.S. If you have a MORE DIFFICULT Tosa Trivia challenge you'd like published send me an email.  Someone needs to put this Beanhead to the test!

Time for Tosa Trivia.

This is a two-part question.  The first person to submit a correct answer to both questions wins.  

1.  Where is the tallest flag pole located in Wauwatosa?

2.  What Tosa personality has recently gone above and beyond the call of duty in this community to specifically advance the flying of the colors?

If needed, be prepared to submit an authenticated height for your flag pole.

This is a prime opportunity to win valuable prizes that you can stuff into Christmas stockings.

Good Luck.

Tom

Contact me if you have some Trivia you would like to submit.