Since it is only a hop, skip, and a jump over to the south side of Janesville, I got myself over to a food bazaar at
Saint Peter's Lutheran Church. I was not sure what to expect. The blurb in the paper only noted "food," and not the words "meal," or, "dinner." Sure enough they had some hot sit-down eats.
The main presentation was the sale of homemade crafts and treats. But they fired up the oven and offered some dandy barbecue sandwiches. I also got a heck of a bowl of potato and ham soup. They also had some good cherry pie, but it went fast. I topped off my meal with a good hot cup of coffee. They set up a couple big tables in the hallway were people could sit down and eat.
I bought a bunch of chocolate chip cookies at the bazaar. I noticed the church kids had a car wash going on. But, when my mom died, we did not take over her 20 year old Corsica to wash it, we bought it to...drive it. The meal and cookies set me back less than five Bucks.
This is why I keep harping to younger colleagues that they should set down the video game controls and pop into one of these events. They have no problem paying 15 Bucks for a lousy hamburger at
Denny's. And just to be fair, my age group needs to sit down the Miller Lite and the channel changer and head over to at least one of these homemade food events too.
For the record, this particular post is in regards to the meal that was held on Saturday, October 9, 2010. Find
Saint Peter's Lutheran Church at 1422 Center Avenue, Janesville, Wisconsin. Pencil them in for next year. Call (608) 754 - 0261 for more information.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Marine Corporal Joshua Mark Schmitz, 21, Loyal, Wisconsin, died on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was in the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Corporal Schmitz was killed during combat operations. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned Schmitz was the second person from Loyal killed in Iraq. Army National Guard Staff Sergeant Todd Olson was killed December 26, 2004 in Samarra, Iraq. Loyal is a small town of around 1300 near Marshfield, Wisconsin near the center of the state. Also, December 2006 was a particularly hard month for Wisconsin as Schmitz was the fourth Wisconsin military service person to die that month. The paper went on to say Josh played on Loyal's high school football team all four years. Josh joined the Marines shortly after he graduated in 2003 from Loyal High School; he was on a second tour in Iraq. The Journal Sentinel went on to mention Josh was remembered as a Green Bay Packers fan, for having a sense of humor, having curly hair, and he liked to play drums. He played drums in a band that played at the annual fair in Marshfield and at weddings. He also was a drummer in his high school band. Schmitz was said to have had a problem with his feet that could have prevented him from getting in the Marines, but he kept working at it and finally got in. The Marshfield News Herald via the Clark County Internet Library Project mentioned Josh was due to come home from Iraq in just six weeks and complete his enlistment in September of 2006. He hoped to go to college and possibly start his own business. The publication also mentioned he sang in the choir his senior year; and, he was a linebacker on the football team. It went on to say Josh was the second-oldest child in his family. Wisconsin 2007 Senate Joint Resolution 13 noted Joshua Schmitz was born January 16, 1985, in Marshfield, Wisconsin. The Resolution added he had been "an all−conference football player, model student, and generous volunteer." At the time of his death Joshua Schmitz was survived by his parents Mark and Kelly Schmitz; his siblings, Angela Colby, Stephanie Schmitz, Justin Schmitz, Brandon Schmitz, and Nick Schmitz: and his grandparents, Ken and Bonnie Gilles, and Marlin and Virginia Schmitz. Corporal Joshua Schmitz was the 67th Wisconsin military service person to be killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
98,171 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,733 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,428 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1321 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
823 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,967 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
8,530 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
23 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
144 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf; and, icasualties.org.
