Some people may know I used to work at Farm and Fleet on Madison's east side off of Stoughton Road. That was back in the early 1990s. I also did some training and an Internship at the YMCA's east side location off of Cottage Grove Road in the late 1990s. And, Madison Area Technical College is just up Stoughton Road a bit where I spent at least three years getting
edumacated, and that was also in the late 1990s. So point being, I became quite familiar with the east side of Madison.
Being an Army veteran, one day I ventured into the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post on Cottage Grove Road around lunch time. I asked the old salty bartender for a Leinenkugles - a regional Wisconsin beer I could not find when I worked in Texas.
"We ain't got none of that foreign shit!" The Old Salty harrumphed.
"I'll just have an Ol' Style," I said and smiled to myself. It was about 1992. And to Ol' Salty's credit, it was pre-micro-brewery culture era. The niche beers had yet to beseige us ad nauseam. I did not take a good look at the place back then but it was the consummate veteran's joint with a big old bar and lots of military memorabilia placed around. It also seemed to have that good Madison and Wisconsin tavern timbre about it. Pull up a chair, get an adult beverage, order an appetizer, talk about the Packers....
I never had cause to pop back in that ol' VFW too often, but I never forgot that moment in time. Lately, I have been making some bucket runs to areas, regions, and places I used to haunt. While perusing
www.madisonfishfry.com last week knowing I was going to make a pilgrimage to meet my wife in Madison after her work day, I stumbled onto mention of
VFW Post 7591 on Cottage Grove Road. I smiled to myself and thought of the Ol' Salty dude and the Leinenkugels experience now so long ago.
I really dropped the ball on this one people by never stopping back into the place now and then.
VFW Post 7591 puts on a grand Friday fish fry presentation. It looks like the place has gone through a facelift since I last visited. Our matradee reminded us the big banquet area used to be the Dream Lanes Bowling Alley until 1979. She also suggested we stop in for one of their Sunday breakfasts they have once a month. Then she promptly sat us in the large eating area.
There was a waitress and a drink's chick too. I have not seen that combination for a while in the eatery world. I got a Miller Lite and Heide ordered her consummate root beer. A thoughtful bread basket full of slices of tender white bread arrived at the table. As well, the cole slaw came pre-main course and in a real dish to boot. It was creamy yet had a good fresh crunch to it. Sometimes it is nice to get your fish fry cole slaw in a real dish as opposed to the normal plastic tavern cup.
Heide tried the fried Perch with hash browns as a side. I tried the fried Cod, also with hash browns. First of all I should mention the hash browns were tasty and abundant. They came in a huge patty that covered the whole plate. The fish was placed on top. We tried a tid-bit of each other's fish and it met our humble standards by a landslide.
This is a thriving VFW, at least on Friday nights as we witnessed ourselves. This is not a civic organization that has gone quietly into the night like so many others have in our modern multi-media social era. Be sure and pencil them in on your short list for joints to patronize for some inexpensive and good eats.
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7591 is Cool with Cool Dadio. Find them at 301 Cottage Grove Road in Madison, Wisconsin. Call (608) 221 - 9326 for more information; or, visit their Website at
www.vfwpost7591.org .
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Sergeant Daniel James Thompson, 24, of Madison, Wisconsin, died on Tuesday, February, 24, 2009, in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was killed in combat by an improvised explosive device which detonated near his vehicle. He was a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, when assigned to the 715th Military Police Company out of Melbourne, Florida. He was one of four soldiers killed in the incident.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel quoted an Associated Press report that family members noted that Thompson loved cars, and playing hockey. He also had a motorcycle. Thompson joined the Wisconsin National Guard while still at Portage High School. He graduated from Portage in 2003. Daniel went on to earn a degree in criminal justice and law enforcement from Madison Area Technical College in 2006 where he was on the Dean's list three of four semesters. He then worked for a security company in Madison. He had hoped to pursue a career as a police officer. He also entertained the option to explore his love of photography and art after finishing his military service. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel went on to mention Daniel played on a Portage area hockey team while in high school; he also enjoyed swimming and playing football. He was remembered as a good natured guy. At the time of his death Thompson was engaged to be married to a nursing student he met in college. Before leaving for Afghanistan, Daniel gave his Boston Terrier named Diggie to his fiancée. Thompson was due to come home in August of 2009 and finish his military obligation in December of 2009.
The Website afghanistan.pigstye.net noted the other three soldiers killed in the incident were from Maryland, Oklahoma, and Illinois. The site went on to explain Thompson belonged to the Wisconsin National Guard until 2007, when he was placed on inactive status until he was called back for duty in Afghanistan with the Florida military unit. Sergeant Thompson was the first person with roots in Portage, Wisconsin, to be killed in either Iraq or Afghanistan.
The Website wiscnews.com noted that Daniel was born on August 20, 1984. Some of his training at Madison Area Technical College took place at the Portage Campus. He went on to work for Brinks Armored Truck in Madison. Daniel originally was with the 32nd Military Police Company, Wisconsin Army National Guard, based in Madison, until his honorable discharge in 2007. He then was in the Individual Ready Reserves (inactive reserves) at the time of his duty call-up and subsequently assigned to the Florida unit.
At the time of his death Sergeant Daniel Thompson was survived by his parents Lisa and Bob Thompson; his fiancée Maria Steinke; his aunt Vicky (Keith) Wruck; his uncle Mark (Jean) Erd; his aunt Dee (Paul) Voigt; his uncle Mike (Kara) Thompson; and, grandparents Richard (Cathie) Thompson. He was preceded in death by his grandparents Russell Erd and Marian "Windy" Erd. Sergeant Daniel Thompson was the 12th Wisconsin service person to be killed in Afghanistan since October of 2001.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
0 American and Coalition casualties in Libyan "Operation Odyssey Dawn" since March 2011
100,456 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,903 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,451 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1544 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
872 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
32,066 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
11,032 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
107 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
30 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
148 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
4 journalists (regional agencies and independents) have been killed in Libya since March of 2011.
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.
