Submitted by:
Keith Luebke, President,
I would like to update our members on the C&NW Veterans Association dinner held on Sunday May 6th at the Mound View Country Club. Our attendance was 35, down a bit from last year. These folks were from all points of the compass and the committee is very glad that they come to see old friends and reacquaint and meet with each other.
The Committee for the Association Dinner was comprised of Vice President Richard and his wife Rita Zietlow, Secretary/Treasurer Greg and his wife Linda Sorenson, President Keith and his wife Beverly Luebke. The committee was responsible for the acquisition of the door prizes with each team doing a great job in 2007.
Officers and guests were introduced including Past General
President Rod Ewert and wife Kay, Past General President Bob Guhr and General Secretary Dewayne Stiefvater.
The meeting was opened by Vice President Richard (Zeke) Zietlow leading the
Pledge of Allegiance. A moment of
silence was observed to honor those retired Veterans, and those men and women
of our armed forces who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our Country. We ask God’s blessing for those students and
faculty who were killed at Virginia Tech and for the victims of yesterday’s
tornado in
This was our first year at the Mound View Country Club and we certainly thank them for the use of their excellent facility and the fine spread they put out for us, which was among the best we’ve had.
Upon completion of the dinner, the regular meeting of the Association was than called to order by President Keith Luebke, and informal reports of officers were given. Since the present Officers all indicated willingness to serve another term, a formal election was dispensed with and the present officers were declared reelected by acclimation. Someone remarked: “No sense fixing something that isn’t broken!”
Our Speaker was Ruth Elyea of NARVRE from West Des Moines, Iowa. She gave a very informative presentation and did sign up some new members. We certainly thank her coming so long a distance to be with us today.
It was announced that the Museum at North Freedom needs volunteers. The C&NW 1385 is out of service and undergoing renovation. Bob Ristow is in charge and will be glad to receive your calls with offers of assistance at 608-356-4921. Retired Conductor Pete Brogan brought some photos to show the attendees. They were of a historical nature; steam power at Proviso, an excellent photo of the Adams engine terminal in the early 1900’s, depots and other pictures. Two of Pete’s pictures are with the other photos from our luncheon, at the end of the page. Our web site was also mentioned as a good source of C&NW information. Check it out at www.cnwvets.org.
Keith noted our declining
attendance, pointing out that if it hadn’t been for Immediate Past President Rod Ewert coercing the committee, this
event might not have been held. Thank
you, Rod! We all know someone didn’t attend and could
have. So, everyone, let’s get out there
and talk up the Association and do what we can to boost attendance. Remember, get 3 new members and Dewayne will give you a years dues
free.
The raffle drawing for the door prizes was than held. I want to thank Bruce and Susan Giessel, Dan and Yvonne Sylvester, Beverly Luebke and Rod Ewert, all of whom made much appreciated contributions. The merchants of this area deserve your thanks and continued support for their donations.
I would like to acknowledge Linda and Greg Sorenson,
Rita & Richard Zietlow, and my
wife, Beverly, for their
contribution to our annual meeting. Without their input and help, we could not
make this annual event happen.
The meeting was closed until God willing we meet again next year,
On a personal note, I want to thank everyone who attended; I find it very interesting to visit with as many of you as I can. Your being with us is something I look forward to each year. If you have a suggestion or question please email me at blewslb@wctc.net or call to 715-421-0273.
We have some fine pictures of the event taken by Yvonne Sylvester. Click here to have a look at them. This will bring up the thumb nail views – click on any one of them to see the larger version. There is a navigation bar at the top and using that you can move from one picture to another to another. At the bottom-center just under the navigation bar, there is a link that will take you back to the main page of the web site. It reads: Back to www.cnwvets.org. Several people are unidentified. If you recognize anyone, please let us know by e-mailing the web master.
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