Glad You Asked: Lighting at Pershing Park; strange colors in the lake; where is the Menards guy?; Local connections to the Spanish-American War

Thursday, May 31, 2007 2:11 AM CDT

Today's logo

Elisabeth Miller, a seventh-grader at St. John Nepomuk, created today's colorful GYA logo. Thanks, Elisabeth!

GYA trivia

Today's question was sent in by Pat Dechant: Which U.S. states are the farthest north, south, east, and west?

Thanks, Pat! Do you have a favorite trivia question? Send it in and we'll publish it in a future column.

Does the city have any plans for new lighting for the Pershing Park Soccer Field? I believe it's been two to three years that the soccer field has been without working lights. It would sure be nice if the high school kids could play night games under the lights again.

GYA writer Heather Rayne Geyer researched and wrote this answer ...

"I spoke with Donnie Snow, director of the Racine Parks Department, who claims that they do have intentions of having lights at Pershing Park Field. He, however, does not have any time frame in which this may happen. Discussions regarding the funding, time and materials are in the works.

With sunset being past 8 p.m. these days, I suppose an earlier game would be necessary down by the lake. You could still consider that a night game, I suppose. But that does take that excitement out of those flood lit fields surrounded by dark skies and black waters. I remember games like that when I was a teen. And come to think of it - it did make the whole moment that much more enthralling � even for a not-so-sports fan."

I was at the beach on May 28 and noticed there was a lot of yellow material floating in the surf. It looked like algae, but I've never seen yellow algae, do you know what it is and if it is dangerous?

According to Julie Kinzelman, of the Racine Health Department, the yellow material could have been aquatic plants, pollen or tree seeds which settled on the water. However, without seeing it herself she cannot say for sure.

Julie was happy to share that lake water samples have been taken since May 25 and to date both North Beach and Zoo Beach meet EPA standards for swimming quality. North Beach has again been certified as a Blue Wave Beach by the Clean Beach Council in Washington, D.C., for 2007-2008. Both Racine beaches officially open on Saturday.

Thanks to Janet, a veteran GYA writer, for this answer.

What ever happened to the Menards guy?

The Menards guy, Raymond Jack Szmanda Sr., a Wisconsin native, began a career with Menards in 1976 and actually retired in 1998. Many of you know him from saying, "Save Big Money at Menards!" He did return briefly in 1999 making occasional ads and still periodically does. But retired, that is where our guy is. He currently resides in Antigo.

Thanks to GYA writer Renee Beck for this answer.

Spanish American War

In a recent column we asked readers for local veterans of the Spanish American War. Here are some of the responses we received:

n Harold Ralston writes about his grandfather: Louis A. Belden, born November 5, 1874, Rochester, Racine Co., served during the Spanish-American War. He served as corporal of Company H, Second Regiment of Nebraska Infantry Volunteers. He was living with an uncle in Nebraska at time of enlistment and later married Clara L. Goff in Burlington. In July 1933, he received a disability pension of $15 monthly as provided by the 73rd U.S. Congress. His ancestors lived in Rochester and are buried there but his death occurred in Roscoe, Ill., and he is buried there.

n Michael Monroe writes: "My great uncle, Oliver Davis of Racine was a veteran of the Spanish American War. He was the brother of my great grandmother, Lillian Stewart, who was married to my great grandfather, John Stewart. I believe Oliver Davis is buried in Mound Cemetery."

n James Thompson writes: "My grandfather, Mads Peter Anderson immigrated from Denmark in 1897 at the age of 21. He enlisted into the U.S. Army in 1899 and saw action in the Spanish American War. He was discharged in April of 1901 with a pension of $6 per month. He became a citizen in 1904."

n Jim Becker writes: "My grandfather John Peter Karpen served in the Spanish American War. He passed away in 1934 and is buried in St. George Cemetery in Kenosha. For years he had a veterans flag holder with a Spanish American War symbol. However, years ago when the price of metal went up, a great number of these metal holders were stolen by vandals. We replaced the holder with a generic veterans holder made of hard plastic."

Trivia answer

This is sneaky. Hawaii is the further south and Alaska is the furthest north, east and west. How? Well, technically Alaska's Aleutian Islands stretch into the eastern hemisphere. If you're looking for a more practical answer, Maine is the furthest state to the east.

What is Glad You Asked?

GYA seeks answers to your questions. Have a question? Send it to: ask@journaltimes.com or call us at (262) 631-1758.

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