Rotary Club of Madison West Middleton

08/13/2026

A huge thank you to Spencer Schumacher of Spencer Real Esate in Middleton for presening to our club on neighborhoods.

Welcome to the Neighborhood!
By Ed Fink

Spencer Schumacher, of Middleton’s Spencer Real Estate Group, was the guest
speaker at a meeting of The Rotary Club of Madison West Middleton.
Schumacher’s presentation was entitled “A Look Back in Time: Madison Real
Estate through the Decades.” Schumacher’s historical tale of Madison area
housing began with the City being designated as the State Capital in 1836,
followed by the construction of the Capitol Building between 1837-1848. Early
residents built their homes close to nearby lakes and the Capitol itself. From
there, construction moved west toward the University of Wisconsin, which was
established in 1848.
Over many years, the popularity of different home styles appeared in Madison
neighborhoods, some fairly basic and others more opulent. With the introduction
of electricity and plumbing, life became a little more comfortable in the 1800s and
early 1900s
Schumacher took the audience through the popularity of various housing trends
appearing in Madison’s earliest decades. They included: 1840’s-Greek Revival;
1870’s - Victorian; 1900’s - Prairie; 1910’s -Bungalow; 1920’s-Tudor Revival and
1930’s - Colonial. In the decades that followed, residents saw the popularity of
more home styes, including Mid Century Modern, Ranch, Split Level Ranch,
Contemporary and New Traditional. Contemporary Suburban homes served
families in the 2000’s.
Addressing the subject of Madison neighborhoods, Schumacher told a little about
each of them.
Tenny Lapham Neighborhood was a middle class enclave. People in Tenny
Lapham favored Victorian and Craftsman style homes.
Marquette Neighborhood was considered a working class area, where housing
types included Worker Cottages, Victorians and Craftsman structures.
Greenbush Neighborhood is said to be the oldest immigrant neighborhood. Small
Cottages and Multi-Family structures were common.

Vilas Neighborhood was the area inhabited by University of Wisconsin faculty
and others who wanted or needed to live near the campus. The variety of
housing stock included Bungalow, Prairie School and Tudor Revival types.
As the population spread farther west, newer neighborhoods developed,
including Maple Bluff, Shorewood Hills and Regent, not necessarily in that order.
Maple Bluff Neighborhood was considered Madison’s most prestigious. It’s
housing stock included grand lake homes and Frank Lloyd Wright Colonials.
Shorewood Hills Neighborhood offered larger homes, some with lake access.
Modern and Tudor style homes were also represented in this community.
Regent Neighborhood. has been called “a quiet” neighborhood, according to one
source. Another description of Regent - a place of family homes, some of which
are historic. It has a mix of housing types and inhabitants. It is home to
professors, college students and professionals. It is said to be both walkable and
bikeable.
While real estate prices have trended upwards over the decades, the Great
Depression of the 1930’s caused a drop in valuations, with loans more difficult
to get. Over the decades, loans became more accessible with the introduction of
FHA loans in 1934 and much later the GI Bill in the 1950s - 1970’s.
And in 1970 and 1971, large shopping malls were built on the west and east
sides of Madison. Schumacher noted they became the anchors of suburban life.
With the development of the shopping malls, lots of new homes were built and
with it more parks, green spaces and what Schumacher described as “family-
focused neighborhoods.”
Increased access to automobiles made people more mobile, and where Madison
boundaries stopped, suburban communities grew.
Spencer Schumacher’s presentation on Madison’s housing history was
informative and entertaining. It was time well spent!
(For those wishing to contact Spencer Schumacher, he
can be reached at (608) 841-2221 . His office is located at 6733 Frank Lloyd
Wright Avenue, Middleton).
Middleton Cross Plains Times-Tribune Middleton Police Department Middleton Chamber of Commerce

08/13/2026

Our very own Chief Meteorologist Alex Harrington presented on the Barneveld Tornado at a recent meeting.
The Barneveld Tornado Remembered
(A Story About Loss, Progress, and Importance of Atmospheric Detail to Saving Lives)
By Alex Harriington

Alex Harrington, Chief Meteorologist for Madison’s WISC-TV, began a recent presentation to
his fellow Madison West Middleton Rotarians with a 30 second pause, honoring the nine lives
lost in the Barneveld tornado of June 8, 1984. According to Alex, it’s a moment of
remembrance—-for them, and anyone present who has ever known someone taken by a severe
storm. That pause also carries a deeper message. In Barneveld, thirty seconds was all it took for
an F-5 tornado to erase nearly an entire community, less time than a breath of air taken and a
furtive look around a room.
According to Harrington, the 1984 Barneveld tornado’s forward speed was close to 70 miles per
hour, portending the future destruction of homes in its advancing path. In the early morning of
June 8th, the National Weather Service reported 93 Barneveld homes were destroyed, and 64
other structures were damaged. The Barneveld storm was classified as an F-5 tornado (under the
old Fujita Scale). An F-5, according to its definition, is the highest and most violent of
tornadoes, with wind speeds of 261-318 miles per hour. Barneveld’s tornado was the most
significant of the tornadoes hitting southern Wisconsin that day.
The following is a synthesis of Alex Harrington’s UW graduate research,
twenty years ago, and the basis of his presentation to the Rotary Club of
Madison West Middleton:

What makes the Barneveld story even more remarkable is how long the parent storm had already
been alive. The supercell, which would eventually produce the Barneveld tornado, first touched
down around 3 PM in northeast Kansas, then tracking on into Iowa — churning for nearly ten
hours as it crossed the state. It maintained its structure and intensity the entire way as a deadly F-
4 tornado. When the atmosphere is primed with the right winds, moisture, and instability,
supercells can behave like living machines, capable of producing severe weather over long
distances and long periods of time. Barneveld wasn’t just hit by a tornado; it was struck by the
final, violent chapter of a storm that had already traveled across multiple states.
Earlier that day, thunderstorms had swept across southwest Wisconsin and left behind a thin
ribbon of cooler air called an "outflow boundary." To most people, this feature would have been
completely invisible — just a subtle shift in wind and humidity. But boundaries like this can
dramatically increase the spin near the ground, creating the perfect conditions for a tornado. In
1984, forecasters had no tools capable of detecting it. There was no Doppler radar, no
high‑resolution satellite imagery, and no computer models showing how the boundary was

interacting with the atmosphere. To the technology of the time, the environment looked far less
dangerous than it truly was.
Late that night, the long‑lived Kansas‑to‑Iowa supercell crossed that hidden boundary. As it
did, the storm rapidly intensified again. Winds near the ground changed direction, moisture
pooled, and the storm’s rotation tightened. Today, meteorologists would see all of this clearly.
Modern radar would highlight the boundary, surface sensors would show the wind shifts, and
computer models would flag the enhanced tornado potential hours in advance. But in 1984, none
of those tools existed. The tornado that followed was not just violent — it was essentially
invisible to the forecasting capabilities of the era.
At 12:41 AM, the tornado struck Barneveld with F‑5 strength, the highest rating possible.
Ninety percent of the village was destroyed. Homes were swept from foundations, vehicles were
thrown hundreds of feet, and nine people were killed in those thirty seconds of unimaginable
force!
My research shows how a nearly invisible atmospheric feature — combined with a
long‑tracked, high‑end supercell, which had already spent hours tearing across Iowa, set the
stage for one of Wisconsin’s most violent tornadoes. It’s a story about loss, progress, and about
the importance of understanding even the smallest details in the atmosphere, because those
details can save lives. Alex is confident these details today can be uncovered in advance, leading
to significantly improved warnings. *
Editor’s Note: This fall, Alex Harrington is giving more talks throughout
southern Wisconsin on his research. If your organization would like to schedule
a talk by Alex Harrington, contact him at [email protected] .

07/23/2026

OccuPaws - Providing Assistance to the Visually Impaired

By Joseph Valenta, DVM

At a recent meeting of The Rotary Club of Madison West Middleton, Kassel Matushak, Treasuer
of OccuPaws, told the story of how her organization assists the visually impaired, also
introducing the memebers to a couple of four-legged assistants.
OccuPaws Guide Dog Association, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit, breeds, raises, and trains
Labrador Retrievers and Standard Poodles to serve as guide dogs for people who are blind or
visually impaired and places them at no cost to the people who receive them. The organization
holds dual accreditation from the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) and Assistance
Dogs International (ADI), placing it among a select group of guide dog schools held to the
highest international standards for training, health, and welfare.
Unlike many guide dog schools, OccuPaws operates without a central campus or kennel facility.
Instead, its dogs are raised and trained within the homes and communities of the volunteers
who care for them. This approach keeps dogs socialized in real-world environments from the
very beginning. Each year, the organization places approximately six to eight guide dog teams,
pairing a fully trained dog with an individual who needs them. Each team is created by matching
a dog’s personality and ability to the needs of the handler.
A guide dog& #39;s job goes far beyond walking beside its handler. These dogs are trained to stop at
curbs and stairs, navigate around obstacles like low-hanging branches and other hazards a cane
would never detect and make independent decisions to keep their handler safe, even when
that means disobeying a command. That skill, known as "intelligent disobedience," is part of
what separates a guide dog from a well-behaved pet. For the people who receive them, the
impact is profound.
Ruth Winans, a guide dog recipient, described what it was like navigating the world with a
white cane before she was partnered with her dog, Molly: "While using a white cane, I once
heard a stranger shout from across the street, threatening to shoot me — a frightening
reminder of how vulnerable I felt. With Molly at my side, that fear has been replaced by
confidence. I walk comfortably and securely, no longer feeling like a target." Winans added that
the impact extends well beyond mobility: "OccuPaws does more than provide guide dogs —
they restore independence, dignity, and confidence." She said she no longer just moves
through the world — she lives in it, with renewed freedom and hope.
Every dog that graduates from OccuPaws& #39; program represents the work of dozens of
volunteers: puppy raisers who welcome a young dog into their home for a time commitment of
about 4 months and the puppies rotate between different raisers then off to professional

trainers who prepare the dogs for their working role, and board members who keep the
organization running. That community-driven model is part of what makes the organization& #39;s
mission possible without charging recipients a cent. Guide dogs typically cost tens of thousands
of dollars to breed, raise, and train, a cost OccuPaws absorbs entirely through donations,
grants, and the volunteer hours of its supporters.
[Editor’s Note: Josepth Valenta, author of the foregoing article, is a veterinarian, who operates
Petcare Clinic in Cross Plains. Dr. Valenta has been a Rotarian for more than fifty years].

Abby Benbow Andrew T. Drake Bill Mowbray Connie Fish James L. Zirbel

06/22/2026

WORKING POET - Dr. JANET STUTZ
By Ed Fink
Stutz is her name
Jingles, songs, rhythms and rhymes are her game
Not her meme, but mine!
Poised to present, to the podium she strode
Her poetic verses ready to be told
A stanza, bonanza would entertain and delight!

Featured speaker at a recent Rotary Club of Madison West Middleton meeting was Rotarian and accomplished poet Dr. Janet Stutz. My own weak effort above is a response to her end of talk challenge. Give poetry a go!

In addition to writing, Janet Stutz is a former teacher, principal and, in her capstone post, Superintendent of the Grinnell-Newburg Community School District in Iowa. Stutz now serves as South Central Regional Co-Op VP for the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets. Janet is also one of our own Rotarians.

At some point in life’s journey, one may recall a formal introduction to poetry by a language arts teacher. An even earlier exposure to poetry may have been a ditty that rhymed, perhaps as part of a children’s storybook.

Dr. Seuss comes to mind. Maybe, your memory conjures up a parent’s voice reading a Dr. Seuss book to you at bedtime, or even receiving a book of his at your kindergarten, high school or college graduation. Perhaps, you were inspired by the line in “The Places You’l Go,” it being "So... get on your way!" However, as we’ve learned, rhyming is just one representation
of the art of poetry. Janet Stutz’s, poetry presentation to the Rotary Club of Madison West Middleton was enlightening, fun and offered a creative challenge at its conclusion. Always the teacher, Stutz had her audience take pencil in hand and try writing a bit of poetry ourselves. No grades were issued, for which this writer is grateful.
Stutz spoke of many different poetic approaches. In fact, a quick bit of research lists (take your choice), 3, 4, 9, 10, 12, 15 and 20 varieties thereof.

Janet Stutz’s personal initiation to poetry was from her dad, Ralph J.
Gilfether, former Mayor of Willowick, Ohio, who doubled as the family Easter Bunny. In his latter role, the big bunny would hide the family’s Easter baskets, leaving behind tips as to where they could be found.

The clues, written by Janet’s father, were in the form of limericks. Stutz has carried on the family’s poetic tradition, as has her daughter.
Janet Stutz considers herself a lyric poet, perhaps because of its rhythmic and musical form, two characteristics common also to limericks, though lyric poems are likely more serious than its more comic or b***y relative the limerick.
As a junior in high school, Janet found herself in an English class for the talented and gifted. Her sixteen year old self decided she was not qualified for the class and told Mr. Silva, her teacher, she didn’t belong.
He countered by telling her they would find her niche. Obviously, this future superintendent of schools did belong. Thank goodness for the Mr. Silvas of the world!

As an adult, Stutz dabbled in writing poetic verses for birthdays,
anniversaries, graduations, retirements, etc.

a younger woman, Janet always thought she would enjoy playing the guitar. On her 35th birthday, Janet’s husband bought her a guitar and set her on a course of lessons. She enjoyed it, and then took up the piano.

While Stutz liked her music lessons, she told her instructor she didn’t aspire to be able to play like the pros, but wanted to write melodies to accompany her poetic verses. And, now she can!

Stutz and her photographer brother John Gilfether combined to create a published book of poetry and landscape photos, titled “Discover Beauty Through Challenges.” In it, Janet includes a poem inspired by a sad incident from her early days as a teacher. A fellow faculty member came to Janet’s classroom seeking volunteers for a play she was planning to direct.

A young boy was one of the first to raise his hand, but his enthusiasm was immediately dashed by the drama teacher. Her response to him was a firm “no!” That memory never left Janet, inspiring a poem she called “The
Labeled Child.”

In it there is a message to teachers, about “breaking the
crutch,” seeing the possibilities in a child rather than perceived limitations.

After giving her presentation, Janet was asked if she would author a poem, the subject to be of her own choosing. For this article she wrote:

On Being a Rotarian
Gathering globally with a common vision
Serving communities, aligned in our mission
To build lasting peace and goodwill that will endure
Through fellowship, service, and motives that are pure
To serve as Rotarians is an honor we share
Connecting with neighbors to show that we care
One project at a time, we answer the call
Planting the seeds of abundance for all
We nurture a world for the tomorrows ahead
Vibrant and peaceful, healthy and fed
For Rotary opens new doors everyday
Through leadership and service, we pave a new way
To give of ourselves is the ultimate art
Changing the world, one project, with heart

(J. Stutz June 2026 - copyrighted
(Poem Used with permission)
To learn how you can be a Rotarian, contact
[email protected]

Janet Stutz Abby Benbow Middleton Cross Plains Times-Tribune Middleton Chamber of Commerce Mary Feldt Leo Edelstein Bill Mowbray Aune & Associates Inc, American Family Insurance Andrew T. Drake

06/10/2026

Great news coverage of the COOLEST Charity Golf Outing hosted by the COOLEST Rotary Club. News 3 Now / Channel 3000
Pleasant View Golf Course
Middleton Cross Plains Times-Tribune
Middleton Chamber of Commerce

Get your Monday, June 8, 2026 afternoon news update and community f...

06/10/2026

Please support our Member Meteorologist Alex Harrington by voting today.

As a proud member of this Rotary community, serving others is at the heart of everything Alex does — including the work he is privileged to do every day in weather. Providing accurate, steady, and dependable coverage for our region is one of the greatest responsibilities of his pledge, and he is grateful for the trust of so many.
We're humbled to share that he has been nominated once again for Best in Madison in both the Best TV Personality and Best TV Newscast categories. These nominations reflect the dedication of his entire newsroom and their commitment to keeping southern Wisconsin informed and safe.
There is absolutely no pressure, but if you feel he has earned your support, he would be grateful for your vote. Mostly, Alex is thankful to serve his community — and to be part of our Rotary family that believes so deeply in service above self.
If you would like to vote for Alex the link below will take you to the Arts & Entertainment sections:

Check it out now!

06/03/2026

Back in 2014 the Coolest Rotary Club built this pier for the people of Middleton to utilize it for fishing, exploring, etc. This accessible as well.
This year we renovated it, check out these before and after photos.

Aune & Associates Inc, American Family Insurance
Mary Cobb Dunn Mary Feldt James L. Zirbel Middleton Cross Plains Times-Tribune Middleton City Lifestyle Middleton Chamber of Commerce
Abby Benbow Andrew T. Drake

05/07/2026

Great article written by Janet Stutz for the Middleton Middleton Cross Plains Times-Tribune about Dr Laurie Marks presenting to the COOLEST Rotary Club in the world.

04/21/2026

Paul Patenaude - Finding a Way to Serve Others Through Rotary
By Ed Fink

Rotarian Paul Patenaude has a Servant Heart! In a recent “Classification Talk,” given by
Patenaude to his Rotary Club of Madison West Middleton, he shared a bit about his
education, military service, civilian careers and where he has found ways to be of
service to others.
Patenaude’s service bent was nurtured by education and experience. As a young man,
Patenaude studied Criminology and Corrections at the University of Wisconsin-
Madison, graduating in 1970. While a student, Patenaude worked as an orderly at St.
Mary’s Hospital. Not long after graduating from the university, Uncle Sam called his draft
number. Ultimately, Patenaude was deployed to Vietnam as a radio operator with the
Army’s Americal Division, an infantry unit. Paul remarked that carrying a radio was like
wearing a target on your back. Shortly after arriving in country, Patenaude was
wounded by an exploding landmine, earning him a Purple Heart and a continual metallic
reminder of his service by the shrapnel he carries in his body to this day.
Following military service, Patenaude joined the U.S. Postal Service, spending twenty
years until retirement. Next on his agenda was preparing himself for potential volunteer
opportunities. For Patenaude, it entailed enrolling in the nursing program at Madison
Area Technical College (MATC), completing the nursing program, passing his boards
and becoming a registered nurse, all of which culminated in 2006. Patenaude had
experienced being a patient and was continuing to learn how to be a caregiver. The next
step in Patenaude’s plan was getting some hands-on hospital experience, acquired at
the University of Wisconsin Hospital, where he worked as a nurse for three years. In an
interview, subsequent to his Rotary presentation, Patenaude said his real motivation for
enrolling in nursing school, and logging three years in a hospital setting, was a strategy
for becoming a volunteer with a helpful skillset.
Some of the early volunteer opportunities were with the Haiti Medical Mission of
Wisconsin (HMMW). Patenaude traveled to Haiti with the group for six to eight years,
helping out in an area called Thiotte. At some point, Patenaude would discover his
future Rotary Club supported a couple different projects in Haiti, including Thiotte.

Fittingly, while volunteering with the Red Cross, Patenaude encountered Jeannine
Desautels, a fellow nurse and a dynamic Rotarian. Desautels suggested Paul join her
Rotary Club. Twelve years ago, Patenaude signed on with The Rotary Club of Madison
West Middleton, where the motto of all Rotarians is “Service above Self.” Volunteer
opportunities both locally and across the globe are part of what is available to any and
all members looking for a way to be of service. For Patenaude, the Rotary service
adage is more than a nice concept, but evidently his personal call to action.

Upon joining Rotary, Patenaude discovered several of his fellow Madison West
Middleton Rotarians were helping out with medical missions in Guatemala. Over several
years, the Madison West Middleton Rotary Club has offered financial and “boots on the
ground” assistance to the Guatemala Medical Resource Partnership (GMRP), a
501(c)(3) started by a Thiensville Mequon Rotarian, and a signature project of that club.
Rotarian Enrique Gandara, a former member of the Rotary Club of Madison West
Middleton, now residing in Guatemala, has hosted the clinic and its medical travelers at
his ranch in Oliveros, Guatemala.
Paul Patenaude has been on six medical mission trips to Guatemala, often working in
triage alongside other GMRP volunteers. A typical medical mission trip involves
approximately 40 people. They include doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists and
translators, Rotarians and non-Rotarians alike. Prospective patients, over the typical 4
1/2 day clinic, line up for hours before the clinic opens each day in space donated by a
local school.
Usually, about 600-700 patients are seen over the course of the several day stay. Many
patients require the attention of multiple caregivers and a pharmacy visit as well.
When specialized care is needed, the mission is able to make referrals to a hospital
elsewhere in the country. Patenaude has usually worked in triage on these mission
trips.The nearest Guatemalan doctor for those living in Oliveros is in Chiquimulila,
twenty miles away from Oliveros. Since the typical modes of travel are on a motor bike
or by foot, getting to Chiquimulila can be problematic, adding to the importance of
medical and dental care coming to Oliveros itself.
Many years ago, at one of these Guatemalan medical missions to Oliveros, Madison
West Middleton Rotarian Jeannine Desautels found that many of the children weren’t in
school because they couldn’t afford books, uniforms and transportation, though tuition
was free. Instead of being in school, several young people were working in the
sugarcane fields. Learning this, Desautels passed the hat and enough money was
raised to send three children to school. With continued support from the Rotary Club of
Madison West and other donors, the Oliveros Scholarship Fund, a 501(c)(3)
organization was founded. Now, after at least nineteen years, OSF provides 60
scholarships to middle and high school age students and 20 university scholars.
Each year, Rotarians and other Oliveros Scholarship Fund volunteers travel to Oliveros,
where they meet with parents and then interview the prospective scholarship students.
Paul Patenaude has also been involved in some of these interviews.
If you too have a Servant Heart, come check out your local Rotary Club and see what it
offers!
Want to learn more about Rotary and how to become a member? Contact
[email protected]" rel="ugc" target="_blank">[email protected]
Paul Patenaude Mary Van Hout Mary Feldt Abby Benbow Aune & Associates Inc, American Family Insurance Pleasant View Golf Course

04/15/2026

So proud to partner. Thank you for the opportunity.