Wagonmasters Vince & Ginny Innocenti and Carl and Barb Bergstedt

Fox Valley Winnies October 2007 Campout Outing Dates – 11-14 October 2007 Lena KOA, Lena, Wisconsin WagonMasters – Vince & Ginny Innocenti and Carl and Barb Bergstedt

Meeting – Friday, October 12, 2007

Present: Carl and Barb Bergstedt, Fred and Janice Bruneman, Frank and Vera Catuara, Jim and Terri Hass, Vince and Ginny Innocenti, Larry and Sharon Lowe, Dale and Penny Marting, Al and Sandy Oswald, Bill Powell and Sharon Cottrell, Dennis and Connie Relihan, Dick Valentine and friend.

Following dinner on Friday, President Dennis Relihan called the meeting to order.

The minutes of our September meeting were approved and seconded with the following correction. John Ahaus has graciously agreed to have his name entered for the office of Treasurer in 2008.

As the Treasurer’s Report was not available the President requested that a motion be made to postpone its review until the annual meeting. This was seconded and approved.

The President read the list of nominees for the club’s 2008 officers - Dennis Relihan - President, Don Chilson Vice- President, Connie Relihan - Secretary, John Ahaus - Treasurer. He asked if there were any other names to be added to the nominations; none were made and Fred Bruneman moved to close the nominations. This was seconded by Sharon Lowe. Al Oswald made a motion to accept the names as read; this motion was seconded and passed.

For those celebrating October birthdays and anniversaries, Dennis expressed best wishes from all of us in the club.

Old Business: Members at this outing, who were not with us in August and September, were reminded of the opportunity to be in the membership book that Jean and Don Chilson are working on for those members who wish to participate. The pictures taken at the October meeting will be sent to Jean. If you made payment for your book, she has been advised and will contact you for any further information that she needs. If you had your picture taken but didn’t pay, please contact Jean and let her know if you will or will not participate. If you were not at the August, September or October outing but want to be in the book, please contact Jean and she will work with you to get your picture and bio.

The President reminded everyone that the club’s minutes are published on our website www.illinoisindians.org (click on Fox Valley Winnies). Barb Bergstedt asked that Dennis remove the 2007 sidebar to made printing a copy easier. Dennis said that he would look to see what can be done to make the minutes easier to print.

Bob and Edna Gardner and Bill Menefee will be Wagonmasters with Ken and Shirley Poupa for our May outing at Shipshewana. Ken and Shirley ask that we make this our “Friendship” outing. As GLASS follows this campout and is just 60 miles from Shipshewana, friends with other motorhomes may want to join us in Shipshewana on their way to GLASS.

Jim and Marilyn Wenberg will be Wagonmasters for the Balloon Festival in Monroe Wisconsin for June and Connie and Dennis will join them as Wagonmasters. Fred and Janice Bruneman and Larry and Sharon Lowe will be Wagonmasters for an August campout at the Rustic Barn at Kieler, Wisconsin.

Chuck and Jean Hess have said that they will be Wagonmasters for a September visit to Door County provided they get others to join in as Wagonmasters. This campout may be as long as a week, so it would really help if two couples would come forward to join Chuck and Jean as Wagonmasters.

The 2008 camping schedule is looking good, with all of the Wagonmasters saying that they have longer campouts planned for next year. April and October remain open. Mention was made that some members felt we had done Goodfield too many times. If you share this feeling, please let your thoughts be known at the annual meeting.

New Business: Not that this was mentioned at either the September or the October meeting, but it is some very nice new business and I apologize for not having mentioned it in the September minutes. With best wishes and hearts filled with love, we extend our joyous congratulations to Bill Powell and Sharon Cottrell on their engagement. We wish them loads of happiness and lots of Fox Valley Winnies campouts!

Future Outings: November 3 (Noon) the Annual Meeting and Luncheon at Barrington Motors – Installation of new officers.

Things to Share – Coach Comments Carl Bergstedt asked who was having trouble with the day/night shades. Lots of people are having trouble with broken strings and limp shades, but the big problem seems to be broken strings. Carl contacted Winnebago and they told him to go to a dealer who will fix them or put him in contact with a drapery company who also fixes them. For limp shades, Frank Catuara was told to use spray starch on the day shades when they are down, close them and let them get very dry. That will give them a crisp finish. Carol Smith may have treated hers, so she is a good one to ask. The broken string situation seems to be one that is hard to fix. Winnebago sells repair kits but the instructions leave much to be desired. Dennis said that he would contact Winnebago and ask that they do a class on “how to repair remove shades and repair broken shade strings at GNR”. I did hear someone in the club say that they took their coach to Camping World in Bolingbrook, IL and Jodie the service manager repaired them for about $25.00. A call to your local Camping World may find some help in getting them repaired.

Recent Trips Dennis and Connie enjoyed a trip to Door County. Dick Valentine was setting off to points south along the Natchez Trace, which starts East of Nashville, TN. Dick says it is a wonderful trip. You travel on a two lane road at maybe 50 miles an hour. The camp grounds along the way are free but primitive. They are on a first come first serve basis. It was great to see Dick. Hope he can make at least two campouts next year.

Dennis thanked Vince and Ginny, Carl and Barb for giving so much time and energy to making this such an excellent campout.

A motion to close the meeting was made seconded and passed.

About Our Lena Outing The KOA in Lena has new owners and they have worked to make their campground an exceptional camping experience. The landscape around Lena provides beautiful vistas and the town has retained many of the historic buildings, reminding us that Lena was once a major point of commerce for rail and stagecoach traffic.

Many of our group arrived on Thursday and we gathered for dinner at an excellent Supper Club. On Friday the weather was cool, but Vince, Ginny, Carl and Barb kept the camp fire burning and the coffee hot. I can’t remember a campout where we had so much “campfire time”. Where ever your day trip took you, when you returned, you would find some Winnies gathered around a toasty fire.

On Friday afternoon Ginny and Barb arranged an offering of delicious snacks and cocktails around the campfire. While the ladies got their hot dishes and desserts out Vince and Carl got the grills started and the men started cooking. We dined in cozy comfort in the KOA’s new activity room and the grillers came in with everything from steaks that hung over the plate, to wimpy fat free hot dogs. Piping hot dishes, home made desserts and wine had everyone mildly sedated by the time the meeting started. Thank goodness for that fresh hot coffee.

I often comment that the Fox Valley Winnies are a remarkably interesting group of people. The after dinner campfire was double the pleasure when Frank Catuara started playing his hand held melodica and a sing-along was underway.

Saturday found several folks off to Galena, with a return for our afternoon visit. A friend of Vince’s has his business in a building that was the Lena Opera House/Silent Movie Theater. After many years of trying, he finally succeeded in acquiring the upper floor of the building which was the old Lena Opera House, where they showed movies, preformed live plays, and held civic dances. The space had not been touched for years and it was a treasure trove of promotional posters for plays, movies, opera, magic shows as well as old film equipment, an intact stage, a dance floor, the original chairs that were used for movies and plays. We were given a history on the building and its contents before being invited to view the many items on display. Frank again provided the perfect musical atmosphere when he played the “Entertainer” on the original old piano used for silent movies.

On Saturday evening we returned as a group to the Beachs Supper Club for a fine meal followed by another sing along around the camp fire.

Sunday morning’s breakfast could have had IHOP taking notice; French toast, sausage, juice, strawberries and cream, homemade fresh fruit salad and coffee. Many thanks for another wonderful campout.

Respectfully submitted, Connie Relihan Secretary

President, Dennis Relihan, 608-558-2195 Vice-President, Don Chilson, 630-985-6401 Secretary, Connie Relihan, 608-558-2195 Treasurer, Ken Nelson, 630-759-4499