Here is one that is an eye opener! According to the U. S. Census Bureau there are 52 million Americans 65 and over, and a quarter of them live in California, Florida and Texas. Here is part that is a little hard to believe: In Chippewa County only 17.8 % of the population in 65 or older. And only Dodge County has a smaller percentage of folks 65 and over as they have 17.7% – not a whole lot different from Chippewa County. The total population of Chippewa County is 64,175. The percentage of people 18 and younger is 22.1%. The median age in Chippewa County is 41.3 – the median age for males is 40.7 years old and the median age for females is 42 years old. *** Did you know? According to The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, in 2022 around three billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. Additionally, an estimated 71% of children aged 6-23 months do not have their minimum nutritional needs met. In our country, a multitude of food assistance programs are available and food pantry’s help to prevent diet deficiencies. However, in poor countries outside agencies like Heifers International and other international aid agencies work to meet the needs of poor people – especially women and infants. Christmas is coming and if you have a hard time buying for a family member, why not donate to an international aid agency the amount you would spend on a present for the hard to buy for person. Try it. It makes you feel good. *** After last week’s comments of having been on a tour to Georgia several people asked me what else we did. I do not want to bore any reader with a litany of the many things we did on our tour, but I have decided to share one other noteworthy highlight and that was a narrated trolley tour of the beautiful city of Savannah, Georgia. To begin, we had an hour tour of downtown Savannah neighborhoods that featured narrated comments on 15 historic areas. After the historic narration, we were encouraged to do visits to several of the 15 areas and do more in-depth exploration. Our first visit was Ellis Square, a market area, where we visited the American Prohibition Museum. After nearly an hour of a historic walk through of an era that in retrospect probably didn’t do much for those who promoted an alcohol free society. Bootleggers and the crime syndicate thrived and there were many ways discovered to get around prohibition. The crime that resulted was devastating to many. It was all depicted in a well done museum with many historic artifacts, exhibits, displays and pictures. Live characters were strategically placed throughout the museum and were very knowledgeable when answering any questions visitors presented. From Ellis Square’ Pat and I made a visit to Colonial Park, which served as a cemetery beginning in 1750 and running for more than a century. It later was desecrated by it serving as a Union Army Camp site during the Civil War. We then visited the nearby Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist., originally built in 1874 with several updates and enlargements following fires. Today its noteworthy architecture makes it one of the top 10 historic sites to visit in the United States. With a noontime meal sandwiched in between site visits, it was time to catch a trolley back to the Visitors Center where we met our group and we moved on to other activities. Savannah is a beautiful southern city and a recommended place to learn first hand its history and visit many of its historic sites. One never has enough time to visit and take in all one would like to do and see.

*** The annual gala of the Community Foundation of Chippewa County was held on Tuesday, evening, October 25, at the Hyde Center in Chippewa Falls. The event highlights grants provided through, and by the Foundation, the impact on recipients, and honors new charitable funds established during the past year. The Foundation helps individuals create, build and manage funds that benefit the people of Chippewa County. The Foundation also helps people driven by compassion and generosity, to define and achieve their philanthropic goals. To that end during the 2021-22 year, 397 individual grants were made, $2,060,655 was distributed to enhance life in Chippewa County, 149 nonprofits were impacted through grants, $4,362,393 was added to the Foundation by donors and this money will produce future gifts, 14 new charitable funds were opened and 7 seedling funds were endowed (reached a level where grants can now be made from them). The Mission of the Chippewa County Community Foundation is: To enable donors to achieve their philanthropic goals, to meet changing community needs, thereby benefiting the communities, people and other nonprofit organizations of Chip- pewa County. *** One might ask, “How does the Stanley Area benefit from the Chippewa County Community Foundation?” During COVID the Foundation established a Response-Recovery-Rebuild Fund that distributed grants. After the December 15, 2021 tornado, this fund provided considerable aid to victims and the Stanley community. The American Red Cross of NW Wisconsin received funds to replenish supplies that were provided to victims at the Stanley Community Center, victims who lost household items had essentials replaced, Feed My People received funds that gave the Stanley-Boyd Food Pantry food credits, the Fruit of the Vine Food Pantry received funds to purchase hygiene products for distribution, the Stanley Fire Department received funding to purchase six handheld radios for future crisis preparedness, and the Stanley Police Department received funding for a radio tower, antenna and repeater for future crisis preparedness. It is plainly evident that the Chippewa County Community Foundation had a major impact on Stanley this past year. *** Smile time. Ole and Lena went to the Olympics. While sitting on a bench, a lady turned to Ole and said, “Are you a pole vaulter?” Ole said, “No, I’m Norvegian and my name isn’t Valter.” +++ I wish the buck stopped here. I could use a few. +++ A man went to the doctor, concerned about his wife’s hearing. “Go back home and say something to her,” the doctor suggested. “Tell me how close are you when she hears you.” The man went home and saw his wife in the kitchen, cutting carrots. From 15 feet away he said, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” Nothing. He walked halfway to her and repeated the same question. Nothing. Concerned, he stood right behind her and asked again, “What’s for dinner?” She turned around and exclaimed. “For the third time, beef stew!” +++ I don’t drink beer to forget. I drink beer because it is delicious. Forgetting is just a bonus. +++ A man picked his wife up after work and she seemed rather irritated. The day hadn’t gone particularly well and to top it off a young customer had called her “Ma’am.” “I’m not that old” she insisted. “I deserve more respect.” She vented the whole way home, while hitting the scan button on the radio. Finally the husband asked, “What are you looking for?” She responded, “The oldies station.”

BY DAVID JANKOSKI