With winter coming, our family has been considering replacing or repairing our drafty old windows. The windows are original to the house, which was built in 1945, well-made but in need of some TLC, as evidenced by the way they rattle during storms and seem to leak more air then they should. Re-caulking is a priority. So is painting. Some of the windows face south and have taken a beating from the sun, leading to fading and, in some places, minor cracking, with peeling just a step away. Being of a frugal mind-set and do-it-yourself attitude, our first preference was to scrap, paint and re-…

Be on the look-out for people dressed in fantastical, slightly old-fashioned looking outfits in downtown Waukesha. You may have already seen them because they’ve attended a few community events – Friday Nights Live and a tea at Steaming Cup. But later this month, fans of steampunk will stroll the streets of downtown Friday, Sept. 30, to kick-off Waukesha Reads, a community-wide literacy project. Now in its fifth year, the Waukesha Reads literacy project has selected the classic, The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as its book choice for 2011. The eerie mystery features …

More than 50 artists will display their work in downtown Waukesha Saturday, Sept. 10, in an event that is sure to please art lovers and community members alike. The area is getting ready to host the 22nd Art Fest, which features artwork from a variety of different artists, a silent auction to benefit a scholarship fund, music at two locations, and a children’s tent with fun activities. The festival was held in Cutler Park in previous years but moved to downtown about three years ago, where it was a “natural fit,” said Lynn Gaffey, Almont Gallery owner and Art Fest board member. It was a good …

A quick history test. Question: What year and with what amendment were women granted the right to vote? Answer: 1920, with passage of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution Today, Aug. 26, is National Women's Equality Day. It marks the 91st anniversary of the passage of 19th amendment and acknowledging it shouldn’t be merely a nod of recognition to a long-ago past. It wasn’t that long ago and Waukesha was at the forefront of the fight. And while women have had the right to vote for the past 90 years, it took them 70 years to get that right, starting in 1848 with the Seneca Falls …

As Wisconsinites, we’re acutely aware of the dwindling days of summer. We notice the fading cadence of cicadas, the sunsets that don’t seem to last as long as they did a few weeks ago, and the increased hustle and bustle around schools as summer comes to an end. But before the last sunset of summer, here’s a list of a few things to check off a summer bucket list. We can’t bottle the precious commodity of summer but we can enjoy every last bit of it.  Go swimming at one of the Waukesha pools before they close. Buchner closes after next week and has reduced hours, 2 to 6 p.m., for the week. …

Waukesha is proud of its river, showcasing it with people-pleasing developments like fountains, sculptures, parks, walkways and paths. Fun water activities along the river include canoeing or paddle boating, water ski shows, fishing and watching the ducks. But a recent walk along the river had me wondering about the quality of the river water. With duckweed and other aquatic plants spreading and the water looking cloudy in places, the appearance of the river was somewhat lacking. Turns out, the Fox River, although picturesque, is a considered an "impaired waterway" by the Wisconsin Department…

The finishing touches are being put on the newest Carroll University residence hall, Frontier Hall, in preparation for the early move-in of some students this Thursday. The students are excited to be the first group to live in the new hall, according to Ron Lostetter, vice president of finance and administrative services at Carroll University. The building, located at Grand Avenue near College Avenue, contains 231 apartment-style rooms on four floors. Each apartment has three, four or five bedrooms which are about 10 by 10 feet each; one or two bathrooms; a living room; and a kitchenette with…

Summer means fun and freedom for many children but it can also mean hunger for them as parents struggle to pay bills. Without the safety net of the schools offering free or reduced lunches for children, hard choices sometimes have to be made by Waukesha parents. Feed the Kids, a Waukesha-based program of the Salvation Army, works to fill children’s stomachs by filling a gap in support services for children whose households experience poverty. About a third of children in the Waukesha School District are eligible for the free-and-reduced lunch program because of their poverty-level household …

People in Waukesha may not know how lucky they have it. With so many different ice cream shops, there’s always an opportunity for a cool treat on a hot day. Patch made the rounds to some favorite ice cream and gelato shops to get the “scoop.” It was hard work but someone had to do it. First stop was Murf's Frozen Custard & Jumbo Burgers. As a newcomer to Waukesha, our family was greeted by a neighbor bearing gift certificates to Murf’s. What a welcome! When we went recently, the flavor of the day was Fat Elvis, banana with peanut butter swirl. It received good reviews as did a vanilla cone …

Because my children grew-up reading Harry Potter, saying goodbye to the series will be like saying goodbye to a son, albeit a son that only visits once in a while. We read the first book aloud, my then-7-year-old son and I, huddled together at bedtime. He had been clamoring to read the book, which had been out for almost as many years as he had been alive, but I was apprehensive about letting him because of his age and figured if we read it together, I could quickly edit out anything that needed editing. It was the start of a mild family obsession with the series, between the kids, parents …

Did you get the newest golden ticket? Thanks to a link from my geek connections, I recently joined Google+, Google’s latest attempt at one-upping Facebook. Google+ is much more than a social app, though. Termed a project, Google+ is a layer on top of all Google’s existing products like Gmail and Calendar, designed to allow users more easily share with each other and to make sharing on the web like sharing in real life. For example, IRL, you wouldn’t tell your mother about that party last night, right? With Google+, Mom can be a “circle” (not group, that’s Facebook talk) called “Family,” while…

What better way to learn about America than to visit during the summer and experience Fourth of July activities? For a group of high school students from Hanoi, Vietnam, this past weekend was full of quintessentially American activities like picnics, pool parties and pie contests. Twenty-five students from Hanoi Amsterdam High School in Vietnam are visiting Waukesha and the surrounding area as part of a five-week institute held by Carroll University. It’s not all fun and games, though. While not visiting with host families or taking field trips, the students will be hard at work taking …

Driving by the big expanse of open land on Pewaukee Road, it’s easy to forget Waukesha is home to an industrious airport, unless there is a plane landing over ahead. But Waukesha County Airport/Crites Field is the third busiest airport in the state. In 2009, nearly 60,000 takeoffs and landings were recorded at the airport, according to information about the airport from the county website. The airport is named after brothers Dean and Dale Crites, aviation enthusiasts who were instrumental in convincing the Waukesha County Board to build an airport. In 1933, the Crites brothers took county …

Usually Waukesha Patch’s other columnist Gregg Wandsneider gets to talk about food but today I’m seizing the opportunity, having eaten out every day for the last five days. After eating out so much, what else would I write about? My expanding waistline? I don't think so. I consider myself a foodie – I love food.  I’m also a bit of a creative cook, when I do cook, so I appreciate it when someone puts together something that’s tasty and a bit unique and when they can do it consistently, making to a reliable favorite. Usually when I dine out in Waukesha, I’m meeting friends for breakfast, coffee…

In a quiet, well-lit back room of Waukesha Public Library, two volunteers have worked together weekly for the last ten years mending books, checking contents and helping library staff with whatever needs doing. They are very modest about their volunteer work because for them, it’s about keeping busy and doing something useful for the community. Earl Honeyager, the library’s oldest volunteer at 90-years-old (next month), and Lee (Leor) Gaffney, a 74-year-old grandmother, pass the time with easy banter through their years of teamwork. “Earl and I work well together, Gaffney said. “He makes me …

Wednesday night, many in Waukesha went to a funeral to say goodbye to a 6-month-old boy only some had known in life. They came wearing orange, Owen’s color, overflowing the church in a sea of orange to share love and celebrate the joy of baby Owen Bissing, one of a set of triplets, who died last week. On an ordinary night the previous weekend, life changed in a moment for the Bissing family when they found Owen unresponsive in his crib. Over the next five long days at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Owen’s family and friends kept vigil, hoping and praying he would come back. He didn’t. But …

Despite a recent outbreak of graffiti in Waukesha, downtown business owners and police alike say the city doesn’t have a “graffiti problem.” Police are investigating three incidents in the downtown Waukesha area and seven in other nearby areas of Waukesha that occurred over the last two weekends. One reason for the upsurge in graffiti could be the simple explanation of nicer weather allowing vandals the opportunity. “Whenever the weather starts to get nicer, complaints start to go up,” Police Capt. Dennis Angle said. There are a couple of different ideas about the graffiti that the police are…

The annual world-wide Ride of Silence had personal meaning for people in Waukesha last night as they rode in memory of close friends and family members who died from injuries sustained while cycling. Unlike most rides, there was no talking as the cyclists rode through town. A light drizzle and overcast skies underlined the somber mood of the event. The ride is supposed to be “like a funeral procession to make everyone aware that this is the kind of thing that can happen when drivers are inattentive, aggressive or do not follow the traffic laws,” said event organizer Laura Fisher of the Spring…

Update, Thursday, 11 a.m.: It's a happy story in the end for a dog named Bella who sought adventures far away from home. The Eckart family, who lost their new pet, Bella, earlier this week was reunited with the precious pooch Wednesday night. "She is home safe," Melanie Eckart said. Eckart said the dog was found in the Vernon Marsh and was then given to the humane society. "She had a nice long adventure," Eckart said. Wednesday night: If you’ve ever owned a pet, chances are good that you’ve experienced the panic and heartbreak of an escaped and lost pet, even if only temporarily. One Waukesha…

I’ve been reading up on Waukesha history lately and, with Mother’s Day approaching, I found myself wondering about the historic women of Waukesha. History books about our area are replete with the men who made Waukesha famous, from spring prospectors like Col. Dunbar, musicians like Les Paul or politicians like Gov. William Barstow. What is somewhat lacking, though, is information about Waukesha’s founding mothers, the women who helped make Waukesha what it is today.  In celebration of Mother’s Day, let’s consider a few women from different eras and walks of life who were important to our …