And then there was Deb. Deb Boike, owner of the café, was their server, and they felt the perfect person to randomly select their first stop on their journey. And so it work as follows- just as they were paying for their meals and preparing to step out their door, they had Deb draw one town out of a hat with 14 options (see previous posts). With full understanding that wherever Deb sent them was where they needed to be, the boys were thrilled to learn they would be chewing chicken at the Coloma Chicken Chew in Coloma, WI! Excitement mounted when they further learned that this Chicken Chew would be celebrating the sesquicentennial of the village of Coloma- 150 years of existence, and the village also boasts the first-ever lollipop-shaped water tower in the country! Thanks Deb!
The stallions now had the road to mentally prepare themselves for the chewing festivities, but as was to be expected, many unexpected surprises along the drive interrupted the mind-mastery. First was a random and crazy run-in with Tim & Cheri Pederson- Drew’s parents- at the Conoco in Monona, IA! They were on their way back from their own road trip in Kentucky.
Then they practiced their community building skills at the IA/WI border in Prairie du Chien as they purchased some peaches and a sweet fuel-enhancing liquid from Barb & Jim Fox.
In their loyal vehicle named Raging Blueberry, they persisted on through a persistent drizzle, next making a rad stop at Natural Bridge State Park near Leland, WI. After being cooped up in the car for the last few hours, our heroes were feeling quite adventurous and even rebellious.
Like always, they were also feeling like building some community and did so with Tara, Sarah, & Jim as the rain drove them into the parking lot.
Sarah & Tara
Eerily, the rain intensified as they neared Coloma, nearly putting them to a stop one mile before the Coloma exit. Was this a sign of things to come? Were the powers that be trying to send them a message about their original destination?
As they escaped the rain under in the community park shelter, a large and seemingly frustrated mob of people proved to be intimidating to the community builders. With no activities going on outside like mud & sand volleyball, the ‘chicken drop’ (placing bets on where a chick will poop), or bingo, our community builders were slightly intimidated and overwhelmed with the situation. In a village of 461, they were surprised to find upwards of 200 people weathering the storm.
However, thing took a ‘churn’ for the better at the Homemade Amish Ice Cream stand where Ira, Joan, and Karen were working. Not only did they receive free bowls four bowls of ice cream; they were introduced to Karen, Vice President of the Lions Club and Donna, owner of the Elite Styles & Tans salon in town. Within minutes, they learned they would be staying in Karen & husband Dan’s pole building-turned-hunting shack and riding on Donna’s float in the parade Sunday morning! Symbolically, the rain had now subsided and the sun was beginning to show.
Donna (who owned the salon), Donna, & Debbie
Karen with the 'chew' apron
Content to have already established some quality relationships with the locals, our heroes decided to divide and conquer- two went onto bingo and two onto the cake walk. The strategy proved successful… two bingo victories and three cake wins later!
What more could these stallions try their hand at winning? Perhaps some mud or sand volleyball? With team registration ending two days before, it seemed unlikely until Donna came through again, recruiting them to fill in on her team. Victory, again was had for these fellas on the sands of Coloma.
After settling into their hunting shack with four beds, a mini kitchen, and a much-needed shower, the boys readied themselves for a night of fun and music back at the park. They were already overwhelmed by the kindness of these Colomians, and they were eager to meet others. And meet is just what they did:
Shirley!
Throughout their conversations during the evening, these journeymen learned much of the history of the 150 year old village. The village was settled by two gold miners apparently lacking creativity as they returned from the California town of Coloma. The village grew as a station for stagecoaches and was further built up by the railroad. The boys even stepped foot in the oldest building in town, a post office/general store that was being restored to its original look. The infamous water tower came in sometime in the 1930’s.
The last order of business this evening was finding out where they would be headed tomorrow. To do this, the stallions needed to meet somebody who would send them to a friend or family member in another state they had not yet been to. And rising to the occasion was Tanya, the mud volleyball referee. Her and husband Ron promised a list of names and phone numbers of contacts in Illinois by 9:00am the next morning!
The next morning was filled with more volleyball action (this time losses), and of course parading. Campaign-member Mr. Troszak pleased the crowds lining the streets with his prowess with the juggling pins.
Following up with Tanya, the stallions received a list of four names from Tanya. One was of her cousin in Rochester, IL, an apparent hippie. Unfortunately, his number was disconnected. The next option for the boys was Mr. Ed Wexler in Palatine, IL, who picked up the boys call and seemed thrilled to meet them for dinner. Their next destination had been determined!
Donna, who the community builders really could not say enough about to this point, really put the icing on their three cakes by swapping her salon t-shirts for some signature orange Campaign For Community t-shirts and purchasing them their tickets for the Chicken Chew dinner. After a hearty, the stallions said their final goodbyes to Karen, snapped a photo in front of Coloma’s prized water tower, and hit the road for more ?. Luckily, that’s just the way these fools like it.
