Blackhawk Golden ‘K’ General Meeting
Minutes
December 17th, 2025
President Richard Johnson presided, and called the meeting to order with a ring of the bell at 9:30AM.
Richard Johnson led with the singing of America, the National Anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Invocation: Bob Knudson, mentioning happy holidays, and the children.
Raffle: Bob Knudson oversaw the ticket sales and drawing this week.
The weekly pot was $12 and the big (Joker) pot was $127.
Guest Mitch Goth drew a ticket from the bucket, ticket number 1447. Congratulations to the winner, Maury Frey.
The deck of cards has 42/53 cards remaining. Maury Frey drew the 2♣.
Richard Johnson thanks rafflemaster and server Bob Knudson.
Happy Box: Maury Frey announced he is happy because he won the raffle. He is donating the proceeds to Noon Rotary.
Jokes: Joker Steve Skelly had a good joke about a cowboy with an ear to the ground.
Member Health: Maury Frey had a status update on Dick Peck, who is homebound. Dick is on morphine, and his oxygen fluctuates.
Other Announcements: A Kiwanian of fifty some years Phil Selgren recently passed away at over ninety years old. Phil’s visitation is 9:30-11am at First Lutheran. Kiwanis members are encouraged to wear their gold shirts.
Evan Zastrow spoke upon his Eagle Scout project. He is striving for 100 first aid kits in support of HealthNet Rock County. He intends to accomplish his goal before his May 18th deadline for attaining Eagle. Evan would like to go into being an EMT / paramedic for a career.
Committee Reports: Vice President Tom Neumann announced The Christmas party is tonight! It is at the Elks Lodge, 2100 N Washington Street. Dancers and the gift exchange begin at 5pm, with the ham special available for dinner at 5:30pm. See you there!
John Janes announced he was on the radio yesterday, WCLO, speaking about the Truck on Ice.
April Wright introduced the day’s speaker, Mitch Goth. Mitch is a paranormal investigator. He recently wrote a book, 30 Haunted Locations in Wisconsin. Mitch presented upon various locations in Wisconsin and their paranormal properties.
Mitch detailed many of the locations in his book. He and his associate traveled to locations such as a Madison sanitarium, the Whitewater Water Tower, the Janesville Senior Center and Janesville’s Looking Glass Bar and Grill.
Mitch explained the Whitewater water tower is well known. Whitewater is “the Salem of Wisconsin.”
Mitch spoke of a boy that was born and died before construction of what is now the Janesville Senior Center was completed. His name was Alan Woods. Research included articles in the Janesville Room, a research area in Hedberg Public Library.
Mitch covered stories about Ruby’s Lounge, a building aside The Looking Glass that burned to the ground in April 1978. Lounge patrons escaped, six people in the apartments upstairs did not.
Mitch spoke about two women in the Lincoln Tallman House, one is in a black dress, upstairs, and is purported to be Nellie Tallman, and the other is in a white dress, downstairs, and told to be Gussie Tallman.
Mitch and his associate’s trip was 1,300 miles long, zigzagging across the state. “Sometimes, the wilderness alone will play tricks on you” explained Mitch, showing one of favorite photographs of fog on a dark road.
Another location was the Bend Theatre in West Bend.
Mitch visited the Shipwrecked Brew Pub, which burned down after 180 years. It was promptly rebuilt in 2018, in Ag Arbor, Door County.
Fair Lawn Mansion in Superior, WI was one of Mitch’s favorite places, and the furthest North in the book. It was built by a lumber baron, and contains opulent solid marble fireplaces. The property was left to an orphanage in the 1920s. It is said that the baron himself commiserates with the frolicking orphan children.
Mitch spoke of Dan Hoppa, of the Berlin Tannery, where cow hides were made into leather. Dan was an electrician, and known as the patron saint of the Berlin Tannery.
In the North, Mitch and his associate met Clyde Hiney, a welder who creates art in a park aside his home. Mitch was at the park and Clyde, now 97, came and spoke to them. The dragon statue is impressive. The park is called Rustic Park, in Marshfield.
Bloody Bride Bridge in Stevens Point was touched upon, as was Weary Road outside of Evansville, which supplied the cover photo of the book.
Mitch’s book was released in August of 2025.
Kewanee county has a location named the Maribel Caves Hotel, otherwise known as Motel Hell, which burned down three separate times in its history, and was said to have skeletal remains left for some time.
Kiwanis member Jim Farrell asked, “is it true the Janesville Senior Center’s third floor is the same as it was in the 1930s?” Mitch answered, “Yes. There is a ghost on the top floor. People often hear the little boy’s voice.” Jim continued, “Does Whitewater have an occult presence?” Mitch said, “The tower is well known as a regular Wiccan location. The location often has burnt circles.”
Kiwanian John Janes asked, “What gear do you take to locations?” Mitch explained, “It depends on the location. For example, a thermometer was used for locations that are oddly cold.”
Jim Farrell asked, “What do you know about seyonces?” Mitch stated, “Seyonces can be real. There are many charlatans. Start with the American Spiritualist Society.”
Steve Skelly asked, “Ghosts?” Mitch, “A man named Rich gives ghost tours in Janesville. It is called, “Roam Around Tours.”
Jim Farrell questioned, “Where can the book be found?” Mitch replied, “Amazon.com, and our website, https://hauntedus.com/ .”
Many other topics were touched upon and the presentation was well received.
April Wright thanked Mitch Goth for speaking and presented him with a Kiwanis yellow tumbler.
Richard Johnson adjourned the meeting with a ring of the bell at 10:53AM.
Reminders: There is an executive board meeting next week.
On this day:
1777 France recognizes the independence of the British colonies in America
1790 Aztec calendar stone is discovered in Mexico City
1843 Henry Cole, founder of London’s V&A Museum, commissions printing of the 1st Christmas card
1865 Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 8, “Unfinished Symphony”, premieres in Vienna with Johann von Herbeck conducting
1900 First prize of 100,000 francs is offered for communication with extraterrestrials, with Martians excluded because they are considered too easy
1903 At 10:35 am, Orville Wright pilots the first sustained, powered, and controlled flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina; the flight lasts 12 seconds and covers 120 feet
1924 First US diesel electric locomotive enters service in the Bronx, New York
1953 US Federal Communications Commission approves RCA’s black & white-compatible color TV specifications
1962 Beatles 1st British TV appearance on “People & Places”
1964 “Goldfinger”, 3rd James Bond film, starring Sean Connery and Honor Blackman premieres in London
1965 First concert held at the Houston Astrodome: Judy Garland headlines, with The Supremes as opening act
1965 Largest newspaper-Sunday NY Times at 946 pages (50 cents)
1969 USAF closes its Project Blue Book, concluding there is no evidence of extraterrestrial spaceships behind thousands of UFO sightings
1976 NYC’s Grand Central Terminal train station is added to the National Register of Historic Places
1977 Elvis Costello & The Attractions make their first US TV appearance on “Saturday Night Live”
1978 OPEC raises oil prices by 18% and agrees on a 14.5% petroleum price increase for 1979, to be implemented quarterly
1979 Budweiser rocket car reaches 1190 km/h (739.66 mph) but is widely disputed because the speed is not measured under official land speed record conditions, and the methodology is questionable
1989 “The Simpsons,” created by Matt Groening, premieres on Fox TV as a full animated series with the episode “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire”
1991 Soap opera “One Life To Live” airs its 6,000th episode
1992 The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed by the leaders of Mexico, Canada, and the United States. It was replaced by the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement in 2020.
Pan American Aviation Day honors aviation history and encourages interest in aviation throughout the Western Hemisphere, with the aim of developing more rapid communications and cultural development between countries in the hemisphere. The holiday also commemorates the first successful flight of a mechanically propelled and heavier-than-air airplane. This feat was reached by Orville and Wilbur Wright on December 17, 1903, at a spot about five miles south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in what is now the town of Kill Devil Hills, on the Atlantic Coast. Pan American Aviation Day is similar to Wright Brothers Day, a holiday which was created years after it.
Wright Brothers Day commemorates the first successful flight of a mechanically propelled and heavier-than-air airplane. This feat was reached by Orville and Wilbur Wright on December 17, 1903, at a spot about five miles south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in what is now the town of Kill Devil Hills, on the Atlantic Coast. The holiday was first officially celebrated in 1959.
Minutes by Ryan Lewis.
Credit: Ray Szczepaniak, and Ryan Lewis, photographs.
Note: Kiwanis and its members are not responsible for errors or omissions. We are open to discussion if you would like to request an alteration.
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