Blackhawk Golden ‘K’ General Meeting
Minutes
July 29th, 2026
President Richard Johnson presided, and called the meeting to order with a ring of the bell at 9:30AM.
An Executive Board meeting occurred today.
Richard John Janes led with the singing of America, the National Anthem, and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Invocation: Carl Cramer, mentioning helping those in need, and the children.
Raffle: Steve Skelly oversaw the ticket sales and drawing this week.
The weekly pot was $12 and the big (Joker) pot was $242.
Laura Kenyon drew a ticket from the bucket, ticket number 214. Congratulations to the winner, Ryan Lewis.
The deck of cards has 36/53 cards remaining. Ryan Lewis drew the 5♣.
Happy Box: Ryan Lewis announced he is happy because he won the raffle, and is giving this (and last week’s) winnings to the Rock County Children’s Museum.
Tom Neumann announced he is happy because the Neumanns are back from Alaska. The Yukon was great!
Jim Farrell announced he is happy because the Mt. Zion road construction is finally finishing soon!
Maury Frey announced that Laura Kenyon is being inducted a today. Laura introduced herself. She previously worked for Habitat for Humanity, and was a Kiwanis member in Rockford. Laura is the new Rotary Marketing Director.
Jokes: Joker Steve Skelly had a good joke about a man who called a plumber. “Hey, I’ve got a leak in my sink.” “’Go ahead” said the plumber.
Other Announcements: Carl Cramer spoke upon the board’s decision to remove the Vice President role, and move Greg Turco’s elected role directly to President Elect (in October).
Richard Johnson spoke upon the upcoming Kiwanis convention on August 15th. Linda and April will attend!
John Janes spoke upon the Pistons and Props Air Show, happening at the end of August. Should we volunteer?
Committee Reports: Ray Szczepaniak announced that today is the last day of the Mid-year Appeal. Jenny Turco won the drawing for a fresh cut flower bouquet!
Jim Farrell introduced the day’s speaker, Pete Skelly. Pete is a lifelong resident of Janesville and president of the Lincoln Fellowship of Wisconsin. Pete was appointed by Governor Jim Doyle to serve on the state of Wisconsin Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. He served as chairman of the Markers and Memorials Committee and is also currently serving on the board of directors of the Joseph Dutton Guild of Honolulu, Hawaii, which is pushing for canonization of former Janesville resident Joseph Ira Dutton. Pete will share about the 13th of Wisconsin with everyone.
Janesville was the third largest city in Wisconsin, 800 more than Madison, which is why the regiment formed here.
Regiments formed in 1861, near the modern-day fairgrounds.
They marched out Ruger Avenue. A hill was used at the intersection of Ruger and Pontiac for target practice, to recover the lead, some of which continues to be found.
The regiment were marched all over the country. Four died to gunfire, and 189 to illness, the second most in Wisconsin.
Fort Leavenworth was their first Kansas destination, then Fort Scott, Fort Lawrence, and eventually a Texas destination. Marches occurred in January and February.
The 13th were good at attaining supplies. Among a few choice phrases for them, “they’d steal the Lord’s supper and go back for the tablecloth.”
The City of Janesville collected ‘bounties’ (bonuses) for the men to re-enlist. Tallman rallied against it, and the bounties were quashed.
Kiwanis member Tom Neumann asked, “What were the men paid?” Pete replied, “A basic serviceman’s wage was $13 monthly.”
Kiwanian John Janes inquired, “How many were there?” Pete responded, “The regiment began at around 1,000 men, and the concluding photo of them at a reunion gathering was around 50.”
Kiwanis member Jim Farrell asked, “Were they supplied well, with shoes?” Pete answered, “Footwear was covered. Low quinine reserves was a reason for the high number of deaths by illness.”
Jim Farrell inquired, “Tell us about the Lincoln Fellowship.” Pete, “The group is dedicated to remembering the stories of Abraham Lincoln when he was alive.”
Pete concluded by mentioning a new group just began, ‘The History Sleuths’ (by Rock County Historical Society members), formed to learn more about historical figures that were once in Janesville or Wisconsin.
Pete’s talk was well received and appreciated.
Jim Farrell thanked Pete Skelly for speaking and presented him with a Kiwanis Parker pen.
Richard Johnson adjourned the meeting with a ring of the bell at 10:50AM.
On this day:
1609 Samuel de Champlain shoots and kills two Iroquois chiefs at Ticonderoga, New York, setting the stage for French-Iroquois conflicts for the next 150 years
1835 First sugar plantation in Hawaii is established
1836 Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris
1848 Irish Potato Famine: Tipperary Revolt – an unsuccessful nationalist revolt against British rule is put down by police
1872 Nathaniel P. Langford and James Stevenson made the first ascent of Grand Teton, the highest peak of the Teton Range in Wyoming
1884 Society of Independent Artists is founded in Paris by Albert Dubois-Pillet, Odilon Redon, Georges Seurat, and Paul Signac
1899 First motorcycle race at Manhattan Beach, New York
1899 Southern California Golf Association forms
1899 The First Hague Convention concerning land war customs and laws is signed
1907 Sir Robert Baden-Powell forms the Boy Scouts in England
1908 St. Louis Browns’ future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Rube Waddell strikes out 16 Philadelphia A’s in a 5-4 win against his previous team at Sportsman’s Park II, St. Louis
1914 First transcontinental phone link made between New York City and San Francisco
1916 Cochrane and Matheson forest fire, 500,000 acres (2,000 km²) in size in Ontario, takes approximately 223 lives and leads to improved techniques and legislation for the prevention and control of forest fires
1920 First successful transcontinental US airmail flight from New York to San Francisco
1923 Albert Einstein speaks about pacifism in Berlin
1927 First iron lung installed at Bellevue Hospital in New York
1928 Test footage is first created for Walt Disney’s “Steamboat Willie,” featuring Mickey Mouse
1930 Airship R100 makes the first passenger-carrying flight from England to Canada
1933 Police shootout with Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow’s gang in Iowa leaves one member, Clyde’s brother Buck Barrow, dead and one captured; Bonnie and Clyde escape
1938 Olympic National Park is established in Washington state, featuring the longest undeveloped coastline in America
1952 First non-stop transpacific flight by a jet
1954 Publication of “The Fellowship of the Ring,” the first volume of “The Lord of the Rings” by J. R. R. Tolkien, by George Allen & Unwin in London
1957 International Atomic Energy Agency is formed by the United Nations
1958 US President Eisenhower signs into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, establishing NASA
1959 First United States Congress elections in Hawaii as a state of the Union
1965 Beatles movie “Help!” has Royal World Premiere at the London Pavilion Theatre in the West End of London; Princess Margaret and the Earl of Snowdon attend
1966 First show by rock trio “Cream,” consisting of guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Jack Bruce, and drummer Ginger Baker, at the Twisted Wheel nightclub in Manchester, England
1967 The Doors’ single “Light My Fire” hits #1 in the US
1969 Mariner 6 begins transmitting distant-encounter photos of Mars
1974 Episcopal Church ordains female priests
1985 19th NASA Space Shuttle mission (51-G): Challenger 8 launches
1985 Tina Turner films the music video for the song “One Of The Living” at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; the song is from the film “Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome,” in which she co-stars with Mel Gibson
1986 New York jury rules National Football League violated antitrust laws and awards United States Football League $1 in damages
1987 Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream and Jerry Garcia agree on a new flavor: Cherry Garcia, featuring cherry ice cream with cherries and fudge flakes
2005 Planetary scientists formally announced the discovery of what was believed to be the 10th planet; it was later designated a dwarf planet and given the name Eris
Who hopes for rain to pour down on the day of their event? The folks in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, that’s who! In the late nineteenth century, at JT Rogers & Co Drug store on Waynesburg’s High Street, a farmer made a remark to pharmacist William Allison that it always rains on his birthday, which was July 29. In response, Allison began keeping track of the rainfall on the day each year. The farmer was Caleb Ely, who was born on July 29, 1829, in Washington County, Pennsylvania, not far from Waynesburg. After fighting in the Civil War, he got married and spent the rest of the days on his farm. But he went to Waynesburg often, and regularly stopped in Allison’s drug store. He died in 1915 at the age of 85.
After William Allison passed away, his brother, Albert, continued to keep records of the rainfall on the day. During the 1920s, this job was taken over by Byron Daily. At some point during these years, Rain Day was born. In the 1930s, John O’Hara, a Waynesburg newsman, began sending stories about the day to other newspapers, which ensured the day would be more than just a local event. Early observances of the day consisted of a short ceremony on the courthouse steps and an annual hat bet between Byron Daily’s son, John, and a regional or national celebrity.
The Waynesburg Special Events Commission was created in 1979 and was tasked with organizing a special celebration for each July 29. The first Miss Rain Day Pageant, hosted by the Waynesburg Area Chamber of Commerce, was also held this year, as was a street festival, which has continued as an annual event. Willard Scott, the nationally-known weatherman from NBC’s Today Show, helped bring national recognition to the day beginning in 1985 when he participated in the hat bet and talked about the day on television. Currently, each year there is a street fair, entertainment on the courthouse steps, arts and crafts booths, hometown food booths, children’s games, contests(such as an umbrella decorating contest), the naming of Miss Rain Day, and the hat bet.
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Hot, spicy, plain, sticky, or sweet, it seems Americans never have enough chicken wings to eat. In fact, they eat about 30 billion of them per year. Wings come in numerous flavors, such as lemon pepper, pepper parmesan, barbecue, honey mustard, sweet and sour, and garlic. They are often dipped in blue cheese, ranch dressing, or plum sauce, and are served with celery sticks and carrot sticks.
The most famous are Buffalo wings, which were invented in Buffalo, New York. Fittingly, National Chicken Wing Day was proclaimed by Buffalo Mayor Stan Makowski in 1977. Buffalo wings are deep-fried without any breading, and then coated or dipped in a vinegar-based cayenne pepper hot sauce and melted butter. They are usually served with blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing, and with carrot sticks and celery sticks.
Buffalo wings were invented by Teressa Bellissimo at Buffalo’s Anchor Bar in 1964. According to multiple stories, Teressa, who owned the bar with her husband Frank, deep-fried some wings for her son Dominic and his college friends, who had come into the bar hoping for a late-night snack. Before serving them, she tossed them with cayenne hot sauce and butter. Chicken wings had otherwise usually used for chicken stock at the bar, and according to some accounts, the bar had recently accidentally received a shipment of wings and had too many to know what to do with.
Hot, spicy, plain, sticky, or sweet, it seems Americans never have enough chicken wings to eat. In fact, they eat about 30 billion of them per year. Wings come in numerous flavors, such as lemon pepper, pepper parmesan, barbecue, honey mustard, sweet and sour, and garlic. They are often dipped in blue cheese, ranch dressing, or plum sauce, and are served with celery sticks and carrot sticks.
The most famous are Buffalo wings, which were invented in Buffalo, New York. Fittingly, National Chicken Wing Day was proclaimed by Buffalo Mayor Stan Makowski in 1977. Buffalo wings are deep-fried without any breading, and then coated or dipped in a vinegar-based cayenne pepper hot sauce and melted butter. They are usually served with blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing, and with carrot sticks and celery sticks.
Buffalo wings were invented by Teressa Bellissimo at Buffalo’s Anchor Bar in 1964. According to multiple stories, Teressa, who owned the bar with her husband Frank, deep-fried some wings for her son Dominic and his college friends, who had come into the bar hoping for a late-night snack. Before serving them, she tossed them with cayenne hot sauce and butter. Chicken wings had otherwise usually used for chicken stock at the bar, and according to some accounts, the bar had recently accidentally received a shipment of wings and had too many to know what to do with.
A different type of wings had already been invented—John Young opened Wings ‘n Things on Jefferson Avenue the previous year, and served wings that were breaded and in tomato sauce. However, it was the style that was born at Anchor Bar that became known as Buffalo wings. Other nearby restaurants soon began serving Anchor Bar-style wings. One such place was Duff’s Famous Wings in Amherst, which began serving them in 1969.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Buffalo wings gained in popularity as a bar food and appetizer, with their reach going across the continent and then around the world. Large chains that specialized in them, including Buffalo Wild Wings and Hooters, opened in the early 1980s. The Buffalo Bills made four consecutive trips to the Super Bowl in the early 1990s, which had the unintended consequence of increasing the popularity of Buffalo chicken wings. On account of the Super Bowl trips, Domino’s began selling Buffalo wings nationally, and Pizza Hut soon followed, which further increased the popularity of the food. Now there is even a holiday dedicated to eating chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday.
Today there are even chicken wing festivals, such as the National Buffalo Wing Festival. “Buffalo” is also now used to describe other foods besides wings, such as chicken fingers, chicken nuggets, and shrimp. Buffalo-style sauce or seasoning is used on other foods as well, such as on pizza and potato chips. But on National Chicken Wing Day, the focus is on wings, whether they be Buffalo wings or another kind.
Minutes by Ryan Lewis.
Credit: Dave Figi, 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. This content may only be reproduced without alteration and with credit to the original author(s).
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