Blackhawk Golden ‘K’ General Meeting
Minutes
April 1st, 2026
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: Richard Johnson, mentioning approaching Easter and let us be happy and share it, and the children.
Raffle: Steve Skelly oversaw the ticket sales and drawing this week.
The weekly pot was $11 and the big (Joker) pot was $43.
Glenn Disrude drew a ticket from the bucket, ticket number 768. Congratulations to the winner, Dave Peterson.
The deck of cards has 50/53 cards remaining. Dave Peterson drew the 3♦.
Richard Johnson thanks greeters Roger Willeford and Carl Cramer, invocator himself, rafflemaster Steve Skelly, and server Bob Knudson.
Happy Box: Dave Peterson announced he is happy because he won the raffle, and is donating the proceeds to the club!
Ryan Lewis announced he is happy because today he is halfway done with the first semester of his bachelor’s degree.
Jokes: Joker Roger Willeford had a good joke: what did the drummer name his twin daughters? Anna 1, Anna 2.
Dale Henning, Ray Cummings and David Calverley have birthdays this month, and a song was sung.
Other Announcements: John Janes spoke upon the bell for the Key Club, which is now shined.
John Janes and Linda Bontly spoke upon Lily Day, which is Saturday! Please sign up for open slots, and take the equipment today if you are an 8am shift.
Linda Bontly spoke upon the recent passing of Jerry Burhans. A card is being passed around to sign.
April Wright introduced the day’s speaker, Tom and Rosie Kautz. Rosie has been practicing word burning for many years, and Tom has been carving wood since he was in the Boy Scouts back in the 1960s. Tom and Rosie are members of the Rock River Valley Woodcarvers. They have many items to present, and a drawing for a free comfort bird.
The wood burning involves colored pencils and acrylic paint.
Tom was previously the Rock County Parks Director.
Multiple blocks were on display in various stages of designing an owl. They start as a basswood blocks that are marked with a pencil.
Kiwanis member Mel Lemirande asked, “How long does an owl take?” Tom replied, “They’re done is as little as five minutes, after you have honed your craft. Start with a bench knife, razor sharp at a 17 degree angle. Always use a Kevlar glove.”
A 7 degree gouge is another useful tool.
All the tools have a synthetic cork cover. The synthetic cork doesn’t absorb moisture.
A duck was passed around. It is made with cork, Titebond 3 glue and acrylic paint.
A small ‘inlet trout paddle’ was shown, with a spar/varnish finish (for fun).
The biggest carvers’ show in the state is in Stevens Point.
Kiwanian John Sarnow inquired, “What is your preferred wood?” Tom answered, “Lignum Vitae, Basswood, Butternut, Mahogany, Birch, Cherry and White Walnut are all great.”
Kiwanis member John Janes asked, “What are comfort birds?” Tom replied, “They are an aid for praying or concentrating. Comfort cross is another style. Club members will donate them to hospitals for chemo. patients, or family members of those who have passed away.”
Kiwanian Tom Neumann inquired, “Pipes?” Tom, “No. They require a different type of wood.”
Tom and Rosie announced, “Classes are open to everyone. We have several times: Mondays and Thursdays, 9-11am at the Senior Center, Mondays, 1-3pm at the Gathering Place in Milton, and Tuesdays, 9-11am at the Fulton Church. Raven’s Wish does the first Saturdays of the month.
Kiwanis member Luci Cramer asked, “What are your youngest and oldest members?” Tom answered, “Around 13 years old, and in the 80s.”
Cards were given to all members, and a drawing was completed for a free comfort bird. With the queen of diamonds, congratulations to David Calverley!
Tom mentioned near the end of the presentation that the carvers are donating a tree to Beckman Mill County Park.
April Wright thanked Tom and Rosie for speaking and presented them with a Kiwanis coffee mug.
Richard Johnson adjourned the meeting with a ring of the bell at 10:35AM.
On this day:
1748 The ruins of Pompeii are rediscovered by Spaniard Roque Joaquín de Alcubierre
1778 New Orleans businessman Oliver Pollock creates the “$” symbol
1826 Samuel Morey is issued the first U.S. patent for an internal-combustion engine, which he calls a “Gas or Vapour Engine”
1850 San Francisco County government established
1889 First dishwashing machine, invented by Josephine Cochrane, is marketed in Chicago newspaper
1891 Telephone connection between London and Paris officially opens to the public
1891 The Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Illinois, by William Wrigley Jr.
1905 “SOS” first adopted as a morse distress signal (· · · – – – · · ·) by German government
1927 First automatic record changer is introduced by the Victor Talking Machine Company
1929 Louis Marx introduces his version of the yo-yo
1930 Chicago Cubs catcher Leo Hartnett breaks the altitude record for a catch by gloving a baseball dropped from the Goodyear blimp 800 feet over Los Angeles, California
1935 First radio tube made of metal is announced in Schenectady, New York
1948 “Big Bang” theory proposed in scientific journal “Physical Review” by American cosmologists Ralph Alpher, Hans Bethe, and George Gamow
1957 BBC airs a three-minute April Fools’ Day hoax featuring spaghetti-growing trees in Switzerland
1960 Census determines the resident population of the United States to be 179,245,000
1963 American television soap operas premiere: “General Hospital” (ABC) and “Doctors” (NBC)
1967 The United States Department of Transportation begins operation
1971 International Satellite for Ionospheric Studies (ISIS-2) is launched by Canada and the US
1976 Jovian-Plutonian gravitational effect is first reported by the astronomer Patrick Moore
1976 Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs found Apple Computer in the garage of Jobs’ parents’ house in Cupertino, California
1978 Last episode of “The Bob Newhart Show” sitcom (the Chicago one) airs on CBS-TV
1979 Warner Cable launches Nickelodeon, a basic cable channel featuring programming focused on children and teenagers
1981 Daylight saving time is introduced in the USSR
1984 14th annual National Easter Seal Telethon raises $24,600,000
1986 World oil prices dip below $10 a barrel, the first price fall since 1977
1991 US minimum wage increases from $3.80 to $4.25 per hour
1997 Comet Hale-Bopp reaches perihelion at 0.914 AU
Telling someone they have a spot on their shirt when there isn’t one, putting a whoopee cushion under their seat, or putting a “kick me” sign on their back—there are countless practical jokes and pranks that can be played on people. On April Fools’ Day, these pranks are in full force, and many a person is sent on a fool’s errand. It isn’t exactly known how the day started. One prominent theory says that it started in France in 1564, after New Year’s Day was changed to January 1 that year.
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).
