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Because there's just too much to show for only one
page....
We acquired 3 parcels of land adjacent to
the airport to assure us of future highway access, parking space and
of course, building sites. Our first project on this land was to
tear down an abandoned 'grease plant.' This building started life as
housing for migrant workers, became an automotive body shop and
finished its usefulness as a grease rendering plant where used
cooking oil was refined for reuse. This building had been unused for
like the last 15 years and was in pretty sad shape. Here are a
couple of pics of the building before we started the demolition.
  
Well, its a week later and the knacker man did
his thing during the week when he could work alone. First thing
Saturday morning (April 1, 2006) we had   a wee bit of
rubble to sort through. It was just a matter of sorting and moving
debris around and after a couple of hours we had our seperate
piles of wood, shingles, and lots of cinder block.  Steel and shingles
in their seperate dumpsters and what to do with all the 50+ year old
wood??  Of course there's always brush in the
ditches that needs cutting down and burning. It may seem to the
casual observer that all we do around here is play with big toys,
build fires and drink beer. And they're probably correct!    L to R: Gary Marcks, Bob Dieck, Fred
Marcks, Al Van Straten, Steve Knorr and Bill Lauer taking a
well deserved break.
A couple of things happening late this
year (2005). First of all, the Polsin hangar has shed its
sliding doors for a bifold door. 
The next thing would be a new arrival in the
form of a Beech Musketeer. This  would be Karen Lauer's new
toy.
Here's just a select few
pictures from our 2005 Fly-in. Of course we need to start out with a
couple of how the hangar looks the day before the crowds.
  And yes, sharp eyes
will catch the disco ball hanging from the rafters. If you can't
have a disco ball in the hangar what the heck fun is it??
We didn't have many aircraft fly in for
breakfast on Sunday morning as it was rainy and foggy early then
just hazy, hot, humid and altogether a very miserable day to be
outside for anything. First of all, Brad Dunlap of the
Lake Winnebago Metropolitan Enforcement Group (MEG unit)(they do the
major drug busts in the area) had phoned me sometime this spring to
conduct a phone interview to access W34's potential as far as any
drug-smuggling and other illicit activities may go. I of course
turned the tables on him and asked him to have a display at this
year's Fly-in. Bright and early on Sunday morning Brad rolled in
with a couple of suitcases full of seized 'bad things'  and had them on display
for all the world to see.
The Shiocton-Bovina Fire Department
brought out their toys on Sunday morning to show them off.
 Sorry about the dark
picture. I had a 90% UV filter on the lens at the time plus taking
pictures into the sun.
We also had the ThedaStar helicopter  stop in for a couple of hours on Sunday
morning.
We replaced our old roadside airport sign
along Highway 54 in July 2005 with something a bit more 'bold' than
our old sign. The old
airport sign.  After nearly 20 years and being blown
over by a few springtime storms it had run its course. Here's what
the new sign looks like.  Those driving past
certainly have no trouble finding us now!
 Here's a picture of W34 picture (and
the village of Shiocton) courtesy of Nick Van Dinter. This
picture was taken on Memorial Day 2005. The view is looking roughly
Southwest.
There is a memorial bike
ride held each May in memory of SFC member Brian "Brain"
Polsin who passed away in 2004. Here's a couple of thumbnails from
the   2005
ride from the photo album of Wolf River
Skydivers
members Jeff LaViolette and Shelly Nackers. You can
see Jeff and Shelly's entire photo album of the ride here.
  Our airport purchase in the
fall of 2004 was a Galion Roll-O-Static roller. We're not really
sure how heavy this thing is, but everything indicates a 10 ton
'empty' weight. Thanks to Michelle for all the help tracking
down much needed manuals and information.
If I had a dollar for everytime someone
commented on this picture I'd have like maybe $3 in my pocket. This
from a long-ago Fly-in all but faded from memory.  'Distinguished Members' L to R:
"Freddy" Marcks, Gary
"Pinkie" Marcks, "His Kobusness" Jim Kobus and Bill
Lauer lurking in the background. Beer is not kind to this
crowd....
updated 06-24-07
12:08 | 
