Camping Mats at Franciscans Downtown with my bag lady friend Mary I invited my friend Mary Patten to join me at Franciscans Downtown yesterday and I am glad that I did.Last week I met Mary while we both were volunteering at the Warming Shelter in Point, a wonderful lady with a warm heart and a passion for service to the people in our community.While we quietly visited in the room off to the side from where our homeless guests were sleeping, I noticed that she was doing an unusual activity to keep her hands busy and create an important item for the folks in the next room.It was not my first intro to the activity since I had been introduced to these life saving essentials for the homeless by a fellow Third Order Franciscan from Milwaukee at our annual chapter gathering a few years ago.So ... 11/21/2016

  UWSP Students are aware of the need - are you?When my son was young and about to undergo surgery, we donated blood ahead of time, in case he would be in need of it. Fortunately, the surgery went well and we did not need to use it – but I’m sure it was put to good use. The Red Cross is always in need of blood.   The Student Interest and Education Organization is holding a blood drive. The public is invited to the Dreyfus University Center to donate on:    December 6 & 7 10am -3pm (DUC Laird)    February 22 & 23 10am -3pm (DUC Laird)  Walk-in welcome. The entire process should take only about an hour.   Please consider donating blood with the Red Cross, people are in need! 11/13/2016

Mission to Read at the Portage County Public Library 11/14/2016 - 4:30PM1001 Main StreetStevens Point WI 54481 If you’re in 4th or 5th grade and enjoy reading, this club’s for you! Your mission: to try a variety of books and talk about them with kids like you. Meets the 2nd Monday of every month @ 4:30 p.m. (November 14, December 12, 2016). Registration is required, call or stop in at the Youth Services Desk. 715-346-1549  11/13/2016

Stevens Point Knights of Columbus Breakfast  October 30, Sunday8:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.This Sunday promises to be a great day for breakfast when the Stevens Point KC’s will be serving a breakfast feast.Breakfast featuring a delicious menu of Pancakes scrambled eggs sausage/ham famous home fried red potatoes desserts and more  Knights of Columbus Council 1170 Clubhouse401 W Clark St, Stevens Point, WI 54481 10/23/2016

Busy Week at Sunset Point Winery  Starting with Wine Bottle Decorating on Tues, Then Canvas Painting on Wednesday, Charcoal Drawing on Thursday, and concluding the week with Live music by Red Tide.Mark your calendars; enjoy some tasty beverages and a little art and entertainment. http://www.sunsetpointwinery.com/events October 25th - Wine Bottle Decorating with Robyn 6pm - 8pm - $25 includes all supplies and a glass of wine October 26th - Canvas Painting with Clay Corner Studio - 6pm - 8pm - $40 includes guided class, supplies, and a glass of wine October 27th - Charcoal Drawing with Charcoal Expressions - 6pm - 8pm - $30 includes guided class and all supplies October 29th - Live Music with Red Tide - 5:30pm - 8:30pm – FREE  Sunset Point Winery 1201 Water Street, Stevens Point, WI, 5448... 10/23/2016

Wisconsin River Fall Bike Ride  (part two)A little more of Jack and my bike ride in Riverside park in Stevens Point and thought that you might enjoy seeing another part of the great city of Stevens Point.We both enjoyed the exercise, scenery, and solitude of a park during a quiet time in the middle of the week, but Jack especially enjoyed the many ducks.  It’s that time of year when the ducks are getting ready to head south for the winter, with only a few more days or possibly weeks before it starts to ice up around here.Enjoy the video and the photos!      10/11/2016

Wisconsin River Fall Bike Ride  (part one)Its a beautiful fall day in Stevens Point today and perfect for a ride along the river on the Green Circle Trail.For those who don't have the time, take a look at a video of my friend Jack and I enjoying a ride along the river in Riverside park in the downtown are of Stevens Point.We both enjoyed the exercise, scenery, and solitude of a park during a quiet time in the middle of the week, but Jack especially enjoyed the many ducks.  It’s that time of year when the ducks are getting ready to head south for the winter, with only a few more days or possibly weeks before it starts to ice up around here.   10/09/2016

Stevens Point Wisconsin, I love this town, and so will you!When I read the description for Ron and Alexandra Seigel 's challenge (Romanticize Your Marketplace: September Active Rain Contest!), I immediately recognized this as a post that was already written.  Not only already written but often sent along with other information when out of town prospects ask about homes that we have available in Stevens Point. Thanks for another opportunity to share a few of the many things that I love about this town.*********************************   I first came to this town 35 years ago when I started college here.     It was a culture shock for me coming from a rural farm near a small town of 800 people.  At the time it seemed like a much larger metropolis than it seems to be today.     After 6 yea... 09/27/2016

Secular Franciscans hosting a Brat fry this SaturdayThe Stevens Point fraternity of Secular Franciscans will be hosting a Brat Fry this Saturday September 10th in the Trigs parking lot.    Don't miss this opportunity to help out this group that does so much for the community while enjoying a truly delicious brat with homemade sauerkraut and all the other fixings.      pic creditshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Man_Eats_Meat_and_Bread.jpghttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pfannenwurst.jpg 09/09/2016

Running Out of Homes, 3 Stevens Point Rentals Left School starts Tuesday and the students are all scrambling to find homes in time for classes, and many others in town seem to be also.Most of ours are rented now, and despite the presure that UWSP puts on our rental market, most were rented by non-students this time around. The mix seems to change from year to year, we don’t fill them based on student status, just on ability to pay the rent and how clean your rental record is. Right now we have 3 homes left, 1 two and a half bedroom home and 2 single bedroom homes.Normally the 1 bedroom homes would have been filled already but we were dragging our feet a bit as we did some updates on both of these. The updates are nearly finished and we will be renting them this weekend. Mark your calend... 09/02/2016

Stevens Point Wisconsin, I love this town, and so will you!   I first came to this town 35 years ago when I started college here.     It was a culture shock for me coming from a rural farm near a small town of 800 people.  At the time it seemed like a much larger metropolis than it seems to be today.     After 6 years of college I grew to love the city of Point and hated to leave to start my career, but everybody has to grow up and leave sometime.   A decade after starting my Forestry Consulting Company in Western Wisconsin, I was looking to expand and what better place than the home of the largest and most prestigious Forestry school in the country, UW Stevens Point, and the place that I had grown to love so much when I was a student there.     So my wife found a new and better teachin... 08/31/2016

Welcome Back 2016 UWSP Students –Take a hike down to Belts No visit to Point is complete without sharing some fun at Belts, as long as the snow is not too deep. Belts is the place to enjoy a huge ice cream and enjoy some time with friends and family. So take an afternoon off before classes get to busy and enjoy a hike and a huge cone or other tasty treat.                               More Welcome Back to Uwsp Tour Posts  Welcome Back UWSP Students to the 2016-17 School Year 08/14/2016   Welcome Back UWSP Students 2016 - Enrich your Spiritual life 08/28/2016 62 Welcome Back UWSP Students- a Wealth of Art on campus 2016 08/26/2016 73 Welcome Back UWSP Students 2016 - Relax, Study or Dine at the DUC 08/27/2016 37  Welcome Back UWSP Students 2016 - Communication Arts Center  08/28/2016    ... 08/28/2016

Welcome Back UWSP Students 2016 - Enjoy some Culture at the Fine Arts Center I am not a very artistic person but I do enjoy other people's art, so I never miss an opportunity to wander through this building on campus.      The Exhibits change often and there is always something to see and enjoy.     More Welcome Back to Uwsp Tour Posts  Welcome Back UWSP Students to the 2016-17 School Year 08/14/2016   Welcome Back UWSP Students 2016 - Enrich your Spiritual life 08/28/2016 62 Welcome Back UWSP Students- a Wealth of Art on campus 2016 08/26/2016 73 Welcome Back UWSP Students 2016 - Relax, Study or Dine at the DUC 08/27/2016 37  Welcome Back UWSP Students 2016 - Communication Arts Center  08/28/2016    Welcome Back UWSP Students 2016 - The LRC aka the Library  08/28/2016    Welcome Back U... 08/28/2016

Welcome Back UWSP Students 2016 - Science Building & Paper Science Center     Possibly the largest building on campus and the home of UWSP's world renowned Paper Science Lab.Paper Science students nearly live here and other Natural Resource spend a fair amount of time here during their first 2 years of school.   More Welcome Back to Uwsp Tour Posts  Welcome Back UWSP Students to the 2016-17 School Year 08/14/2016   Welcome Back UWSP Students 2016 - Enrich your Spiritual life 08/28/2016 62 Welcome Back UWSP Students- a Wealth of Art on campus 2016 08/26/2016 73 Welcome Back UWSP Students 2016 - Relax, Study or Dine at the DUC 08/27/2016 37  Welcome Back UWSP Students 2016 - Communication Arts Center  08/28/2016    Welcome Back UWSP Students 2016 - The LRC aka the Library  08/28/2016    W... 08/28/2016

Welcome Back UWSP Students 2016 - The LRC aka the Library  This is the place that all serious students should be familiar with.  When I first arrived at UWSP over 30 years ago my favorite place here was the natural history museum on the ground floor.  I soon discovered that my grades were to survive I would need to use this place as a way to hide from my friends and the distractions that kept me from studying before the big exams.  My best study place was a private study room on the fifth floor which was private for a while until a few of my friends discovered where I was hiding and they came here to study too, luckily visiting was limited by noise rules in the library.  More Welcome Back to Uwsp Tour Posts  Welcome Back UWSP Students to the 2016-17 School Year 08/14/2016   Welcome Back... 08/28/2016

Welcome Back UWSP Students 2016 - Communication Arts Center  This is the Communication Arts Center, which not only houses the UWSP Pointer Newspaper (where I used to write a very long time ago), the campus radio station and TV studio, but it also graduates many fine communication students every year.  Comm degrees come with an emphasis in several areas including Public Relations, Advertising, Mass Media, and Interpersonal/organizational.  There of course are many distinguished graduates of this college including Bob Crane (Forester) and Terry Porter (NBA player and coach) I hope you enjoyed our series on UWSP (the rest of the series is listed below), when considering off campus housing I hope that you will give us a call to see what we can do to help find a nice home for you.  More Welc... 08/28/2016

Welcome Back UWSP Students 2016 - Enrich your Spiritual life  There are several opportunities on and around campus for a little prayer, besides the obvious classrooms just before a test.  Stevens Point is a town full of churches with a great opportunity for students of most faiths to spend some time with God.   A few notable places to check out include The Newman Center, Holy Spirit Catholic Parish, and the Peace Lutheran Campus Center.And a great place for a study break with free beverages and snacks is Franciscans Downtown or https://www.facebook.com/1000MainSt     When looking for a great Home while attending UWSP, give us a call, we can help.     More Welcome Back to Uwsp Tour Posts  Welcome Back UWSP Students to the 2016-17 School Year 08/14/2016   Welcome Back UWSP Students 2016 -... 08/28/2016

Welcome Back UWSP Students 2016 - Relax, Study or Dine at the DUC  When I was at UWSP this was known as the UC or University center, but more recently somebody thought it would be a good idea to put a very attractive addition on the front with several stores and of course let the current students pay a pile of extra cash.  Along with this new addition, came a new name, it is now known as the Lee Sherman Dreyfuss University Center, at first this was shortened to the LSD-UC, but someone thought that it might look a little strange to have LSD in the name of the new addition so it was shortened a little more to the DUC or "duck", which is an ok name for a university center with so many wildlife majors around.  This is a great place to spend some time, great for meetings, relaxing, eating lu... 08/27/2016

Welcome Back UWSP Students- a Wealth of Art on campus 2016  Like many Universities, UWSP has a wealth of art.  Today I mainly took pictures of some of the outdoor art.  You can find art in several buildings including the College of Fine arts, the Library, and the University Center.  You can also find it scattered around campus along the sidewalks and on the side of the CNR building just north of the sundial.  Some of this outdoor art is spectacular and some of is less about art and more about p.t. Barnum salesmanship (a sucker born every day) (like those chunks of rusty iron outside of the library).  This one could be a case of good salesmanship in that it is basically a big rock on a pile of dirt, but something about it strikes me in a good way, maybe it is all the foliage planted arou... 08/26/2016

Welcome Back UWSP Students 2016 - Enjoy the CNR Mural   Just before I started attending UWSP in 1981 I had the pleasure of watching a group of art students assembling and installing the big Natural Resource Mural on the south side of the College of Natural Resources.   It is a fascinating computer generated mural of several natural history type scenes all made up of little ceramic tiles with various natural resource related images including wildlife, trees, water molecules, paper machines, surveying equip and many other natural resource images.   Stop by spend some time enjoying the simplicity and complexity of this impressive work of art and engineering.    (Above is the far away view from across the sundial.)(Below are a few up close and personal images of tiles within the mural.)    ... 08/24/2016