Blogophilia Week 38.16 – Good Fortune

From the house of Marvin Martian: Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Dear Earthlings and Fellow Blogophilians!! Welcome to Week 38 of Year 16 in Blogophilia! Make sure you wear green on St. Paddy’s Day, lest you may get pinched! 😉

Blogophilia Facebook group and on WordPress blog topic parameters & how it works

Hard Bonus: Mention a mysterious location or haunted place

Easy Bonus: Include a gold or silver coin

Leprechaun O’path

We could all use some Good Fortune. I am fortunate that my place of employment is being cool about my work there. With this major surgery, I was able to get this weekend off, and will have the opportunity to make it up to my co-worker later in the month. And because I will be able to pick up an extra silver coin or even some gold coins later!

Winslow School

I’d like to know more about Winslow School, originally Racine’s 3rd Ward school. At it’s former location, people, especially students have seen apparitions & more. When I was about 19, I was 1 of 6 college students to go there to “internationalize” the school. My college contacts from the International Student Organization included a guy from Saudi Arabia to go into 5th grade, a guy from the Philippines in 4th grade, a Cantonese guy in 3rd grade, a Pakistani gal in 2nd grade, Mandarin Chinese gal in 1st grade, and I took kindergarten (both AM & PM0. At the end of the school year, we came back for their open house when all the parents came, also. The artwork, projects, etc. were so fun to look at.

East Meadows Cemetary

The next place is East Meadows Cemetery. There is a West Meadows way out in the county, but I don’t know about that one. East Meadows started off being kind of like a Potter’s Grave for unclaimed family members & still born babies before some compassion went into those babies’ families. Many got moved to West. I can’t be for sure, but some of the homeless people who have passed are rumored to be buried here, and especially if anyone has unresolved issues, who knows.

I’m not one to really believe in spooks, but, let’s face it. If our spirits live on past our bodies, where do they go? Not everyone goes to an afterlife, so are these haunts in purgatory? Don’t know they aren’t physical anymore? I have questions…

The Capitol Theater: A Part of Racine History

The Capitol, built in 1928, just before WWII broke out, with an old Wurlitzer organ that was built in. It could show both sound & silent movies. In 1976, the organ was sadly taken out, “twinned” to create 2 smaller theaters that was renamed The Park (for it’s proximity to Washington Park & Park High School) would become one of the 1st Value Cinemas where older movies would come back at a cheaper price for people to watch. Being that I lived near there, I’ve seen many movies, used it as a meetup place, and so many fond memories of the architecture… In the fall of 1987, not long after I graduated high school, it closed down. The current owner wanted to be able to use one theater for movies and the other as kind of a museum and collected a lot of Racine antiques. But, due to health problems (that I can relate to), things happened… Here are some important links, in hopes local people especially, or those who would be interested in future visiting to have a look at what we’re missing out on.

How ornate, intricate, majestic, antique, unique, awesome, so many different adjectives come to mind...  I remember wanting to come in, possibly to see an old movie, or maybe the Rocky Horror Picture Show, or whatever it could be. I think it would be neat to go in dressed as a flapper, just to celebrate the era this was erected.

I remember wanting to come in, possibly to see an old movie, or maybe the Rocky Horror Picture Show, or whatever it could be.  I think it would be neat to go in dressed as a flapper, just to celebrate the era this was erected.

To learn more about The Capitol/Park Theater, please visit the website - there is an option to be able to pledge money to help restore the building. If nothing happens, you won’t be asked to give the pledge.  A Go Fund Me has been set up to raise funds to buy the building. It is a tax-deductible donation, and if the building ends up not being acquired for the purposes of Preservation Racine, which an organization that works to preserve historic landmarks, buildings, and more, locally.  You can passively support the organization on Facebook.

Please also consider signing the petition to send to the Mayor of Racine, WI & City Council of Racine right here.  I encourage local & regional people to sign & share a memory by commenting. Those who support keeping & updating the building is especially encouraged to comment, especially if there is a design to visit or share an experience of lost local history near you that you wish you still had. Thanks in advance for reading & hopefully supporting!

This is our last chance!  The raze could start as early as 02/03/2021.  City Council decided that on 02/19/2021.  We are asking everyone to write their alderman to please put a 3-month pause on razing the theater.  The aldermen who voted no are:

District 7 - Horton - Maurice.Horton@cityofracine.org

District 15 - Lemke - Melissa.Lemke@cityofracine.org

District 5 - Levie - Jennifer.Levie@cityofracine.org

District 14 - Meekma - Jason.Meekma@cityofracine.org

District 10 - Peete - Sam.Peete@cityofracine.org

District 4 - Santiago - Edwin.Santiagojr@cityofracine.org

District 3 - Tate - John.TateII@cityofracine.org

District 8 - West - Marcus.West@cityofracine.org

Please send a big thank you to those who voted yes:

District 1 - Coe - Jeff.Coe@cityofracine.org

District 2 - Jones - Mollie.Jones@cityofracine.org

District 9 - Jung - Trevor.Jung@cityofracine.org

District 11 - Land - Mary.Land@cityofracine.org

District 6 - Peterson - Jeffrey.Peterson@cityofracine.org

District 13 - Taft - Natalia.Taft@cityofracine.org

Not sure if he was not present or abstained:

District 12 - Perez - Henry.Perez@cityofracine.org

Whether you agree or disagree with their vote, please be respectful.  We catch more bees with honey than vinegar.

*Fun Fact* - A New Orleans style music group, STELLA, has offered to do a fundraising performance here to help Save the Capitol-Park Theater!

Interesting tidbits of Racine, WI

Most people know me as an advocate.  Even if you don't, it's probably one of the 1st things that come to mind, just because I don't ever seem to step out of that role, even during a regular dinner.  That is primary before even my interest in politics.  What people may or may not know, is that I love history just as well.  I love learning about it.

I came to Racine in 1977 as an 8-year-old from Tokyo.  I've always loved being near large bodies of water and learned that Captain Gilbert Knapp is the founder of "Port Gilbert" (where the mouth of the Root River meets Lake Michigan), and has an elementary school named after him, which is the 1st American school I attended.  Neat.  Captain G. Knapp first was a shipmate at the ripe young age of 14 and eventually served in the Civil War.  Here is a picture, potentially a part of his uniform that is displayed in the VFW.  Pretty neat, isn't it?

Captain Knapp did all sorts of neat things, like start a business, served in public office, but my favorite part is that he was a military guy.  Seriously, who doesn't love our brave men in uniform?  Just to let you know, the author and my friend Soldwolf has also served in the Navy for a LONG time, and please, do NOT call him Sir, because he works for a living!  If you wouldn't be so kind, though, please keep reading the chapters of his story, Meeting the Parents, which is a military Sci-Fi with an inter-species relationship along with the humor that goes with life in combat, cultural differences, and everything else that comes with life.  Links to previous chapters have been posted in previous blogs.  You can access them when you go to read the chapters since there is a list to the side you can click on to see where you're at and go from there.  Chapters are listed from newest to oldest, from what I can see, FYI.  The author is also a Racine citizen.

Chapter 9:  Later That Day 
Chapter 10:  Back Yard
Chapter 11:  Outdoor Dinner
Chapter 12:  Grandmother

Please support these stories here, with enough hits on each chapter and story, it's one step closer to being able to get published eventually, into an actual book.  In helping to do so, you're even helping this advocate possibly get a signed copy of the book, which would be so exciting!