Fall is a great time to enjoy watching those magnificent sandhill cranes. This is the time when they flock together in large numbers. One of the places you can easily see them is at the Oconto Marsh, one of their staging areas; they stop here and similar places around Wisconsin to rest and replenish energy reserves before starting or continuing their migration south. You can find the Oconto Marsh one mile northeast of Oconto.

Having finished the story of my great-great grandmother Anna Maria Holzschuh, I am turning the page to write about one of her hundreds of descendants, my daughter, Jina. By the time you read this, she will be in the last week of her birthday month. We have this thing in our family about celebrating a birthday for the entire month because it’s fun to celebrate the good stuff.

UW-Whitewater A pair of area women attending UW-Whitewater have been named resident assistants (RA) for the 2024-25 academic year. They are Lily Hakes, from Suring, who is studying biology, and Hannah Marien, from Shawano, who is studying criminology. RAs are part-time student staff members who live in the residence halls with students, serve as a resource and positive role model, and help build a sense of community by hosting floor events. Prosp

When my kids were little, I always got schmaltzy just before school started. Summers on the farm were busy, yet the freedom we had without the boundaries of school commitments was liberating.

Untimely death came calling on a regular basis in the 19th century, especially for women. Pregnancy and childbirth were a common method of culling the human herd. Many men lost their wives to the rigors of labor and delivery, and if a woman survived the ordeal, her child could easily fall victim to a fatal illness or accident. My great-great-grandmother Anna Maria Holzschuh was very familiar with the Grim Reaper’s cruel customs.

When people ask what is my favorite bird, it is like asking which is my favorite child. I have different choices for different reasons — perhaps their beauty, melodic singing or silly personality. One bird that I always include in my answer is the red-headed woodpecker. I seldom saw red-headed woodpeckers until 15 years ago when I drove through Necedah National Wildlife Refuge.