Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Ruff, Laschen, Haines, Krause, Van Dyke, Colrue, Lindner
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 10/05/2022
Clark Electric Breakfast (Appreciation - 2022)
By Edward DuBois
The nonprofit Clark Electric Cooperative, with River Country Co-op, held an appreciation breakfast for its members, to whom it provides electric service.
The annual breakfast was held Sept. 24 at Clark Electric’s building just outside of Greenwood. Mike Ruff, director of operations, organized the event.
The free breakfast included sausage, eggs, pancakes and drinks. Aside from the breakfast, there was a food drive, a bouncy house for children, a contest by Marshfield Clinic to guess the weight of a large pumpkin for children 12 and under, pumpkin decorating and barrel rides for kids.
Outside the entrance to the event was a little barrel train hooked up to a riding lawn mower, an attraction from Tractors for Autism and Disabilities (TFAD). The nonprofit supports people with special needs, including by operating an afterschool tutoring program in Loyal.
“We are trying to have some representation of who we are,” said TFAD member Mary Laschen at the event. “Kids love it.”
TFAD started out with financially supporting people in small ways thanks to grants from the Adler-Clark Electric Community Commitment Foundation before expanding.
At the first table inside the entrance, Sheriff Scott Haines oversaw drug-take-back tubs for people to drop off expired or unwanted prescription medications. Drug Take Back Day is a Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Administration program held every spring, but the sheriff was asked to attend so more rural people had a chance to drop off their medications. The protocol deters people from flushing prescription medication down drains and inadvertently contaminating the local water supply, by giving them an alternative.
“People might not know where to dispose of them,” Haines also said.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office has a drug disposal box available year-round. Call 715-743-3157 for details.
For the food drive, many people dropped off bags of food items for those in need.
Greenwood Emergency Medical Services was also on site to give free blood pressure readings to raise awareness for hypertension, the “silent killer.”
After that was the line of tables where Clark Electric employees and a family business served breakfast.
The family-owned business was Uncle Pancake and Princess Pancake, run by Jeff Krause. It has been in operation for 35 years. Breanna Van Dyke and her mother, June Colrue, made the pancakes fresh for each attendee and flipped them from the pan right onto the person’s plate.
From there, attendees could move along the line to have their plates filled, then move to a dining area.
The morning started slow and dreary. A heavily overcast sky and a light misting drove the early arrivals inside right away.
Children were quick to gravitate to the other attractions like the bouncy house and the pumpkin decorating tables.
Bobby Lindner takes a quick break from decorating his pumpkin at the annual Clark Electric Cooperative Member Appreciation Breakfast Sept. 24. Edward DuBois/Clark County Press
When the weather cleared, the line reached to the door and the first batch of children loaded into the barrel train, easing concerns it would go unused thanks to the weather.
Altogether, it seemed a successful way to give back to the community Clark Electric served for the past year.
Outside the breakfast hall, children hopped into the barrel train provided by Tractors for Autism and Disabilities to take the day’s first ride around the property after eating.
