Honoring Sauk City

HONORING SAUK CITY -- (Extensions of Remarks - June 25, 2004)

SPEECH OF
HON. TAMMY BALDWIN
OF WISCONSIN
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 2004

Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Sauk City as it celebrates its sesquicentennial. Sauk City is Wisconsin's oldest incorporated village; it was founded in 1854, just 6 years after the great state of Wisconsin.

This scenic part of my district is situated on the beautiful Wisconsin River and attracts thousands of visitors each year to boat, hike, camp, and bike. Sauk City's great outdoors provide not only a wonderful backdrop for leisure activities, but also have proved to sustain this community and its strong investment in agricultural trade.

Sauk City can pride itself on being a community which has always placed an emphasis on the safety of its residents. It is home to Wisconsin's oldest-standing fire station and volunteer fire department; Sauk City is also a member of the oldest joint law enforcement agency in our state.

I am honored to be participating in Sauk City's sesquicentennial festivities, which will kick off with a parade through town, complete with horse-drawn carriages, old tractors, classic cars, and floats depicting life in Sauk City from 1854 to today. Residents will be able to see scenes of old school rooms and a quilting bee and veterans will be driving authentic military vehicles. The parade will conclude at August Derleth Park, where community members can view circus wagons from the Circus World Museum, see horses pulling a Leinenkugel Beer Wagon, watch cloggers, singers, jugglers, and Mexican and Latin-American dancing demonstrations. There will even be a beard contest and a hot dog-eating contest for those who feel particularly competitive. A fireworks display will conclude the festivities.

This celebration of 150 years for Sauk City demonstrates the strength of this closely-knit community and offers the promise of continued stability in the future.