Submitted by Liz Gunderson, Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services

ELLSWORTH, WI – Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services (PPCS) recently awarded first-quarter grants to local non-profits. The Pierce Pepin Cares board approved $2,000 through the Federated Youth Foundation (FYF). FYF is funded through abandoned capital credits.

AutismLM Corp. received a $1,000 grant to support their mission of educating and normalizing autism through reading resources and presentations that help prevent judgment, loneliness, bullying, and misunderstanding. “We donate books to area schools, libraries, therapy centers, preschools, and daycares. The Little Lindsey book series covers the following topics: getting a haircut, being a picky eater, making a friend, and going to therapy,” said Lauri Moreland of AutismLM Corp. “Additionally, we provide reading resources to adults through our family story, which is based on living, surviving, and thriving in a world affected by autism.”

Family Resource Center St. Croix Valley’s (FRCSCV) $1,000 grant will be used to support Special Events and multiple Play & Learn series in Pierce County. This funding will enable FRCSCV to provide programming to well over 100 families. All the programming is free to attendees. “FRCSCV’s programming is evidence-based and is designed to provide education and support to families with children prenatal through kindergarten,” said Neil Kline of FRCSCV. “FRCSCV is here to ensure parents have the education and support they need to raise their children successfully, and we all benefit when that happens. Early life is critical to establishing the basic skills needed to succeed in school and, eventually, in the workforce.”

“Federated Youth Foundation funds are used to support educational needs in our community,” said PPCS president and CEO Nate Boettcher. “FYF is funded by PPCS members through abandoned capital credits. The educational efforts supported by FYF empower everyone in our community to turn dreams into reality and foster a bright future for all.”

Pierce Pepin Cares provides charitable contributions to nonprofit organizations that offer programs and support projects to enhance the quality of life for those within the communities PPCS serves.  Pierce Pepin Cares grants are awarded quarterly by the Pierce Pepin Cares board of directors. All nine PPCS directors serve on the Pierce Pepin Cares board of directors, along with one PPCS member and one PPCS employee. Nonprofit organizations interested in applying may visit piercepepin.coop or call 800-924-2133 for information. The next application deadline is June 15.

Pierce Pepin Cares is the 501(c)(3) charitable foundation of Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services, an energy services cooperative located in Ellsworth, Wisconsin, offering electric utility services to homes and businesses. As a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services is committed to being safe, accountable, innovative, and united and is dedicated to helping its communities live better.  For more information, call 800-924-2133 or visit piercepepin.coop.

Submitted by Amanda Connelly, St. Croix EDC

ST. CROIX COUNTY, WI – The St. Croix Economic Development Corporation (SCEDC), in partnership with the St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center and the UW-River Falls Small Business Development Center, is excited to launch the Scale-Up Challenge, a pitch competition designed to identify and support small businesses with high growth potential. The competition is open to small businesses and startups that have been in operation for at least one year, have a proven product or service, and are headquartered in St. Croix County. Applicants must demonstrate a clear growth strategy and potential for economic impact.

Eligibility and Evaluation Criteria: Qualified applicants must submit a detailed application covering their business profile, market opportunity, growth strategy, financial overview, and expected community impact. A panel of judges will evaluate submissions based on the significance of the problem being addressed and the innovativeness of the proposed solution.

Market potential, including scalability and target audience understanding, will also be considered. Business expansion strategies will be assessed to determine feasibility, clarity, and long-term sustainability. The strength and execution capability of the team, financial viability, and funding strategy will be reviewed to ensure realistic alignment with growth projections. Additionally, judges will take into account the potential positive social or economic impact the business may have on the broader community.

Competition Stages and Key Dates:

• Applications Open: March 7, 2025.
• Submission Deadline: April 14, 2025.
• Finalist Notification: May 2, 2025.
• Pitch Presentation and Awards: May 21, 2025 (4:00–6:00 PM).

Finalists will present their pitches live before a panel of judges, competing for a $5,000 prize to fund their growth initiatives, a one-year co-working membership at the St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center, a one-year small business membership from St. Croix EDC, and mentorship from industry experts. They will also gain access to legal, marketing, and technology resources, as well as valuable networking opportunities with investors, partners, and fellow entrepreneurs.

For more details and to apply, visit stcroixedc.com/events. For inquiries, contact Amanda Connelly at 715-690-210 or amanda@stcroixedc.com.

Submitted by Mary Chapman

WOODVILLE, WI – Ron Miller, of Woodville, Wisconsin has received a Quilt of Valor (QOV) in a formal ceremony in a nursing home for rehab in Glenwood City, Wisconsin on Friday, February 21, 2025. Ron, and his wife Ann, moved to Woodville, WI. late last year to be closer to their family due to health issues.

Ron Miller served in the United States Army from 1967 to 1970. After he completed basic training, he was sent to Vietnam where, as a carpenter, he built prefab buildings, barracks, airplane hangars and anything else needed. He was awarded the Vietnam Campaign medal and two overseas medals.

Ron became an accomplished cabinet maker and master craftsman all his adult life.

The Miller’s former neighbor in Iowa, Mary Chapman, had started the acquisition of Ron’s QOV quilt earlier in 2024. Due to their move and the timing of things it was not to be done in Iowa. Mary continued to work on getting this brought to completion. She contacted QOV and was put in touch with Jennie Green, Group Leader of the Stitching Friends QOV group from Rice Lake, WI.

The quilt, while presented in Wisconsin, was made in Oelwein, Iowa, by Outer Creek Fayette County QOV chapter members Dee Brandt, Daryl Brandt and Dawn Lammers. It was delivered in person by Mary Chapman.

Ron also received a Vietnam War Commemoration Certificate with a Vietnam Veteran Lapel Pin.

To understand what the Quilt of Valor is and its importance…In 2003, a quilter named Catherine Robers started the movement that became Quilts of Valor when her son was deployed in Iraq. Their mission is to cover Service Members and Veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.

Quilts of Valor Foundation has awarded as of February 28, 2025, those comforted in February of this year with quilts 2,030, year to date 4,288 quilts, and 405,649 Quilts of Valor since its beginning in 2003.

The Quilt is an expression of gratitude meant to thank and comfort our veterans. We honor them for leaving all they hold dear to serve, whether in time of crisis or in time of peace. This Quilt of Valor unequivocally says thank you for their service, sacrifice and valor in serving our nation. We ask them to use the quilt and not pack it away or use it for display.

Anyone can nominate a Service Member or Living Veteran for the Quilt of Valor. You can find a nomination form on the Quilts of Valor website, QOVF.  Once a nomination is made the form goes to National headquarters, they assign the request to designated state representatives who in turn assign the Service Member or Living Veteran to a Quilt of Valor group leader in their area to make a Quilt of Valor for the veteran.

By Julie Huebel, Pierce County Historical Association

ELMWOOD, WI – I tend to have a pretty poor memory in terms of my own experiences; however, I have an uncanny ability to remember an acquaintance’s grandmother’s maiden name or something obscure like that. I sadly remember very little of my school days, but one memory stays with me very vividly. Picture it…Elmwood High School, the mid-1990’s…school has long been let out and us athletes are done with after-school practice. I’m down in the girls’ locker room off the “old gym” (which in my day, was the ONLY gym), I hear something. The sound is coming from the gym above, I follow the sound and discover a high school student all alone, seated at a piano playing like a bone fide concert pianist. My jaw hit the proverbial ground when I realized the person playing the angelic music was Elmwood upperclassman, tough guy and jock, John Crownhart. That story is my way of saying, C is for Crownhart.

Without much effort, I was able to easily find a long line of Crownharts that came before Bill (John’s father), Ed, Joan, and Mark. Their parents, Phillip and Lucille (Schwartz), married in 1940 in Elmwood and farmed in Spring Lake Township. Phillip’s father, Arthur was born in Salem Township, growing up in the Grange Hall area, he married Mary Riley. Arthur’s parents were Selenous and Katherine (Zwickey). Selenous seems to have been married a few times, he is buried in Thurston Hill Cemetery between Beldenville and Ellsworth.

Selenous’ parents were Napoleon and Mahitable (Burgess). (THIS FAMILY HAS THE COOLEST NAMES!) Napoleon was born in New York, came to Wisconsin as a child, his family settled in Waukesha County and then later Fond du Lac County. Napoleon was a Sgt in the Civil War, serving in Co. D of the 35th Regiment.  Napoleon passed away in 1900 and is buried in Ellsworth’s Maple Grove Cemetery. His parents were Charles and Nancy (Donahue), also born in New York. Charles died in 1877 in Salem Township, as per the 27 September 1877 River Falls Journal, “…met with sudden death about eleven o-clock yesterday forenoon. He had been plowing and while unhitching his team the horses became unmanageable and ran away dragging him some distance and finally stopped. Mr. Crownhart started for the house and in attempting to climb over a fence he fell backwards and expired.”

He was also buried in Maple Grove Cemetery. He still owned land in Fond du Lac County at this time. It is reported in the book, ‘The History of Fond du Lac County Wisconsin’: “The first settlement in Ashford was made in the summer of 1846, by Henry Barnett, Josiah L. Perry, Charles Crownhart, and several others…they soon threw up log shanties and commenced clearing the land for crops for the ensuing year.”

Charles’ father was George Jr. (Johann George), also born in New York; he married Mary Hanson. George died in 1841, Mary in 1831; both are buried in the small East Settlement Cemetery in Bridgeport, New York, not far from Syracuse. George’s parents seem to have been Johann George Crownhart and his wife Anna (another Anna Crownhart!) of New York. I would have to spend more time on this, but George Sr. seems to have served in the Revolutionary War from 1776-1780 soon after arriving from Germany in 1773.