The Bright Side
In the Geneva Lake area, there are two types of residents.
There are the summer residents who live, or visit here, during the summer and there are year-round residents. Each group lives a distinct lifestyle. And tends to associate with others of the same or a similar lifestyle. However, when it comes to a collective view of the area’s future, the residents are divided differently than simply seasonal geography would denote. Some residents like what is here and would like to keep and maintain the small-town resort atmosphere with a pristine uncommercialized lake for its centerpiece. The others want to capitalize on the commercial development of the lake and the residential and commercial appeal of the area. This battle between the ‘environmentalists’ (if you will) and the commercial and residential development people of the area, has gone on for several decades, with the development side slowly winning out.
The two most notable large development exceptions were the defeat of the expansion of the Geneva Inn, and the defeat of the opening of the Hillmoor property to development. Both of those battles have been won, but the war over those properties goes on. This argument over development is likely to be heated to an extreme degree by the entrance of Tom Hartz, a pro-development candidate, into the city’s mayoral race. Tom Hartz, a former alderman in Lake Geneva, switched sides (after voting against it) to become the deciding vote that changed the city’s comprehensive plan to open the entire Hummel property (1/3 of the city) to commercial and residential development. And the lawsuit that followed. There can be little doubt where Hartz truly stands on the development issue, and why those who care about maintaining Lake Geneva’s small-town resort atmosphere with its pristine, uncommercialized lake as its centerpiece, should support any another candidate for mayor.
The New Year is welcomed in many ways, but the most extreme has got to be the Polar Plunge.
All over the world groups gather to celebrate together by jumping into the icy waters of a lake near them. Williams Bay and Geneva Lake plungers are no different. The 2018 Polar Plunge was one of the coldest the plungers could remember. A frigid -5 degrees, and -22, with the wind chill, made this year’s Polar Plunge about as extreme and crazy as you can get. This year the location was moved from the Williams Bay Beach to Pier 290 due to ice in the bay. Aerators had to be placed in the new location days before the event to keep the water from freezing. Thanks go to J.C. Plumbing and Heating, along with Gage marine, for their combined efforts in keeping the waters as ice-free and as safe as possible for the risk-taking extreme leapers this year. Attendance was down quite a bit from warmer previous years, but that was expected. Still, the forty, or so, die-hard leapers came and even convinced some first timers to come. It was a lot of fun. Welcome, 2018!
