LIVING HERE
Polar Plunge 2025!
Thrill seekers from all over participate in polar bear plunges mostly for the challenge and adrenaline rush. Some do it for the fundraising aspect as most are connected to a charity. Others do it just to do something exciting and eccentric to welcome in the new year. As always, the Williams Bay Polar Plunge is set for January 1, 2025, at noon Join the fun and take the plunge into the freezing waters of Geneva Lake. This year it may not be as frigid as previous with the unusually warm weather this December. The weather is expected to be in the middle thirties on New Year’s Day. Plungers and spectators will congregate at the Williams Bay Beach just next to Edgewater Park, unless the beach is frozen in which case the plunge will take place at Pier 290 on Leichty Drive in Williams Bay. A few words of advice before jumping in; do not remove clothing until you are ready to plunge, wear some kind of footwear to protect your feet from cuts and scrapes, and have a dry towel or blanket ready and waiting for you when you get out of the water. Happy New Year!
With the start of the new year just ahead, so is the preparation for the upcoming spring election.
The Spring primary if needed will be on February 18, 2025, and the Spring election is on April 1, 2025. The four alderpersons up for election are 1st District Alder-Incumbent Shari Straube, 2nd District Alder-Incumbent Linda Frame, 3rd District Alder-Incumbent Peg Esposito, and 4th District Alder-Incumbent Ken Howell. Alderperson Esposito has already filed her notification of noncandidacy. All those who wish to be on the ballot, including incumbents, need to get started with the processes.
The Lake Geneva City Website has all the information and forms needed to run. The required forms and checklist including candidacy paperwork are all on the site. The deadline for candidacy forms is January 7, 2025. Submission of and review of paperwork can be done by scheduling a time with the city clerk.
BID Interview:
“My husband was raised in Brazil, and I was an exchange student there during high school. I didn’t meet him there, but we met in college because of it. We both have Masters, almost PhDs, and, when we were in grad school, we went back to Brazil.
In our travels, we brought back some stones and gems for friends. Word started to get out and, all of a sudden, people were asking us for more. At the time, in the jewelry industry, it was pearl, ruby, sapphire, diamond… it was really limited in what you’d see in stores. We had such a unique product, eventually, my husband suggested we take some to a couple of jewelry stores and see if they wanted to buy any. As a hobby, we started wholesaling to jewelry stores. We quickly became busy, and Paul decided to quit his job as a college professor to sell loose stones full-time. We opened the store in 1977 and kept the wholesale components in tandem with the Brick-and-Mortar up till about 10 years ago.
Perhaps one of the most notable times in our history is when we designed a piece for the first YMCA auction. It was a gold pendant with the lake shape cut out of the center. It was in the early 80’s and the pendant was 14K gold. At the auction, they went crazy for it. The following Monday morning, people came down wanting to buy one. But we had only made one. Our whole theme is ‘original’. We make one-of-a-kind pieces. We don’t repeat. We had so many people asking for one. We started making a trademarked line called ‘The Geneva Collection’. The line features the Geneva Lake shape on a wide selection of jewelry. We design all of the pieces to offer a unique and comprehensive collection.”
– Kathleen Yih, Owner, Chinawest Jewelers of Lake Geneva, 803 W Main St
