February 15, 2016 at 3:48 p.m.
Rhinelander Lions Club celebrates 40th Winter Festival
Rhinelander Lions Club celebrates 40th Winter Festival
"I don't know exactly how many people we've got, but I know there's a couple hundred out there," said Dick Garrow of the Rhinelander Lions Club."This is our biggest winter fundraiser. We've got a lot invested in it. People really enjoy it and we have a great time every year."
Charles "Chuck" Franz, hasn't missed a Fisheree in 40 years. "That first year we ran it out of the park," he said with a laugh. "Somebody had a motorhome and we used that for our headquarters."
Franz said the event was popular, even back then, with approximately 75 anglers in the competition. During the second or third year, he said, they added a polar plunge.
This year there were thousands of dollars in cash and prizes awarded to lucky anglers and every youth who registered a fish was treated to a special prize.
Those names were also put into a drawing for bigger prizes. The Lion Club also gave away four kids' bikes during the event.
"Everybody has a chance to win a lot of money, (and there's) a lot of beautiful prizes, great food, great camaraderie," Garrow said. "You name it, we've got it. The proceeds, most of it goes down to a Lions Camp in Rosholt. We send people down and we usually pay two weeks for each person, and sometimes we have five or six people that we send. They might have diabetes or they are handicapped or blind. We send them to camp, and we also have a lodge down there for people that we've built. So the proceeds from this ice fishing tournament let us do those kinds of things for people."
Garrow said the paddle wheel was a favorite of anglers and spectators alike.
"We've got all kinds of prizes for the paddle wheel that were donated from businesses from all over Rhinelander and the surrounding area. When we start the paddle wheel, this building gets really loud," he said of the enclosed shelter at Hodag Park near the boat landing.
Prizes were awarded for the top three northerns largest walleyes, crappies, perch and bluegills each day.
The biggest northern was worth $500 per day.
Saturday's results were:
Northern:
1st Place: Justin Karpf 32 1/4 inches
2nd place: Larry Mahner 30 3/8 inches
3rd place: Robert Froh 29 5/8 inches
Walleye: Jeremy Walker 18 1/4 inches
Bluegill: Tim Miller 8 5/8 inches
Crappie: Derek Chaveris 12 1/2 inches
Perch: Matt Chojnacki 9 5/8 inches
In the kids' category, Kody Litzen placed first in northern, Mason Schmidt in crappie, Luke Taege in perch and Maddie Barnes in bluegill.
Sunday's results were:
Northern:
1st place: 33 3/8 Ramanio Bronson
2nd place: 28 5/16 Matt Fish
3rd place: 26 9/16 Eric Engstrom
Walleye: no walleyes caught
Bluegill: 8 7/8 Tim Miller
Crappie: 13 1/16 Scott Hatelback
Perch: 11 1/8 Wayne Kraft
Kids' winners were as follows: Jade Chiamulera (perch), Kody Litzen (northern), Kendyl Barber (crappie), Keira Weber (bluegill).
Other non-profit organizations were represented as well. Members of the Rhinelander High School music department sold baked goods to competitors and the general public.
Let's Go Fishing had a display and information about their organization available as well. The group has a 32-foot pontoon boat it keeps on Boom Lake during the summer.
They take sight-seeing cruises and fishing trips with seniors, veterans and disabled people from throughout the area all summer long, free of charge. Anyone wishing to donate their day's catch could give their fish to Wild Instincts to be used to feed the animals at the rescue.
The Lions are a very active club in the Rhinelander area. They provide a Christmas Not Alone dinner every year and are also responsible for helping to provide eye exams in area schools.
They also have funds available for families who cannot afford the eyeglasses themselves. Garrow said these are just a few of the events the Rhinelander Lions are involved in over the course of the year. He said the club is a lot of fun and the people involved make it a great time for him.
Anyone interested in joining the Lions can stop in at a club meeting. Meetings are held at 6 p.m. the first and third Monday of every month at the Claridge Restaurant inside the Days Inn and Suites in Rhinelander.
Beckie Joki may be reached at [email protected].
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