Local News

By Sherrie Ball

About 165,400 people served in the Vietnam Conflict from Wisconsin. More than 1,200 perished. Of those, three men were from Crawford County.

Gordon L. Nagel was from Wauzeka. He was born April 8, 1948, the son of Lester and Christie (Aspenson) Nagel. From a large family, Gordon was one of 11 children.

He was a Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class (BM2) assigned Harbor Security with the U.S. Navy. Gordon enlisted in the Navy with his brother, Myron Nagel under the “Buddy System.” (The Navy Buddy Enlistment Program offers for the enlistment of small groups of not more than four male individuals or four female individuals who wish to stay together for as long as possible during their enlistment.)

By Correne Martin

Not many of us can say we’ve written a novel, especially as teenagers. Yet, Rachel Mergen, 17, a junior at River Ridge High School, can. In fact, Rachel has composed and self-published, via CreateSpace, three fantasy titles, the first when she was 13 and the second two at 16 and 17. A fourth will come out in March 2016.

“When I was little, I didn’t enjoy writing or reading that much. But I started writing song lyrics when I was in seventh grade,” Rachel said. “The vampire movies, like ‘Twilight’ and ‘Vampire Academy,’ came out when I was younger and this (her books) just kind of happened around then.”

Additional inspirations for Rachel have come from the band Imagine Dragons’ lyrics, the classic title “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and Amy Plum’s “Die for Me” series, which is based in Paris. “She’s one of my favorites. I’ve actually had conversations with her,” she noted.

Several Memorial Day observances are scheduled in area communities next week, including Prairie du Chien, McGregor, Wauzeka and Bloomington-Glen Haven.

Prairie du Chien
The annual parade will commence at 10:30 a.m., Monday, May 25. Marching units will proceed from the intersection of East Blackhawk Avenue and Michigan Street west to Beaumont Road and then south to the Ft. Crawford Military Cemetery. All marchers, including the PdC Honor Guard, Legionnaires, VFW members and all ex-servicemen, Legion and VFW Auxiliaries, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, patriotic organizations, school children carrying flowers and flags, Bluff View School band and the PdC High School band, are requested to assemble at the First Merit Bank parking lot on Michigan Street no later than 10:15 a.m. Monday.

By Correne Martin

As times have evolved over the past 23 years, so has the collection of unique merchandise at Avalo Designs in Prairie du Chien. Lucille and Avalo “Al” Berns have sold handmade wooden creations, religious and inspirational gifts, framed pictures and more at their retail store all those years. But, since they’ve continued working well past retirement age, and they’re ready for a well-deserved break, the time has come to go out of business. A storewide sale is going on now until an undetermined date, when they will hold a garage sale to further disperse of the retail.

“We have mixed feelings (about closing) after being here so long,” Lucille said. “We’ve gotten to know such nice people over the years, but we’re getting older and I’m tired of getting up every morning.”