Rotary Club to Host “PARTY for the PLAYGROUND!” for Inclusive Playground Project
Mequon, Wis. — Families across Ozaukee County and Milwaukee’s Northshore will have the chance to preview a new vision for community recreation at “PARTY for the PLAYGROUND!” a free, family-friendly event celebrating the future Rotary All-User Playground at Mequon Rotary Park, 4100 Highland Road.
Event Information
What: PARTY for the PLAYGROUND!
When: Saturday, August 15, 12–5 p.m.
Where: Mequon Rotary Park – South Playground
Music, carnival games, inflatables
Cost: Free and open to the public
Food trucks on site
Live Music
12–2 p.m. — Kid Boogie Down Kid Boogie Down is a full-sensory, family-friendly dance party for all ages. Milwaukee favorite DJ Reuben brings a high-energy dance experience, packed with family-friendly favorites and today’s biggest hits. 2:30–5 p.m. — The BriTins Milwaukee’s own The BriTins will recreate the Beatles era. Join them as they play hits from the Fab Four, from "Love Me Do" to "Let It Be.” Follow along on a Magical Mystery Tour of sights and sounds through that remarkable era of the 1960's, recreated on authentic Beatles gear.
Additional Activities
Beer garden with nonalcoholic options
Inflatables provided by Elite Sports Clubs
Sponsor booths with free games, activities and prizes
Virtual reality goggles offering a tour of the planned playground.
Building a Playground for Everyone
Designed as a one-of-a-kind, fully inclusive gathering space, the Rotary All-User Playground aims to create a welcoming environment for children and adults of every age and ability. Every feature of the playground has been selected with accessibility, safety, and community connection in mind.
Planned playground features include:
Swings, slides, and climbing structures for all ages
Wheelchair-accessible swings and gliders
Sensory and musical play features
Quiet, shaded retreat spaces
Exercise equipment for adults
Safe, accessible entrances, pathways, and rest areas
“PARTY for the PLAYGROUND!” will give attendees a sneak peek at the project while offering a full afternoon of entertainment and activities for families.
For more information, contact Jenne Hohn at mequonrotarypark@gmail.com, (707) 337-3490.
John Rosing was born the 5th of six children in Cleveland, Ohio. He remains close to his siblings, who all stayed in Ohio, as well as many of his childhood friends. He met his wife, the lovely Mimi, in college at Xavier University. He later received a master’s degree from Xavier as well.
John’s career spanned several midwest cities working in hospital administration. He later specialized in hospital regulatory compliance and eventually went out on his own as a consultant. He is now semi-retired.
He first joined Rotary when he was working in La Crosse in 1983 and joined our club in 1994 when he settled in Thiensville.
In 2024 John was elected to be President of Thiensville. As part of that role, he serves on the board of the Southern Ozaukee Fire Department. John is a member of Lumen Christi Parish. He is also a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus and is currently serving in his 3rd year as Grand Knight of the Lumen Christi Parish Council
One of the major projects of the Thiensville-Mequon Rotary Club has been the City of Mequon Rotary Park, which was officially launched September 17, 1987 marking the fiftieth anniversary of the club's existence.
The site encompasses approximately 95 acres and is located on Highland Road near the Milwaukee Area Technical College's north campus. The Thiensville-Mequon Rotary club donated the site to the City of Mequon in 1991 and has remained actively involved in its development as a recreational resource for residents across the Thiensville-Mequon community.
In 1992, the T-M Rotary was awarded a "Significant Achievement Award" by the President of Rotary International, Rajendra K. Saboo, as a result of 5 years of effort in turning the club's vision for an active use park in the City of Mequon into a reality. District Governor Rick Luedke was so impressed by T-M Rotary's success with City of Mequon Rotary Park that he petitioned Rotary International to present this highest honor. Our club, and District 6270 is deeply honored by this award, as it is rarely awarded. Since the award was presented to our club, many additional improvements have been added to the park, including 2 pavilions and the gazebo, three baseball fields and two playgrounds.
A Letter From Our Leaders:
Dear Friends,
Parks have the power to bring people together. They positively impact a community by promoting economic development, a higher quality of life, and improved mental and physical health. Parks that accommodate all users—not just children, but people of all abilities and ages—are more important than ever.
With a motto of "Service Above Self," the two Rotary Clubs that serve Mequon and Thiensville have improved our local communities for over 100 years. Construction of an All-User Playground is a critical addition to Mequon Rotary Park. With the community's support, Rotary is committed to making it their signature project for all to enjoy.
The decision to pursue an All-User Playground was not made lightly. It was initially identified as a need in the City of Mequon's 2019 master planning efforts. COVID put the project on hold. Since July 2022, a significant amount of time has been spent discussing, studying, planning, and determining that it is sorely needed.
Most of the playground equipment in Mequon parks is over 30 years old. Some of it had already been used when donated. When speaking with other communities about their all-inclusive playgrounds, they overwhelmingly indicated that those playgrounds are their most popular, not just for children with special needs but for all users.
We are excited about this new, state-of-the-art, accessible, fun playground that will enrich the lives of our residents and be a place that Mequon and Thiensville residents can use and be proud of. When asked to contribute, we hope you reply with a resounding "yes" and a generous gift to address this unmet need.
Good evening, everyone. I apologize for the late email, but I wanted to share an important way we can support the Menasha Rotary Club and the community they serve. There is a fund to assist the victims but I’ve been told it is an arduous task, and if we can help make giving easier for an exhausted community, we will.
If your club would like to contribute, checks may be made payable to Menasha Rotary and mailed to PO Box 101, Menasha, WI 54952. The club has already begun assisting those in their community who have been reaching out.
I also invite you to consider nominating someone from your club who would be a strong District Governor. Applications are open now through October 15. Rotary International provides the training, and the experience offers meaningful connections with Rotarians around the world. Serving as your District Governor has had a lasting impact on me, and I hope you will consider who in your club may be called to lead.
The application form is attached. Please remember that applications are due by October 15.
In Rotary service,
Dawn
This email was sent to all active members of our district.
The first District Minute has been uploaded: https://youtu.be/Noi0mFD91so?si=RmjeYlVjhFGZTq08. These will go live on our district YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/@RID6270 every first and third Sunday of the month. Be sure to subscribe and check in regularly for the latest District 6270 information and highlights from clubs across our district!
If you’ve ever wandered the aisles of an office supply store, you may have noticed something curious: For all the different pens, folders, and desk gadgets on display, paper doesn’t offer much in the way of variety. In the United States, the go-to sheet of printer paper is 8.5 inches wide and 11 inches long, and it has been for decades. So who made that call?
The answer goes back to the 1600s, when Dutch papermakers used wooden molds to form sheets of paper from big vats of watery pulp. The molds had to be big enough for the vatman — the worker handling the frame — to lift and shake comfortably. Through trial and error, papermakers settled on molds roughly 44 inches long, the average span of a worker’s outstretched arms. When that large sheet was quartered, the resulting pieces measured about 11 inches on their long side.
The origin of the width is less certain, but historians point to the molds’ original 17-inch dimension. Halved, that produced the familiar 8.5-inch width. In other words, the size of the modern office memo may be the legacy of how far a 17th-century worker could stretch their arms.
That still doesn’t explain why this size became the American standard. For that answer, we need to skip ahead to the 20th century, when typewriters, copiers, and printers made uniformity a necessity. A sheet measuring 8.5 by 11 inches accommodated a comfortable line length — 65 to 78 characters after accounting for margins. It also minimized trimming waste when paper was cut down from larger “parent” sheets, which were often 17 x 22 inches.
For a time, the U.S. government complicated matters. In 1921, the federal government adopted 8 by 10.5 inches as the standard size for official letterhead. Around the same time, a separate industry group — part of Herbert Hoover’s effort to reduce waste — settled on 17 by 22 inches as the size of the “parent” sheet. Halved, that produced the commercial 8.5 by 11 size that everyone outside the government was already using.
The mismatch persisted for decades, with bureaucracy running on one standard and businesses on another. It finally ended in the early 1980s, when President Ronald Reagan mandated 8.5 by 11 inches for all federal forms, aligning Washington, D.C., with the rest of the country.
As for legal-size paper — standard paper’s elongated 8.5-by-14-inch sibling — that likely owes its extra 3 inches to lawyers who wanted more room for dense contracts. Today, it’s just as likely to appear in restaurants, where that bonus space comes in handy for sprawling menus.
So the real reason your printer uses 8.5-by-11-inch paper? A mix of ergonomics, industrial efficiency, and administrative tidiness — all rooted, improbably enough, in the reach of a 17th-century papermaker’s arms.
