Along The Ad Routes

by Mike Reilly

One of the biggest wrestling tournaments of the year in Wisconsin is the Bi-State Wrestling Classic held in La Crosse. It had 69 boys teams and 74 girls from Wisconsin and some from Minnesota. We were lucky to have three people photographing our area schools - Heather Olson, Jonelle Degenhardt and Cambrey Carey! Many thanks for them dedicating themselves to the 2-day event, especially fighting the snow getting there and back!

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One interest thing I found out while doing the results for the Bi-State girls portion came when I posted results for Mineral Point’s Dealya Collins winning at 132 lbs. She beat Kit Alsakar of Waunakee. I last saw Kit when she was maybe six at Centennial Park in Dodgeville. She’s now a sophomore! Her mother, Sarah (Fry), was “like a daughter” to me growing up!!

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I got a chance to watch a few of the “Bowl” games New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The best one was Ole Miss beating Georgia 39-34 on a field goal from yards out with six seconds left. They recorded a safety with :01 left to make it a five point win! My cousin from Atlanta will not like that outcome!

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Brother Pat and I took Shelly and Grant along with Ryan, Lauri, Sean and Addie to Dodger Bowl on New Year’s Eve. It was a good family time for all! We had a chance to see a few people we usually only see on New Year’s Eve out there too!

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In a few days, it will be the end of another era in Dodgeville when Dean Whitish turns the keys to Dino’s over to Carson and Ariel Blabaum who take over on January 12th. Things are planned to remain pretty much the same.

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My phone was “blowing up” on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day with texts form the breakfast group that started with one from Dewey out in Indiana. He loves it where he is, but admits to missing “the guys”!

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Today (January 8) would’ve been our mother’s 112th birthday! She definitely was one of a kind in a lot of ways. If you ever needed a volunteer to get something done, she was your go-to!

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My graduating class of 1964 from DHS lost four people during December - Peg (Williams) Reynolds, Cindy (Heeler) Ruf, Vicki (Meuer) Nadler and Steve Rasmussen. It certainly wasn’t a great month for us or a way to end 2025!

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Saturday morning breakfast was supposed to take us to Argyle and the Argyle Cafe. But Tom called to make sure they were open after the holiday on Saturday and got a number that had been out of service. So I called and got the same message. That prompted me to contact our Pecatonica Valley Leader Editor Kayla Barnes. She told me that they were closed because they were putting a new restaurant in Illinois. They planned to come back and reopen in Argyle after they got the restaurant settled in Illinois. So we made the trip a little shorter and went to “River Bend Cafe” in Blanchardville. Most people would know it as “Viking Cafe”, but they are under new ownership. We had Grace, granddaughter of former (rival) advertising salesman for WDMP Radio Dale Lawinger. She was assisted by Carrie Senf, but she was smart enough to stay away from us! It was Tom driving Bob, Terry, Potsie and me as Dave and Royce couldn’t make it. The food was good and there was plenty of it! They have really good coffee too!

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Since I’ve already talked about today (January 8) being a “special Day” because it is our mother’s birthday, I’m going to talk about Friday, January 9. It’s “National Hockey Mom Day” - a day that hits a lot of moms in this area. Because of the Ice Wolves Hockey Association that plays its home games at Harris Park. The day began honoring the tireless efforts, sacrifices, and immense support provided by hockey moms for their children and the sport, recognizing them as the heart of the hockey community. It's a day for thanking these women for early practices, late games, gear management, and endless cheering, acknowledging their role as true MVPs. 

There are a lot of hockey moms that are good friends of mine. One is Jessica Rickard, who is my right arm when it comes to running the baseball concession stand at Centennial Park from April to October!