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I had a blast out of the past last Friday when "old friends" that I hadn't seen
in years made a stop in Dodgeville. Carlos and Maria Castillon ran an authentic
Mexican restaurant called Las Maria's in downtown Dodgeville in
the 90s. They (and their family) became very close friends of mine. I even
helped out at the restaurant - waiting tables and being bartender (I had to
learn how to make the "authentic from scratch" margarita and strawberry
daiquiri) - that was so Carlos and Maria could have a few days off to go on
vacation as his excuse to not go was there was nobody to tend bar. The food
was tremendous and they even served and delivered very good homemade
pizza - everything was made from scratch as you ordered it. Shown in the
above photo are (l-r) my brother Pat Reilly, Marcella (Carlos's sister), Me,
Laura (Carlos's sister), three of Carlos's grandchildren - Marion and Matt's
children, Marion (Carlos's daughter), her husband Matt, Maria and Carlos.
They were passing through Dodgeville from their home in Texas on their
way to Madison as a son - Israel - was getting married. Oh, Marion and Matt
live in Minnesota. It was great to see them all!
*****
It was a great weekend for Farmers Appreciation Day events. The Saturday
night run/walk had a good amount of competitors. There was music by Shekinah
Kae and the Kingsmen and Cattlemen's steaks served before the fireworks
too. The parade was well over an hour long with a lot of festive "farm"
entries. There was a good crowd at Harris Park for the food, fun and program
with some rides for the youngsters, a petting zoo and exhibits. I bought a
whole blueberry pie to take home for my enjoyment - thanks Upland Hills
Health Auxiliary!
*****
This weekend and into at least Monday there will be a Wisconsin Babe
Ruth 13 Year Old State Tournament at Centennial Park in Dodgeville. There
is no admission charge, so stop by and watch some youngsters play some
good baseball. There is a concession stand in operation that still needs volunteer
help!
*****
While Carlos and Maria were here Friday they asked about a lot of people
that they had made friends with during the business days here. We shared
some memories like when Pat Richter and Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch (UW
fame) stopped at the restaurant on their way back from Platteville after meeting with Bo Ryan, then the UW-Platteville men's basketball coach.