Along The Ad Routes

by Mike Reilly

It was a little cool, but not bad and wasn’t windy for “Small Business Saturday” in Dodgeville. There was something going on from 8:00 a.m. (Breakfast with Santa at the Red Room) until 8:00 p.m. (EMS Open House and Live Nativity) with the only break from 5:00-6:00 p.m. Maybe that gave people time to grab a bite to eat, warm up and head to the 6:00 parade.  Everything came off very well with me hearing comments like “I’ve never seen so many people in Dodgeville” and “wow, this is great”! A huge thanks to everyone who helped put the event on, especially Jenna, the Dodgeville Chamber of Commerce Executive Director and the committee that organized much of it. Brother Pat Reilly did a good job announcing the parade (29 entries) and Britt Grimmer sang a beautiful “National Anthem” to open up the Tree Lighting and Memorial Reading ceremony. Kids enjoyed the 1966 version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, Tracy the Elf had a good time and Santa was a hit to everyone!

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Saturday and Sunday (December 2 and 3) the “Little Givers Magic Market will take place at a new location - the Dodgeville High School. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. youngsters can shop alone (with the help of elves) for their loved ones and even have their gifts wrapped!

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In Mineral Point, the annual Candlelite Shopping takes place on Saturday evening from 5-9 on December 2. Businesses will be open with gift ideas for you. There will be horse drawn carriage rides, carolers, fireworks, roasted chestnuts and a lot of fun!

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Holidays in Highland takes place on December 2nd mainly from 4:30-7:00 at the village park. There will be photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, a tree lighting, a light parade, concessions and more.

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Spring Green also has a lot of activities going on this weekend including a parade, free movie, bake sale, craft fair, and more.

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With everything going on Saturday, starting in the early morning, on Saturday we didn’t venture very far from home for our breakfast. Bob, Terry, Tom and I headed to The Pointer Cafe in Mineral Point where we met Dave, who also snuck a sweet treat! Dewey was spending Thanksgiving weekend in Red Wing, MN. Four of us had omelettes while Dave had his usual oatmeal (and a lot of it). We always run into people we know so conversation isn’t a problem,

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When I was at the Vendor Fair at Dodgeville High School on Saturday I walked in and recognized someone from the past. It was Rachael Veinberg, a 2016 graduate of DHS. She was there with her husband all the way from Germany. I gave them a short tour of the scheol - as much as we could get into. They were really impressed with the new gymnasium and couldn’t believe there was an auditorium, She said she sure wishes they had that back when she was in school!

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Today, Thursday, November 30, is kind of a “ho hum” day. There isn’t much to observe in the way of “wacky date” so I guess I will have to confess that it’s my birthday! I hit double 7s and catch up to buddies Terry and Dewey - but I’m still the youngest! A lot of times I get a “Special” cake from my late buddy’s (Crubaugh) bakery. Most of the time it can’t be shown to anyone though! My birthday cake has NEVER looked as good as the one above!