Completing any project successfully brings a long-awaited, worthwhile euphoria. Janesville Matters rejoiced in that feeling as it finished one of its lengthy projects with the 2.4 mile-long History Walk on Thursday, July 25.
A project that was brainstormed and put into motion when COVID-19 began, the History Walk featured wraps created by Sign Pro and put around ten select utility boxes around Janesville. The wraps featured events and prominent figures throughout the city’s history.
The completion of this project was celebrated during one of the “Songs in the Park Music Series” events. Booklets for the route were available during the event for anyone interested in taking the route and exploring Janesville’s history.
The suggested route begins at Veterans Memorial Park, with the featured historical wrap being the infamous “doll in the window,” which used to be at the former Ward Wendt property until he died in 2012. Six of the ten history wraps are along Main Street, with the last wrap along the southeast corner of Main and South Streets featuring views of downtown Janesville back in the day and a picture of the water tower in 1909.
Arlene Pooley, a member of Janesville Matters, shared details on the project and highlighted how far they had come to finish this project. “We’ve really overcome a lot of obstacles, like Covid for two years, researching the history of the pictures, working with the city on which utility boxes we could use and which we better not touch…there were all kinds of dilemmas happening.”
Pooley credited the late Deanna Summers, one of the group’s hardest-working members, for being the project’s visionary. “Unfortunately, the labor of love stalled out when she passed away unexpectedly, as most of you know. She had a vision for this project and the whole community of Janesville. We know she wanted to see this History Walk completed.”
The group then forged ahead, with Rene Niemczyk leading the project.
Pooley thanked Sign Pro for the wraps, all who shared the photos for the history wraps, the Waseca County Historical Society for the research, Tammy and Dave Pope for the QR codes on the history wraps, Bridget Gehring for printing the codes, and Ginger P. Designs for printing the booklet. Simply Saved Thrift Store and Consolidated Communications also provided grants to fund the project.
The wraps give Janesville a sense of pride in how far it’s come since its founding in 1856, its move to its current location in around 1870, and its continual growth today. “We planned this project because we are the oldest city in Waseca County,” Pooley said. “Many other villages were around during that time, but we were one of the fastest-growing villages. Today, we are the only town within our county that continues to grow.”
