James P. Folk, Milton (1941 - 2010)

Jim Folk

James P. Folk, 68, of Milton, WI, and Punta Gorda, FL, passed away unexpectedly Saturday at his home in Milton Twsp.

He was born in Janesville on May 24, 1941, son of the late Ralph and Kathryn (Good) Folk.

He had worked as a Supervisor for General Motors Corp. until his retirement. On Oct. 21, 1961, he married the former Margaret "Peg" Lubeck in Janesville. She preceded him in death on Jan. 31, 1989.

Jim was the founder and chairman of the Rock Koshkonong Lake District, and devoted much of his time to the preservation and upkeep of Lake Koshkonong. He lived on or near the lake most of his life. He enjoyed snowmobiling, fishing, hunting, especially duck hunting, and boating. He was an accomplished mechanic, and loved being able to repair and fix things for his family and friends.

Jim especially enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren!

He met and became engaged to his fiancée, Joan Leith, and he had recently bought a home in Punta Gorda, FL. They enjoyed spending winters there together for the past several years.

He is survived by four children: Tammie (Lyle) Johnson of Milton, Laurie Wolff of Edgerton, Susan (John Petter) Folk of Janesville, and Jeffrey (Cheryl) Folk of Ft. Atkinson; his eight grandchildren: Zachary (Jennilee) Johnson, Timothy Johnson, Michael Johnson, Jordan Johnson, Bridget Wolff, Brandon Wolff, Rachel Folk, and Megan Folk; his great-grandson, Carter Johnson; his three brothers: Ralph (Jane) Folk of Janesville, George (Julie) Folk of Rush City, MN, and Mike Folk of Ft. Atkinson, WI; his sister-in-law, Esther Folk of Milton; and by many nieces, nephews, and friends.

In addition to his wife and parents, he was preceded in death by his fiancée, Joan Leith; his son-in-law, Jay Wolff; his brother, Robert Folk; his nephew, Daniel Folk; and his stepfather, Fred Lisser.

Funeral services with a Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 28, 2010, at ST. MARY CATHOLIC CHURCH, 837 Parkview Dr., MILTON, with Msgr. James Uppena officiating. Burial will take place in St. Mary Catholic Cemetery. Friends may call on Wednesday morning from 8:30 until 11 a.m. at the CHURCH.

WHITCOMB-LYNCH-ALBRECHT FUNERAL HOME, MILTON
828 S. JANESVILLE ST., MILTON, (608) 868-2542
http://www.whitcomb-lynch-albrecht.com/

Information on Services

Visitation and Service for Jim will be Wednesday morning at St Mary's Catholic Church in Milton....837 Parkview Dr. Visitation from 8:30 - 11:00 with the funeral service at the church immediately following.

Visitation for Joan from 4:00 - 7:00 Wednesday at Schneider, Appel, Schneider & Schneider Funeral Home in Janesville with the funeral service on Thursday at 12:00 P.M. at Bethel Baptist Church in Janesville.

Couple Loved Life

From Janesville Gazette

And we loved them.

Sad, sad, sad...

It doesn't seem like it is possible.....we lost a great one......I don't think I could find anyone that cared about our lake more than Jim.....he saw a need and though he had no political skills, or special organizational skills, just a thought that he could do something to make Lake Koshkonong a better place. The time, effort and love that he put in for our area is unmatched. I have spent a couple of afternoon's down at Norm's with Jim having a few beers and just listening to his knowledge/history of our Lake.....I told him we've got to get this down, get this recorded........well we never did and that makes the loss even harder. May we all re-new our energy to make Lake Koshkonong a better place.....Jim would be proud.

Jim Dovgin
JAD Realty

Lake Koshkonong's Jim Folk

Army Corps of Engineers studying Lake Koshkonong

From March 8, 2010

..."We want to see if we can balance the fisheries," he said. "We know we have Asian carp in there, and we're looking at means of bringing more of the native species back. That would improve fishing and the whole health of the river.

"We are trying to do this with a natural aesthetic," he said. "So that it is natural - we used to call this restoration of ecosystems or habitant, but it is hard to restore it. We kind of naturalize it. We try to repair what we have done in the past or how we want to live in our environment. A better term than restoration is 'naturalizing.'"

More Pelicans

Koshkonong Pelican

Pelicans flock to Menominee Park

Oshkosh Northwestern

...Pelican sightings have been reported at various lakes in central and southeastern Wisconsin, including Lake Butte de Morts, Lake Puckaway, Lake Sinnissippi, Lake Koshkonong and the backwaters of the Mississippi River.

Volkert said the bird populations will likely continue to grow in this state.

"They're really slow and reluctant to start a nesting sight, but once they do they stay, and they lure more birds there. So these colonies can grow real quickly," he said.

Fishing on Lake Koshkonong

Wisconsin Sportsman

LAKE KOSHKONONG
Koshkonong is different from Delavan and Geneva in that it is associated with a river. The pike that hang out in the lake most of the year will migrate into the river during the summer. "In the spring and early summer, guys catch pike when fishing for walleyes with flathead minnows," Reddy said. "In the river, you can cast Rat-L-Traps in a sheepshead pattern or other minnow-style baits. The fish will be as shallow as 1-5 feet. There are a lot of snags such as downed trees, so lipless baits that run 3 feet down are best."

In the summer, when the fish are in the lake, the best spots are in Stinkers Bay, Haight Bay, Bringham Point and Blackhawk Island. You'll want to troll minnow-style baits some 15 feet behind the boat with planer boards. This way, your baits will run 3-4 feet deep. Husky Jerks and Shad Raps work well. For live bait, try a crawler harness, and don't be surprised if you get a few walleyes as well.

In the fall, the pike will move back into the river as they go after shiners. "If you can find the shiners, you will find the pike," Reddy said. "In fact, sometimes you will see the pike forcing the bait to bust the surface. A lot of guys catch pike when fishing for saugers. Just use a jig and a minnow and you will catch pike."

Fort Atkinson area shines in upcoming television show

From Watertown Daily Times

...Highlights of the half-hour program include water activities on the Rock River, canoeing the Bark River, the downtown Riverwalk, biking and hiking the Glacial River Trail, Tour de Fort, Southern Wis-consin Ice Racing on Lake Koshkonong, the Fort Half Marathon, the Koshkonong Rendezvous, Velvet Lips Lounge, Bar and Grill, Upper Lip, Catfish Alley, Soap and Pepper, Central Coast Restaurant & Dance Club, and the Jones Dairy Farm.

...To view a clip of the “Fort Atkinson - Rock River's Playground” show, or for more information, visit www.discoverwisconsin.com

Bathymetry Survey II

Bathymetry Survey 1

Inside Look at the Planning Process for Dredging and Islands

Lake Koshkonong has crested

Yesterday = 778.51
Today = 778.49
2 feet + over summer Max

Lake Level on its way back up

Update on bathymetric survey

The surveyors finished all the 1000' transects on 4-1-10

Supplemented with 500' transects on the far western and eastern parts of the lake and a couple other locations.

We have asked them to supplement the 1000' transects near shore (~2000 feet from shore) with the 500' transects, and they are going to start on the north shore and work there way around and get what they can get done prior to taking off for the weekend.


Sounds like the Corps is going to start processing the data on 4-4 already. Not sure how long the whole data reduction process will take.

Hopefully the wind will be calm tomorrow morning so that we can pull our water level readers that are on the North Shore and Bingham Rd boat landings.

We need calm weather to make sure we get a good survey of the water level so that the water levels we are giving the Corps are correct as the Corps data is depth and not absolute elevation. (Steve R. - we'll get that data to you as soon as we have it.)

As always, call with any questions,

Jon

More comments on Dredging Project

I realize there are many areas that need help around the lake.
Our property is on Oxbow Bend South of Binghams Point.

In the last 20-25 yrs.we have lost probably six feet of Shore line.

We used to mow on the lakeside of some large trees, now their roots are exposed.

Our pier is 85' and my pontoon boat bottoms out before I can get on my lift.

We have spent hundreds of dollars rock armoring the shoreline and are still having erosion problems.

Just my 2 cents. Thanks for all your work for the lake.

Surveying Lake Koshkonong Lake Bottom

A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employee points out details in a computer image detail his scans of the depth of Lake Koshkonong. The Corps is conducting the survey as part of the exploration of dredging parts of the lake to improve use

Army Corp. On Lake Koshkonong

A boat carrying employees of the Corp of Engineers makes its way across Lake Koshkonong. The Corps has been scanning the lake as part of a study concerning the dredging of areas of the shallow lake north of Janesville.

Army Corp survey could lead to Lake Koshkonong dredging

Janesville Gazette

"This project would truly benefit all lake users, from recreational boaters to sportsmen and other user groups," Rock-Koshkonong Lake District Chairman Brian Christianson said.