I was asked to post this....

Many years ago, I was sitting with Jim at Lakeview. It was a quiet, late afternoon in the bar and he and I were in deep conversation about everything and anything having to do with Lake Koshkonong.


Jim was chairman and founder of our lake district and he had taken me under his wing. He had persuaded me to run for the RKLD Board, and then proceeded to work his way around the lake, convincing so many people I had never met to vote for me. He was successful and I owed it to Jim to learn all I could about state statutes, administrative rules, environmental impact studies and hydrology reports – everything and anything having to do with Lake Koshkonong.


Understand that Jim read everything. Everything. Nothing was too legal. Nothing was too technical. He conceded nothing to the lawyers or the PhDs working on our behalf, and he conceded even less to those who opposed his passion to improve Koshkonong for the next generation. Everything and anything having to do with Lake Koshkonong - Jim had it all filed away under the crew cut.


Jim’s intelligence and his street smarts made for a powerful combination that I deeply admired. He never shot from the hip; he always knew the science and the history better than everyone else in the room. Always.


But it was at Lakeview that late afternoon where things changed. Dorothy was behind the bar listening to our favorite topic of conversation - everything and anything having to do with Lake Koshkonong. “Is that all you two ever talk about?”


I looked up and out over the lake and said sometimes I am on the water, alone, without a ripple, without the slightest breeze, without another boat in site, and I feel like I own the lake, like I am responsible for the next generation to enjoy its beauty.


Jim gripped my shoulder, and said, “Now you get it. And now I can retire.”


In one year, Jim elected me to the board, and then elected me his successor as chairman.


Everything and anything having to do with Lake Koshkonong – I miss him deeply.