I got the idea for this Blog from Jan Cumps . Since the Covid 19 has kept us from getting out and traveling I thought it might be fun to give you a short tour of my home town Chippewa Falls Wisconsin USA and to invite you to add your own tour of your home town in the comments. I am suggesting that we make it a short tour with six pictures or less. If you can highlight an industry that relates to electronics all the better. Background information and history is always appreciated.
Very close to Chippewa Falls is Lake Wissota. If you have ever watched the movie "Titanic" this lake was reference by the hero Jack as the place where he and his grandfather went ice fishing. Unfortunately this was an anachronism as Jack and the Titanic sank in 1912 and the Lake didn't fill with water behind a newly constructed hydroelectric dam until 1917. The Lake draws lots of tourists and the local people use it for fishing, boating, water skiing, swimming, and in the winter they do indeed do a lot of ice fishing.
In the early 1960s native son Seymour Cray returned to Chippewa Falls to develop the first Super Computer. In its heyday Cray had dozens of research and manufacturing facilities in Chippewa Falls. Today this is the only building that remains. The rest are now filled with other companies such as HP, TTM Technologies, and a host of small specialized companies.
This is the Chippewa Falls version of Notre Dame Church. It is wife Millies' church and it has a good view of the city in the Winter time when there are no leaves. I went up to the Church to take a picture of the city for you but there were so many leaves that all one could see was forest. Therefore not to waste the moment I took a picture of the church.
No it's not about the roses. In the background you will see the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company which has been putting Chippewa Falls on the map for the last 153 years. While I am not a beer aficionado myself I have heard that it is a great brew and they like to specialize in many seasonal products. They also have a nice hospitality center and give brewery tours when things aren't locked down by the Corona Virus.
Chippewa Falls was originally in the early 1800s a lumber town with saw mills to process the White Pine timber that was being harvested and floated down the Chippewa River. One of the people who became wealthy in this enterprise was William Irvine. Part of his legacy to the area was the donation of a beautiful section of land which is now known as Irvine Park. There are hiking trails, a very nice Zoo, picnic areas, play equipment for the children, and this water falls called Glen Loc. It is actually an abandoned mill dam with the water overflowing the top.
There you have a 5 picture overview of my home town.
Please take some pictures and share what is interesting and beautiful about where you live in a comment to this blog. I look forward to touring your home town.
John
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