Appleton, Wisconsin – A Parade of Possibilities

 
In the May/June 2008 issue of SkyWest magazine 
 
 

Nothing embodies Americana like apple pie. When it comes to a slice of the heartland’s best lifestyle, nothing exemplifies America like Appleton, Wisconsin. This is a place built on nostalgic neighborliness, Horatio Alger ethics and a mighty dose of patriotism. Add a scenic landscape replete with lots of recreational options, mix in a can-do community spirit and it’s easy to see that Appleton presents a perfect recipe for business and pleasure. 
 
Appleton’s major claim to fame is its status as home of the nation’s grandest Flag Day procession. This riverside hamlet, at the north end of Lake Winnebago, attracts more than 60,000 spectators each year with two miles of bands, floats and marching units. No matter how many dignitaries join in the festivities, Old Glory is “always the grand marshal. We want to give the flag the respect it deserves,” MaryAnn Wepfer, city marketing director, explained.

It’s been that way ever since Appleton initiated the nation’s first Flag Day event in 1950. In the aftermath of World War II, patriotism skyrocketed. In 1949, an Act of Congress recognized June 14 as Flag Day. Appleton was quick to rally ‘round the flag, even though the community also musters a Memorial Day Parade at the end of May. “We feel very fortunate that so many of the participants come back just two weeks after Memorial Day,” Wepfer continued. “It’s really inspiring to see so many people standing at attention, so proud, when the flag comes by.”
 
Appleton has plenty of reason for civic pride. The community bills itself as the heart of the Fox Cities—an amalgam of 18 towns lining the banks of the Fox River. That broad tributary, linking Lake Winnebago with Green Bay 30 miles to the north, plays an important part in the city’s urban renaissance. A Riverwalk is part of the Trolley Square redevelopment effort to reclaim old industrial sites. It contributes to a bustling and easy-to-navigate downtown replete with a diverse assortment of restaurants, coffeehouses, clubs and pubs.

Lake Winnebago, the largest body of water completely within Wisconsin, is a destination in its own right. With 88 miles of shoreline and abundant wildlife and fish, it’s a recreationist’s four-season nirvana. Summer is the season to boat and sail. Autumn brings a glorious display of color, and in winter ice fishing and sturgeon spearing are especially popular.  
 
More high-brow diversions get a huge boost from the cultural contributions of Lawrence University. The histories of the nation’s first coeducational higher learning institution and its hometown have always been intertwined. The school was founded in 1847 due to the efforts of Boston Brahmin and abolitionist Amos Adams Lawrence. Wisconsin was still a wilderness territory when Lawrence sent two clergymen via canoe to establish a school for “Germans and Indians of both sexes.” The college was chartered by the Territorial Legislature before statehood, and when Amos Lawrence’s philanthropic- peer, Massachusetts cotton merchant Samuel Appleton, donated $10,000 to the school, the area’s grateful settlers decided to name their emerging town for him. Throughout the years, Lawrence University, with its acclaimed Conservatory of Music and symphony, has packed the local calendar with concerts, recitals, lectures and symposiums. The picturesque campus sprawls across a wooded bluff overlooking the Fox River and the town it helped create. 
 
That scholarly city rapidly attracted a roster of natural-resource-based enterprises. The forests surrounding Lawrence lured the timber industry and with it paper mills. Major manufacturers such as Kimberley-Clark and International Paper are the linchpin of Appleton’s economy. They provide a veritable brain trust that makes the community an entrepreneurial incubator. 
 
Cheryl Perkins is a prime example of Appleton’s inventive spirit. The former Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer at Kimberley-Clark, Perkins now heads Innovation edge, a company dedicated to helping both upstart inventors and established corporate leaders define effective strategies and enhance capabilities. She is also a major booster of the company’s home turf and waxes enthusiastic about the FAB LAB—part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Global Innovation Network. Based at Appleton’s Fox Valley Technical College, the program helps inventors and other big thinkers create product prototypes and gain expert insight into business development. It is the only facility of its kind in the state. 
 
Perkins said, “As a long-time champion of innovation, I can tell you that those who will leverage FAB LAB to spark new ideas, create new products and services and change people’s lives are people who are truly innovative, intuitive, fearless and most of all, life-long learners. We’re not only teaching these innovators the ‘what’; we are empowering them with the ‘how’—the knowledge they need to determine market viability and the state-of-the-art equipment and tools to make it happen.” 
 
The enterprise is among the means Appleton is pursuing to further advance its already healthy economy. As Appleton citizens increasingly compete in a worldwide marketplace, they have the added benefit of enjoying Appleton’s thoroughly American lifestyle.
 
 

Sidebar to the story in SkyWest

Unique Appleton attractions
include these top picks

THE HEARTHSTONE HISTORIC HOUSE MUSEUM reflects an important global milestone. This is the world’s first home lit by hydroelectric power. Now a museum, the elegant Victorian still uses Thomas Edison’s original light fixtures and “electroliers.” A marvel of period architecture, it also features exquisite stained-glass windows, intricate woodwork carved from local timber and nine fireplaces—precursors of the electric furnace.

 
THE BUILDING FOR KIDS, a recently renovated children’s museum, is among the finest facilities of its kind in the Midwest. Children and their adults find plenty of amusement here. Of special note is the water area where little kids splash and play and their older counterparts learn water dynamics (raincoats provided). The facility stretches beyond the scope of the typical hands-on science discovery center into the realm of literature. A 45-foot storytelling tree encourages visitors to exercise imagination and creativity as they craft their own adventures. 

 
 
 
 
 
THE HISTORY MUSEUM AT THE CASTLE makes the most of one of Appleton’s most intriguing claims to fame. This is Harry Houdini’s hometown, and the museum presents a detailed and interactive exhibit focusing on the masterful magician and his illusions.
 

 
This article appeared in United Express SkyWest Magazine, May/June 2008 edition. It was distributed to more than 2 million air passengers. For more information about this publication, visit www.skywestmagazine.com
 

 

 

 

 

©2016 Flag Day Parade Committee