- The following program
is a PBS Wisconsin original production.
- Angela Fitzgerald: Coming up on Wisconsin Life :
Check out a community where art pops on rooftops,
and meet a vintage snowmobile collector.
A wrestler takes her talents to the mat,
and a dog trainer
helping veterans coach their four-legged friends.
It's all ahead on Wisconsin Life!
*
- Funding for Wisconsin Life is provided by
Lowell and Mary Peterson,
Alliant Energy,
Stanley J. Cottrill Fund,
American Transmission Company,
Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programs,
and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
- Welcome.
I'm Angela Fitzgerald.
We're meeting up with Access Ability Wisconsin,
a non-profit whose mission
is to offer people with mobility challenges
more ways to get out and enjoy nature.
I'm at Yellowstone Lake State Park
to meet with the president of the organization
to learn more.
Our state is known
for its expansive gorgeous natural areas,
but for many, accessibility can be an issue.
That's changing due to the work of Access Ability Wisconsin,
who provides outdoor all-terrain wheelchairs
for people to use free of charge.
That means more people can take on the trails, hunt, fish,
or just enjoy being outside.
It's an important part
of making Wisconsin accessible and welcome to all.
- Now, we travel to Tomahawk
to check out a one-of-a-kind collection
that embraces Wisconsin's winter in style.
*
- Boy, if you go out up here in the Northwoods
early in the week--
Monday, Tuesday when there's not a lot of people up here--
you find a trail that's as smooth as glass,
and you're riding an old sled.
You tool along 25 - 30 miles an hour.
Winding trail.
Man, it don't get no better than that.
[engine rumbles]
My name is Craig Marchbank.
I'm a vintage Ski-Doo knucklehead,
president of the Snowmobile Racing Hall of Fame
in St. Germain, Wisconsin.
I was a racer for Ski-Doo.
Very fortunate to be sponsored by Ski-Doo for 30 years.
It was a blast
traveling around the country, competing,
dominating.
We were very prepared when we hit a racetrack.
Second wasn't an option.
Started collecting snowmobiles probably when I was a young man.
Started collecting many things.
You would go to the race team events and different functions
for Ski-Doo, and they would give you
just different merchandise and paraphernalia
and coats, jackets, sweaters.
And being a collector when I was a young man,
I just held on to that stuff.
One thing stems from another to another to another,
and before you know it, there's 140 sleds here.
This is my wife and I's collection
in Tomahawk, Wisconsin.
We have approximately 140 Ski-Doo snowmobiles,
five or six Moto-Skis,
and a whole lot of paraphernalia--
whether it be sweaters, oil bottles,
rings, coats, helmets, gloves,
anything you can associate with a Ski-Doo brand or logo.
*
This is a 1960 Ski-Doo.
First production year for Ski-Doo.
Wooden skis.
They built just a little over 200 of these machines
in '60 and ballpark.
What we've all talked about,
there's probably only a couple dozen left
between Canada and the United States.
This is a 1965 Ski-Doo Santa Sleigh.
Very rare.
They're like hens' teeth.
In all the years I've been in Ski-Doos, which is about 40,
I've only seen three in real life, and this is one of them.
Now it's just a display piece.
But we go to shows.
We hook it up to a 65 Ski-Doo Chalet and pull it around.
This is a 1974 Nordic.
The early Nordics were yellow.
In '73-4, they decided to go chocolate brown and wood grain.
Somebody thought it was a luxury-type look.
They chromed it out.
Brown seat even
and actually a cigarette lighter, too.
Imagine that!
This is a 1992 Mach 1X.
It's one of the original six
that were put on the grass drag racing circuit.
There's only, I think, two, maybe three left in existence
of the six.
Extremely dominant machines for their time and era.
They banned the snowmobile because it was so fast.
Every single one of these sleds in here runs.
We are still adding to the collection.
Yes, it's a blast.
I'm still 14 years old, right in my head,
until I look in the mirror.
Maybe I need to go to Snowmobiles Anonymous?
I'm not sure, but, yeah, I'd call myself a collector.
*
[engine buzzes]
You might see me on a '60s sled one day,
70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s.
You know, you'll see me on a different sled all the time.
*
It's a blast riding this stuff.
And then you're going on a trail on one of these old machines,
and you're wearing a suit and helmet to match it,
and everybody just comes and talks.
They can't believe you're riding this thing out there.
It doesn't get much better than that.
[revving engine]
*
- Next, we travel to Greendale
to learn about a man who started
a rooftop tradition
by accident.
*
- This community is a Wisconsin original.
- Colleen Fechtmeyer: Good afternoon, ladies.
My name is Colleen.
I'm gonna be your tour guide today.
- A place so out of the ordinary
some people never leave.
This place is Greendale,
the only Depression-era community
built by the Roosevelt Administration in Wisconsin.
- Colleen Fechtmeyer: They were trying to create jobs, number one.
Get people out of the overcrowded cities.
The concept was "creating a better life"
and "everything within walking distance."
- In 1936, Eleanor Roosevelt came to dedicate the village,
- So, as we walk around, what I want you to see
is the uniqueness of Greendale.
- The Roosevelts, the Depression,
and Norman Rockwell-style living
aren't the only things unique to Greendale.
[wind rustles leaves, happy playful instrumental]
- Roy Emmons: He figures he's kind of like
Walt Disney in Greendale.
- He is Al Emmons,
chimney repairman, and artist.
- It was my dad's idea, you know,
to start decorating and put the artwork up on the chimneys.
- Al Emmons: People will come to me and say, "My chimney's leaking."
That's the reason that they called me in the first place--
not to do artwork.
- It just kind of blossomed
and got bigger and bigger and bigger.
- Al Emmons: Once we started putting sculptures on it,
then it was over.
People would call me up and say,
"I know what I want on my chimney."
I don't even tell them how much yet.
- Behind every one of those chimneys,
there's a real-life story.
- We have a fireman's memorial, which is absolutely gorgeous,
but a fireman lives in the house,
and we used his hat, his boots.
- These chimneys also sport hometown pride.
- The panther is the mascot for the-- for Greendale.
That's an actual life-size panther that we have,
and then we've got a baby panther up on the top of that.
- Across the street,
a neighbor intrigued by fairy tales and pixie dust.
- Al Emmons: The woman loved Peter Pan and the Peter Pan stories,
and the theory and feeling behind it,
which is a good thing and a happy thing.
And Tinkerbelle is just a plus.
It's a joy to think about that, you know,
making other people happy.
- And for Al,
it forced him to learn the art of patience.
- This is one of my favorites.
We're on Cardinal Court.
Every time I came around the corner,
I thought, "Oh, look at the size of that chimney."
and I could put this beautiful cardinal on there.
Days turned into months and months into years,
and then one morning, about eight o'clock in the morning,
they called, and they said, "Hey, we have a leak.
Would you come?"
and I thought, "Oh, this is it!
My golden opportunity."
When I got here, I acted like I was calm,
but I was not-- inside, I was not calm.
I thought, "This is going to be the best chimney I ever did."
I made them an offer they couldn't refuse.
Yeah. [chuckles]
These days favorites come in all shapes and sizes.
- Most of the time, I'm frightened.
I don't know what people are going to say
when we get done with it.
It's like a tattoo.
If you're going to do it,
you want to make sure that it's done right
because it's not very easy to take it apart
and do it over again.
- In all, Al and his family
have decorated more than 200 chimneys.
- My children are involved, my wife's involved,
the neighbors are involved.
- In his eighties, Al is still involved.
He just doesn't climb chimneys anymore.
Through the years, his kids have inherited the honor.
- Roy Emmons: My role is that
I help think of the imagination for the chimneys,
and they're actually pretty big.
I mean, the sundae comes up to about here on me.
So, they look smaller when they're on a chimney,
but everything is actually a lot larger.
- Bingo Emmons: The wolf one is always one of my favorite
because I did the daffodil in the front,
and then my sister did the wolf in the back.
- Virginia Emmons-McNaught: I was asked to do my first chimney,
and I thought it was a little bit strange,
a little bit unusual, and as a 16-year-old, you're like,
"I'm gonna do what on a where?"
- Dan Emmons: It was a lot of fun.
Whenever you want to get to know somebody,
just ask them about their chimney,
and they'll tell you the story.
*
- Forty years later,
visitors come for chimney tours and the stories.
- Colleen Fechtmeyer: So, the gentleman that lives in the red house
still lives there.
He does short films for a living.
But he wanted the movie camera.
And then, he decided
instead of "Hollywood" on the front,
he would put "Arrowwood."
We're on Arrowwood Street.
You want something that you're going to love looking at.
- Al: They visualize what they would do with their own chimneys.
- By now, some may wonder
what design Al has on his own chimney.
- Al: I'm a Mickey Mouse fan.
My mom would say, "Pray and don't worry,
"you know, because Mickey Mouse is never worried.
He's, you know, he's always happy."
- Today, Al is happy that the story of Greendale
includes the history of his art-covered chimneys.
*
- Virginia Emmons-McNaught: He really poured his heart and soul
into this community.
- Dan Emmons: I think they mean everything to him.
- Bingo Emmons: That's his legacy.
That's my dad's legacy.
He loves these chimneys.
- Can I say this?
Truthfully, it's-- I'm a show-off.
I like it when I go into town, and people say,
"Are you the guy that does the chimneys?"
- Al Emmons, a true Greendale original.
- There's a perfect chimney over on Clover.
I hope the guy calls. [chuckles]
- I'm at Yellowstone Lake State Park
to meet with Access Ability Wisconsin,
as they bring all-terrain wheelchairs
to parks across the state.
It's a stunning day at Yellowstone Lake State Park,
and I'm meeting up with Monica Spaeni,
president of Access Ability Wisconsin,
to learn about their work and the people it impacts.
- Access Ability Wisconsin is a grassroots non-profit
in which we purchase outdoor wheelchairs
for people to use for free.
If you're a person that uses a mobility device,
whether it's a wheelchair, a cane, a walker,
or you have a heart condition,
normally going outdoors is very difficult.
Tiny tires don't really let you experience the joy,
and then, if you asphalt or put down sand,
that doesn't really help a wheelchair
or keep the outdoors in its pure nature.
So, the idea is to continue the experience
with family and friends.
The significance is the fact
that the individual can use the chair
because of the tracks and also the tilt feature.
So that, as the terrain changes, the individual can stay level.
- Wow, I love there's all these considerations around,
"How do we allow people to utilize what you all have to offer?"
The all-terrain wheelchairs are helping people and groups
navigate the outdoors no matter their ability,
and that accessibility extends to the cost to use the chairs.
It's free with a deposit.
- Monica Spaeni: We require a $50 deposit per chair.
Then, they get their $50 deposit back.
So, we work at it being
a very low-cost situation to no cost situation.
- So, I love that that is tapping into accessibility
on multiple fronts.
It's not only the physical accessibility,
but also the financial accessibility
for those who might assume that it'd be super costly
to rent a wheelchair otherwise.
Through organizations like Access Ability Wisconsin
and the work of people like Monica,
the state's resources become more available to all.
- This work is important to me, and I would say our family,
my husband, the dogs, etcetera
because there is nothing more important
than seeing somebody use the chair for the first time.
You can't imagine the smiles, the relief, the independence.
And then, the people that they're with.
They love it, too.
- Thank you so much, Monica.
*
- Now, let's meet someone else who's working
to make the state a better place.
We catch up with
the West Allis dog trainer
working with veterans and their pups.
- Linda Bobot: Hi, come on in.
[dog barks]
- Linda Bobot is a certified professional dog trainer.
[dogs bark excitedly]
For more than 20 years,
Linda's calm approach has worked wonders.
- There we go.
Very good, there we go.
- She knows a lot about training.
She's taught me a lot.
Given me things to teach the dog.
- Take it.
- Her program is awesome.
I'm really glad that the program exists.
- The program is called 'HAVEN':
Hounds And Vets Empowered Now.
- Good, excellent. [laughs warmly]
- HAVEN serves veterans deployed to combat zones
and those with service-connected disabilities.
- Any time I'm with the veterans in the training class, I'll say,
"I can talk to you 'til tomorrow about dogs,
"but I don't walk your walk.
I don't walk your walk."
The person who left home when they enlisted
isn't the person who came back.
I think that's a real struggle.
The dogs become their buddies
as they battle back into everyday life.
- As a Marine, Erik Smith saw two tours of duty in Iraq.
- Coming back to normal life is difficult
because it's so different,
and it can be pretty stressful making that transition.
There you go, good!
- Today, Erik's dog Copper provides him a sense of safety.
- Solo, come.
- There, oh, there we go.
Excellent, good!
- Stationed in South Korea,
Cheldon Payton left the military for medical reasons.
Cheldon's dog, Solo, gives him purpose and companionship.
- It's motivating for me.
It gives me something to do.
Wake up in the morning.
- Motivation starts here
at the Wisconsin Humane Society in Milwaukee,
where if the vets don't already have a dog,
it's their first stop.
- Really pay attention to the dog
who's trying to get your attention,
who's paying attention to you.
The dog has a story.
The vet has a story.
And maybe there's some connection there being made.
- Come on, darling, - Go ahead, John, go.
- I think that opens up something here
that they might have thought was not there anymore.
- For Linda, a sense of responsibility,
a sense of duty to her brother.
- When my brother was 22
and in the Navy, he committed suicide.
And so, I can place that and the effect that has on family.
- That was 45 years ago.
Linda trains those who served our country
and their service dogs in his honor,
but she's not alone.
- I was walking my dogs, listening to the radio,
thinking of my brother.
The song came on.
If I was struggling with something, I'd get in my car.
The song will come on.
- The song is called "Precious Moments" by The Three Degrees.
- So, I started thinking, "Okay, is this in my imagination?"
So, I looked it up.
It was released three months before my brother died
on my birthday.
The first words are, "When will I see you again?"
["Precious Moments" by The Three Degrees] * When will I see you again?
And that's why I always tied it into my brother
because that's your thought when you lose somebody.
"When will I see you again?"
* Share precious moments
And I still heard this song twice last week,
so when it comes on, and I hear that music,
I say, "Thank you."
In training, there's a keep going signal
that is my keep going signal.
It's like, "Don't give up."
Yeah, and then...
- Linda has never given up.
She provides positive reinforcement and training
to veterans for free.
- Oh, very nice, good, very good.
I can say I am probably
the best-paid person in that room.
There does come a point in life where you want to say,
"Does what I do matter?"
- Linda donates her time, but her dreams will cost money.
Someday, she hopes to build HAVEN a permanent home.
- My goal is having veterans
who are interested in becoming trainers
so that at some point in the future,
HAVEN will be totally run by veterans.
- The unique 16-week training program
creates a strong bond of trust
between the dog and the veteran.
- Linda Bobot: Excellent.
- I have friends who are vets across the U.S.,
and programs like this don't exist for them.
And they're pretty jealous that something like that is here.
Just him being around me, like,
really helps with my anxiety and my stress level.
- We never say, "They're gonna cure or fix anything."
They're not.
But I'm seeing how the dogs
are helping the veterans move forward in life.
I just feel like this is what I'm supposed to be doing.
["Precious Moments" by The Three Degrees]
- For our last story,
we hit the mat in Sun Prairie
to meet a wrestler
finding her own way
to pin down the competition.
[crowd cheering, yelling encouragement]
[ref blows whistle]
Gold medal wrestler Dan Gable said,
"Once you've wrestled, everything in life is easy."
- Here you go, pin him, pin him! [cheering]
- It's a sport measured
by passion, intensity, and strength.
Agie Mai Sow has all of those traits in spades.
Agie's passion led her to join
the Sun Prairie High School wrestling team.
- Growing up,
I used to watch wrestling on TV all the time
with my dad,
and we always joked around about how that could be me one day.
- Jim Nelson: Sit-ups, sit-ups!
- Her coach, Jim Nelson,
says Agie matches her teammates' intensity
every day.
- She comes to practice ready to work hard.
She just puts in her work.
She doesn't complain, and she's just a pleasure to work with
because, you know, we don't have to worry about...
Every time she's in the room,
we know she's going to be pushing herself hard.
- He says Agie shows strength
both on and off the mat.
- That's it, Ag!
- She's trained to be competitive,
but there have been challenges.
At five years, old Agie was diagnosed with an eye disease.
- So, I have a rare eye condition
called retinitis pigmentosa,
and it's basically
where you lose light in the back of your eye.
- It affects the retina and can eventually cause full blindness.
But Agie still has some limited vision.
- Agie Mai Sow: When someone is demonstrating a move,
I can kind of see what they're doing,
but I have to be able to, like, feel the move
to know, like, how to do it.
- There are rules to make sure she wrestles safely.
Opponents must stay in contact with Agie at all times.
- Nelson: When they start, they have to have one hand on top,
and one hand on bottom,
and they're just touching hands.
- Agie says her teammates have been nothing but supportive.
- Agie Mai Sow: We all look out for each other
and we support each other at each other's matches
and they, they're-- they're great
[ref blows whistle] - LET'S GO, AG!
- On this night, she'd get a chance to show off her skills.
Sun Prairie was part of a multi-team match in Madison.
Agie drew an opponent from Middleton High School.
- Hip, hip, hip, HIP, hip, hip, hip!
- It didn't take long
for her to grab the upper hand,
trying to pin his shoulders to the floor.
After a short struggle,
[ref blows whistle, crowd cheers]
success.
Agie was victorious.
- After I got the pin, everyone was, like, cheering,
and it just felt amazing.
It shows that, like, all the hard work I've been doing
during practice is paying off.
- No matter how many times a wrestler gets knocked down,
they have to pick themselves up off the mat.
Agie knows how to do that as well as anyone.
- Nelson: It's always great to see kids progress
and wrestlers progress on your team,
but first, the most important thing is
hard work pays off in real life,
and we want her to understand that.
We, you know, are always pulling
for her to be successful after high school
and after wrestling is all done.
- Agie plans to become an electrical engineer.
She knows everything in life won't actually be easy,
even if she's a wrestler.
But with the right attitude,
she can grapple with anything that comes her way.
- No matter all the problems you have,
there's always a positive way out.
Like, it gets hard sometimes, and yeah, that's life,
but there's the positive side to it,
and you just have to stay hopeful.
[crowd murmuring, ref blows whistle] - YEAH!
[cheers and applause]
- Some pretty extraordinary people call our state home,
and our excursion today proves just that.
A huge thank you to Access Ability Wisconsin and Monica
for letting us tag along.
If you'd like to learn more about this non-profit
or any of the stories you watched here,
visit wisconsin life dot org.
Email us at stories @ wisconsinlife.org
to share your ideas of who we should meet with next.
From Yellowstone Lake State Park, I'm Angela Fitzgerald,
and this is our Wisconsin Life.
Bye!
[bird chirping]
- Funding for Wisconsin Life is provided by
Lowell and Mary Peterson,
Alliant Energy,
Stanley J. Cottrill Fund,
American Transmission Company,
Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programs,
and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.