By SUE MARCOU | Millston, Wis.
As a member of a very small community that has to rely heavily on community members stepping forward to volunteer their time for any community event, I am wondering who ticked off whom in Wilton. The community I live in is much smaller than Wilton, only 120 souls in the whole township, and not all of those souls volunteer. In fact, only a small percentage do. And given that nearly all of our community events are on holiday weekends throughout the summer, the volunteers who give their time to these events are very much appreciated.
I have read in the County Line that first the folks of Wilton Wood Turtle Days asked for help in planning the event. Then, since they didn’t have much of a response, with deep regret they decided to cancel the event for the immediate future with hopes of bringing it back someday. Then I read that the Wilton Village Board decided to do their own thing. How, I wondered? If one group can’t get folks to come forward to plan/participate, how does another in the same small community plan to get probably some of the same volunteers to come forward for a different/same event? And rather than keeping continuity for naming the event that other areas know of as the Wilton Wood Turtle Days and paying a nominal fee to use that name, the board unanimously votes NO?
As a member and sometimes chair of planning committees in our community, I am eternally grateful for any and all help from not only members of this community who come forward, but also from those outside of our immediate community who will volunteer. Wilton is starting to remind me of our national division of us vs. them. And that makes me very sad. I have relatives and I am a descendant of people from Wilton. When I have been to Wilton anytime in my lifetime, I have always thought of Wilton as a nice, friendly community, not only a nice place to visit, but maybe someday it could be a place to live. I’m starting to think maybe not so much.
Whatever the division is there in Wilton, can’t it be worked out with a nice, friendly chat that comes to a consensus of what is good for the community and not down to us vs. them?
