The 50/50 club was honored with a citizen of the year award for the Town of Texas. Members that are pictured are: Mae Dombrowski, Ronda Rogers, Barb Denfield, Kim Waltz. Karen Martinson, and Nancy Borchardt. Not pictured but also a members of our club include, Wendy Christopherson, Jamie Carpenter and Mary Ellen Schmelzer.
50/50 club was founded September 24, 1924. It was called 50/50 because half the members were from Lincoln County and half from Marathon County. In the 80’s we started working at the park raking with the 4H kids and working on the flower garden. We donated flowers, bark, fertilizer and soil. We planted, watered and weeded the flowers at the park and the town hall. We built all the playground equipment and wooden fence with supplies donated by club members and labor from many family members. We designed and purchased a new park sign.
We raised money for those purchases with pie, plant and rummage sales, our famous brown bag auction and a Chinese auction. We collected many donations from local businesses.
Local Eagel scouts did many projects at the park. These projects included brushing, working on the volleyball court, building a sand box, working on the basketball court, and building steps to the river. Also done by Eagle scouts were, duck houses, bat houses, and working on the shelter. Their scout teams and families assisted.
Mae Dombrowski built a Little Red Barn free library that members maintain in Brokaw. The club carols and bakes cookies for families in the area at Christmas. They also do monetary donations to families with illness, death, fire or hardship.
Charities the club supports include: Women’s shelter, United Way, First Readers, Book purchases, warming house, NTC Timberwolf food pantry, Salvation army, Riverview school, community dinner, bowls of soup, craft learning day, pennies for friendship, mittens for the early reader program at Head Start, Habitat for Humanity.
The club also worked at the first recycling center started in Wausau. Members sorted metal, glass, plastic, batteries, and drain oil into semi’s and bins, in an open air drive through building,
Submitted by Kim Waltz and Nancy Borchardt.
Created 3/11/2022