Colfax serves as classroom for Chippewa Valley Learning in Retirement

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX  —  The Village of Colfax enjoyed the honor of serving as a classroom for Chippewa Valley Learning in Retirement during “Visit Historic Colfax” September 12.

Chippewa Valley Learning in Retirement offers educational courses, cultural experiences and social activities for retired individuals living in the Chippewa Valley.

CVLR’s visit to Colfax focused on the Colfax Railroad Museum and the Colfax Municipal Building — two of the 16 buildings in Colfax built with locally quarried sandstone.

Visit Historic Colfax was the second offering in the group’s 32-page fall course schedule and registration packet.

While they were in Colfax, half of the group started out in the morning at the Colfax Railroad Museum and the other half started out at the Colfax Municipal Building. In the afternoon, the groups switched places at the museum and the municipal building.

A total of 69 people went on the Colfax tour, and many of the CVLR members expressed how much they enjoyed visiting Colfax, said Sally Felling coordinator of Visit Historic Colfax.

Felling provided a sampling of the feedback she received.

“Charlie and I thoroughly enjoyed our day. ‘Visit Historic Colfax’ was a spectacular offering!” said Margaret Brostrom.

Other comments about the tour included describing it as a “great time” and “it was a fun and informative day in Colfax.”

“I especially liked the train museum. Wow! It was amazing to see such a large collection of dishes from the old trains,” said another tour participant.

Chippewa Valley Learning in Retirement has 740 members, according to CVLR president Sharon Lowry.

All together, CVLR is offering 74 classes and tours this fall from September through November. Some of the classes and activities have a registration fee while others do not.

Troy Knutson, a local historian, presented a short program on Colfax history in the auditorium of the municipal building.

Joan Scharlau, former president of the Colfax Municipal Building Restoration Group, presented a short program on the history of the restoration group.

After the presentations, tour participants were free to visit the Colfax History Room and talk with curator Susan Hill, stop into the Colfax Public Library, or venture down the hall in the municipal building to the clerk’s office to see the jail.

Both tour groups ate lunch at A Little Slice of Italy, which occupies the oldest building in Colfax. And when the afternoon presentations were finished, tour participants were free to visit the antique shops in Colfax and to stop for a cup of coffee at Cafe II Coffee Shop & Bakery.

“As a program coordinator for the Chippewa Valley Learning in Retirement group, I am always thinking about what our members might find interesting. Many of the CVLR members are very interested in local history. With the Colfax Municipal Building celebrating its 100th year and the (Colfax) Railroad Museum here, it seemed like the perfect time to offer this tour,” Felling said.

Many of the first half of the events in the course schedule take place in Menomonie, and many of the events in the second half of the course schedule take place in Eau Claire.

Other upcoming CVLR classes include “Serendipity Silk Scarf Design” on September 23 in Menomonie; “Make a Barn Quilt” on September 24; “Stay Sharp Everyday” on September 26 in Menomonie; “Birds in Art Trip” on September 27 which departs by bus from MarketPlace Foods in Menomonie at 7:30 a.m.; “Write Your Own Obituary: You Get the Last Word” on September 28 and October 5 in Menomonie; “Juvenile Delinquency and the Juvenile Justice System” on September 29 in Menomonie; “Drawing with Alcohol Ink Basic” on October 3 in Menomonie; “Mental Health First Aid” on October 4 in Menomonie; “Foreign Affairs Menomonie” on October 7; “Drawing with Alcohol Ink Advanced” on October 10 in Menomonie; and “When Steamboats Ran the Chippewa River” on October 11 in Menomonie.

Many of the programs in Menomonie are at the Russell J. Rassbach Heritage Museum.

“Sense and Sensibility at the Guthrie” is scheduled for October 26. The last event November 30 is “Orphan Train at the History Theatre” in St. Paul.

For more information about Chippewa Valley Learning in Retirement, visit the group’s website at www.cvlr.org.

According to the website, CVLR has members from Weyerhauser to the north, Stanley to the east, River Falls to the west, and Hixton to the south.

The group started out at UW-Stout in 1994, and for the first 16 years, primarily served Menomonie area residents.