Challenge the Outdoors recently held a grand opening for its new facility, Peter’s Pond, near the corner of State 29 and State 160, Cherry Drive, in Pulaski.

This was made possible by a donation from Steve and Kristi Nooyen of Home Instead Senior Care.

The 13-acre property has a 3.5-acre pond with five handicapped accessible fishing piers.

An estimated 350 to 400 people attended the grand opening. They were treated to wieners and a pig roast with all the trimmings.

The grand-opening cake had intricate details depicting people enjoying the great outdoors.

The building at Peter’s Pond will also be available for meetings and other gatherings. CTO President Carl Gierke organizes bookings. He can be reached at 920-986-3272.

Check out ctoforme.org and see what the group has to offer.

Read last week’s column:23rd annual Going Back to Classic Car Show set at Larrabee Sportsmans Club, and more in the latest outdoors report

History of Francis Creek club’s clubhouse featured in Jerry Apps’ book

I just got done listening to an audiobook, “One-Room Country Schools: History and Recollections from Wisconsin,” by Jerry Apps.

I found it very interesting, as at one time Wisconsin had well more than 7,000 school districts. It made sense, as most of the students had to live close because they walked to school.

The Francis Creek School District was organized in the early 1850s. The original school was sold and converted into a cheese factory.

The new school was built in 1891 at a cost of $708 for materials and $747.41 for labor.

The book told of schools in those days running both a summer and winter session. The younger students would go to school during the summer and the older students would attend school in the winter only as they were needed at home on the farms to plant and harvest crops in both the fields and their large gardens.

Because of the two annual school sessions, some 90 students attended from 1875 to 1880, but by 1948 only eight students were attending when the school finally closed in the early 1960s.

On Sept. 30, 1964, the school was sold to the Francis Creek Sportsman’s Club for $1 and is still used as its clubhouse to this day.

Apps writes many books about rural Wisconsin in the early days, and I would recommend his books to anyone interested in learning more about Wisconsin and how it was back just after it was granted statehood on May 29, 1848.

Larrabee club’s car show is Sept. 1

Larrabee Sportsmans Club, 16306 Harpt Lake Road, Mishicot, will hold its 23rd annual “Going Back to Classic Car Show” Sept. 1.

The show will include cars, trucks, bikes and tractors, and will go on rain or shine.

Registration is 7-11 a.m. at a cost of $10 per unit. Trophies for first, second and third places will be awarded at 3 p.m. All judging will be done by private individuals, not by clubs or dealers. The object of this show is to have fun.

Food will be provided by The Ponderosa, Linda Loves Cheese Cakes, and Doughnuts and More.

Entertainment includes Kickin’ It Karaoke from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Jordan Blanchard from 4 to 7 p.m., and Broken Arrow from 7to 11 p.m.

Vendor spots are available by calling Christine at 920-660-9270. Check out club activities on the Larrabee Sportsman’s Club Facebook page.

More:Manitowoc is home to the most completely restored WWII submarine, the USS Cobia. Here’s how it ended up in the city.

Grasshoppers focus of next ‘Raising a Wild Child’ at Woodland Dunes

Woodland Dunes Nature Center and Preserve in Two Rivers will present its next “Raising a Wild Child” program — this one on grasshoppers — in two sessions Sept. 12. Session one will be 9-10:15 a.m. and session two will be 10:45 a.m.-noon.

Cost of the program is $2 per child for members or $3 per child for non-members.

During the program, experience the wonders of nature with your 2- to 5-year-old child with nature hikes, play and guided activities. Help your child notice the natural world and ignite their curiosity. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Registration is required by the Monday before the session by emailing Jess at jessicaj@woodlanddunes.org or by calling 920-793-4007.

Rifle and Pistol Club’s fall hunter safety course kicks off Sept. 10

Manitowoc Rifle and Pistol Club, 7227 Sandy Hill Lane, Two Rivers, will hold its fall 2024 hunter safety course from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 10, 12, 17 and 19, and finishing up from 9 a.m. until noon Sept. 21.

Register on the Wisconsin DNR Go Wild! website. Cost is $10 per person. Contact Mike Rozmiarek at 920-901-6103 with any questions.

That’s it for this week, so have fun in the great outdoors.