The Blarney SPECIAL ROYAL EDITION - Irish Rose, Kelly Smith and Irishman John Harrington.

The Blarney
                     The newsletter of The Greater La Crosse Area Shamrock Club
January 2015               e-mail laxshamrockclub@yahoo.com                       Shamrockclublax.org

                                 SPECIAL ROYAL EDITION

                           Introducing our 2015 Royalty –
               Irish Rose, Kelly Smith and Irishman John Harrington.

2015 Shamrock Club Christmas Dinner
Once again, The Freighthouse played host to our annual Christmas dinner. The large group of members and their guests
were treated to a fine meal in great surroundings among good company. While the food and company were a great part of
the night, the high spot was the announcement of our 2015 Irish Rose and Irish Man. Kelly Smith and John Harrington will
be great additions to the list of those who preceeded them, a great number of which were in attendance.

Below you can read short bio’s submitted by Kelly and John which will give you an insight into their backgrounds.

John R. Harrington – Irishman of the Year 2015
John R. Harrington has lived in Fountain City, WI since purchasing “The Monarch Public House” in 1995, moving there with
his wife, Lori Ahl from Green Bay, WI. World travelers and students of history, Harrington and his wife have spent the
intervening years restoring the historic 1894 building and tavern to match its origins while incorporating a restaurant and
menu complimenting his Irish heritage. Travel in Ireland has brought many details of ancestors, traditional family recipes
and new friends resulting in expansions at The Monarch to include an import store and contracts for Irish-made sauces. As
part of this historical journey, the original recipes and brewing process from 1856 of The Fountain Brewing Company were
discovered, restored and are now served on tap. Mr. Harrington has been involved in the local Irish community for many
years as a Trustee and vendor with the La Crosse Irishfest and serves on the board of directors for the Shamrock Club of
Greater La Crosse. He continually expands his knowledge of the Irish experience in America and is looking forward to
sharing the history and stories of those times during his reign as the 2015 Irish Man of the year.

Kelly Smith – Irish Rose 2015
I am honored to represent the Shamrock Club as your Irish Rose for 2015. I am looking forward to the upcoming year's
planned events and parades. I know I will have a great time with John Harrington our new Irish Man.
For those that don't know me, I will tell you a little bit about myself.
I am the daughter of Rod and Pam Smith who have been past Irish Man and Irish Rose. I also have an older brother named
Justin. I own a little stinker of a dog, I call 3D. (Yes, that is her name.) I have been involved with the club since I was 12 yrs.
old. I would join the club on their St. Patrick's Day bus tour every year as a dancer. I have always enjoyed that day. The
members were always so kind and took me under their wings when I was young. I have very fond memories of those days.
I was born and raised in La Crosse. I kept pretty busy growing up. I enjoyed a lot of activities. I twirled baton, curled,
bowled, and especially enjoyed dance. I went to Winona and took Irish dance lessons from Kate Flanagan. She was
wonderful teacher. I now teach Irish dance part time at Amanda's Academy of Dance and I hope I am passing the love of
Irish dancing on to them. I am currently the asst. manager at Rogan Shoes. Once a week you can find me in Centerville
curling.

The festivities were rounded off with a raffle supervised by Linda Boyle, Kalthleen Ryan, Vicky Hampe and Mary Monks.

Past, present and future Irish Rose’s that attended our Christmas Party included: (Back Row) Linda Boyle, Vickey Hampe,
Sue Cruthers, Jeannine Nolan, Linda Pfaff, Donna Finn, Pam Smith, Kathleen Ryan. (Center Row) Debbie Kroner, Liz Oelke,
(Front Row) Kelly Smith, Marian Schnell and Sharon Candahl.

Past, present and future Irishmen present included: (Back Row) Don Walsh, Tim Sprester, Tom Nolan, Barrie Monks, Pat
Stephens, John Harrington, Rod Smith, Jim Finn, Rick Perversky, Pat Houlihan. (Front Row) Dave Holtze, JD Oelke, Jim
Kroner, Mark Barton.

Jack & Kathy Lucey were also present at the party but, unfortunatly, left before these photographs were taken.

Past Irish Rose’s and Irish Men
Irishman of the Year          Irish Colleens
                       1974   Patty Dunn
Sean Stapleton*        1975   Barbara Rice
Bob Cassidy*           1976   Susan Martin
Mike Burns             1977   Sheila Dummer
Norm Kane              1978   Arlene Berg

                              Wild Irish Rose
Jim Slattery*          1979   Marcy Winchell
Larry Vaaler*          1980   Kathleen Burns*
Tom Pahs               1981   Elevena Slattery*
Al Zabolio*            1982   Ann Malin

                              Irish Rose
Lyle Quillin           1983   Eleanor Robinson
Fr. Rossiter*          1984   Marie Vaaler*
Pat Doyle              1985   Pat Moore*
Ed Sullivan            1986   Mary Kay Smith
Fred Smith             1987   Sally Sullivan
Fr Tom Smith           1988   Patsy Venner*
Pat Stephens           1989   Jeanne Rady*
Jim Tracy              1990   Nancy Osweiler (Shreier)
Dave McKenzie          1991   Sue Crothers
Ralph Orcutt*          1992   Shirley Gale
Ray Kelly              1993   Brenda Campbell
Kevin Griffin          1994   Marian Schnell
Rick Perversky         1995   Donna Finn
Don Walsh              1996   Margi Higgins*
Jim Finn               1997   Linda Pfaff
Art Gale*              1998   Sharon Candahl
Don Venner             1999   Dorina Lukins
Dennis O'Brien         2000   Pam Love
Ron Smith              2001   Linda Smith
Pat Houlihan           2002   Joyce Digman*
Jack Lucey             2003   Ruth Kerska
Tom Nolan              2004   Mary Tracy
Jim Kroner             2005   Debbie Kroner
Dave Holtze            2006   Lois Perversky*
Tom O'Brien            2007   Jeannine Nolan
Rod Smith              2008   Kathy Lucey
Tim Sprester           2009   Liz Oelke
Barrie Monks           2010   Pam Smith
J.D. Oelke             2011   Linda Boyle
Shawn Hicks            2012   Stephanie Hicks
Terry Nolan            2013   Vicky Hampe
Mark Barton            2014   Kathleen Ryan
John Harrington        2015   Kelly Smith

                                                  * Deseased

This Month’s “Blast From The Past”

       Taken from the La Crosse Tribune of March 16, 1988 and reproduced with Pat’s kind permission.

My Irish Heritage – Mary Monks
Where were you born?
At home in Colraine Street, Dublin right before the 6pm Angelus Bells rang out.
What is your favourite memory of home?
Going to my Auntie Janies house in West Cabra.
What do you miss the most?
Being around my Irish family, the laughter and the stories, - miss that the most!!
What is your first memory of the USA?
Snow, cold and huge. Sorry I know that’s more than one, but there was so much to take in at once.
Was La Crosse your first destination in the USA?
No, my husband’s job took us to our first city. Cleveland, Ohio in November 1980.
Why La Crosse?
Once again it was a career move for my husband. I think it was a great move, we love it here.

Announcements
Mary and Barrie Monks would like to congratulate their Grandson, Sawyer Elliott Webb whose first birthday was on January
 rd
3 . Sawyer is the son of Mary and Barrie’s daughter Jenna and her husband Gordon, he is in the enviable position of being
able to claim Irish Citizenship through his Grandmother.

Birthdays
                 Feb. 2    Karin O’Brien
                 Feb. 9    Mary Tracy
                 Feb. 12   Candy Nolan
                 Feb. 17   Lola Fry
                 Feb. 18   Rich Maresh
                 Feb. 18   Tom O’Brien
                 Feb. 20   Ryan McKelley
                 Feb. 24   Dawn Potaracke
                 Feb. 25   Eileen Walsh
                 Feb. 28   Major Tom Smith
                 Feb. 28   Kathy Spelker

Up-Coming Events
January 21 – Shamrock Club Board Meeting (Edwardo’s 6:00pm Social – 7:00pm meeting)
February 18 – Shamrock Club General Meeting and Potluck ( Time & Place TBA)
March 6 – Kennedy’s Kitchen Concert - Cavalier Theater (Time TBA)
March 7 – Shamrock Club St Patrick’s Day Dinner & Installation of 2015 Irish Rose & Irish Man – Radison Hotel (Time TBA)
March 14 – St Patrick’s Day Parade
March 17 – Shamrock Club Bus Tour to Schools & Nursing Homes.

Current Board Members
President – Barrie Monks monksb@yahoo.com
Past President – Linda Boyle travelin1b@netscape.net
Vice President – JD Oelke joelke@msn.com
Secretary – Kelley Smith yllek86@aol.com
Treasurer – Liz Oelke oelkegirl@hotmail.com
Parlimentarian – John Harrington john@northpointsupply.com
Sergeant At Arms – Kathleen Ryan ryantigo@msn.com
Membership Chair – Donna Finn dkfinn95rose@charter.net
State Board Representative – Linda Pfaff irishroz_2000@yahoo.com
3Yr Trustee – Kristina Kuhn kkuhn_keneipp@hotmail.com
2 Yr Trustee – Terry Nolan terrypat52@yahoo.com
2 Yr Trustee – Victoria Hampe 1vicky@gmail.com
1 Yr Trustee – Open
1 Yr Trustee - Mary Monks marymonks1968@yahoo.com

Next Issue
Looking ahead, January and February are pretty slow months here in Wisconsin so your next Issue of “The Blarney” will
probably go out after the St. Patricks Day Parade. As a reminder, if you would like anything placed in the announcements
section please send an e-mail to Barrie Monks at monksb@yahoo.com and remember there is no charge.

The Board of The Greater La Crosse Area Shamrock Club would encourage our members
  to frequent the establishments below, each of which has contributed in some way
                               towards club activities.
                                     Thank You.

                           Shamrock Club of La Crosse