Those who travel the path around the Falls know there are a variety of hints of a coming change in the season, and many were in the air this weekend.
The first may have been the nail-biting finish to the Green Bay Packers game in Miami. Many shots showed the glistening skin or wet hair of the players who played under temperatures that bumped up against the 90-degree mark. Although no one said it for the record in the postgame interviews, we are sure they were looking forward to more Frozen Tundra-like temperatures for the balance of the season.
When you’re hot, you’re hot, but hot temperatures and a hot arm of a quarterback leading a last-second drive was almost too much to take for the viewers back home. Everybody needs to cool off.
A postgame bike ride around Kelly Lake was a nice cool down activity Sunday afternoon. The weekend’s start might have had peak color conditions, but many of the trees were thinned of their leaves by Sunday afternoon, another sign of a coming change in the season.
There was little activity around the lake at the time of that bike tour. The scene is reverting to a more peaceful mode after a wild summer of fun activities with family and friends. Many appreciate that return to the more peaceful season, as it can recharge the soul.
Three-quarters through that tour around the lake we stopped at the Holiday Inn for a bit of recharging and a brief review of the condition of the world with Romie. As always, he has a unique insight, given the hundreds of conversations he has each week as he provides hospitality to those seeking a little repose from the busyness of the world away from the lake. Before long, the supper club was taken over by the Lena crowd who came to celebrate a 75th birthday.
We are not sure if there were any gifts at the birthday party, but gift giving of another sort was another sign of the change in the season. Media sources indicated that this coming weekend one of the larger retailers in Green Bay would have the official opening of its toy land for those who wanted to get a head start on their Christmas shopping. One would think that they would have the decency to at least wait until Halloween to start the holiday music at the store.
Speaking of stores in Green Bay that have a lot of orange in their color themes, one store and a transportation company will have a connection to the new athletic fields at Oconto Falls High School. The construction committee met with representatives of J.W. Industries last week to finalize some details on the bleachers that are part of the project.
There will be no worry about getting a sliver after sliding from side to side at the exciting finish to a football game. The bleachers will be aluminum. Bleacher finishes have changed over the years with the advancement of technology. Colors are now available to coat the aluminum and dress up the appearance. In the past, some of the most challenging colors to use in these applications have been reds and oranges. They have had a greater tendency to fade in the sunlight over the years.
DuPont had worked on the problem, but there was not enough demand for orange paint to make it worth the effort. This all changed as more and more Home Depot stores were built, and they wanted to have a bright, fade-resistant face on their buildings. Eventually, DuPont came up with the right formula for the paint. The Schneider truck fleet uses the same orange.
That will also be part of the orange and black bleacher theme at the new athletic field at Oconto Falls High School. We doubt it will be called the Home Depot/Schneider Trucking Stadium, but the color will be right.
The field is getting its finishing touches this week, with the good possibility that it will be seeded before the end of the week. With luck, the cold weather will hold off a bit, and the new turf will get a foothold before the late fall growing season comes to an end. It won’t be winter wheat, but the growing cycle concept is the same.
On Friday night, the football season and football era came to an end at Memorial Field.
There certainly is a change in the air.
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