In this issue:
Join a winning Farmers Market team!
Mulchfest is now the easiest tree disposal option.
There's still time to "shop" for our virtual food drive.
You could be a winner in our holiday decoration contest!
Check out these winter reminders.
Get your "Proud EPNA Member' sign here!
Check out the 2024 EPNA Calendar of Events.
Our annual review of crime prevention tips
Bonus feature: Who is this ‘Dickie’ who keeps helping Enderis Park?
Join a winning Farmers Market team!
Restarting the Enderis Park Farmers Market this summer after a three-year COVID break took a fair amount of time and energy. Luckily, we were blessed with a small but mighty team of neighbors who made it happen. Now that they've built some momentum, the team is looking to expand the size of both the Farmers Market Committee and the market itself.
If you're looking for a fun and energizing way to get engaged with some great neighbors this winter, consider joining the team.
Whether it’s signing up vendors, booking entertainment, enlisting or managing volunteers, posting on social media, staffing the information booth on market days or just setting up and taking down equipment on a few Sundays next summer…wherever your talent and interest lie, whatever your available time, the market can use your help.
Committee members involved in prep work meet periodically from January through May. Job benefits include meeting more of your neighbors, making new friends, engaging in a fun project, and gaining the satisfaction that comes from community-building.
Are you looking for ways to give back to your community? Do you enjoy being part of a successful team? Do you want to help us continue rebuilding this great neighborhood asset for years to come?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, email EnderisParkFarmersMarket@gmail.com (mailto:EnderisParkFarmersMarket@gmail.com) to learn more!
There's still time to 'shop' for our virtual food drive.
Thanks to all who have contributed so far to the annual “Enderis Park Gives Thanks” virtual food drive. As of November 21, 28 neighbors had done $2,590 worth of virtual “shopping” for local families who need help putting food on the table. The drive will continue through December, but please consider scanning the QR code at right now to join in the giving if you haven't already. All contributions, no matter how small, make a difference.
Mulchfest: It's now the easiest way to dispose of your cut holiday tree.
9 to 11:45 am
Saturday, January 6
Looking ahead to EPNA's first event of 2024, we invite neighbors to help keep our community green by bringing your holiday tree to our annual Mulchfest. Your tree will be turned into mulch, which the City uses for its many beautiful boulevards and parks. It’s one more way that Enderis Park gives back! It also will be the easiest way to dispose of your real tree, since the city's Sanitation Department will no longer offer curbside pick-up of cut trees, instead creating several temporary drop-off sites in addition to the regular ones.
Weather permitting, a City of Milwaukee truck will be on hand from 9 to 11:45 a.m. on January 6 to mulch your tree right before your eyes. If that timing isn't convenient, bring your tree any time between New Year’s Day and 9 a.m. January 6 and place it on the northeast side of the Enderis Park parking lot driveway so as not to block the park entrance, driveway or snow plowing efforts.
Each car with a tree delivery during Mulchfest will receive a small goody bag as a thank you. Please note that this event cannot handle large-quantity tree disposals from area businesses.
If snow conditions on January 6 require city trucks to be out clearing the streets, we will cancel the tree-chipping event and notify you asap. In that case, already collected trees will be cleared as scheduling allows and those not yet collected will need to go to a drop-off center. For more information on tree disposal, visit Milwaukee.gov/Sanitation.
Get ready for the holiday decorating contest!
You're invited to participate in the annual EPNA Holiday Decorating Contest. Our distinguished panel of judges will be doing their thing on the evening of Wednesday, December 20. They’ll be looking for the most excellent displays of creativity, effort, and love of the season. The four prizes include a “Winner” yard sign and mention on Facebook, Nextdoor and in an EPNA e-blast. (Please note that the last two years’ winners are ineligible.)
Please note these winter reminders.
Night parking: Park on the even address side on even dates and the odd numbered address side on the odd dates so plows can remove snow. Night parking starts at 11 PM.
Alleys: Snow must be removed from around trash containers for access by sanitation workers. When shoveling in the alley, DO NOT push the snow into the alley and do not assume the plow will come through -- this just makes it harder for everyone else to get through.
Christmas trees: Take your tree to Mulchfest on or before January 6 (see related article), weather permitting, or dispose at one of the city’s drop-off centers. For more information, visit Milwaukee.gov/Sanitation.
Please, shovel your sidewalk – it’s the law: Remember, residential and commercial property owners and occupants are required to clear sidewalks abutting their property of snow or ice within 24 hours of a storm. If violations are reported, a 24-hour notice is issued. If the sidewalks still are not cleared, a sanitation crew will clear a path and add the charge to the property tax bill. To report an unshoveled sidewalk, call 414-286-2489. Make our city safer by shoveling out the fire hydrants near your home. “Adopting” a fire hydrant will ensure maximum visibility for firefighters in the event of an emergency. If you have older or disabled neighbors, please help them if you can.
Get your 'Proud EPNA Member' sign here!
EPNA continues to grow. As of November 1, member households stood at 270, up from 254 a year earlier. (Sixty-eight memberships that expired in July haven't yet been renewed. If yours is among them, you can use the link below to rejoin!)
If you’ve joined or renewed for the current season, please consider displaying an 8.5 by 11-inch “Proud EPNA Member 2023-24” sign. An EPNA sign in your window is a way to show your support for your neighborhood association and encourage others to join. To request a sign, email anneconnects@gmail.com and we’ll email one right over for you to print out.
If you’re not yet a member or if your membership has lapsed, you can go to https://www.enderispark.org/support-us to pay the $25 fee online or to download a membership form to pay by mail.
SAVE THE DATE: EPNA 2024 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Mulchfest – Saturday January 6
Easter Egg Hunt – Saturday March 23
Volunteer Recognition Celebration – Wednesday April 17
Spring Clean-Up – Saturday April 20
Bloom & Groom Plant Sale – Saturday May 11
Neighborhood Rummage Sale – Saturday June 8
Farmers Market - June 16 through September 28
Concerts on the Green – June 20, July 11, July 25, and August 15
4th of July Celebration – Thursday July 4
Harvest Fest – TBD
EPNA Neighborhood Nighttime Halloween Trick-or-Treat
and Decorating Contest – Friday October 25
Enderis Park Gives Back (online giving campaign) - November/December
Holiday Decorating Contest – Judging on December 18
Here's our annual review of crime prevention tips.
Living in an urban setting can present some challenges regarding “crimes of opportunity.” Please take a minute or two to read the following safety tips.
Securing you HOME and GARAGE
Lock your doors when leaving the house, even when working in the yard or shoveling snow.
Keep the overhead service door of your garage closed and locked when not working in the yard.
When going on vacation, have a neighbor park their car in your driveway and pick up mail, packages and newspapers. Have indoor lights on a timer.
Entry doors should be either steel-reinforced or a solid wood, secured with dead bolt locks.
Install pins or nails above window sashes on 1 st floor windows and allow only 6 inches to be open in the summer when away from the house or when you are sleeping.
Trim shrubbery below window level.
Install eyebolts into studs inside your garage and use a cable lock to secure your lawnmower, snowblower, and bicycles.
Leave porch and garage lights on at night. A well lit area often deters intruders.
Never leave the electric garage door opener on your car visor if you park your car in the alley or on the street.
Securing AUTOS
Always lock your car doors.
Use a CLUB if you own an older model car.
NEVER keep personal papers, such as insurance records, vehicle registration, credit cards, receipts etc. in the auto.
NEVER leave anything of value in your auto whether parking in or outside of a garage, including
purses, laptop computers, loose change etc.
Bonus feature: Who is this 'Dickie' who keeps helping Enderis Park?
by Anne Curley
If you happen to be sitting at the Thistle & Shamrock bar on Lisbon and 84th between 4 and 5 p.m. on a weekday, you’re likely to see a small parade of people stopping by to see restaurant co-owner Richard – much better known as Dickie – Heil. Most are vendors seeking orders. But a surprising number are neighborhood folks asking for contributions for their team, school, or other cause. The answer to the contribution seekers is often yes.
When asked to estimate how much he gives away each year in the form of gift certificates, door prizes and cash donations, Dickie says simply, “Tons.” Asked whether all those contributions have made a difference for his business, again he keeps it short: “I don’t know and I don’t care.”
The Enderis Park neighborhood has long benefited from Thistle & Shamrock’s exceptional generosity. This year, Dickie took his support to the next level by suggesting, organizing, and staffing a raffle at one of our concerts that raised $1,240 for EPNA – a fundraiser he’s already offered to repeat next summer. But that’s just the latest good deed he’s done for us.
EPNA President Pat Yahle calls Dickie “one of our most loyal sponsors.” She notes that Thistle & Shamrock has been a financial sponsor of EPNA’s summer concert series for more than six years, has served as a concert food vendor for four seasons and has hosted the last three annual EPNA volunteer recognition events.
“Dickie’s longtime commitment to the well-being of our community is well known. His generosity toward area organizations and residents is widely acknowledged and greatly appreciated,” Yahle said. “The Enderis Park neighborhood is very fortunate to call him a friend.”
Dickie comes across as a carefree guy, rich in friendships, for whom strangers quickly become his “cousins.” He’s a man of faith who says he’s had more than his share of blessings, chief among them being his smart, supportive wife Jennifer; their daughters Lizzie, 22, who just graduated from Saint Norbert, and Sophia, 15, at Grafton High School; and “the best staff ever.”
Dickie has also been blessed with a great business partner, Thistle and Shamrock co-owner Jack Lepold, who “runs the back of the house,” including finding and ordering all the fish and running the day-to-day operation. Jack also owns the building that houses the restaurant. “Jack’s Number One priority is making sure the building serves as a meeting place for everyone in the neighborhood," says Dickie, adding “I owe everything to Jack.”
Dickie describes the restaurant as “a family place” that caters to people who aren’t interested in getting wild and crazy. “When I do live music” – which the restaurant offers every Saturday night – “I do it from 8 to 11. I always say, ‘Nothing good happens after midnight.’”
Thistle and Shamrock is probably best known for its Friday fish fries, featuring a choice of 27 kinds of fish along with homemade potato pancakes. Former Journal-Sentinel Food Critic Carol Deptolla led off an article headlined “Six Milwaukee-area fish fries that will make you forget whatever you’re giving up for Lent” by raving about the quality and variety of the restaurant’s offerings. (Folks who want to avoid the Friday night wait for a table, which typically runs about a half hour, can choose from about six kinds of fish and indulge in those potato pancakes any other evening except Monday, when the restaurant is closed.)
Over the restaurant’s front door hangs a photo of a dear friend, “Big Black Dave,” that Dickie met on his first day as a bartender at the start of his career. They spent 6,000 Fridays and Saturdays together over 30 years, he says. Five years ago, Dave died. Dickie says every time he looks up and sees his friend’s face, “It reminds me that life is short and you need to live it to the fullest.”
Thank you, Dickie, for making Enderis Park part of your life!