“WANDER-thon” at the Christopher Farm & Gardens (Part 2 of ?)
NOTE: Click on below PDF to view photos related to this article.
The First Annual WANDER-thon held on August 19th and 20th at the Christopher Farm & Gardens benefiting SCCCF was a WANDER-ful success!
There were simply too many great experiences and stories to share in just one issue of this Local Cancer Community Update. In the previous issue I shared stories related to WANDER-thon Flame, which burned for 24-hours straight, at the Schell House Firepit and was a perfect gathering spot for many of the event activities (see photo below)!
But don’t let that photo fool you! There was not much time to sit with all of the activities that were taking place!
WANDER-thon Activity Passport!
Participants were given a WANDER-thon Passport which listed twenty-six activities that were taking place throughout the event. Some activities could be completed at any time while others had a specific time. Activities included: Opening Ceremony, First Steps Together, seven different Featured Walking Routes, Group Art Project, Qigong, a night-time and a day-time Dairyland Express Train Ride, Fireside Storytelling, Sunrise Greeting, Gentle Yoga, Humming Curves Closest to the Pin Golf Challenge, Steps to Survivorship, Autograph Party, Five-Minutes of Silence, Survivorship Through the Lens, Rubber Ducky Scavenger Hunt, Cornhole at Ye Olde Tennis Court Garden, Labyrinth, Message Book, Thank You to Mr. Jay Christopher, and a Closing Ceremony. Schwew! It’s no wonder some of us didn’t sleep at all!!!
Congrats to these WANDER-thon PASSPORT Participants:
Top Five Cancer Survivors:
First – Tie) Linda Ansay & Leah Heusterberg (21 activities)
Third) Maryellen Kloiber (18 activities)
Fourth) Sue Zalewski (17 activities)
Fifth – Tie) Barb Bogenschutz & Bev Leonhard (15 activities)
Top Two Co-Survivors:
First) Mike Ansay (23 activities)
Second) John Zalewski (15 activities)
Top Two Youth Co-Survivors:
First) Emma Gumtow (21 activities)
Second) Zander Gumtow (15 activities)
Here are details about some of the twenty-six different activities included in the WANDER-thon Passport:
“Steps to Survivorship” (25,000 or more):
WANDER-thon participants tracked their steps throughout the event. Here are the participants with more than 24,000 steps in 24 hours:
First) Emma Gumtow (34,533 steps)
Second) Linda Ansay (33,189 steps)
Third) Mike Ansay (28,417 steps)
Fourth) Leah Heusterberg (28,100 steps)
Fifth) Zander Gumtow (27,765 steps)
Sixth) Maryellen Kloiber (26,500 steps)
Autograph Party!
We conducted an “Autograph Party” to encourage participants to get to know one another a little better throughout the event. I wasn’t as clear as I should have been with the instructions. I meant for participants to share “one interesting fact” about themselves (which many did), but others humorously listed interesting facts such as “Flies can fly,” “Sunlight is powerful,” and “Cows kill more people than sharks.”
Here are some “Interesting Facts” that some WANDER-thon participants shared about themselves:
Adam Schlies: “I have a beautiful girlfriend.”
Andrew Schmitz: “I won a dance competition at a Bucks game.”
Barb Bogenschutz: “My favorite color is pink.”
Beth Thieme: “I love to read.”
Beverly Leonhard: “I was “Sgt. Schultz” in the Army”
Brenna Goodman: “I have a guinea pig that’s 7-years old.”
Deb Patrick: “I’m a Humor Specialist.”
Emma Gumtow: “I love softball.”
Erika Lusthoff: “I’ve run two marathons.”
Gabe John Baptiste: “I have 2 cats.”
Isabella Schmitz: “I play tennis.”
Izzy John Baptiste: “My hair used to be straight.”
Jeanna Goodman: “I wear a size 7-1/2 shoe.”
Jennifer John Baptiste: “I used to have 20 ear piercings.”
Jenny King: “I’m the most senior person in my department.”
John Zalewski: “My first car was a Camaro.”
Jon Schmitz: “I caught an armed robber.”
Josh Gumtow: “I like to fish.”
Kathy Burch: “I am a farm girl.”
Leah Heusterberg: “I like cold beer.”
Lenny Bogenschuts: “I have six toes!”
Linda Ansay: “I am a 4-year survivor”
Maryellen Kloiber: “I am a distant relative of Gregory Peck.”
Mike Ansay: “I never dated Madonna.” “Elvis is not my Dad.” “I went to Graceland drunk.”
Monica Kleinhans: “I have the best dog ever.”
Olivia Schmitz: “I was a lead pitcher in softball.”
Sue Zalewski: “I travelled to Hawaii two times.”
Thomas Kloiber: “I like Niagara Falls.”
Tim Renzelmann: “I’ve been collecting pennies for over fifty years!”
Zander Gumtow: “I am smart and funny.”
Top Autograph Collectors:
First) Brenna Goodman (23 Autographs)
Second) Beverly Leonhard (18 Autographs)
Third – Tie) Sue & John Zalewski (17 Autographs)
Group Art Project
Join us at the TLC Survivorship Session on Tuesday, September 20th starting at 6P for a session titled, “What I Did on My Summer Vacation” that will include stories and photos from the First Annual WANDER-thon that will include the unveiling of this WANDER-ful Work of Art!!!
Participating Artists Include: Linda Ansay, Mike Ansay, Kathy Burch, Emma Gumtow, Zander Gumtow, Leah Heusterberg, Jenny John Baptiste, Maryellen Kloiber, Beverly Leonhard, Erika Lusthoff, Tim Renzelmann, Adam Schlies, Isabella Schmitz, John Zalewski, Sue Zalewski.
“Rubber Ducky” Scavenger Hunt:
Erika Lusthoff of the CF&G created a fun and unique scavenger hunt! Fourteen rubber duckies were hidden throughout the gardens, each accompanied by a laminated card with a different word on it. Participants were challenged to find all fourteen words and unscramble them to reveal a well-known quote!
“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” – John Muir
Congrats to NINE WANDER-thon Participants who submitted the correct answer:
Linda Ansay, Mike Ansay, Brenna Goodman, Emma Gumtow, Zander Gumtow, Leah Heusterberg, Maryellen Kloiber, John Zalewski, and Sue Zalewski.
Dairyland Express Train Rides!
Participants had the opportunity to enjoy a night-time ride on the Dairyland Express on Friday as well as an afternoon ride on Saturday! Train Conductor/Engineer Erika of Christopher Farm & Gardens, who has been providing train rides for many years, indicated it was the ”loudest” train ride she has been on, thanks to the enthusiasm of the survivors on board but especially the youthful co-survivors!
Sunrise Greeting!
A small contingent of WANDER-thon participants (some who stayed up all night and others who woke up early) greeted the sunrise enthusiastically with kazoos and noisemakers and (of course) cow bells!
Gentle Yoga on the Schell House Deck!
Cancer survivor Stacy Harriott, CYT facilitated a morning Yoga session on the Schell House deck!
Humming Curves Golf Challenge (Closest to the Pin in One, Two, or Three Strokes)!
The one-hole “Humming Curves” Golf Course (the name is a playful take on Kohler Company’s Whistling Straits golf course located three miles north) was the site for some fun competition while Jay Christopher Looked on!
Closest to the Pin in One:
Adam Schlies (10.30m)
Closest to the Pin in Two:
Lenny Bogenschutz (6.55m)
Closest to the Pin in 3:
Josh Gumtow (0.3m)
Survivorship Through the Lens:
View photos submitted by WANDER-thon participants: https://scccf.org/contest?c=first-annual-wander-thon.
More to Come...
I am still waiting for a few more donations to come in for the WANDER-thon... plus there were a few unplanned activities that took place throughout the event... so watch for at least one more part to this series! And if any of you WANDER-thon participants have a story with a photo of the event to share with our readers... just let me know!
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