Wake Up! Waukesha

While it’s often difficult to put a dollar value on a great experience, I recently had a wonderful encounter at John’s Drive-In in Waukesha. For the low, low price of $2.67 (plus tax), a world class mug of root beer and hot dog were enjoyed!

John’s Drive-In has been at 1317 Arcadian Avenue since 1937. While their menu has expanded over the years to suit changing tastes, it feels good to go back to the basics: hot dogs and root beer.

A friend and I recently enjoyed a warm, sunny lunch at John’s. We were immediately greeted by a gregarious woman behind an old, wooden sliding screen. We begged for an opportunity to peruse the hand-lettered menu board. Our order was taken instantly and we were directed to the side window to wait. After 2-3 minutes, our order was called out and we retreated to one of the 10 picnic tables covered in red and white gingham tablecloths.

Fortunately, we had chosen the “here” (vs. to-go) option for our root beer. This ensures you receive your root beer in a chilled mug. And that mug makes a tremendous difference in the root beer lover world. My medium root beer had condensate dripping down the outside of the mug. This wet mug allows for the perfect blend of foam and liquid. Incredibly smooth, the foam seems to act as an appetizer for the chilled auburn liquid that follows. Obviously the product of years of experimentation, John’s has achieved Root Beer Euphoria. I suggest ordering one size larger than you would normally - it’s that good!

There are many sandwich and snack choices. Our selection of brats and dogs seemed “just right” for the occasion. The brat had all the grill markings of an open flame, and was accompanied by a bakery fresh bun. My dogs were rolled in wax paper and served on steamed buns. Both choices were a wonderful complement to our mugs of root beer.

John’s is a “throwback” place where the food and drinks take center stage. The menu offers enough variety to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters. You can even purchase “John’s Drive-In” t-shirts. Travelin’ from afar? John’s has root beer in quarts, ½ gallons, and gallons to-go.

The “John’s Drive-In” experience in Waukesha is waiting for you!



If you have a “hidden gem” of your own, email me and we will do our best to showcase it.

This weekend is the “last chance” to attend the the play “I Do! I Do!” at the Waukesha Civic Theatre. If this sounds like a ringing endorsement – it is! My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed this production. Based on the audience reactions, we were not alone. The production quality from lighting to sound to staging were first rate. Husband and wife team John and Kelli Cramer couldn’t be more perfectly cast in these roles ( I wonder, given the subject matter deals with issues faced over 50 years of marriage, how rehearsals went at their home…).
If you have kids, if you’ve been married for even 15-20 years, if you enjoy a warm, family comedy, you will enjoy this play…


I Do! I Do!
Book and Lyrics By Tom Jones
Music By Harvey Schmidt
Produced by special arrangement with Music Theatre International.

Alleycat Enterprises presents I Do! I Do!, running July 7th through the 23rd, 2006. The show is being produced as part of the Waukesha Civic Theatre’s Community Partners Productions series.
Starring real life married couple John and Kelli Cramer, together on stage for the first time in over a decade, this award winning musical by Schmidt and Jones (the creators of The Fantasticks) is an intimate story of love and marriage. The show begins with Michael and Agnes on their wedding day and traces their life together over a period of 50 years.
Sixteen years ago the Cramers were playing George and Agnes in a production of George M! and six months later they were engaged to be married. They appeared opposite each other only one other time, as Giles and Mollie in The Mousetrap.

John has been involved in the entertainment industry for more than 25 years. He is a producer, director, choreographer, designer, actor, singer, dancer, administrator, and teacher. He is currently the Managing Artistic Director of the Waukesha Civic Theatre, as well as the owner of his own production company, Alleycat Enterprises, Inc., and a member of the Actors’ Equity Association. John has produced, directed, and choreographed for professional, educational, and community theatres throughout the United States.

Kelli, also a member of Actors’ Equity Association, most recently appeared with nationally renowned composer David Friedman in Stepping Out Production’s version of Listen To My Heart, The Music Of David Friedman. She was honored to portray Patsy Cline in Always ... Patsy Cline, which she performed with Archangel Productions at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center in Brookfield, and the Wagon Wheel Theatre in Warsaw, IN. Kelli performed the tile role in Annie Get Your Gun at the Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace, for which she received Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actress In A Musical.

Mark E. Schuster is the director, scenic designer, and technical director. David B. Carter is the Lighting Designer, Mariel Clemente is the Music Director and first accompanist, John Cramer is the choreographer, Kris Kingstad is the Props Mistress, Anthony Mackie is the Wig Master, Debi Mumford is the Stage Manager, John Santroch is the Sound Designer, Sharon Sohner is the Costume Designer, and David Sytkowski is the second accompanist.
Performance Dates and Times:

Dates Friday Saturday Sunday


July 21-23 8:00 pm 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm 2:00 pm (Closing)

Don’t Miss Out On Our
“Student Rush”
Students with a valid student ID can purchase half price tickets
30 minutes before any performance. (Half price is $11.00.)

And our special
“Pay What You Can!”
on Saturday, July 23rd at 2:00 pm only!
Purchase your ticket 30 minutes before the 2:00 curtain for whatever your budget will allow.

Group Rates Are Also Available. Call For Details!

Tickets for I Do! I Do! are $22.00 or $20.00 for students and seniors. Individual tickets are on sale now and can be ordered by mail, phone, online, or in person. Mail orders should be sent to P.O. Box 221, Waukesha, WI 53187, by check or using MasterCard or Visa. Phone orders should call (262) 547-0708, using MasterCard or Visa.

Chip Martin - Waukesha Area businessman, celebrity, and 1/2 of local Ventriloquist Duo Brown & Martin:
“Every summer I make it a point to revisit my Martin Family Tree in New Jersey. It’s an Ash… In addition, Dale Brown (my business partner) and I are leaving for the International Ventriloquists Convention in Ft. Mitchell, KY, and we supposedly will have an interview with CNN when we get there. Can’t wait to spend 6 ½ hours in a car with 9 puppets, Dale, and his wife Leslie…While rehearsing last night, I confided in Leslie (I don’t usually tell her too much) that the highlight of last year’s convention was being interviewed by Candice Bergen - the daughter of the late, great Edgar Bergen. She interviewed me (us) for a “60 Minutes II” segment. During part of that interview, Candice held my hand - I told Dale he was to never paint that hand again!

When we get back to our Waukesha-area motivational/keynote speaker business, Dale-Brown Inc., (www.dale-brown.com) Dale and I will map out our next itinerary of motivational speeches. Dale (being married to Leslie) needs additional income and spends the balance of his free time acting as president of Brown & Martin, Inc., (www.bmpr.com) a multi-faceted marketing/public relations firm.

I’ve got a good life and it‘s going to be a great summer; interviews, travel, the perfect Minwax blend, first class hotel accommodations, people to attend to my every need, and my partner to “carry” the act wherever we go.”


If you would like to have your summer plans posted, email them and we’ll get them up for the world to see.

If you are like me, you spend a fair amount of your winter time planning and thinking of ways to maximize your summer. Travel, parties, vacations, and a host of other activities then make the summer months fly by far too quickly.

But what about the “other people”? How do our local officials truly get away from the public eye and enjoy their summer fun? Are they at all different from the rest of us?
In search of these answers, following are random responses from some “local notables”:

Waukesha Mayor Larry Nelson:
“Of course I must start with how exciting my new Mayoral duties are, and how every day brings fresh opportunities for summer fun right here in Waukesha. In addition, this summer my wife Dawn and I are looking forward to Spring Green to see plays at American Players Theatre. In my opinion, it's the best outdoor theatre in the country (while indoors, our Waukesha Civic Theatre is a close second), and we also recommend the Spring Green General Store for brunch. We are also looking forward to a short trip to New York to see 91-year-old Les Paul perform, see the Tony award winning play, "The History Boys," and revisit the Metropolitan Museum of Art where we were engaged in 2003. At the end of August, we're headed to Seattle, a city I've always wanted to visit. I love visiting different cities to come up with creative ideas I can bring back to Waukesha.”

Waukesha School Superintendent David Schmidt:
“My summer plans are quite normal…
I plan to work most of the summer to plan for the upcoming year. Our administrators and board continue to meet and work (while using some of their vacation time) and prepare for the coming school year. There will be a vacation with my family for one week in July and playing new dad to two new ten week old kittens. I will also continue to take out my frustrations and stress on yard work which I truly enjoy, especially the ever changing colors of new flower beds (this includes mulching, deadheading, weeding, watering, watching).
My goals include getting out on the golf course once every weekend and trying to keep a high handicap from growing too much. I also hope to spend as much time as possible with Bobbie. She has four weeks of vacation this summer and will spend some of this time in Waukesha. And no summer vacation would be complete without my faithful iPOD bringing me every Bob Dylan song recorded. Beyond this, my plans are small for the summer and, like every year, summer is way too short to prepare for another school year and get some R+R. “

Waukesha County Manager of Public Works Betsy Crossewaite:
Keeping up with an active family of husband and two teenage boys sometimes doesn’t leave time for relaxation. So, prior to the start up of summer activities and the hectic season of developing the $25 million Department of Public Works budget for the County, I took time over Memorial Day weekend to relax at a quilt retreat with friends at a 100 year old mansion in Mineral Point. While there, a trip to Spring Green not only brought the discovery of a new quilt shop, but also put me right in the middle of Spring Green’s Annual “Bob Fest”, a tribute to Bob Dylan and his music. Dave Schmidt, you’ve got to check this out!
I like to try new things, and since last summer’s endeavor was my first ever Triathlon competition (of which I had to learn to swim to compete in it!), I had to try something new this summer. My 15-year-old son and I spent a week in Juarez, Mexico with the Episcopal Church youth group building a house for a family of four. The group of 24 built a 450 square foot house that more than quadrupled their current living conditions. Two months ago I was excited about a new adventure with my son. Today, I can tell you that working in 108 degree, blazing sun with 14 high school kids was more than an adventure and it was more than just building a house. It was about creating a home and security for a family and it was about seeing 14 of our community’s youth mature into young adults before my eyes. My week in Juarez has been the most rewarding experience of my life. Hard to know how I’ll top this one, but I’ll try next summer!


Town of Brookfield Administrator Rick Czopp:
“Having recently purchased a home in the Town, I have joined the ranks of home landscapers. After exhaustive research from my couch via HGTV, a plan was selected and plantings commenced. While doing all this outside work, it struck me that there could be more pet dogs then residents in my Community. And the dogs have created a great way to meet people with opening lines like “What’s your dog’s name?”. After conferring with my wife, I now find additional summer plans encompass mulching, weed-whacking, crack-filling and many other too-exciting-to-talk-about home activities.
In addition, there are always new opportunities for growth and development within Town government. The Board and myself continue exploring methods of providing fi