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Lauderdale Lakes BREEZE SUMMER 2023 • Fourth Edition
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Long-time Elkhorn bakery sold to new owners BY Jennifer Eisenbart • EDITOR
Southern Wakes United wins another state title BY Jennifer Eisenbart • EDITOR
The Southern Wakes United waterski team certainly enjoyed the waters of Lake Wazeecha in Wisconsin Rapids the weekend of July 22. Bringing home several box score awards – individual or group act recognition – the SWU team brought home the top trophy at the Wisconsin State Water Ski Show Championships. The team topped the Division 3 standings, plus also brought home awards for Best Comedy Act, Highest Scoring Traditional Ballet Line, Most Original/Unique Act, Highest Scoring Production, High Scoring Dock and Equipment and Highest Scoring Tow Boat Team. Southern Wakes United totaled 1,063 points, while the Plum-Skiters were second from 1,044. It is the first state title since the Lauderdale Aqua Skiers from Lauderdale Lakes and the Minneiska Water Ski Club from Whitewater Lake merged in 2019. “I am so proud of the dedication this team
showed this year, especially the last couple of weeks leading up to the competition,” said Rick Syverson, the president of Southern Wakes United. “Winning that trophy has been something we have had our eyes on since merging in 2019. We thought of ourselves as the little team that could. And we did.” Syverson explained that the show directors Laura Lohrmann and Zach Pressley worked throughout the winter to put the show together and then getting it onto the water. “The show had a lot of moving pieces, so there was a lot of preparation to make it happen that goes beyond the water skiing,” Syverson said. “They stuck with it, they made it fun and they earned the buy-in from the team to make it the best it could be.” The team is comprised of 56 skiing members and 28 non-skiers – which covers everything from boat drivers to people who pay dues to support the team.
For more than 65 years, the Elkhorn Pastry Shop Bakery has been a fixture on the square in downtown Elkhorn. Soon, though – with Greg and Brenda Kaplan deciding to retire – the store will have new owners come Labor Day weekend. Elkhorn Pastry Shop, 29 N. Wisconsin St., Elkhorn, will become Pastries by Chad later this month. The sale is scheduled for closing Aug. 22, with new owner Chad Visger hoping to have the business open for the Walworth County Fair over the Labor Day weekend. “It’s a good time to retire,” said Greg Kaplan, who has been a part of the business since his father purchased the bakery in the 1950s. Since taking over the business in 1988, he described waking up at 1 a.m. most days of the week, working through Saturday and then taking Sundays off for the occasional Green Bay Packers’ game. “I’ve spent a lot of time here in
the bakery,” Greg said. “It’s time to start a different chapter in my life.” The bakery was started in 1955 by Edwin and Carol Kaplan. Edwin attended the William Hood Dunworthy Institute in Minneapolis after being drafted into the Korean War, then came home and married Carol. The couple purchased Bodot Bakery at 24 S. Wisconsin St., Elkhorn, in 1955, and moved to the business’s current location in 1960. All four of the Kaplan children grew up in the bakery, Greg explained, and he became a partner in the business in 1985. “All four of us were born and raised in the bakery,” Greg said. He married Brenda in 1988 and the two took over the bakery the same year. The couple announced in May that they were retiring, just to “set the record straight,” they explained on Facebook. Once the news was out that the business was for sale, things began to move quickly. “We put it on Facebook and we • CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
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Greg and Brenda Kaplan are retiring after being at the helm of the Elkhorn Pastry Shop for 35 years. SUBMITTED PHOTO Lauderdale Lakes Breeze
The Southern Wakes United Waterski Team recently performed at Babe Mann Park in Elkhorn, one of three shows they perform on the lake. The team won the Wisconsin State Water Ski Show Championships Division 3 title this past weekend. above: The pyramid act steps into place. at left: A trio and a conventional double perform. top: The ballet line comes past the reviewing area. DAVE DRESDOW Lauderdale Lakes Breeze
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