Letter to the Editor: Thank you, county supervisors, for dedicating "Hawks Pond Road."

(Photo courtesy of Beacon software)

Carol Dowe and 125 property owners on "Hawks Pond Road" (198th Avenue) in Hesper Township have e-mailed this Letter to the Editor:

"We want to thank the Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors for approving the heritage road signs saying "Hawks Pond Road," to be added to 198th Avenue in Hesper Township.

Some 25 property owners on 198th Avenue always knew this road as Hawks Pond Road, and gave directions to friends and business people coming to our farms on this road by saying "come by Hawks Pond Road."  This goes back to the 1950's!

We want to remember Loren Hawks because he was an exceptional man.  He was very kind and made himself available to families and extended
his property, Hawks Pond, as a place where parents and grandchildren could bring their children to fish and enjoy the outdoors.  He did not have children of his own, but had many "adopted" families.  And his great nieces and nephew, Donna Weinmann and Russ and Donalda Weinmann, who
live here today, remember Uncle Loren fishing with Russ as a little boy as does Donna.  Both of them did a lot of swimming in that pond every summer when they were kids.  "There used to be a big wooden raft floating in the pond, and Auntie Carol and Uncle Loren made sure we kids wore life preservers and had inner tubes to hang onto also."

We look forward to seeing the heritage Hawks Pond Road signs as a beautiful memory of the past to honor Loren Hawks."