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Blahnik Heritage Park Opened in 2008


Photo by Diane Blahnik

Evelyn (Blahnik) Brookhyser is the daughter of Wenzel F. Blahnik.  She and her husband donated this 23 acre parcel of land she inherited from her father.  Wenzel had purchased the land with the hopes of making into a park some day.  Evelyn and her husband Paul have now made that possible.  Wenzel used to hold family reunions on his farm for the Blahniks.

See external write up for BLAHNIK HERITAGE PARK
 
 
Location shown in Red along the Ahnapee trail off Washington Road near Hwy 42 in Kewaunee County, WI

History of the Park

 

I. Introduction

In August 2004 Paul and Evelyn (Blahnik) Brookhyser returned to Kewaunee County from their home in Oregon. They were just setting off on their retirement. They came to visit Evelyn’s mother Dorothy, family, and friends and to plant the seeds of a dream: creation of an educational and recreational park in memory of Evelyn’s father – Wenzel Blahnik. Wenzel purchased the land for the park years ago as a site for family reunions, summer picnics, fishing expeditions spring and fall, and ice skating parties in the winter. It is one of a number of special parcels he acquired over the years, tilled, preserved, and willed to his children.

Evelyn’s parcel is twenty-three acres he told friend and neighbor Myrton Schley he would never sell. Evelyn received the Ahnapee River property at Washington Road upon his passing. Now she and her husband seek to share it in perpetuity with the community of her birth. The Brookhysers sought out friends, public officials,  and community-minded individuals to discuss their dream. Meeting in cafes and kitchens, offices and on the land, they explored their idea and sought others who might share their dream. They needed local people to carry it forward to reality when they returned to Oregon. They spoke with Ed Dorner and Mark Kanz at ‘the county;’ Gary Paape, Town Board Chair in Ahnapee Township; representatives of the Ahnapee River Watershed Alliance, John Rybski of the Friends of the Ahnapee State Trail and his spouse, architect Tricia Croyle, long time family friend Mahlon Dier, and many others. Based on those conversations and their faith in those they met Paul and Evelyn Brookhyser generously offered by letter dated September 2, 2004 to donate their land for a public park in the Town of Ahnapee, Kewaunee County. They asked that the facility be planned by a diverse citizen’s group convened by their representatives, provide both educational and recreational opportunities to citizens and visitors, and be named Blahnik

Heritage Park.

The Brookhysers envisioned the 23-acre property, framed by the Ahnapee River to the east and the Ahnapee Trail to the west, as a family-friendly park. Wenzel Blahnik loved the land and was fascinated by genealogy. The property was the site of many family reunions celebrating his Belgian (error: should be Bohemian) heritage and the gifts of the land and waters. Now his daughter and her husband asked that this tradition be carried on in the broader community. They asked Kewaunee County to accept the property as a new asset in its countywide system of parks.

In December 2004, the Kewaunee County Finance and Public Property Committee agreed to accept the Brookhyser’s gift. The diverse citizen’s group, called the Blahnik Heritage Park. Volunteer Advisory Committee, met monthly from December 2004 to March 2005 to create a plan guiding the county’s park development initiatives. This document summarizes their recommendations

II. Blahnik Park Vision and Development Guideposts

Paul & Evelyn Brookhyser, the people who got this project started, see a future Blahnik Heritage Park that includes designated space for large family reunions and picnics, multiple uses and activities, a parking area, access to Ahnapee State Trail, and restrooms. (See Appendix A: Letters from Brookhysers to John Rybski and County Administrator.)

Vision for Blahnik Heritage Park


Inspired by the Brookhysers’ ideas, the Volunteer Advisory Committee developed this Vision: In the future Blahnik Heritage Park is a unique environmental education and recreation area, and a gathering place for individuals and families. Diverse habitats are restored and maintained. Human facilities and access-ways are carefully integrated into the natural landscape. A wide variety of visitors and learners, including those with disabilities, are able to utilize the property for educational and recreational purposes throughout the four seasons. The park is linked with the other natural recreational resources throughout the
county by trails and waterways. The park has been developed and is supported and maintained by a partnership of environmentalists, outdoor recreation enthusiasts, students, educators, community volunteers, businesses, neighbors and public officials.

 

Development Guideposts
These principles and values are offered to 'guide' decision making as the property is restored, enhanced and developed:

• Provide for and support activities that strengthen family relationships
• Balance educational and recreational uses of the property
• Seek opportunities to promote diverse activities including, but not limited to, bird watching,
   camping,  bicycling, duck hunting, canoeing, cross country skiing, fishing, horseback riding,
   duck hunting, nature study, picnicking, snowmobiling, habitat restoration and watershed protection
• Build in a scale that respects the community and the scale of the property
• Use materials that are local including materials that can be sustainably harvested from or relocated
  on the property
• Do no harm to the environment
• Strive to re-establish the natural environment characteristic of the area prior to 1850
• Integrate man-made facilities into the natural landscape

more info at http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cty/kewaunee/cnred/documents/BLAHNIKPARKPLAN_DRAFT5b.pdf#search='Blahnik%20Heritage%20Park'

 
 
Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter  Posted Aug. 26, 2005
Kewaunee Parks gains 23 acres

ALGOMA — The Kewaunee County parks system will grow by 23 acres today as Blahnik Heritage Park moves one step closer to reality. Paul and Evelyn Brookhyser of Newport, Ore., will officially deed the property to county officials at a 2 p.m. ceremony.

Evelyn Brookhyser is an Algoma native and saw the donation as a way to honor her late father, Wenzel Blahnik, and her mother Dorothy. The property was the site of numerous family gatherings during Evelyn Brookhyser’s childhood.

A community task force has recommended a number of uses for the property, including nature trails, picnic areas, and as an outdoor lab for local science classes. Blahnik Heritage Park is located several miles north of Algoma, about one half-mile west of Highway 42 on Washington Road.

 

Information sent by Bob Blahnik from http://www.greenbaynewschron.com/page.html?article=127561

Blahnik Heritage Park to be constructed on the old land of Wenzel Blahnik in Ahnapee, WI.  Land is being donated by Paul and Evelyn Brookhyser.  Evelyn is Wenzel's daughter.
 Wednesday, September 15, 2004

Oregon couple offers to donate land for Kewaunee County park

By Kevin Boneske
News-Chronicle
A couple living in Oregon has offered to donate 23 acres of land it owns in the town of Ahnapee for "educational and recreational uses" as a Kewaunee County park.

The offer from Paul and Evelyn Brookhyser was discussed Wednesday, Sept. 8, by the county's Promotion and Recreation Committee, which agreed to begin the process of looking into how much it would cost to develop and maintain the property as a county park.

"I could see some great possibilities with this," said committee chairman Jim Barlow.

The land is located south of Washington Road between the Ahnapee State Trail and the Ahnapee River. The Brookhysers have asked that a county park there be named "The Blahnik Heritage Park," in honor of Evelyn's late father, Wenzel Blahnik, who created a genealogical record of Blahnik relatives in Wisconsin.

"To continue his passion for keeping family relationships strong we want a portion of the park land to be designated for reunions of large families," the Brookhysers wrote in a letter to the county board. "There is ample space on the 23 acres of woodlands and fields for bird watching, camping, canoeing, cross-country skiing, fishing, horseback riding, hunting, nature study, picnicking and snowmobiling."

The couple has asked that a task force be formed to review the park development.

"As a minimum we would like the park to have a parking area to provide access to the Ahnapee State Trail for hikers, snowmobilers, bicyclers, cross-country skiers and horseback riders, and to have a picnic area and toilet facilities," the Brookhysers wrote.

Mahlon Dier, who appeared at the Promotion and Recreation Committee's meeting on the Brookhysers' behalf, estimated the property's value to be "pretty close to $50,000." Dier also said the land wasn't prone to flooding.

County Promotions and Recreation Director Mark Kanz, who showed the committee photos of the property, said the land could be used for cross-country skiing trails, which the county is presently lacking.

Kanz said grant money could be available related to developing the property for park purposes.


Blahnik Heritage Park Update The garden club is supporting the county in the development of a new park along the Ahnapee river and Washington road.  Since the park is being managed as a natural area, the garden club is providing native plant material.  In 2006 we planted about 100 native shrubs, mostly chokeberry and viburnum.  In addition, we planted about 100 wildflowers in the spring and about 400 in the fall.  The wildflowers were raised from seed and grown in 3 inch pots.  Most of the wildflowers were prairie flowers planted in an open area.  Some woodland flowers were also planted, however these are more difficult to grow from seed.  This year we hope to plant more shrubs and continue with the wildflower plantings.