Dear Supporters,
We hope everyone is doing well. We created this webpage so we can provide you with updated news, event information, and more as it becomes available. Please bookmark this page so you can refer back to it. If you have any questions, reach out to us at 715-743-4224.
These May events are cancelled due to Governor Evers’ decision to extend the stay-at-home order until May 26.
- Spring Work Week: Jobs will be rescheduled (with shorter work days) sometime after May 26. Dates are TBD.
- Guided Tours: All guided tours are suspended until May 26. Note: Self-Guided Tours remain an option.
- Porch Greeting: Porch greeting has been cancelled until May 26.
- Volunteer Appreciation Picnic: The Volunteer Appreciation Picnic will be rescheduled. The date is TBD.
The Highground Plaza, outdoor Tributes, and trails remain open to the public. The list of state parks, forests, and recreational areas that were closed in April are listed on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website.
Maggie Mae & Heartland Country Band is POSTPONED. The new date will be announced very soon! Thank you for your continued patience.
All March and April events and tours have been cancelled. We are currently reviewing future events and will announce all postponements or cancellations via Facebook, email, and our website as soon as possible.
As of 5pm today, March 23, The Highground Gift Shop and Museum buildings will be CLOSED until further notice. Governor Tony Evers said earlier today that he will order the closure of all nonessential businesses starting tomorrow, March 24, and he urged people to stay at home to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
The Highground Plaza as well as all outdoor Tributes and trails are open to the public 24/7 and will remain open.
Thank you and stay safe,
The Highground team
A personal note from Theresa:
I sent our wonderful volunteers an email update which included the 2020 Volunteer Opportunity Sheet but wanted to include the information here for convenient access.
Because we are a “hub” of Veterans connections and have a large network of caring volunteers (geographically and in numbers), we would like to help where we can if you find yourself or others in a situation where you need assistance getting essential supplies. If this situation arises, we can help you find resources in your area and publicize the need to our supporters/volunteers who are in that local area. Please reach out to me directly at museum@thehighground.us. I will continue to check email from home even if our buildings are closed.
I am seeing very concerning things happening since the shutdown of restaurants and other gathering places with veterans who have visited here recently. The isolation is becoming a big problem. We have had veterans travel some distance to The Highground just to have a place to go and have some human contact… social distancing, of course. This is very serious. One gentleman who traveled to the Park said not being able to have coffee with other Vets is very hard for him. I don’t think he felt he had anything important enough to say to pick up the phone and call his coffee group but he needed the brotherhood. His wife passed away in 2019 and he simply ran out of things to talk about with his dog. He drove over an hour to visit.
We are trying to think of ways that The Highground can help facilitate opportunities for Veterans to “talk” via our website, email, etc. as a support mechanism. If you have thoughts on this, please let me know!
If nothing else, I hope that sharing what I have personally experienced with our visitors will encourage you to share this information with others. There are some Veterans who are more on the outside of their social groups than others. They might be struggling and in need of a phone call or email.
Please keep in touch!
Thank you and take care,
Theresa