The Women of Wandawega and the Wandawega Country Club honored past members on Saturday, June 11, 2005 by dedicating a Memory Bench.

Members of the Wandawega Country Club celebrated their heritage during a beautiful afternoon dedication on Saturday, June 11th, 2005. The Women of Wandawega (WOW) coordinated a Memory Bench and garden area on the northwest side of the clubhouse to honor past Wandawega Country Club members Nina Pappa, Shirlie Gentile, Fran Blum, Pat & Theresa Donnamaria, Ralph & Ida Massett, Roy & Mabel Breitenbach, Josephine & Edward & Shirley Klass, Henry Pyzyna, John M. Pyzyna, Ed & Josephine Smolik, Abner & Florence Ehrhardt, Kenneth Runk and Paul & Mary Bastian.

"Club members and family members gathered near the Memory Bench to hear Women of Wandawega President Brenda Williams and Vice President Judy Paul praise the contributions and dedication of the past members over the last 75 years.

"These people spent time and effort on their neighborhood because they loved it here, and it showed," stated Judy Paul. "We should remember them because we wouldn't have the beaches and the parks and everything else without them. Even from the beginning, this neighborhood was promoted as a family place. It was going to be the place for family vacations but the depression changed all that."

"We chose 2005 to make the Memory Bench because this is the 75th anniversary of the incorporation of the Wandawega Country Club," says Brenda Williams. "This neighborhood has a very interesting history and these family members were very involved in it. Each of these people has something in common: Their influence on and love of a neighborhood we call Lake Wandawega. Wandawega is the golden thread woven deeply into the tapestry of these lives. Their threads keep showing up in the homes we walk past, the rules we follow, the land we enjoy, and even in the neighbors we meet, since their descendants choose to enrich our lives by living here, also. In their essence, we have relished the excitement of family gatherings, picnics, parties, playing and swimming. They’ve unlocked doors in our minds — from teaching us responsibility & commitment to our community - to lessons on nature during walks on the trails. They gave Wandawega their time and energy to make this place better and now we are making, in their honor, a comfortable spot in the woods that looks out over the peaceful green fields and open starry sky."