We moved to this town in the late '60s from the DC area. I had not lived this far north nor in a town this small. We spent some time with our girls and our poodle in a nearby park. Some upper level biology classes in the local schools tend to assign students the job of catching salamanders and other little creatures that live in that park. Lynn and I walked through the park this morning and I enjoyed the scenes that came to mind, memories of parties and picnics from our more than 50 years of living here. Neither of us has lived in one place that long a time anywhere else.
It was ironic that the family living next door had never lived in a community this large but moved here to be close to specialized medical services their child needed.
We have both noted what we have learned about a town with a university in it. A sizeable school, with arts, sciences and professional faculty and majors makes a difference in the tone and spirit of a town. The presence of the School of Education relates to the origin of the local university as a state teachers' college. The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has a strong drama and a strong music department. It is widely known for its highly developed programs in many aspects of natural resources: Fisheries and Water Resources, Forestry, Human Dimensions of Natural Resource Management, Paper Science and Chemical Engineering, Soil and Waste Resources and Wildlife Ecology.
