Scroll down for map and schedule.	WHAT: Two events celebrating the Yellowstone Trail you’ll want to attend: 1) April 19 there will be a “Trail Day” almost equivalent to the “Trail Days” of old when whole towns went out to work on the road. In this case 4th graders and residents will come out from seven small towns along Hwy 29 and County X to mark the Trail with yellow painted rocks, to put up the last of the 101 signs, and to generally spruce up County X, the Yellowstone Trail,  in their area. 2) May 5 the communities will feature special events starting at the eastern village and moving sequentially through westward towns, ending with a picnic at the western most town. Ceremonies to unveil the recently installed Yellowstone Trail highway signs, and to dedicate individual town historic plaques will occur. The state’s Lieutenant Governor and several representatives are expected to attend. WHERE: Along County X in Chippewa and Clark Counties in Cadott, Boyd, Stanley, Thorp, Withee, Owen, Curtiss. WHY: Seven small communities strung along 40 miles of the Yellowstone Trail in central Wisconsin recently banned together for the purpose of promotion and economic development. They are Cadott, Boyd, Stanley, Thorp, Withee, Owen, Curtiss. The group sought a community-connecting theme through which to promote themselves.  These communities are not suburbs looking for a city. They each offer a buffet of little gems like city parks, beautiful centenary churches, quaint restaurants, and American history in addition to some modern industry. The group chose the Yellowstone Trail as its unifying theme, showing the group’s knowledge of the route and historic importance of the Trail which ran along present highway County X from 1915-1930.  County X runs through Chippewa and Clark counties -  same name, same straight line - and it runs through all seven communities. Because State Hwy 29 runs parallel to X and is the more traveled major thruway, the group calls itself the Hwy 29 Community Partnership and will continue to do so as it takes on new joint projects. The group was later joined in road marking efforts by Chippewa Falls. The group is marking the Trail through two counties with 101 reflective Yellowstone Trail highway-quality signs. WHO: Under the leadership of the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA), the group produced 5000 snappy brochures which are now available at the various community city halls, business outlets in the seven communities and the Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls CVBs. Xcel Energy and the County Economic Development Corporations of Chippewa and Clark counties are major contributors to the group’s events. TADEVCO (Thorp Avea Development Corporation) provided funding to support a video advertisment on area cable television. Charter Communications developed a 30 second cable television advertisement and is providing time slots for many showings. WATCH: Channel 6 (or channel 13 if you don’t have cable) will conduct interviews with Tim Swiggum, Mayor of Owen, and Alice Ridge of the Yellowstone Trail Association about the events and the history of the Trail. That will be on the 5:00 news program, approximately 5:06. The area cable television company, Charter Cable, agreed to run a 30 second ad 300 times as a public service promoting the events and the communities. Watch for the spots on various cable channels now and in the fall. These small towns are doing much to promote themselves and the Yellowstone Trail with a little ingenuity!
	Yellowstone Trail Historical Dedication Schedule Up-to-date schedule at the Partnership 29 web site: Click here. May, 5, 2006 7:30          Curtiss          Coffee and Rolls @ Curtiss Community Center 8:30-9:00     Curtiss          Welcome - Students and Local Historical POI                               @ Curtiss Community Center 9:15-9:45     Owen/Withee     Students and Local Historical POI                               @ Old Schoolhouse 10:05-10:35     Thorp               Lt. Gov Lawton, Mayor, Students and Local Historical POI                               @ City Park 10:50-11:20     Stanley          Plaque Unveiling, Students and Local Historical POI                               @ Soo Park 11:40-12:00     Boyd               Local Historical POI                               @ Hill House Pub 12:20          Cadott          Thanks, Students, Local Historical POI, and Lunch                               @ Riverside Park
Brochure cover.