Clearwater Farm sets goal of $300,000 to buy, enhance property

La Crosse Tribune, Jul 28, 2004 by Bloom, Betsy

ONALASKA, Wis. - Supporters of Clearwater Farm said Tuesday they need to raise $300,000 by the end of the year to hold on to the three-acre site.

The Clearwater Farm Foundation has leased the former Humfeld farm and its distinctive red barn and outbuildings on Greens Coulee Road since 1999, turning it into a public site with livestock and a garden.

But the five-year lease is set to end next spring, and it's time for the foundation to either exercise its option to buy or give up the property, said Julie Henley, foundation president.

"The clock is ticking," Henley said Tuesday. If the foundation can't purchase the farmstead, which dates back to the mid-1800s, "it's over ... the barn goes down, the bulldozers come in," she said.

The group was formed in 1999 when the 150-acre dairy farm was sold to Elmwood Partners to develop into a subdivision.

Onalaska bought the farm's 57-acre blufftop, and will keep it as green space and a city park.

But the foundation can't secure needed federal and state grants unless it owns its section of the farm as well, Henley said.

Even though the lease extends to next spring, the group set the December fundraising deadline to gauge just how interested residents are in retaining the farm.

"If we don't have the support, we fought the good fight and we tried," Henley said. "If we do (have support), we have a gem here."

She acknowledged that other worthy community projects - building a YMCA in Onalaska and the coming push to expand the OmniCenter - might make donations harder to come by.

"People here have been asked to give a lot," Henley said. "But this is preserving history ... and when it's gone, it's gone."

Buying the property will cost $90,000, including the buildings, Henley said. The remaining money would be used for repairs and renovations, such as adding rest rooms, a general store and educational signs and space.

"The idea is to be sustainable," Henley said.

Onalaska's Dave Skogen, owner of seven Festival Foods and two IGA grocery stores, has kicked off the drive by pledging $10,000 if other businesses match the amount, Henley said.

Contributions can be pledged over three years, she added.

"Let's get this project going and get this thing done," Henley said