A Consumer's Guide to Appleton, Wisconsin

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Table of Contents

• Basic Survival: Groceries
• Gasoline and Convenience Stores
• Digital Services in the Fox Valley
• Clothing
• Books
• Automobiles
• Furniture and Appliance
• Arts, Hobbies, and the Unusual
• Photography
• Finding Apartments
• Cell Phone Service
• Cartridges for Printers
• Flowers
• Various Services and Contractors, Repairs, etc.
• Christmas Trees
• More to come...

• Background

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Basic Survival: Groceries

Top Ten Tips for Home Buyers in Appleton: An Interview with a Leading Real Estate Agent in the Fox Cities

A new page on this site presents the results of an exclusive interview with one of the area's best realtors, Bradd Syring. Find out what you need to know about the real estate market in the Fox Valley before you buy your home. (Many of the tips apply to buying a home in Wisconsin as well.)

I've done grocery shopping in just about every store in the area, but the last chain I tried is the one I recommend most for people who want to save serious money: Aldi Foods, which is often called "Aldi's." It's amazing how much less many things cost at Aldi's. German efficiency is behind this low-budget store, and it pays off for the consumer. It's a small store with a small selection of items, but they get the lowest price in the area time and time again. I often need to supplement my trip to Aldi's with a quick visit somewhere else to get an item not available at Aldi's, but what they have is amazing. Examples: 8-ounces of mushrooms are $0.99, compared to nearly $2 elsewhere; an 8-ounce bag of very good tortilla chips is $0.69, when the same size and quality would cost about $2 elsewhere; frozen apple juice and orange juice are $0.69 versus roughly $1.00 elsewhere; the tastiest fudgsicles in town are $1.69 per box of 24 versus about $3 elsewhere; a gallon of 2% milk is $1.89 when one pays $2.29 elsewhere; etc. You've got to try Aldi's if you want to save money. There are some items that might not meet your standards, so some trial and error will be needed. Produce demands special care. They don't have a normal produce section, but offer a limited variety of items, including prepackaged products such as a package of four peppers - two green, one red, and one yellow - for $1.49, which is about what you would pay for the red pepper alone in many stores. The apples and oranges might not be as fresh as you want, though. I strongly recommend their packaged spinach, in the refrigerated section, next to the mushrooms. The spinach costs half what most other stores pay, and the quality has been surprisingly good. Using mushrooms, spinach, peppers, and bacon from Aldi, my wife makes a killer spinach salad that we have frequently. The sharp cheddar at Aldi's is another item I strongly recommend.

Aldi's is not open on Sunday. Some Christians really appreciate that, in a day when "keep the Sabbath day holy" means nothing to so many. They also close early - 7:00 PM - almost as if they care about their employees spending time with their families. Nice trend! Plan your visit accordingly. (Hours are Mon-Thurs. 9 A.M.-7 P.M.; Fri. 9 A.M.-8 P.M.; Sat. 9 A.M.-7 P.M.)

Another big bonus at Aldi's is their ability to use ATM cards or debit cards. I love not having to write out a check or shell out cash. I just swipe my ATM card in their reader - and I can even get additional cash back (with no fee), sparing me another trip to an ATM machine.

Tips for Aldi's: bring your own grocery bags so you won't have to purchase bags there (5 cents per paper sack, 10 cents for the big and durable Aldi plastic bag). Also bring a quarter, for you have to insert a quarter into your shopping cart to unlock it from a security system. You get your quarter back when you're done. If you forget to bring a quarter, you can cash a dollar at the cashier.

Aldi's can't meet all your shopping needs, so I make occasional trips to Copps, Cub Foods, or Woodman's. Cub Foods has some of the best sale prices, so you can stock up on some great deals by wandering the aisles, and no loyalty card is needed to take advantage of the price reductions. Woodman's doesn't use loyalty cards either. They have a great produce section with excellent prices, and a huge selection generally - but shopping there can take a lot longer than you expect because the store is so huge and because check out can be really slow, usually when you're in a hurry. Copps offers a happy medium for those looking for a nice facility without terribly high prices, but to take advantage of sales prices, you'll definitely want to use the Copps loyalty card. Copps produce is expensive, but their store-brand (IGA) is an excellent buy at good quality for many items. For example, IGA medium sharp cheddar cheese is a truly excellent cheese at about as low a price as you can find in the valley. We use it all the time.

Wal-Mart: My Love-Hate Relationship Wal-Mart has been hard to resist sometimes because the huge superstore in southeast Appleton (Calumet Street, just east of 441) is close to home and has so many products, but many times I come away less than thrilled. For one thing, the traffic around the store is pretty congested, and their parking lot has one of the worst designs I've seen for flow in and out (not even up to medieval standards) - seems like an accident waiting to happen. It's a huge store that forces you to wander for a long time to find things, and they don't seem very service oriented. Between the crowded parking lot and the too-frequent long lines, my attitude is expressed by a statement from Yogi Berra about a restaurant he used to like: "Nobody goes there anymore - it's too crowded." Wal-Mart is supposedly a master of the supply chain, but I went to buy a video cable there recently and was told that they were out of stock, and that it would be over a week before it was in stock again. The reason: they were doing an inventory check, and during that time they didn't want to have a lot of excess inventory, so less was being ordered than normal. That seems downright silly. I used to get a lot of my photos printed there, but they have recently (early 2007) "upgraded" their machines for entering your photos, resulting in a dramatic and painful loss of convenience. The system takes at least TWICE as long to select photots as before, plus they've raised prices a lot. Further, the finish of the photos caries - without warning or the ability to select it - depending on the final option you select to specify if the photos will be processed within an hour or in a few days. The latter option saves you money and results in high gloss photos. The former option costs more, as expected, and gives you the matte finish that most people prefer. Less convenient and much more expensive, especially the 8 x 10s - not sure I'll be back.

Recently, I've warmed up to Piggly Wiggly stores again, since they can have pretty good prices on sale items and have excellent produce. Pick and Save is too expensive, but is a nice place for high quality items (classy deli, for example).

For spices, you need to know about Penzeys Spices near the Fox River Mall (strip mall area near TJ Maxx and Gateway Computer, close to TGI Fridays). If you love spices, like I do, you won't find better prices on spices anywhere. Price spices are less than half of what you pay in a grocery store, with a vastly better selection. It's an educational experience just to enter the store.

Many people get their groceries at Wal-Mart. It can be convenient to get groceries at the same time as shopping for clothing, toys, electronics, and other items. However, I can usually find better prices or a better selection at dedicated grocery stores. Wal-Mart also suffers from long lines. One item worth trying, though, are the filet mignon steaks, just $1.96 per serving (about 4 ounces each). Broiled properly (first sprinkle salt, pepper, and other spices plus balsamic vinegar on both sides), they are remarkably tender and flavorful. I recommend avoiding their store-brand cheese, though. It's not as good as local low-cost Wisconsin cheese or the excellent budget cheese at Aldi's.

Gasoline and Convenience Stores

Kwik-Trip is my favorite place to get gasoline. The prices are low, the gas has been good, and they have the best prices in town for bananas (29 cents a pound), plus cheap bread (3 loaves for a dollar) and other convenience items. Recently they introduced a Swedish rye bread for 69 cents a loaf with a remarkably good texture and flavor. Kwik-Trip appeals to me because they don't market pornographic magazines. On the other hand, I deliberately avoid Citgo stores because they sell porn, and have it displayed at a low level where kids are likely to encounter it. Tacky!

Another good choice for convenience stores is Motomart, which offers very well-lit, modern facilities with a wide variety of items besides gasoline. Excellent granola bars can be purchased for 25 cents each at Motomart.

I recently bought gas at a green-looking BP (British Petroleum) gas station on Oneida Street, and noted that they carried pornographic magazines readily visible on a low section of a magazine rack, where even a two-year-old could gain access. I pointed out that this was inappropriate, and warned that little kids could get at the magazines that way. The employee just shrugged his shoulders, totally unconcerned. I then said that I felt it was a bad thing for the community to have store selling pornography at all, for it devalues women and makes people think they are just toys, and said that I would not plan to do business there. Again, the employee simply did not care. My advice: stay away from BP and other stores that show this kind of calloused attitude.

Digital Services in the Fox Valley: The Shadow of Time Warner

Appleton is on the cutting edge of many things - but not always when it comes to modern technology. OK, we've got decent options for cell phone services, and we've got a couple choices for DSL Internet access, but competition is lacking when it comes to cable TV and cable modem. We're stuck with Time Warner, which we've found to be quite technologically impaired when it comes to some things. Sure, they offer decent broadband for Internet access, but based on a couple of experiences, they are decades behind when it comes to customer service, perhaps most egregiously in the area of bill pay. They are the only company we deal with that cannot adequately handle online bill paying from our bank. And when they goof up, it can take you months of wrangling to deal with their antiquated systems and service. Can you hear the word "Aaargh!" playing in the background? We used online bill pay to pay their bill in at the beginning of January 2007. A few weeks later we received a disconnect notice for failure to pay. They said they had no record of receiving payment. But our excellent bank, Horicon Bank, provided records showing that the funds had been sent to Time Warner and received early in January. My wife has gotten several different stories and several different run-arounds in dealing with customer service at Time Warner during the following three months. Finally, after jumping through their hoops, they told us that all the things we had done to meet their demands of proof of payment -- including having a letter and explanation from the bank sent to them -- did not count after all, and that the only thing they would accept would be for us to physically bring in a bank statement physically to their office to show yet another employee the evidence. As usual, I'm sure we're the only customer in this part of the solar system who has had a problem with this company, so don't worry. I'm sure your experience will be better!

Clothing

For clothes and many other items, my family enjoys shopping at Kohls, where we find pretty good prices and a great selection. They have some significant sale events for some areas where you can find good items being discounted 50% or so. But recently we observed that a 50% off sale on sweaters showed sticker prices that had doubled compared to the non-sale prices we saw a few days before, so the sale was entirely bogus.

Burlington Coat Factory is the first place to look for coats, can offer low prices on many other items like sweaters, ties, shirts, linens, and some other items, but there is a greater risk of not finding the size or style you want.

For men, I used to recommend Men's Wearhouse, where I've been a steady customer, but recently I have had some repeated bad experiences with service. For now I'll say try someplace else.

Books

A local bookstore with a lot of flavor and history is Conkey's at 226 E. College Avenue. They offer a surprisingly large selection and, best of all, have very helpful staff. They can also readily order items if they aren't available. Started in 1896, it is Wisconsin's oldest independent bookstore. It also hosts poetry readings, and local music and art talent, in the "Between the Pages" coffee shop.

Barnes and Noble is a great place for a date, in my opinion. They have a pleasant cafe and comfortable places to sit. The selection is huge (though weak in some areas, such as scholarly religious literature or books on my hobbies of magic or chess). One can also listen to many dozens of selected CDs with earphones to help you decide what music to buy.

For children's books, I recommend The Children's Bookshop at 212 E. College. Say hi to owner Vay Elisberg and tell her Jeff Lindsay sent you! For used books, try Shenandoah Books at 133 E. Wisconsin Avenue.

Automobiles

For car repairs, I've often used Cair Car Sales and Service, 1040 Appleton Road, Menasha (920-725-7222). I think they are pretty good and definitely honest, but we recently had a couple problems - at the moment I'm not sure that it's the best place for us, but I'll still use them. Since I'm a fan of Toyotas, I've had a lot of service done at Kolosso Toyota, and while they've been OK, I can generally save money at Cair.

Recently we had a great experience with the repair shop at Dodge Country (4400 W. College Avenue - phone 920-739-6381). They fixed a fuel line problem with our Chrysler van (covered by a dealer recall, fortunately, so there was no cost). They checked some other things as well. I was impressed with their professionalism, courtesy, speed, and even their innovative way of showing you what the fluids in your car look like compared to fresh fluids. As a really nice touch, Joe of the Gold Team took our salt-encrusted vehicle through their car wash for free when the vehicle was done.

I've also heard that Pete's on Wisconsin Avenue (actually 2006 N. Meade, 920-734-7630) offers reliable, honest service at good prices. Customers have also praised Fulton's (540 N. Oneida, 920-991-0940).

For purchasing automobiles, I always go with used cars. I've had good luck twice with Island Auto in Neenah, (406 First Street, Neenah, on Doty Island, phone: 920-729-5407). Instead of looking over a large selection in a lot, you meet with owner Joe Zolkoske and explain what you're looking for (models, mileage, price, etc.). Then he goes to huge dealer auctions and finds vehicles that meet your conditions. He'll call you, get your tentative approval, and bring back what may be the ideal car at a price way below what other dealers could offer. This is ideal for cars coming off lease (two to three years old). The second time I used this service, I was able to go to Milwaukee one evening to meet him and look over the vans he had selected as potential candidates for me. I selected four vehicles, and gave him my priorities and the prices I'd be willing to live with. He was able to get one of them at a decent price in the auction, saving me several thousand dollars compared to what I would pay at a conventional dealership. Both vehicles I've purchased with him saved me a lot of money and have proven to be great cars. He's very picky and knows what to look for to ensure quality, but this process is still not for everybody and certainly entails a degree of risk.

As far as I know, most local dealers are reasonably trustworthy. However, I have signed a petition complaining about Les Stumpf Ford for their treatment of a Hispanic customer (looks like the man was talked into signing a deal he didn't understand, with ridiculously high extra fees that made a reasonably-priced car become unbearably expensive). As a general rule, if you are not an native English speaker, make sure you have someone along to translate and watch out for tricks and fine print that might burn you. This is good advice for anyone, actually.

I also have a beef with Bergstrom, a gigantic dealer in the area with several dealerships. They are a major sponsor of a truly lewd and offensive radio program. I wrote them a letter (twice) complaining about their sponsorship and giving some explanation for the complaint, but unlike other businesses, they refused to even reply. They are free to fund all the offensive trash they wish, but local residents are also free to shop elsewhere.

Furniture and Appliances

Over the years, we've had experience with several different retailers of furniture and appliances. Our favorite is probably WG&R Furniture (2700 West College Avenue, 920-733-2788). The selection is huge (sofas, tables, chairs, beds, accessories, etc.). They also offer the best warranty I've seen on beds, and usually have excellent prices. The sales staff seem especially knowledgeable, helpful, and non-pushy. I was especially impressed with the kindness and aid from one of the salesmen, a Mr. Hoppe, as I recall.

If you are in the market for a bed, I would seriously consider WG&R, especially because of their almost-unheard-of guarantee. It's the only place I know of where you can actually return a bed if you don't like it, even after you've slept on it. They can't resell the bed, so they end up donating it to charity. This means real commitment to customer satisfaction.

American Furniture has a large selection of appliances, electronics, and furniture, and we've been customers, but customer service is weak, based on my most recent experience and reports from others. But they may be fine for you. A small but excellent source of appliances is Howie Voigt Appliance (1609 North Richmond Street, 920-733-2045). They specialize in appliances such as refrigerators, washers and dryers. Prices are good and service is excellent.

Arts, Hobbies, Coins, and the Unusual


Appleton offers a lot in the way of the arts. A favorite place of mine for art and fun is Coventry Glass Works and Gallery at 514 W. College Avenue (920-739-5762). We go there regularly so my youngest son can buy unusual marbles for his collection. They have a large assortment with some beautiful and unusual marbles. I also love the art they sell, including some beautiful works in glass, multimedia, and oil paintings. A new addition to the shop (2003) is a stand of hand-made greeting cards from a Wisconsin artist, with really interesting lines and decorations, at remarkably low prices, as low as $2.50, for example. One that I bought has color drawings of 3 leaves on the front, with the following text in calligraphy:

The reason why I'm a vegetarian isn't because I love animals.

I just hate plants.

Couldn't resist!

The proprietors of Coventry Glass Works are fun, thoughtful people who really love their work. and if you work with glass as an artist or hobbyist, their shop is loaded with supplies and raw materials for your work.

Appleton has a large number of music suppliers. My family has done more business with Heid Music (308 E College Ave, Appleton, phone: 920-734-1969), but Henri's is also pretty good. Heid has a great selection of sheet music and good supplies for those playing piano, stringed instruments, etc. I understand that Henri's Music Superstores (122 S Memorial Dr, Appleton, phone: 920-739-9163, with locations also in Green Bay and Oshkosh) have made some dramatic changes in 2006 and 2007 based on extensive market research and heavy investment, resulting in market leadership in many instrument categories. The Big Noise (west of Badger on College Avenue) is affiliated with Heid's and offers drums, guitars, and other instruments. Another music store is Island Music in Neenah.

Hobby Lobby near the mall is a huge store for hobbyists and a great place for decorating your home. Galaxy Hobby on Richmond Avenue has supplies to support hobbies like rocketry, model airplanes, model trains, and many science-related hobbies. They also have some great games and puzzles (Rush Hour, for example, which I really like).

Unusual items can be found in Appleton's thrift shops. We have two large Goodwill outlets, plus the Fox Valley Thrift Store, St. Vincent de Paul, and other outlets. They are worth looking into if you want to save a buck or find a treasure.

Appleton also has several bead shops. Beads are apparently very hot these days! There is one on College Avenue and another in the new strip mall on Oneida Street just south of Midway Road/Highway AP. For online ordering of beads, try BeadRoom.com.

Looking for US or foreign coins? Appleton has a couple of coin shops to consider:

Affordable Rare Coins 402 W Northland Ave Appleton, WI 54911 (920) 954-0129

Avenue Coin & Jewelry 303 E College Ave Appleton, WI 54911 (920) 731-4740


For jewelry and gifts, Avenue Coin is a pretty classy place with a nice selection. But for coins, lots of coins at surprisingly low prices, you've got to try Affordable Rare Coins (pictured above in a photograph I took this week). It's on the north side of Northland Avenue halfway between Richmond (Hwy 47) and Oneida Street, almost across the street from Sai Ram Indian Restaurant and Koreana. A great place to pick up some last minute Christmas gifts. For silver buffs and gold bugs, you'll be glad to know that they have a great collection of silver and gold coins, including some surprisingly affordable silver coins. I sent a friend of mine there the other day, and I even bought a few silvery gifts for a couple people as well.

Photography

Appleton has some fine photographers and great studios. One pro that I know well is Will Croff of Will Croff Photography, LLC. His professional emphasis is on commercial food photography. You have almost certainly seen some of his marvelous work with flowers on the beautiful boxes of a world-famous tissue product - I just love what he achieves with flowers. But he also does people and other topics. He can be reached at w_croff at yahoo.com, or call him at 920-739-9123. Will also does great work with animals, as shown on his other Website, PoochiePortraits.com.

In addition to local developers mentioned below, a helpful online resource is AppletonDigital.com, offered by a local Appleton resident. I've seen a beautiful large framed photo produced through that service and will try it out myself. Amazingly, they can do 4 x 6 prints at a lower price than even Wal-Mart offers.

I've taken up photography as a hobby since getting a digital camera in May 2003 (I have several pages of my favorite photos), and have tried a few places for developing digital photos. The best place I know of for high-quality work and especially for enlargements bigger than 8 x 10 is Phopar. I've had marvelous success with their 11 x 14-inch enlargements - just beautiful! Really added to the fun of my son's wedding in July 2004. I recently did a 20 x 28 enlargement of a Newport Beach scene, and it was terrific as well. Takes a few days, at a cost of just over $8 per enlargement (cost just came down in late 2004 - used to be about $14, and was still worth it then).

For one-hour processing, I've used Wal-Mart a lot for 4x6, 5x7, and 8x10 shots. They have the lowest prices for local developers, but I've had a couple disappointments when their equipment failed or when I ran into long waits to get my order in. One reproducible problem with Wal-Mart's system, at least in the Darboy supercenter, is that strong yellows may become green (e.g., a yellow flower may appear to have a metallic green color in the middle of each major yellow zone, sometimes destroying the value of the photo) - it's been a noticeable problem in only about 1% of my photos.

Fox Valley Photo is a good place to get photography equipment, but my experience with photo developing there did not turn out well - probably my fault. Others tell me that it's outstanding.

Finding Apartments

A good apartment and rental finding service is Start Renting, Inc., which published a widely used listing of places available to rent. They also have a Web site: startrenting.com. Call 920-997-9500.

Cards, Party Supplies, Gifts

A new discount card shop opened at the end of Dec. 2005 in the strip mall next to Kohl's in southeastern Appleton, near Wal-Mart on Calumet Street. The shop is "Save Haf." I was pretty impressed with the low prices on excellent birthday cards and other cards.

Cell Phone Service

Unlike Europe, cell phone coverage in the United States is often surprisingly poor. Our cell phone companies often just don't put enough antennas around to adequately cover areas. Appleton generally has good coverage, but depending on which service you use, coverage may be poor in your neighborhood.

If you have a cell phone, check the signal strength and see how well your phone works. And if you are getting a new cell phone service, test it carefully in the places where you will be using it.

Several companies provide service here, such as AT&T, Verizon, and US Cellular. I'm personally not happy with US Cellular due to coverage problems. When we switched to them last December, they told us that our neighborhood was adequately covered according to their signal strength map, but after having repeated problems and going through several phones and fighting service problems beyond our two-week "buyers remorse" trial period, we finally realized that they just don't have adequate coverage in southeast Appleton. Calls fail frequently and almost always suffer from drop out. "Can you hear me now? Can you -- darn, dial again." We were misinformed about their service, and now they say that the fine print in our contract says that they are not obligated to provide coverage for any particular location, and if we want to change our service before the two year contract expires, we have to pay a fee of $300. They really don't seem to care. Hey US Cellular, can you hear me now?

Cartridges for Printers

A new shop you need to know about is Cartridge World near Wal-Mart in Darboy. They are at 3525 E. Calumet Street, Appleton, WI 54915. Phone (920) 954-7252. This is a safe, high-quality way to save about 50% of the cost of ink and toner for printers. I've bought a couple of refilled cartridges there and am impressed with the results. Unlike other "drill and fill" places, they completely purge and clean the cartridges, and refill with high-quality inks. Assistance from vacuum equipment and a centrifuge helps ensure high quality. You can buy high-quality ink-jet and laser-printer cartridges there. Bring in your old cartridge to get the best deal.

One thing I learned there is that Lexmark inks are made with a gelling agent in them that makes them gum up after a while (a poison pill to defeat refillers), so if you don't print for a couple weeks, the printer will act as if it's out of ink - something that has happened to me many times. Now I know why! The replacement inks they provide for your printers are free of such harmful additives and work great.

The Lexmark inks I purchased at Office Depot seemed to go bad especially fast. Maybe it was a bad batch. But from now on, I'm a customer of Cartridge World.

You can also consider Cartridge World as a fund raising opportunity for your local school. They'll give you $1.50 for each used cartridge you bring in, whether your school buys anything there or not. (But if your school or business would like to save a lot on inks and toner, including photocopier toner, give them a call - and tell them their fan Jeff sent you!

Flowers

We have often used Memorial Florists and Greenhouse in south Appleton with good results as well. They provided the flowers we used for my son's wedding (I have a page of wedding photos that I took). They are at 2320 South Memorial Drive. Phone: (920) 731-3136.

Various Services and Contractors

There are many fine workmen and contractors in the Fox Cities Area. I'll occasionally add recommendations here based on my knowledge.

For electrical work, I've had a very positive experience with Steffens Electric (4902 N. Lynndale Drive, 920-739-6569). I called in during Christmas Vacation in Dec. 2005 to get some work done in our basement. To my delight, they had a guy who was already going to be in the area the same day that could stop by. I needed him to install to new electrical outlets on a cement basement wall in a finished area, and also check the outlets in my office area where I suspected some kind of overheating in an outlet. He got the new outlets installed rapidly and professionally, and then checked all five outlets in the office where he found one that showed signs of overheating and needed to be replaced. He was here for two hours, helped me explore several options for the work to be done, and did excellent work. When I got my bill in the mail, I was surprised to see how inexpensive it was: $108 for parts and labor. Hats off to Steffens Electric for great work at a reasonable price.

On Saturday, Oct. 14, 2006, I had a great experience with Bruss Heating and Cooling (920-740-2559). One of their service men, Tom, was able to come to my home on short notice to repair a complex problem with our furnace. I called them the night before, about 10:00 p.m. on a Friday, and was delighted to reach a living person who said they could be there the next morning. Tom showed up a 7:15 a.m., right on time, and within minutes found the problem (failed transformer and a shorted wire). He was able to make the repairs on the spot, and also noted a problem with our air condition unit that would need to be addressed in the spring. The cost for parts and labor was $103, which was less than I expected. He was very knowledgeable and thorough. A big thumbs up for Bruss Heating and Cooling!

For granite and stonework, we had a great experience with Darboy Stone and Brick. They put granite in our kitchen, and we were quite impressed with their service, their excellent selection, and their prices. They seemed to have the largest selection of granite to choose from and an impressive shop for fabricating the stone to your specifications. Installation was rapid and well done.

Christmas Trees

For the past three years, I've enjoyed buying Christmas trees from Jahnke's in the outskirts of town, W6390 Woodland Road, Menasha (phone: 920-735-8910). A barn has a big selection of trees, and there are more outside the barn, with good prices and great service. Mr. Jahnke is pure Wisconsin: a warm, honest, helpful man filled with Midwest charm. He makes it worth an extra couple of miles to buy a tree from his place. Plus shopping in the barn spares you from Wisconsin winds. Woodland Road is off of Lake Park Avenue (Highway LP) between Midway Road and Highway 114, southeast of Appleton. Once you turn east onto Woodland, Jahnke's is about 100 yards from Lake Park Avenue on the north side of the street.

Miscellaneous

Send me your suggestions and links!
• Appleton Trophy - good place for trophies, plaques, etc.

Problem Areas

There are a few problems that local citizens need to be warned about, and I'll occasionally post warnings here. My first warning deals with our local Social Security Office, where "service" seems to be a foreign word. If you've read The Castle by Franz Kafka, you might already know something about how things work. People who go there can expect to be ignored. Hey, SS folks, let me know if you are working to remedy your service problems. And fellow citizens, if your experience there is positive, please let me know so I can remove this complaint and paint a rosier picture of government services in Appleton. I hope that they will change! (Most recent negative experience from a family member was July 2004.)

Miscellaneous Businesses

Here are some more businesses that I have used and liked, or that I am familiar with (e.g., know the owners). I've just begun this list, so it's pretty short still. I welcome your suggestions - many times I don't know the URL for local businesses.

AB Books - a store for LDS books. I've used it several times - very happy with the service and selection.

Two Paws Up Bakery - an awesome place for gourmet biscuits for pets. I don't have any dogs or cats at the moment, but know the owners and enjoy the shop.

Angles4Us.com - Patricia M. Poole's services in meditation, hypnosis, energy healing (Reiki and Reconnective healing). I met Trish Poole at a gathering of innovators in 2007, and while I know almost nothing about her field of expertise (something outside my own set of paradigms), I was pretty impressed with her and recognize that there are a lot of people interested in her work. You may wish to start by reading her Trish Poole's biography. Tell her hello from Jeff! She's located in Green Bay.

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Last Updated: May 26, 2007

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