The Ripon Rabbit
Read: John Craig Sr. – Entire Editorial
I wish to thank Mayor Gary Will for his courageous decision to veto the city council’s decision to use the gift from my cousin Lloyd Mitchell to build an upgraded pavilion at Murray Park. It seems to me that using the gift for phase 1 of the Grace & Lloyd Mitchell Heritage Plaza and S.D Mitchell Cultural Center will
provide many more benefits to Ripon than would a new pavilion at Murray Park.
To show our family’s support for the Grace & Lloyd Mitchell Plaza and S.D. Mitchell Cultural Center my daughter Becky and I (my granddaughter Molly had a class that night or she would have been in attendance as well) attended the Ripon City Council meeting on Tuesday, September 10, 2019.
We came away feeling that the decision on the use of the funds was somewhat rushed, superficial and short sighted. Certainly just building an upgraded pavilion at Murray Park could be quick and easy and might be appreciated by baseball teams playing at the park. However, if continuing the revitalization of Ripon’s
downtown is truly a city goal, having the new Mitchell Plaza in the heart of the downtown area and only a short block off Watson St. would seem to be a huge plus.
Such a use would also serve the original intent of my family in leaving the gift and its intended uses would benefit a much wider majority of the community at large.
There were options and questions raised at the meeting which should be discussed and answered. I ask that all interested parties, especially the council members, please use this reset to meet and work with the representatives of the various organizations and individuals involved in supporting the Grace & Lloyd
Mitchell Heritage Plaza and S.D. Mitchell Cultural Center to discuss these options and gather the information needed to make the best and most transparent decision on the use of the Lloyd Mitchell gift.
While this may not be the simplest use of the gift, using it to start Mitchell Plaza could very possibly be its best use for the City and the entire community. It would be a shame to let an opportunity of this magnitude slip away.
I have a long connection to Ripon. I am a grandson of Luella (Mitchell) Craig, who was a daughter of Archibald Mitchell and sister of S. D. Mitchell. Archibald and S.D. Mitchell were both pioneering archeologists and the proprietors of Mitchell’s glen. I personally lived across Ransom St. from Ripon College as a resident of Ripon from 1947 through 1967. I, as well as 3 generations of members of my
extended family, graduated from Ripon High School. Four generations of my mother’s family owned the Steele insurance agency located on Houston Street in Ripon. My mother worked for Ben Marcus playing background music for silent films on an instrument made by the Bartolla Company. She attended Ripon
College and was the Choir Director and Organist for St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. In 1883 my father was born to Alex Craig and Luella (Mitchell) Craig at the family home on the Craig Farm.
I was thrilled when I heard about the plans for The Grace & Lloyd Mitchell Plaza Heritage and S.D. Mitchell Cultural Center. To me it seemed to be an incredible opportunity for the City of Ripon to use the gift from Lloyd Mitchell to maximum benefit for all the Ripon residents and also to honor my Grandmother’s family’s legacy.
I remember the comments my father made after he had attended the
reading of Lloyd Mitchell’s will in 1960. He absolutely felt it was a wonderful attempt to preserve Mitchell’s Glen and the Mitchell name but he also feared that trust fees would eat up the whole amount and there would be nothing left for the beneficiaries of the trust as listed in the will.
Fortunately, he was incorrect and now there is an incredible ½ million dollar gift from the Mitchell family to Ripon. The gracious support and contributions from other community members has been truly inspiring. I once again ask the city
council to take the time needed to consider and choose the best, most beneficial and most appropriate use for this money.
John S. Craig
RHS Class of 1965 (Go Tigers!)
14-September-2019
The mayor has used his veto, for the first time in 10 years. Please contact your alderman ASAP.
Council Members
Mayor: Gary Will 920-229-0816 Term Expires 2020
District 1
John Splitt 920-204-2931 jhnsplitt@yahoo.com Term Expires 2020
James Werch 920-229-1562 cjwerch@charter.net Term Expires 2022
District 2
Rolland Peabody920-748-9838 rollandpeabody@gmail.com Term Expires 2020
Joel Brockman920-748-2538 jbrockman@princecorp.com jbroc@charter.net Term Expires 2022
District 3
Howard Hansen 920-229-6598 hehansen@core.com Term Expires 2022
Aaron Becker 920-229-2748 aaronjbecker@hotmail.com Term Expires 2020
District 4
Doug Iverson920-745-0128 ripondoug@gmail.com Term Expires 2020Allen Schraeder920-204-3413 allenschraeder115@gmail.com Term Expires 2022
The living descendants of the gift itself have made it very clear, they want the Cultural Center. I think we should respect a dying man’s wishes and what he wanted. This would be the best usage of the funds because it would serve the entire community year-round and not exclusively baseball families during the warmer months.