Stepping into Janesville history
Rich Fletcher
Age: 38
Community: Janesville
Education: Graduated from Mukwonago High School in 1988 and UW-Whitewater in 1993, where he studied political science and German
Employed: By his family business, Fletchter Pump Distributing in Waukesha, a wholesale distributor of water well pumps
Family: Partner Dan Wilcox; two dogs, a Catahoula leopard dog named Spartacus (big!) and Pomeranian named DaVinci (tiny!)
Two favorite things: Photography, which he sells at art shows, and traveling, including Italy, England, France and Egypt. Next stop: India.
Events of note: He's been to the Olympics three times—the summer games in Atlanta in 1996 and the winter games in Salt Lake City in 2002 and in Turin, Italy, in 2006. "There's something neat about these cities when they're hosting the Olympics. The cities put on their best face … They talk about the Olympic spirit and the world getting together, and that's really what it feels like when you're there. You truly feel like you're in the middle of the world." Fletcher has a china cabinet filled with Olympic memorabilia.
Committees: Janesville Historic Commission and Janesville Presents!
You might recognize him from: Janesville's own "Dancing with the Stars." He and Laurel Canan in 2007 did a hot Latin dance to the Gypsy Kings' version of "Volare" to raise money for the Alzheimer's Support Center. The pair raised more than $1,000.
His abode: A cozy home in the Look West neighborhood where he has surrounded himself with some of the stuff he loves: art, music, movies, snoring dogs and items from his travels.
Photo
Rich Fletcher
JANESVILLE — Rich Fletcher remembers when he first realized that his neighborhood walking tours were catching on.
About 75 tour participants filled the streets in tiny Columbus Circle, a cozy historic neighborhood tucked off Milwaukee Street.
"People kept coming and coming into that little neighborhood, which showed there was a pent-up demand to learn and see these neighborhoods," Fletcher said.
Fletcher first hosted several walking tours downtown in summer 2006.
His goal was to help people appreciate Main Street architecture and also draw residents to the fledgling farmers market. Those first tours averaged about 15 to 20 participants.
The last tour that Fletcher gave this year in the Courthouse Hill Historic District drew nearly 100. The tours have evolved over the years and are labors of love for Fletcher, who also chairs the city's historic commission.
Fletcher used existing historic pamphlets as a basis for the tours. He padded them with his own architectural knowledge and also stories of inhabitants that he picked up along the way.
His tours include the Look West and Fourth Ward neighborhoods and the Jefferson-Bostwick Historic District. They last just over an hour and are held usually twice a month from May through October.
Fletcher has long been a student of history and art and a passionate believer in historic preservation. But he didn't know much about Janesville's historic neighborhoods when he first moved to an apartment on Milton Avenue in 1992.
Then, after getting a job at the Lincoln Tallman House in 1996, he began exploring the city's rich stock of period architecture.
Janine Peterson, a member of the Janesville Historic Commission, helped Fletcher with the first downtown tours.
"He's definitely brought a lot of enthusiasm to different things related to historic preservation," Peterson said of Fletcher, including helping with the commission's workshops that stress the importance of preserving the past.
"He's very enthusiastic," she said. "It's all about historical preservation and getting people excited about it."
Peterson said Fletcher has a love of historic Janesville, especially the downtown. "He wants other people to see that."
Fletcher is also a member of a new grassroots committee called Citizens for Preservation that first formed to save the historic gas station across from City Hall.
Timothy Maahs, who hosted a garden reception last summer after one tour, said the tours are "awesome." Maahs is a member of the historic commission and the Rock County Historical Society Board.
"You see all ages, and older people add things to the stories," Maahs said. "The tours are meant to be interactive, and that keeps them fresh."
Said Fletcher: "I hope that these walks get people to take a second look at their communities.
"It's awareness," he added. "Look and see what Janesville has and what a gem it is."
Jul 29, 2009 at 8:17 p.m.
Suggest removal
I heard how well the Fourth Ward tour went on Saturday -- 70 people, apparently a record.
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