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Lynn’s volunteer motto is “if you don’t like how something is being done, get involved so you can see why it is done that way.” She’s good at being the leader of a project, but she’s also good at being the helper with someone else leading the way. She serves as a docent at several local museums, has assisted with projects for Monroe Theatre Guild and Monroe Arts Center, and helps out at the Green County Fair and the Picker’s Flea Markets. Green County will host the Alice in Dairyland competition in 2019, and Lynn has already stepped up to help with planning. But she is quick to note that Green County is fortunate to have so many who will be doing the same. “I don’t have to join everything,” says Lynn, “because we have a great population of volunteers. If I see a piece I can help with, I’ll be there.” Perfect words from a volunteer who can just as easily piece a quilt as she can serve a piece of pie – as long as it’s for a good cause within her local community.

Bakery near Brodhead; cooked and served by Mary Miller and other ladies from the local Amish community. One of Lynn’s favorite volunteer activities are the apron style shows that she leads with her good friend Kris Winkler, also a quilter and her partner in many volunteer endeavors including Barn Quilts, Home and Community Educators, Master Gardeners, and quilt shows presented by the quilt guild that both belong to. “I especially love the interaction with the older folks at nursing homes and assisted living,” says Lynn, who finds that aprons lead to sharing of stories by audience members who reminisce about their own mothers and grandmothers who wore them back in the day. “They remember how grandma would take off the ‘kitchen apron’ and replace it with a nicer apron when company came to the door, or how she used the pockets to collect eggs from the hen house, or how a corner came in handy to wipe off the face of a small child.”

Farm. Lynn and fellow 4-H’ers from the Washington Center Club were called upon to help with the breakfast, which continues to this day as a Green County tradition on the last Saturday each May. Dorothy taught Lynn to sew, planting the seed for a life-long love of fabric and quilting. Lynn went on to serve as volunteer 4-H leader herself in sewing and other projects. Many of Lynn’s volunteer efforts are centered on rural interests. She was instrumental in developing the Green County Barn Quilts project – personally painting many of the more than 150 wooden quilt squares that are part of an outdoor rural art installation. In addition to being enjoyed by locals and leisure travelers, a number of bus groups have traveled to Green County to see the barn quilts. Lynn often serves as a step-on guide – along the way sharing information on the quilt patterns, the farms, and the rural lifestyle. Bus group itineraries with Lynn often include a home-cooked dinner at Country Lane

LYNN LOKKEN AT YOUR SERVICE

BADGER STATE TRAIL Wisconsin’s darkest trail tunnel makes the Badger State Trail a favorite with bicyclists who arrive prepared with bike lights and headlamps. The trail runs the full length of Green County from north to south. At the northern end there’s a connection to the Capital City Trail. To the south as you cross the “Cheddar Curtain” at the Illinois border you’ll connect to the Jane Addams Trail. The Friends of the Badger State Trail celebrated their 15th year of trail advocacy in 2015. The group’s most recent accomplishment was a new trailhead facility in Monroe. Throughout the season, they organize trail rides, bike tours and a Trail Explorer program. Go to friendsofbadgerstatetrail.org to purchase your trail pass online or to download a trail map.

If V is for Volunteer, then L must be for Lynn. That’s Lynn Lokken, who is known throughout Green County for a willingness to share of her time and talent. Lynn’s volunteer ethic dates back to the days of attending Ag Chest and other rural meetings with her grandparents Arleigh and Edna Frautschy, who farmed in Clarno Township south of Monroe. But her volunteer mentor was local 4-H leader Dorothy Chesebro – who along with her husband Monty hosted the first Green County Breakfast on the

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