(Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash)
WISCONSIN DELLS — An 80 degree day with clear skies was perfect atmosphere for the 2013 “Day at the Dells” for the Diocese of Madison Apostolate to the Handicapped.
More than 1,000 guests took part in daily Mass and a bag lunch, followed by a free and exclusive performance of the Tommy Bartlett Water Show on Lake Delton.
Buses, vans, and other vehicles all rolled into the parking lot on a recent Friday morning bringing in people of all ages and physical abilities from around the diocese.
Despite the show’s ample seating toward the front and near the action, most sat in the shaded area higher up on the grandstands as more than dozen priests from around the diocese arrived to concelebrate Mass with Fr. Larry Bakke, director of the apostolate. He is also the pastor of St. Clare of Assisi Parish in Monroe.
Father Bakke has been the director for the past two years, succeeding Msgr. Thomas Campion, who died in 2010. Several guests at the event wore “Campion’s Champions” T-shirts, remembering the former director.
A warm welcome
As the final busloads of people took their places in the grandstands, Father Bakke welcomed the crowd to the “holy grounds of the Tommy Bartlett Water Show” and said Monsignor Campion is remembered “with great love and great prayer.”
Father Bakke was known to most of the crowd as the priest who usually presides at the weekly, televised Apostolate to the Handicapped Mass on WISC-TV.
During this Mass, on the shore of Lake Delton, he welcomed the guests and introduced himself for those who may have only seen him on TV.
In his homily, he called the day a “celebration” and a chance to “thank God for each other and the gift of the Church.”
Father Bakke said it was a time to “continue to grow in our faith and love God with everything we have.”
Most importantly, he said it was a day to “give thanks to those who support us” and to “strive to live that life of gratitude.”
Later, Father Bakke and the concelebrating priests went to all areas of the grandstands to distribute Communion to the guests.
Lunch is served
After Mass, everyone was treated to a sack lunch, which was packaged and handed out by dozens of orange-shirted volunteers for the Tommy Bartlett Water Show. Almost 40 volunteers helped to pack the nearly 1,000 lunches.
The volunteers also earlier assisted the guests by helping them out of their vehicles in the parking lot and driving them to the grandstands in golf carts. They also gave water to the guests and assisted with other needs as the day went on.
Guest performers
The ramps on Lake Delton used by the performers feature the words “Living the Dream” and every year, water skiers in the Tommy Bartlett Water Show get to do just that.
While everyone was finishing lunch, the audience was treated to a special performance before the main show.
Two Wisconsin residents, both with disabilities, got their chance to perform on the water.
One was 20-year-old Sarah Holm, a U.S. Paralympics downhill snow skier from Baraboo. She has limited use of her legs due to a spinal tumor and surgery to remove it. Her performance included a slalom water ski outfitted with a special chair. She had been practicing the routine all summer with the Colsac Skiers, an adaptive water-ski school in Merrimac.
The other skier was 30-year-old Chad Murphy-Price of Pewaukee. He has cerebral palsy and is a quadriplegic. He was been fitted with a special sit-ski, which includes an outrigger to prevent tipping over. He had been practicing with the Pewaukee Lake Water Ski Club and has performed adaptive ski demonstrations at the Wisconsin State Ski Show Championships and the Ski Show Nationals.
After his performance, he was greeted on the dock with hugs and applause before happily shouting, “that was awesome!”
The show goes on
As the bright sun continued to shine down, with most of the guests protected by the grandstand shade or umbrellas, the main performance of the Tommy Bartlett Water Show began.
They were given a full performance of the show typically given twice a day to the public.
The show included boat tricks, water skiing stunts, and comic relief by a spirited, klutzy, and well-meaning clown named “Aqua.”
The captive audience applauded every act, while Father Bakke walked the scope of the grandstands, shaking hands, sharing a laugh, and meeting everyone in his congregation for the day.
He also talked with some of the Tommy Bartlett volunteers who made the success of the event possible with their tireless help to the guests.
The Tommy Bartlett crew has been hosting the special ski show each August since 1975.
It’s one of two big events for the apostolate; the other is the annual Advent/Christmas party, which will take place Saturday, Dec. 7, at Monroe High School.
The Apostolate to the Handicapped television Mass airs Sunday mornings at 7 a.m. on WISC-TV.
For more information on the Apostolate to the Handicapped, head to madisondiocese.org and click on “Apostolate to the Handicapped” under the “Outreach” tab.