A Sovereign State Original
Vera Kitchen
Sovereign State weekend has come and gone, but as a wrap up and tribute to the celebration I got to sit down with Vera Kitchen, the first Sovereign State Prime Minister, who aided in putting Winneconne back on the map.
WN: What makes you want to come back to Winneconne for Sovereign State Days?
VK: It’s always very exciting to see old friends and I love the feeling of Winneconne, just coming home. It’s very nice to come back and see how things have changed, but yet I like the old feel of what it used to be. It’s great to find friends I still know and I’ve been gone for 38 years.
WN: What are your favorite memories from the original Sovereign State Days?
VK: It was probably the most exciting time in my life, when it was total bedlam for the days when we actually got closer to it. Before that it was a build-up with planning and secret committee meetings and getting things together. This was very mild compared to Sovereign State Days weekend. It was very, very exciting. I even received a call from Italy asking what they could do to help, that it was a terrible thing for us to secede from the state.
WN: Did you ever imagine the celebration would continue to be successful 43 years later?
VK: Never dreamed it would. I admire the people who continue to celebrate it. It is a national event. I’m from California now and friends of mine go on the Internet and print out the information on Winneconne and they are so excited about it. I have two gals with me right now who have come especially to see what Sovereign State is all about.
WN: How do you think the celebration has held up from the original one?
VK: It has to change with time, but I think it has done very well. I haven’t missed many, only two or three.
WN: What are you doing now? Are you still selling real estate?
VK: I am. I have my own office and there are three employees. We are in a development of 625 homes and are very busy serving home owners and arranging seasonal rentals. I book myself seven days a week, but I do take an afternoon off. I just took three weeks off and went to Canada, where they had a dinner for me. They printed off all the information on Winneconne and gave it to me. Of course, now they all want to come to see what it is.
WN: How many members of the original Kitchen Kabinet are still living?
VK: I know of only two members who are still living, George Kontos and William Schlapman. All of the secret committee from Oshkosh is gone. There were about six of us who were a part of the secret committee.
WN: How much time did it take to put Winneconne back on the map?
VK: We started in January, so it took seven months. It was a lot of fun. We had a dinner with the Governor in Oshkosh, where he expressed his sorrow for us being left off the map. We are even in the 1967 congressional record.
WN: What was your favorite theme?
VK: I think the Sovereign State car is my favorite. It’s not a theme, but it was fun. Something everyone loved and it’s still running.
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