A sure sign that Spring is here, and Summer beckons, is when the ice goes out of Lake Tomah. It was April 4 this year. We live on Parkview Drive across the road from Butts Park and have a good view of the Lake. We can see the Lake, of course, but also the former Tomah Hospital, Winnebago Park across the Lake, St. Mary’s steeple, and the dam. We’ve kept track of the date the Lake freezes and the date the Lake is ice-free. Same little book that we keep track of oil changes and foot race results and the first robin spotted. The earliest that Lake Tomah thawed was March 6, 2000 and the latest Lake Tomah was ice-free was April 26, 2013.