Write to Racine Aldermen and Alderwomen and the Mayor
Hello all,
Please make sure you write to your alderman or alderwoman soon. If you don’t live in Racine but have been to the park and feel compelled to offer an opinion, please do. Let them know your thoughts about the plan to turn over Shoop Park to wealthy developers so that they can make a profit on a park that was given to the people of Racine to be used as a Public Park in 1917 by Dr. Clarendon and Ida Shoop.
A very important piece of information came out of the March 17th presentation at city hall in Racine. The developers shared that Racine and Wind Point residents will pay $24.00 for the first two years of operation. Then the fee will be a 25% discount of the regular rate. I have heard the greens fee will be out of reach for most people - even with a 25% discount.
Here is the letter I wrote:
April 2, 2026
Honorable Aldermen and Alderwomen,
“It is understood between the parties that the hereinbefore described property shall forever be held, maintained and improved by the City of Racine for Public Park purposes…and shall perpetually bear the name Shoop Park.” From the deed signed by Dr. Clarendon and Ida Shoop in 1917.
I remember being able to go there in the late 1980s for picnics. There was an area for non golfers where the first hole is now on the east side. There was a redesign at some point in the mid 90s which took away the small public area for non golfers. I was disappointed that people who didn’t golf could no longer picnic at Shoop Park. I had no idea about the history of Shoop Park back then or why the park existed in the first place.
My name is Wendy Sorenson. I’m the person who started the online petition against the proposal for a dune golf course in November 2025. Currently, there are 1,252 signers. I’m also the person who brought the deed signed by Dr. Shoop into the discussion back in October 2025.
Dr. Clarendon Shoop and his wife Ida Shoop donated the land known as Shoop Park on April 2, 1917. The deed states that the land be “forever held, maintained and improved by the City of Racine for Public Park purposes and to be “perpetually known as Shoop Park”. Not Shoop Park Golf Course as it is called now and certainly not Wind Point Dunes at Shoop Park. Dr. and Mrs. Shoop gave this land to be used as a Public Park to the people of the City of Racine. He didn’t give it to the city so it could then be leased to wealthy developers in order to create a destination golf course. The words ‘golf course’ never appear in the deed.
The term ‘Public Park’ was put in the deed for a reason. It was an idea that had been discussed and developed for quite sometime starting in the mid 1800s or so. Central Park in New York is an example of a public park that was created between 1858 and 1876. It was designed to create a countryside escape for city dwellers. There are many features in the park that offer opportunities for play and relaxation with families in mind. Public Parks were seen as an important social asset that support human health - mentally, physically and emotionally. Especially for the working poor. So, when Dr. Shoop was expressing his wish for Shoop Park to be a public park, there were specific grounded reasons for doing so. A public park supports the well being of individuals, families and the community.
Here is a short history of Shoop Park after it was donated in 1917 by Dr. Shoop. It started being used right away for recreation and picnicking - both East and West sides In 1919 the Park Board requested the land. In 1920 the Council granted the request. Dr. Shoop passed away in 1924. In 1926, two years after Dr Shoop passed away, the Park Board announced that they would create a six hole golf course on the east side of Lighthouse Drive. Lighthouse Drive divides the park into two areas - east and west sides. The Park Board went against Dr. Shoop’s wishes that it be a Public Park forever, two years after he died.
Fast forward to June 1936. The acting Mayor Le Roy Olson sent a letter to Dr. Shoop’s attorney asking their opinion about the city developing the west side for recreational purposes. The west side had been used as a picnic and recreational area since the beginning but there was no infrastructure per se. The mayor wanted to make sure it was ok to use the west side because of restrictions in the deed regarding that area. I believe that this shows that the city and, most likely, the park board knew the language in the deed in the 1920s and knew the donated land was to be used as a public park and not a golf course because they knew about the restrictions on the west side. From what I’ve been reading the term ‘public park’ was a widely known and understood phrase in Park Department circles at this moment in history so the Park Board would know the difference between a ‘public park’ and a golf course. In the deed Dr. Shoop stated that he wanted the land on the west side of lighthouse drive to be set aside in case a family member would like to build on it or the possibility that it would be used for a home for aged men.
The attorney office of Simmons, Walker, Wratten & Sporer responded affirmatively on June 30, 1936. They thought the city could develop the west side for recreational purposes because the estate of Dr. Shoop wouldn’t be able to support the home for aged men that was to be built on the west side. Apparently no family member had ever come forward to build a house.
The letter from the attorney office (Dr. Shoop’s executors) includes the phrase, “In further consideration of the said grant, it is understood between the parties hereto that the hereinbefore described property shall forever be held, maintained and improved by the City of Racine for Public Park Purposes.” This is an exact quote from the deed. And the attorney continues in the very next paragraph, “It will thus appear by the quotations that the main purpose of the grant was to provide for the people of Racine a Public Park”. Stressing the intention of Dr. Shoop’s wish ‘twice’ that the park be a Public Park. A public park is for everyone to use - for instance, families as opposed to solo golfers. Golfers at that time, in the 1920s, were probably men. And men of a certain economic class. Golfers were most likely not the working poor or the working class at that time.
The proposed development on the west side from the Planning Commission in 1936 would consist of a picnic grove and a shelter house. They proposed using labor provided by the Works Progress Administration - the federal jobs program created by President Roosevelt during the depression in the 1930s.
The acting Mayor states in his letter that ‘there is a great demand for the improvement of this park area which is rapidly becoming one of the most popular of the city’s parks.’ (June 23, 1936 letter)
The Planning Commission met in August 1936 to discuss the development of Shoop Park’s west side. In their meeting notes it states:
“The Planning Commission generally agreed that the golf course at present time is dangerous and a hazard to the proper enjoyment of the park by others than golfers. Since the park has become so popular and will become increasingly so, as time goes on, the general opinion was that the golf course should be removed and the park developed exclusively for picnics and play since its proximity to the lake makes these activities at this park especially enjoyable. The Secretary of the Planning Commission was instructed to communicate with the Park Board their position.” Mr. George Sonnen Sr was sent to the Park Board to explain their position to shut down the golf course. (August 30, 1936 Planning Commission meeting notes).
As we all know Shoop Park is now completely taken over by a golf course. I was unable to track what happened after the meeting in 1936. There is a small building on the west side so it’s possible the west side was developed for recreational purposes for a time. They probably did the work in 1937 and it most likely went unchanged at least through the end of WWII and maybe a few years after. I tried to find out when the golf course took over the entire property but have been unable to access more information on the history of Shoop after 1936 that talks about the expansion to include the west side for golfers exclusively.
In closing, I believe Dr. Shoop’s wishes should be honored. The City of Racine was given a great gift for a ‘public park’ and did not fulfill their legal obligation to do so. The deed states clearly that Racine should forever hold, maintain and improve this as a ‘public park’. The deed also states that it should always be known as Shoop Park. These are straight forward instructions. No ambiguity as to Racine’s legal obligations to fulfill Dr. Shoop’s wishes. For some reason, the Park Board in the 1920s went against the wishes of Dr. Shoop and got away with it. Who knows who those members were and who knows if there was outside pressure to do what they did. It’s important to remember that they did it two years after Dr. Shoop passed away.
This park belongs to the people of Racine, not to a private business and their partners. I’ve heard that their proposed lease is quite long. You would basically be giving away this park. If the name becomes Wind Point Dunes at Shoop Park, over time it will be shortened to Wind Point Dunes I’m sure. Shoop Park will be forgotten and no one will know about this gift to the people of Racine.
One last point, at the October 6th presentation at Prairie School, which I attended, Mr. Leipold shared that fees would be grandfathered in for Racine and Wind Point residents. From the presentation on March 17th it was shared that after two years residents would receive a 25% discount. From what I’ve heard about proposed pricing for a round of golf from credible sources in Wind Point, the new price would prohibit the average Shoop golfer from ever playing there. Thus making it only for the ultra rich. This would be the last nail in the coffin for it ever being a public park again.
I hope you will do right by Dr. Clarendon and Ida Shoop and reject the taking over of Shoop by wealthy people that it doesn’t belong to. To a person, everyone I have spoken to who learns the details of this plan is horrified - about the destruction of the environment, about the desecration of lighthouse grounds for a parking lot and about the impending ‘only for the rich’ entity.
Shoop Park belongs to the people of Racine. A deed is a legal document that should be followed. I will never understand those that don’t honor this. Quoting from the letter in 1936 from Dr. Shoop’s attorney, “the main purpose of the grant was to provide for the people of Racine a Public Park”. …
For the people of Racine…forever to be called Shoop Park…
I found out recently in my research on Dr. Shoop that he was involved in the development of the Racine Park system in the early years so he would have been familiar with the phrase ‘public park’ and would understand the difference between a public park and a golf course.
If the proposal for the dune course doesn’t go through, it would be great to figure out how this beautiful park could be shared with everyone as Dr. Shoop and his wife Ida intended. They wrote up a legal document to enforce their wishes. As early as 1926 the people in power had no sense of morality or integrity and didn’t care about a legal document or the generosity of the people - Dr. and Mrs. Shoop - who gave us Shoop Park. Will we care?
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I’m happy to make copies of the letters I referenced from the acting mayor in 1936 and the attorney office and notes from the Planning Commission meeting. I found them at the Heritage Museum.
Sincerely,
Wendy Sorenson
Romayne Avenue
Racine, WI. 53402
** A special note - the current planning commission in Wind Point is made up of mostly local residents of the village. Five residents and two board members. All 5 residents voted against the parking lot proposal on February 19, 2026. That issue has still not been decided. So, I’m wondering if the planning commission of Racine from 1936 was made up of mainly citizens as opposed to elected officials. Seems like citizens understand better what the average person wants