Pubdate: Mon, 19 Jun 2006
Source: Journal Times, The (Racine, WI)
Copyright: 2006 The Journal Times
Contact:  http://www.journaltimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1659
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Ben+Masel
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Weedstock

PERENNIAL CANDIDATE MARCUS ('STICK WITH GUMZ') GUMZ DEAD AT 77

BARABOO, Wis. - Marcus Gumz, a muck farmer who tangled with
authorities over the right to control his land and became a perennial
political candidate under the slogan "Stick with Gumz," has died at
the age of 77, his family said.

Gumz died Friday in the same town of Fairfield farmhouse where he and
his late wife Norma raised eight children, according to a statement
released by his daughter Jondi Gumz.

Gumz, active in the Republican Party, was gathering signatures to run
this year for U.S. Senate against incumbent Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl.

It would have been the latest in his many bids for office over the
past 30 years. In a 2002 run for governor, he sometimes lived in his
car, showing up at various events and handing out fliers.

Though he never won election, he used the races as a platform to speak
out on issues of property and privacy rights and what he considered
too much government regulation.

His tangles with authorities involved the same issues, as they related
to the more than 3,000 acres of marshy land he turned into farmland
through use of drainage ditches and other methods since the 1950s. He
raised a variety of crops on acreage in Sauk, Columbia and Marquette
counties. The Sauk County land is near the Baraboo and Wisconsin rivers.

One dispute developed when he dredged silt from his drainage ditches
to keep his fields from being flooded by the Wisconsin River, family
members said. The state Department of Natural Resources claimed some
ditches were big enough to canoe and thus were waterways under state
regulation, but Gumz disputed the finding and sued the state, winning
damages that were later overturned on appeal.

Gumz was in the news in 1995 when his farm was the site for Weedstock,
a pro-marijuana music festival. He told reporters he supported rights
of free speech and assembly _ and he also could use the money. Five
years later, Sauk County authorities raided Weedstock on the Gumz farm
and shut it down. Gumz sued county officials for damages, claiming the
action was unconstitutional.

"He certainly was an independent thinker, and he didn't seem to worry
that much about what other people thought of his opinions," said Tom
Kriegl, a member of the Sauk County Board. "Not only did he have his
opinions, but he voiced them as well."

State Rep. Sheryl Albers, another of Gumz's daughters, said she was
inspired to a career in politics by her father's love of visiting with
people and learning new things.

"That's what I've always liked best about this job, I'm always
learning something new, and he taught me to appreciate that," said
Albers, R-Reedsburg.

"One of his great joys was sharing his opinions with other people,"
Jondi Gumz said. "We had newspapers all over the house. Even though he
never got a college degree himself, all of his children have college
degrees."

As for his political aspirations, she said his reward was always in
the journey, not the destination.

"For him it was about getting out there and talking to people," she
said.

Survivors also include four other daughters and two
sons.

Visitation was scheduled from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Friday at Redlin Funeral
Home in Baraboo, with the funeral at Mountain Faith Church in Lake
Delton at 11 a.m. Saturday.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake