Area's first born of the New Year a bouncing baby boy

Posted: Jan. 15, 2013

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Jacki Horne and Claude Rollefson are the proud parents of Seagar Claude Rollefson who was born on January 2. He's the first baby in the Lake Country area for 2013 and represents the ninth generation to live on Century Farm at Golden Lake.

Jacki Horne and Claude Rollefson are the proud parents of Seagar Claude Rollefson who was born on January 2. He's the first baby in the Lake Country area for 2013 and represents the ninth generation to live on Century Farm at Golden Lake.

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"I just knew it was a boy. When we walked in for our first imaging … I told the nurses it was a boy and they said 'there's no way you can be sure,' and I just said nope. It's a boy," Jacki Horne said.

Seagar Claude Rollefson is the first boy born into their family in about 20 years and he won't be short of friends in this world.

This first Lake Country baby of 2013 was born healthy without complications on Jan. 2 at 6 pounds, 11 ounces and 20 inches long.

The winner of the first baby contest must be born in an area hospital (little Seagar was born at Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital) to a family that lives in one of the Lake Country communities. The family and hospital staff must work together to contact our papers for consideration and they must be interviewed, which could take days or even weeks for coordination.

Rollefson and Horne willreceive a $50 gift certificate to Tadpoles, a $25 gift certificate to Ace Hardware Delafield and a $25 gift certificate to Palmer's Steak House. Localestablishments want to get the baby bouncing off to a good start so WeeWelcome Inn is donating two free days of child care, Mr. Handyman will baby-proof all lower kitchen cabinets, including latches, for free, and Bucher Law Office is providing a free consultation and $100 off the retainer fee. Piggly Wiggly is donating a case of strained baby food, Waukesha State Bank is donating a Kids Club basket, and Kelley Legler/Baby Jack Blankets is donating a custom satin lovey with free shipping. The family will also receive a free year's subscription to Lake Country Publications.

This babe has mom, Horne, 20, and dad, Claude Rollefson, 24, of course. Horne is a cosmetologist originally from Arizona. She moved to Delafield in her teens where she graduated from Kettle Moraine. Rollefson graduated from Oconomowoc High School and now works for PSI as a geotechnician.

But Seagar has more than that.

This babe represents the ninth generation to live on the Century Farm at Golden Lake. The young couple is happy in the Oconomowoc community and they're excited, too, about the schools nearby. If little Seagar doesn't enroll in the Kettle Moraine schools, he could become the sixth generation of his family to walk the halls at Oconomowoc High School.

"Our family started here when it was bought in a land grant from the state of Michigan in 1846. And we became a state in 1848 so we're a little ahead of the state," Rollefson said.

A few generations later, the family established the Sandy Beach Drive Inn on the swimming beach. This couple, in fact, met at the lake.

"Our family has owned Miller's Sandy Beach here for a long time and (Jackie) went to the lake with a friend, that's how it all got started," Rollefson said.

The family is tightly woven into to community and this new family has plenty of support nearby. Rollefson'aunt, cousins dad and stepmom live nearby.

"When you go into town - the Rollefsons and the Millers? Everyone knows them," Horne said.

And if young Seagar ever loses track of how many family members, past and present, he can always count on the pets. Molly the "guard cat" actually watches the newborn and sometimes fetches Horne or Rollefson if he gets fussy.