"THE CENTER OF THE NORTHWESTERN WORLD"
Poniatowski, Wisconsin?
One of the events scheduled for the Highpointer Club '07 Konvention was a visit to Poniatowski, a few miles west of Wausau. Why?: About 1 mile northwest of the town, you'll find a formidable marker designating "45X90" or, the geographical point where you can stand halfway between the equator and north pole, and the Greenwich Meridian and the International Dateline.

Pictured are the 45X90 participants, led by Roger Rowlette (tallest), and includes HP Club President Tim Webb (2nd tallest).

A brass benchmark set in concrete designates the spot though it's a tad off to the south and east by mere seconds. Our Garmin Nuvi 350 read N 44 59 57.3/W 090 00 14.3 here. By walking Meridian Rd. about 100ft north from the marker's plot entrance, we reached N 45 00 00. W 090 00 00 was behind, or east, of the formal marker, and appeared to be in the vicinity of a tall dead tree next to the cornfield. We decided not to bushwhack through the planted farm field to pursue it. A Degree Confluence Project (http://www.confluence.org/) team seems to have located it in the cornfield on a winter visit. Click here: DCP: 45 degrees north, 90 degrees west (visit #5)

Some references to the Poniatowski marker:
Click here: Halfway between Equator and North Pole
Click here: 45th Parallel
http://americasroof.com/45x90.shtml

Note: Gesicki's bar in Poniatowski no longer exists, nor does the "45X90" Club under the Gesicki's. It is believed that Mrs. Gesicki passed away not long after the bar closed.