Issue 1
To A Wonderful and Busy First Year!
By: Bear Wheeler
We want to thank everyone who climbed on board as a charter member of the Elcho Historical Society. We are excited to finally get this off the ground, efforts that had failed in the past are finally coming to fruition. This July marked our first year as a organized historical society: Getting the legalities in order have not been without challenges though! There I would like to thank Marie Schuh in her help with the legal side of the society. We are still in the process of obtaining a tax-exempt status.
As for a museum, we have a building in mind, and we are going through the proper steps to make it happen. There have been several of us collecting stories and pictures of our local history that covers Elcho and the surrounding area. Artifacts we have been collecting have been housed in several storage options we have.
Thus far we have been busy this past year. We have formed the organization with a constitution, bylaws, tax number, etc. We have set up a bank account and have voted in officers and a board of directors. Especially during the summer months, participation in our meetings have been high. In our meetings, we welcome people who are longtime locals all the way to people who have just moved here. If you have a history here but live elsewhere, that's ok too, everyone is welcome and appreciated.
I am very excited for what the future holds. Finding history that has already been 130 years in the past can be difficult, but you'd be pleasantly surprised at what we have so far! Some of what we have I have been sharing on Facebook under Elcho Historical Society since April 2017. Some of our members are working to get a local history curriculum developed for the fourth-grade class in Elcho Public School. They are working feverishly to get something for this coming school year. Teaching our children the positive impact that the railroad, logging, and farming had in our community shows them that it takes effort to have something good.
My last thought is that the preservation of the history of the people of Elcho is very important. If you would have information or pictures to share with us, we would love to know about it. The old buildings are interesting and awesome, but the community is made up of businesses that are run by people, have people work for them, and people that benefit from them. It is the history of the people that we want to focus on. We still have people in our midst who knew people who lived in the late 1800's to early 1900's. These people are in their 90's now and we appreciate who they are and the story of their lives. It is up to us, as a historical society, to talk and to record their experiences for everyone to enjoy and learn from. People each have different experiences according to their personality and their placement in society. Extracting this information is the preservation of history and this is still happening today. It doesn't matter what era we lived in, everyone together is what makes up a community.
Muskie Inn and Train Depot
Why I Moved to Elcho, WI
by Sue Mackowski
My husband and I started coming to the Northwoods in the middle 80's. We lived in Milwaukee at the time, but his family had been coming up here for years, staying at a resort near Silver Lake between Crandon and Laona. We would get up at 3:30 a.m. drive to a local lake, and rent a boat in time to see the sun rise and enjoy a day of fishing. We began rough camping in the early 90's. We were told about a little lake in the area that was perfect for our adventures. At the time, Wabikon Lake was uninhabited, except for one small resort. We talked to the owner of the resort and he told us that if we crossed Wabikon and went through a very narrow stream, it would take us to Little Riley Lake. On Riley, there were six or seven carved out campsites-only a firepit at each site, no electricity or water. Just what we were looking for!
We spent a good part of our summer camping at the different campsites on Riley, enjoying the seclusion, the magnificent beauty of nature, and the challenge of cooking our meals over the open fire (I took pride one evening making shrimp stir fry from scratch in a 35 mile an hour wind). It was always an adventure locking down the camp when a storm was approaching or trying to hide our food from the animals. These were good days filled with contentment for me.
When we traveled "up north" we would always take I94 as our main route back and forth from Milwaukee. In 1997, we decided to take a different route home, just for a change of scenery. From Crandon, we took Hwy 8 to Hwy 45 in Monico and headed South. It was a beautiful sunny day, blue cloudless skies. Traveling south on Hwy 45, we came into Elcho and I saw Otter Lake, glistening as though the Creator had strewn diamonds across its surface. I said out loud, "this is where I want to live".
The following year, 1998, we started looking for a home in the area. We looked at some homes in Rhinelander, on Pelican Lake, but nothing was grabbing us. The realtor said, “I've got one home that hasn't been listed yet....on Otter Lake". As we came up the driveway to the home, I started to smile. We entered through the garage and into the kitchen. I could see the kitchen, dining room and part of the living room from where I was standing. I turned to my husband and said, “this is it, this is home". It was the day before my daughter's birthday, March 29th. She had died in 1995. I felt in my heart that she had led me here, to this place, to help me heal and thrive.
Moving from a larger city to a small town presented its challenges. I was accustomed to having my choice of large grocery stores, all within a 15-minute commute. In Elcho, it was North Trail grocery store. I had heard that everyone in a small town knew everyone else's business. After being up here after a while, I found that it was true! I also found that the "locals" were not terribly accepting of city people moving to the town that was home to them for generations. However, I also learned that when you showed people that you loved Elcho as much as they did, it was an easier adjustment.
So what made me fall in love with Elcho? Initially it was the pure beauty of the area. Living on Otter Lake gave me the opportunity to get closer to nature than any other time in my adult life. I observed the loons, the eagles, ospreys, beavers, otters, deer, and fox in their natural habitat and watched how they moved and interacted. I watched the changing of seasons in a whole new way. In winter, it wasn't the dirty, snow packed city streets, but a glistening, snow covered wonderland. I saw things come alive in the spring, bloom and flower until the end of fall.
One of the things I was concerned about was how to fill my days....what is there to do up here? When I started to research this, I found that there are a lot of activities ranging from the "brat barn" (I had no idea what that was), local festivals, and even cultural events, if I was willing to drive to get to them. There were plenty of things that grabbed my interest.
The main life lesson I've learned from living in Elcho is what the people here have taught me. When I truly embraced the area and the people, I started to understand that it's like a big family. When someone is hurting or needs help, people rally around them to help in whatever way they can. I never really experienced that living in the city. I saw that people in Elcho really care about one another and I wanted to be a part of that experience.
I'm proud to call Elcho my home.
The Most Remarkable Village in Wisconsin
By H. R. Holand.
Door County Advocate, Sturgeon Boy, Wisconsin
March 14, 1924
Far up in Northern Wisconsin lies the little village of Elcho. It is no bigger than Bailey's Harbor, but is notwithstanding, one of the most remarkable communities I have seen.
Muskie Inn
I sat dozing on a train traveling southward from Lake Superior to civilization. The train rumbled along between desolate heaths and dreary swamps. Now and then was seen a little clearing and a pioneer's shack where some energetic farmer with indescribable endurance was trying to reform the wilderness. But they were not many. The devastated woods with their big pine stumps, half-burned logs and deserted lumber camps were present almost everywhere. The general desolation was only punctured at approximately regular intervals by the still more desolate saw mill towns. The marks of devastation and temporary expedients ruled over all.
Then suddenly the brakeman shouts "Elcho! Elcho!" A quick animation appears in the car. Passengers shout to each other and aII make haste to the windows on the right side of the car.
Charles W Fish Sawmill
What is there so remarkable about this lumber town? I glance out of the window and stare with amazement! Can this be a lumber town? Yes, for there in the background is seen a big saw mill but uncommonly neat and freshly painted. But the eye does not dwell long on the sawmill, for in the foreground, close by the track, lies the business street. Where can one see a business street like this? Here are none of the ugly square front shops which seem to be the favorite style of architecture of the small town businessmen. Nor are there any dingy boarding houses or patched huts of tar paper. Instead of these one sees a row of tasteful business buildings in the Old English style of architecture. Although the eye passes from one to another, it is impossible to decide which is the most pleasing. They are not alike in size or appearance, but uniform in their neat style and admirable harmony- each in turn marked by its own charm but all conforming to the same idea of beauty.
If I had seen such a business street in England or France I would have said: Yes, such a village of beauty is possible in an ancient well ordered land of culture. But to find such a paragon in the wilderness of Northern Wisconsin, that is impossible. I pinch myself in the arm and stare out with my face to the windowpane until the train is again engulfed in the ravaged wilderness. How interesting it would be to visit this radiant village and learn what men of vision and creative forces have been at work!