For years I have told my cousins John and Annette about my 40 acres in Bayfield County, five miles south of Herbster, Wisconsin, and how our Grandfather Claire Hoyt, Grandmother Fleta, cousin Grace, and my father Nelson spent half a year there, living in a cabin my grandfather and his brother-in-law John Talbot built. They stayed there until Thanksgiving, and my father told me how he had to jog along beside the horse-drawn school wagon to keep warm. My grandfather and Great Uncle John each bought adjacent 40 acres parcels back in 1918, but Uncle John let his go for taxes during the depression. My father wound up with my grandfather's half of the property and gave it to me, provided I would pay the taxes. I thought it was a great deal at the time. I mentioned to John and Annette that the cabin might still be there, and could be turned into a B&B. My father and I, once with my mother Mary and sister Suisan, and once with Norm Taylor, a family friend, went up there to find the property, but never could. Now, however, it has a snowmobile trail going right through it (and no, I did not give permission for anyone to do that, but it has made the property easy to find). And so, John, Annette, my sister Susan and I drove to Herbster from Duluth along Lake Superior and headed down that snowmobile trail with an app called Avenza Maps, which tells you right where you are at all times. It proved invaluable, because there was a fork in the trail along the way, and after a few blocks, that app showed that we were on the wrong trail. After John took the photograph of me on the left, we turned around and found the correct path, and the property.
The trail was only 1 1/2 miles from where we parked the car, but after recent rains, three were huge pools of water in the center of that path, forcing us to walk around them through the brush. The previous trail we were on went along the top of the property, while the correct path went right through the middle of it. According to my father, the original access road did in fact go along the top of the parcel, and so it suddenly dawned on me that these snowmobile trails were actually made from the original 1920s era roads.
On the hike into the property, Annette wanted to know why the hell our grandfather and great uncle bought this property in the first place. As I recall (and this was a long long time ago), my father told me that Herbster was much bigger back in the early 1920s, had a hotel (I assume along Lake Superior), and was promoted by Chicago real estate developer Robert Bartlett as an up-and-coming spot to buy property. But due to forest fires, the collapse of the mining industry, and other factors, the area declined over the years to what it is now - wilderness. Bartlett was well-known for developing Beverly Shores, near the Indiana Dunes along Lake Michigan, and moving some of the art deco houses from the 1933 Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago to Beverly Shores to sell. He also developed Palos Heights, a South Chicago suburb. These were successes, but Herbster? Not so much. When we finally reached the property, I took the photograph of John and Annette standing by the tree with the red tag that marks the start of the property. There was another one marking the end of the parcel a block away. And not a trace of the cabin anywhere. Annette was surprised the property was so remote, and did not think it would be good B&B material. And it was impossible to explore beyond the snowmobile trail due to thick vegetation and trees. Bummer.
When we got back to the car, we found out that we were all covered in ticks, and although we tried to take them off, more kept appearing. We drove to Bayfield, a beautiful little hillside town overlooking Lake Superior and filled with Victorian era homes. I wish to hell my grandfather and great uncle had bought 80 acres there instead. Bayfield is now known as an art colony and tourist destination, as seen in the photograph on the right, and we had dinner at the Bayfield Inn. As we sat and waited for our meal, we took turns leaving the table to dispose of ticks as they crawled towards our heads. And so it was a very interesting experience, to say the least. The strange thing is, I have had about 5 offers in the past few weeks to buy the north half of the property, and on the way back to Herbster from the trail John saw several homes along the way with signs in the front yard saying "not for sale." Annette told me to take the money and run, but what I want to know is why they want these properties? A long-range gamble that this will be the final refuge from global warming? It beats me. In any case, if you are planning a trip to Minnesota and Northern Wisconsin and intend to hike, definitely take a lot of bug spray. And I mean a LOT. All in all, it might be best just to hang out at Grandma's Saloon and Grill in Duluth and wait to see if one of those huge ships go under that famous Lift Bridge. That will be my plan if I ever go back.
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