A Long Delayed Visit To Bayfield County Wisconsin

The last time my sister Susan and I visited Bayfield County was around 1965 or 1966, when we drove there with our parents, Nelson and Mary. As I mentioned in yesterday's blog post, we took a road trip last week, and after visiting Clear Lake, Iowa, we headed to Duluth, Minnesota, and the Motel 6 luxury resort and spa located there (nothing but the best for us, after all). The next morning, we headed to Bayfield County, where my Grandfather Hoyt and his brother-in law, known to us as Uncle John, each purchased adjoining 40 acre parcels south of Herbster, Wisconsin, the city limits of which can be seen in the photograph on the left. If I am not mistaken, the place is even smaller now than it was 55 years ago. And yes, I still own and pay taxes on those 40 acres that my grandfather purchased back in 1918.

The photograph on the right shows downtown Herbster, with Lake Superior in the background. As I recall, there was once a tavern on each corner of this interssection, and a cafe just down the way, neither of which is still there. There is a restaurant in town, which was not there the last time we visited, but other than that, not much else. I picked up some Northern Wisconsin real estate magazines in a nearby town, and was surprised - no, shocked -  to find that lakefront real estate in Herbster was selling in the 600K range. Wow! Why couldn't my Grandfather Hoyt and Uncle John have bought real estate on the lake? And no, I am not bitter.

And where they did buy property? About 5 miles south of Herbster, deep in the woods. Before making the trip, I checked various GIS maps, and made some phone calls, and found a route to where the property line starts. Uncle John let his 40 acres go for taxes during the depression, and it is now owned by the county. My grandfather decided to keep his half, and my father Nelson inherited it. Once I had a full time job, he offered to give me those 40 acres. All I had to do was pay the taxes on it. I really thought I was getting a good deal, but after years of writing those checks to the tax assessor twice a year, I have had second thoughts. The photograph on the left is of the trail I took after parking along the side of Campbell Road, about two blocks away from where the property line begins.

I took the self portrait on the right where I think my property begins. It is two blocks by four blocks, and after reaching this point, I realized that if I wanted to go any further, I would have to claw my way through heavy vegetation and closely spaced trees for the next four blocks if I wanted to see the whole property. My sister Susan decided that she would stay in the car with her dog Blackberry, and if I did continue, I would have been gone quite a while, which I didn't want to do. And besides, I now had a good idea of what it all looks like. Years ago, my grandfather built a log cabin on the site, and he, my grandmother, my father, and his cousin Grace stayed up there until Thanksgiving. My father told me it was so cold by then, he had to get out of the horse drawn school wagon and jog along side to keep warm. I told him he must be pretty damn old to have taken a horse drawn school wagon, which I don't think he appreciated. In any case, I hope to return one of these days to Herbster and see if I can photograph the remains of that cabin. Hopefully in less than another 55 years.

Road Trip!

My sister Susan and I, along with her dog Blackberry, took a road trip last week, our first stop being Clear Lake, Iowa, the town where my grandfather Claire Hoyt was born and raised. I was hoping to find photographs and information at the local library about his life there, along with his mother Sophie, his grandfather Alec Nelson, and his half sister, Viola Thayer, who died back in 1910 at the age of 17. Sadly, they had virtually no records before 1920, and so my quest for information goes on. Afterwards, we toured the town, which has lots of beautiful 19th century homes like the one in the photo on the left.

Clear Lake is a wonderful place, with a park along the lake, as seen in the photograph on the right, and lots of friendly people. My grandfather's mother, Sophie Nelson, and her father Alec, originally from Prince Edward Island, in Canada, moved there in 1879. Sophie married my great grandfather Nelson Sillick Hoyt in 1883, and who tragically died just 3 years later. She later married Albert Thayer, and they had two children - Gladdis and Viola - before they divorced. Sophie continued to live in Clear Lake before moving to Long Beach, California, to live with Gladdis, and later with my Grandfather and Grandmother Hoyt at their house in the Southside Brainerd neighborhood of Chicago. My sister Susan knew her as that nice old lady who lived in the room in the back.

I found a lot of references to the family in the Clear Lake Mirror, the local newspaper, which reported on everyone's travels, celebrations, and if they had been able, what everyone had for lunch that day. One paragraph said that Alec Nelson and Sophie Thayer were selling their house on 2nd Street, and moving to another. However, I have no idea if those houses still exist. I have Viola Thayer's photo and postcard album, but all the postcards are addressed only to a person, and Clear Lake, Iowa. Evidently, no street numbers were needed back then. There are a lot of modest cottages near the lake, such as the ones in the photograph on the left, and I am still trying to figure out how to find the houses that they lived in.

Both Susan and I (and for that matter, Blackberry) enjoyed visiting Clear Lake. It was like visiting a bygone era in America, one where everyone is laid back and friendly, and so much of the town is just like it was back when our family lived there. If I can ever figure out how to access more information about where everyone lived, and where they are buried, I will definitely go back, and possibly even take the drastic step of getting a room and staying in the town for a few days, instead of just a few hours. After all, I am retired, footloose, and fancy free.

More Brainerd Nostalgia

Today I am featuring a photograph of my mother Mary, taken in the backyard of our house in the Southside Brainerd neighborhood of Chicago, sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s. My mother just loved that house, and even hated leaving it to go on vacation. The back porch (seen in the background) was added on later, after I was born, and functioned as a really nice, wood-paneled den. I really miss that house and the Brainerd neighborhood. I visited it when I went back to Chicago 11 years ago (I took my first blog photograph there), and both the house and neighborhood still seemed really nice. But I guess what I really miss is the past, and you can't go back and visit that unless you can get hold of a DeLorean automobile and a flux capacitor, which believe it or not, O'Reilly Auto Parts does feature on their website. Seriously! Check it out at https://www.oreillyauto.com/flux-500.html.

The Calm Before The Storm

I took a walk on the University of Denver campus the other day. There weren't too many people around, just a few new students and their parents, but that will change this Monday - the first day of classes at DU. As regular blog readers know, I worked as the Finance Manager of the DU Bookstore for 28 years, until the bookstore was outsourced by the university. The start of classes was a truly busy time for the store, and the entire staff, in addition to a lot of temporaries, would work on the sales floor for several weeks.

Making sure everything ran smoothly was a top priority, and a major effort was made to have all the books on the shelf by the first day, and that lines at the cash registers moved quickly. Cards with the time random customers arrived at each line were handed out, and given to the cashier when they were rung up, to make sure the wait time was reasonable.  The bookstore was outsourced to Follett Higher Education Group by DU back in 2012, to guarantee an income stream, even though the store had always made a profit. The administration also wanted to show the Board of Trustees that staff numbers were being reduced, even though the bookstore funded it's own payroll. For the year I worked there after the store was outsourced, before they could by contract terms legally lay me off, I found that Follett did not take "rush" nearly as seriously. Limited numbers of books were ordered to reduce overstock returns, requiring many special orders and angering students. Cashiers would sometimes be scheduled to leave all at the same time, with just me at the register at peak sales periods, prompting a call to the offices - where management was sheltering in place - to point out that fact. Fortunately, Follett alienated so many students that eventully those lines got a lot smaller during the start of classes. I wonder what "rush" will look like at the old DU Bookstore this year? Glad I won't be there to find out.

Walking The Ile Saint-Louis

I have been watching a lot of PBS's Rick Steves Europe episodes lately, and thinking about the last trip I took to Europe with my sister Susan, back in May of 2019. One of my favorite memories is walking along the Seine on the Ile Saint-Louis, located in the middle of the Seine River in Paris, just across from the Ile de la Cite, where Notre Dame is located. This island is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Paris, and walking along those sidewalks, with those beautiful buildings, and the view of the river, is a joy. I took the photograph above on one of my walks. I suppose I could go back there, knock on doors, and make an offer to buy their place at a price I could afford, but on the other hand, I don't want to wind up in a Paris jail. The one that housed Marie Antoinette, before she was beheaded, is still in use on the Ile de la Cite. Talk about bad karma.

The September Mutt Of The Month

I took the photograph above of the September Mutt of the Month in front of the Rock Bottom Brewery on Denver's 16th Street Mall (slogan on the drink coasters: "You've Hit Rock Bottom"). This patio seems to be a popular spot for people with dogs. Considering the hot summer we have had here in Denver, I just hope their owners set out a nice bowl of beer for these poor mutts. It's the very least they can do.

A Day In The People's Republic Of Boulder

That is the name a lot of Republicans use to describe Boulder, Colorado, due to it's reputation as a bastion of liberal thinking. It is also referred to as "27 square miles surrounded by reality." If you are thinking of moving there, keep in mind that it is the 7th most expensive housing market in the entire  United States. And for good reason: it is a wonderful place, located directly under the Flatirons and filled with cafes, restaurants, bars, and many Victorian homes located in tree lined neighborhoods. The photograph on the left shows patrons enjoying life at the Bohemian Biergarten, just down the street from the Pearl Street Mall, a mecca for trendy shops, restaurants, and street performers.

Boulder was once a big hangout for hippies, and although they are now greatly outnumbered by hipsters and students, some are still around, especially on the Pearl Street Mall, folding balloons, playing guitars, and putting on various types of shows for tips. I took the photograph on the right as I was walking along the mall. 

The best part of Boulder is it's location directly underneath the Flatirons. You never get tired of just looking up and seeing them there, no matter the weather. I took the photograph on the left of the Arnett-Fullen House, built in 1877, on West Pearl Street, a beautiful neighborhood lined with both shops and homes. If you keep walking down West Pearl, you eventually wind up in Boulder Canyon. And if you drive up to Chautauqua Park, a few miles to the south, you can hike into the Flatirons themselves. Even if you can't afford to live here, it is always a treat to visit.