North Bay, Door County, Wisconsin PDF
Preview North Bay, Door County, Wisconsin
North Bay Door County, Wisconsin ( From Pristine Wilderness To Viable Community James Arnold Erickson ! :-1 I X- -:::; (Ji .d ,,... ;,--- ~ :J NORTH BAY Door County, Wisconsin by Jame s Arnold Erickson North Bay Door County, Wisconsin Copyright© 1998 by James Arnold Erickson ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 98-71891 ISBN: 1-57579-112-9 On the cover: 1\vo of North Bay's very first "Summer People" and their "Horseless Carriage" astride the bridge over Reiboldt's Creek. The date is the very early 1900's. Printed in United States of America DEDICATION This book is dedicated to my late wife, who was never late, ever, but always and ever on time to do the things that really, really mattered. Bernadean, my wife of two score and four years. Those who knew "Bernie", were aware of her life of selfless givihg. Her greatest legacy~ our children-Sandra, Shirley, Patricia, Robert and Judith, who were uniquely privileged to be born and raised in North Bay. v FOREWORD If, as Marcel Proust, the great French writer said, "Time is the Destroyer, memory is the Restorer," then, History is the Organizer. Now, a history, North Bay, Door County, Wisconsin, from Pristine Wilderness to Viable Community, has been written by my nephew, James Arnold Erickson, published by Pine Hill Press, Inc. of South Dakota. This book, like a great symphony, mingles facts and memories in a flow of words. A difficult and very complex challenge, requiring research, because so many people for so many reasons, chose to come to look or to settle in North Bay. Most were Scandinavians, but there were Germans and Polish, Irish and French, Belgians and others,: from different cultures with different needs. The author traces each family, weaving them into the land scape-a huge word painting. To me, one of the most interesting parts of this history concerns the one room school, that hallowed place where me and my brothers and sisters and neighbor children went through the eighth grade. I loved school and cherish it's memory. In my book, Black Penny, (Knopf 1951), I tell of a happy child hood in North Bay-beaches for swimming, forests to ramble and build tree houses, hills for coasting in winter, lakes filled with fish. Being a tomboy I preferred farm work to housework. I cherish the memory of North Bay! Phoebe Erickson vi ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mr. Erickson is a native son, born and raised on his father, Herbert's farm in North Bay. Having lived most of his life in beautiful Door County and not far from the place of his birth, he has, in his senior years, taken seriously the business of writing. His tools now, the pen and the brush as he keeps busy painting Door County's mag nificent scenery and writing varied articles for the media. This is his first full length book, four years of painstaking research. A labor of love, telling the story that needed to be told and was a joy to tell. A story that has never before been told of the genesis of the unique community that since the year of 1854 has been known as North Bay. While I have made every effort at authenticity and accuracy, some' misteakes' are bound to be found. And that is to be expected as I have not yet reached the state of infal libility, though I am almost there. So, forgive any errors of commission or omission, inadvertent deletion of names or places and let's explore together the genesis of that unique community of North Bay. James Erickson vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Did you ever think, if that isn't a new experience for you, that that word acknowledgments is an awfully big word? And a word every bit as big as that is necessary in order to convey my apprecia tion to the many who have contributed in so many ways to 'NORTH BAY'. Please know that you are appreciated. Special mention goes to Linda Silvasi Kelly for her drawings, Lucy Toft Wilson's delightful anecdotes, Ed Augustine's reminis cences, Mary Hirthe's articles re Ships and Shipwrecks, Janet McCray and Nancy Rogers- memories of growing up at North Bay, Carlyle Whipple re grandfather Judge Grasse, Mary Ann Johnson's contributions and encouragement, Andrea Lundquist and Norb Eparvier telling the story of the Popp family, Doris and Harvey Albertson and the Fager family, Lauretta Tucker Foley and her con siderable help re Oien (Sam) Olson, Marion Clarke and her story of grandmother- Hattie, Elinor Maahs re her great-grandfather Andrew Brodd, my cousins- Kay Hawes- Vernon Peterson-Grace Williams Harriet Wickman-Johnny Anderson-Vi Kodanko. And lastly but very importantly, my Aunt Phoebe Erickson, who believed in me and encouraged me. viii
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