Betty Koller Remembers - early cranberry life

Manitowish Waters History

As recalled by Betty Koller

3-17-15

CRANBERRY MARSH

In 1945-46 five families came to Manitowish Waters to start cranberry marshes.  Vern Goldsworthy found the land suitable for cranberries – acid soil and alkaline water supplied from Little Trout Lake.    The five families were Howard & Mary Folsom, Herbert & Florence Indermuehl, Delbert & Myrtle Bartling, John & June McFarland and Frank & Betty Koller.  The town did not welcome us.  The land was in forestry, where no one could live year-round.

We had together changed the land into agriculture.  There was no telephone or electric.  To get our weather reports, Ehlerts Market would get them, and then we would get them there.  After a few years the growers hung wires for both utilities.  We had to get to the marsh from Powell Road as there was no way to cross the Rice or Trout Rivers.   There was a road we could park in, it had once been a camp.  First one in had to be last one out.  Everything had to be brought in by wheel barrow, stoneboats, or any other means that you could carry with.  Some years later, the growers had a culvert put in so we could get to the marsh down Hwy 51.

We had to get roads into each marsh.  The growers had very little equipment that they shared with each other.  We all dug the ditches into Trout Lake and individual marshes with a hired drag line by hand.

Postcard Collection

 These are scans of postcards recently donated to the library by David Bohnett.  They depict many area resorts and businesses.  A few of the postcards at the end include scenes from locations in the surrounding area including Boulder Junction (Camp Manitowish YMCA), Minocuqua, Mercer and Manitowish (Circle Lily Lodge, Chuck's Tavern).
Other postcards depict (in no particular order): Koerner's Spider Lake Resort, Koerner's Coffee Shop and Oval Bar, Buck's Resort, Voss' Birchwood Lodge, Voss' Breezy Point, Little Bohemia, Rudy's Rest Haven, Ilg's Camp, Deer Park Lodge, Island Lake Log Cabins, Island Lake Resort, Northern Lights Resort, Warnier's, Red Feather Lodge, Twin Pines Resort, Meinel's, Williamson's Stone Lake Resort, Beaumont's Island Resort, Lange's Sylvan Lodge, Balaty's, Lakewood Lodge, Win-Mar, 30-30 Lodge, Rest Lake Dam and Fish Hatchery, Arial Views from the Tower, post office, Hanson's Hardware, LaPorte's, Harry's Supermarket, Theilacker's Ehlert's.
More information to come.

Everyone come to the dance

How Manitowish Waters Became a Four-Season Vacation Area

The following article, excerpted here, appeared in the Vilas County New Review Centennial Issue (2/19/86):

an old ad for Voss's Birchwood Lodge

At one time, it was the logging industry here that kept Manitowish Waters booming, but the big logging activity ceased between 1911 (when the last Yawkey-Bissell activity ceased; that firm's last local camp was near Mud [Fawn] Lake) and 1914 (when the last logs had been shipped from the hoist at Star Lake).

In 1919 the Milwaukee Road removed its track along the north side of the chain; the spur to the C&NW was quietly taken up around the same time.

The lone sawmills to operate after that era in the area were operated by Bob Loveless, who cut timber in the few pockets of Virgin Forest during the 1920s, and Marvin Loveless, who ran a small mill into the 1940s or 1950s.

The resort business developed alongside the homesteading that brought the early settlers to this area. First to offer hospitality to sportsmen and other visitors in a lodge was Abe LaFave. In 1892, George Buck settled some land at the narrows between Spider and Manitowish Lakes, probably by homesteading it. He too developed a resort business, which stayed in the Buck family until it was sold in 1916 to the Koerners, who began operations under their name the next year.

What is now Deer Park Lodge was begun in the 1890s by one J.A. La Motte of Wausau; its succeeding owners included Jay A. "Dad" Paine, Max Engemann and Charlie Doriot. After spending several summers camping here, Henry Voss built his first cottage in 1909, and opened an American Plan resort in 1911.

By 1927, area residents were chafing at what they felt was neglect by the town of Flambeau, to which the present day Manitowish Waters then belonged, and they succeeded in having the state legislature pass a bill creating the new town of Spider Lake. The new town built a town hall during the next biennium and a modern school soon after. That school was outgrown and was enlarged twice before it was replaced in 1971 by a new, complete plant on Highway K that is a consolidation of the grade schools for several North Lakeland communities.

The town board also authorized a community cemetery in 1935, and the first burials date from 1936.

Koerner's Spider Lake Resort

The Thirties brought the town new distinctions. One was the distinction of having its own fish hatchery, said to be the only municipal hatchery in the state.

It was also in the early 1930s, 1934 to be exact, that desperado John Dillinger brought the area instant notoriety. Detected hiding out at Little Bohemia, he fled lawmen in a shootout that cost two lives.

Manitowish Waters was a more appropriate name for the chain of lakes area, and in 1937 the name of the town was changed from Spider Lake to Manitowish Waters.

bathing beauties

"Koerner's Resort Recreation Hall, 1940"

Lest it be thought that life in 1940s Manitowish Waters was all work and no play (or all hardy people stomping about in plaid), take a gander at the bathing beauties at Koerner's Resort. The lady on the middle right was Miss Kenosha -- which if you didn't know is the fourth largest city in Wisconsin. Clearly Dillinger and friends were not the only ones who thought the Northwoods worthy of a visit! (Presumably we can be prouder of Miss Kenosha than of Dillinger, even if she has not been portrayed by Johnny Depp. ...odd as that might be.)

Koerner's, once on Spider Lake, no longer exists as a resort and few of the original buildings remain. As Bev Trapp kindly wrote up for us:

Koerner's Spider Lake Resort was probably first built, but run by Fayette Buck, about 1900 (1901-02).

Ted Koerner was an Alderman in Milwaukee and bought the resort about 1910 or a little later, as he died in the 1930's and his son Alvin Koerner more or less took over, as his mother was still alive and not driving. The old Highway 10 (51) that made a loop through the Koerner resort in the years may be her house is still there. Alvin Koerner's house is still standing and our telephone service was housed in the home with the old family lines, hand cranked phones. Pete Williamson was the phone company repair person. Pete and Charlie owned what is now Tellefson Resort on Stone Lake. Pete had about seven house-keeping rentals.

Alvin Koerner's Resort was an American Plan Resort ("Gentiles only"). They also had a couple of house-keeping cabins on Manitowish Lake and a long hall building and long dock extending onto Manitowish Lake. The beautiful sand beach exists today. The building served sandwiches such as ham and had a small fountain serving ice cream. In about 1949/50 he added the oval bar to the Soda Fountain Restaurant, with his liquor license. Fire destroyed that building and the property was purchased and made into a boys camp. Later it was purchased by relatives and subdivided. The Blue Bayou Inn and the first building to the West are the only buildings remaining on the south side of the highway.