23 and 20.
He saw some old pictures before I
got married.
We've been keep talking about
updating that.
Now you will.
Yeah, now we're gonna be in trouble.
Can I?
Alright, good.
What? Cut!
Where would you like to stay?
I don't know,
there's,
we have the stuff here.
That's my great grandmother over
here.
And my dad and his
family was
all here.
So I don't know, is that, and then
that's all, like all the
generations there are
in that picture there.
All right, let's start with the
hold-out cycle.
So, who do we
have here in the middle?
This is my great-grandma Anna who
started the resort and
was doing that and then this
is my father and his parents
and the rest of his brothers and
sisters in the photo there.
From the sedan.
The one that looks just like him,
right there in the middle, sitting
on my grandfather's lap.
That was a big, big
troop of kids.
That's a big troop.
That's Bob. He doesn't know better.
So.
Yeah, this is kind of the, these are
the generations photo here.
So this is all
five generations, if you look at
that, with my great-grandparents, my
grandparents, my parents,
and then my boys and I,
and like I said, dated photo.
But what's the significance of
making sure this is the entry, this
is where people can walk through and
see?
Well, you know, I think one of the
things for us is the importance of
having a family run business that's
up here.
There's not many around that
is really a five generation
business.
And so we want to
obviously recognize that and put
some of the historic things
that we have here from the
different photos and stuff through
the years, some of the old
brochures.
We did something here, I don't know
if it's going to show up or not.
But my great
grandfather printed this book
back when he was running the
resort and it says, what I know
about
fishing in here.
And my father and I and
his parents, all of them,
so we got all four generations on
here, we wrote a book at our 100
year anniversary.
And if you open it up, it's just
blank note pages for taking notes
on. There's nothing written in it.
But we just kind of carried that
through again for our 100 year
anniversary. And we'll probably do
something else, but we took the same
photo. We took everything and
just carried on that tradition.
Because again, you know, really five
generations is just, it's just, it's
not very, it doesn't happen very
often, especially in this industry.
But you know and through here we've
got the different brochures and
stuff that they've done through the
years. We have one of the
original brochures that
is here from 1919.
And talks about it, some of the old
business cards that
we had with a two-digit telephone
number.
You know, there's just some really
neat historical stuff that we've
had through the years.
So while I got you, don't
need it.
They took off the request on there,
so I don't know if they used the
passport or whatever and they used
that, so you don't have to worry
about it.
We have to go, we have to...
We don't have to worry about it. We got it on
film too.
Oh, okay.
Good, good, good.
You got
all the old stuff here?
Yeah.
Yeah, that's good.
What's that? Can you film with it?
Oh, you can go.
They don't want you on film, Bob.
I don't do nothing.
Hey, Kathy.
So, I don't know, I'm trying to
think, if we have a copy, just
give me a second here, I'll look and
see.
Team brochure, and in there, we
had a list of the rates, and
it has things like no walking
indoors with spiked boots, or
in the wood boats with spik boots
on,
just a bunch of different things.
Don't leave your fish
cleaning and stuff outside for
the animals, dispose of them
properly, all the stuff that went
on.
My grandfather here, Hans,
his handwritten sign that
we had down in our marina
where we had our fish cleaning
house.
We pulled that out of the marina
when we remodeled it back in
the 90s and that was his hand
written sign that had been up there
since, I don't know,
probably sometime in the 40s or
earlier.
So just some, you know, there's some
neat stuff about having a
multi-generational business.
There probably was no indoor
plumbing or electricity when
this started.
No, when it first started there was
no electricity, there was
a series of buildings and
they'll see them in the photos that
we have that was,
at that time there was dining hall,
then there was cook house, and
then you had your sleeping cabins,
everything was separate.
You had your chicken coop here and
everything else because obviously
there was not electricity and
everything. You had to, either it
was dried goods or
it was something that was fresh and
that's probably why the hunting and
fishing was such an important part.
Because you can catch something
fresh and have something to serve to
your guests.
And it was done.
For most people, right?
The train, yeah. Everybody came up
by train, and then my
great-grandmother would load up,
and they'd take the horse and
carriage into cable, pick up the
people on the train, and then drive
them back out. It was, you know,
most of the day trip, you know
across the old corduroy
roads where they had the logs laid
down across the swamps, and you can
imagine rattling themselves across
those things to get back
and forth. It was probably quite
a trip for somebody coming from
Chicago.
Imagine if people complained about
the road not being perfectly smooth
now.
Now they complain about the
roads too.
I imagine what they complain about
that. I guess it's never going to
change. It's just one of those
things.
A little bit of human nature, right?
Did you say you were able to find
some of the- I'll-
I'll send them to you.
What I'll do is I'll just send you
electronic copies of them.
You know, like some of these that
you see up there.
There's, you know, some different
ones in there.
I don't know if you want to take any
pictures. This is some of the
recognition we got at our 100-year
anniversary
from the state and other
ones.
Let's go in the bar and have you
show off that stringer a lot.
Knocked the troll, it was hanging up
there, somebody must have knocked it
off of there.
But you know, some of those
stringers that they had through the
years.
But this is this is the one
my grandparents in it right there so
Whatever you're ready.
Yeah, so this is the picture I
wanted to show you, with my
grandparents in there, holding their
Stringer Walleye.
There's going to be some other
photos, the actual photos.
This is of course a mural.
A lot of these are actual pictures
that were taken through the years
that were
put onto a mural
in their forest.
So there's some really
neat photos,
a canoe in our front pond with
the different Stringers that we have
through all the generations.
I guess, you know, all my
parents and...
My wife and I are going to have to
get our stringers to hold up our
walleye in the pictures too when
we've been out fishing.
With zero actual wooden slides.
There was.
That picture was probably taken in
1919.
That's my grandmother here
and my great-uncle Paul
in the picture.
So we were probably figuring about
1920s, something like
that, sometime in there that that
photo was taken.
And it was just a slide down.
So yeah, Wisconsin's original water
park, I guess.
Eat your heart out, Doug.
And we're all guest greeted with an
ax.
Well, I guess so.
Again, that's my
grandmother there and my
great-grandparents in the
picture
at what we call our old entrance
at the resort.
So you can see some of the cabins we
had at the time in the background.
Yep, and that's the original
lodge up there.
That's what the building looked like
after it was remodeled and added
onto seven different times.
And it was struck by lightning and
burned down, had the wire and
pull wiring in there.
It started, like they said, like
seven different fires up in the
attic and they just weren't able to
put it out.
And then remodeled for the middle
one and then the one
over there on the far side that
we replaced in 86.
All those, all things, so it's kind
of like the whole history up
there with my great grandparents, my
grandparents, what happened through
there. It's my uncle skiing,
that's a bunch of the old guests
there,
other ones that are up in there,
some of the snowmobiling when that
came in, and then I'm way
over there on the far right water
skiing. That is you?
So yeah, so
that's the culmination
that we've been so far.
Guess we're gonna have to put another
panel up there.
That's the whole break.
Yeah, that's the hope.
I think that's good.
All right.
Fantastic. We'll grab the mic back
from you.
It's like my brother's, that one on
the top right, was the
first fish my brother ever caught.
We're out fishing and my dad baits
his hook with a worm.
You don't know, Bob, or any
competition on this.
We've had throws it over,
or, you know, he's probably,
I don't remember, or something like
that.
He's got the snoopy rod, wheels,
and people.
Not that it's huge or anything, but
I mean...
That are out here, some of the older
ones are like right here, and then
we're heading home.
Thank you.
Well, these are all of the great
things that we care about.
And since then, we've had two fires
so we've lost all
these things and all those, like
in those pictures and look up there
and see all the losses.
So we ended up actually getting some
of these old bombs
from the 1800s.
And that was probably the 1900s,
and we never knew where it was.
In fact, we got that eagle and we
thought it was a gold eagle.
When they start cleaning it up,
there's all kinds of dust and stuff
on the back of the spores for years
and years, and you know,
the can and the community of
the opium also.
Thanks for being with us.
Was it?
Not really.
I've asked him a couple of times.
He asked me a few questions.
So I'm going to have them do the
walleye breakfast, the wall eye
sandwich, and then our baked walleye
for dinner.
Don't need to fry everything, so
I'm turning over a nice pan for us.
Fried, deep fried,
and sticks are three different
things. Are we able to get in and
see some of that?
Um.
I wasn't thinking they were going to
come in the kitchen guys, I just
figured they were going to take some pictures
of the food.
You do that you know if anything you
might be able to get like if you
just do like an arms or something do
a close shot on there like a doing
the doing the pan-fried walleye for
the breakfast that's about the only
thing you'd be able to get.
Yep.
Next stand 5.
Mostly we want to get the hash
browns browned at least on one side,
but we have smoke in here
as well. Exactly, it's for the
engine.
How long have you been working here?
I just crossed over 3 months.
Oh wow, that's awesome.
Do you want to be from the area?
No. No?
I'm a fan of mine.
Really?
Chicago, South Suburbs.
Oh, my dad's from my dad used to
work here. Okay, I'm from
Park Forest.
Be more fun when you get flipped
over.
But that is an activity.
We're going to do it. Why don't I
say it's an activity?
Do you want to recheck that?
Unless you're plating, unless
you're set up on a plate.
Awesome.
Good? Get a shot of it right here.
It looks great.
Oh yeah, thank you.
We'll see you all next time.
I've got to walk.
Well, so they used to travel all
over the world, but now they travel
in Wisconsin.
I've had some older co-workers,
I've been to Hawaii, Costa Rica,
Russia, all over.
Did you get that?
Would you excuse me?
This is not about me.
Just look good for dropping it off.
Yeah, so I told her I'm going to do
two things. Just get her kind of
walking to the table and have her
stuff. I'm just going to get close
to the camera so I can shoot
some nice shots.
I'm going to follow out
the door for the kitchen and dining
room.
Like, not handheld, but...
Or do you want to do handheld?
That'd be good. Yeah, I could easily
do that. Okay, that'd be cool
actually. Yeah. Yeah, let's do that!
And kind of cut to her to set it
down. Yeah. Absolutely.
It means we have to kind of like
really play with these since we
don't have people. I don't, yeah, I
don't know what we're doing, but
we'll make it work.
Nice of them to do that, they're
kind of stressed back there.
I'm sure.
I think what we're trying to do is
kind of intercutting some of this
with other restaurant
fish serving
stuff.
Instead of doing a sequence on time
since it doesn't have people.
Yep. It's just a variation of time.
It'll still work and just
won't work in itself.
Yeah, it's a big outbreak.
That hospitality life is
a different beast.
Here she comes.
Perfect. Alright.
Awesome.
And if you wouldn't mind just
picking up the plate again and
setting it down.
Give me one second.
Okay, whenever you're ready.
Awesome. Thank you.
Okay, thank you.
Bring it back in.
All right.
Alright movie stars, here she comes.
Are anything else right
now?
Can we still say more?
Right.
I feel like we've already taken into
this.
Thanks, guys.
I know it's Audrey.
Now we're going to order our
food. I need to start eating because
it actually smells pretty good.
Yeah, it's
the most unnatural thing to have
to do.
But it looks like you've ordered in
a restaurant before.
Whatever!
Are you ready to take that back?
Okay.
I hope she needs to watch this too.
Let's keep it there for a second and
get some shots of it.
Okay.
Okay, I'm gonna get a close-up of
it.
Hahaha
What do you think of that ride home?
I thought, I told Phil, I said, I'll
tell you what, I've been on this
trip.
No.
Not depending on where you're both
here.
Is not up there.
There you go.
Yeah.
You can see
if you're used to coming to get it.
Yeah, leave it down here.
You're like, what?
Thank you so much.
They've been doing this for a long
time.
I don't know what we're supposed
to do, we
asked PC and he said just eat it, so
I don't know what he wanted.
You can. You can?
I don't know what they
were giving it away to people,
but certainly I don't want to throw
it in the trash.
But you have
the first choice of what you had,
like you can't know if it's
good. That's why we did the story.
That's one of the best items
on our menu.
And our favorite one is walleye
piccata.
That's with the lemon butter
caper sauce.
And then the walleye is pan
fried.
Very good.
But Wally is a favorite.
Sure.
Thank you.
If you decide wherever you
like to sit, I can serve that and
I can bring you some kind of drink
to go with it.
Wow, thank you so much.
That's what I'm talking about.
Yeah, I appreciate it.
I've been with him all day, I'm
sure.
Thanks.
Just kidding boys.
That's funny.
Don't you like that one?
Oh, there's like three of them
there, guys.
I'm just going to get a couple more
shots of him while we have him here.
Nice work. Yeah.
Get some beauty shots, you know?
There you go.
Thank you. Take care.
I don't care if you guys visit the
place, I'm just kidding.
I thought you were pulling my hair.
Remember that's our back dog, my
one. I don't want to get in a film.
Oh no, no, we're forgetting.
I'm a dishwasher, I'm not
a person who doesn't eat or serve.
I'm the dishwasher.
I didn't know you were filming.
No, I tried.
I'm backing off.
I try not to get anybody, you know,
in the shots. Just close ups of the
hands and stuff.
I put my dirt in my dishwasher
hands. There you go.
Thank you.
Now you film all the video,
Wisconsin, Parkville, Luton.
Okay, Wisconsin people,
the rivers.
Hey, hey,
you can't miss another mountain
until it's getting small.
Right.
It's going downhill a little bit.
Yeah, I'm sorry to hear that.
You see that one motel,
or that road there,
across from the library,
that burned down years ago.
Not burned down, but it had fire and
everything else. Oh, jeez.
Yeah. It had a fence line on it.
I haven't been there for years, so
they were supposed to do something
about it, I don't know.
They were doing something about.
There was a dentist on one corner,
and then there was like another
restaurant on the other corner here.
Merritt Beehive.