About two years ago, my wife and I bought a small cabin an hour north of Green Bay, in the Town of Wausaukee. During the summers, we try to make it up there about twice a month, using the cottage as a respite from the bustling Milwaukee workweek. Winters are even more peaceful, though without running water from November to April, it's hard to spend more than a day up there, especially considering the three-hour drive.
When we're ambitious, we seek out supper clubs and Marinette County's waterfalls (and a never ending slate of home improvement). When we're just plain pooped, we hunker down with the dog, do our own cooking, build a fire and play some Scrabble -- and actually relax enough to enjoy each other's company.
Last weekend proved to be the perfect, prototypical Up North getaway. After a week of Milwaukee rain, we enjoyed beautiful weather during the day and crisp temperature drops at night. It was also the Marinette County Fair, which got me thinking about a few of the many factors that make Up North so very different from back home.
- The Marinette County Fair, held in Wausaukee, is a beautiful thing. The village and town, which has a population of just 580, comes alive for the annual tradition. And without a doubt, the best part is the demolition derby. Perhaps 100 cars take place in the event, which is just as loud and as violent as you could possibly imagine. Each year, I daydream about someday entering a car in the competition. Stay tuned to see if that ever happens (but don't hold your breath).
- On that note, the Fair is snapshot of the convergence of rural and urban life. Even though the residents of this small town have to drive 40 minutes to Marinette for Menard's or a movie theater, and perhaps all the way to Green Bay for a Target or a Thai restaurant, factors like the Internet, cable TV and the recently-completed Hwy 141 extension (up to Crivitz) have helped make bigger city living more accessible to all. Still, the Fair holds on to that slice of Americana that is slowly slipping away, in which 4-H clubs proudly participate in the many competitions of baked goods, crafts and animal husbandry. It's great to see examples of kids taking pride in this stuff, but it's a little unnerving to see the decreased offerings each year, including the sign that read, "We need more entries for next year!"
- For all my bitching about Milwaukee's local TV news, the products from the Green Bay stations are much, much worse. Not that we're watching much television at the cabin, but occasionally we turn on the news for a laugh. It's not surprisingly, really, considering that Green Bay is considered a starter market, but the reporters and anchors are generally very young, fairly unpolished and even more awkward in their banter in between news stories. They spend as much time on weather as they do in Brew City, but get this: when they zoom out for a state view, Milwaukee isn't even pictured on the map. Madison and Chicago are, but it's like Milwaukee doesn't even exist. I credit this to the general distaste of Wisconsin's largest city in every other part of the state.
- Similarly, the folks in the northeast part of Wisconsin aren't big fans of Milwaukee. They rarely visit, and when they do, they speak of the "concrete jungle" and the perceived high crime rate. They call people who own cabins in their towns "shackers," and while they rely on Milwaukee and Chicago to boost their service-oriented economies (and to pay property taxes for services they barely use), they're more happy when Milwaukeeans and FIBs just go home.
- On the other hand, the number of Brewers hats and T-shirts has tripled over the last three summers. In 2005, you'd be hard-pressed to find a team hat that didn't sport the "G" from the Green Bay Packers. Now, even 200 miles from Milwaukee, people are talking (and asking me) about the Brewers and Miller Park.
- The restaurant and nightlife options don't get much more homogenous than what's available in the Northwoods. Draw a 20-mile circle from the epicenter of Wausaukee, and your dining choices include supper clubs, sandwich shops and the occasional pizza place. In Milwaukee, we take it for granted that an international selection of restaurants is always at our fingers. If you want Chinese food in Wausaukee, you'd better bring out the wok and cook it yourself.
- Think the weather in Milwaukee has been weird lately? Most of northern Wisconsin is encountering a big-time drought, and has been for the last several years. There's not a mosquito to be found, lake levels are dangerously low, and the grass is almost completely yellow. Wells are drying up, and the weather changes are threatening to change the entire Northwoods ecosystem. It's quite sad, but at least the cabin's giant lawn doesn't need to be mowed more than three times a summer (anyone know where I can get a riding mower for cheap?).
- For all that it doesn't offer, life in the Northwoods provides something that you don't find in Milwaukee: tons of nature, picturesque lakes and wilderness, and an ample supply of deer, turkeys, bears and more. The air smells noticeably clean. Crime, beyond petty theft, is mostly non-existent. Entertainment options, while limited, are enjoyed by many, including ATVing, boating, snowmobiling, and simply spending time with family and friends. It's not the most diverse crowd in the world, but generally speaking, talk to residents of Wausaukee, and they have no plans to leave. They're just fine, thank you very much. It's not something I could handle 365 days a year, but two weekends a month, it suites me very well.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
