Frederic
Located between Luck and Siren,
Frederic, Wisconsin isn’t on most maps.
Always a small community, in the past
more of a rural commerce center,
now delegated to larger regional centers.
Farms are still important to the area,
but much of the land is now subdivided
into plots of ten acres or more,
summer homes and recreational areas.
For us, still the land of the Nelsons.
Virginia, a Nelson girl by mother’s side,
is here to visit cousin Emma Jean,
a Nelson girl by father’s side, Harry,
brother of Dollie (Hay), Virginia’s mother.
And I grow up knowing only of Gaylord!
Turning left at the four-way stop sign,
I passed up an opportunity to photo a
phone booth for the payphone project.
We headed west a few miles,
turn right, then left onto Whispering Pines.
Just over the hill, we make a left turn
onto the entrance to the Heinricks’ farm.
The old farm house, now home only to
Emma Jean, is our home for the next few days —
my eyes composing images for future reference.
After having lunch, we begin an afternoon
of touring the countryside, listening to
Emma Jean and Virginia’s childhood stories.
First stop, what remains of Virginia’s
grandparents farm in Clam Falls.
For many years, Virginia would take the train
from St. Paul to spend summer’s here.
As they walk the grounds, I record this experience
to serve as future image initiators of things past.
Images are the catalyst for igniting memories.
Next stop, Clam Falls Lutheran Church Cemetery
where we make notes of Nelson’s past.
Starting with John E. and Emma Nelson,
Great grandparents of many at tomorrow’s gathering.
But, before tomorrow, we next visit Sharon and Leo.
Sharon is Emma Jean’s youngest sister.
Since last September, the sisters have spent
much time together, Emma Jean supporting
Sharon as she cared for Leo who forgot that a
seventy-year old shouldn’t be climbing ladders.
Ok, maybe ladders are all right, but not
atop a twenty-foot ladder with chainsaw in hand.
Long story short, if you are going to fall,
you better land on your seventy-year old feet.
Suffered many broken bones, he lived to tell the story.
After having an afternoon dessert,
it was time to return to the farmhouse.
Joy and I would be sleeping upstairs
and like most old farmhouses, the stairs are steep.
Not a problem, however the bathroom is downstairs.
After dinner, somehow the conversation
turned to ”casinos!” Surprise, surprise!”
Of course, being the super host,
Emma Jean let it be known that
there was one in the town of Danbury.
The casino is named, “Hole ’n the Wall.”
From my perspective, a fitting name,
if only “The Gang” had been there.
However, even Butch Cassidy and
The Sundance Kid couldn’t help this place.
kenne
P.S. “So, what’s the story behind the Firebird?” you ask.
Don’t know, but obviously, from the growth around it,
Mother Nature is in the process of burying the “green machine.”
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