Tomah

If you're old enough to remember the Sunday Comics, one of the strips I used to read was Gasoline Alley. Walt Wallet, his family and friends portrayed American values going back to 1917 and is still running today. Skeezix, was an adopted kid and you followed his growing up in almost real time. The comic dealt with growing up in a small town and also morphing into modern life. It was funny and made a point of how it was. Frank King was from Tomah.

According to the 2020 census, the population is under 10,000 people. They're spread over almost 8 square miles. It's a small place and life here seems to move slowly. I-90 cuts through and hotels dot a small area off of the interstate. A small downtown area is where we found a locals bar, that served tasty sandwiches and cold adult beverages. It was okay, but nothing to write home about. Wait... we didn't have to write home, as our home, the Puffin was parked at the campground. Frankly our review of the place didn't survive the 15 minute ride home, so yeah, no one's writing.

We stayed at a campground, which was very rural. The campground was ok. Quiet, some seasonal campers and a lot of one night stays. it was inexpensive. No pool, but if you had a mind to swim, the campground had a small pond that could have used 400 gallons of antibacterial solution and bleach. Suffice to say we didn't wade in for fear of losng our toes.

Scott

We were parked next to a single man, named Scott. He was very friendly and over a couple of days we asked him to join us for dinner, but he declined. We then asked him if he wanted to join us for a camp fire, but again, he declined. Okay, perhaps the guy is just nice, but a bit anti-social. It turns out we were wrong. The next day he stopped by to ask if we needed or wanted anything from the pile of things in his pick up. We said it was generous, but didn't need anything. It was at that point he started to weep and tell us his story.

It turns out Scott's dad has terminal cancer. He sold his house and possessions, bought a fifth wheel and pick up and is staying at the campsite, which is close to his parents home. He said he was waiting for his dad to pass and it was hard to get through a day. You could tell Scott loved his parents, but had to look forward to the next day and what it might hold. It also turns out Scott knows nothing about living in a camper and what to do to haul or maintain it. So we started to help him, and the list of things he wasn't sure of was long and a bit frightening. How to hook up and detach his 50 amp power cord from the electrical pole, or never leave the black tank valves open, or how to find fuses/sensors and how to adjust his landing gear for leaving.

After spending a good part of the day with Scott, he came over to our site and told us more of his story. We then learn that Scott also has cancer and his energy and attention levels are really limited. He tries to keep a positive attitude, but he struggles. He was getting ready to leave the next and I helped him get ready to launch. Scott gave us the stained glass window (above), that he made as his way of saying thanks for the notes and help we gave him. He never gave us any contact information and Julie and I regret not thinking to give him ours. We hung the stained glass window next to the kitchen sink and at certain points of the day, the sun filters through to cast beautiful colors.

The people you meet in campgrounds and the stories of their lives are all different. Sure. Meeting him and hearing his story left Julie emotional. She hugged him goodbye and didn't want to let go. We sometimes wonder about Scott and how he's doing. We hope he's well and beating the odds.

Cranberries

One day we headed to Warren to see The Cranberry Museum. We didn't know this, but

every year in the fall, there is a huge cranberry festival that draws thousands of visitors from all over to celebrate cranberries. The festival celebrates what cranberries have done for their community, They actually compete every year for America's top producer. It turns out that there are other places that grow cranberries. We know of the bogs in Massachusetts, but New Jersey grows them, as does Washington State and Oregon. The museum highlights how cranberries are grown, the equipment used and how it helped Wisconsins' economy. We tasted cranberry ice cream, which was interesting. But the orange ice cream was delicious.

There was a large Amish community that was spread out over back country roads. The windy, rolling hills are gorgeous, where cornfields are everywhere and contrast with soy bean fields. We first stopped at a small Amish farm that specialized in woven goods, where we picked out placemats. Cash or check, as credit cards are not accepted or used. The woman who helped us was sweet, very polite and told us about her brother Jakob who made furniture. We followed the directions to Jakobs and arrived at midday. He came out to greet us, but said they were finishing their lunch and if we waited fifteen minutes, they'd be finished and he could help us. So we wait and fifteen minutes Jakob appears and takes us into his shop. He has no showroom, but albums of the things he's built. Color photos of

the different pieces he's made and where they were shipped. Some items went to London, England and you can understand why, as his approach and clever designs are so unique and beautiful. Complete bedroom suites, or large dining sets that can seat more than a dozen guests. His shop is equally impressive, as he has every conceivable tool, machine and hand tools to make the furniture. We wondered how he markets his furniture and the answer is word of mouth. If you want to communicate with him, there is a community telephone that no one answers. So you have to write him a letter and provide your information and he'll call you to begin a long and tedious process to ensure you get what you're looking for. Naturally, generators power the equipment... no electricity. Jakob was a very pleasant, talkative man and we could have spent a lot more time there, but stomachs were grumbling and I suspect he was working on some new creation and had to get after it. He recommended Peck's corner and so we went there.

Peck's corner is a local watering hole that serves mostly fried foods. Our waitress, the bartender was an elderly, no nonsense woman who went about her business and these strangers to the bar would get to order something as soon as she was done with the important task of yip yapping with some locals. It wasn't that we were impatient as other locals walked in and they got that same level of customer service. No one seemed to mind and neither did we. We learned that everyone at Peck's had Jakob build something for them, which earned high praise. Not sure we could say the same about the food. It was okay. As far as we could tell, Peck's serviced a wide area, as choices of eating places were pretty far away. And we're also not sure that some of the residents wanted to venture out of the area. Although, one of the women in the bar talked a lot about traveling outside of the country. I don't think they went for the food.

More to Tomah than a small town...

The Dually needed service, so while it was in the shop, we walked to the town park and war memorial. Note the minute man statue. Click on any image for the complete picture.

On the way to the GMC dealer, we passed by this...

The swans on a field appeared to be heading to places only they knew about. As we passed them days later, they were positioned differently and yet again, a day or so later, had moved again. Tomah is home to a large military presence and has a really large VA hospital.

What was impressive was the countryside, the corn and soy fields. The animals and the quiet that people seem to live. The cheese shops were fun and Lake Tomah was pretty.

The Backwater is where we ate our last meal before taking off for Minnesota the next day. It ranks up there with the other food establishments we dined at.