Making the Best of it in WI

On June 26th, my Uncle Doug passed away. His memorial service was in Fremont, WI on June 30. Dallas had to travel to Atlanta that weekend for work, so I took Makai up to WI for a long weekend over the holiday. My Aunt Wanda, his widow, told me two things at the memorial service – When something bad happens, you just have to keep going, because what else can you do? And don’t put things off til tomorrow because you never know. We were there for a sad reason, but tried to make the best of visiting with lots of family.

We left on Thursday night. Dallas had left for Atlanta earlier in the day. I picked Makai up at daycare and we drove from there. For dinner we stopped at Culver’s in Franklin, WI, just outside of Milwaukee. You can see Makai loved his cheese curds and ice cream!

The memorial service was at the funeral home in Fremont, WI, nearby where my uncle lived. Doug, my dad’s brother, was married to my mom’s sister, Wanda, so a ton of my family from both sides came to show support for the family and respect for my uncle. It was very moving to see his army uniform empty.

On display was also many, many photographs and some of his medals from his army service, including the Purple Heart. I never knew much about the Purple Heart, but Aunt Wanda told us “Their camp was hit by enemy mortars (bombs), although he was wounded he helped the other wounded men get loaded into choppers. He still has shrap-metal and foreign matter in his back.”

Following the memorial there were military rites and taps. It was so emotional.

 Following the funeral, we all went to the American Legion, which was only a few blocks away. A lot of people made food so we all had lunch. Doug’s favorite drinks were Budweiser and Jim Beam. My brother already had a Bud, so I got another for my dad and a Bud Light for myself.

My cousin Sabrina informed me that I was doing it wrong. I was supposed to be drinking Budweiser. She took me over the dessert table, grabbed a couple shots of Jim Beam, pointed to the photo above that was on one of the photo collage boards and we both threw them back. Now this crazy photo below is seared into my braid with the glue of Jim Beam.

Outside the American Legion post was a tank. Like… a real one. All the kids were interested in it. It was nice to get a breather outside, checking it out.

It felt weird to just go home after the memorial, but everyone was so exhausted. We needed to rest. Later on we decided to get a fish fry for dinner. After some Googling we ended up at Dairyland Brew Pub. Great beer list. The food was good too.

The next morning I went to Woodman’s with my dad. We purchased food from all of the Wisconsin food groups: Milk, cheese, sausage and corn.

Makai messed around with Grandma. I drank a Rosa on the patio.

Oh, and before Makai and I even woke up, Buddy ran away. At like 4:30 a.m. My mom finally called the police station at about 3 p.m. or so and they said he’d been turned in at 5:30 a.m. Off to break that troublemaker out of jail.

For dinner my dad grilled all the sausages and other meats we got at Woodman’s. We had Aunt Wanda and my cousin Sabrina over for dinner. So they could get out of the house and just relax for a while. Brianne came along too, with her daughter, Annaleigha, and Makai had fun playing with her.

 In the morning I was texting with my cousins Kacey and Stephanie, when we were suddenly like “Why are we texting? Let’s just meet up for lunch!” So we did. At Houdini’s Escape, which I really really liked.

Dawn was out of town, but we texted Sabrina to come and join us. Stephanie mentioned that she was meeting friends at a bar with a patio and a band was playing. It wasn’t far away and was really close to my parents’ house, so off we went. Fun night. Nice friends. Lots of dancing. And, of course, Jim Beam for Uncle Doug.

 While I was out with my cousin’s, Makai spent approximately 95% of the day in the kid pool at my parent’s house!

The next day my cousin Kelly came over from De Pere with her daughters Tessa, Margo and Charlotte, and Charlotte’s friend Kiki. We played around the house and my dad grilled some burgers and dogs for lunch.

After lunch we went to Fritse Park and walked across the trestle bridge that spans Little Lake Butte des Morts. It was a sunny, gorgeous day and we all had so much fun. After walking across and back we played on a playground at the park.

 We were pretty tired after the long walk and playing in Fritse Park, so it was nice to relax for a little while at Herb and Dolly Smith Park, just down the road. I loved the swing benches they had on the lakeside. So peaceful.

The next morning Makai and Grandmas were up baking cookies before I was even out of bed!

 While that was going on, my dad drove out to Uncle Doug and Aunt Wanda’s house and picked a TON of raspberries.

 Makai and I met up with Dawn, Bryan, Keegan and Collin for breakfast at Uncle Doug’s favorite place, Denny’s. We ordered one bowl of grits and each ate a bit in remembrance. Being July 4, it was Dawn’s birthday, so it was nice to see her before heading out of town!

On the way back to Chicago, we stopped in Oak Creek. My brother and Amanda were having a last minute barbecue. Jess had four of her friends over. Stephanie brought her kitten, Sasha!

Bear Creek, WI

Bear Creek, WI is a town of about 800 400 people located 124 miles northwest of Milwaukee, about 42 miles west of Green Bay. There’s a Catholic church and school, some houses, and about 1 bar for every 100 people in the town. That’s about it.

This is where my grandpa was born, where he married and had a large family, where he owned a bar for many years, and ultimately where he now rests eternally.

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Bear Creek Post Office, Bear Creek, WI

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It’s a ghost town. I think I saw one family in their backyard, otherwise the only people I saw in town were the people I was with.

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Jessica, Richard, Amanda, Rick (dad), Stephanie, Jeff, Dallas :: Bear Creek, WI

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The building where my grandpa’s bar was still has the sign on it. Rusty, but it’s there. I don’t know why I was so amazed by this.

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Posted on the door of one of the bars: In a village of 800, how many could really show up?

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My aunt & uncle used to live here. I remember going as a kid.

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Spence’s Market was across the street from the house my aunt & uncle lived in, a block up from grandpa’s bar. We used to go here as kids and get candy and soda and stuff like that. It was the only market in town.

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Now it’s closed.

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Not sure what this used to be.

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St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Bear Creek, WI