Highways:
...more to come, including the U.S. Highways in Wisconsin!
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"Manitowish to Menasha"
The Lac du Flambeau Reservation was created via treaties in 1837 and 1842 and has around 3,500 residents. Like the rest of this region, an extensive chain of interconnected lakes and rivers dominate the landscape (behind all the trees). The Lac du Flambeau Reservation area includes over 260 lakes, 65 miles of rivers and streams and over 24,000 acres of wetlands, so fishing and kayaking are popular local activities. Wild rice grows, well, wild, and has always been a local delicacy. Frybread is another, and they get creative with the toppings and fillings. There's even a "downtown" Lac du Flambeau, where Highway 47 ducks in between Flambeau, Pokegama, Fence and Crawling Stone Lakes. The crossroad is County D, known for much of its length as Peace Pipe Road. For a good look at Ojibwa history and culture (also known as Anishinaabe), the George W. Brown, Jr. Ojibwe Museum & Cultural Center offers up exhibits that include a world-record sturgeon, a dugout canoe over 200 years old, artifacts and thousands of photos. If you feel more like slots or "doubling down" on 11, hit the Lake of the Torches Casino, which features 24-hour gaming including bingo and blackjack, dining and a variety of concerts and events. The phrase "Lake of the Torches" refers to the old practice of harvesting fish at night by torchlight. |
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Woodruff, Minocqua and Arbor Vitae.
One of Wisconsin's most frequented vacation destinations is this stretch of towns surrounded by lakes, forest, and beauty. The presence of Illinois license plates gives you the proper impression that this area is filled with shops, restaurants, t-shirt stores and throngs of families looking to rent lake homes or hang out in the resorts that dot the lakes ringing the area. Highway 47 enters Woodruff (pop. 1,982) from the Lac du Flambeau area, just inside Vilas County. Woodruff features Jim Peck's Wildwood Wildlife Park, the "Zoo of the Northwoods" with over 500 animals - some of whom are roaming. That's located along Highway 70 on the west side of Woodruff.
 | In Woodruff itself, you'll find shopping, plenty of gas stations and even some fast-food restaurants, as well as the first traffic light along Highway 47. Here, you intersect with the north-south backbone of Wisconsin, U.S. 51, which is the main drag through Minocqua and Woodruff - Highway 70 is along for the ride, too. Minocqua lies to the south along U.S. 51. This whole stretch can be bumper-to-bumper on warm summer days - and some nights, too. |
Also in Woodruff, you'll find the World's Largest Penny. Located just south of Highway 47 and just west of Highway 70/U.S. 51 at 923 Second Avenue, it came about from a fund-raising effort by Dr. Kate Pelham Newcomb (a.k.a. the "Angel on Snowshoes" in these parts). In the early 1950s, Woodruff needed a hospital. Dr. Kate encouraged area children to save their pennies, a story that spread around the nation. Pennies poured in from all over the U.S., and eventually 1.7 million of them helped get the hospital built. Apparently, health care was a lot less expensive back then. Ironically, the schoolkids from 1953 (the year stamped on the penny) will soon approach the age where some may enter the assisted living facility behind it. |
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  | At left, the shot I took of the World's Largest Penny. At right, State Trunk Tourer Agnes W. sent in this picture of her (she's on the left) and her siblings the year the penny was dedicated in 1953. Thanks, Agnes! |
Out of Woodruff, Highway 47 heads southeasterly again, winding around more lakes and wetlands past small hamlets like Lake Tomahawk, McNaughton and Newbold on the way into the next city, which is all about the Hodag.
Of course, we're talking about Rhinelander (pop. 8,135), the Oneida County seat and metropolitan center of everything north of Wausau. The two cities even split the television market up here, with WJFW-TV (Channel 12) serving as the NBC affiliate for northern Wisconsin. Rhinelander is where NFL player Jason Doering, five-time PGA golf champion Dan Forsman, playwright Dan Wasserman, entertainment reporter Steve Kmetko and 2002 Miss Teen USA winner Vanessa Semrow, the only Wisconsinite to win the pageant, all came from. College coaching legend John Heisman, namesake of the Heisman Trophy, is buried in Rhinelander - because that's where his wife was born.
Rhinelander was originally called Pelican Rapids, but changed the name when the city was chartered to salute Frederic Rhinelander, who was president of the main railroad at the time. By 1882, the railroad was extended to the city and lumber mills went crazy, exporting wood and wood products. The city became a brewery town that same year, when Rhinelander Beer was introduced. The brewery pioneered and patented the 7-ounce "shorty" bottle and grew to become one of the more influential local breweries in the country. They closed in 1967, but the brands continued to be brewed under contract in Monroe, where the Huber (now Minhas Brewery) kept cranking it out. In 2009, the brands were brought back to Rhinelander when Jyoti Auluck became president of the "new" Rhinelander Brewing Company. They are in the process of bringing back the original formulas and labels to their brands and plan to build a new brewery in Rhinelander to open by 2014. We'll definitely do more research on this!
The Hodag.
Yes, you've probably heard, Rhinelander is Hodag Country. So what is a Hodag? According to folklore, the Hodag was first seen in 1893 and had "the head of a frog, the grinning face of a giant elephant, thick short legs set off by huge claws, the back of a dinosaur, and a long tail with spears at the end." Advanced by Eugene Shepard, who was known for pranks, the beast became something of legend when the "remains" of one was released to area newspapers. Later, he claimed to have overpowered a live Hodag using chloroform and brought it with him to the 1896 Oneida County Fair. Curious onlookers came from all over to examine the animal, which Shepard worked up and attached wires to, for the occasional tugging to make the creature move...sending audiences running. Apparently, it seemed pretty real: scientists from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. announced they would be coming to Rhinelander to examine this Hodag creature...essentially forcing Shepard to admit it was a hoax.
Nevertheless, the Hodag came an indelible part of Rhinelander's local lore. The Hodag is the high school mascot, the city's official symbol, is commemorated with sculptures around town and even lends its name to the local country music festival, which draws some pretty big names (Reba McEntire, Toby Keith, Garth Brooks, Neal McCoy, Kellie Pickler and, in its inception in 1978, good ol' Freddy Fender.
Highway 47 technically goes around Rhinelander in combination with U.S. 8 and Highway 17, which swoop around the southwest and eastern sides of town. For full Rhinelander flavor, go INTO the place. We'll be going there shortly and will have pictures, maps and more extensive coverage!
Antigo, Shawano, Appleton and more are coming up soon!
CONNECTIONS
North Terminus:
Can connect immediately to: U.S. Highway 51
Can connect nearby to: Highway 70, about 15 miles south
South Terminus:
Can connect immediately to: Highway 114
Can connect nearby to: U.S. Highway 10, about 2 miles north; U.S. Highway 41, about 3 miles west; Highway 96, about 6 miles north
Upcoming events in places along Highway 47:
Shawano County Fair, Shawano, September 1-6, 2010
Fox Jazz Fest, Menasha, September 4-5, 2010
Seafood Fest, Menasha, September 10-11, 2010
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