968 E.Steger Rd -- Crete, IL
(708) 672 - 1167

I have many fond childhood memories of vacationing in the Northwoods. My doting father would take me fishing on Lake St. Germain and evenings would be spent watching the bears at the dump. Lori Rimkus LaGrange Park, IL ------ we enjoy your restaurant!

Recited at our Grandparen't 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration ...remembering our times at their cottage on Halsey Lake, WI Dear Grandpa and Grandma, Where do we begin? There's so much we could say, The theme is Remember When... We've done this for you...and for us... today. I'd like to begin by quoting your grandson Tim: "If someone asks you where heaven is, tell them "up north" at our grandparent's cottage." All our minds bubble with memories of heaven up north. We've put our heads together and with this poem we humbly come forth. Perch fishing - remember how it used to be? When I closed my eyes at night - bobbing bobbers was all I could see! They were all keepers - 6 inches or more, Not like the ones we catch now - 3 inches - not much more. We know now that your wearing glasses is a sign, A sign of your skill to untangle fishing line. You'd anchor your poles on the dock in the evening, "The big ones come in to feed then," you'd said. We remember the card games of Sheep Head played while your fishing lines seemed to attract many bull heads. We remember when it was our turn to learn how to row the boat. Lesson after lesson you may have been surprised we were still afloat. After we learned that skill, we got daring. Some of us decided we'd row around the lake; You thought we'd lost our bearings! Blisters developed - you warned us - you were always caring. Sleeping in the loft was always kind of fun at night. So long as we could depend on that much needed night light. Grandpa always had to remind us, "Turn off that flashlight!" Remember the porcelain potty we were always provided with? And who used it at night was never a myth? 'Cause the darn thing would clang around just as you lifted the cover. The next morning Grandma emptied it - for that we'll always love 'er. I remember the best part about sleeping next to the vent: the new morning's breakfast had such a wonderful scent. Not getting too near that vent was a must, 'Cause Grandma didn't seem to care for eggs seasoned with dust. Yes, some of us remember how it used to be: The gas stove, generator, pump, and out house. Kinda like Little House on the Prairie I remember my disappointment when I heard about the big change: Electricity, plumbing... I thought, "It won't be a cottage anymore. It would all be so strange! Remember the "broken down trees" - secret fort hide-away? Today that lot is built up with a new cottage - I hate to say. We worked for hours and hours to make it our very own get-away. Morgan Lake was a nice treat now and then. I think Grandpa had more fun with that beach ball than we did! We Remember When... We remember the Blue Goose and looking for deer, which could always be found. And we remember the prettiest tree, that grew in the woods, that was on a hill, the one that stood still, and where the green grass grew all around. We remember some of the rules: "Don't mar the refrigerator door..,." "Don't walk on the grass." Grandpa worked so hard for. "Don't throw stones in the lake..." We seemed to like that best. "Don't flush the toilet unless..." Well - you know the rest. You were consistent with your rules, and that was good. It helped us respect you, you know that we did. Grandma, you taught us so much...your creativity filled our times with such great activity. ...like how to tell time with a paper plate clock ...and fun came alive as we painted faces on rocks. ...and creating an art work out of "just things" found on a walk. Grandpa, you taught us how to work hard, And be proud of our work. Your sense of humor kept us laughing, I guess we'd call you a card. You're our song leader at church, Singing so loud and with such pride. Better than anyone - no matter how hard they could have tried. I guess I admit - I've been carrying on. And you know each one of us could go on and on. We hope that this all gives you a bit of a clue - at how much you mean to us and we appreciate you! We'll always have fond memories of our yesterday And look forward to new ones - Starting Today. We love you Happy 50th Anniversary Your Grandchildren My name is Chris Nienhaus I live with my husband, Pat, and 2 sons in Crown Point, IN

My family vacationed in northwestern Wisconsin (Hayward) for 7 or 8 summers from approximately 1966 through 1973. Many of my favorite childhood memories stem from those vacations and among those, one of my favorites is the following. Several of us were visiting one of the public ''dumps'' that used to be open in Wisconsin. It was daytime so there were no bears around and we were just killing time by setting up bottles and cans down in the dump and throwing rocks at them as a sort of target practice. It got to be lunch time so we went back to the cabin to eat lunch. We then returned to the dump to resume our activities. Now the dump had been cleaned very recently so there wasn¹t a lot of garbage in it and there was a lot of relatively clean sand in the bottom. One of my friends got out of the car and ran toward the dump pit to jump into it to set up some more bottles and cans. As he jumped onto one of the logs which served as a parking barrier, he saw that a mother bear and her two cubs were in the dump foraging for food. The mother bear rose up onto her hind legs and looked him straight in the eye while he tried desperately to keep from falling into the dump! She was no more than 10'-15' away from him. I don¹t know how he was able to keep his balance and stay on that log because it seemed like his momentum had already taken him off of the log, but he managed to keep from falling into the dump. We all then scrambled back into the car, counted our blessings, and watched as the bears continued to search for food. Rick Eberly

When I was working (back in the 70's and 80's), I was invited, for several years in a row, to a fishing lodge located on Butternut Lake, not far from the NORTHERNAIRE RESORT. This was a long weekend of story telling, poker playing, drinking, eating (and sometimes golf) --with very "little" fishing!! Many other guys from various industries were also there. We always dressed up for dinner at the lodge, when we dined at a long table with about 20 other invitees, and told of our hair-raising experiences at work and play, and of the "big ones" that got away, while the steaks were being prepared on the grill. This one particular evening, as the sun was going down and the loons were starting their calls, my friend, Bill, and I (each being somewhat exuberant from drinks), decided to master the canoe for an evening cruise before dinner. We were all dressed for dinner in the only good clothes we brought along on the trip. So, we noisily strolled down to the dock, while others watched in anticipation, and prepared for our evening cruise. We untied the canoe, and each took our wobbly boarding step into it --and WHOOPS, it tipped and we went head first into the dark, murky water, to the delight of the onlookers, and to our laughing embarrassment! Needless to say, we dressed informally for dinner that evening --and enjoyed the sobering event, as well as the lasting fellowship and the cool, clear air of Wisconsin. Richard Usinger Lansing, IL

As a kid, I spent all my summers way up north in White Lake Wisconsin, near Menominee. I went to a camp as a child, then worked there as I got older until I was pregnant with my second child. I tease her that she was there with me, riding horses and white water rafting before she was even born! About 6 years ago, I rented a cabin from an ad in a paper that advertised a quaint little cabin on top of a hill overlooking a lake. I took my three girls, and when we got there it was little alright, and on a slant on a bluff right over the lake! At night when we turned out the lights, it was so dark, and the cabin was so tilted, that we would bump into the walls trying to walk across the floor! There was no tv, no phone, and very remote, but if you ask anyone of us, it was one of the best vacations that we ever spent as a family. We read Edgar Allen Poe stories at night, and fished during the day, catching lots of crappy, and eating them for dinner. We talked to eachother, and listened to eachother, played board games, hiked and enjoyed nature at it's finest. We saw a huge owl that swooped down over our van as we were going down the driveway one night, and there was a couple of eagles that nested nearby. The loons on the lake in the morning are one of my favorite sounds in the world! In a questionairre a few years ago, I wrote that my favorite sounds were that, and the sound of my cowboy boots on the floor of your restaurant in Crete...(before the renovations..sorry!) I could write alot more about the Northwoods, but it would be a novel! Whether I get picked for this drawing or not, I do want to tell you that I have been coming to your restaurant for years, and it is one of my favorites, and one that I love to bring guests to...keep up the good work! Christine Anthony Tinley Park, IL

Hello, for the past 9 years as soon as the first good snow and the trails are groomed we hear an UP NORTH CONNECTION calling our names! We packup the snowmobiles get our leathers out and away we go to play in the snow. Well a few years ago our 5year old daughter was riding with her daddy and had fallen asleep on the sled, unknown to him her glove had fallen off her hand. When we stopped at Baurs Dam to watch the sleds skipping water, I noticed she was missing her glove.Thankful her hand was not frozen since she was riding in front of her dad,we purchased gloves right away at the closest Gas Station. On our returning 1 month later to play another 5 days, low and behold as we are riding down the trail, there we see someone had found Laura's glove. They had taken a 5 foot branch stuck it into the snow and put her glove on top so all could see it as they were driving by. The best part is I had not throwed the other one away yet!! Whats the odds of that happening. Really cool:) True Story By Sherry Bult Lansing Illinois

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