July 28 Memorable Monday to say the least.
- Margit Riley
- Aug 3
- 3 min read
The back of my nephew Adam's shirt summarized it all. "A hero never truly dies until the last time his name is spoken. Continue to honor them and they will live on forever."
When the locals learned we wanted to visit Fennimore, the true birthplace of it all, several decided to meet us there. Jean and Adam live in Fennimore or its surrounding so too wanted to join us at the cemetery in Mount Ida. Mom's grave of course was the main focus and gave me a chance to say my inadequate thank you as close to face-to-face as possible. It truly was a very precious and privileged few minutes to say the least.
The Fennimore Historic Museum normally is closed on Mondays, but it pays to have friends in high places. No less than 4 staff members came in specially to give us a private showing. The most important exhibit of course was the replica of the blacksmith shop of Gus Johnson my grandfather. My mother apparently once sold tickets for rides on the replica of the DINKY (3 foot small gauge ) railroad that ran from Fennimore to Woodman from 1878 to 1926..
Next stop was the Eagles Nest for Wisconsin, sweet corn, Brats and of course, a local beer. The crazies came out of all of us spinning the wheel of fortune for prizes or spontaneous dance performance and drinking shots of fancy Lacquer as a team from holes in a long snow ski. A good time was had by all!
Just down the street was Fennimore Memorial Park .A series of impressive marble tablets listing and paying tribute to the locals both past and present that have sacrificed to keep us all safe .No less than five Fritz's are so honored- Dennis, Jan, Adam, Robert, and Steve.
Next stop was the firehouse. WOW! what a spectacular array of equipment for every conceivable emergency . Fire, search and rescue, riot control, shooter containment, and more. This tiny town has no less than six fire engines several with state-of-the-art capabilities and it is a volunteer department. Guess who is captain, who organizes it all, does the training and protects people far beyond the boundaries of Fennimore on a 24/7/ 365 basis. That's right you guessed it, Adam Fritz an ex Marine working in the local prison system when not out fighting fires or saving lives. Truly an impressive young man and I get to be his aunt.
Finally we headed for Castle Rock church and cemetery where it really all began. My great grandparents Grethe Olava and Gunerius Johnson settled here as immigrants from Norway in th e late 1800 's and are buried here with a surprizing new looking monument for having died in 1927 and 1912 respectively. The probable bible passage for each is in Norwegian which I am trying to get translated. Other family members Isaac Everson,Levi and wife Ellen, are near by.
On this very beginning note we ended a truly memorable day but the best of all was to get to spend more time with some very good genes. As Riley always reminded us "Faith and Family are really all that matters" - I now add Freedom.
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