Posted on 09/28/2004 6:44:19 PM PDT by Land_of_Lincoln_John
SPRING GREEN, Wis. - Sen. John Kerry is spending four days at a resort in this community of 1,400 in the scenic hill country of southwestern Wisconsin, 35 miles west of Madison, seeking solitude as he prepares for his first debate with President Bush.
He is not the first person to come to Spring Green pursuing seclusion. Among the famous people who preceded him here was Svetlana Stalina, daughter of the late Soviet tyrant Josef Stalin. Devastated by her father's misdeeds, she famously defected from the Soviet Union and sought tranquility at a private estate here.
Then there was Spring Green's best known son, Frank Lloyd Wright. He built a school for "organic" architecture here that redefined the American concept of fine building design. Wright often fled his office in Chicago seeking creative energy from his 600-acre estate overlooking the broad Wisconsin River here. In fact, he often made the trip in the company of his mistress, leaving behind his wife and children at their Oak Park home.
Taliesin, Wright's masterpiece, was the scene of a mass murder in August 1914, when a deranged servant set fire to Taliesin, then killed seven people with an ax as they tried to escape. The victims included Wright's mistress, her two children and other guests. (Wright was in Oak Park.) The rebuilt mansion, a national historic treasure, still stands at the brow of a hill, attracting thousands of tourists each year.
For recreation, Kerry can make use of a championship golf course at the House on the Rock Resort where he is staying. He might not see windsurfers following a favorite pastime on the Wisconsin River, but if he enjoys fishing, canoeing, tubing, bicycling or motorcycling, he can join the thousands drawn here by the river, the quiet country roads and secluded hollows. The state of Wisconsin created a special governmental authority to help preserve forever the natural condition of the Wisconsin River Valley between here and the Mississippi.
Unique setting
Spring Green is in the "driftless" region, an area of ancient limestone hills and steep ravines unique in the upper Midwest. The glaciers that formed the landscape of most of the region never reached here. The landscape changes dramatically, from rolling glacial countryside to rugged, unglaciated landscapes just a few miles west of Madison on U.S. 14, the Frank Lloyd Wright Memorial Highway. Many of the area's early settlers, like Wright's family, were from Wales, attracted by the lead mines and available farmland.
In the late 20th century, family farming declined in the steep hills and sandy soil, and many upscale homes are now secluded in the forested hillsides, often invisible to passersby. In the township surrounding Taliesin, the minimum lot size is 40 acres, and many of those residences are second homes. Restoration projects funded by prairie enthusiasts dot nearby bluffs and fields depleted by generations of farming.
Tourism brings 500,000 people to the area each year, and the draws include Taliesin, House on the Rock, American Players Theater and two state parks.
Aside from tourism, the main industry in Spring Green is Cardinal Glass, a leading manufacturer of double-paned window glass, and the community blends the feel of typical small-town America with a highly developed arts community. The American Players Theater, with an outdoor amphitheater half a mile from Kerry's hideaway, is a professional theater company that draws its summer audience from Madison, Milwaukee and the Chicago suburbs. Its fare blends Shakespeare and more recent playwrights.
Chicago connection
The quality of life in Spring Green has attracted many from Chicago's suburbs as permanent residents. The hub of the artist community in Spring Green, and a popular tourist attraction, is the General Store, a breakfast, lunch and gathering place run by Todd Miller and his wife, Karin. Todd is a native of Elgin. He met Karin while he worked for an organic beef farm in Barrington Hills and she at an organic food store in Evanston. The Millers left suburbia 11 years ago seeking a high quality community and school environment to raise their daughter. They bought the General Store and built on its reputation as an informal, folksy spot where actors often hobnob with townsfolk. Miller is Spring Green's former mayor and is now running for a seat in the General Assembly, Wisconsin's lower house.
Hill Street, the town's popular bed-and-breakfast, is run by a pair of former Northwest suburban residents, Jay and Kelly Phelps, who followed their dream to an old Victorian home in Spring Green. Kelly was a pastry chef at the Hamilton Hotel when it was, well, the Hamilton Hotel. Needless to say, her breakfasts draw a lot of repeat visitors. If Kerry tunes in to the local lore, he might just drop by to ask for Kelly's vote - and one of her breakfast pastries.
"Well, not around here, I'm afraid."
And what IS the most popular cheese 'round here?
I grew up near there. My dad used to take me over to Taliesin, and we would just sit on the road in front of it, and talk about all this stuff (like Stalin's daughter, etc.).
If you look up this incident (the fire), it's bizarre to read because of the time that the news articles were written. They refer to the perp by his ethnicity, but not by name. It's very strange to ponder that people used to think that way.
Anyway, he asked whether it would be all right to clean some rugs with gasoline while the family had lunch. He was given permission, and the next thing they knew, he had locked them inside the house and was dousing it. A horrible story.
Yep. "Lambert" Field did him in. There is no recovering from that in my home state.
Do you remember the Kickapoo Oil Company?
"[H]e asked whether it would be all right to clean some rugs with gasoline while the family had lunch. He was given permission, and the next thing they knew, he had locked them inside the house and was dousing it. A horrible story."
Ack!
I live in Seattle now, but I still get cheese from home. Everyone here agrees it kicks the butt of Washington/Oregon cheese, and I can barely keep it "in stock". We order seven or eight pounds at a time, but we give a lot away...now everyone is spoiled.
Yeah...especially when you think of them, out there kind of isolated, Wright himself out of town...truly horrific.
Once a Wisco Chick, always a Wisco Chick!
I am deeply saddened that so many people think real cheese comes out of a spray can... *shudders*
People here are always a little skeptical when I tell them Wisconsin cheese is better, but I've made believers out of everyone I've offered it to.
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