Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1923-12-12

ing the shoreline by boat for a
view from the water. His imagin-
alton had to do all the work, for
it was impossible to see through
that black mass of snarled thicket.
Sveral months were spent COM
pleting the details of his plan.
In May of 1922, however, an army
Of men with double bitted axes
were clearing a path for a tenn
porary roadway. The underbrush
was cleared out, some of the trees
removed, the way made, til the
water of the lake could be seen
through the forest. Much of the
shore was low and wet, apparent
ly little good for anything, and
hoplessly out of question. A steam
dredge was brought down there
by Palmer. The lakes bottom was
hauled up and deposited ON that
soggy shore, more of it brought
from farther back off shore, grass
seed planted-and today Palmer
presents one of the finest shore
lines in Wisconsin, and lawns as
beautiful with velvety grass as
seen in any of Milwaukee's finest
kept estates. All this, as if by
magic, yet with tremendous toll
and patience, Palmer brought or
der out of chaos, handsome tree
shaded groves and hillside gras-
sy plots, pebbly beaches and all,
III place of barren loss.
In one stretch, very low and
wet, but with good timber growth
down at the waters edge, it was
very high 400 feet back from the
shore, and he solved the problem
of moving enough back land to
the front to make it high and dry.
In places now serene with hard,
level, rich grass coated ground,
the horses used for clearing sunk
into the mire to their bellies.
One piece a quarter of a mile
long and extending out into the
lake 200 feet was extremely wet,
and entirely hopeless. Immediat-
el y back of it Palmer observed
t h at an unusually wonderful
growth of trees stood majestically.
Twas So far away though, it was
not practical to attempt to move
soil to the front. Here the dredge
was put to work and each time
it's dipper lifted out of the lake,
a wagon load of soil was available
for raising the level of the low
land. But here's the other clever
point: as the dredge travelled it
left a winding canal "a feet wide
and A to 6 feet deep, between and
around the group of three islands
thus formed; and over these Pal
mer built rustic bridges here and
there, connecting the islands, and
here and there a wildwood nook,
boat landing, etc. There's ingen-
uity, atop of courage, that cannot
be considered even" ordinary engi-
neering.
Thus, with days and days of
work, with, too, it's discouraging
elements and trials, that forlorn
territory for which bankers even
would not give nickel, that wick
ed looking wilderness with every
thing against it but Palmer, is to-
day, right up there now, a huge
grove of large spreading pines
and tall, stately, dignifed old
birch, singly and in large clusters,
here and there an occasional slen-
der balsam or spruce-a magnif-
Gently beautiful park, a wonder
land as level as a calm sea, and
carpeted with grass so fresh and
green and velvety all summer that
you would have just wanted to
nestle your toes right into it.
To the right and left a wood
has been left, on purpose, just as
nature made it; and if you have
any imagination at all, you can
see right now a deer peeking
through from its depths.
All this is accessible by winding
gravel roadway; the result of that
first path begun by teams as they
tore through the unbroken, virgin
underbrush and tangled forestry.
Indeed, a man has been herel
There is another view of this
man-made grandeur. At far
edge of grove are now winding,
creek-like canals, crossed by rustic
bridges arched high, permitting
boats to pass under. There are
several of these bridges connect
Il j IL