Pat and I weren’t even considering Teal Lake when in 2005 we were shopping for a lake home. It just seemed too far from Hayward and our friends who own a place on Round Lake. But as soon as we walked through the 1927 log home and saw the grand view of the Teal Lake islands, we were smitten. We have grown to love the Quiet Lakes, watching families with little kids fishing from twelve and fourteen foot boats with 10 horsepower motors. We don’t really need to see or hear jet skis and huge bass boats flying by at full throttle. Little did we know that the “Sunset Lodge” loons would spend most of their time right in front of our windows! continued..........
Our whole reason for being attracted to this part of Wisconsin began in 1957 when my family from Beloit was first invited to spend a week at Uncle Gene and Aunt Bert’s cottage on Long Lake. It became a yearly vacation, and I would lay awake all night the day before departing Beloit, because I was so excited to go! The woods, the deer, the chipmunks, but mostly the fishing drew me like a magnet.
Uncle Gene passed away some years ago, but Bert is still with us, and is much more than just an aunt. She now lives in Janesville, but our phone calls often last an hour, and are usually filled with laughter. Pat and I could not wait to have Bert come and visit us at Teal Lake. Bert remembered dining at Turks years ago. She also thought she remembered that her dear, but long lost friends, Ellen and “Red” O’Connor, had a resort up there, maybe even on our lake. She wasn’t sure. She had lost touch with them for over 30 years or so.
They all became close friends when they were young married couples in Wheaton, Illinois in the 1950’s. It started when a busybody neighbor told Bert that Ellen was a terrible mother. This same neighbor told Ellen that Bert had a drinking problem. So, naturally, Bert and Ellen could not wait to meet each other. Bert expected Ellen to look like Old Mother Hubbard with kids falling out the windows of their house. And Ellen thought Bert would be a brassy blond with a long cigarette holder. Neither was true, Ellen is an excellent mother, and Bert is not blond and does not have a drinking problem.
Their friendship grew over those years, always filled with love and practical jokes. Uncle Gene decided at one point to become a suburban farmer and planted a garden. Around harvest time, Ellen and Bert “planted” cans of potatoes and carrots where Gene would find them when he dug up his crops. Another time, they put Gene’s good suit on the scarecrow for him to find when he got home from work.
So, when Bert first visited, we took off driving every road, trail and driveway around Teal Lake in the hopes of finding Ellen and Red. For all we knew, they may have passed on to the great hereafter. Bert started laughing when we saw the sign for “Back-O-Beyond”. She said – “that’s them!” immediately recognizing their brand of humor. Next we saw their sign for “O’Connorsville” at the end of their driveway. It was wonderful when Bert knocked on their door, Ellen answered, hesitated a moment and said “BERT?”. They now have seen each other several times since then and remain dear friends. Our connection with the Wisconsin northwoods has come full circle. We are thankful that of all the lakes we could have ended up on, that Teal Lake was the one that enabled this joyful reunion.
