The past few weeks have been busy in Barton as shop owners ready themselves for spring.
Hank hasn’t had a moment to sit. He took advantage of in-person absentee voting at City Hall in West Bend last Friday knowing he’d be out of town on Election Day, Tuesday April 5.
Then it was off to Lake Lenwood to lend a hand to Mike Dricken. The pair worked to clean up the camping area as the summer season will be here before you know it.
Lake Lenwood has quite a history according to Richard Driessel’s history book The Village of Barton.
Lake Lenwood was originally called Benike’s Lake or Brickyard Lake because of the Acme Brick Factory. The skeletal remains of that metal building and chimney from the factory can still be found on the property. Following World War I the Barton “lake district” drew vacationers from Milwaukee and Chicago.
Lake Lenwood was known for it “excellent sand bathing beaches” and was “developed as a very successful camping resort by Len Dricken and his family in the 1950s.”
Hank worked most of the day hauling branches and debris as Mike Dricken spent time getting to know the electrical hookups for the campers. It was a job Master Electric in Barton could easily handle.
By late morning Hank took a break to try and ring Essie and see if she wanted to stop out for a picnic lunch. The phone just rang and rang.
“Grandma we have to get going,” said an exhausted Essie. Her grandmother was trying her patience.
“I promised Kay we’d stop in at Joker’s 5 Bar & Grill and sign us both up for the Washington/Ozaukee Heart Walk,” she said.
Essie babysat Hunter Holbrook after his brother Mason was born. That was two years ago as Mason and his family dealt with some serious heart issues. This year Mason’s survivor story will be featured at the 2016 Heart Walk event.
After registering for Team Mason, Essie and grandma walked to Doc Driessel’s office. Grandma’s forgetfulness was weighing heavy on Essie. She didn’t know if it was normal aging or if grandma had the start of some form of dementia or Alzheimer’s.
In the meantime Hank finished up the day at Lake Lenwood and slipped on into Small Town Bait & Tackle.
It was one of his favorite spots in town to pick up live bait. Hank took his time as he pulled a Styrofoam container of worms out of the icebox and then netted some minnows and put them in a bucket.
He was headed to the bridge just round the corner of Young America – one of his favorite quiet fishing spots.
He liked the small town shop for its involvement in the community and took a moment to catch the time the Kids Free Fishing Clinic would be starting Saturday, April 9 at Regner Park.
Hank wondered if he’d be able to coax Essie into coming.
Build. Boost & Buy in Barton – – Shop these local businesses
Wisconsin House Woodworks
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Bob’s Main Street Auto & Towing
Joker’s 5 Bar & Grill, 1642 Barton Avenue
Maricio’s in Barton, 1726 Barton Avenue
Riverfront Resale , 314 Commerce Street, BartonDo Your Hair Justice
The Sign Shop of West Bend, 1624 Schmidt Road
West Bend Glass Block, 1527 N. Main Street