In Township 29 ~ North Range 9 East in Marathon County, a mile south of WI State Highway 52, on Sawmill Road, was an 80-acre land parcel purchased by John P. Berg.
Here he built the Log House. This was the land where he farmed and raised his family. It would be the gathering place for his family and friends, and their descendants for decades.
Berg siblings about 1904 L to R: Jennie, Antone, Hannah, Alma, Minnie, Pauline, Gust
Sections of the parcel would find new owners over the years. Acreage to the south and west was sold to neighboring farmers. In the 1950s, his son Gust and wife Leona would build a small house and retire on a parcel adjacent to the apple orchard to the south of the Berg house. Next door, to the north, lived his daughter Pauline and her husband Charlie Anderson. The community of family remained close, siblings returning to “the farm” after raising their families in Milwaukee and Chicago.
The Sawmill Road ran north to south, ending at the Church Road south of the Berg home, a boundary of the Berg property. Turning to the right (west) brings you to Bethany Lutheran Church where JP Berg was one of the founders. Ole Jensen, John’s brother-in-law, had an 80-acre parcel along the Church Road. Ole’s wife, Maren was Hanna’s sister. Turning left at the Church Road, brings you to Echo Road. Turn right at the corner and continue for maybe a half mile, you’ll reach Echo Corners on the Eau Claire River Road. The Echo Cheese Factory sat on this corner for many years. This property would eventually become the home of Antone and Ragnhild Berg, and years later, Maynard and Iris Olson.
The old house is remembered as being dark. There was a
living room which was seldom used as the porches and outdoors were more amenable
surroundings for gathering. A long porch on one side housed an
equally long picnic table to serve meals to all who gathered.
The second floor provided sleeping quarters. While there was
a kitchen, there was also a summer kitchen, a structure not commonly known to
us today, built a short distance from the house. Having a separate place to
fire up the wood stove for cooking, baking, canning, and heating water for
laundry, allowed the main house to stay cooler in the summer months.
Of course, there would have been out-buildings for farming, a woodshed and an outhouse.
The summer kitchen and outhouse outlived the other buildings. We younger generations used
both, but I suspect they were the original structures.
It was all hands on deck when there was work to be done. Friends and family gathered whether there was laundry to do, crops to bring in or quilts to stitch, events to celebrate, or a Sunday afternoon to savor. It was a community.
Maple trees lined the property along Sawmill Road. They would grow to be majestic trees providing luxurious shade for summer days and an explosion of autumnal color. Gardens bloomed with flowers and vegetables. An apple orchard laid to the south of the house. Those trees were perfect for little legs to climb. The expansive, grassy, front lawn was perfect for playing lawn tennis, croquet, tag and just lounging. It was a yard for children of all ages to enjoy for generations.
Across the road, was an old sawmill owned by the Swensons, always a good place for exploring. The location was marked by the largest maple tree named “the Strawberry Tree” for its distinctive shape,
The extended family, living together or close by, others visiting for summer holidays, created a vibrant family community. The eight grandchildren, Lorraine and Hazel Anderson, Evoy and Dorothy Berg, Maynard and Marjorie Olson, and Sylvia and Robert (Bob) Berg found a second home at “the farm” with their grandparents. The home was filled with love, laughter, and playfulness.
Six of the cousins appear to be putting on a play.
About 1920 - L to R: Sylvia - with parasol, Lorraine, Bob, Maynard, Marjorie, Hazel
By the late 1940’s the log house needed to be replaced. The
old house was deconstructed in 1950, and timbers reused in the new, more modern
house. Siblings, Antone and Gust were the carpenters and Hannah the floor plan
designer. And friends and family gathered to help, feed the crew and provide encouragement.
The new house is the one that we, the Berg’s great-grandchildren remember. (If anyone has photos, please send them and I'll include them here.)
As the siblings aged and lost spouses, they gathered to live together once again. Gust, Pauline, Alma, Hannah, and Jennie all lived together in the late 1950s and 1960s. This served as their summer home as it was not built for Wisconsin winters. They were still wintering in Chicago, sharing the Olson home on Edmer Avenue in Oak Park. Eventually they would rent an apartment in Wausau for the colder months. The summer home was fondly named, by our generation as “The Aunt Hill.” “The Hill” remained a place to gather. Long, lazy summer afternoons and evenings found the siblings and their visitors sitting on the front porch, rocking, chatting, and waving at passing cars.
Family story: During
one summer visit, Marjorie, Alma’s daughter, dressed in a white, summery dress,
was serving lemonade to the front porch sitters. A passing car stopped to ask
if this was a nursing home. The quite proud Berg sisters did not receive the
inquiry well.
As long summer evenings extended the day, the men took an after-dinner walk, canes in hand, down the gravel the road while the women cleaned up the kitchen and visiting children played.
· My
thanks to Judy Olson Hansen (daughter of Maynard and Iris Olson) for her
recollections of the old log house. And to my mother, Sylvia Berg Lien, for her
stories over the years. I hope I have remembered them well.
