Forest County

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attractions category logo attractions resources logo
1
World's Largest Soup Kettle
location:   Laona
record holder / roadside oddity

This titanic cauldron stands as a symbol of a long-running local tradition, the "Community Soup". Residents provide the ingredients for a vegetable soup that is prepared not in the giant kettle, but in many smaller cooking containers.

"The Annual Soup Sunday hosted by the Russell family at their cottage on Silver Lake which began in 1919-20 and would later become Laona's Annual Community Soup hosted by the Laona Lion's Club. The Lion's Club took over this task in 1950."
– section from Laona History website
black_arrow   Kettle is across from the municipal building on east side of Highway 8 after it turns north in Laona hours:
Community Soup is held in August
World's Largest Soup Kettle
Laona History
www.laonahistory.com
Roadside America
www.roadsideamerica.com
World's Largest Things
worldslargestthings.blogspot.com
2
“Larry the Logroller”
at the Wabeno Logging Museum
location:   Wabeno
roadside oddity

A great example of a Paul-Bunyan-style "Muffler Man", which is further explained on the Roadside America website. It should be known that the "Wabeno Log Rollers" are the name of the local elementary school's sports team. Apparently, Larry has his own Twitter account, although I don't see how he can hit the keys properly with those giant fingers.

2013 UPDATE:  Tragedy has struck! Larry has been felled by a tree in an unfortunate accident. His body is broken, but repairs have been promised by the local dignitaries, giving us the hope that Larry will one day return to his spot in front of the museum.

2013 UPDATE Part 2:  Larry has been fully repaired and shall be visible to the public again on Memorial Day Weekend! Hats off to Ron Piontek of Piontek Auto Body for restoring Larry to his full glory.
black_arrow   (on east side of Highway 32 in town)
“Larry the Logroller”
Roadside America
1. www.roadsideamerica.com
2. Bunyan List www.roadsideamerica.com
3. Muffler Man List www.roadsideamerica.com
4. Muffler Men Explained www.roadsideamerica.com
New Low
www.newlow.org
Forest County tourism site
www.forestcountywi.com
Roadside Architecture
www.agilitynut.com
Twitter (Official)??

WJFW News
article "Larry the Log Roller Felled by Tree" or archived (here)
Green Bay Press-Gazette
1. article "Iconic Wabeno logroller statue felled in accident" or archived (here)
2. article "Wabeno landmark Larry the Logroller repaired, escorted home" or archived (here)
Fox 11 WLUK-TV
1. article "Larry the Logroller statue damaged" or archived (here)
2. article "Larry the Logroller heads home" or archived (here)
3
Logging "Big Wheels"
and
Giant Log
location:   Wabeno
historical oddity

Logging
Logging
The "Big Wheels", also known as "katydids", were once used to move logs out of the forest by chaining them underneath the axle. The 9-to-10-foot-high wheels made it easier to transport the logs without the need for icy ground.

"The tree from which this log was taken contained five sixteen foot logs and one fourteen foot log. The total scale of the six logs was nine thousand feet. This log was cut near Wabeno in January, 1925 and presented to the town by Mr. C.W. Jones of Appleton, Wisconsin, as a memorial to the monarchs of the forest of this locality."
– section from inscription on plaque on log
black_arrow   (on east side of Highway 32 right in town next to the library)
(no resource available)

4
Green Bay Packer Tree Figure
at Ham Lake Campground
and
Large Knight in Armor
location:   Laona  /  Wabeno
roadside oddity / packer pride

Green Bay Packer Tree Figure
Green Bay Packer Tree Figure
At some point, a man looked at this section of a felled tree and said to himself, "It looks just like Brett Favre!" So, with a couple of Sherwin-Williams cans, the likeness was complete, right down to his tail.

Not far away stands the Knight of the Picnic Table. Just try to get a motorcycle past the reach of his blade.
black_arrow   (between Laona and Wabeno on east side of Highway 32)
Official Site
www.hamlakecampgroundwi.com
5
Patriotic Boulders
location:   Laona
roadside oddity

These stars and stripes don't exactly wave, but they can crush scissors.
black_arrow  ( next to Connor Builders Supply & True Value on east side of Highway 8 after it turns north in Laona)
5258 Highway 8
Laona, WI 54541
Patriotic Boulders
(no resource available)

6
Steam Powered Log Hauler
location:   Wabeno
historical oddity

"Wabeno has one of the few remaining steam powered logging haulers still operational in the nation. It is one of 200 such machines built in the early 1900s by Phoenix Manufacturing Company. It was owned by the Jones Lumber Company and used at their mill from 1909 until 1935. It was brought by the town in 1944 and restored to life in 1965."
– section from Forest County tourism website
black_arrow   (on east side of Highway 32 right in town next to the library)
Steam Powered Log Hauler
Forest County tourism site
www.forestcountywi.com


paranormal category logo paranormal resources logo
1
Bigfoot Observed at Wabikon Lake (1983)
bigfoot
bigfoot
location:  Laona  /  Crandon

"i started to smell a strong bad odor like fish mixed w/ rotton (sic) cave smell i stood up and started to cast my lure when it stood up to apprx 20 ft fom (sic) me in knee deep water. i froze it stared at me and stood there .it felt like forever but was probally (sic) 15-20 seconds it was about 8-9 ft tall very big with a man like face alot (sic) of brown matted hair."
– section from BFRO incident report
Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO)
www.bfro.net
2
Devils Lake
hellish moniker
hellish moniker
location:  Crandon

The Weird Wisconsin website ponders the multitude of Devil-related place names in Wisconsin.

"Another theory holds that early settlers often named places because of paranormal events. Something odd and beyond understanding was seen, and the newly arrived settlers named these places to commemorate – or to warn of – the event."
– section from Weird Wisconsin website
Weird Wisconsin
www.weird-wi.com or archived (here)
3
Objects in Sky Change Color (2003)
ufo
ufo
location:  Wabeno

"Those lights would repeatedly change color - they changed only in red, blue, yellow, and orange. They did this for at least 5 minutes then took off going separate ways."
– section from UFO Wisconsin 09-17-2003 report
UFO Wisconsin
www.ufowisconsin.com
4
House Built on Gravestone
haunted
haunted
location:  Wabeno

The W-Files received a report of a possible haunted home.

"As soon as I went and sat back down the doors started to shake again, I went and checked out it again and there was nothing there. Me and my boys have heard a lot of things in this house from voices of children to that of an old man."
– section from The W-Files report
The W-Files
www.w-files.com
5
Argonne Grade School gone
haunted
haunted
location:  Argonne

"Back in the 1950's, a janitor hung himself in the upstairs storage room. When he school finally closed in the early 1990's, kids would go up on a dare to write their name on the wall, and would see a man plain as day hanging from the rafter, and even if they didn't see him they would hear the sounds of the ro[p]e squeaking on the boards and of the janitor moaning."
– section from The Shadowlands website
Argonne Grade School
photo courtesy of Forest County History & Genealogical society
The Shadowlands
www.theshadowlands.net
book:
"Ghostly Tales of Wisconsin"
by Ryan Jacobson
Adventure Publications, Inc. (2009)
page(s) 42 – 44
buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.comicon


history category logo history resources logo
1
Lumberjack Special Steam Train
and
Camp Five Logging Museum
location:   Laona
museum

Lumberjack Special Steam Train
"Take the whole family on a trip back in time with a ride on a vintage steam train. Head for Laona and climb aboard the famed Lumberjack Steam Train for a journey into the late 1800's. Sit in a rare cupola caboose as the vintage steam engine takes you to an actual site of a Northwoods logging camp."
– section from the official website
green_arrow   5480 Connor Farm Road
Laona, WI 54541
or
hours:
June thru August (Mon - Sat) CLOSED SUNDAY
Official Site
www.camp5museum.org
Forest County tourism site
www.forestcountywi.com
book:
"Sidetracked in Wisconsin"
by Mary Bergin
Itchy Cat Press (2006)
page(s) 208 – 209
buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.comicon
2
Wabeno Logging Museum
location:   Wabeno
museum

"Wabeno has one of the few remaining steam powered logging haulers still operational in the nation. It is one of 200 such machines built in the early 1900s by Phoenix Manufacturing Company. It was owned by the Jones Lumber Company and used at their mill from 1909 until 1935. It was brought by the town in 1944 and restored to life in 1965."
– section from Forest County tourism website
green_arrow   (on east side of Highway 32 in town)
Wabeno, WI 54556
hours:
(Fri - Sat) 10am – 5pm
(Sundays) 10am – 4pm
Wabeno Logging Museum
Forest County tourism site
www.forestcountywi.com


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updated 02-14-2014  •   all images and content excluding those attributed to others are property of Wisconsinosity.com