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White Buffalo Statue
at Buffalo Spirit Village
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location: Merrill
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| roadside oddity |
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| The white buffalo statue that stood in front of the Buffalo Spirit gas station & gift shop is gone permanently, taking its spirit with it. According to a photo at the Roadside Peek website, the buffalo had not always been pure white. Yet another whitewashed buffalo being used to fool travelers into giving up their hard earned pay...or am I the only one? |
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 was at: W4973 North Star Drive
Merrill, WI 54452
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Big Moose Statue
in front of Road Lake Pub & Grill
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location: Tomahawk
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| roadside oddity |
| Despite a name change to the business (it was formerly Big Moose Supper Club), the big moose has remained in the front yard of this dining establishment on Road Lake. |
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N8796 Business Hwy S
Tomahawk, WI 54487
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Hamilton Village
aka Fort Hamilton Antiques
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location: Irma
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| yard art / business with character / roadside oddity |
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| Owned by artist Charles Lee Hamilton Jr., this property boasts scrap metal sculptures, antiques, a mini-village, and a small church which has been turned into a museum dedicated to America's military heroes. Mr. Hamilton has traveled with his sculptures honoring war vets to display them at various locations and events. |
 Click here for MORE PHOTOS
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(just north of intersection of Highway 51 & County Road J)
N6601 Old Highway 51
Irma, WI 54442
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| Ed and Sharon Dinges started offering their famous broasted chicken dinners back in 1988 upon the purchase of their first broasting machine. The popularity of that menu item no doubt led to the acquisition of the fiberglass fowl (who holds in his wingtips a beer and a hamburger) that stands in their parking lot. |
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N1294 State Highway 64 / 107
Merrill, WI 54452
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Official Site
www.edandsharons.com
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Facebook (official)
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Roadside Architecture
www.agilitynut.com
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Roadside America
www.roadsideamerica.com
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location: Irma
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| roadside oddity |
| A grinning porcine shed unnerves travelers as they head to the northwoods. It almost looks like it knows something that we do not. |
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on west side of Highway 51 just south of intersection with Tamarack Lane.
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location: Tomahawk
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| yard art / outsider artist |
| There is a mention in the book "Self-Made Worlds" about this otherworldly creation of Dave Seidler. Apparently not much of the display is left and no photos have yet been discovered by this website. |
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location unknown
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book:
"Self-Made Worlds"
by Roger Manly & Mark Sloan
Aperture Foundation (1997)
page(s) 121
buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com![icon]()
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Golfing Bear Statue
at Big Bear Mini Golf aka Tomahawk Mini Golf
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location: Tomahawk
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| roadside oddity |
| At first glance, it seems that the bear is in a golfing pose, but his club appears to be absent. As for the bear's attire, it is understandable that woodland creatures have not yet grasped the human concept of "color clashing". |
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24 North 2nd Street
Tomahawk, WI 54487
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"River Rat" Statue
at the T.B. Scott Library
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location: Merrill
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| chainsaw creation / roadside oddity |
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At some point between 2007 and 2008, the statue of the iconic river rat was replaced with a similar one wearing a hat. Was it necessary to commission an entirely new statue just to show that some men who moved the logs downriver sported hats? Perhaps a new river rat statue will be rotated in every few years? Maybe we can just assume that a storm felled the old rat.
"The river rat, or log driver, was responsible for getting logs from forest to mills. During the drive, river rats rode the logs. Using peavey, or pike poles, they pushed, pulled, and pried logs free. Townspeople often lined the river banks to watch them at work. The drives ended when the logs arrived at the mill booms."
– section from sign next to statue
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106 W. First St.
Merrill, WI 54452
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Library Official Site
www.tbscottlibrary.org
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Wisconsin Historical Markers
wisconsinhistoricalmarkers.
blogspot.com
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location: Tomahawk
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| chainsaw creation / roadside oddity |
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| This wood carving, standing in the middle of a boulevard, depicts a northwoodsy scene involving bears, fish, eagles and a loon. Much like our national currency, the Pole holds much symbolic significance that goes beyond initial appearances. They are discussed in the letter to the Tomahawk Leader (link at right). |
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on Tomahawk Drive between Rice Avenue and Spirit Avenue
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| Little did you know that gargantuan arachnids once terrorized the residents of central Wisconsin, at least in the form of monsters in a 1975 B-movie. That was when director and Lincoln County native Bill Rebane released his locally-filmed low-budget horror flick "The Giant Spider Invasion" upon the drive-in theaters of America. Alan Hale Jr. (who of course played the Skipper in Gilligan's Island) made an appearance as a sheriff in the film, so that should be good enough reason for you to seek out and rent this cult classic. Mystery Science Theatre 3000 featured it on one of their shows, which is luckily available on DVD. In August 2008, the steel frames that made up the shape of the giant spiders were dug out of the weeds and put on display in downtown Merrill before being split up once again. One skeleton is being restored in the town of Gleason while the other was destined to be sold on eBay. |
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| It's the Skipper! |
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| One of the giant "spiders" during filming. |
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one spider skeleton is located outside of:
The Living Room
Gleason, WI 54435
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and before being sold on eBay, the other was located at:
N 5959 County Road J
Gleason, WI 54435
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web links
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books & video
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“The Giant Spider Invasion (1975) trailer”
video by sideshowcarny
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“The Giant Spider Invasion 1975 - in 12 min”
video by evildeadregeneration
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“MST3K - Giant Spider Invasion”
video by LembeckIsStaying
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location: Tripoli
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| unique religious structure |
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| This non-denominational sanctuary was built in 1917 and has been in use ever since, offering Sunday services and rustic wedding settings. Very few authentic log churches are still in operation. |
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W 11225 Highway 8
Tripoli, WI 54564
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America's First Estonian Church
Estonian Ev. Martin Luther Church
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location: Gleason
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| abandoned wisconsin / unique religious structure |
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| photo courtesy of Fading Nostalgia website |
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| A sad grey shadow sits in the woods near Gleason in the township of Schley. Where, in 1914, a joyous congregation gathered to praise God in their newly constructed house of worship, there now sits a weathered structure left to the elements. The bones of the pioneer Estonian emigrants lay nearby in their lonely graves, never having lived to see the church close its doors to Sunday services in 1970. Yet even now, visitors occasionally step inside the dust-and-debris-strewn sanctuary to experience the silence left behind when the parishioners have gone. |
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From Gleason, head south on County Road X for a mile or so, then turn left on County Road J. Look for Estonian Church Road on your right.
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Fading Nostalgia
fadingnostalgia.com
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Find-A-Grave
www.findagrave.com
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Bill Rebane News
www.billrebanenews.com
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Capture Wisconsin
www.capturewisconsin.com
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Facebook
Estonian Ev. Martin Luther Church in Gleason, Wisconsin
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Antigo Daily Journal
article "Hidden Places: Estonian church slowly returns to dust" or archived (here)
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“abandoned estonian lutheran church”
video by mangimages5
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Bookmark the Wisconsinosity home page! wisconsinosity.com
(next to Good Samaritan Health Center)
100 E. Third Street
