11-03-2025 8:33pm

Life in Wisconsin

Beth Callahan Editor

Springboro's Guy Pasvogel, published author, shares his thoughts

SPRINGBORO, OH --A few weeks ago, I took a five day mini-vacation to central Wisconsin to see my sister, who lives on North Lake about 7 miles outside the town of Iola. Coming from the bustling city of Springboro, I was really looking forward to some quiet time with my relatives, a sort of “Walden Pond” Henry David Thoreau experience filled with nature, simplicity and self-sufficiency.

What I experienced was quite the opposite of what I expected. Let me explain…

With a population of 1100, Iola is just a blip on the map. Its sister city Scandinavia, with a population of 366, is just 4 miles away. These communities are primarily inhabited by people of Norwegian descent. They have a distinct accent and speak loudly as if everyone else in the room needs a hearing aid.

Most who live there are older folk, as the younger generation either move away or are destined to work at the Waupaca foundry. Waupaca, the county seat, is a town of 6,000 located fourteen miles south of Iola. (I actually attended Waupaca High School my freshman year in 1962 before moving to a Chicago suburb.)

The highlight of my visit was the “Taste of Norway,” a civic event in downtown Iola that featured tasty food samples from the old country. My favorite was lefse, a flatbread treat that substituted as a bun for my hot dog. With a town of 1,100, probably the whole town was there. My sister knew most everyone. She introduced me as "Guy-O from O-HI-O."

The county roads of Waupaca County are labeled with letters of the alphabet, as most of the Scandinavian names would not fit on a street sign. They even use double letters, such as county road GG, ZZ, or EE. When driving on county roads, one must be super cautious of the deer population darting across the roads at dusk.

Lutheran churches outnumber all other denominations three to one. Quilting is a church activity that churches do to send finished blankets to impoverished countries. The one church I attended had quilts draped over each pew. Very impressive!

So what do the Scandinavians in Iola do for fun to fill their time?

Well, activities such as deer hunting in season, golf, ski jumping and curling help them to pass the time. Curling is a unique sport on ice in which players slide “stones” into a scoring area called the “house.” Players sweep the ice to alter the speed and trajectory of the stone. It is sometimes called “chess on ice.”

With the abundance of lakes and foliage in Wisconsin, real estate has skyrocketed in the area. Many families from Illinois have a second home in Wisconsin and come to enjoy boating, swimming and less humidity. My sister treated me to a delicious dinner in Watoma, Wisconsin alongside a beautiful lake. The hour long drive to get there was well worth it.

One last activity, which I experienced, was a five day pub crawl to all the local country taverns scattered around and in Iola. Yes, Scandinavians like to drink, and they also like to gamble. Every bar we went to had about five slot machines to play. Dice games were also offered. Above every bar was a sports pool in which players could buy a square for the outcome of next week’s games. Bar cooking consisted of frozen pizzas that tasted like cardboard.

One particular bar we went to had a slot machine that was quite generious. In a four day stretch, I won $700, and my sister won $800 from this machine. We tried to tell the owner the machine was malfunctioning, but he did nothing. Walking out of that bar, I felt like a two armed bandit, but it did pay for my trip. My boss once told me, “Some days you bite the bear, some days the bear bites you.” I have to say, my bear sandwiches tasted mighty good!

After five days in Iola, I was ready to come home to Springboro. For one thing, I could not keep up with those Scandinavians, and my liver needed a rest. For another, I love the fact that I do not have to drive twenty miles for every necessity of life. You know, like groceries, banking, gas, hardware, good restaurants, great pizza and local sporting events.

I guess the most important lesson I learned on my Wisconsin trip is that “home is where the heart is,” and my heart is here in Ohio. If you put a Scandinavian in Springboro for five days, they would probably feel the same way about longing for home.

One last thought.. if you are ever passing through Iola, let me know. I will tell you the bar and the slot machine that pays out. It might pay for your vacation.