Meyer House Wins 2019 Visser Award
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WRITINGS NEWSLETTER OF THE SETH PETERSON COTTAGE CONSERVANCY Volume XXXI, Issue 1 Summer 2019 © Andrew Pielage MEYER HOUSE WINS 2019 VISSER AWARD he restoration of the Frank until 2015, he tackled several major T Lloyd Wright-designed Curtis projects right away: and Lillian Meyer House has - A full rehab of the kitchen. won the 2019 Kristin Visser Historical - Removing the indoor/outdoor car- Preservation Award. pet that had been affixed throughout “It has been a long and challenging the home with mastic glue and the process but very rewarding in its out- brown paint that coated the exterior, come,” owner Doug LaBreque said. Honduras mahogany trim. “I feel fortunate to have had this op- - Refinishing the original oak floor- portunity, and I am immensely grate- ing upstairs. ful to the Seth Peterson Cottage - Installing the half-bathroom Conservancy to be recognized for this Wright originally specified for the work.” basement. Doug LaBreque, left, accepts the 2019 LaBreque, a professional singer, be- - Restoring banquette seating in the Visser Award from Bill Martinelli, first vice came the property’s fifth owner when living room. president of the Seth Peterson Cottage Con- he purchased it in 2003. While restor- servancy. ation work didn’t begin in earnest continued on page 4 2 - WRITINGS SUMMER 2019 - 3 FROM THE PRESIDENT the kinks found in any new system, things are going well for By Kermit Traska staff and campers. WRITINGS Another change that occurred as part of the new system was making all our electric sites reservable. In the past, approx- he Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy board of direc- T tors oversees the operation of the Seth Peterson Cottage. imately a dozen electric sites were available on a first-come, WRITINGS is a semi-annual publication of the The organization bylaws allow for a 15-member board first-served basis. Those have all now become reservable. Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy Inc. and ex-officio members from the Mirror Lake Association and Changes continued in the campgrounds over the fall and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Additional winter with the addition of electricity to 14 campsites in the • Editor/designer: Brian R. Hannan members include our marketing director and office manager. Cliffwood and Sandstone Ridge campgrounds. This brought • Coordinator: Kermit Traska The board meets quarterly and has its annual meeting follow- • Submit articles and pictures to: our electric campsite total to 61 sites. We are already seeing in- ing the monthly open house in December. creased use and reservations on those sites — meeting the [email protected] There have been some recent changes to the board. Sadly, needs of more and more campers looking for electricity as part long-time board member Raymond Matlosz passed away. Ray- of their camping experience. SETH PETERSON COTTAGE mond was in charge of scheduling the guides for the open The Bluewater Bay campground continues to offer only non- CONSERVANCY INC. house tours. Please keep Raymond’s family and friends in your thoughts and prayers. electric sites. We were also able to begin development of a new nature EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE © Bill Martinelli Two long-time board members, Jerry Minnich and Peter Rott, retired when their terms expired at the end of 2018. Peter trail. The Pulpit Rock trail will travel primarily on the old road • President: Kermit Traska Rott, a Taliesin fellow, recently served as the board secretary. through the Fern Dell neighborhood — just to the east of the • First Vice President: Bill Martinelli 2019 WORK WEEK REPORT Jerry Minnich has served as the editor of the conservancy Seth Peterson Cottage. • Second Vice President: James Booth By Bill Martinelli newsletter, “Writings,” and created the Kristin Visser Histori- In fact, the cottage was once part of that neighborhood of • Treasurer: Catherine Sperl cal Preservation Award. We want to thank both Peter and Jerry cottages and vacation homes. The trail is laid out and can be • Secretary: Paul Wagner T he 27th annual Seth Peter- fireplace grate, which burns out for their many years of service. used at this time. son Cottage work week every four to five years, was New board members include: Marc Londo, Cathy Sperl and We are working with the Friends of Mirror Lake and local MEMBERS was held this year in mid- welded and is ready for the next Beth Zondag-Traska. Marc joined the conservancy a few years historians and naturalists to develop a system of interpretive April. winter season. ago and began leading cottage tours at approximately the same signs and materials for the area. The trail can be accessed from While the work week began a The landscaping was cleaned Claire Barnett, Jim Draeger, Tim Heggland, time. Cathy joined the board in 2018 and was elected treasurer the small parking lot on Fern Dell Road east of the cottage. few days later than usual, we still after a very long winter, and wood at our board meeting in January. She takes over this role from Melissa Kincaid, Dr. Steven Kincaid, Carolyne Another great project that was just wrapped up is the new had a couple of inches of snow on chips were spread on the path Paul Wagner, who has served as treasurer for almost 20 years. Kotchi, Marc Londo, Heather Sabin and Beth storage building that was built via a partnership of the Mirror the ground when the work week down to the lake to repair erosion Beth has been associated with the Seth Peterson Cottage since Zondag-Traska Lake Management District, Mirror Lake Association, and the started on the morning of April of the path after the torrential before the conservancy was formed. She has prepared and Friends of Mirror Lake State Park. Sauk County provided Ex-OFFICIO MEMBERS 14. By late afternoon the weather rains of last August. served the delicious food for many of our meetings and special was warmer, the snow was melt- With the use of the Mirror Lake programs. funding to the management district for the project as well. ing and our crew of volunteers State Park wood splitter, two to We express our sincere thank you to all of our board This building will be used primarily to house the manage- • Mark Blakeslee, President was able to get a good start on three cords of wood were cut, split members and volunteers who continue to make the Seth Peter- ment district’s lake weed harvester. It also will be used for stor- Mirror Lake Association cleaning the grounds around the and stacked. son Cottage Conservancy a positive force in preserving the age of park equipment, Friends of Mirror Lake supplies and • Ryder Will, Superintendent cottage. Other yearly maintenance proj- Seth Peterson Cottage and making it available to the public. other miscellaneous supplies of the district and neighborhood Mirror Lake State Park Major projects this year in- ects included cleaning the uphol- association. The harvester is a significant investment for the cluded finishing the tuckpointing stery, scrubbing and mopping the MIRROR LAKE STATE PARK REPORT district, and their work with it helps keep the lake the amazing CONSERVANCY STAFF of the masonry above the kitchen flagstone floor, cleaning the By Ryder Will, Park Supervisor place it is for all of us. and bathroom that was started two kitchen cabinets, installing a new I am proud to have been part of this process. While not a • Office Manager: Ron Dakter years ago. bedroom mattress and box spring, nother spring has turning into summer here at Mirror glamorous building, it serves as a fantastic example of what • Marketing Coordinator: Gail Kohl We also had our fireplace mason cleaning the gravel drive and A Lake State Park. As in most years, we moved from the can be done when various groups come together on a project. replace a dozen firebrick that had parking lot, purchasing a new gas cool and wet spring to a warmer and drier summer These examples of the ongoing changes and improvements RESERVATIONS loosened in the back of the fire- grill for our guests to use and hav- (okay, maybe not so much the drier). to the park are just a small piece of all the hard work that staff place. ing the heating and air condition- The summer brings many day visitors and campers to the and volunteers put in each year. I continue to be amazed and Sand County Service Co.: (800) 822-7768 Our painting contractor also got ing systems checked. park. This year they will be greeted by several changes. a good start on refinishing the cot- Many volunteers helped this This year the Wisconsin state park system moved to a new impressed by the variety of organizations and individuals who CONTACT US tage’s exterior wood by cleaning year with our annual maintenance program vendor for our camping reservation system. Camis is put so much time, energy and resources into Mirror Lake and all of the exterior. He’ll now work projects, with approximately 150 a company based in Canada, and it manages reservations for its surroundings. Website: www.SethPeterson.org on applying the new finish be- volunteer hours donated. most of the Canadian provincial parks as well as Canada’s na- Thanks to all of you reading this for your support and inter- Email: [email protected] tween guest visits during the next On behalf of the board and the tional parks. est in the Seth Peterson Cottage. You make it possible for this Cottage voicemail: (877) 466-2358 few weeks. guests who’ll visit us in 2019: Wisconsin joins several U.S. states using Camis for reserva- valuable cultural resource to continue to be part of the story of A new center section for the Thanks to all those who helped! tion management.