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 -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 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 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. While we continue to work through this place. 4 - WRITINGS Summer 2019 - 5

MEET KRISTIN VISSER

he Kristin T Visser Histori- cal Preserva- tion Award is named in honor of Kristin Visser, who was in- strumental in the re-

storation of the Seth © Brent Nicastro Peterson Cottage and a tireless worker on its behalf. She is the author of “ and the Prairie School in Wis- consin” and, with John Eifler, A.I.A., “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Seth Peterson Cottage: Rescuing a Lost Masterwork.” Visser, a planner for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, died in 1998 at the age of 48. The award, given by the directors of the Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy, is presented every other year to an indi- vidual or organization in recognition of © Andrew Pielage past work in historical preservation of a Frank Lloyd Wright or Prairie School building in Wisconsin or a contiguous state. In general, buildings constructed be- tween 1900 and 1925 are given prefer- ence, and the restoration work shall have been substantially completed within the two calendar years prior to the year of application. The 2019 award was given for work done during 2017 and 2018. The award is in the amount of $5,000. © Andrew Pielage © Andrew Pielage The Seth Peterson Cottage is Wright’s final Wisconsin commission (1958) and,

© Andrew Pielage at only 880 square feet, one of his small- Wright-designed houses, including the frames and doors, installing new Ther- est. It was rescued from ruin by the con- VISSER AWARD neighboring David and Christine Weis- mopane glass. certed efforts of a local group of continued from page 1 blat House. Together, they: - Restored the radiant floor heating Designed by Wright in 1948 and crescent-shaped wall of 14-foot-tall lakeshore property owners, spearheaded - Removed everything from the house, system, using PEX tubing to replace the built in 1950-51, the Usonian, solar windows on the home’s eastern el- by Audrey Laatsch, and restored through “My initial focus,” LaBreque said, including the cement flooring, so the original metal pipes, and adding the hemicycle house is assembled from evation affords striking views of the a public/private partnership. “was to get it back to looking like a plumbing and wiring, as well as the lath- north/south expansion joints specified in Honduras mahogany and custom- garden and the myriad bird species The inaugural Kristin Visser Histori- Wright house.” and-plaster ceilings could be replaced. Wright’s plans. made, commercial-grade concrete that congregate there. cal Preservation Award was given in When a water pipe burst in 2015, he - Installed open-cell insulation. - Replaced the roof, using white ther- block. Notable exterior features in- “It’s an artistic experience every 2007 to Steve Sikora and Lynette Erick- decided to finish work on the house. La- - Added steel re-enforcement to cor- moplastic polyolefin. clude the central tower that encloses a day,” LaBreque said. son-Sikora for their work in restoring Breque hired an architect and a general rect second-story deflection. - Refinished the original dining room two-story staircase and a cantilevered “I feel at home here. I feel at peace the Willey House in Minneapolis. contractor with experience rehabilitating - Sanded and refinished the window table. balcony off the master bedroom. The here.” 6 - WRITINGS SUMMER 2019 - 7

FROM THE GUESTBOOK MIRROR LAKE ASSOCIATION REPORT MEETING FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT By Mark Blakeslee, President “A week with nature and Mr. Wright’s By Brad Anderson building. Thank you, Seth, for commis- cool and wet June made it feel like summer would be sioning this cottage. I have no doubt that it A delayed. But the activity has picked up considerably in will be enjoyed by countless others for T his story was told to me by my the hotter days of July. On weekends, the lake has a years to come. It is really amazing how father, Chester Anderson, constant stream of kayakers, canoers and paddle-boarders! quiet things are here away from the sights, when I was a young man. My It’s always good to see the thousands of people who visit sounds and activities of the city. The ar- father was raised on a small farm Mirror Lake appreciate all the work we do to keep Mirror Lake chitecture helps. It soothes my soul.” — north of Dodgeville, Wisconsin, in a place they want to come back year after year. Linda and David the early 1900s. He was the oldest In mid-June, the Mirror Lake Association held its annual boy of seven children. meeting of the membership. The association has a membership “...What a privilege to spend time living in The story went like this: Like most of 154 people. Property owners and any friend of the lake can this glorious cottage. As I spent time here, families at the time, the effects of the join our group. I read all the great material and articles Great Depression hit my dad’s family As in past years, we have a good number of people attend. © GoodFreePhotos.com about Frank Lloyd Wright and the Seth quickly and hard. There was little Our meetings are at Ishnala. Bob Prosser, Ishnala’s owner, is Peterson Cottage. I couldn’t help but ap- money to begin with, and soon, there always a gracious host for our meetings and is a great friend of Ishnala Supper Club, Lake Delton preciate Seth’s story.... He has given us all was not enough food to go around. Mirror Lake, Mirror Lake State Park and the Seth Peterson the privilege of experiencing his dream for Arrangements were made with Cottage Conservancy. save-the-date alerts, newspaper articles and social events. a little slice of time. I wonder if Seth Pe- Charlie Jones, a nearby farmer, for The highlight of our meeting was a presentation from our By organizing these committees, we hope we will operate terson could have imagined the joy his my dad to go work on the Jones farm guest speaker, Lance Tallmadge. Lance is with the HoChunk more effectively and be able to involve members from outside dream has brought to so many.” — Dan for room and board. It was a win-win Nation and gave a great talk on the history of the nation in the the board to help in our process. and Janet arrangement as Jones and his wife Dells area. This summer marks the end of construction on our shed to were unable to have children and He was wearing a full, Of course, the HoChunk Nation’s history in the Dells pre- store our lake weed harvester during the winter. This is a major “Stepping foot in this cottage feels like needed extra help running the farm. dates the first European settlers. Knowing and understanding step in making sure our harvester will last us many years with- stepping back in time. Experiencing this The Anderson family would have black dress suit but was their history is important for everyone. out having to endure the brutal winter weather. This shed will piece of history and the stories that it one fewer mouth to feed. At our meeting we also tweaked our bylaws to form a new also be used by the Mirror Lake State Park staff and the Mirror holds is priceless. Thanks to all who are At the Jones farm, the barnyard barefoot, and his pants list of standing board committees to help us operate better. Lake Friends group for storage. It is a major project that will responsible for maintaining this gem of a was on the opposite side of the barn were rolled up above his Those committees are: Community Relations — engages with payback large dividends for many years. cottage. Your efforts are greatly appreci- from the house. government and corporate relations; Event/Fundraising — As always, I’d love to hear your feedback. If you have any ated.” — Eric and Julie, Wisconsin One day, circa 1930, my dad was knees. oversees events and engages with donors for sponsorships and thoughts, comments or concerns, please give me a call or send in the barnyard cleaning and groom- grants; Membership — oversees membership mailings and ac- me an email. My cell phone number is (608) 575-4652, and my “What a stunning experience! A true jewel ing some feeder calves to show with attend the University of Wisconsin. quisition; Communications — oversees newsletters, notices, email is [email protected]. not only for the Midwest but the entire his 4-H club at the Iowa County Fair. Can you imagine a kid from a dirt- country. A perfect blend of design, nature To my dad’s great surprise a poor farm getting the chance to go and tranquility. It feels like an honor to be stranger walked into the barnyard. to college in the heart of the Great able to experience this and definitely a He was wearing a full, black dress Depression? In 1935 he received a NEW SOUVENIR MUG highlight in our travel history. Kudos to all suit but was barefoot, and his pants degree in agriculture and went who make the upkeep and sharing of this were rolled up above his knees. He on into a successful career of 40 uests of the Seth Peterson Cot- special place with the general public their also had on a black cape coat and a years with the Carnation Company. G tage receive a complimentary passion.” — Kevin and Jerri, Iowa pork pie hat. The loan was quickly paid back mug to remind them of their stay. Quite an imposing figure. after graduation and “paid forward,” The quote for this year’s mug was “...We’ve learned this weekend that soli- You guessed it. It was Frank Lloyd allowing two of my dad’s sisters to submitted by Jim Booth, second vice tude can be spectacular. We are grateful Wright who had stopped by the farm also attend the University of Wiscon- president of the Seth Peterson Cottage for all the countless hours of love that to pick up some eggs* on his way sin. Amazing. Conservancy. Bill Martinelli, first vice have been poured into this place.” — back to Taliesin from his travels. president, designed the mug. Dave and Anne Apparently, Jones told Wright *According to Charlie Jones: “Get about the calves, and he wanted to the money first.” “...Thank you for re-creating such a won- see them — but did not want to get ‘The region of the soul of derful spot for just enjoying time with his shoes dirty. Upon inspection, he Editor’s Note: Brad Anderson and his each other and with nature. I just wish that deemed the calves worthy of show- wife, Connie, recently won a night's humanity which takes delight more in this world could get/take these op- ing. stay at the cottage from a drawing at in music is the same that portunities to slow down and reconnect Footnote: Finding him worthy, the the Reedsburg (Wisconsin) Harvest with nature.” — Tim and Mary Ellen Joneses loaned my dad the money to Park fundraising event. ©Bill Martinelli takes delight in architecture.’ WRITINGS The Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy Inc. 400 Viking Drive Reedsburg, WI 53959-1466

Address Service Requested

What’s Inside

- 2019 Kristin Visser Award - From the President - Mirror Lake State Park Report - Mirror Lake Association Report - 2019 Souvenir Mug - Meeting Frank Lloyd Wright - From the Guestbook Want to learn more about Frank Lloyd Wright’s work in Wisconsin? Visit WrightInWisconsin.org.

isitors find touring the cottage during the open house tours held each V a great way to spend a Sunday month. UPCOMING EVENTS afternoon. Take a scenic drive For more information about the cot- and experience firsthand this restored tage, visit us online at Seth Peterson Cottage Open House and Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home SethPeterson.org. Guided Tour

Seth Peterson Cottage • Aug. 11 1 to 3:30 p.m. $5 E9982 Fern Dell Road • Sept. 8 1 to 3:30 p.m. $5 Lake Delton, Wisconsin • Oct. 13 1 to 3:30 p.m. $5 • Nov. 10 1 to 3:30 p.m. $5 • Dec. 8 1 to 3:30 p.m. $5

Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy members receive free admission and a dis- count of 10 percent off cottage merchandise.

Annual Meeting & Volunteer Recognition

• 4 p.m. Dec. 8. RSVP by sending an e-mail to [email protected].

The meeting will last approximately one hour. After, we’ll have social time and dinner — and decorate the Christmas tree.