| CHETEK
VACATIONING LEGACY—Pictured here are the third, fourth and
fifth generations of the 70-year vacationing legacy known as the
Terrell family. The Terrell’s live in Peoria, Ill., 50 weeks
out of each year. Every year since approximately 1930 those
remaining two weeks have been spent in Chetek. The Terrell
family members, left to right, are Thomas Jr., Thomas III,
Gloria, Jacob, Katie, Sue and Nate. Not in the picture are
Thomas and Gloria’s son Lonnie and his wife Sally, and their
children Chuck and Tom Smith.
In the Chetek area it is not unusual to come across a family
that has been vacationing here steadily for 15 or 20 years. It
is rare, however, to find a family like that of the Terrells.
Thomas Terrell, Jr. began his yearly Chetek trips around
1930, making the trek with his parents from their home in
Peoria, Ill., to Shady Grove Resort in Chetek. The family
enjoyed the scenery and the lake, and the chance to be alone
with each other.
As time passed many things changed: Europe was wracked with
war, twice, rock and roll was born, J.F.K. died, but the Terrell
family still spent two weeks of every year in the relative
safety and quiet of Chetek.
The family grew, of course, during this time. Thomas met and
married Gloria, adding a total of four new vacationers, not only
Gloria, but her parents and grandfather as well. The newly-wed
couple enjoyed the time they were able to spend with their
parents.
The couple has nothing but fond memories of those trips with
their parents. They remember fishing in wooden boats, and
Thomas’ parents were the only ones with a motor. They would
tow Thomas and Gloria out to a fishing spot, and retrieve them
on the way back in. And fishing was good back then. Using the
five-gallon buckets of worms the Terrelll’s brought with them,
the family was known to catch well over 100 bullheads in a
single morning.
When asked what has changed since those days, Thomas, with
some prodding from Gloria, listed several of the creature
comforts that have become considerably more comfortable. In
those days, their cabin was without indoor plumbing, so they
needed to make trips to the outhouse on the hill; they stored
their food in an ice-box and cooked it on a pot-bellied wood
stove.
The biggest change since then is probably the fact that
Thomas and Gloria are no longer the young newly-weds of the
group, but instead the grandparents. They have two sons of their
own, Thomas III and Lonnie, who are now raising their own
families who also relish the yearly trip to Chetek. And that’s
not likely to change anytime soon, as Gloria puts it, “We plan
to keep coming as long as we can.” |
