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The birthplace of Jeanne Bice – where Quacker Factory began!
As you may know, I was a model for Quacker Factory and Jeanne Bice for many years. Throughout the years, I would often hear Jeanne talk about her love of Wisconsin. She talked about the Friday Fish Fry, the Lighthouse at Fond du Lac, her cottage on Green Lake, Kringle from Racine, WI (ah yum) & fried cheese curds (yum, yum). She always had so many wonderful stories; I would find myself on the side of the set just listening to her talk!!
For one of Jeanne’s birthdays, she threw a party in Green Lake; however, I was unable to attend and I was very sad I was not able to go. I figured I would get to one of her parties in Green Lake someday. Then, of course, three years ago, we lost our beloved Jeanne, and I thought I would never get to see the places she always talked about.
Well, this year changed all of that. John, who is a life-long friend of Tim, Jeanne’s son, invited the entire Quacker team to come stay with him and his family at their cottage on Green Lake. So Glen and I decided to go to Wisconsin and see, firsthand, where Jeanne lived and where the idea for Quacker Factory began.
John now works with us at Quacker Factory, and he has some amazing stories to share about Jeanne, Tim and Lee (Jeanne’s daughter). He was great about sharing these stories while Glen and I visited.
When planning this trip, I knew I wanted to see some of the places Jeanne talked about. I also wanted to be sure to get some yummy Wisconsin cheese!!
We flew to Chicago, rented a car and headed north. It’s about 160 miles from Chicago to Green Lake. (If you look at the map above, Green Lake isn’t shown, but it is 30 miles directly west from Fond du Lac, Jeanne’s hometown)
Once we crossed the Illinois/Wisconsin state line, I saw a sign for Widmer’s Cheese Cellars. I told Glen that we were stopping there! We got off at the exit and drove and drove and drove! Finally we entered the town of Theresa and found Widmer’s. Inside the workers were cleaning the vats used to make the cheese. (I learned that local dairy farmers bring their fresh milk daily, and Widmer’s makes the cheese right there!) And thank goodness, they also have a small retail store in the front. We looked at the choices and finally purchased a log of 10 year aged white cheddar. We did not break in to the cheese until we arrived in Green Lake, but let me tell you—it was amazing!!!! I am just sorry we did not purchase more!!
Once we arrived in Green Lake, it was just gorgeous! The trees, the homes—everything was just beautiful and so peaceful. Green Lake is Wisconsin’s deepest lake. It’s about 8 miles long and 2 miles wide. And it is spring-fed, so it’s very clear and clean. Great for sailing fishing, I was told.
We were so glad to finally be there. John and his family were great hosts!! John asked us if we wanted to relax on our first night there or did we want to go to the Friday Fish Fry. I said, the Friday Fish Fry it is!! Jeanne ALWAYS shared her stories of the FFF, and I could not wait to go.
So we headed to Walker’s, one of the Bice family favorites. Walker’s is located on a country road, surrounded by farms. You’d never find it if you didn’t know where it was. But let me tell you, the parking lot was packed! They don’t take reservations, so it’s first-come, first served. They also don’t take credit cards, and we ate our meals on styrofoam plates!! Adorable!!
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I ordered the Perch. It came with fries, potato salad and coleslaw! It was delicious. I finally understood what Jeanne was talking about!!
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One of the places I was most anxious to see was the original store Jeanne had in Ripon, Wisconsin, where she and her husband, Butch, lived and raised their family. Ripon is 6 miles east of Green Lake (on the way to Fond du Lac).
After her children grew and she had time on her hands, she and a good friend, Mary Ann, decided they needed to start a business. So they opened a shop. She named it the ‘Silent Woman,’ and it was located in the house where her Butch’s family had lived in Ripon, near downtown.
Always a crafter herself, Jeanne decided to specialize in handcrafted items: needlepoint, embroidered clothing, and embellished items that she designed and local women created just for her shop. It really was a ‘cottage industry.’ She also sold gift items. The Silent Woman became a huge success with the local and summer residents of the Green Lake area. Jeanne confessed she always hoped for a cloudy, rainy day that meant women couldn’t go golfing or sailing…but they could come shopping at her shop!
The home is once again a private home. But I was delighted to get to see it.
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John also took me by to see one of the homes where Jeanne lived with her family and where she developed the reputation for being the ‘hostess with the mostest’ in Ripon. If you read her books, she tells how she and Butch would spend months preparing to decorate the house for Christmas. Theirs was one of the houses everyone in Ripon always drove by during the holidays!
It’s still an adorable home; I could definitely see her living there with her family.
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And the park across the street from their home…
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I can imagine the great memories they all had living here.
On our last night in Green Lake, we all went to dinner via boat!! What a great night. The sky was full of stars and diamonds – just like one of our Quacker Factory tops!! Hehe
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The Bices had a summer cottage directly on Green Lake that had been in the Bice family for many years. So on the way to the restaurant, we passed by and I got to see the fabulous boathouse they had. It has a wonderful screened porch above for eating, playing games, or even sleeping on hot summer nights. Imagine the fun they had! You can’t build these near the shore any longer, so it’s a real treasure.
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Seeing and experiencing Green Lake, Ripon, Fond du Lac, and all the beautiful sights, I could see how Jeanne got so much inspiration for Quacker Factory designs during her years there. Her memories live on in the designs Quacker Factory still creates.
After 6 wonderful days with John and his family, creating such lasting memories of beautiful Green Lake, we had to get ready to return home. But there were a few other things we wanted to see in Wisconsin.
We wanted to leave Green Lake and drive to Milwaukee to see the Harley Davidson Museum. Since it was on the way to Milwaukee, we decided to stop off in Fond du Lac to see the lighthouse that Jeanne always talked about. She revealed on air that this is where she had her first kiss.
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The view from the top of the lighthouse!! This lighthouse is on Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin’s biggest lake, (see map above) in case you didn’t already know that!
(By the way, Fond du Lac, is French for ‘foot of the lake’)
Wrapping up our wonderful Jeanne memory-laden trip, we had to visit a place for Glen too – the Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee.
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We even got to see a Harley that was embellished—a Quacker Mobile!!! I called it a ‘Spaaaaarkwy Harley,’ in honor of my nephew Ben. It was really beautiful in person!
Last but not least, on our way to our final hotel of our trip, we stopped at Mars Cheese Castle – it is literally a castle on the side of the highway and they sell cheese. And lots of other food and drink items too!! It was fun to visit!!
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Wisconsin, we loved our trip, what a beautiful state!! John suggested we return in the winter to see how the lake freezes so we can ride snowmobiles on the lake and go ice fishing…we are still thinking about that!! Wink, wink.
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Until next time—Quack, Quack for now!
Angel xo
Shop the Quacker Factory collection on QVC.com.
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