As their family grew, they spent many summers vacationing in the area – Rhinelander, Sugar Camp, Boulder Junction, etc. At first they camped. As their family grew and camping became more difficult, they rented cabins. At first, they rented at John and Mary’s cabin on Sugar Camp. After an invasion of frogs in the early 1980’s they moved over to Burr Valley. Burr Valley was owned by Fritz and Betty Schmitgall. Fritz and Betty were a small German couple who enjoyed entertaining and made a living renting 10-12 cottages and running a bar on the lake until the late 1990’s when they sold the cottages off and moved back to Germany. Eventually, Bob and Pat were able to purchase a cabin and adjacent land on the lake in October of 1988.

We’ve heard that it was the oldest cottage on the lake. That’s not hard to believe given the structure the cottage appears to be a cedar log hunting cottage from about 100 years ago.

Fred was a car guy. He always had 2 or more cars in his garage that he kept immaculate. Those cars always had the largest 8-cylinder engine available. My brother's and I turned to get a view of Fred's well-polished cars when the garage opened and we heard their 454's start up.

After Fred passed away in February of 2019 at the age of 99, we purchased the property from his estate and committed to continue it’s legacy for years to come.

The oldest portion of the cottage is made of cedar logs that are roughly scribed and chinked together. Chinking is a method of sealing the space between the logs and making it airtight. Expanded metal was nailed in between the gaps and then mortar was applied into the space and smoothed. This same process was done to the outside and inside.

The main cottage was a 1-2 room structure with a sleeping loft. There was a kitchen that provided access to an adjacent woodshed which has long since been converted into a main bedroom. If you look at the east wall, you will notice the original logs are at an angle where the roof would have been. There is a seam on the right side of the east window where the edge of the room would have been. The other would have been the south wall. Behind the armoire there was a door to access the woodshed.

In the main room, which is now the dining / great room, there are several features noted. In the north east corner, there were a few ceiling / floor boards replaced in the loft. You can see the stain on those from what was likely a source of heating for the cottage – a woodburning stove. The soot still stains the ceiling over where it would have stood. There was a hole in the wall that was patched about 2’ high where fresh air would have feed the rear of the stove. The fireplace(s) would have been added after the fact to the room as those are inefficient means of heating.

When the basement was added, the structure would have been jacked up, a cinder block wall built around it, then set back in place on the new wall. I suspect while this was happening several features were added to the cottage: an entry way, bathrooms in the basement and first floor, plumbing (yes), a well in a small adjacent pump room, and eventually heat. With a basement under the sun porch, it was converted into a year-round room with heat.

Otto Schoeneck who has lived on the lake since about 1950 recalls when the Blickle’s purchased the property in the late 1960’s the structure had a tree growing through the roof out of what is now the main bedroom. When they were finished with their improvements, the cottage was modern, quaint, and owned one of the best views on the lake.