Country Towns of Wisconsin: Charming Small Towns and Villages to Explore [Paperback]

Ann Hattes (Author)

Book Description

Series: Country Towns | Publication Date: August 1999

Discover the quaint shops, down-home cooking, and relaxed lifestyles of America's historic country burghs and villages. These unique guides encourage readers to explore the quiet streets and unravel the secrets of a dozen or more fascinating rural communities.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ann Hattes has had travel, food, business and interview articles published in English, German, Japanese, Arabic and Chinese in international and U.S. publications as well as on the web. Along the way she has garnered several awards for her text/photo packages, winning the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Award two times, in 1997 and 1993, and the Mark Twain Photojournalist Award by the Midwest Travel Writers Association in 1998 for articles published in 1997.

Ann has traveled to Irkutsk, Siberia, and north of the Arctic Circle to Finland's Lapland - in the winter! She has also snorkeled in the waters off Australia's Great Barrier Reef; toured Tokyo's fish market at dawn; climbed a portion of the Great Wall of China; visited the Cold War's last frontier - the DMZ at Panmunjon, Korea; cruised Mark Twain's Mississippi River; and explored ghost towns and searched for sapphires in Montana.

When not roaming the world Ann can be found at home in Hartland, Wisconsin. She and her husband have two grown children who also love to travel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Country Roads Press (August 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566261481
• ISBN-13: 978-1566261487
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,749,603 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just a Guide; Wisconsin History for the Carious, February 22, 2000

By 

Margaret Martindale "Marty Martindale" (LARGO, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Country Towns of Wisconsin: Charming Small Towns and Villages to Explore (Paperback)

COUNTRY TOWNS OF WISCONSIN: Charming Small Towns and Villages to Explore By Ann Hattes Reviewed by Marty Martindale, Largo, FL Hattes, a Wisconsin resident, still feels the state is full of surprises. With the towns she has chosen for the book, she makes each seem a bit like a trip to another land, and in some cases, it almost is. This is not a guidebook in the traditional sense with lots of restaurants, B & B's emboldened in most every paragraph. Instead, Hattes uses her gift to blend history with the curious. This is not to say she neglects information on some of Wisconsin's fascinating annual fairs, events, celebrations and their origins. Each destination chapter ends with phone numbers for "Places to See, Eat and Stay." The book is well indexed. Her opening chapter concerns the town of Spring Green where Frank Lloyd Wright was a large presence. She describes places a visitor would want to see and how he was invited to get involved in each project. We gain a little insight into his personal life, as well. The rails and trails of Elroy and Reedsburg, also Norman Rockwell territory, share another chapter. You'll learn Bicycling magazine ranked this area's bike trails in the top three in the nation. One of Rockwell's museums is in Reedsburg where all of his magazine covers from Saturday Evening Post, Literary Digest, Country Gentlemen and Life magazine covers are on display. Hattes' Lake Geneva and Delavan chapter, subtitled, Playboy Bunnies and Circus Capital, is a great glimpse into the history of this resort area. In the following chapter, she captures the flavor of Wisconsin's Road America area of Elkhart Lake and the history of being pampered by plumbing at Kohler Co.'s so-carefully planned employee community There's also a Celebration of Chocolate feast each year. In her chapter, Washington Island, Looms and a Stavkirke, Hattes tells of this 23-square-mile island of fields and forests which is the oldest Icelandic settlement in the U.S. It's also home of the Sievers School of Fiber Arts where 600 students come each summer to nurture their craft. From the drumbeats and moccasins of the Ojibwe Indians of Lac du Flambeau, Hattes takes you to the lumber, iron ore and snow country of Hurley and Montreal, Wisconsin. In Trempealeau County the Trempealeau Hotel still stands. This Mississippi River town is the originator of walnut burgers. In the chapter, Maiden Rock, Stockholm and Prescott: River Country Sampler -- Birds, Art and Antiques, Hattes says of the guests at the Harrisburg Inn B&B, "They awaken to the sound of train whistles and migrating, trumpeting swans. In summer they breakfast on the porch watching the antics of hummingbirds and pelicans while bald eagles and turkey vultures soar overhead." Hattes ends the book with her chapter, Madeline Island, Bayfield and the Apostle Islands. Here the reader can pretty well think a week in Bayfield at the "Carnegie Hall of Tent Shows," otherwise known as the Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua, might well be the be-all and end-all escape from the workaday world. Wisconsin's senator Gaylord Nelson tabbed the Apostle Islands, as "emeralds scattered in a sapphire sea." Unlike most books for travelers, Country Towns of Wisconsin is a good cover-to-cover read, even if you plan no visit to Wisconsin in the near future. ###

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is as charming as the places it decribes!, August 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Country Towns of Wisconsin: Charming Small Towns and Villages to Explore (Paperback)

I was surprised to learn how much Wisconsin has to offer. Everything from outdoor sports and recreation to antiques, chocolate, festivals, and so much more. Organized as a guidebook to facilitate easy reference, with a comprehensive index and chapter by chapter lists of names and phone numbers, Country Towns of Wisconsin, in addition to being informative, has the engaging readability of a novel. Avoiding the dry, pedantic nature of some travel guides, Ann Hattes's writing style is reminiscent of a conversation with a good friend as she invites the reader along on her journey. Historical anecdotes and modern-day perspectives intertwine to provide a reading and travel experience as unique and delightful as the people and places of Wisconsin themselves. This book will appeal to travelers and Wisconsin residents alike... as well as those just looking for a sampling of Americana.