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This book was a labor of love, but writing it was a daunting task that would not have reached fruition without the help of many people. I am especially appreciative for the vital support provided by the foundations and individuals listed on the donor page. Each saw the potential of this book and had a deep appreciation of the inestimable value that Peninsula State Park and Wisconsin’s premier state park system have brought to countless individuals. Thanks to George Evenson, Mike Madden, and Maggie Weir for their advice in this regard. I am also deeply indebted to Tom Blackburn, Steve Salemson, Jeff Weir, and Arnold Alanen for their help and encouragement. I want to thank former students Linda Schmidt for her research on the park for an honors paper and Judith Borke and Carol Ahlgren, who wrote excellent masters theses that provided important aspects of the park’s history. I give special thanks to Laurence C. Day, who kindly loaned me a treasure trove of material, including back issues of Pack and Padle, about Camp Meenahga, which was started by his grandmother. Several people were kind enough to review the manuscript and make important suggestions. These were Professor Margaret Bogue, Dr. Robert Dott, Bonnie Gruber, Kathleen Harris, and Professor Bill Laatsch. Diana Cook, Adam Mehring, and Carla Aspelmeier provided invaluable assistance in producing the book at the University of Wisconsin Press. I was also fortunate to have Matt Baumgarten, Albert R. Czlapinski, and Jesse Ray—all excellent students in landscape architecture—help me with my research. Thanks to Bruce A. Chevis, Signe Holtz, Sonja Slemrod, and Jim Treichel cknowledgments xv in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for providing essential advice and information. From Wisconsin’s outstanding Historical Society, where I obtained much of the material for this book, I thank Rick Pifer, Harry Miller, James Hansen, and Geraldine Strey, as well as other staff members in Archives and Manuscripts and in the Microforms Reading Room. I was fortunate to know people from northern Door County who shared precious memories and other important information about the park: Wilma Bettinger, Dick Boyd, Charles F. Calkins, Tim Cooke, Steve Grutzmacher, Dorothy Halvorsen, Ann and Fred Hansen, Paer Hansen, Kathleen Harris, Coggin Heeringa, Alvin Krause, Lucia Woods Lindley, Lynn Edmunds Mattke, Paula McCutcheon, Dianne Peil, Charles “Pat” Tishler, Elsie Krause Tishler, and Hank Whipple. I am also extremely grateful for having grown up near the park and for a very special family and the values they instilled in me. They, along with my memories of the people I met and experiences I had while employed for two delightful summers at Peninsula, were the real inspiration for this book. Finally, I want to acknowledge the love and patience of my wife, Betsy; my children, Bill and Robin, and their spouses; and my special grandson, James. Without their love and support this book could not have been written. xvi  oor ounty’s merald reasure U.S. Geological Survey map of the park. ...

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