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15. World War II and Beyond at the Park
- University of Wisconsin Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
Several months after A. E. Doolittle retired in , Ralph Halvorsen arrived at the park as a conservation aide. Later, after serving at several other state parks, Halvorsen would return to become superintendent at Peninsula. Early in , the Conservation Department announced the appointment of Peninsula’s new superintendent: Paul A. Lawrence. A man with considerable experience as a park custodian, Lawrence had been in charge of developing Wyalusing and managing Nelson Dewey and First Capitol state parks. His tenure at Peninsula Park was astonishingly brief, however, and he served only three months before returning to his former park assignments in southwestern Wisconsin. A short time later, William H. Beckstrom was appointed superintendent. A native of Ashland, Wisconsin, Beckstrom had a deep love of plants and was a skilled botanist. He began his career in Chicago doing landscape work with several architects from that city. Continuing to apply his vast knowledge of plants, he was then employed by a well-established Chicago nursery, and he worked on the horticultural building at the Chicago World’s Fair in . Presumably it was in Chicago that he met Jens Jensen, with whom he maintained a lifelong friendship. In , Beckstrom returned to Wisconsin to take charge of First Capitol State Park at Belmont. Later, he was transferred to state parks at Devils Lake and Copper Falls. When Point Beach State Forest was designated in , Beckstrom took charge of its development. Thus, he came to Peninsula with a wealth of knowledge and experience.1 Beckstrom soon became active at The Clearing, served as a trustee of the Ridges Sanctuary, and was involved with other conservation efforts on the Door Peninsula. Under Beckstrom’s tenure as superintendent at Peninsula, important issues arose that required his considerable tact and diplomacy. These included placing orld ar and eyond at the ark a limit on the number of campers and dealing with such camping-related issues as trailers brought to the park from “April to the end of October, and using them only on weekends.”2 The latter practice outraged some campers because it denied them the use of choice locations. Complications resulting from leasing park buildings became another sensitive problem, as was implementing the policy of buying out the “islands” of private property within the park. The new superintendent also had to deal with an unusual request by an Ohio couple to operate a “fun camp” emphasizing outdoor activities in the park. It would cater to the children of parents who wanted supervised recreation for their children while vacationing in the park. Writing to C. L. Harrington about the proposal, its promoters suggested locating the project at the site of the former Camp Meenahga. Opposing this location, Beckstrom suggested using Horseshoe Island instead since it was no longer occupied. Harrington ultimately denied the project because it was “against the over-all policy of the conservation commission” to permit such use of state parkland.3 Beckstrom left as superintendent in and began operating a plant farm at the Red Barn on the north edge of Ephraim, where he also crafted fine furniture . His design for street signs is still used at Ephraim and in other areas of northern Door County. Beckstrom also had expertise in log building, having restored several such structures in Door County. The author recalls Beckstrom once telling him of developing a technique for waterproofing the sod roof on Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant at Sister Bay. The traditional Scandinavian method used large overlapping sheets of birchbark as a leak-proof membrane under the turf, but Beckstrom’s used fiberglass panels under the sod for a longer lasting and relatively permanent solution. Johnson’s popular restaurant is probably the most photographed spot in Door County, with its sod roof kept trimmed by nimble goats that relish the green grass. Ever since Jens Jensen had settled into his new abode at The Clearing, he’d been sending frequent letters to the editor of the Advocate and several other state newspapers about an array of environmental and conservation issues. He also wrote sharply worded letters to staff and commission members of the Conservation Department and even the governor. William T. Evjue, editor of the Capital Times in Madison, met Jensen in Door County where he often vacationed at Gordon Lodge in Baileys Harbor. They soon became close friends. While on vacation, Evjue continued to write his front-page column of opinion, “Good Morning Everybody,” sometimes referring to local people, places, and conditions. During the summer of , he related...
