Fish Creek

FISH CREEK

The Fish Creek community is not the product of a high, far-planning purpose, such as is the case with Ephraim. It was the accidental meeting place of a number of discordant individuals, unrelated mentally or physically, who were driven thither by fortuitous circumstances. One thing they had in common, however, and that was the bitter struggle of finding their way through the world and battling with a merciless wilderness. With illusionary optimism, they moved hither and thither, ever hoping that at the next turn, they would find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

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Fish Creek has always been a well-behavior village, and it is many years since any saloon has been permitted in the village or town. In the early days, a saloon was in operation where the villagers would meet to swap fish stories over a glass of stale beer. This public forum came to an abrupt and dramatic end through the energy of a resolute lady of the village, the forerunner of the famous Carrie Nation. One Sunday evening as some of the village notables were dozing over a quiet game of penny-ante, the door suddenly flew open, revealing a woman with a basketful of cobblestones. She wasted no time in words but let fly a cobblestone at the barkeeper. Being a woman, she missed her mark but struck and shattered the smoky lamp. Thereafter, darkness and pandemonium ruled the room. The lords of the card table forgot their dignity and dived head first under the billiard table while stones and curses flew through the air. A door finally opened to the barkeeper’s kitchen, when, seeing this avenue of escape, the men stood not upon the order of their going, but flung themselves out all in a heap, leaving the doughty woman a defiant victor.

(From Old Peninsula Days, by Hjalmar R. Holand, originally published in 1925, re-published in 1990 by Wm Caxton Ltd, 12037 Hwy 42, Ellison Bay, WI, 54210; 920.854.2955.)

Fish Creek Civic Association