My story really begins with my grandparents – August and Anna Ohlsson. They emigrated from Sweden about 1905, first to Minneapolis, then to Boulder Junction around 1917. He was a Master Cabinetmaker, she an accomplished agriculturist. After some years in a Twin Cities machine shop, he elected to buy land in Boulder Junction, said to be almost a square mile, cutover priced at a dollar an acre. His property included about 600 feet of frontage on Oswego Lake, extended north to Allen Road on the High Lake Road, close to the Fishtrap Road intersection. Over the years, certain parcels were acquired by the town and county and August did donate land and timber for the High Lake School. On the Oswego site they built a residence, later named Shaham Lodge (after sale to Shaw and Hammond), several cabins, and a barn.
My father Andrew was born there in 1919, their youngest son; at age 14 he built his own cabin a 1/4-mile distance south. I was born there in January 1941, and am listed in various notes as a “Doctor Kate” baby, though this may be in some question. Some family stories are that the doctor was contacted, arrived at the cabin, but from exhaustion and other factors, went to sleep on the couch awaiting my arrival; when the event occurred, Grandma Anna did the delivery, as she was well acquainted with the process having cows, sheep and goats at the Oswego property. Dr. Kate’s contribution was to later send a bill for $25 to “cover attendance for mother and child.” Somewhere I still have that bill.
Shortly after that, WWII began, Andy, my father, entered the USMC, only to be invalidated out due to a broken limb. He then began carpentry and construction for various government projects. I was quite small and was farmed out to live with the grandparents while my parents moved between those government jobs.
My schooling began in Lake Tomahawk in 1945-an uncle was the principal, allowing me to enter despite my age insufficiency. I then came to the Boulder school for a couple years, but then began to accompany the parents’ travels. As a result, in 12 years of schooling, I attended 10 schools. After graduation from LUHS in 1958, I went to Madison, attempted to study engineering, but just couldn’t compete, lasting only two years there. I then went into the USAF in 1960, served as a radar technician in several fighter groups, leaving active duty in June 1964. At that point, returned home for the summer, then went down to Milwaukee for work in a foundry. Married Judy Schauss in 1966, she put me through school at UW-Oshkosh, two degrees and I went to work in the paper industry for 30 years. At that point, leaving the industry, I went back to doing carpentry and home repairs for a living, but am now retired. We continue to live in Oshkosh, but spend time at our properties in Taylor County.