Neillsville, Wisconsin - The Highground

The Wisconsin Pavilion from the 1964 New York World's Fair was moved to Neillsville at the conclusion of the Fair. The building is now home to local radio station WCCN/WCCN-FM and a gift shop.

                                           

Robert Kanyusik's sculpture, "Fragments," dedicated to Vietnam victims from Wisconsin 

Bicycled to Neillsville, Wisconsin (about 50 miles west of Stevens Point) for a quick weekend tour to The Highground; a veterans' memorial park with tributes to Vietnam War veterans and memorials to World War I and World War II veterans.

For a small town of about 3,000 Neillsville rocked with its hometown bars and cafés like Degan’s Sport Zone, Green Valley Pub, and the Brickyard Bar & Restaurant. There was a locally owned grocery store, Marty’s Foods Inc. on E. Division St., the St. Vincent DePaul thrift store is in an old bank, and the hometown paper is the Clark County Press & Shopper.

Stayed at the Moraine Motel run by Bill and Carol Sawchuk. You would have thought you were staying at grandma’s house. Quilt on the bed, candy dishes everywhere filled with hard candy. The towels in the bathroom didn’t match but they were clean and soft. There was no phone in the room but a Bible in the drawer and wifi access. Funny, Bill showed me how to use the remote for the TV. He was a character with a pocket protector busting with pens and tools. 

The morning breakfast was over the top with small packaged cups of fruit, oatmeal, raisins, sweet rolls, cereal, toast, a variety of small juices and two thermoses of hot coffee. There were small wooden trays painted like watermelon to be used to collect breakfast and then sit outside on the patio.

Unique attraction were all the Amish at the Saturday morning farmers’ market and the Wisconsin Pavilion from the 1964 New York World’s fair that currently serves as home to the local radio stations WCCN/WCCN-FM and the local cheese and gift shop.