I visited North Freedom last summer. Things have changed! Almost all of the businesses from the 1950s are gone. Like many small villages, North Freedom is a sleeper town for surrounding cities. Sound sad? Not really!
The North Freedom Library was my first stop. Shazam! The library is part of the attractive new Community Center. It is adjacent to the North Freedom Fire Department on the northwest corner of Maple and Walnut Streets where Vodak Lumber was. The best part was seeing the library stuffed with books, DVDs, reference material, and computers, with children and adults coming and going. Check out those cake pans above the books!
The BS Depot Bar and Grill is the only restaurant in North Freedom and a must-stop. My husband and I ordered a Spotted Cow (brewed in New Glarus, Wisconsin) and the Friday fish fry. I had cod, baked potato, coleslaw, and Texas toast. Yum! I cannot understand why Friday fish fry dinners are found only in Wisconsin. Wake up you other states!
Four Elements Organic Herbals is located on the southwest corner of Oak and East Walnut Streets where Obert Ulrich’s gas station was. (It was a bank for a number of years.) Their sign says, Apothecary. I opened the door to soothing, enticing aromas. Tiny bottles with intriguing names were arranged in rows on narrow shelves. Liz explained that herbs used in Four Elements products are grown and harvested on the owner’s farm in the bluffs south of North Freedom, close to The Forty. I grabbed an infused body oil labeled Relax. I can use that! Liz added a sample of Organic Herbal Tea. I will return for more! SURPRISE! Their products are sold online and are available in retail stores throughout the country.
Next door, Steph Shanks Photography specializes in senior pictures, portraits, and landscape photography, as well as headshots and personal branding. Steph’s work is known throughout the surrounding area.
North Freedom pulled me back another summer day to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum on the far west side of the village. The outdoor, living history museum has grown exponentially since its inception in 1963. Karen and I chatted inside the depot. Karen’s husband is one of several engineers who man the locomotives for the seven-mile round-trip train ride from the depot to the rock quarry beyond LaRue, south of North Freedom. There are railcars, steam and diesel locomotives, and cabooses to check out. Several movies have been filmed at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum over the years.
The Little French Bakery is begging me to visit. Susan Holding founded her bakery in 1999 in the bluffs south of North Freedom. She earned her Diplome to Patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Her studio is home to hands-on style cooking classes and Susan’s commercial kitchen where she prepares special-order items. I was delighted to hear that Susan now coordinates trips to Paris. I want to jump in her suitcase for the next trip! Check out the Little French Bakery website. Maybe I will meet you in Susan’s kitchen–or see you with her in Paris.
I paused to review the names on the new war memorial by the community center. The oldest person I remember on the list was Clyde Burwell who served during the Spanish American War. Clyde’s daughter and her husband now host the Rose Wall Airbnb in North Freedom, close to where the old canning factory was. The names of veterans from WWII and the Korean Conflict brought back memories of them and of their families. Many classmates’ names were on the list of Vietnam War veterans.
I found Baraboo River Canoe & Kayak Rentals on the northeast side of the village along the Baraboo River. My husband, daughter, and I kayaked the river several years ago. I will do it again!
The new St. Paul’s Lutheran Church brought back happy memories of many events that happened in the old church. Stained-glass windows from the old building, the altar, and the bell have been preserved in this new facility that was built on an adjacent lot in the early 1990s.
North Freedom’s population is now about 650, an increase of over 8% since the 1950s. My village has grown and transitioned from the 1950s to today in its own unique way. I will return to North Freedom to enjoy Friday fish fry dinners and to stop by the library and local businesses to say hello. We will take our grandchildren to the North Freedom Park located by the Baraboo River south of the baseball diamond. What fun we will have!
You can read about my days in the village during the 1950s in my book North Freedom.
Loved, loved, loved! What a delightful summary of all that North Freedom has to offer in a beautiful Sauk County setting! A wonderful place to live or to visit!
I miss the Friday fish frys, too! The building front of Shanks photograpy has changed. Is that the new front of the old Weiland’s grocery store building? I looked at that building in Google Street View but the Google photo was done in 2013 and the front was different (difficult to grasp that 2013 was already 10 years ago). All in all, the village looks quite nice, and as you describe, has some new and unique businesses. Thanks again, for your writeup and pictures.
A trip down memory lane! Love to see that North Freedom is alive and well, keeping up with the times. Nostalgic, however, for the “days of old” when life seemed simpler. But maybe the word “simpler” comes to mind only because I was a kid when I lived there and didn’t need to be concerned with the issues of the day in the 1950s. Thanks for sharing the NEW North Freedom!