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"The Grantsburg Lions Club held its first Watercross competition in July 1977 when running snowmobiles over water was a new and challenging past-time. The first race was simply held to see who could make it from the island on Memory Lake in Grantsburg to the shore, some 300 ft. away. Most didn't, but the winner did go about 500 ft. In the years following, racers became more skilled and the machines more powerful. Today they race both drags and ovals with a six-lap championship run. Over 100 racers compete in the various classes."
- from the Official Site

"Grantsburg is home to a legendary giant named Big Gust. He stood 7'-6" and weighed 360 pounds.  At the time of his death in 1926, he was village assessor and president of the Grants-burg Fire Department. His uniform and a gigantic crutch he used after an accident are in the Grantsburg museum. His gravestone in the Grantsburg cemetery simply reads BIG GUST."
- section from Grantsburg Area Historical Society website

"A wood sculpture in his likeness was carved by Alf Manley Olson, a life-long resident of Grants-burg, in 1980.  Made from laminated basswood, the life-size figure weights 368 lbs. -- only eight pounds more than the man it depicts."
- section from Spooner Online website

  416 S. Pine St. (Highway 48)
Grantsburg, WI  54840

Big Gust Days are held the first weekend of June

A mostly annual event near Grantsburg which includes lawnmower races, large quantities of beer and an always available mud-wrestling pit for the ladies (as heard on KQRS 92.5FM Morning Show).

This cow, with an ear tag reading "Mira", is quite reminiscent of the gas tank cows of Buffalo County & Pierce County.

This website has dealt little with the bevy of Wisconsinites who have freed themselves from their bonds of statehood and gone on to succeed abroad.  In the realm of the visual arts, Wisconsin gave the world that old broad Georgia O'Keeffe.  In film, we unleashed Orson Welles to feed upon the unsuspecting masses.  And imagine how different the world would be if Wisconsin hadn't provided Kato Kaelin to take his rightful place in the history books?
The trouble with most Badger State Notables is that they are raised in or near the Milwaukee-Madison Corridor.  The opportunities there give them the advantage over those brought up in other parts of the state. 

Note: This highway marker has since been bulldozed over and the land is now the site of Burnett County's new pet crematory.

 In contrast, the Deep Northwoods of Wisconsin seems only able to produce noteworthy anglers & huntsmen.  Aside from the odd astronaut (Jeff Williams from Winter) or psychic (Jeane Dixon from Medford), few residents of the north survive the black bear and deer fly attacks long enough to make a name for themselves in the world.
This is where Mary Mack steps in.  The former Burnett County resident has been touring the country, taking stage at numerous comedy venues and winning over the crowds with her genuine Wisconsin charm, clever storytelling skills and pre-pubescent voice.  She brandishes both a clarinet and a mandolin in her act, utilizing them in a manner previously unexplored by past clarinet/mandolin-based practitioners in the mirth-related field.  Her appearance on "Last Comic Standing" brought the nation to its feet and rendered it incontinent.  In the world of stand-up comedy, she has won awards, captured hearts, and broken the redheaded color barrier.
Mary has done all of us here in the hinterlands proud and we support her as she continues her way to the top, crushing lesser comedians in her path without the slightest showing of mercy, but in a whimsical way.

Danbury Bigfoot  (2002)

Siren Bridge

The bridge is reportedly haunted by a family who lost their lives there.

Devil's Lake

The Weird Wisconsin website ponders the multitude of Devil-related place names in Wisconsin

Siren UFO Sightings  (2003)

"Change shape, move from side to side and up and down fast."
- section from UFO Wisconsin 11-30-03 report

UFO Seen at Cabin  (1999)

"...and in the sky, there are some lights three...four at times, changing colors, from white to blue, and green, just moving around...they stayed there for like twenty minutes, and just ((expletive deleted)) bolted away..."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report

"Ghosts of America" Haunted Location Reports
(take with a grain of salt)

The reports on this site are presumably fiction, using random Wisconsin place names in the stories listed there.  Even so, you might get a kick out of reading them.

Nighttime Strollers Encounter Bigfoot  (1985)

"The head was conical in shape, and slightly furry looking. In silhouette, it looked like a guy with a really big head wearing a furry hood. The most striking things were its eyes, they were lightly glowing orange-red."
- section from BFRO report

"The original Burnett County Jail, a three cell wooden building utilized from 1870-1902 is located on the property. The 1800 Stenborg House built by the village blacksmith, has just been renovated and we are currently looking for items to be displayed in the house."
- section from the Grantsburg Historical Society website

  on the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and South Oak Street
133 W Wisconsin Ave.
Grantsburg, WI  54840
(715) 463-2573

hours:
Museum and jail are open Memorial Day thru Labor Day
(Sundays)  1pm – 4pm  or by appointment

"Rendezvous with voyageurs and the Ojibwa at this historic, re-created fur-trading post. Situated on the banks of the Yellow River, the park was the site of two competing trading posts, both used in the winters of 1802 and 1803. Interpretive guides dressed in native and European clothing of the era lead visitors back 200 years, as they demonstrate the everyday activities and skills of Native Americans and early pioneers. Here, visitors can watch craft workers stretching fur pelts, cooking over open fires, and making moccasins, clothing, and birch-bark baskets. The park also features a museum, theater, gift shop, and a dining room specializing in Native American foods."
- section from Explore Wisconsin website

  located 1½ miles west of Yellow Lake on County Road U

hours:
Memorial Day thru Labor Day
(Wed - Sat)  10am – 4pm
(Sunday)  11am – 4pm
Tours begin each hour from 10am through 3pm