'Rhinelapus' didn't leave

Posted: Sept. 30, 2005

What fun a small town can be.

My siblings and I, all 13 of us, lived on Lake Venus on the outskirts of Monico. There were no planned activities for children, but that didn't spoil our fun. We would row wooden boats my dad would rent. They served as our diving rafts and objects of war at other times. We'd ram the boats into each other and fire splashes of water.

When we weren't at play on the water we'd climb the "rhinelapus." It was a large tree turned upside-down on its branches so it looked like a rhinoceros, elephant and octopus all in one. We could slide down the legs of the "rhinelapus," or play tag and racing games on it. I liked to sit on the top near the roots of the animal and read, or watch the traffic on the highway.

The big event of the day was to walk to the depot and wait for the trains to come.

Now the railroad depot, its tracks and trains are gone. Other landmarks, such as the grocery stores, post office, school and hotel also have disappeared. However, Lake Venus and the "rhinelapus" still remain. The monster is sitting in his own little park on the lake, across the road from the small white church on Highway 45. If you are traveling through the area, stop and say "hello" to him. He will like that.

- Jean Nolte Jewell, Rhinelander