For many months we six had talked about a trail ride to Butte des Morts. It wasn’t because we were running out of old taverns in Oshkosh, but rather we’d heard about Tilly’s Too, the White House Inn and Butte des Morts Supper Club. We figured we could park the little white van in one spot and walk from place to place.
However, we didn’t count on the weather being as wet and rainy as it was on November 2. Given the location of our houses, it was more convenient that Don and Judy pick up Marv and me and then Elaine and Gary who live in the Western sticks. So our designated driver was Judy, and Gary would be allowed to imbibe.
It also meant we went by back roads known only to those who live on the back roads of Winnebago County—such as Gary and Elaine. I was aware that Judy drove through Omro—we passed the old high school that is now an apartment building for elderly folks. Then we drove down the main street of Omro, over the bridge, through Winneconne, over another bridge and then I was lost. Except for a short stint on highway 116, none of the roads had numbers, maybe letters, but mainly names.
Tilly's Too Sits on former hotel site
At last we turned a corner and there was the small village of Butte des Morts. We parked at Tilly’s Too, dodged the raindrops and went inside. My nephew Steve who lives in Mequon is an avid NASCAR fan. He’d been to Tilly’s and won some kind of NASCAR pool there. He’s the PBR drinker I’ve mentioned in other posts.
Tilly’s Too doesn’t have any taps, but the choices of bottled beer were many. We all drank Barely Naked (the Beer, that is—we kept our clothes on). There were lots of people at the bar, some talking; others, like us, staring at the lake that was now in twilight and misty with rain through the large picture window above the back bar.
Frankie pours a cool one with owner
Owner Tom was pleased to meet us and eagerly plunged into the history of the place. After listening for a few minutes and looking at the newspaper clippings on the wall, we knew we were in an old place. First building on this site was the Petford Hotel. According to records of the State Historical Society (I looked this up) “Thomas R. Petford, an Englishman, who died in 1908 kept a tavern for 60 years.” This tavern was on the stagecoach road connecting Butte des Morts to towns east and west of it. Well, if he had the tavern (also a hotel) that takes us back to the mid 1840s. On the wall there’s a picture of the Petford hotel as well as its successor, the Butte des Morts Inn. In 1927 the hotel was owned and operated by Frank and Viola Tilly. After Frank Tilly died, “Ma Tilly” ran the place until she retired in 1960. Then her daughter Alice and son-in-law Frank Kachur ran Tilly’s Tavern as it was now called. They retired in 1999; Frank Kachur died in 2000, but Alice lived to be 92 and died on Halloween of 2011. Her obituary from the Winneconne News hangs on the wall along with the pictures of the old hotels. Since their retirement in 1999, Cindy and Tom have owned the place.
Cindy, Tom’s wife, joined us and Tom passed out small souvenir flashlights to each of us as a memento of our visit. Mine is already on my keychain replacing the LED one that had died. In honor of the Tilly’s, Tom and Cindy have kept the name and added “Too.” They’ve added a few things from the past. Over the picture window above the back bar, hangs a sign “Butte des Morts” that once identified the post office. And the west wall’s panels are boards from the original Petford Hotel.
Beer Trail Riders with Tom and Cindy
We took our beers to one of the two round tables on the east wall. With beer in hand we drank a toast to Steve Wesenberg and Jerry’s Bar. Steve Wesenberg, long time owner of Jerry’s Bar and founder of the Otter Street Fishing Club, which calls Jerry’s its home, had died a few weeks ago. Then Marv wandered off to the men’s room and the rest of us wandered off to read more signs on the walls. There was just so much stuff to look at. A poem in praise of Tilly’s caught our eyes. So did the string of fishing lures encircling the room along the ceiling’s edge. Marv estimated there were 150 lures including some of his old favorites: a Daredevil, a Bassareno with three triple-hooks, and a silver minnow. He recalls that as a boy he once caught a 3-½ pound large mouth bass with a silver minnow and a bit of bacon rind on Montello Lake.
Cindy urged us to look out the picture window behind the bar at the two terraces with umbrella-topped tables. During the summer most guests come by boat and tie up at their 135-foot pier. We had noticed the spotter scope fastened on the back bar. How many people we wondered, had gazed through that at boaters and ice fishermen.
Tilly's Too Terraces
Like many places we’ve visited, the walls of Tilly’s are covered with pictures, posters and pithy quotes. Here are some of the latter: “If you are agitated and confused, my job here is done.” “If it weren’t for the last minute of the day, nothing would get done.” “If I get to drinking on Friday and ask you to stay till Monday, I don’t really mean it.”
Back at the table we talked about Halloween and Trick or Treating. Marv and I estimated we had only a couple dozen kids, and, even though we were generous with the treats, there are a couple bags of “fun-sized” candy bars in the freezer. Country folks Elaine and Gary only bought a half-dozen Snickers bars (full sized), but nary a knock on their door Halloween evening. Well, I wonder if those bars are in their freezer or Gary’s tummy. Meanwhile Judy and Don handed out all 135 snacks they had by 6:30! Judy bemoaned the fact that there were no leftovers. (Maybe I should tell her what’s in my freezer.) When the hours for Trick or Treating are from 5 to 7, when do the folks handing out treats get to eat? We had subs from Pick and Save, but Don and Judy solved the supper problem by having a crock-pot full of lamb shanks and beans. One father taking his kids Trick or Treating asked if he could stay for supper. Elaine and Gary have embarked on a project—going through their old photographs. We looked at one of Elaine running across the field behind their house. We decided she looks the same—or was that the beer talking?
It was now time to move on. We abandoned our plan to walk as it was raining harder now. We got in the van and drove around the corner to the White House Inn.
