Trempealeau Mountain Music...Where It Really Began

Growing up, our ancestry was a prominent topic at family gatherings and in everyday conversations. My great-great-grandfather, Antoine Grignon, a half-Native American, half-white man, was an explorer, fur-trader, U.S. Army servant, documentarian, story-teller, adventurer, and was one of the first settlers in Trempealeau. He is of great importance in our family’s history. Until embarking on this passion project, Trempealeau Mountain Music, I thought he was the most important player in our history, with tremendous influence on his descendants and this place in which we are deeply rooted.

I was wrong! While Antoine Grignon certainly contributed to the people we are today, the individuals who have been the greatest influence in shaping who I am today are the women of my family. Story-tellers, musicians, survivors, joy-makers, hard workers, and even dreamers, the women of my family have carried heavy burdens, lightened by the camaraderie of music, stories, and laughter. I grew up with sing-alongs at every family gathering, stories of people I never met, but who meant a lot to me. I am grateful for the women of my family, my Ma especially. While I didn’t inherit her gifts as a musician, I did receive her love of music and story-telling, gifts I am grateful to share through the creation of Trempealeau Mountain Music: A Locally Curated, Universally Connected, Internet Radio Station. I can't wait to welcome TMM home to my place, in The Caboose at The Station, on Main Street in my hometown of Trempealeau, Wisconsin!

My Aunt Doris, a writer, reporter, photographer, singer, and all-around interesting lady, also very connected to our family’s history and legacy, has been a tremendous influence in my life and has provided the memories I needed to become the woman I am today. I was not around for many of the events in which our family’s memories were made, but are a huge piece of the fabric of my soul. I consider Aunt Doris my link to the truth of our family, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I am grateful for her following recollections of the “Shelterhouse Sing-Alongs”, which she and other women in our family created during the early 1970s. Even though I didn’t arrive Earth-side until 1978, some part of me was there with them then, and they remain with me as I gather the community of souls to bring Trempealeau Mountain Music to life now. Ma and Aunt Doris would say “God is so good”! I say thank you, from the bottom of my ever-lovin heart…I am so grateful for each and every one of you, the women, the leaders, of my family!

 

Shelterhouse Sing-Alongs

Recollections of Doris Deutsch

 Sometimes good things just happen without any planning. Dolorous Heffner, of Trempealeau, WI, loved to play her guitar so people could enjoy singing.  Pauline Kessler, also of Trempealeau, loved playing the piano so people could sing along.  But they didn’t have a place to join their talents and make music happen.

Around 1970, a strange thing happened. Doris Deutsch, Dolorous’s twin sister, decided to try operating the concession stand in the Shelterhouse at Perrot Park.  One evening Dolorous brought her guitar out to the park and they had fun singing with whoever stopped by.

This gave Dolorous an idea: With a piano, they could add cousin Pauline Kessler.  Good ideas come with good luck. Dolorous managed to exchange a portable dishwasher with a lady who had an upright she didn’t want, so now they had a piano! The next step was to get the piano to the park and that alone was “a small miracle”, Dolorous said.  They had a two-wheeled trailer that couldn’t stay balanced with the piano in the middle of it.  Took a long time, and many prayers, according to Dolorous, but it arrived at the Shelterhouse in good condition.

Then the third step was to find the sing-a-long slides and a projector.  Dolorous found a drive-through restaurant that was selling a set, so she bought them all, and a projector.  No one remembers the exact opening night, but it would have been about 7 p.m. on a Saturday in the summer of 1970.  The Saturday Shelterhouse Sing-Alongs became a favorite recreational event at Perrot Park.

The ladies took up a collection that paid for the slides, the occasional replacement projection bulb, and best of all, someone to tune the piano!  Pauline was not able to play in all keys because the piano had a few issues, but her talent on the keys made any shortcomings of the instrument unnoticeable!

Dolorous remembers the raucous laughter, the fun singing with many harmonizing, and the joy of families having fun long before hand-held screens separated them.  People came ready to share their own abilities, and their own musical instruments, including drums and a bagpipe - anything goes!  And go it did!  Carloads of people from the village came to join in the fun.

Shelterhouse Sing-Alongs on Saturday nights lasted from roughly 1970 to 1975, but five years is only a guess.  No one took notes or even photos, so there is no absolute correct account. This bit of remembrance embraces that time. A sing-along revival happened in the early 1990s when members of our California family spent the summers as "camp hosts" at Perrot State Park. Dolorous brought her same guitar, same amp, the projector, white sheet, and "shakey slides". Doris sang harmony and campers stopped in to sing-along or just listen. It was lovely in its own right, but not the same as the Shelterhouse days.

The trio, Doris, Dolorous, and Pauline share a common relative—Antoine Grignon, one of the earliest residents of Trempealeau, and a true Wisconsin historical figure.

So, here's our celebration of the future of Trempealeau Mountain Music at Perrot State Park! Please join us if you can, whether at our fundraiser show or at any stop down the tracks!

Down by the Lakes...Into My Soul

Through serendipity, guide-directed daydreaming, divine intervention, generous angels, and a little moxie, I now call a spot on Round Lake in Trempealeau, WI, my home.

As a small child, I heard this place referred to as “Birch Acres”. It was part of a resort with several cabins, all remaining structures are now owned individually. By the time I was speaking about this is area myself, we just said, “down by the lakes”.

“Let’s go for a bike ride down by the lakes!" 

"Remember that night we almost drove into one of the lakes?!" 

"Hey - meet me down by the lakes!”

Unlike many of my other friends who grew up here, I went fishing “in the bottoms,” as Ma calls it, only a handful of times during my childhood. Just passing through on bike or by car, I did not explore or immerse myself in the Lakes District of Trempealeau much at all. “Down by the Lakes” seemed almost a foreign country to me, too wild to dream of actually living in. This is where all that daydreaming and divine intervention come into play.

You see, I absolutely love it down here. The people who actually live down here are of a different sort as well, and I love that too! Upon moving in, several of these generous souls shared their version of what life is like down here. They shared things I need to watch out for, waterway resources, animal sightings, among many other useful tidbits. I also love learning what titles local people with a little history use for different places around this area. Lone-Tree, a landing on The Big Marsh down here in the bottoms, or School Bus Point out by Marshland, WI. Oh, a historical-alternative cartographer's dream come true!

I feel a kinship with this land and waters, unlike anything I have ever experienced. I am learning my affinity to this place is likely connected to my family history, and I have much to excavate there - an endeavor connected to such wild tales…well, most will not believe them! That’s for another day, but I will share that I found that my great-great-grandfather, Antoine Grignon, had a camp not far from this area I now call home, where the Black River empties into the Mississippi. Grignon is very connected to those wild tales I hope to write about someday. 

I asked some of my new neighbors and friends about where exactly the Black River empties into the Mississippi, which is not as cut-and-dried as one might think! They got out old maps, which I used along with Wisconsin State Historical Society resources, and a hand-drawn map my father and I created, to pinpoint Antoine Grignon’s camp. My great-great-grandfather had a camp down-river from me, just another “Lone-Tree Length” from my house - amazing!

I know I was delivered to this place I now call home at just the right time in my life, to do that excavation through the means necessary for me to make sense of it all…through feeling, of course! What better way to unearth aspects of my roots I can only connect with through clairsentience, than placing me where my ancestors actually once walked?! So very blessed, am I!

Oh, the places we will go...all right here, Down by the Lakes and Into My Soul!

My Dark Night of the Soul Journey was necessary to reach where I am today. While I am still working through the residue of a lifetime of beliefs and behaviors that no longer serve me, I am so grateful to be the most authentic version of myself I have ever known. If you're curious, please join me at the beginning of this adventure of me. It has been a journey worth taking, for sure!

I am a Writer

I used to have an “I am a Writer” folder on my desktop, in which I saved a myriad of half-baked writing ideas. Very few were ever finished, almost none were shared. I knew I had this desire and talent within me, but being a full-blown perfectionist at the time, stating “I am a writer” (which, to me meant sharing my work in some way) was just a no-go. I kept a journal and my favorite medium is writing letters, so I got practice with old-fashioned correspondence and sentimental cards, but that was about it.

And then the most wonderful thing happened…I broke my foot! Through Universal Intervention (a.k.a. a broken foot, life falling apart, and Spirit Guidance) I started doing The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. One of the commitments I made when starting the work was to take myself on an “Artist Date”, a solo play date, once each week. The author suggests things like a walk in the woods, touring an art gallery, a trip to the beach, or even a junk store – something to delight and nurture my inner artist/child. Now, I had a broken foot, so many of her suggested expeditions were just not possible as I cruised around on a super-cool knee scooter. And I mean…Super. Cool. I did manage a few places where I had fantastic experiences like the library and a beach unknown to me at the time, near Viroqua, WI. For some reason, I had been drawn to that area over that particular summer. I soon learned why!

Shortly after I began recovering my inner artist, I came across a “Draft and Craft” weekly writing workshop hosted by The Driftless Writing Center, Inc, in Viroqua, WI. Oh, my heart went pitter-pat! Viroqua is an hour and 15 minutes from my home, which also meant filling my cup with cosmically inspirational audio content on my drive. Yes, a once-weekly trip for a few months seemed a perfect way to spend my “me” time and I would have a built-in Artist Date while my foot healed. I was so excited about the first session; I could hardly wait!

We met in a beautiful old Victorian house in an equally beautiful, vibrant neighborhood. Our workshops were led by members of the Driftless Writing Center’s board of directors, who were all writers, published authors, and/or editors themselves. Such talent and support to help me on my way back to me! Participants varied from published authors to those like me, just getting started on our journeys, and all levels of experience in-between. Each week we were given writing prompts and held discussions on different themes such as Building a Writing Practice, Writing the Hard Stuff, Endings, Characterization, and Poetry. Oh gawd, poetry. I rarely read poetry, let alone write it, but the night we covered poetry in that big Victorian house was the night I realized, with a little help from my new writer friends, that I am a writer. In fact, we all are, if that is our intention. I even managed this little "Lune" poem, all on my own. It was a big night.

Just as quickly as I came to that realization, I lost it. I lost it in the sea of life and stress, an ending marriage and so many unfulfilled dreams. I lost that sparkly piece of myself…again. So, here I am today, having reclaimed many pieces of myself, and again, with the help of my friends, I have reclaimed my writer self. And oh boy, am I having the time of my life! 

I’ve been writing regularly for public consumption for only a few weeks, so when I saw Keith Smith-Writer’s post, “I am a writer” (on my daughter’s birthday, no less) my heart nearly leapt out of my chest! In his post, Keith shares his decision to become a writer eight years ago. He had no formal training, but through the power of decision and belief, he declared “I am a writer”, which changed his life and the lives of many others. I am one of them! I couldn’t peck out my comment on his post fast enough: “I am a WRITER too”! I even declared it on the wall of Mississippi River Lock & Dam No. 6 (photo above) in my forever home of Trempealeau, WI - oh, it be!

And so, I am…a writer.

Today I thank everyone who has supported me in any way on this journey. Whether through the inspiration of strangers like Keith Smith-Writer, people sharing their talents and experience through groups like The Driftless Writing Center, Inc, or friends who listen and offer support - all of it has helped deliver me to this place - right here, right now. It took lots of starts and stops, crushed dreams, and soldiering on with a broken foot and all, but I made it! And there’s no place I’d rather be than right here being all ME!

Soul man, Earl St. Claire has totally got me today, as I'm Feelin' Alive! Go on, pair up with that speaker and DANCE!!

"...I'm holdin' onto the Universe, prayin' she don't let me down. I'm afraid if I try something crazy, I might end up in love, love, love. But the world that we live in is crazy and we gotta learn how to trust, trust, trust..." 

My Dark Night of the Soul Journey was necessary to reach where I am today. While I am still working through the residue of a lifetime of beliefs and behaviors that no longer serve me, I am so grateful to be the most authentic version of myself I have ever known. If you're curious, please join me at the beginning of this adventure of me. It has been a journey worth taking, for sure!