Wayside would feature information about former railroad line
By Vicky Wedig
Editor
Creators of the Pelishek-Tiffany Nature Trail want to build a historical wayside that juxtaposes the tranquility of a small stream and foliage with the bustle of Interstate 43.
The six-mile, 100-foot wide trail runs along I-43 from Allens Grove in Walworth County to Clinton in Rock County.
The rest area would include a historic sign with information about and artifacts from the Southwestern – the former Milwaukee Road railroad line on which the trail is built. Trail creators Gerry Pelishek, of Darien, and Pete Tiffany, of Clinton, plan to build a 24-foot long, eight-food wide shelter that extends from the trail toward I-43 overlooking a small stream.
The rest area would be about 200 yards west of North Road where a railroad signal box for the community of Bardwell still stands. Bardwell marked the junction of two railroads and the dead end of the Southwestern. A depot that once stood at Bardwell was moved with teams of horses, converted into a house and still exists as a residence in Darien, Pelishek said.
Pelishek built an arched stone wall around the signal box years ago. An informational sign would stand in front of the stone wall on the south side of the trail and additional informational kiosks might be located near the observation platform, Pelishek said.
On the north side of the trail a shelter with benches along the sides would sit on cantilevered platform jutting out amidst maple trees over a creek hollow that separates the trail from I-43.
“This little valley is very pretty,” Pelishek said.
He said the area offers an “outstanding comparison” of the trail, which has the feel of the north woods, and busy I-43 just a few feet away.
Pelishek, of Darien, who purchased the old railroad bed in December 1993 to create the trail, has been in contact with Bob Storozuk, president of the Milwaukee Road Historical Association, who is enthused about the project. The association is having its convention in Rockford, Ill., this weekend and is willing to provide information and possibly financial assistance for the project, Pelishek said.
Pelishek and Tiffany, who is active with the Clinton Fencehopper’s Snowmobile Club and was also instrumental in developing the trail, are gathering an estimate for the cost of the rest area and will need to conduct a fund drive to pay for it. Pelishek said he expects the cost to be in the tens of thousands of dollars. The trail has a 501(c)3 organization, the Pelishek-Tiffany Nature Trail Foundation, and can accept tax-exempt donations.
Tiffany, who designs and builds bridges for a living, would design the shelter, which would be similar to but smaller than the covered bridge Tiffany built at the access point to the trail in Farmer’s Park in Clinton. The wayside at Bardwell would be the sixth rest area along the trail, which is used heavily by snowmobilers, horse riders and dog walkers.
Tiffany said people enjoy the width of the trail where they can walk side by side and talk. Clinton schools also use the trail for school activities and athletics, he said.
Trail’s history
Years ago, Pelishek would drive down the abandoned Milwaukee Road railroad bed from his farm north of Darien to his jewelry store in Clinton.
“It was starting to become a six-mile-long junkyard,” Pelishek said. “That bothered me.”
Pelishek said people would throw old tires, appliances and other items on the railroad bed to dispose of them. Old tombstones, junk concrete and piles of corn cobs were among the items tossed in the bed, Tiffany said.
A Chicago realty company was selling the railroad bed it had acquired from the Milwaukee Road’s bankruptcy, so Pelishek encouraged Rock County to buy the property to use as a trail, but the county board voted it down. He said municipal governments were hesitant to get involved because the property straddles county lines – three quarters of the six-mile trail lies in Rock County and a quarter in Walworth County.
Having difficulty selling the bed as a corridor, the real estate company planned to split it up into smaller parcels for sale, Pelishek said.
“Then it would be gone forever, of course, as a corridor,” Pelishek said.
Clinton banker Leon Holschbach, who shared Pelishek’s belief that dividing the parcel would be a shame, loaned Pelishek the money to purchase the corridor himself for less than $50,000.
“Gerry had to go out on a limb and buy it,” Tiffany said.
“My wife had a fit,” Pelishek said, and rightly so.
He made the purchase at about the same time Stella Liebeck sued McDonald’s in 1994 when she suffered third-degree burns after spilling hot coffee on herself, and liability was a concern. So, Pelishek kept the purchase secret but began working with Tiffany, who was interested in a trail for snowmobiling.
At the same time, snowmobilers statewide were lobbying the state the state Legislature for funding, arguing that snowmobilers contribute significantly to the state’s economy with the amount of gas they purchase. The legislature agreed to contribute a certain percentage of gas taxes toward trail acquisition and organizations could apply for funds.
Pelishek, Tiffany and the director of the Rock County Parks Department attended a meeting in Wausau in 1994 where the funds were to be distributed. The meeting was heavily attended by groups from northern Wisconsin where snowmobiling is king.
“We were relative strangers,” Pelishek said. “We went back empty handed.”
However, Pelishek said, they were told that if any of the projects up north fell through, the Allens Grove to Clinton project would be a first alternate. Misfortune for Eagle River, where a funded project fell through, turned out to be good luck for Pelishek and Tiffany.
“We, being second in line, we got that money,” Pelishek said.
However, the funds could not be awarded to individuals, so Rock and Walworth counties got together and agreed that Rock County would acquire the trail including the portion that juts into Walworth County. The county secured funds from the Snowmobile Grant Program and the state Department of Natural Resources’ Stewardship Program to purchase and create the trail in 1995. No property tax funds were used, Pelishek said.
“We’re very proud of that,” he said. “That whole trail is strictly a volunteer organization.”
To this day, Pelishek said, the trail is maintained by volunteers.
“Pete has really shined on that part of it,” he said.
Much of what has been accomplished along the trail – grooming it, landscaping and building shelters and parking areas – was done at little cost by people who “know a guy” willing to donate materials or labor.
“If you work together, there’s always a way to do,” Tiffany said.
Future plans
The trail has an undeveloped portion east of North Road that is of no interest to snowmobilers because it dead ends, Pelishek said. On that stretch, Pelishek would like to use an existing foundation to build an enclosed bridge over Little Turtle Creek that would serve as a clubhouse geared toward people who are handicapped or elderly. Surrounding the club house would be a park with picnic and fishing areas.
“The scenery there is just gorgeous,” Pelishek said, “It’s such a pretty site, and it has so much potential.”
