If these woods could talk, they might tell you tales of antediluvian beasts and yet-unnamed nightmares that call the Northwoods home. Or you could read Annelise Ryan’s Monster Hunter Mysteries.

In advance of her appearance here at Rhinelander District Library, I was able to have a phone call with bestselling Wisconsin author Annelise Ryan, also known as Allyson K. Abbott, and also known by her real name, Beth Amos. Beth has been a Wisconsinite for more than 20 years now and her fictional Monster Hunter Mystery series takes place in Door County and other parts of Wisconsin. Her upcoming book, Beast of the North Woods, is related to a murder in Rhinelander allegedly committed by a hodag. We also talked about the joys of being an ER nurse, dealing with publishers, and bigfoot in northern Wisconsin.

For more information on Beth/Annelise/Allyson, check out her website
https://bethamos.com/

Today’s recording comes to us courtesy of Oneida County 4H-er, Claire Ably. Claire tells us:

"This is my great-grandmother, Betty Preu, who lived from 1924-2018. She and my great-grandfather, Henry Preu, moved to a house on Enterprise Lake near Elcho in 1980. Henry volunteered at WXPR as a DJ for a classical music segment every Wednesday for several years in the 1980s to early 90s (he died from cancer in 1993). WXPR gave Betty this framed photo & playlist after he died. Betty also talks about her love of nature and her enjoyment of Ced Vig’s nature column in the newspaper that she’d read every week. This interview was recorded in December of 2017 when Betty was 93 years old. My cousin, Scott, is speaking to her on this part of the recording. I have his permission to submit this, too."

Thanks to Claire and Scott for conducting the interview; Emily for sending it in; and thank you to Betty for sharing your memories. Enjoy a few recollections from Betty Preu.

Welcome to the second half of our Ced Vig feature. This was recorded in the RDL meeting room in December, as a kickoff event for the Rhinelander District Library Foundation’s annual Ced Vig Holiday Book Fund. If you did not listen to part 1, that was mainly Bob Vig speaking about his father. In this part, we will hear more from attendees at that event who took turns sharing their own stories.

This conversation with Mitch Mode was recorded on Tuesday February 20, a day before the start of the American Birkebeiner ski event, traditionally held between Cable and Hayward, Wisconsin. Obviously the weather this year has been unusual to say the least. With a few adaptations to the course this year, the event is still “ON”, and Mitch will be skiing in his 46th consecutive American Birkebeiner.

In early December 2023, the Rhinelander District Library Foundation kicked off its annual Ced Vig Holiday Book Fund with an appearance of the namesake’s son. Bob Vig spoke about his late father whose life was impactful in his community, wherever he made that community. Ced was an educator, a school superintendent, and a naturalist. This is part 1 of our first 2 parter here on If These Woods Could Talk, and this will primarily be Bob’s recollections of his father. Part 2 will have more stories from audience members who knew and very clearly admired Ced.

This was the first episode recorded for If These Woods Could Talk. Born in Sugar Camp, Butch Mattek has made a career for himself in music, touring regionally with bands like Premiere and Bad Influence. So climb aboard the Pickle and let’s hit the road with Butch.

In this episode of If These Woods Could Talk, we hear from Jeff Scandin, who spent most of his career as a teacher and football coach in Rhinelander. He stopped by to talk about the history of high school football in the Wisconsin Valley Conference, which he says was once as tough and talented as any conference around.

In this edition of If These Woods Could Talk, Bob Martini shares first-hand knowledge of Wisconsin’s history at the forefront of water conservation policy. Bob has been speaking on this topic for decades and his expertise on the matter is evident. Hope you enjoy learning with Bob Martini.

In this edition of If These Woods Could Talk, we hear from Mike Haney. Mike lives in Texas these days, but he spent a few formative years in Rhinelander. I reached out to Mike after I saw a contribution of his to a Rhinelander-centric Facebook page. I hope you enjoy his recollections.