Washington Island: Icelandic roots and stones for skipping

DETROIT HARBOR, Wis. "You can see by the fences that we do raisestone well," said Vi Llewellyn. "It's our best crop."

Llewellyn, who has operated a taxi service for 30 years onWashington Island, was giving a rapid-fire commentary as she drove usaround her homeland. Her grandchildren are the seventh or eighthgeneration residing on the island off the tip of Wisconsin's DoorPeninsula.

We had left our car in North Port, on the Door County mainland,to take the six-mile ferry ride across Death's Door Strait to DetroitHarbor. The foredeck was loaded with cars and a truck, preciselyfitted like a jigsaw puzzle under the crew's directions. A few carsstill on shore had to await the next boat. We could see that itwould be a good idea to line up at least a half-hour before sailing.

"The Coast Guard is checking out the largest of our five boatstoday, or we'd have cleaned it up this morning," said NateGunnlaugsson, our captain. "Watch your ears," he called over theloudspeaker before blowing the horn for departure.

Washington Island boasts the earliest Icelandic settlement inthe United States, and Gunnlaugsson is half Icelandic and halfDanish. Danish-Americans predominate today among the year-roundpopulation of 650 - but then, Icelanders were also originally fromDenmark.

As we approached Detroit Harbor, we saw the sharp-bowedicebreaker, the only boat used in winter. Flags from the fiveScandinavian countries gaily whipped in the breeze. Giant coffee pot

Farther up the road, a giant Icelandic coffee pot painted witha floral pattern spelled out "Welkommen," and an open-air CherryTrain waited to take visitors on a tour. But we had Llewellyn andher taxi.

"People either love it or they hate it," Llewellyn said ofWashington Island. Those who love it return again and again for thepeace and tranquility. Many bring their bicycles to ride the emptyroads. There is a nine-hole golf course, and two tennis courts aregoing in. Scuba diving or snorkeling among the many wrecks ispopular. Winter offers snowmobiling, ice skating and snowshoeing.

Two island museums are worth visiting. The Jacobsen Museumdisplays natural and historical artifacts, while the Fishing andMaritime Museum shows old commercial methods of fishing and fishprocessing.

Washington Island has seen hard times. It once was well-knownfor its potato crop, but the government paid farmers to plow themunder when the price dropped. The orchards produced so many cherriesone year that there was no market. The cherries fell to the ground,and the trees were cut down rather than let them succumb to disease.

As if this were not enough, the lamprey eel ruined the localfishing industry, though it is beginning to come back with the waragainst these maritime pests. High-school graduates usually mustleave the island to find work.

"I watched my dad and uncle go broke, along with everyone else,"Llewellyn said. Now Washington Island depends on tourists for itseconomy.

There once was a railroad between Detroit Harbor and JacksonHarbor on the other side of the island, with a horse-drawn cart thatcarried lumber along the tracks. Jackson Harbor Ridges is aWisconsin state scientific area, a good example of dune, boreal andshore-meadow communities.

At Schoolhouse Beach, two little girls were skipping stonesacross the pristinely clear water. The beach is all stones, andthere is a fine of $25 per stone should you carry one off. But youcan skip them all you want. School of fiber arts

Sievers Looms and School of Fiber Arts is the place to learnweaving, basket-making, quilting and knitting. Classes for beginnersand more advanced artisans are held from late May throughmid-October.

We found several women and an elderly man deep into theintricacies of advanced weaving under the tutelage of Judy Yamamoto,who came here in 1981 to learn that craft. A couple of years later,she had advanced enough to teach weaving herself. During the winter,she is a professional weaver at Artisans 21 in Chicago's Hyde Parkneighborhood.

Classes are kept to seven or eight students, to allow for plentyof individual attention. Across the road, a dormitory sleeps eight,with movable double-curtained screens for privacy. Students can cooktheir own meals if they wish, eat in a restaurant or join in a DoorCounty fish boil. And it's possible to bring home a Sievers loom,made on the spot.

To be a true Washington Islander, you must imbibe of thebitters. Go to Nelsen's Hall, hold your nose, then down the shot inone gulp. During Bitters, which are 40 percent alcohol, were sold asmedicine during Prohibition. It got to be a habit, and islandersstill prefer their shot to any other drink. Specifically

For information on Washington Island, contact Door CountyChamber of Commerce, Box 406, Sturgeon Bay, Wis. 54235; call (414)743-4456. For Sievers Looms and School of Fiber Arts information,call (414) 847-2264.