Life in Door County

 Family, Friends and Sister Bay

My parents first discovered and fell in love with Door County in 1945, when they ventured up for the summer from Chicago’s North Shore. That trip began a lifelong tradition of spring, summer, fall, and winter visits to beautiful Sister Bay.

With a family of 11 kids, getting away to Sister Bay was always an adventure—regardless of the weather, it meant a long weekend packed with memories. My parents eventually acquired a home and bunkhouse right on the shores of Lake Michigan. From the time I was a baby, we spent endless days by the water—skipping rocks from the sandy beach and sandbars, or riding our bikes into town for a soda. Life in Sister Bay was always pretty wonderful.

As we grew up, Sister Bay remained a constant. Spring breaks, summers, and many fall and winter holidays were spent there with family and friends—gathering firewood, collecting cool shoreline rocks, enjoying fish boils, and grilling, no matter how cold it got.

Eventually, my siblings and I went off to high school and college (I attended Stout in Menomonie, WI), then began our own journeys—traveling, marrying, and relocating from the Midwest to the West Coast and back again. But no matter where life took us, we always came back to visit our parents, family, and friends in Sister Bay.

After 60 years of owning our beloved family home, our parents passed on, and as they wished, they were laid to rest together in Sister Bay. In time, we lost a couple of siblings as well, and eventually sold the home to a wonderful new family.

It was then that my wife, Brenda, and I knew it was time to make the permanent move to Door County. In 2020, we purchased a home in Sturgeon Bay—and we couldn’t be happier. Door County has always felt like home. Now, it officially is. Our final move.

Steve and Brenda