Wisconsin Life

ATV and UTV Trails in Oconto County

– Announcer: The following program is A PBS Wisconsin Original Production.

– Angela: Coming up on Wisconsin Life: [shimmery music] We join a group hitting the trails on Onewheel, a writer cruising the lake for her next story, a crocheter crafting heartfelt messages for others, and a group of teens taking flight for the first time.

That’s all ahead on Wisconsin Life.

[airplane engine roars] [uplifting guitars, strings, piano, and drums] – Announcer: Funding for Wisconsin Life is provided by the Wooden Nickel Fund, Mary and Lowell Peterson, the A.C.V.

and Mary Elston Family, the Obrodovich Family Foundation, the Stanley J. Cottrill Fund, Alliant Energy, UW Health, donors to the Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programs, and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

[engine rumbling] [gentle music] – Hello and welcome to Wisconsin Life.

I’m your host, Angela Fitzgerald.

I’m gearing up to hit the trails with the Wisconsin ATV – UTV Association, an organization working with local communities to educate, support, and expand this growing sport.

We’ve started our journey in Lakewood, exploring the trails in Oconto County.

[twangy music] Joining us for our ride is the Hidden Bear Trail ATV Club, a local chapter who maintains and builds trails in the area… all to support this outdoor activity that’s grown exponentially in recent years, partly because of the introduction of Utility Task Vehicles or UTVs.

A recent economic impact study by the association shows all terrain and utility task vehicles contributed $5.4 billion to our state’s economy.

The Wisconsin ATV – UTV Association has assisted in growing local trail systems, helping create routes between towns where people can stop, grab refreshments, or go shopping before heading back out.

We’ll also learn more about how volunteers are working to keep these trails safe later in the show.

[shimmery music] But first, we join another group hitting the trails as we head to Minocqua.

But they aren’t riding ATVs; they’re riding Onewheels.

[mellow music] – Zak Gruber: Once you start kinda cruising and feeling the wind and everything else, it’s just one of those things where, like, your body gets into it.

Might not be the way to get into your zen, but for a lot of people who try it, it seems like it definitely is.

[laughs] [board rattling] [gritty music] Oh Oh [crashing] – Kyle Arn: Nice.

Kyle Arn: I talked to my wife.

And I was just like, I gotta get one of these things.

They’re really expensive, but I gotta get one.

And we made a deal that if I quit smoking cigarettes, she would get me a Onewheel.

And four years later, I’m still not smoking cigs, so it worked.

[laughs] – Brooks McMahon: It’s kinda different for everybody.

Some people, it’s like, instantly, they’re natural, and they’ll just take off.

And some people, you need to, like, help them balance.

For me, it was more like that natural feeling.

[board clanking] – Zak Gruber: I’ve seen these things tumble down sheer cliff sides and, like, just roll for hundreds of yards.

And the guy’s freaking out, like, “Oh, my baby!”

You know, he goes down there, he’s like, “It still works.

There’s nothing wrong with it.”

[thud, clatter] – Brooks McMahon: On the trail, you’re looking for rocks, roots.

You’re looking for different line choices, what might be the easiest path, what might get you off the ground and get you some air.

– Kyle Arn: Like, in the fall here, the trails, they can get kinda gnarly.

And there’s leaves covering things up and smash into a rock, and you don’t see it, and all of a sudden, you’re on the ground.

– Zak Gruber: You’re almost mind-controlling it, you know?

It’s like all– it’s all one part of your body.

And I think once you get going, all these things come together at once.

And you kinda just are very focused on what you’re doing.

It’s funny ’cause I’ve asked a lot of people this same question.

“How does a Onewheel work?”

Honestly, I don’t really know.

[rugged, high-octane music] – Kyle Arn: You got the wheel, which is the motor.

You have the battery.

And then, you have the controller.

And then you have the rails, right?

– Brooks McMahon: At 20 miles an hour, 19 miles an hour, so it gets you around town, gets you out in the woods.

[clunking] – Zak Gruber: Whatever this is, you know, it is the future.

It’s a different type of board sport.

– Brooks McMahon: It’s very freeing.

Like, what we all kinda relate it to, it’s called ‘flow state.’

[soft marimbas] [echoing vocalizations] – Zak Gruber: Flow state is something that I think is different for everybody.

– Kyle Arn: With the Onewheel, there’s just some sort of connection that happens.

And you kind of just let go.

Like, for me, I like to put on music.

And just– it’s a good time to reflect and just have to myself.

– Zak Gruber: You can just do something and completely zone out everything else that’s going on around you.

You’re just so focused on what you’re doing at that point in time, in that moment.

[soft, echoing music] – Kyle Arn: I have met so many good friends in Onewheeling, just great people.

And it’s like everybody– you’re just so passionate about it, you know?

And everybody has that passion, and you share that passion.

[heavy rock riffs] – Brooks McMahon: It’s just that I’ve always loved the board sport.

Like, I like the freedom of being out and about.

For me, getting out to trails like this and finding really beautiful spots– it’s cool just to bring that community together.

And so it’s just a group of friends, a group of people that love to do the same thing.

[boards rattling, wheels scraping] [wheel whirrs] – Zak Gruber: It’s just something fun for everybody.

It’s a vast, wide thing that someone who’s into tech can ride and someone who’s into sending crazy jumps or whatever can ride, you know?

It’s a– it’s a really cool group of people that are coming together around this thing, you know?

It’s so crazy.

[laughs] [shimmery music] – Angela: Up next, we dock at Lake Hallie, where a writer cruises around a beloved lake in search of her next story.

[upbeat acoustic] – Wisconsin is home to more than 15,000 lakes, but one lake in particular… [bird cawing] captivates author and writer, Patti See.

– Patti See: The first time I came to Lake Hallie, I think, was probably the summer of 1974.

– This lake has a story for every season, and Patti has endless tales to tell.

– Patti: I write about my quirky neighbors, but, you know, truth be told, Patti See, also quite quirky, or I don’t think I would have embraced living on Lake Hallie or living in this house.

And so, it’s a quirky house on a quirky lake, surrounded by quirky people.

– Angela: Lake Hallie is a place local newspaper readers often get to wade through.

– The thing I love most about lake life is that I’ve just gotten to know so many different sorts of people.

And because I write this monthly column about Lake Hallie, my friend Karen is convinced that that is why the lake is getting busier.

– Karen has been Patti’s best friend since childhood.

– This is Karen.

– Karen Sabaska: Hi.

– She’s the source, muse, and co-defendant for many of Patti’s stories.

– Well, I met Karen at Holy Ghost Grade School, first grade.

We have been best friends pretty much ever since then.

We are going on almost 50 years of friendship.

– It’s a friendship that has seen plenty of boat rides.

– Patti See: Let’s see what we got for juice.

Ooh, a lot of juice.

– Out on the water, these lifelong friends have time to reminisce with a can of beer, or two, while cruising Lake Hallie.

– Patti: Perfect.

Oh, that’s good beer.

We’ve just seen each other through so, so many things, boyfriends and husbands and children, and she was always there for me.

– Their memories are long.

However, the ride will be short.

Well, to take a pontoon boat ride around Lake Hallie, you have to go around twice, so you feel like you’ve been somewhere.

This lake life is unique in that it’s a very close-knit community.

It’s a small lake.

You can see across, you can yell across.

So, I talk to my neighbors, literally from dock to dock.

[water gurgling] My route is always that I head towards the boat landing.

– Karen Sabasksa: Osprey.

– Patti: Oh, yeah.

[high-pitched osprey screech] – Karen: Maybe love is in the air…

It’s like, “Oh, I think that’s a boat.”

– Whenever I pontoon, this is the destination.

– Yeah, this is where we sit.

– Patti: Yeah, we do.

We can see the little children fishing.

[reel spinning] The other huge landmark is Lake Hallie Golf, which has been here since the 1920s, and the lower nine all are along Lake Hallie.

Just a lot going on at that end of the lake.

– Angela: It’s the end of the lake where Karen’s family put down roots.

– Patti: This is the Clark Hughes Boat Landing, named after Karen’s grandpa.

She is the third generation on Lake Hallie.

So, there was a time that Karen probably could name everybody who lived on Lake Hallie, but I don’t know that you could do it now.

– Karen: Oh, no, not even a chance.

– Patti: Kim and Ken.

– Karen: Yeah, Steve.

– Sean from Leinenkugel’s.

– Karen: Oh, I don’t know him.

– Patti: I don’t know his last name.

One of the things that makes Lake Hallie special is the history and also the people who love it.

– Angela: The other thing that makes it special, the boatload of stories Patti fished out of this lake.

– Patti: I’ve always been a person magnet, particularly strange person magnet, which is how I got Karen.

– Patti’s unique collection of stories will take you deep into the weeds and reel you in.

– One of the reasons my stories resonate with Wisconsinite is so many people today crave community.

They crave friendship; they crave family.

And those are the top three things that I write about.

You know, not just Karen, though she’s a topic that I come back to time and again, can’t tell you the number of times that people have called out to me, “I wanna be your Karen.”

Like, “Oh, yeah?”

No, that’s sweet.

– Those fans who have read Patti’s essays fell in love with her and Lake Hallie from afar.

– Patti: “I have visited this lake “since the summer I turned seven.

“51st birthday, I paddle Lake Hallie.

“The mirror-like water and the fluidity of time “conspire to make 30 or 40 years on this lake seem to pass in a few ripples.”

– Angela: Her book is called “Here on Lake Hallie: “In Praise of Barflies, Fix-It Guys, and Other Folks in Our Hometown.”

– In Chippewa Falls, barfly is a really positive… affectionate word, term of endearment.

And the essays are really in praise of barflies and fix-it guys.

– It’s a collection of short stories about a place Patti long wanted to escape.

– I really did not expect to live in the Village of Lake Hallie for the rest of my life.

And here I am, just thriving and loving it.

[upbeat music] – Living in a quirky house with quirky neighbors, Patti See sees it all from her perch above Lake Hallie.

– Patti: Every day is something different and fun in a different way.

My neighbors, my best friend, Karen, we just have this bond over Lake Hallie.

And so that makes it a special place.

And I realize how blessed I am to say that.

[upbeat music] [shimmery music] – I’m in Oconto County, cruising along the local ATV and UTV trails, learning about what it takes to keep these trails safe for everyone.

[twangy, woodsy music] [vehicle engine roaring] My first stop was to meet up with Randy Harden, president of Wisconsin ATV / UTV Association, to chat about their work supporting this growing sport.

– Randy Harden: Wisconsin ATV / UTV Association is made up of individual families, businesses, clubs, a lot of clubs, about 120-plus local chapters around the state, and advocates that subscribe to our, you know, “Let’s ride fun, let’s ride safe, Let’s do things the right way.”

And that’s really what we’re all about.

– And it’s important.

– It is.

It’s a big sport.

There’s close to half a million machines now registered both private and public.

Then we have another 20… 25,000, what we call non-residents, where they come in and buy a pass for five days or a year.

There’s over 61,000 miles of legal road routes around Wisconsin that hook up to our trail systems.

And that’s what makes up a network.

[vehicle engine roaring] – That’s impressive.

Can you tell us about the significance of the work the association does?

– Yeah, well, one of our main jobs is to help clubs, our local clubs.

That’s where everything happens on the ground.

We provide tools, I guess tools for their toolbox and our trail ambassador program.

We’ve got literally hundreds of people that we’ve trained.

They go through a certification.

Our ambassadors are safety instructors out on the trail, but in a lighthearted way.

99% of the people are just happy to say, “Hey, I didn’t know.”

Or “Thanks for watching,” so it’s really a rewarding job.

– Wonderful, I’m glad to hear that, it’s, in general, received pretty positively by people.

– Randy: Our state organization is functioning well, but it wouldn’t work without our clubs.

– Angela: People like Jim, president of a local club here in Oconto County.

So, Jim, tell us about your club.

– Jim Wisneski: We have about 200, I like to say, “paying members,” and probably if you count all the spouses and the children, there’s probably around 300, 400 people in our local club here.

– Angela: What should we expect today on our ride?

– The first part of the ride is gonna be pretty smooth ’cause we’re gonna be on Nicolet State Trail.

We have a lot of trails off of the Nicolet Trail that we’re gonna be going on today.

A lot of nice scenery, a lot of nice trees, wildlife, deer, bear.

We’ll see just about anything today.

We don’t know.

– Angela: You said we’re gonna see bears, maybe?

– Possibly, I’m not gonna guarantee it, but there is bear– – Okay.

– Up in this area.

– Okay, that’s good to know.

Thank you, Jim.

– Sure.

– Angela: It was time to buckle our seat belts and hit the trails.

[vehicle engine roaring] [upbeat music] No bear sightings this time, but a safe trip, all thanks to the efforts of local clubs and the Wisconsin ATV / UTV Association.

[vehicle engine roaring] [shimmery music] For our next story, we meet a crocheter in Onalaska, leaving heartfelt notes of encouragement to support mental health.

[gentle, hopeful piano] Angela: In life, messages are everywhere.

Most are broad, bold, and to the point.

Some messages, however, are buried, obstructed, barely hanging on, waiting for someone to come along and reveal something that’s straight from the heart.

– Kathleen Jensen: There’s a lot of people hurting in this world, a lot of people hurting.

And this is such a simple, tangible way to let people know they matter, to let them know they’re not alone.

And every saying means something different to everyone.

The heart seems to find exactly who needs them.

– Kathleen Jensen knows all too well what living with the wrong message can do.

– Please know that talking about suicide does not cause suicide.

Hopelessness causes suicide.

I have struggled with mental illness.

I have depression, anxiety, suicidality, and PTSD.

And I’m so much better now than I was… even a year ago.

And I did live eight years wanting to kill myself all day, every day.

It’s rough.

– It’s through her own experience with mental health that the Little Heart Project was born.

Taking little handmade crocheted hearts with notes of encouragement and the national suicide number and placing them in public for people to discover.

– Kathleen Jensen: And I think that’s probably also why people are so attracted to it because it’s so simple.

It’s quick.

It doesn’t cost much money.

And anyone can do it anywhere, anywhere.

– In 17 months, over 31,000 hearts have left Kathleen’s home.

– It’s a lot, it’s a lot.

Yeah.

– And with the help of social media, the Little Heart Project has woven a thread of kindness that extends well beyond just Wisconsin.

– They’ve been found in Europe, Delhi, India, Central America, Canada.

It’s crazy.

[laughs] It’s just remarkable.

Just recently, a heart was found at the Iowa State Fair.

And someone posted a picture of that.

And I put it on our social media.

And the next day, I got a message from a woman said, “My brother recently died from suicide.

“A friend of the family just found a heart “at the Iowa State Fair.

“I live in Arizona.

How can I get involved?”

And so, she has her own branch down there where she’s making the hearts, tagging them, and distributing them.

– Hundreds of others have contacted Kathleen and asked how they can contribute to the project.

Like elementary school counselor Matt Jacobson, whose Make a Difference Club traded hearts made of yarn for plastic beads.

– Matt Jacobson: Last year, we made over 300 hearts.

And the fifth graders all tied them to every kid’s backpack in our school.

And in addition to that, we made about another 50.

So, all elementary staff have them on their backpacks or their purse.

They become stories.

They’re not just pieces of plastic we hang on our bags.

They become people’s stories.

So, yeah, I get goosebumps as we talk.

– The project’s reach has even gotten the attention of mental health professionals.

– Tim Blumentritt: The Little Heart Project is something I’ve never encountered before.

Early in my social work career, never would have imagined that there would be a tool like this.

More and more in our profession, we are appreciating and involving individuals with a lived experience to be a part of the whole mental health movement.

And Kathleen’s project is probably one of the single most impactful projects that I’ve experienced in my 33 years in helping people.

– I just want to help people.

I want whoever finds that to know you’re not alone.

You’re not the only one hurting.

And it’s okay to not be okay sometimes.

It’s– people aren’t happy all the time.

And I think sometimes people think they should be.

And that’s not realistic at all.

And if you think you should always be happy and then you’re not… well, then your thoughts start to spiral in a really bad way.

– There are good days, and then, there are bad days.

From the outside, you might say Kathleen is trying to string the two together.

– Talking about suicide takes away some of its power.

Truly, truly takes away some of its power.

One heartfelt message at a time.

– It’s such an honor to be a part of this and to have people have it resonating with so many people of all ages, of all ages, because they’re hurting people.

It’s not in your face.

It’s not like the suicide heart.

It’s just the Little Heart Project.

And if that’s all it is, that’s enough… that’s enough.

[shimmery music] – Angela: For our last story we lift off to Madison to join a camp propelling teens into the world of aviation.

[airplane engine roaring] [twangy electric guitar] – Susan Schwaab: When you’re up in the air and you’re flying, you don’t think about anything else.

You’re just flying.

It’s what you’re doing and right where you are.

And that’s a beautiful feeling.

So, there’s a whole host of things that make flying pretty amazing.

– Fareed Guyot: So, you see the emergency exits?

Camp Willa is a program of the Willa Brown Aviation Academy.

It is a five-day day camp during the summer where we introduce kids, mostly from underserved and underrepresented communities, to aviation, and all the possibilities, from just being an enthusiast, enjoying aviation, maybe being a recreational pilot, all the way up to making it a career option.

[upbeat music] – Right now, female airline pilots are 6% of the airline pilot crew.

Pilots of color are 3%.

And it’s just such an awesome job.

I never knew about it, you know, as a girl.

I didn’t grow up working on cars and being around airplanes.

Until I met someone that took me flying, it never occurred to me.

So, that’s what we want.

We want them to just know it’s out there.

When you get your flight, you’ll see the world from a totally different perspective.

– We have somewhere between 18 to 22 campers, and this is our third year.

So we give ’em presentations about aerodynamics and even the lights they see at the airport.

And then we take ’em on a one-on-one airplane ride toward the end of the week, and they’re just like, “Man, this is awesome!

I never thought of this before.”

And that’s pretty much the same comment.

– Student: I thought I would never do this, but as y’all can see, I’m gonna fly this little whatever, plane, jet, whatever this is.

I’m gonna fly it today and we gonna have a fun time, right?

– Fareed Guyot: That’s right.

When they come back from that flight, we want to see that “post-flight grin,” as I call it.

And a lot of people say that they just love that “aviator grin.”

They’re like, “Oh, that was great.”

– Whew, we did it.

[laughs] – Yay.

– Susan Schwaab: I think they have the feeling that if they can fly an airplane, what else can they do?

You know, that’s the goal of the camp.

To just show them the opportunities that are out there to give them confidence and also to talk to ’em about what it takes, the discipline and the schooling.

So, all of that, it’s just a nice package.

And this is called the pitot tube.

If you fall in love with this and you love it, do it.

It’s gonna be a lot of work.

It’s gonna be hard.

It’s gonna take quite a long time.

Don’t do it for the money.

Don’t do it for the glamour.

[chuckles] But do it because you have a passion for it.

– You’re doing great.

Would you like to try a turn?

I’m a flight instructor, and I just want to teach as many people as possible about flying, whether they wanna fly or just about flying and aviation and how crucial it is to our economy, but also just how enjoyable it is and the community around us is fun.

[airplane engine roaring] [shimmery music] – We’re hitting the brakes as our trail adventure comes to a close.

We’ve met people from around our state while learning about the organizations working to keep ATV and UTVing safe.

To check out more, visit WisconsinLife.org.

Connect with us on our social media channels or email us at [email protected].

We’ll see you out on the trails.

I’m your host, Angela Fitzgerald, and this is our Wisconsin Life.

Bye.

– Group: Bye.

[uplifting guitars, strings, piano, and drums] – Announcer: Funding for Wisconsin Life is provided by the Wooden Nickel Fund, Mary and Lowell Peterson, the A.C.V.

and Mary Elston Family, the Obrodovich Family Foundation, the Stanley J. Cottrill Fund, Alliant Energy, UW Health, donors to the Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programs and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.