The season is almost over at St. James Retreat, and it is already heavily booked for next year. Don Baumgartner, president of the retreat organization, spends a lot of his time at the retreat checking the buildings and grounds.
“I just like to get out here,” he said.
On Oct. 23, 1954, the Men’s Club at St. James Lutheran Church in Shawano bought the 80 acres from the Wallrich Land & Lumber Company for $400. Seventy acres are in a forest land management program, with the other 10 acres tax-free church property.
Several members of a church committee constructed a building that was originally going to be given to the Boy Scouts. Legal paperwork made that too difficult, and the grounds stayed the same for many years until Al Krueger, who was on the board of trustees at St. James, took an interest in the retreat, which was overgrown with brush.
Krueger and his family made major improvements from 1986 to 1996, putting in electricity, upgrading the lodge, building the woodshed and cookhouse, clearing a place for a ball field and parking lot, putting in a water system, adding indoor restrooms and building a storage shed. A plaque in the lodge honors Krueger.
“He put his life into it,” Baumgartner said. “He was always here.”
Many other church members contributed labor or donated items. The improvements brought campers to the area, and the retreat became self-supporting.
The lodge is available for family reunions, picnics, graduations and weddings, along with camping. Rent is $50 per day for a group. Campers donate $15 per night, which includes water, electricity and a dump station.
The campers come from all over the state.
“It’s more or less a private campground,” Baumgartner said. “Campers have a way of finding out things.”
He said the campers generally keep the area clean.
“They want to keep it clean because they want to come back,” Baumgartner said.
The money goes back into the upkeep of the retreat or it is given back to the church.
Twenty-two families help take care of the retreat, which includes keeping the grounds mowed.
In the winter there isn’t a lot of activity as the water is turned off and the lodge isn’t insulated.
Other officers are Russ Rebholz, vice president, Mary Wright, secretary, and Jerry Kufahl, treasurer.
For more information, call Baumgartner at 715-526-3555.
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