Amateur divers Adian and Noah Stary were swimming and diving in the Oconto River at the wayside on state Highway 32 when they discovered a sign on the muddy river bottom.
The sign had been attached to a stile over 37 years ago at the wayside park on County Road BB, Gillett.
A stile is a set of steps going up and over a fence. Years ago, people walked through farmers’ fields to get to their destination, and because the land was fenced off, farmers built stiles in the corners of their fields to allow people to cross.
The sign read “Walk over the stile to go fishing only. It was built for our friends! Warning, anyone attemting (sic) to destroy it will be shot on sight.”
Adian and Noah Stary are sons of Stacy and John Stary and grandsons of Duane and Jan Braham, of rural Oconto Falls. The Brahams are long-time friends of Donna and Rollyn Sohr. Duane Braham remembered when the stile was built and contacted the Sohrs to inform them of the boys’ find.
The Sohrs were farmers on County BB south of Gillett, next to the Oconto River. They kept their heifers for livestock replacements on the river “40” where they live today. The cattle would graze and go to the other side of their land, called the “wild hills.” Barbed wire fences surrounded the area.
When fishermen wanted to pass through the fences, they sometimes would twist wires together, leaving a hole open for the cattle to escape. The family received complaints of their animals walking on County Road BB, so Donna Sohr’s father, Wilford Jeanquart, built a stile for the fishermen to cross in May 1977.
A sign at the stile read: “Fishermen and campers, walk over the stile if you wish to enjoy the river awhile. This was made for you to use. Please my animals and fences don’t abuse.”
The sign disappeared within a few days, so Rollyn “Razzle” Sohr attached a new sign with the harsher message—the sign the Stary boys found.
The stile was destroyed by vandals a few years after it was built and was possibly used for a campfire at the wayside. The vandals apparently threw the sign into the river, and it floated to Highway 32 to be retrieved 37 years later.
Adian and Noah Stary returned the sign to the Sohrs.
The stile was never replaced, and other methods were used to discourage trespassers on the property adjacent to the wayside.
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