John Martin has overseen many improvements over the years at Shawano Lake County Park, but the latest upgrade means a lot to him personally.
The park has become a destination for campers and lake enthusiasts with 90 campsites, access to fishing and boating, sandy beaches, children’s play area, and a pavilion that welcomes weddings, birthdays, graduations, etc.
“Our popularity has grown through the roof,” said Martin, head ranger at the park, along with Hayman Falls in Pella and Wilson Lake in Wittenberg. It is a job he loves.
“I do a little bit of everything,” said Martin, who has been at the parks 31 years. “I devote a lot of my time to the park system. It’s basically my second home.”
For that entire time, he was married to Sandie, who understood his love for his job and sometimes helped him there, like when a storm took down trees and she helped pile brush.
“We used to camp here,” he said. “She knew I liked my job.”
Their lives took a difficult turn when their home in Bowler burned down in November 2013. Then Sandie got sick and, on Oct. 9, 2014, died of lung cancer.
“She was my rock,” said Martin, who started at the park as night security and is well known to campers who have become like family to each other.
The campers took up a collection and gave the money to Martin.
“They told me I could do what I wanted with it,” he said. “I really appreciated what they did for me.”
He thought about what he wanted to do with it. One idea was to put a deck by the mobile home that he and Sandie owned and lived in for only a month before she died. They had been living with a daughter after the fire.
Then he remembered that Sandie wanted a swing. There were already a couple of swings at the park that had been put there in someone’s honor. Martin realized that would be a good place, and he had the perfect spot for swings by the new snack shop.
“People can come and sit and view the park,” Martin said. “I don’t think I could have picked a more perfect spot.”
He asked Gene Young, of Bonduel, to make a kids swing and an adult swing. On July 12, a dedication ceremony was held with around 100 people attending. It was appropriate because the Martins’ anniversary was July 13, and Sandie’s birthday was July 14.
One of the campers made a plaque that reads, “In memory of Sandie Martin, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. So loved and missed by all.”
Now when he is at the park, Martin has a special reminder of his wife.
“I wanted to honor her,” he said. “I’d like to say special thanks to the campers who donated the money for the swings and the park department who allowed me to place them in the park.”
