Eagle River, Wisconsin: Pleasure Island (Gone)

Pleasure Island was a blast. I was the town outlaw the summers of 1977 and 1978, and there wasn't a better summer job in the world! Marshall Don "Get Out of Town by Sundown" Brown, Emil Heardat Whistleblow, Rowdy Ruth Robber, etc. made them summers of surreal fun.

OSHA may not have approved of our shoot-out skits (I almost lost a leg), but we put on a good show!

I remember very well (and have lots of pictures) of going to Pleasure Island as a kid. I remember the pop drinking bear, the train and old fashion cars, the windmill and the big shoe. After riding the hand boat, my arms felt like they would fall off at the end of the ride because you had to make it move by turning 2 handles. The goats were funny, and you fed them corn from bubble gum machines! I remember the judge in the court house that had the light-up eyes.

Wasn't there a big tower in the middle of the place that you could climb and look over the property? I was always too scared to climb up because I was afraid of heights. Wasn't there a little gingerbread house too that had black lights and made the 3 little bears glow? I also remember the wooden tomahawks that were flutes. Great memories!

I remember Pleasure Island. We used to camp at Pine Aire in Eagle River every summer. I remember the "haunted house" you could walk through with the skeleton playing piano in front (scary for a 6 year old). On the train ride the robbers called me "Rufus" one year, as I was the unlucky holder of the "gold." I was super scared - they took me off the train and talked about shooting me or hanging me. One year they even took everybody's wallets and watches (of course gave them all back at the end). The gunfights were pretty convincing from a kid's perspective.

The best part was driving the old time cars they had -- big ones for the whole family and the little kid ones on the playground area. They also had little kid paddle boats, an old windmill you could go in, as well as Mother Goose's shoe house.

As a child I went to Pleasure Island at least 2 times each summer from the time I was 5 until I was an adult. I was so disappointed the year I went with my first child -- so she could experience all of the fun I had experienced -- only to find it was closed. I remember that my dad was friends with stage coach driver and that two of the horses names were Sis and Molly. We would go to where the stage coach and horses were stored at night and ride in the back way to the park on the stage coach and get in free. I guess knowing the stage coach driver certainly had its perks.

Wow. My dreams are complete. My family used to camp at the Spectacle Lake campground in the north of Wisconsin. We would drive by this attraction every summer.

It was very important to be on that side of the van when passing Pleasure Island, as we would never be allowed to stop, as it was "a tourist trap." I had a gold coin with embossed sides from Pleasure Island. Totally remember all the signs for the restaurant and rides.