From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Dennis McCann:
Posted: Nov. 25, 2006
Dennis McCann
It is my strict policy never to write about the next holiday before the last one is officially over, but judging by the picked-over bones of poor Tom Turkey, it seems time to move on. And that brings us to Christmas, with its carols and lights and, yes, its obligatory shopping duties, which too often result in crowded malls, even more crowded parking lots and often cookie-cutter stores.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, if it's your thing. But there are many (picture my hand raised high in the air here) who prefer what we might call the un-malls, places where a day of shopping can be a whole new, and at the same time old-fashioned, experience.
These are small towns, usually, where the shopping is downtown and outdoors the way the shopping gods intended, where there are opportunities for a good long lunch and glass of wine to break up the day, where history is part of the bargain and where you won't find many big boxes but just might find little treasures.
Well, curl my shoes and call me Elfie because I've got enough such places to suggest they wouldn't all fit in one column. Today, then, I'll focus on un-malls in southwestern Wisconsin and next week highlight a few places even closer to Milwaukee. And if you don't get there by Dec. 25 don't worry - take out the Christmas angle and the rest of this advice is evergreen.
Link: JS Online:.
So let's get started
It doesn't get much more un-mall than Paoli in Dane County, a popular destination for ice cream-deficient bicyclists in summer and fall but also a worthy destination for slow-paced shoppers.
Paoli is about 10 miles southwest of Madison and is the smallest community on today's list, so not everyone should go on the same day, or if you do at least consider car pooling.
Paoli (pronounced PAY-oh-lie) was begun as a sawmill town in 1847 and a grist mill was built later. At its peak the community had a school, post office, two churches, cheese factory, two hotels and more, but then the railroad passed it by and eventually the mill era ended and much of Paoli disappeared.
Then about 20 years ago it began to attract artists and a few small shop owners, along with the popular Paoli Cheese Cottage, an ice cream store and restaurant and the former mostly gone town became a go-to town again, both by bicycle on the nearby state trail and by auto.
Today, the old mill building houses shops, as does the former school, along with a handful of galleries and other shops. A sign at the Artisan Gallery and Creamery Café last week read "20 Years in Paoli & Here to Stay." It's worth the drive. Or pedal.
Dreaming of a Swiss Christmas
New Glarus is an un-mall with distinct ethnic flavor. With all the houses creeping over farming hills nearby, it sometimes seems as if the small Green County community is becoming a distant suburb of Madison instead of the very distant suburb of Switzerland it has been for more than 150 years, but take a closer look and there's plenty of Swiss to be found.
Lunch, remember, is a big part of the deal. Swiss cuisine can be found at a number of places from the Glarner Stube to the New Glarus Hotel, but don't dismiss the merits of a simple Swiss cheese sandwich at Puempel's Olde Tavern, where the walls are covered with Swiss historical murals.
Like a number of other communities, New Glarus has adorned its downtown streets with gaily painted cows - many of them Brown Swiss, of course. Several stores offer Swiss imports, and while it doesn't have much to do with Christmas, no visitor should fail to open the door of the New Glarus bakery and inhale the wonderful aromas. Ruef's Meat Market a store or two away offers Swiss-style sausages, but also a variety of brats ranging from Hawaiian-style pineapple brats to potato sausage brats to Hi-Chee Mama super-hot pepper brats, made with four different peppers. I came home with apple brats; merry Christmas to me.
New Glarus is home to one of Wisconsin's finest craft brewers, which unlike pineapple brats has a lot to do with Christmas. I mean, nothing says happy holidays like a sixer of New Glarus Brewery's Uff-da Bock.
Special holiday events will take place each weekend until Christmas, including a St. Nicholas Day cookie sale, craft fair and Historic Village Lantern Walk at 5 p.m. Dec. 2, and Chalet of the Golden Fleece Christmas Tours on Dec. 10 and 17. For details, visit www.swisstown.com or call (800) 527-6838.
Also on the Swiss theme, Monroe offers an old-fashioned courthouse square - its centerpiece is the handsome red brick Green County Courthouse - surrounded by four streets of shops and dining choices. Today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monroe's historic Turner Hall is hosting the final day of Christkindlmarkt, a traditional German Christmas market featuring the work of artists and other vendors. Swiss baked goods will be available, and there's word on the street that old Father Christmas will make an appearance.
The Lead Region shines
Shullsburg's holiday offerings come with a mining theme, but then so does just about everything else in this small community that is one of Wisconsin's very oldest - and which has done much in the last two decades to restore its old look.
The main street is narrow and lined with storefronts, including the outlet cheese store for the Shullsburg Creamery, which has operated here since 1934. Store names reflect the community's lead mine heritage, from Miner Mercantile to Miner Alley Café and the Tailings Country Store. Shullsburg has modeled itself after Galena, Ill., that larger and better-known onetime lead mine city about 35 miles to the southwest, and one store owner said the local chambers have a good sister relationship.
Shullsburg is the most distant from Milwaukee among today's offerings. If it helps, Shullsburg has several small inns offering lodging. For more information: www.shullsburgwisconsin.com.
Like Shullsburg, Mineral Point was born in the lead rush of the 1830s and is perhaps most known today as the home of Pendarvis, the onetime Cornish mining settlement that is now a state historic site. Architecturally the city still wears its historic look; the several hundred historic buildings are a major reason Mineral Point was the first Wisconsin city placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Long after the last miners had left, though, artists came to take their place and Mineral Point became known as a true arts community. There are nearly two dozen studios and galleries in the downtown area offering pottery, glass, painting and more, all close enough for an artsy walking tour. Insider tip: Start at the galleries at the bottom of the hill and work your way up so the walk back will be all downhill. On Saturday, the city will host its quarterly Gallery Walk with candlelight shopping after dark.
One other reason to consider Mineral Point this month is that, if you care to walk off that lunch before heading home, there are walking trails at the site of the - yes! - Merry Christmas Mine, which operated as a zinc mine from 1906 to 1913. Weather permitting, walking trails course through the 43-acre Merry Christmas Mine Prairie that has been seeded with native grasses and plants.
Also worth a look is the Mineral Point Railroad Museum that houses artifacts, photographs and railroad memories in Wisconsin's oldest surviving depot on Commerce St. at the bottom of the downtown hill. It's open Saturdays and Sundays and boasts that it was the winner of the 2005 Wisconsin Trust for Historic Preservation "Best Interpretive Site" award. Even better, it's right next to Brewery Creek, the city's fine little brew pub, restaurant and inn.
For more information: www.mineralpoint.com; (888) 764-6894.
The brew pub in Mount Horeb (remember, shopping is not all about others) is called the Grumpy Troll, but in a city filled with trolls not all can be expected to wear good moods. Mount Horeb, between Madison and Mineral Point, is another community with still prominent Norwegian roots that has remade itself in recent years as a destination for shopping - antiques, especially - and recreation.
On December weekends the city hosts Small Town Holidays events, including the sixth annual House Walk on Dec. 10. For more, call (888) 765-5929 or visit www.trollway.com.
Next week: More un-malls - maybe in a neighborhood near you.
E-mail dmccann@journalsentinel.com.
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