Some Places Just Feel Like Home. For S.H., That Place is Lake Emily.
*By Flo | florencewi.com*
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S.H. has been coming to Florence her entire life — literally. Her parents built a cottage on Lake Emily the year she was born.
She lives in southern Wisconsin now. But every summer, she comes back.
When she saw the Florence streetscape shirt, she didn’t ask if she could get one. She asked where to order it. That’s our kind of people. So I asked her to tell me her story.
*S.H. is our first Flo interview guest — and for sharing her story, she’s receiving a full Northwoods Apparel and Goods mug set from Angie’s Creations. Six mugs. 🌲*
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**Flo: Your parents built the cottage the year you were born. What do you remember most about those early summers on Lake Emily?**
*Early childhood summers were spent with family and extended family. My aunt and uncle also built a cottage on Lake Emily, so there was lots of time spent together. I remember swimming at Lake Emily Park. I remember eating lots of Bouya with the neighbors. There was some sort of cleanup of garbage around the lake on either Memorial Day or Labor Day, and then there was a picnic after. Lots of memories.*
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**Flo: You mentioned that as a teenager, Florence felt boring. What was that like?**
*When I was old enough to stay home in southern Wisconsin, I did. At that time in my life I felt like there wasn’t much to do in Florence. No boys. No places to shop except the Haberlein grocery store. No movie theater. It was boring. Then I started working and I didn’t have time to go up north.*
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**Flo: But you came back. What brought you back?**
*My parents have both passed away, but a couple of my brothers and sisters and myself still kept the cottage. My parents always wanted to keep it in the family. So when we’re able to go up north nowadays, we go 4-wheeling, boating, try different restaurants, get ice cream, bonfires, play cards, and just relax. Our cousins still have a cottage on Lake Emily too.*
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**Flo: After all these years — what does Florence mean to your family?**
*After all these years, it’s just a familiar place to be. A second home. A closeness to my parents who put a lot of heart and soul, sweat and tears into building a family cottage. Lots of memories.*
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That last line stopped me.
Heart and soul. Sweat and tears. A cottage built by hand by two people who are gone now — and a family that kept it anyway, because that’s what they would have wanted.
That’s Florence. That’s Lake Emily. That’s why people come back.
S.H., thank you for sharing your family’s story. We can’t wait to see you on April 24th when you open the cottage for the season. 🌲
*— Flo*
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*Have a Florence story of your own? Flo wants to hear it. [Contact us here.](https://www.florencewi.com/contact)*