Author
Kortenhof, Kurt Daniel
Title
Long Live the Hodag! The Life and Legacy of Eugene Simeon Shepard: 1854-1923
Series
First Edition and Second Edition
Publisher
Hodag Press
City
Rhinelander
Date
1996
Original Date
Comments

There is some rearragement in the second edition, but the material about Star Lake remains the same.

The key information is the Shepard owned and operated the "House of the Good Shepard"--a resort on Ballard Lake for one year: 1900. It was sold the year it opened and the name changed to Ferncroft.

The description of Star Lake includes this sentence: "The tiny hamlet house 600 inhabitants, hotels, churches, a school, and a post office." This is incorrect in that there were never churches in Star Lake, and this is the only reference I have ever seen to more than one hotel. (1st Ed. p. 68ff.; 2nd Ed. p. 61ff.)

The resort and Star Lake are also mentioned in the story of his "scented moss" prank. Ballard Lake was the scene of his fake musky trick. Star Lake is not mentioned in relation the Hodag. (1st Ed. p. 82; 2nd Ed. p. 72)

The book also reprints a promotional handbill for the "House of the Good Shepard" which features a drawing of the resort, presumably drawn by Shepard. (1st Ed. p. 73; 2nd Ed. p. 63)

Libraries
  • Bookwood Historical Collection, Star Lake