Mr. Fred Wolter started the Winegar Volunteer Fire Department in 1949, when he purchased a civil defense pumper truck, equipped it with fire-fighting equipment, and convinced some of the men in town to be part of the department. Frank Jirikowic, Bill Hill, Hank Brousil, Deke Wilutis, and others volunteered. Now, the town had a chance to possibly save some buildings, instead of just standing by and watching them burn to the ground.
The town was divided regarding Mr.Wolter. When he first came here they were going to run him out of town, partly because of his German heritage. He came to town, bought land and then would not let people come on his property. He told them “I bought this land and I own it. You are not coming on my land”. Before he bought the land everyone pretty much had the run of the entire township, and they could hunt, fish, and trap wherever they wanted to. He changed that, and the men of the town were not happy. Their feelings were that many of them had fought in WWII and there was no way some German guy was going to deprive them of their lifestyle.
Fred ran for Town Chairman and lost. Undeterred, he waited until the next election, ran for office again, and this time he won by a narrow margin. He then remained in office for the next twelve years, partly due to the efficiency of the town board, but also due to his ability to win over the opposition. During this period many significant improvements were made to both the village and the entire township.
At the end of his tenure he was succeeded in office by a new town chairman, but Fred was not happy with the way things were being done, and was considering running again in 1964. Unfortunately, on January 29th, 1964, while trying to skid a fallen pine tree across the ice on one of the lakes on his property, his tractor broke through the ice, and Fred drowned.
According to his son, Carl, who later had his own time as Town Chairman, his father’s biggest accomplishment in office took place in 1956, when he spearheaded the passing of zoning ordinances regarding waterfront development, requiring all newly divided lakefront lots be at least 1.5 acres, and have a minimum of 200 feet of frontage. This ordinance was the first of its’ kind in Vilas County, and was soon adopted by other communities throughout the county and the state. Due to Fred’s vision and leadership, Presque Isle has continued to provide residents and visitors the peace and quiet that can still be found in the natural environment of “Wisconsin’s Last Wilderness”.
The cache is located just off the trail in the Catherine Wolter Wilderness Area.
Once you are at the trailhead follow the GREEN/YELLOW trail. Then follow the GREEN trail to get to Fred's cache. If you want to go to Catherine's cache from the trailhead, follow the GREEN/YELLOW trail for a short distance, then take the BROWN trail to the right.
The Geocache Notification Form has been submitted to, and approved by, Rob Pflieger, of the Wisconsin DNR. Geocaches placed on Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource managed lands require permission by means of a notification form. Please print out a paper copy of the notification form, fill in all required information, then submit it to the land manager. The DNR Notification form and land manager information can be obtained at: http://www.wi-geocaching.com/hiding