DR. VICTOR KUTCHIN

                       DR. VICTOR KUTCHIN,

       NATURALIST, MINISTER, DOCTOR, LECTURER, POET, WRITER

     Dr. Victor Kutchin was born in Pennsylvania, the son of T. T. Kutchin.  His parents put him into the ministry at an early age, but "his troublesome conscience promptly put him out not allowing him to preach doctrines he devoutly disbelieved."  He taught school instead, being a principal of a high school in Pittsburgh for ten years while studying law.

     In 1854 he brought his family to Dartford, settling in a log cabin on a 40 acre place east of the village.  The cabin was on the opposite side of Mills Swamp from Dartford.  In later years Dr. Kutchin said the glue pot was a very important item, because their furniture been drawn by ox team over seventy miles of corduroy road.  T. T. Kutchin tried to practice law in Dartford but again his troublesome conscience prevented him from making any money from a profession, as he advised clients not to go to law, and helped them make peace without charging a fee.  As he knew very little about farming he resorted to giving Shakespearean readings and lectures to earn a little money.

     As a small boy Victor had been sent through the woods to bring home the cows for milking.  He lost his way and wandered about for some three hours in a forest where fences were unknown and cattle ranged for miles.  By the time he found his way home the cows were already home and had been milked.

     Victor was very observant and questioned everything he saw.  His parents were city-born and bred and knew very little of nature, but living near the Kutchin family was a Canadian wood-chopper, Adolph Buzze, who had come with others from Canada to clear wooded land around Dartford.  When the other wood-choppers had drifted away Adolph had remained.  He had been born in the woods and had always lived in them.  He was simple minded and good hearted.  He hunted, trapped and chopped wood to support his family.  He taught Victor the woodland ways--the habits of the birds and animals, the sound of their calls, how to read tracks, and how to shoot a gun.  The rifle used had to be filled with powder from a flask, a piece of muslin for a patch covered it and then a bullet was inserted.  A half day's work hoeing corn earned him enough for a week's ammunition for "wing-shooting."  In later life Dr. Kutchin admitted that some of the bullets came from spoons his "sisters somehow lost in setting the table."  His father forbid him to shoot in the breeding season and he became much more interested in studying nature than in hunting it.

     Victor's father, being a school teacher, supervised his education.  Believing that ordinary school books were not a sufficient education, he had his children read the classics, including all of Dickens.

     In time Victor fell in love with William C. Sherwood's daughter, Mary Harriet Sherwood, commonly known as Hattie Sherwood.  William had come to Dartford from New York.  On July 21, 1845 a Certificate of Entry for a large tract of land was entered for him and his brother John C. Sherwood.  This included among other lands The Hattie Sherwood Park and that land south and west of the Park where Maplewood Hotel stood.

     In May, 1848, they received a U.S. Patent for the property.  In June that same year (1848) John signed a Quit Claim Deed giving William sole ownership of what later became the Maplewood Farm and Hattie Sherwood Park.

     William built a large sturdy farm house overlooking the lake.  He could have chosen to built his home anywhere in 1600 acres, including not only the Maplewood site but also the present Robinhood Estates, the present Heritage Village, all of the land south of Heritage Village extending clear to the lake, and some land farther west.  He chose to build on the hill overlooking the lake just beyond Hattie Sherwood Park.  The driveway can still be seen. 

     Mr. Sherwood was a man who appreciated "a furrow straight and long."  He wanted everything squared off, neatly taken care of so that it would bring him money.  Victor Kutchin on the other hand was more laid-back.  If there was a bird nest in the field he would plow around it and leave the nest intact.

     William C. Sherwood was a devout Methodist and had hoped that at least one of his sons would enter the ministry.  When hopes of that failed he pinned his hopes on his youngest child, Hattie.  He declared that only a minister would be worthy of her hand in marriage.  To win her hand Victor Kutchin went off to divinity school.

    
He was called to be a chaplain at the state prison in Waupun.  He married Hattie in 1876 and they went to live in an apartment over the main gate to the prison.

     In his work with the prisoners, he began to realize that many of their problems were physical as well as spiritual, so he began to study medicine and received his doctor's degree from Rush College in Chicago.  The museum has his doctor's bag in the cabinet containing Maplewood artifacts.  Dr. Kutchin was well liked by the prisoners.  In appreciation for his service to them one prisoner carved the shape of a bible from a piece of marble and gave it to Dr. Kutchin as a gift.

     In 1887 William C. Sherwood signed his property over to his daughter, Hattie, with the understanding that she was to take care of him for the rest of his life.

     About 1890 Dr. Kutchin gave up his work at the prison and moved to the large farmhouse at Maplewood.  Two children had been born to him and Hattie, a daughter, Donna Mary, and a son, Victor Sherwood formally known as V. S. Kutchin or informally as Sherley.  The Kutchins added on to the farmhouse that William C. Sherwood had built and opened up a sanitarium to treat alcoholics.  The patients lived in the sanitarium while undergoing what was called "The Keeley Cure."  Dr. Kutchin was one of the early pioneers to treat alcoholism as a sickness rather than a moral deficiency.

     The sanitarium was in operation for only one year.  The next year, 1891, Dr. Kutchin opened the facilities as the Maplewood Hotel.  He explained that he would rather take money from the rich than from the poor.  Many of the guests were from the south who came in the summer time to get away from the heat of their home places; Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana and others.  Whole families came with their children and servants.  Some of the men then returned to their businesses leaving the rest of their families to enjoy the cool breezes coming off Green Lake.  Guests usually traveled by train, the local station serving six trains a day, three going in each direction.  They were met at the station by someone from the hotel who furnished local transportation.

     Another addition was made to the hotel.  Through the years the large old farm kitchen became the hotel kitchen, furnished with a huge ice box.  In the winter ice was made on the lake, packed in sawdust and stored in the ice house not far from the kitchen door.  A well just outside the door furnished water to wash the ice clean before it was brought into the ice box.  An enclosed porch became the "pastry kitchen" where delicious rolls, pies, cakes and other

desserts were made.  A bedroom became a dish room where trays were emptied, dishes washed, rinsed, wiped and stored on the shelves lining the walls.  The farmhouse dining room became the "men's dining room" where the farm help was fed.  The farm parlor was greatly enlarged and became the hotel dining room.  It was large enough to hold ten or eleven large family sized dining room tables that could be adjusted in size using extra leaves.  A number of small serving tables also stood in the dining room.  Dr. Kutchin's office and the entertainment rooms as well as the first floor bedrooms were in the new additions.

     The driveway up to the hotel began at the entrance on South Lawson Drive across from Peterson's Island where the two stone pillars now stand in ruins.  It went up the hill, passed behind the hotel where it widened to provide parking, started down the other side of the hill where it branched off, one branch turning to the left leading to the barns and sheds, the other continuing down the hill where it entered South Lawson Drive next to Hattie Sherwood Park.

      As the hotel business expanded other buildings were erected.  A large, two-story square house which became the year around residence of the Kutchins was erected across the driveway southwest of the hotel.  On the other side of the hotel near the ice house was the Hillside Cottage used to house employees.  A large cottage with a common activity room a and bedroom on the main floor, and with three bedrooms on the upper floor was built across the driveway from the hotel and named Midlothian.  Behind the Kutchins' private home a three bedroom cottage named Spry Cottage was built.  Farthest away from the hotel and situated near the lane leading to the fields was Brown Cottage consisting of two bedrooms and a sitting room.  With the exception of Kutchins' private home these cottages did not have any kitchen facilities.  Guests and employees were fed at the hotel.

     Guests could go fishing, boating or swimming, but for other times, especially rainy weather, other activities were planned for the guests.  An Entertainment Hall was built.  It stored a number of croquet sets used on a nearby playing field.  A piano in it was used for sing-alongs.  Dances were held some evenings.  Guests were encouraged to produce their own skits or entertainments.  Dr. Kutchin provided much entertainment with his stories and lectures. The Maplewood Hotel usually opened for the season shortly before Memorial Day week end but business was usually light until the week before July 4th.  After Labor Day it closed for the summer season, but was opened on a much smaller scale for an autumn fishing season. One fisherman came from Chicago each autumn for 27 years to fish, staying at Maplewood.

     Maplewood claimed to have the first golf course in the area.  The first nine holes were laid out on Dr. Kutchins' property in 1893.  For years the site of one of the greens could be discerned in a pasture behind and not too far distant from the present dentistry of Dr. Terrance Hayes.  The Club wanted additional land but Dr. Kutchin told them it was a rich man's game and would never last.  Believing that farm land was more valuable than golf courses, He refused to let them have more land.  The Club then moved to the present Tuscumbia site and built the first nine holes in 1896. 

     About 1914 Dr. Kutchin became very sick and was not expected to live.  His children were called home.  Sherley had attended Ripon College where he met another student, Harriet Lehman, whom he later married.  Harriet earned a bachleor's degree in Horticulture.  Sherley studied law and had been admitted to the bar in Montana where he, Harriet and their daughter, Harriet Katherine (Peggy) Kutchin were living.  They came back to Maplewood.

     Dr. Kutchin recovered, at least partially, from his illness, but Sherley and Harriet remained at Maplewood to care for his parents and their business.  Dr. Kutchin's wife, Hattie, died in 1919.  In her will she left the hotel and cottages to her husband, Victor, and the rest of her property to her children, Donna Mary Kutchin Kidder and Victor Sherwood Kutchin, each an undivided 1/2 interest.  Sherley took charge of the farm operation and Harriet assisted in operating the hotel.

     Sherley was a licensed attorney under Wisconsin law.  Unfortunately he stuttered very badly, especially when under pressure, which prevented him from successfully arguing a case in court.

     Harriet used her horticultural talents to raise a huge vegetable garden and many beautiful flowers, both perennials and annuals.  Early every morning she gathered fresh flowers and took them to her "Service Room" which had a large work table and shelves well stocked with vases, pots, frogs and other equipment for making arrangements.  Every dining room table had its own arrangement.  Her biggest and best bouquet she placed on the mantel of the dining room fireplace.  It was reflected in the mirror behind it, a most beautiful sight.  Every bedroom that was occupied had its own flowers.  Other flowers graced the reception desk, lobby and recreation rooms.

     Vegetables were harvested every morning also, and Maplewood was famous for its delicious fresh vegetables, strawberries and raspberries. The farm operation furnished milk, cream, eggs and much of the meat served in the dining room.

     After his recuperation Dr. Kutchin spent many winters in the South, especially in Beloxi, Mississippi, where he rented an apartment.  Here he wrote at least part of the manuscript of his book, "What Birds Have Done With Me," published in 1922.  It is a factual account of his experiences in watching and studying birds both in Wisconsin and in the South.  He had become well-known as a naturalist and on occasion lectured on such related subjects.  He was known to refer to Maplewood as The Maplewood Audubon Reservation.

     Dr. Kutchin was also a poet and had a collection of his poems published under the title, "Leaves Caught in an Eddy."  The museum has a copy of this publication also.

     In 1925 his novel, "Love Among the Ruins," was published.  While this book is supposed to be fiction its locale is definitely Maplewood, and its main character is Dr. Kutchin himself.  The characters are thinly disguised; Mary Hazelwood is Hattie Sherwood, John Hazelwood is William Sherwood, Deepford is Dartford, Mapesville is Ripon, Yan River is the Puchyan River.  It mentions the iron stag at Point Lonesome, the Oakdown Hotel and the Northway brothers.  The four pictures it contains are photographs from this area.  It is impossible to determine how much of the story is Dr. Kutchin's life and how much is fiction.

     In 1927 as a memorial to his beloved wife, Dr. Victor Kutchin deeded the property now known as The Hattie Sherwood Park to the Village of Green Lake for a public park.  He asked the village to maintain the park in its natural state as nearly as possible, that it be preserved and maintained as a sanctuary, safe resort, breeding and resting places for birds of every kind where no one may disturb them, and to take every precaution to prevent the use of fire arms on it.  He asked the village to maintain a sign bearing the words "The Hattie Sherwood Park," in plain letters at least six inches high and to freshly paint this sign annually.

     Dr. Kutchin died in 1939.  When I worked at Maplewood in 1942 his office located just behind the registration desk was much as it had been during his life.  To me it seemed very strange and mysterious.  It was dark and gloomy as the single window in it did not give much light.  Among other things it had an Indian blanket and a snake skin hanging on the wall.  A stuffed owl, arrow heads, a stone axe and other Indian artifacts were in evidence.  It contained an old fashioned desk and a couch where one could rest.

     Changing times brought about motels with more modern facilities than Maplewood could furnish.  Old guests who had come for years passed away.  Those who could have replaced them as guests of Maplewood preferred the up-to-date places with air conditioners and other conveniences.  Automobiles took them where and when they wished without depending upon rail schedules.  The summer resort hotel business declined, but Sherley and Harriet Kutchin continued to operate the Maplewood Hotel through the 1956 summer season.  In 1958 it was torn down.