Resthaven: A Brief History
1900 - 1916: George & Marie Louise Keeler
George Keeler built Resthaven Resort on the western shore of Pelican Lake in Wisconsin around 1900. George was originally from Elizabethville, Ontario, and was one of the first registered settlers in the town of Enterprise, Wisconsin. Marie Louise Van Steelandt had come to America from Belgium, and was working as a housekeeper in the Milwaukee home of Dr. Grosskoph. The doctor also owned property in the Northwoods, and knew George, who was widowed, and his desire for a wife. Dr. Grosskoph made the introductions, and in 1889, Marie Louise and her young daughter Rilla traveled north to begin new lives as George's wife and stepdaughter.
1916 - 1947: John P. & Rilla Young
Rilla Marie grew up at the resort, gaining firsthand training in the art of hospitality. In 1914, she left for New Mexico, to serve as a Harvey Girl. Rilla was working in the Harvey House in Gallup, New Mexico when she met her future husband, John P. Young. John had been born in Las Vegas, New Mexico and worked on the Santa Fe Railroad. The two were wed in 1915. They returned to Wisconsin in 1916, purchased and took over operating Resthaven, raising their four daughters there.
1947 - 1949: Alice & Phil Sharkey
In 1948 Rilla and John's daughter Alice and her husband Phil purchased Resthaven from her parents. Alice had a wonderful flair for hospitality, for cooking, and for people. The resort passed out of the family when it was purchased by the Radke family. It operated for a time as Northern Don's.
In the 1970s the resort closed for good, and was turned into apartments. In 1990 the current owner, Tom Keller, arranged for the structure to be used by local firefighters as a training exercise. The old resort burned to the ground on October 14th, 1990. Read about it here.