Link to July 4 La Crosse Tribune article, "Staying afloat: Book traces the history of boathouses"Excerpt: These boathouses are year-round, stationary and can’t move anywhere without being pushed or towed. Poles at each corner keep them in place, and they’re connected to shore by walkways. They stand on logs or plastic barrels, freezing into the ice in winter and floating in summer, moving up and down with changing water levels. They’re the humble homes of people and their boats.
Among them is Marti Greene Phillips of Rio, who became fascinated with them during a hike along the river nine years ago, She saw a lighted beer sign in a window of one of the odd little buildings, and was invited inside by the owner for a beer and some storytelling. Charmed by the intimacy with the water, waterlilies and wildlife, she bought one on the Minnesota side of the river in Brownsville for a weekend getaway.
She wanted to learn more about boathouses and their history but found nothing but a few newspaper articles and local lore. So before the generation of people who built them were gone and their stories lost forever, she decided to find them and write a book. “The Floating Boathouses on the Upper Mississippi: Their History, Their Stories” was self-published this spring.
Check out Martha's website here.
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