BOULDER JUNCTION — There will be something missing in the Northwoods when hundreds of anglers converge here next weekend to compete in the 43rd annual World Championship Musky Classic.
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The road sign for Gooch's A-One Bar & Grill along Highway M north of Boulder Junction is all that survived last month's fire. Owners Laurel and Kevin Gutjahr plan to rebuild and be open sometime next year.
Gooch's A-One Bar & Grill was a popular stop for anglers and snowmobilers, and its collection of over 300 wildlife mounts added to the ambiance of the Boulder Junction business. The mounts were all destroyed in last month's fire, but owner Kevin Gutjahr hopes to begin rebuilding the collection later this month when he hunts moose in Canada.
A bull elk mount was among more than 300 wildlife mounts destroyed in the fire that engulfed Gooch's A-One Bar & Grill. The bar had one of the largest collections of mounts in Wisconsin.
A number of businesses in Boulder Junction help create a classic destination for tourists.
Kevin Gutjahr, a Slinger native, moved to Boulder Junction in 1993, started working at the A-One Sports Bar in 1998 and purchased the business in 2005. He's standing in the parking lot near a charred power pole that was hit by a vehicle that the Vilas County Sheriff's Department says was doing doughnuts in the parking lot last month. The vehicle caught fire and the fire spread to the bar, which was destroyed. A 20-year-old Illinois man is facing several charges, including drunken driving.
Bill Sherer has been making and selling flies and guiding clients for years in Wisconsin's Northwoods. His We Tie It Fly Shop, like Gooch's A-One Bar & Grill down the road, is a classic northern Wisconsin destination.
Kevin Gutjahr's business was destroyed and only a few charred remnants remained, like this moose antler. Gutjahr, who has owned Gooch's A-One Bar & Grill since 2005, had made numerous improvements to the business over the years, but now will have to rebuild.
Laurel and Kevin Gutjahr met in 2008 and were married in 2014. Their wedding reception was held in Gooch's A-One Bar & Grill amid a large collection of wildlife mounts.
Boulder Junction in Vilas County promotes itself as the Muskie Capital of the World and next weekend will host the 43rd annual World Championship Musky Classic.
Shrimp's Tavern was founded in 1926 to serve lumberjacks and railroad workers in Boulder Junction but in later years became a popular stop for tourists.
Deer and other wildlife mounts were prolific at Gooch's A-One Bar & Grill.
Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at badams@madison.com.
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