June 12, 2023 at 12:06 p.m.
Skubal, Shidell team up to publish new Hodag-themed book
Skubal, Shidell team up to publish new Hodag-themed book
The book, written by local author Mike Skubal with the assistance of local businessman Jerry Shidell, is available for purchase at The Hodag Store, the Rhinelander Logging Museum, The Shade Tree book store in Minocqua and Redux in Rhinelander (located in the Kids Korner building).
A number of copies were sold during the recent Hodag Heritage Festival as well, according to Skubal and Shidell.
According to Shidell, the book is meant to be a gift to the community. He said he came up with the idea while on vacation on the Gulf of Mexico and knew Skubal was the right person to serve as the scribe.
For the uninitiated, in the 1890s, Gene Shepard - a prominent land surveyor and prankster - convinced local residents that he had encountered a fearsome beast in the forest near the city. Later, with the help of friends, Shepard claimed to have captured the monster. In fact, he and a friend, Luke Kearney, created the beast using wood, hides, wire, odor and sound. The "beast" was made available for viewing, causing a sensation that continued until a Smithsonian reporter was sent to investigate and Shepard was forced to admit the truth.
The monster evolved into a community mascot/nickname and marketing treasure that still draws people to northern Wisconsin.
Both Shidell and Skubal have a lot of Hodag history. Skubal grew up in Rhinelander and is a graduate of Rhinelander High School while Shidell once served as the city's mayor. Both men also have acting experience (Skubal as a professional actor and Shidell in community theater productions) and have also performed together, Shidell as Shepard and Skubal as Kearney.
Shidell also starred as Gene Shepard in Skubal's play "The Hodag Increments".
As for this latest venture, as Skubal tells it, he was sitting at his kitchen table last spring working on some poetry when the phone rang. It was Shidell with a proposal that he write a book about the Hodag.
After Shidell confirmed he would serve as patron, Skubal got to work.
"Jerry and I shook hands and went from there," Skubal said. "It was just a pleasure. It was fun writing the book and Jerry has been a very honorable person to work with. He wanted to give a gift to the city and he wanted me to have a legacy."
It took about eight months to craft the story, Skubal said.
According to the back cover, a mysterious patron employs a retired investigative journalist to track down the truth behind the Hodag legend. The quest follows the writer as he moves beyond the well-known story to a time when Rhinelander was younger, grittier, and its saloons had spittoons instead of stools. Slowly he discovers new clues, fits pieces together, and makes connections that reveal a story much different than the one you've so often heard."
The story "takes the reader along with the journalist through twists and turns as he discovers connections between Rhinelander's past and the sanitized legend it advertises today."
Skubal was a journalist for several years and wrote a popular column for the former Rhinelander Daily News, the predecessor of the River News.
Like his newspaper column, the book includes interesting anecdotes about Skubal's family as well as tidbits of Rhinelander history.
"You use everything you know when you write this stuff," he said. "I hope when people read it that certain things will ring bells. They'll say I've been to that grocery store, I was at that corner or I knew him or her. That's the fun of it."
We can't give too much away, but readers should know there is a twist.
"I took a different tack on the Hodag and he's a killer," Skubal said.
Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].
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