How viral marketing put Rhinelander - and its famed monster - on the map

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What's spooking us this week:

• The Legend of the Hodag 👹 

• Waterfowl, turkey and pheasant stamp design winners 🏆

• Wisconsin makes how much off of whitetail deer hunting?! 💰

How the Infamous Hodag (and a Bit of Viral Marketing) Put Rhinelander on the Map

When most folks think of Rhinelander, they think of one thing - Hodags. *If you misread the headline and thought we were talking HOT DOGS, 1) we're terribly sorry and 2) you should be eating brats anyway.

The mysterious, mythical creature that roams old growth forests up nort', the Hodag is embedded throughout Rhinelander's culture, from its public schools to its restaurants to literal statues throughout town.

But how did this legend come to be? And what the heck is a Hodag, anyway?

It all started in the late 1800's, when a lumberjack stumbled upon something lurking in the northwoods, changing the fate of the town of Rhinelander forever...

Discovering the Hodag

Anyone who read the October edition of the Near North newspaper in 1893 couldn't help but become entranced by Eugene Shepard's story.

While out exploring the woods north of the town of Rhinelander, the lumberjack stumbled upon a dark, creepy lair, surrounded with some pretty frightening evidence:

Great tuffs of fur. Claw marks seven feet high on pine trees. A smell of "skunk perfume and buzzard meat." Wait, this sounds a lot like my old roommate in college...

Thinking he'd need backup to face whatever beast dwelled within, Eugene rounded up a posse of lumberjacks, each armed with rifles and squirt guns of poison water.

When the monster finally emerged, they saw the Hodag's terrible features: long claws, grinning fangs, horns of a bull, spikes along its backside, shaggy, green fur, and a long, speared tail.

A scuffle ensued with the dragon-like Hodag, and Eugene claimed to have killed it with dynamite - but not before it gobbled up one of the men's white bulldogs.

Though rumors of this cunning creature had been circling the lumber camps for years, Eugene's story in the paper soon had everyone talking, and he began to see an even deeper purpose to his Hodag legend.

A dying industry

Eugene may have been one of the toughest lumberjacks around, but he also was a bit of a showman.

Around the same time his Hodag story circled town, nearly 23,000 men worked in 450 lumberjack camps in the northwoods.

Knowing that Rhinelander's lumber trade was running out faster than a keg at a Badger's tailgate, Eugene saw the Hodag as a potential solution for the threat facing the northwoods' economy.

Thanks to modern tech and a growing network of national media, he would spin tails of the Hodag so grandiose that tourists would come from far and wide to see this too-good-to-be-true tale. Indeed, he was right.

Three years after his initial newspaper story, he wrote again - this time claiming to have caught a wild Hodag, which he took on tour throughout the state.

Amazed onlookers gazed upon Eugene's Hodag in the darkness of a tent, completely unaware that his son's were operating the fabricated Hodag of wood and leather.

News spread across the country and it seemed everything was going according to Eugene's plan - until the Smithsonian Institute in D.C. announced scientists would investigate, thus forcing him to admit the farce. Buzz kill.

Today's Hodag

Though everyone is now "in" on Eugene's great machination, the Hodag still lives on in Rhinelander today.

The official Mascot of Rhinelander and its high school, Hodags also have ties to numerous businesses and organizations, such as the annual music festival, Hodag Country Festival.

Statues can be found all over town as well, like that of local artist Tracy Goberville, drawing in thousands of visitors each year.

The Wisconsin Speleological Society hosts an annual Hodag Hunt every year in the Cherney Maribel Caves.

But good luck finding a Hodag - these beasts are still just as cunning as Eugene claimed over 100 years ago. Local golfers attribute missing golf balls to Hodags, and anglers swear they've had fish stolen from lines by the beast. What a convenient excuse!

HEY NEIGHBOR: Don't forget, we'll mail you a sticker if you get 1 referral this week! Kevin is well hydrated and ready to start licking envelopes, don't leave him hanging!

Wiscampsin Weekly Poll

Last week's recap: A whopping 89 of you think Uncle Joe makes a little too much noise out by the campfire last week.

Nuts and Seeds 🌰 

🦆 Stamp design contest winner announced: The DNR announced the winner for the turkey, waterfowl, and pheasant stamp design contest. These stamps help fund conservation for these beautiful birds, and Wautoma resident Sam Timm won first place in all three submission categories this year. Step aside Mona Lisa, there's a new masterpiece in town.

🍁 Rent a State Park Pass: If you're more of a boots > books type of person, you can now check out State Park passes at select public libraries in Wisconsin. Starting Nov 1st and ending March 31st, over 20 libraries will offer state park passes to 1,000 card holders. 'Check' it out!

🦌 Wisconsin's big bucks for Big Bucks: Everyone knows someone who enjoys the great past time of Whitetail Deer hunting. And now economists estimate that from the ~800,000 license, gear, hospitality, food (Kwik Trip Glazers) etc sales, the state rakes in nearly $1 billion. Talk about Trophy Bucks!

Meme of the Week 😂 

A review from the Trail... Now if only I could find my ice scraper...