the chief

EVERY few hours the Chief Waupaca Sternwheeler passes by our cottage pier. It's the kind of thing you never get tired of seeing.

In 1963, the Chief Oshkosh Brewing Company employed a sternwheeler paddleboat to transport beer up and down the Fox River. Unfortunately, the beer was never quite as famous as the beer that made Milwaukee famous, thus the "Chief Oshkosh" was abandoned. In 1973, the boat was resurrected from its icy grave in Lake Butte des Morts. The boat was restored and christened the "Chief Waupaca".