Return-Rest-Renew

Many veterans return home to lives filled with fear and peril — and they’re haunted by the wars and skirmishes they thought they’d left behind.

Vietnam veteran Rodney Wilson, a combat engineer in the U. S. Army in 1968, knows the results of war, only too well!

He leaned forward in his chair and began to unwind a story of hope for veterans who need a place to relax and enjoy the great outdoors.

Such an isolated spot rests peacefully in Dairyland in Douglas County, not far across the line from Burnett County. It’s called “Dairyland Outdoor Veterans Retreat (DOVR)” and rests next to the Radigan Dam on the Tamarack River flowage.

“We found out how many vets were in the area,” said Wilson, adding, “We decided we should have a VFW Post up here.” But after they discovered that 50 percent of what we produced had to go to the state, “We decided to go it ourselves.”

The idea for a retreat center for veterans was born under the theme of, “Return … Rest … Renew,” and eight years ago ground was broken for a place where veterans could reconnect with themselves, their families and their dreams.”

What better place than smack, dab in the middle of Mother Nature’s great outdoors.

It just so happened, ”The timing was right,” said Wilson. “The county-owned 14 acres and Dairyland surrounded the area. The county gave it’s land to the town,” which approved the lease of 14 acres of the land for the retreat center. “It was approved unanimously (all 19 people),” Wilson laughed.

Clearing the land and well drilling began in 2012.

Today, a retreat center and campground are sprouting to allow veterans, their families, and others to experience a healthy recreational setting.

DOVR, as they call it, is beginning to take on a distinct feeling of “getting away from the distractions of the world.” Left behind are post-traumatic stress, identity crisis, homelessness, joblessness, and countless other real issues.

In the bear country of Dairyland, there’s emerging a place filled with honor for veterans who’ve returned home — and for those who didn’t.
A pavilion was finished first, and there flies a flag on a pole dedicated in honor to US Marine Sargent Chad Allen, who was killed in action in 2007.

The pavilion marked the start of a three-phase plan of development fueled by volunteer help, donation of money and supplies and all intended to create a place of peace and tranquility.

“Phase One was to get a permit from the state for 25 campsites, five primitive (without water and electricity),” said Wilson. There are 12 RV sites and others for tents. “And we could hold eight more sites,” Wilson related.

The retreat center is built amongst “a lot of open water,” and of-course, the Radigan Dam. But even as development of the retreat center began, challenges begun to emerge.

On June 19, 2018, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker issued a state of emergency in northwestern Wisconsin following widespread damage from a severe thunderstorm that overwhelmed the Radigan Dam. The dam had been breached and flash flooding threatened bridges downstream.

“This was the first time the dam was out in 120 years,” Wilson said.

Repair of the dam is costly and Wilson sighed when he said, “It costs $50,000 just for the engineering” to fix the dam.
It’s taken “a lot of meetings” to get things done and involves the Native Americans in the area, (who do wild rice harvesting), FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wisconsin DNR (Department of Natural Resources), the townships of Dairyland and so many others,

Despite the obstacles, volunteers have generously given their time, resources have been donated and many fund-raising projects are making the DOVR dream a reality. “It’s been a good eight years,” said Wilson. Rising out of the wilderness is a place of peace and tranquility for veterans.

When the Community Bank of Danbury donated over $6,000 for playground equipment, it was just one sign the people of the community wanted this center built.

Phase Two is to construct two more duplexes and two single cabins. And suddenly, projects began to emerge that create positive experiences for the handicapped.

One of the donators, Bob Jensen, hopped aboard plans for a handicapped facility and he donated labor for the building. “A bunch of guys from Danbury and Webster volunteered their time and area firms began to pitch in.” Now, “We’re adverting handicapped facilities,” Wilson stated.

The installation of two handicapped hunting stands along the Tamarack River, constructed through the Wisconsin Whitetails organization, has also been an asset for the retreat center.

As veterans began to flow into the center, “We haven’t heard a negative comment,” Wilson proudly stated.

Phase Three is a plan for a lodge, centrally located to house up to 150 people, complete with kitchen area and available for huge functions such as wedding receptions.

The way the community has taken care of the ever-growing retreat center, Wilson doesn’t doubt it will become a reality.

The DOVR is, “Literally in my back door, it always has been,” Wilson said about the center being next to his homestead.

The need for such a center is paramount. With a simple instruction into his Smart Phone, Wilson produced the sobering fact that “Across the United States, 20 veterans a day commit suicide. With that staggering figure in mind, the DOVR motto, “Return-Rest-Renew” became paramount. “That’s what we’re doing,” Wilson added.

FORMER PARATROOPER Tony Bentley leaves the confines of his winter retreat each spring and summer to become the “caretaker” of the facility. Because he landed so many times from airborne training and missions, his legs are worn out. “He’s got bad legs, but he has a trike type of device with bike wheels he pedals and that’s battery-operated, and he gets around,” said Wilson.

Bentley is just another component of caring that makes DOVR a reality.

As he talked about the ever-present need for donations and funds, by saying, “We’re a little low on money,” Wilson got a call from John McNally in Grantsburg, who was willing to allow Wilson to use a trailer from St. Patrick’s Day to Labor Day to be used in the building and promotion process.

“That’s the way it goes around here,” said Wilson. Donations for a cyclone fence and tree service donations have come rolling in.

To enrich the coffers, an annual raffle is getting underway, offering a Polaris two-seater with a dump box as the grand prize. The St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Webb Lake is used as the kickoff for the sale of raffle tickets and such fundraisers have gone a lone way towards developing the retreat center. “One hundred percent of donations go back to help fund the retreat,” indicates DOVR officials.

A “Salute to Veterans,” fundraiser at the Fishbowl Bar in Danbury, spaghetti dinners, a “Paintball Fundraiser”, “Designer Purse Bingo and Wine Tasting” event and sale of “Pavers” with veterans names engraved on them have raised significant funding for the retreat.

Carved out of an area that’s better known for bear and wolves than it is for veterans, the retreat center has become a reality. “Sometimes the best thing we’ve got going is the wolf stories,” Wilson chuckled. He added, “We hear bears, but I haven’t seen them.”

Sometimes Rodney Wilson feels as though, ”We kinda named it wrong,” as a referred to DOVR. While it’s first and foremost a retreat center for veterans, “People think it’s just for veterans. The center is also open to other groups when space is available. “We’ve got to have revenue,” he stated.

After all, with so much of his own life tied up in the area and the retreat center, Rodney Wilson said, “I want to see it succeed.”