Taxidermy at Greystone Castle

Stories from the Greystone Castle Walls

by John Mielke

At the corner of Madison Avenue and Maple Street on Sturgeon Bay’s west side, the Greystone Castle is filled with stories.

Greg Ebel bought the bar and eatery in 1978. He was 27, tending bar for Gordy Schumacher at the Scandia Supper Club, and “I was broke,” Greg recalled. “I even borrowed $150 from the previous owner so I had change for the till.”

Today it’s Greg; his wife, Sue; and sons Wade and Luke who serve up refreshments and a complete lunch and dinner menu, along with lots of stories from Ebel-family hunting and fishing trips. Trophy mounts from the trips are everywhere.

Do people immediately notice all the fish, deer, bear, birds – even a wild boar?

“Oh, God,” Greg said, exaggerating, and slowly scanned the bar and dining area with his eyes wide open. “Some people call it a museum.”

John Mallien, a

Marine Corps veteran who passed away in 2016, is credited with most of the taxidermy, including one of the two sturgeon.

Luke said the sturgeon might be the most popular, and that tees up his dad’s sturgeon-spearingon-a-frozen-Lake-Winnebago story.

“I started spearing in 1983 with an old friend of mine, Leo Sarnowski,” Greg said. “So, my wife and I went down there. She sat there for one day and said, ‘I’ll never do that again in my life.’”

Greg, on the other hand, sat on the frozen lake each year for 10 years and finally got one of the prized prehistoric giants.

A second sturgeon is mounted in a large frame with a Plexiglas top. It belonged to Greg’s son Andy, whom the family lost in 2016.

“We wanted to simulate looking down through the hole, and you see the back of the fish going through,” Greg said.

Behind the bar there are large, beautiful king salmon. Where were they caught? Luke smiled and was quick with the answer: “Lake Michigan.”

Some secret spots remain secret spots.

Greg bought a 16-foot boat in 1981 to fish the big lake.

“I fished for 13 years in that thing,” he said. “Out there with them big charter boats, I don’t know how the hell I did it. Now I’ve got a 24-footer, and I wouldn’t want to go out in one an inch smaller than that.”

The 34.86-pound giant king missed being a tournament winner by .21 pounds.

Greg’s favorite tale might be the “family” bear hunt. He was selected for a Wisconsin bear tag in 1998 and hired a guide from Rhinelander.

“I said, ‘I want a good blind because I’m bringing my three kids so they can watch me shoot the bear,’” Greg said. “The guide asked, ‘What are you shooting with?’ I said a bow and arrow. He said, ‘Oh, no! You ain’t bringing those kids out here with no bow and arrow. You bring a gun.’ I asked, ‘What kind of gun should I bring?’ The guide said, ‘Bring the biggest one ya got!’”

Hunting memories and fishing stories span the decades on the Greystone Castle walls. The most recent is Luke’s 25-pound, nine-ounce northern pike. But where did he catch it? Luke smiled and said, “In the bay.”

Some secret spots remain secret spots.

DOOR COUNTY ICONS AS ART

When the Peninsula Pulse set out to highlight the county’s five state parks and the need to preserve open spaces in its 2017 Sustainability Issue, it sparked the creative juices of artist Ryan Miller.

To promote the issue and the topic, Miller designed art to celebrate iconic images from each of the parks that connect with generations of visitors.

That art became posters, now available for everyone to purchase and bring home, reminders of some of our community’s s most revered spaces. Twenty percent of each poster sale goes to a charitable fund to help ensure these spaces are supported.

Miller then created similar imagery celebrating the county’s 11 lighthouses.

“These are a continuation of the state-park pieces to promote historical Door County and conservation,” Miller said. “A lot of the lighthouses are on historical sites or national sites.”

Because the state parks and lighthouses are such icons of Door County, Miller wanted to be sure he was capturing the true essence of each scene, verifying facts with local experts.

The posters postcards of the lighthouses are now available for people to enjoy in their homes to remind them of some of what they love best about Door County.

DOOR COUNTY STATE PARK POSTERS (11 x 17 inches): $35* each or $150* for series of 5 *20 percent of the sale price is donated to a charitable fund to preserve open spaces and parks.

DOOR COUNTY LIGHTHOUSE POSTER (18 x 24 inches): $35

Available at the Peninsula Publishing & Distribution office (home of Door County Living and the Peninsula Pulse), 8142 Hwy 57 in Baileys Harbor.

To order, please call 920.839.2120 or visit doorcountypulse.com/shop.

DOOR COUNTY LIVING IN PICTURES $12.95* each *all proceeds are donated to a charitable fund to preserve open spaces and parks.

Available at the Peninsula Publishing & Distribution office, 8142 Hwy 57 in Baileys Harbor.