Greetings From Dousman, Wisconsin: A Town With a Hoppin’ Tradition

For seven years, my frog was named Missy Finn Hollywood. If that sentence doesn't make sense to you, it's because you aren't familiar with Dousman, Wisconsin. You know Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County?" Well, Dousman has its own variation of Calvaras' real-life Jumping Frog Jubilee. My small hometown happens to be home to the Wisconsin State Frog Jump—where folks bring a frog and see whose can jump the furthest in three hops. And, in case you ever forget, there are frogs everywhere to remind you of it.

Naming your frog is a time-honored tradition there at Derby Days. Obviously, I named mine the same thing from the ages of three to ten. Missy Finn Hollywood is what our neighbor Everett would call me because my purple sunglasses were too big for my toddler face. Though I think my childhood best friend's little sister's frog Chair is a clear second-place name winner. For years, Dad and I would ride down the bike trail to the marsh beside a little wooden footbridge where we'd find our temporary frog companions. Mostly I would sit on the bridge and look at dragonflies while my dad looked for our froggy friends—specifically leopard frogs. Bullfrogs are notoriously stubborn and don't jump very far. This is niche knowledge I will never forget. Picking a bullfrog is a rookie mistake.

Before it was known as Dousman, the town was called Bullfrog Station. In part because the area was teeming with bullfrogs and also because the railroad ran through it. Hence, bullfrog and station. While Dousman's railroad days are long gone, its penchant for frogs never went away. This froggy fandom is at its peak during Derby Days. The last weekend in July, for the last 70 years, the town has had this weekend-long festival. It began as a way to raise funds to rebuild the community center after it burned down, but now it is a weekend of fanfare, food, fair rides, and frogs. And I have gone every single year of my life except for 2022, when I was out of the country. It is on that weekend that the small town gets quite a bit bigger.

With around 2,300 residents, my hometown isn't super well-known. I describe it to out-of-statists as being smackdab in between Madison and Milwaukee. For fellow Wisconsinites, that description goes the other way when you get off at the I-94 Oconomowoc exit. Dousman epitomizes that small Midwestern town vibe of a main street for businesses and a whole lot of community elsewhere. Here, that main street is, well, Main Street. That's where I grew up.

It's even where my dad grew up, in the house almost across the street from my childhood home. Other than a few months in nearby Sullivan, my dad has lived in Dousman his whole life. So I've seen Dousman change over time through my own eyes, but also my dad's. Maybe that's why I'm still so fond of that place.

Many things along Main Street have changed over the years, although several mainstays remain. The barbershop that used to give out little lollipops to visiting kiddos is now called Your Great Escape Salon & Barbershop. With only a parking lot between it and the bike trail, the railroad crossing sign plastered on the side of it is an ever-present reminder of the town's past. A wink to the long-gone railroad track that used to stand where the bike trail now is.

Fittingly, kitty-corner from the barber shop is the Bicycle Doctor Nordic Ski Shop. You couldn't pick a better spot than right next to the bike trail. It's always hoppin' on warm summer Saturdays when hordes of bikers appear in town for camaraderie, gear, or a tune-up. It's funny how, even though the town is no longer a train pass-through, many passersby still go through it.

Like many small towns, Main Street is also home to two bars that are almost next-door neighbors. The Bark River Yacht Club, where I've had many a Wisconsin quintessential Friday night fish fry, and The Dousman House, which makes a mean brandy old-fashioned. People tend to prefer one over the other, but the only other option other than grabbing ingredients to make your own cocktails down the street from Corner Stop Inc., is The Other Bar off of Highway 67 as you head out of town.

Though I've never personally been to The Other Bar, its neighbor, Sunny Side Up Family Restaurant, has been feeding my family for much of my life. Its owners, Margarito and Lizeth Garcia, know my parents and always remember me, even though I moved away over a decade ago. Their restaurant serves Mexican and American classics, though we're often there for breakfast on a Saturday or Sunday morning. I love their breakfast sandwich. A soft croissant with egg, cheese, and crispy bacon with a side of fresh fruit always hits the spot. But it's the friendly, neighborly atmosphere that has always been its charm for me.

That's probably why I still take to Dousman like a frog in the pond. Even though it hasn't been my actual home for a long time, it is still familiar enough that it feels like home. I'll still inevitably run into people I know just walking down the street or going to the store. And it's almost like we're all sharing a story invented by Twain himself.

Dousman's fondness for frogs almost feels mythical to me. Most people think I'm kidding when I bring it up. Needless to say, Derby Days is a tradition I've introduced countless friends to, even long after going away to Ripon for school, living in Madison, and then Chicago. You can't really appreciate a place until you've been there. Especially one as special as Dousman.

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