What Ever Happened To Honey Bear Farm? (Waupaca: for sale, driving)

[Monque]

Sorry to report, but Ben from Breezy Oaks passed away a few weeks ago. He was definitely into his 80's and had a lot of local history to share.

The Honey Bear property has gone through a lot of "plans" over the years, but it is still largely untouched. I'm sure someone will develop it sooner or later, as it has to be worth a good amount, and as someone else posted, there isn't much vacant land in the area.

Does anyone have info on the Aquila? I know it was on Hwy P, the same area as Breezy Oaks. It re-opened for a few years in the 1980's, but is gone now. When did it originally open? I'll have to look for that book in Richmond.

[nytram]

The Aquila was located on Bloomfield Road, about three miles east of Honey Bear Farm. The building fell into disrepair and was finally demolished a few years back.

[susancruzs]

Recently I drove down to Illinois to Lake Moor taking the scenic route and I was amazed how everything had changed. My parents used to drive from Waukegan out to Orsilini's south of Richmond at Rte 12 & 31, that building is gone. There was another restaurant we used to go to in Richmond that was rather large and I didn't see it either.

I think alot of family owned businesses go by the wayside as the younger generation does not want to run a business or its become financially difficult (probably an overall generalization and simplification).

[aalindsay]

When I lived in Chicago about 40 yrs. ago, I would take my family to The Honey Bear Farm. We loved it. We moved to Denver, CO and there is The White Fence Farm we loved it. I believe they had some ownership in The Honey Bear Farm. Now there is a White Fence Farm outside of Chicago. You can go on the net and pull it up. Happy memories aasmith2@juno.com

[jimmyP]

Thanks, you brought back some great memories of Honey Bear Farm. The pancakes were the bomb.

[bcaya]

My family moved to Powers Lake in 1965. My mother worked for Len Nagle who managed Honey Bear Farm when Mrs. Kraft owned it. Mrs. Kraft had my mother measure & order curtains once in her home on the property. I started working in the restaurant in 1971 as a "set-up' girl. A woman in her 50's (?) who we all called "Ma" worked the kitchen over big cast iron griddles and pots and stoves. She took care of us kids by making sure we all had a good meal before our shift. She always snuck us food. All the meat came from local farmers and there was a smokehouse across the street. The food was great. There was a barn with farm animals that lived year around at the farm. Many local farmers worked their part-time. The bread and rolls were baked fresh every morning. And yes, that honey salad dressing and honey bread was out of this world. All of it made locally. I also worked in the gift shop and the candy shop. The toy shop was very special, too. The pontoon boat rides had daily schedules that were very popular. In those days, Powers Lake was not crowded and the lake water was so clean you could drink it - and we did! On Sunday mornings only sailboats were allowed on the lake for the sailboat races. What a pretty sight that was! In about 1977 or so, the original restaurant burned down. When Carson's bought it from Mrs. Kraft things began to change and the business waned. They did build a new restaurant closer to the lake but it was never the same. It was a great place to work and visit. I miss it. The restaurant,in its heyday, was wildly busy with busloads of people coming in especially at Christmas-time when the beauty of the farm was at its best, I think. Santa would make an appearance and of course the horse-drawn sleigh rides were a special treat. Remember the Honey Bear cookie jars and everything Honey Bear, (t-shirts, hats, earrings, mugs, etc.)? Great memories.

[Johnny Cinch]

I think Honey Bear Farm in the 1960-70s (before & after unk) was owned by Julia Clark Krafft. She owed a vacation home on the property. I believe she lived & passed away in the 1990s in Rancho Santa Fe, CA. Did Honey Bear Farm have some claim to fame as a first mall or some such? Johnny

[m susan]

Honey Bear Farm opened in 1953 and closed in the late 1970s at which time it was owned by Carson Pirie Scott dept. store of Chicago. It was not considered a mall -- it had the restaurant, outbuildings with shops, a petting zoo, horse-drawn wagon rides, and events for housewives (bridge games, flower arranging classes, etc.) all located on several well-landscaped and decorated open acres. The buildings were former farm buildings -- very quaint. It was similar to other area family destinations, such as the Milk Pail in Dundee, IL and the Lamb's Farm in Libertyville, IL.

[addisonpainter]

The Aquilla was quite the place in it's hey day, the 30's and 40's. They had a nice ballroom that had art deco murals on the walls, a bowling alley in the downstairs area, and barracks style rooms in a few out buildings. During the late 50's a couple of young fellows from Chicago purchased the place and tried to get it going again, but it did not work out. We would go up there in the winter and have party's in the bar that was next to the bowling alley. I have photos that I took in the 80's, just before it was demolished.

[kek1993]

I loved honey bear farm. I remember going there. We used to get maple sugar candy there.