“Howdy.” Bryn tosses the greeting and a smile my way no sooner than I closed the door behind me to Bluedog Cycles in Viroqua. The greeting comes natural, the sort of friendliness you will find abundant from people in the Driftless Wisconsin.
I look around the store, decorated with Kona and Marin bicycles hung from racks like ornaments. Oscar, a chocolate Labrador, lies on a couch in the corner staring down a stuffed dog reclining on the coffee table, waiting for it to bark or at least be sociable.
“Need some help,” another clerk asks from behind a thirty-foot long counter. Owner Pete Taylor explains this might be one miscalculation made when moving into their new store – a service counter so long that he might have to jump the counter to wait on customers. In the meanwhile, their hospitality makes the leap.
You find this enthusiasm entering storefronts in Driftless Wisconsin, where you can still count the employees on one hand and hear the door click and not hiss shut behind you. Small-town stores where you are greeted by owners invested in your satisfaction are part of a disappearing history, but you don’t need to wax nostalgic to experience it today. Driftless Wisconsin has more than its share of main streets still vibrant with service and smiles; just check out our community pages for all of the choices.
Entering the Village Greenhouse in Gays Mills, owner Joe Brandt shouts a “hi” from the nursery out back. Greenhouse gardeners are the season’s prognosticators, and you don’t need to be a groundhog to tell that spring is on its way. Joe has the sort of look set on his face that farmers have at planting time, only he’s reaping the benefits two months early.
Joe reins his enthusiasm as he stops to chat with me while surveying the placement of his “crops” inside his greenhouse. You can almost see the leaves turning green as he enlightens me about planting seeds and cultivating plans for bedding plants, hanging baskets, perennials, herbs and vegetables.
Spring looms just around the corner, with its annual explosion of daffodils and tulips. But friendliness seems to be a year-round crop in Driftless Wisconsin.
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