No paper due to holiday

Pete’s Hamburgers celebrates 100th anniversary

In 1908, Pete Gokey was a part time fire department volunteer, full time painter and partner in a paint store who was assigned to cook for a fire department social gathering. By the time that party ended, Pete had come upon a discovery that would launch Pete’s Hamburgers, celebrating its 100th anniversary this Fourth of July.

During the course of that party, held at Foley Brother’s Saloon at the southeast corner of Blackhawk and Beaumont, Pete fried hamburgers. As appetites waned, Pete poured water in the skillets with the cooked hamburgers and onions to prevent them from drying out. People liked these hamburgers even better than the first ones, and Pete started simmering all the hamburgers.

Noting the popularity of the hamburgers, the Foley brothers asked Pete to cook these juicy hamburgers on weekends. In 1909, in nice weather, Pete cooked just outside the door of the saloon and, as the family history notes, "a fast food business was born."

After a time, Pete started cooking his hamburgers at events such as the Crawford County Fair, street carnivals and auctions. Moving and setting up his equipment proved cumbersome, however, and at times he could not cook fast enough with a single grill. To increase his efficiency and production, he built a portable, box-type stand that would fit in his pickup. He eventually made three of these ‘boxes’ designed to unfold with table space on either side of the grill area. Depending on the business he expected, he could set up one, two or three boxes.

Eventually, Pete decided to limit his sales to the original location, Foley’s Saloon, and in 1942 he designed and built a trailer which included refrigerated storage and running water.

Pete eventually sold that trailer, after building a new and improved version, to Arno Gossman from Elkader, Iowa, who wanted to sell Pete’s Hamburgers in his home city.

The new trailer, with separate space for storage and preparation, and a larger refrigerator, remained at its original site until 1955. Pete then moved the stand to its present location.

Over the years, Pete experimented with other food offerings, but nothing sold as well as his hamburgers, and Pete’s remains the place to go for hamburgers on weekends from the last weekend in April through the third weekend in October.

Pete retired in 1966, and his son, Robert (Duster), and son-in-law, Mort Ziel, took over. Robert died in 1975, and Mort retired in 1982. Phyllis Gokey, Robert’s wife, then took over the operation. After most of the Gokey children left home, Phyllis hired Jill Bunders, who remains Pete’s manager.

Over the years, some things have changed. They built a new stand in 1989, added chips and switched from fountain pop to canned pop, but the hamburgers remain the same—juicy and tasty as ever—and customers still have their choice of "with" or "without."

Countless Gokey and Ziel offspring have worked at Pete’s. At this point, there have been at least five Gokey great-grandchildren who have worked there. Nevertheless, there are many other people in Prairie du Chien who can say they worked at Pete’s. Relative or not, they all start out the same way, said Phyllis, with lessons in onion peeling.

For the past 30 years, Pete’s has sponsored a picnic for everyone who has worked there. Present and former employees can and do bring spouses and friends. This year, they anticipate over 100 participants. There will also be a special anniversary Gokey family reunion, for which a record number of Gokey relatives are expected to return.

The Peter Gokey Fund was established as a memorial to Pete himself, to his son Robert, who died of cancer, and to Victor Gokey, another of Pete’s sons, who was developmentally disabled. Every Memorial Day, family members return home to work the stand, and all proceeds from sales are donated to the fund. In the past, that money went to the American Cancer Society and Prairie du Chien Rescue Squad. About three years ago, the family placed the fund under the direction of the Prairie du Chien Community Foundation.

Since then, over $8,300 has been raised, and their goal for the anniversary celebration is to reach $10,000, the minimum limit set for disbursement of money from the fund. The money in the fund, said Paul, is due to the support of the customers. "We wouldn’t make this kind of money if it weren’t for the generosity of our customers," he said.

The big celebration is planned for July 3, 4 and 5. WPRE Radio will broadcast live that Friday and Saturday. Pete’s will sell special anniversary T-shirts designed by Eric Williams, and purchasers can choose between shirts that say "I want one with" or "I want one without." On the back is a hamburger and the 100th anniversary logo.

In addition, they will sell a CD, "Pete’s Burgers in Prairie is Nice," written and performed especially for the celebration by Ellen Gokey Tatro and Steve Tatro. Ellen is a granddaughter of Pete’s, and the couple, who have entertained at coffee houses, weddings and other events, will be performing in Prairie du Chien that weekend.

For those who are wondering about Pete’s "secret ingredient," it is being bottled and sold during the celebration. The story of that secret ingredient, says Paul, goes back to Pete’s time, when customers would insist he had a secret ingredient, and Pete would go back to the prep area, fill a small bottle with water, and hand it to the customer.

Special note cards, created by Paul Porvaznik, former art teacher at Prairie du Chien High School, will be for sale, and a larger, limited edition of 20 of these designs will be sold at silent auction. Postcards and T-shirts designed by John Mundt will also be available for purchase, and Mundt will be at Pete’s during the weekend to draw caricatures.

Proceeds from most of the souvenir items will be donated to the Peter Gokey Fund.

In honor of the event, the Fort Crawford Museum has set up a special anniversary display about Pete’s Hamburgers.

Area July 4th Celebrations

As usual, several area towns are planning Independence Day celebrations July 4.

Eastman’s parade will begin at 10 a.m., with a special appearance by Alice in Dairyland, Eastman native Cheryl O’Brien.
In addition to the parade, there will be kids’ olympic games, ball games, volleyball, and food. Music will be provided by the GMCs. A raffle drawing is scheduled at 8 p.m. followed by fireworks at dusk.

Bagley’s celebration will feature games, bingo, a mini carnival and a flea market throughout the day, Other scheduled events are:
10:30 a.m. Parade
11:30 a.m. Chicken barbecue
1 p.m. Cow chip bingo
2 p.m. Raffle drawing
4 p.m. Bean bag tourney, mutton busting
Fireworks will begin at dusk. There will also be a DJ and karaoke.

In a joint Marquette-McGregor celebration, fireworks are planned for dusk on July 3 in Marquette.
On July 4, there will be a 10 a.m. cannon shoot on the McGregor riverfront followed by an 11 a.m. parade in Marquette. There will be live music, food, a beer tent and a bean bag tournament on the McGregor riverfront.
A pancake breakfast under the bridge will be served from 7 to 10 a.m., and there will be a flea market under the bridge from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The site for the new Prairie du Chien Veteran’s Memorial has been narrowed down to one. The grounds of the Old Rock School, the site of the current memorial, is where the new memorial will be constructed.

The number one location for the new memorial was across from the Welcome Center between Wisconsin and Iowa streets. Plans to locate the memorial at that site fell through, however, when it was recently discovered that the state wanted $118,000 for a piece of land that would have needed to be purchased.

By placing the new memorial at the Old Rock School site, no land would need to be purchased.

Dean LaPointe, the Veteran’s Memorial Committee Chairman, said that the projected cost for the new memorial is approximately $90,000.

"We’re about a third of the way there," said LaPointe in noting that more than $28,000 has been raised so far for the memorial.

The Veteran’s Memorial Project began in November of 2007 because the current memorial has deteriorated and is beyond repair. LaPointe said that the memorial needs to be replaced by a much more solid structure.

Families, individuals, businesses and organizations can send donations to P.D.C. Veteran’s Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 5, Prairie du Chien, WI, 53821.

Veteran’s Memorial pavers can also be purchased. Pavers include a 4x8-inch paver or a 12-12-inch granite paver. The appropriate names or sayings would be put on each paver. Paver applications can be picked up at the Prairie du Chien Veteran’s Service Office, Peoples State Bank, WPRE/WQPC, the Courier Press, the Shopping News, Piggly Wiggly, and Tiller’s Furniture Store. A sample of each paver can be viewed at Tiller’s Furniture Store. More information about pavers can be obtained by calling Dean LaPointe at (608) 326-2779.

More information can be obtained about donations or about how to get a veteran’s name on the memorial by calling Laura Moore at the Veteran’s Service Office at (608) 326-0204. The Veteran’s Memorial is sponsored by the Prairie du Chien VFW Post 1945 and the Prairie du Chien American Legion Post 68. The VFW Department of Wisconsin is exempt from federal income tax. The Prairie du Chien Veteran’s Memorial would be constructed by the La Crosse Memorial Company.