Our bar was named after an actual woman- who during the depression became infamous locally for living an unacceptable life.She was known as MADAME ANNA PECK1880s, Sweden- young Anna is orphaned.1905 as a teen, she emigrates to America and is adopted by a Chicago architect.She takes work as a maid in a well-to-do home and marries the chauffeur.Shes widowed at 32 when he dies in WWI.At 39, her father builds Wandawega Hotel.Anna runs gin & a brothel here.She marries a local, the neer do well son of a prominent family.Gordon Peck was a vet, a drunkard & 13 years her junior who’s mother filed for an annulment, claiming he was too taken with consumption to know what he was doing.Anna & Gordon continued to operate Wandawegas brothel & speakeasy Orphan Annies.At 56, Anna is convicted for running a ‘bawdy house of ill fame’ & goes to prison for 7 years.Upon release, she moves right into town off the square, taking up residence where everyone knew her business & she knew more about everyone elses.At 80, Anna becomes a widow for the 2nd time.At 94, she dies alone, taking the town’s secrets to her grave.When her house was in demo, her things & life story were thrown into a dumpster.A local man happened by & salvaged portraits of the orphan immigrant & her 2nd wedding. (The 6th photo here is one of the photos he found of her)25yrs later he saw our post asking for leads & remembered he still had them in storage.Anna was abandoned from the beginning.Ostracized by a community.Rejected by the family she married into.Anybody who can live through that & still have the audacity to plant herself in the middle of town has no shortage of chutzpah.Which is why she is Camp’s namesake & her rathskellar bar is ORPHAN ANNIES. Some say they see or hear her late nights around the bar- her bedroom shares the wall to it. There are three Consecutive door jams that separate the bar from Anna room. We will keep them locked.We made a saints candle in her honor. That we always keep stocked in the camp store to this day. The bar here is a popular hang out space – let us know if you see her….1st pic @erikengstromphoto2,3,10 : @nathanmichael

October 27, 2023 • Published by Tereasa Surratt • Instagram