You probably know that every year members of the Anderson family and the Sorensen family join members of the Sustacheck and Salituro families on a vacation to Washington Island in beautiful Door County, Wisconsin. Although this sounds like a lot of different families we’re all descendants or descendants-in-law of the JT and Clara Anderson family from Franksville, Wisconsin.
This year was a little more difficult than most because for the first time since any of us can remember we were not joined by my brother-in-law, Pudge Sustachek. Sadly, Pudge lost his battle with colon cancer last October. Washington Island was his paradise. He went there as a child and when he married my sister Mary Ann he took her there on their honeymoon. They eventually invited friends and family to join them and the tradition of group summer vacations on Washington Island was born.
Although we all felt some moments of emptiness, I think everyone did a great job of toasting to Pudge’s name and his many exploits on the Island. I suspect we all had a good time the way he would have wanted us to. We ate plenty of fish, drank our share of beer and wine, many of the gang fished eagerly in hopes of winning the coveted annual fishing trophy, and we had a great sing-along. Lord knows next year I plan to come back this way and lose another bunch of lures in Figenschau Bay!
