Little Bohemia

Have you ever heard of the Little Bohemia? I am not referring to the region in the Czech Republic; the lands of the Bohemian Crown. No, I am referring to a lodge on Little Star Lake just outside of Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin. It was actually in a movie, that came out in 2009, called Public Enemies. But, when I watched it in 2009, I never paid attention to it.

Well, we are in Northern Wisconsin and Mama Nomad reminded me of the significance of the Little Bohemia Lodge. So, I grabbed a copy of Public Enemies, we all watched it and saw the theatrical recreation of what happened. With the lodge being driving distance away, we hopped into Ebony today and headed over there to compare the movie to reality.

The lodge is located just outside of the town line for Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin at 142 S Highway 51.

As you are driving northwest on Highway 51, you cannot miss it on the southern side (left) of the road. It has large signs that adorn both sides of Little Bohemia Lane. They are mounted on replicas of big tree trunks. From the road, you can look down the lane, about 1/2 a mile, and see the front of the lodge.

Now, before I go any further, allow me to elaborate on what the significance is of this little lodge. During the Great Depression, there was a young gangster that rose to great fame in the United States. He actually landed as Public Enemy #1, hence the name for the Michael Mann film. The man’s name was John Dillinger.

John Dillinger grew up as a small time crook who finally landed in prison for robbing a store for $50 (about $700 in today’s money). He denied it at first. But, after some convincing by his father, a deacon at the local church, he admitted to it. They both thought he would receive leniency for the relatively small amount of the robbery and the admission of guilt. But, the judge sentenced him to at least 10, but no more than 20 years in prison.

Prison is where John Dillinger got his PhD in being a criminal and came out a more sophisticated bank robber. It is also where he met and learned from other top criminals who he continued to do crime with after he was paroled.

In April of 1934, John, 4 members of his gang and associated wives and girlfriends went to a place that Dillinger’s attorney, Louis Piquett, said they could have some peace and quiet away from the prying eyes of law enforcement. You guessed it, the Little Bohemia Lodge built by Emil Wanatka Sr.

They enjoyed the bar, restaurant, lake and other outdoors activities here until Mrs. Wanatka took her son to a birthday party and she informed a family friend that John Dillinger and his gang were at the lodge. The FBI was notified and Melvin Purvis, the man who headed up the Dillinger Task Force, hastily headed to the lodge with a handful of agents. They had no time for any real planning.

Melvin and his agents arrived and began to setup outside of the lodge. Wanatka held $1 dinner specials on Sundays and the place had over 75 guests. It did have more, but dinner was winding down. Three gentlemen (John Hoffman, Eugene Boisneau and John Morris) got into a car, cranked the radio and began to drive away. The FBI told them to halt but the guys did not hear them. So, the FBI opened fire on the car, killing Boisneau and injuring the others. All three were patrons of the establishment without any ties to Dillinger or criminal activities.

This alerted Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and the other members of the gang that the FBI were there. Tommie Guns were pulled out and a volley of gun fire ensued. Ultimately, the entire Dillinger Gang got away. Baby Face Nelson went one way down the lake side and the rest of the gang went the other. They all ended up stealing cars and heading to their respective hiding places. Only Nelson’s wife and the other gang member’s girlfriends were left behind; which, they were interrogated, arrested and paroled.

With a FBI agent dead, an innocent bystander killed (by the FBI) and many more injured, this was considered a huge bungle, the FBI came under severe criticism and calls for both J Edgar Hoover’s resignation and Melvin Purvis’ suspension. So, that is the story of why the Little Bohemia lodge has significance other than it being just a lodge.

We pulled into the parking lot at the end of the long driveway and we immediately saw dozens of bullet holes in a balcony. We parked Ebony and got out. As we looked closer, we saw bullet holes through windows, which they covered with another pane of glass to keep the elements out but retaining the shattered window’s original look. The trees in the area, about a 1/2 dozen of them, were decorated with bullet holes as well.

We walked inside and immediately saw memorabilia of John Dillinger, his gang and some photos from the filming.  There is a glass case with items left behind by the gang such as: aspirin, ex-lax, toothbrush, the bag they carried their money in, John Dillinger wanted poster ($10,000 value in 1934 is now about $137,500) and more.

I asked an employee of the Little Bohemia if there was any more that we could see. He promptly led us through a large dining area into a smaller, more private dining area. From here we could see the parking lot where the FBI agents would have been, saw the bullet holes in the glass from the inside as well as dozens upon dozens of bullet holes in the wall. We even noticed that some bullets went through one interior wall, out the other side of the wall and a few even hit yet a third wall.

As we walked back down the hallway from the smaller dining area, filled with bullet holes, back to the larger dining room, we noticed a rope across the stairs that went up to where they used to rent the rooms. The do not rent rooms any longer. They are a bar and restaurant solely. I saw John Dillinger pictures at the top, so I zoomed in and got what I could. Speaking to the same employee that led us to the smaller dining room, he said we could return on any day except Monday or Tuesday, before 2pm and we could see the roped off area. If time permits, we may go back.

So, if you are a Depression Era gangster fan or if you just want to get away to the Northwoods of Wisconsin, drop into the Little Bohemia to see and touch a piece of history that involved Public Enemy #1 in the mid 1930’s. Safe Travels.