Spooner, WI. -- Thanks to the help of a Hayward painting company, Phase One of restoring a fish hatchery building, built in 1913, is complete. Chris Schobert Painting of Hayward donated their time and equipment in putting the finishing touches on the building located on Highway 70 in Spooner across from the Department of Natural Resources Headquarters.
"On their own these guys spent four days scraping, painting and caulking the old building," said Bob Sorensen, a board member of Friends Into Spooner Hatchery (FISH), "all we had to do was supply the paint." The place looks almost brand new, he said.
The project's Phase One entailed restoring the outside wood frame, putting in new windows, and a new roof. Phase Two will start next summer and refinish the inside of the building Sorensen said and, get it ready to be made into a museum. FISH hopes to have all the work complete by June of 2027. The museum will allow visitors to see what it was like to rear and stock fish over a hundred years ago.
The old hatchery sits across the Yellow River from the new hatchery built in 1995. State fish hatcheries provide walleye, musky, northern pike and bass to help boost and maintain fish stocks in area lakes and river.
"Fishing is one of the mainstays of outdoor recreation in Wisconsin," Sorensen said, "and to think that helping to maintain that sport in the north country here all started in this little hatchery building." He added that thanks to crews like Schobert and volunteers from FISH members and others, one half of this community service project is complete.
Pictured above from left to right is Bob Sorensen, FISH Board Member, Chris Schobert, Ben Glessing, Deven Huffman, and Noah Thomas.
Last Update: Sep 15, 2025 12:14 pm CDT
