By Ruth A. Hill

It's not just goats grazing the roof atop Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant that brings so many visitors to Sister Bay in Door County, Wis.

Like a 70-mile-long thumb between Green Bay and Lake Michigan, this woodsy, family-friendly peninsula hooks visitors with a variety of lures. There's rural and rocky coastal beauty, loads of outdoor recreation, delectable local foods, and an array of visual and performing arts. Legendary Midwestern hospitality is in the mix, too, all around this "Cape Cod of the Midwest."

May-through-October popularity is just one of the things this rocky piece of land shares with New England destinations. There's also lots of maritime history in a dozen 19th-century lighthouses, the Door County Maritime Museum and submerged shipwrecks. Faith travelers have even more to explore in heritage that's connected to 19th-century settlers.

Door County visitors learn soon after they touch the region that locals haven't covered up their ancestors' roots. Today's descendants of those who braved seas and harsh winters to stake a home in this piece of the New World embrace their legacy. And it's all on display in festivals, food and heritage sites throughout peninsula towns and hamlets such as Sturgeon Bay, Egg Harbor and Fish Creek.

You get a feeling the "folks" are still in residence when you visit places like Sister Bay Bowl, a supper club and bowling alley that's still going strong under third-generation family management. Diners sit in naugahyde booths and eat hunks of prime rib and crisp walleye fillets with appetites they get from knocking over the pins. And yes, many drink the beer and brandy old-fashioned cocktails their grandparents consumed.

Inside another vintage atmosphere right out of a Norman Rockwell painting, callers enjoy chocolate-covered bacon and other confections at Door County Candy on Sturgeon Bay's main street.

The area's signature food products come from Montmorency cherries. Pies are just about anywhere one sits for a meal around the peninsula. And there's a big cherry-product array at Orchard Country Winery and Market in Fish Creek. It's a one-stop place to get the fruit's antioxidant benefits in local wines, candy, mustards, salsas, syrups and spreads — in addition to dried and chocolate-covered cherries.

This being Wisconsin and the home of Cheeseheads, one must-see place near Sturgeon Bay is Renard's Cheese and Deli. Renard's signature cheese curds and other treats come with a twist of good humor in assorted shapes such as cows and Green Bay Packers football players.

Door County's signature food experience is the fish boil. These meals feature fresh Lake Michigan whitefish caught by local fishermen and cooked outside on an open fire. The tradition began a century ago with Scandinavian settlers who used it as a way to feed large, hungry groups of lumberjacks and fishermen. Pelletier's Fish Boil and Restaurant in Fish Creek is one expert purveyor of the tradition.

Nowhere in Door County is European settler heritage better preserved than in the quaint village of Ephraim, population just under 300. Ephraim's beguiling white clapboard buildings and culture overlooking tranquil Eagle Harbor and Peninsula State Park draw visitors to its historic landmarks, ambience and culture. This is the spot to experience Sunday evening singalongs and history lectures in Ephraim Village Hall, formerly the post office, barbershop, movie theater and basketball court site and now updated to host 21st-century gatherings.

Founded as a Moravian religious community in 1853 by the Rev. Andreas Iverson, Ephraim was settled much like Moravian communities in Bethlehem, Pa., and Winston-Salem, N.C., by northern European groups who came as missionaries to 18th-century North America.

Ephraim residents hold on to both their Moravian and ethnic Norwegian roots

with a collective will to preserve historic structures and values that include the Pioneer Schoolhouse (1880), the Anderson Store and warehouse (1858) and the Moravian Church (1858) as either museums or in-use buildings. The church's active congregation numbers up to 100 on summer Sundays, and the nearby fire station holds its own history and a 1934 Ford firetruck, the first motorized vehicle for fighting fire in the county.

Ephraim village forms its own laws apart from the county's, and ordnances made by villagers can even supersede state laws. Ephraim remains the only dry municipality in Wisconsin, a stand-alone in the land of beer and brats.

Sandwiches, hot dogs, nonalcoholic drinks and ice cream please all ages in Wilson's Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor. This colorful spot has been on the town's "main-drag" waterfront since 1906. Generations of Ephraim's townsfolk and visitors have relished not just sodas, malts and sundaes at Wilson's, but also home-brewed root beer and hot dogs. The line to get in most summer days is well out the door.

Just steps from Wilson's are some don't-miss visual treats that capture the quaint buildings and coastal tranquility. Inside the 19th-century Anderson warehouse at the end of the town dock is the Hardy Gallery, a purveyor of local artistry. Once a 19th-century hold for steamship wares, the building is now home to the nonprofit gallery that promotes the artistic output of the Door County community. The building's outside walls attract just as many visitors as the art within. Originally they were a canvas for boaters who anchored and launched from the dock, then signed the walls. The mark-making tradition continues today with signatures that range from members of wedding parties to lovers' messages to one another in a graffiti collection that is G-rated.

Performing arts are popular evening entertainment during Door County's high summer season, when about a dozen groups deliver entertainment in scenic settings on the shores of Green Bay. One of the originals that began in 1935 — Peninsula Players Theatre - is composed of artists from regional, Broadway, film and television backgrounds.

Sturgeon Bay is Door County's largest town and the location for a variety of artist stops such as the Popelka Trenchard Glass Fine Art Gallery and Studio, where glass artists Jeremy Popelka and Stephanie Trenchard use ancient glassblowing techniques to make usable and decorative pieces such as plates, pitchers and jewelry.

WHEN YOU GO

For trip planning, consult the Door County Visitor Bureau at www.doorcounty.com or 800-527-3529.

Ephraim walking, tram and iPod tours are available at www.ephraim-doorcounty.com or 920-854-9688.

The Montmorency cherries for which Door County, Wis., is famous find their way into every aspect of the area's culture. Photo courtesy of Ruth A. Hill.

The fish-boil tradition begun by the 19th-century settlers of Door County, Wis., continues all around the peninsula. Photo courtesy of Ruth A. Hill.

Ruth A. Hill is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.