The Broken Knuckle Beer Bar

Whether it was called a beer bar, teen bar, or 18-year-old bar, it was a part of the social rite of passage for teens in Wisconsin for over 30 years. In Northern Wisconsin, many of these bars became the social gathering centers in summer for teens in the 1950s and 1960s. Many a summer romance began over a $.25 beer and listening to the juke box play “There’s a Summer Place” in the Broken Knuckle Beer Bar. This bar was part of the Boulder Junction “Beer Island.” It was closer to Manitowish Waters than Boulder Junction, so there typically was a large contingency of Manitowish Waters local and summer teens present. 

The Broken Knuckle Beer Bar property is currently a private residence but can easily be viewed from Highway 51. Private property boundaries must be respected.

Beer bars catering to kids 18-20 years old are gone from the Wisconsin landscape, but in the 1960s, they were a place for young people to meet, socialize and drink. Second only to turning 16 and getting a driver license was turning 18 and getting your Wisconsin ID card. Many of the beer drinking establishments were in the college towns of Wisconsin, but there were also many located in the rural areas of Wisconsin.  

One of the main places for teenagers in Manitowish Waters to meet and socialize was the Broken Knuckle Beer Bar. The motto of the bar was “The Broken Knuckle, it’s just a joint.” What was unique about this bar was that it was divided into two parts. On the entrance side of the building was a soda fountain and sandwich section, and on the other side was the beer bar. It was divided by a half wall with a center entrance to the bar. That made it possible for teenagers under 18 to also hang out at the “Knuckle.” It was very clean and neat with a red cement floor and an old-fashioned soda fountain. All the tables and counter were bright yellow Formica tops. The bar was all polished wood. 

This was a time in Manitowish Waters history when many families spent the whole summer at their lake places. Mothers would stay with the children at the lake place, and fathers would travel from the cities to spend the weekends with their families. Many of the summer kids and local kids got to know each other through the Skiing Skeeters Water Ski Club and became fast friends. After ski shows and during the evenings, the kids wanted to spend time together, and the Broken Knuckle Beer Bar was in close driving distances to most lake homes. So, if you could drive, you could all meet for a fun social evening. Most of the kids were between 16-20, but sometimes younger siblings joined in the fun if they were allowed to ride with their older brothers or sisters.  

The owners of the establishment were Swede and June Christiansen. Swede and his first wife, Gertie, moved to Manitowish Waters and built their home on Alder Lake. He had a sign at his drive that read “Anybody Who Don’t Like This Life Is Nuts!” Swede was a retired Milwaukee fireman and “Up North” was a special place for his family. He was an avid fisherman and running an evening beer bar kept his days free to fish. After his wife Gertie died, he married June, and the era of the Broken Knuckle began. 

Swede handled the bar end of the establishment, and June was the cook and soda fountain attendant. They were both good at what they did and were very good at supervising the kids that came into their establishment. They were strict about not serving people too much beer and would not put up with any shenanigans. June made the best cheeseburgers and French fries in the Northwoods, and kids looked forward to late evening meals and snacks. There was a pinball machine in the bar that was called the “Ace of Spades” where many a competition took place. The juke box played all evening, and fun was had by all until midnight when they closed their doors and sent the kids home.

There was one regular adult patron, an older gentleman who would often come to the bar in bibbed overalls with a carpenter pencil in his pocket. Someone would always greet him and ask how he was doing, and the answer would be “I am just copesetic.” He would stand at the bar and order his usual which was a glass of beer with a raw egg. Down the hatch it would go in an instant, and all surrounding him would look at him in awe. He would visit with Swede and a kid or two, and soon he was on his way.

It was a great time to be a teenager in the summer in Manitowish Waters. Parents could stop in and check on their teens at the “Knuckle,” and the rest of the community kept close tabs on the teens.

As they say, all good things come to an end. One of the dangers of the beer bar culture was travel after going to the bar. Young people from Michigan could not drink in Wisconsin bars until they were 21, so fake IDs became a way to buck the system. Luckily, the roads around the Boulder Junction “Beer Island” were lightly traveled late at night, helping keep accidents to a minimum. 

In a 1966 article, the sheriffs of Vilas and Forest counties said that the local option of having bars for 18-20-year-olds was dangerous and that they would be glad if they went away. The Oneida County sheriff said they were not a problem at all. By the end of the 1960s, the debate over 18-20-year-old people being able to consume alcoholic beverages would change the Wisconsin beer bar forever on March 22, 1972. The Age of Majority Law dropped the legal age of adulthood from 21 to 18. This law allowed 18-20-year-olds the ability to drink all kinds of alcohol, and they began to prefer “21 bars.” Many a hearing was held in Madison to allow beer bars full liquor licenses, but the Tavern League of Wisconsin opposed the change. Before 1972, about 260,000 teenagers frequented beer bars. By 1973, over 175 beer bars closed, and 325 had lost between 50-80 percent of their patrons to bars with full liquor licenses. The issue of drinking and driving for 18-20-year-olds would finally be settled by the U.S. Government in the 1980s when funds for highways would be canceled for any state that allowed drinking under 21. 

Krans, Kay. “The Broken Knuckle Beer Bar.” Clio: Your Guide to History. March 13, 2025.

Dippel, Beth. “Sheboygan County history  column: Teen bars once were prevalent in the area.” The Sheboygan Press (Sheboygan Wisconsin). June 20, 2014.

Krans, Kay. “The Broken Knuckle Beer Bar.” Manitowish Waters Historical Society Newsletter. June 2021. 

“Beer Bars and Drinking.” Rhinelander Historical Society. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://rhinelanderhistoricalsociety.org.

Satran, Dan. “Beer Bars cause problems in North Area.” The Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) August 22, 1966. Waterman, Turk. (Owner of Turk’s Bar, Wisconsin Dells). “Cites Plight of Beer Bars.” The Journal Times (Racine, Wisconsin) March 5, 1972.

Wolman, Jonathan P. “Beer Bars Push for ‘Diluted Bill’.” The Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) April 10, 1973.