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The Silver Star
Country Inn
by Harriet Brown
You don't have to be
a photographer (or, in my case, be
married to one) to fall in love with
the Silver Star Country Inn, outside
of Spring Green. You don't need to
know Steichen from Stieglitz, or
Lange from Cameron.
After all, you might (forgive the
pun) develop an interest. Or at
least come away with a new respect
for the art form that has been
described as "a moment of
embarrassment and a lifetime of
pleasure." We make
our way to the inn on a golden
evening in early fall, driving the
rolling back roads west of Spring
Green and pulling up before an
imposing log lodge that looks like
it belongs in the Rockies,
surrounded by snow-covered peaks and
evergreens. Owner Jean Langer
designed the inn herself, from the
wooden beams and central stone
fireplace to the interior log joins
and exterior staircases leading to
second-story landings. "Every B&B is
a reflection of its owner," explains
Langer. The Silver Star Bed &
Breakfast Inn - named for the silver
in the photographic process -
reflects her passion for
photography. Each of its 10 guest
rooms is organized around a
photo-related theme: The Magnum Room
(named for the famous agency)
features a moody triptych by Edward
Holland, while the Julia Margaret
Cameron Room focuses on women
photographers. The Talbot-Daguerre
Room contains two black-and-whites
by Douglas Busch and a copy of the
book Keepers of the Light. The FSA
Room (for Farm Security
Administration) offers a look at a
couple of Langer's own artistic
black-and-whites. My
husband and I score the
Stieglitz-Steichen Room, complete
with cozy plaid couch, an old manual
typewriter, prints from local
photographer Carol Bjerke, and a
whirlpool in the bathroom.
Before opening the inn in 1995,
Langer owned and ran the A-Space
Gallery in Madison, where she
collected much of the art -
photography, painting, sculpture -
that now fills the inn. The
10-foot-high ceilings (14 feet on
the second floor) make for a lot of
wall space. Downstairs in the
enormous main room, a glass-fronted
cabinet holds old cameras and
artifacts, including a photograph of
the actress Agnes Moorehead as a
child. Upstairs, the
long hallway is lined with old
wedding photos Langer has picked up
over the years; occasionally a guest
will recognize a family member. In
one print, a radiant bride holds a
bouquet of calla lilies, her 1940s
gown swirled at her feet; in
another, a bride from 100 years ago
stares tragically from the frame,
looking as if she's going to her
doom. I find myself thinking about
her long after we put out the
lights-such is the haunting power of
the photographed image.
At breakfast-french toast dusted
with sugar and garnished with fresh
melon, kiwi, strawberries, oranges,
and a tiny plum-we ask Langer how
many photographers are represented
at the inn. "I have no idea," she
says with a laugh. We
start going through the inn to count
them, but quickly get sidetracked by
the three-dimensional art sled, the
infrared shot of trees, and all the
other deliciously idiosyncratic
items Langer has collected. You
could spend a weekend here and not
see everything. And Langer's always
adding new pieces-all the more
reason to come back again and again.
The Silver Star Country Inn
www.silverstarcountryinn.com
For more area Information on celebrating the fall harvest,
contact the Spring Green Area
Chamber of Commerce
www.springgreen.com
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