Rusk County store reopens with help of warm welcome

Couple new to town supported after destructive fire

HAWKINS — When Valentine’s Village Store was severely damaged in a fire last fall — one year to the day after Pat and Alicia Valentine took it over — many people wondered if a local staple would be gone for good.

But residents of this rural Rusk County community rallied around the Valentines, then relative newcomers to northern Wisconsin. With their neighbors’ support, the couple never doubted they and their store would quickly recover.

"Something I learned through all of this is that people in the community were here to help us, and we hadn’t been here that long,” said Pat, who greets visitors by name, engaging in easy conversation about fishing and trapping and helping a shopper gather ingredients for homemade lasagna.

Lifelong Hawkins resident Randy Krings stops by regularly and said his wife does too.

“I’m really happy they’re here,” he said of the Valentines.

In sleepy Hawkins — population 305 — Valentine’s, just across from the Rusty Rail and down the street from the Lutheran church, is a hub of activity, especially after shifts let out at the Jeld-Wen window factory in town. The lunch hour also is a popular time as the Valentines serve up hot daily specials. From September through December, hunting season brings extra traffic through the store.

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