Among the traditions that have formed in my family in recent years is an annual summer trip to the Northwoods of Wisconsin, where we rent a house on a lake with my siblings’ families and enjoy a week full of outdoor fun and (mostly) free of Wi-Fi.

And a tradition that has formed on our way up there, from here in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, has been a pit stop at Nueske’s in Wittenburg, Wis., to pick up their delicious smoked bacon and some other snacks and cheeses. I’d be in trouble with the whole group if I showed up without it, and worse, our breakfasts would suffer for it.

I’m at a crossroads, though. That stop in Wittenburg comes at the end of an excruciatingly straight, slow and boring stretch of central Wisconsin, and I’m thinking of taking an alternate route. The other path would be more scenic and offer some other adventures, but it would obviously put the Nueske’s tradition to the wayside.

That dilemma is honestly something I’ve thought about in my approach to this year’s trip, given that young kids, especially, find comfort and happiness in routine. I’d call those dad problems, but then we’re all creatures of habit. It’s become familiar, and enough of a part of me, that I have even thought, “Well, where else would I pick up some Nueske’s?”

Clearly, my thinking has been clouded. One, there’s such a thing as distribution, dictating that the product is carried in many other places in Wisconsin (not to mention many other states across the country). Two, I can order all the Nueske’s I want online.

Clearly, I’m not all that hip to the times. I’ve never ordered Nueske’s (or any meat) online. As for Nueske’s, I can say that is because I’ve liked the idea of going to the very place where they make it. As for meat in general, hey, I’m just used to going to the grocery store and buying it from the meat case. It’s a physical experience; I like driving, I like walking, I like pushing a cart, I like an interchange with the cashier.

But, it’s clear that more people, particularly prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, are getting used to buying meat — and just about everything else — online. And for whatever experience is lost in that process, there is a positive exchange — mainly for additional time, to spend in whatever other ways they want.

With ours, I think we’ll be able to explore some national forest land, including some nice waterfalls, which will be a welcome visual change from the usual route through dairy farm after dairy farm.

I’ll miss our usual visit to Nueske’s. To be honest, creature of habit that I am, I’m not going to order it online and trust that a couple pounds of its applewood smoked bacon will get to our fairly remote location. But I have mapped out several spots along the alternate route where I can pick it up along the way.

With modern advances at our disposal, GPS included, we’ll still be able to have our bacon and eat it, too.

Editor's note: Check out our past interview with Nueske's CEO Tanya Nueske here.

Saving my bacon

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