Storyteller Flats

  • Linear Location

    Near the Old Town Hall, Siren, Wisconsin (US) (45°46'6"N 92°28'41"W)

Overview

Mudhen Lake was one a part of the Siren-Daniels metroplex, though things are sleepier now. But here you will find Storyteller Flats, the place where you might say the Cnen Fi made their last stand. Every night for as long as anyone knows, they sit in the firelight, bragging on the achievements of their ancestors—making impossible claims. But even if the claims are half true–they had it real good. Indeed, mothers in gWisconsin (the “g” is silent) can still be heard from time to time saying to a spoiled child, “You’re a Cnenfink—and you’ll remember what that means when I’m dead!” Of course, since these days, few people speak the old tongues, the mothers often have to explain. (CnenFenk is the more familiar adjectival form.). Enjoy the marker.

Access

About 5 miles west of Siren, Wisconsin, just off State Route 70–go north on Dunham Lake Road and you’ll hit the road Daniels 70. It is at that intersection, cattycorner from the old Daniels Town Hall. Pull over at a safe place and walk over to the property.

Public Dedication

Consecrated by the good spirits and good work of the installers.

Story of the Storytellers

The part of the story installed here:

STORYTELLER FLATS

As with many cultures, the Cnen-Fi (meaning, in their own tongue, “those who took for granted”) speak of an almost magical ancestral time. A mysterious force enmeshed and empowered most physical things in their lives. When this force vanished, the Cnen-Fi created a rich oral tradition of simply describing the former uses of these now crippled items. With time, the actual objects disappeared, but endured in gathering places like this through stories: of images crafted in glowing solids, information summoned like lightning, and poignant origin myths where stunned ancestors stare longingly at useless boxes, compulsively speaking of what they could have done.

Gallery

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