‘I’ve done a lot of things in my life’
From pet rooster to meeting Lynyrd Skynrd, Cross Creek bait shop owner facilitates fun
EDITOR无毛视频橲 NOTE: This is one in a daily monthlong series about the people who live in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, in recognition of America无毛视频檚 250th anniversary.
Mike Milvet might know Cross County Park Lake better than any living person.
无毛视频淚 hunted and fished all my life. I无毛视频檝e walked almost every foot of the park,无毛视频� said Milvet, who grew up at the main entrance to the park before it was a park. 无毛视频淚 know where there无毛视频檚 wild grapevines, little waterfalls. Mostly what I did all my life was either fish, play our games 无毛视频� tag, kick the can 无毛视频� or work.无毛视频�
It无毛视频檚 little wonder, then, that the adventurous 1978 Avella High School graduate would devote his life to other people无毛视频檚 fun.
This summer marks the 41st year of Cross Creek无毛视频檚 Original Bait and Tackle Shop, a decidedly charming ramshackle building from which Milvet and his wife, Terry, sell live bait and other fishing supplies, rent and sell boats, repair motors, and provide all the snacks and drinks one needs for a day on the water.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e open seven days a week. The park opens at 6, we open at 6. We cater to people having fun, going out on a boat,无毛视频� Milvet said.
Before he was a career businessman, Milvet retired from the sheet metal construction union, and he无毛视频檚 always been a third-generation farmer.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e worked since I was 6 years old. My dad let me go out and pick stones and roll haybales.
无毛视频淲e used to have 45 head of beef cattle on the farm无毛视频� across the street from his shop, Milvet said.
The land on which his shop has stood for decades was an inheritance predating the country无毛视频檚 founding. In the 1700s, a family by the name of Holmes came into possession of hundreds of acres. Over the centuries, the land was partitioned off. Somewhere along the way, large swaths of that land were bestowed upon Milvet无毛视频檚 ancestors.
无毛视频淭he Milvets got this farm, probably, I don无毛视频檛 even know, the 无毛视频�30s, the 无毛视频�40s? My grandparents owned it. They turned it over to my father. Then my father turned it over to me and my brother,无毛视频� Milvet said. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檝e been here ever since.无毛视频�
With such storied history, it无毛视频檚 surprising the red-bricked business that has, Milvet said, done business with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers, almost wasn无毛视频檛.
无毛视频淚 went to live in Wyoming for two years, in 1980 and 无毛视频�81,无毛视频� said Milvet, who worked for a large sheeting contractor based in Washington, Pa. 无毛视频淚 was 19 years old, I was just a kid.无毛视频�
And the west was bigger and grander than his young imagination could conceive.
无毛视频淭he Badlands, it无毛视频檚 like you can see pictures of it, but you gotta go see the Badlands. It无毛视频檚 unreal. I love Wyoming. I could live out there in a heartbeat. I could have stayed out there, but my dad had the farm.无毛视频�
If he无毛视频檇 stayed out west, a place Milvet has since returned many times, he may never have married Terry, a fellow Avella alum and mother to their two children, Jade and Michael. He wouldn无毛视频檛 be a doting grandfather to a sweet, 7-year-old boy. He very well may never have met his favorite band.
无毛视频淲e saw Lynyrd Skynyrd 10 times,无毛视频� Milvet said, before launching into his favorite of the 10 shows, a night that lives in infamy, in his mind.
The setting: Star Lake Pavilion. Front row.
无毛视频淲e stayed there after the concert was over. These stage hands come over and they say, hey, you want to go meet the band?无毛视频�
An easy yes. Milvet and his wife were escorted backstage, where the band graciously welcomed them. When Ronnie Van Zant extended his hand for a handshake, Milvet said, 无毛视频淚 said, 无毛视频業 want a hug.无毛视频� So we give each other a big bear hug.无毛视频�
That night, Milvet said, he and bassist Leon Wilkeson exchanged shirts 无毛视频� Wilkeson left the venue sporting Milvet无毛视频檚 Three Stooges tee, and Milvet took a signed tie-dyed shirt home.
He doesn无毛视频檛 know where the T-shirt is, but that无毛视频檚 OK; Milvet无毛视频檚 got the memory, one of oh, so many he is eager to share with his signature gusto with those who drop into his bait shop.
When the county began working on a new park, to include a fishing lake, in the 无毛视频�60s and 无毛视频�70s, Milvet无毛视频檚 brother-in-law无毛视频檚 father saw the opportunity for enterprise.
无毛视频淸He] said, Mike, you know they无毛视频檙e putting that lake down there. You ought to think about putting a bait and tackle shop in,无毛视频� Milvet said.
So he did. On two acres partitioned off his family无毛视频檚 expansive property, Milvet quickly built a storefront.
无毛视频淎t first this was just a block building. We got the block up, and the roof 无毛视频� it无毛视频檚 a flat roof, because we just got up as quick as we could 无毛视频� and then we put the tackle shop in. We had an early spring that year,无毛视频� Milvet said.
They opened the doors May 11, 1985, and have spent every summer since helping people from near and far enjoy a day on the lake.
Along with facilitating fun, Milvet无毛视频檚 had lots of it. He无毛视频檚 been spelunking, has stood in awe at the base of petrified trees in Yellowstone National Park, taken photos of Devil无毛视频檚 Tower. He无毛视频檚 shared much of the country with his kids during family vacations, surprised the family with a wedding anniversary dinner disguised as a funeral. He has loved and lost a rooster named Kodah.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e done a lot of things in my life,无毛视频� said Milvet, sipping cold water inside his shop.
And though he has traveled far and experienced incredible wonders, his life has unfolded, quite happily, right here in SWPA, on land passed down from one generation to the next.