After careers in health care and real estate, local Dave Mikelson dove head first into his longtime passion: non-fiction writing. His new memoir, Between the Waters, details life in Eau Claire from the 1950s and onward. (Submitted photo)

For a number of locals, memories and stories are rarely woven together in chronological order. In Between the Waters, a memoir by area author Dave Mickelson, readers get a collage of stories across several decades which detail living on the lower Westside of Eau Claire.

“Many readers have told me this is what they love about the book,” Mickelson wrote in the author’s note of the memoir. “They can read a few chapters, put the book down for a while, come back to it and not have to remember where they left off.”

On a journey from childhood through young adulthood – all set in locations throughout Eau Claire, from Regis Catholic Schools to Half Moon Lake – Mickelson navigates the triumphs and trials amongst his lifelong friends and peers.

While his book will surely resonate with the baby boomer generation, its core themes of growth and discovery ring true across all generations.

In many ways, Between the Waters acts as a love letter to the simpler, meaningful experiences part of growing up in the Midwest.

“I believe the word ‘storyteller’ best describes my thought process as I relived my past mistakes and shining moments,” Mickelson said. “In the end I believe we learn more from our mistakes than in our triumphs.”

Besides the obvious redevelopments of Eau Claire neighborhoods or new businesses coming in and out of the local ether, Mickelson said Half Moon Beach and the oxbow it surrounds – a major point of inspiration for his memoir – have also seen much transformation.

A Half Moon Beach circa 1950, complete with water slide, H-shaped dock and dozens of locals out for a swim. (Submitted photo)

“Half Moon Beach was a bustling swimming area with a massive H-shaped dock, water slide, swim raft and concession stand,” Mickelson said. “A rope swing just to the south jettisoned riders out into the lake. In winter we skated (on) the ice and played tag until dark.

“This place was central to our growing up years. None of this exists anymore except for the sand itself,” he continued. 

Other chapters further detail outdoor recreation of the past and in turn, how modern-day cycling often contrasts to how bikes once served as a vital means to navigate around the Westside and city at-large.

Of course, by high school those very bikes were soon replaced with first cars; in the chapter “Wheels,” Mickelson recounts the formative purchase of his first vehicle. He noted, “mine was a 1953 Chevy ‘stick shift’ with no trunk lid; the purchase price was $35.00.”

Guaranteed, today’s prices might make anyone long for the good old days.

Dave Mickelson (left) with his 1953 Chevy stick shift, stands alongside another friend from the neighborhood, Patrick Carroll (right). (Submitted photo)

While the historical accounts of Eau Claire remain fixed within the pages of Between the Waters, its “characters” remain integral to Mickelson’s world in real life. In a longtime tradition, he and his friends from school reconvene at his current Hayward residence.

In early August, this rag-tag crew gathered once more to breathe life back into those printed narratives – while surely sharing words on stories that never reached the publishers.

“We are brothers, not by blood, but by our connected lives,” Mickelson said of his classmates and neighbors from back then. “No matter how many years in between, time had not aged as we laughed, played loud music, toured the lake and threw bean bags.”

“We all carry memories with us and if nurtured properly they can yield benefits throughout a lifetime,” he continued.

Now, it is up to readers to grab a copy and explore the remaining local stories waiting inside.

The "Lower Westside boys" (pictured in 2026) include Gus Grossklaus, Charlie Pieterick, Dan Pedersen, Bill Caton, Jim Ryder and Dave Mickelson. (Submitted photo)

Purchase a copy of Between the Waters by Dave Mickelson ($19/copy), in person or online at The Local Store (205 N Dewey St., Eau Claire).