Arboretum, auto body shop a perfect match

Think of an auto body shop: spare fenders and bumpers lying about, cars in various states of disrepair littering the parking lot, overflowing Dumpster, music blaring in the background and junkyard dog barking at the end of a chain. Right? Not Al’s Auto Body Shop and Arboretum, just 5 miles north of the state line in Walworth, Wis.

Boomer Allen Ritchey always has liked working on cars. When he was 13 years old, he bought an old wreck in Wyoming and brought it home in pieces. By the time he was old enough to drive, he had his own car. No doubt some credit is due to Allen’s father, whose mechanical expertise served him both at work and home. But his mother’s influence is not to be denied, either. Allen recalls the annual trip to Milwaukee nurseries to buy flowers for the family garden with his mom and his sisters, which planted the seeds for his arboretum.

Allen’s parents recognized his talents and let him remodel a building on their property to do auto body work. From the time he finished high school, Allen was in business for himself. He is everything that you would want in a body shop owner: meticulous, detail-oriented and hardworking.

His reputation, work ethic, honesty and roots in the community paid off, and his business began to flourish. Then life got busy. He married his sweetheart, Jill, and had four children, twins Maxwell and Tessa followed by Sam and Nell. With his children now ages 10 to 16 years old, the family joke is that Allen has to keep the auto body business as long as he has teenage drivers.

After his parent’s death, Allen bought the family homestead. The backyard was woodland at the southern tip of the Kettle Morraine area, where as a boy he had carved twisting paths for his mountain bike. Above was a canopy of mature trees while below there was a welter of invasive shrubs growing in a sandy soil.

Today those acres are covered with broad walking paths and open vistas that allow you to see the trees broadly spaced. Where there would have been buckhorn and garlic mustard, there are hostas – tens if not hundreds of thousands of hostas. Large, small, plain leaf, variegated, subtle, loud, dark and bright, about 600 varieties of hostas planted in easily flowing patterns invite you to wander leisurely into this enchanted and shaded retreat.

Allen may tell you that one of the reasons he likes hostas is because they are easy to care for, but you cannot visit the arboretum without having an appreciation for the immense amount of work it took to create this wooded piece of paradise. Allen gives about 60 percent of his time to auto body work and 40 percent of his time to the arboretum. When asked how much time that is, he quips that most people work from 9 to 5, but he works from 5 to 9.

Every spring around Memorial Day weekend, the Auto Body Shop and Arboretum sponsors Hosta Fest. I would recommend putting it on your calendar for 2013. Hostas of all varieties are for sale, and you are sure to find some that you have never seen before. Most are reasonably prices starting around $3, but if you want a huge and unusual plant, you could spend as much as $100. If you just want to walk the trails, the arboretum is open now, and admission is free.

Of course, no self-respecting boomer would return home without lunch, and I just happen to have a recommendation: Greenies at the Delbrook Public Golf Course. The menu includes oriental cashew salad, prime rib panini or smoked brisket with carmelized onions, mushrooms and Havarti cheese on grilled panini bread served with creamy horseradish sauce and homemade seasoned potato chips. This restaurant is worth the trip by itself. You can reach them at 262-728-1339.

For information about arboretum tours and the Hosta Fest, call 262-275-2800 or visit www.alsautobodyandarboretum.com. Al's Body Shop and Arboretum is at W6866 N. Walworth Road. You should note that the only signage in front of the shop when we visited was a small sign that says "Hostas for sale."

• Sue Neuschel shares her experiences as a Baby Boomer, offers unique places to visit in and around McHenry County. She can be reached at sueneuschel@att.net.