River's Edge, that Shangri-la of present day dining and "where to go" winter and summer, owes its beginnings to an aspiring young man, Merrill "Nig"Johnson. He, together with one Henry Hand, was the first to operate one of those places called a "chicken shack" where a happy group could pull up with the old "fliver," order some fried chicken and some "spiked beer" (a highlight of prohibition days) and be served from an open-out shelf from a little white building. This was located one quarter of a mile from WI Highway 64, on a serene spot by the Apple River, where the water flows incessantly winter and summer.