The Edgerton, Wisconsin bar scene used to be a bit rough around the edges as I remember back in the 1970s.  Now day's they have a motorcycle charity ride pass through from time to time. They have their Chilimania event in late summer - great time by the by.  They close off a downtown street and have a big chili bash with music stage, beer, et cetera.   There is the Tobacco Days weekend in the summer.  You will still see the old tobacco barns around the area.  Some are still used.  For the culturally inspired, there is the Sterling North Book and Film Festival in the fall.  

    They have tried to make due with fickle recurring economies that ravage rural towns.  Since the days of the Dana corporation's departure, and Tobacco's ups and downs, Edgerton has plodded along.  According to the Janesville Library, Dana Corporation's Spicer Axle Division went out of business in May 1980, "throwing 1600 well-paid workers out of work."  As I recall they supplied axles to GM in Janesville.  Sound familiar to these days.  It was the "misery recession" of the late '70s early '80s.  

    I like the town; my dad used to buy hay bails over there back in the '60s.  I remember loading up in the truck every so often and making a day of it. We would drop Mom off in town and Dad and I would go over to the old barn out side of town and load up some bails.  We would pick up Mom and dad always stopped somewhere for a little lunch.

    These days there is still a row of bars along the main drag.  Actually, they have been there as long as I can remember.  There used to be only one side of the main drag.  A large parking lot occupied the other side for decades.  Now a huge condo complex sits across from the old main drag buildings. It cuts quite a contrast - neo-condo verses Civil War era store fronts.  The condo is up but still empty.  A victim of this current "Great Recession." 

    In the shadow of the condo complex sits Hanson's DNA Bar and Grill.  It has been in its current genre for about five years I hear; and, I seem to remember it was once called the Drift Inn at one time.  My first impression as I walked in is neo-hippie.  There are facial images on the walls with quotes from Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Mae West, and Bogart.  There is lots of eclectic stuff strewn about the place. Perhaps "thoughtful placement" is a better phrase than strewn about. There is one pool table toward the back.  Interestingly, the kitchen is up front by the entrance window.  Old meets new as there is both a chest beer cooler behind the bar and a new walk-in version for beer et cetera at the end of the bar.  There will be a foot rest beneath the bar to put your tired dogs on.  The bar top is some kind of ceramic. 

    The place boasts dollar beer in frosty mugs all the time. A sign promises those same mugs will be fifty cents on Mondays from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. The crowd varies according to time of day.  You won't probable find the neo-yuppie crowd in this place. There seems to be a cadre of pretty bartenders that rotate in and out.

    There is a five-page menu. They offer a Friday fish fry from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. I will give it a try one of these days. There is breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings.  They offer a variety of breakfast options.  A two-egg sandwich and a beverage only set me back about four Bucks. Among other things, the grill menu includes Angus Burgers, pizza, and wings.  A cheese burger and fries basket will run you about five and a quarter Bucks.

    Hanson's DNA Bar and Grill is cool with Cool Dadio.  Find them at 12 W Fulton Street (Hwy 59 - the main drag), Edgerton, Wisconsin. Call (608) 884  -  3455 for more information.