‘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鈥橲 NOTE: This is one in a daily monthlong series about the people who live in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, in recognition of America鈥檚 250th anniversary.
Mike Milvet might know Cross County Park Lake better than any living person.
鈥淚 hunted and fished all my life. I鈥檝e walked almost every foot of the park,鈥� said Milvet, who grew up at the main entrance to the park before it was a park. 鈥淚 know where there鈥檚 wild grapevines, little waterfalls. Mostly what I did all my life was either fish, play our games 鈥� tag, kick the can 鈥� or work.鈥�
It鈥檚 little wonder, then, that the adventurous 1978 Avella High School graduate would devote his life to other people鈥檚 fun.
This summer marks the 41st year of Cross Creek鈥檚 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.
鈥淲e鈥檙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,鈥� Milvet said.
Before he was a career businessman, Milvet retired from the sheet metal construction union, and he鈥檚 always been a third-generation farmer.
鈥淚鈥檝e worked since I was 6 years old. My dad let me go out and pick stones and roll haybales.
鈥淲e used to have 45 head of beef cattle on the farm鈥� across the street from his shop, Milvet said.
The land on which his shop has stood for decades was an inheritance predating the country鈥檚 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鈥檚 ancestors.
鈥淭he Milvets got this farm, probably, I don鈥檛 even know, the 鈥�30s, the 鈥�40s? My grandparents owned it. They turned it over to my father. Then my father turned it over to me and my brother,鈥� Milvet said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been here ever since.鈥�
With such storied history, it鈥檚 surprising the red-bricked business that has, Milvet said, done business with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers, almost wasn鈥檛.
鈥淚 went to live in Wyoming for two years, in 1980 and 鈥�81,鈥� said Milvet, who worked for a large sheeting contractor based in Washington, Pa. 鈥淚 was 19 years old, I was just a kid.鈥�
And the west was bigger and grander than his young imagination could conceive.
鈥淭he Badlands, it鈥檚 like you can see pictures of it, but you gotta go see the Badlands. It鈥檚 unreal. I love Wyoming. I could live out there in a heartbeat. I could have stayed out there, but my dad had the farm.鈥�
If he鈥檇 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鈥檛 be a doting grandfather to a sweet, 7-year-old boy. He very well may never have met his favorite band.
鈥淲e saw Lynyrd Skynyrd 10 times,鈥� 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.
鈥淲e stayed there after the concert was over. These stage hands come over and they say, hey, you want to go meet the band?鈥�
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, 鈥淚 said, 鈥業 want a hug.鈥� So we give each other a big bear hug.鈥�
That night, Milvet said, he and bassist Leon Wilkeson exchanged shirts 鈥� Wilkeson left the venue sporting Milvet鈥檚 Three Stooges tee, and Milvet took a signed tie-dyed shirt home.
He doesn鈥檛 know where the T-shirt is, but that鈥檚 OK; Milvet鈥檚 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 鈥�60s and 鈥�70s, Milvet鈥檚 brother-in-law鈥檚 father saw the opportunity for enterprise.
鈥淸He] said, Mike, you know they鈥檙e putting that lake down there. You ought to think about putting a bait and tackle shop in,鈥� Milvet said.
So he did. On two acres partitioned off his family鈥檚 expansive property, Milvet quickly built a storefront.
鈥淎t first this was just a block building. We got the block up, and the roof 鈥� it鈥檚 a flat roof, because we just got up as quick as we could 鈥� and then we put the tackle shop in. We had an early spring that year,鈥� 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鈥檚 had lots of it. He鈥檚 been spelunking, has stood in awe at the base of petrified trees in Yellowstone National Park, taken photos of Devil鈥檚 Tower. He鈥檚 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.
鈥淚鈥檝e done a lot of things in my life,鈥� 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.